Editing Dale County, Alabama (section)

==History==
The area now known as Dale County was originally inhabited by members of the [[Creek Indian]] nation, who occupied all of southeastern Alabama during this period. Between the years of 1764 and 1783 this region fell under the jurisdiction of the colony of [[British West Florida]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Fabel |first=Robin F. A. |date=2002 |title=The Economy of British West Florida, 1763-1783 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press}}</ref>  The county, together with the surrounding area, was ceded to the [[United States]] in the 1814 [[Treaty of Fort Jackson]], ending the [[Creek War|Creek Indian Wars]]. A blockhouse had been constructed during the conflict on the northwestern side of the [[Choctawhatchee River]], and the first non-[[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] residents of Dale County would be veterans who began to settle in the area around 1820.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/1767/ |title=Prairie 1767 |website=Geocities |access-date=July 21, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528150204/http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/1767/ |archive-date=May 28, 2008}}</ref>

Dale County was established on December 22, 1824. It originally included the whole of what is now [[Coffee County, Alabama|Coffee County]] and [[Geneva County, Alabama|Geneva County]], together with the "panhandle" portion of [[Houston County, Alabama|Houston County]]. The original county seat was located at Dale's Court House (now the town of [[Daleville, Alabama|Daleville]]), but when Coffee County split from Dale in 1841, the seat was moved to [[Newton, Alabama|Newton]]. Here it remained until 1870 when, following a courthouse fire in 1869 and the formation of Geneva County (which took the southern third of Dale County), the county seat was moved to the town of Ozark, where it remains. In 1903 a small portion of the southeast part of Dale county was joined to the newly formed Houston County.

Portions of the [[15th Regiment Alabama Infantry|15th Regiment of Alabama Infantry]], which served with great distinction throughout the [[U.S. Civil War]], were recruited in Dale County, with all of Co. "E" and part of Co. "H" being composed of Dale County residents. This unit is most famous for being the regiment that confronted the [[20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment|20th Maine]] on the [[Little Round Top]] during the [[Battle of Gettysburg]] on July 2, 1863. Despite several ferocious assaults, the 15th was ultimately unable to dislodge the Union troops, and was ultimately forced to retreat after a desperate bayonet charge led by the 20th Maine's commander, Col. [[Joshua L. Chamberlain]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Desjardin |first=Thomas A. |author-link=Thomas A. Desjardin |date=1995 |title=Stand Firm Ye Boys from Maine: The 20th Maine and the Gettysburg Campaign |publisher=Thomas Publications |pages=69–71 |isbn=1-57747-034-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pfanz |first=Harry W. |date=1987 |title=Gettysburg: The Second Day |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |page=232 |isbn=0-8078-1749-X}}</ref>  This assault was vividly recreated in [[Ronald F. Maxwell]]'s 1993 film ''[[Gettysburg (1993 film)|Gettysburg]]''. The 15th would continue to serve until the final capitulation of Lee's army at [[Appomattox Court House National Historical Park|Appomattox Court House]] in 1865.

Another regiment recruited largely from Dale County was the [[33rd Regiment Alabama Infantry|33rd Alabama]]; Companies B, G and I were recruited in the county, with Co. G coming from Daleville; Co. B from Newton, Skipperville, Clopton, Echo and Barnes Cross Roads; and o. I from Newton, Haw Ridge, Rocky Head, Westville and Ozark.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/33rd_Regiment,_Alabama_Infantry |title=33rd Regiment, Alabama Infantry |website=FamilySearch}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/al/county/barbour/CSA/33rd_alabama_co.htm |title=33rd Alabama, Company B |website=U.S.Gen Net |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708051936/http://www.usgennet.org/usa/al/county/barbour/CSA/33rd_alabama_co.htm |archive-date=July 8, 2010}}</ref>  This regiment fought with great distinction in the [[Army of Tennessee]], mostly under famed General [[Patrick Cleburne]], once winning the [[Thanks of Congress|Thanks of the Confederate Congress]] for its action at [[Battle of Ringgold Gap|Ringgold Gap]]. The regiment was largely annihilated during the battles of [[Battle of Perryville|Perryville]] and [[Battle of Franklin (1864)|Franklin]], but a few men survived and returned to Dale County after the war.