Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/258

 234 ALABAMA ALABASTER dered to Rear Admiral Thatcher all the con- federate naval forces 12 vessels then block- aded on the Tombigbee. No official statement of the number and losses of Alabama troops in the war has been made. In an official procla- mation, in June, 1865, Provisional Governor Parsons stated the number of troops fur- nished by the state during the war to be 122,- 000, and the losses 35,000. Montgomery was the seat of the confederate government until its removal to Richmond on the 20th of May, 1861. Immediately upon the close of the war measures were instituted by the general gov- ernment for the restoration of Alabama to the Union. For this purpose Lewis E. Parsons was appointed provisional governor June 21, 1865, with instructions to call a convention for the purpose of altering and amending the constitu- tion and laws of the state in conformity with the federal constitution. At the election held Aug. 31 for choice of delegates, those citizens were qualified as electors and delegates who were entitled to vote by the constitution and laws of Alabama in force immediately prior to Jan. 11, 1861, and who had taken the oath of amnesty as set forth in the president's procla- mation of May 29, 1865. After assembling on Sept. 10, the convention reordained the civil and criminal laws, except those relating to slaves, as they existed previous to the adoption of the secession ordinance of 1861, declared that ordinance and the state war debt null and void, passed an ordinance against slavery, and provided for an election of state officers and members of congress to be held in November. On the assembling of the legislature, United States senators were chosen, and on Dec. 19 the newly elected governor assumed executive control. The government thus organized con- tinued in force until supplanted by the military government provided by congress in pursu- ance of the reconstruction act passed March 2, 1867. By this act Alabama was made subject to the military authority of the United States, and, with Georgia and Florida, constituted the third military district. On April 1, 1867, Ma- jor General Pope assumed command of this district with a sufficient military force to pro- tect the rights of all persons, and to preserve the public peace. In accordance with the sup- plemental act of congress of March 23, 1867, a registration of qualified voters (excluding un- pardoned participants in the civil war) was made in August, when 165,813 persons were registered, of whom 61,295 were white and 104,518 colored. An election was held on the first three days of October to decide the ques- tion of calling a convention for the purpose of forming a constitution and civil government, and also to choose delegates to the convention ; 90,283 votes were cast for the convention and 5,583 against it. The convention assembled in November and framed a constitution, which was submitted to the people in February, 1868, when 70,812 votes were cast for ratification and 1,005 for rejection. The total vote thus cast, being less than the majority of all the registered voters required by the reconstruc- tion law of congress, was not sufficient for rat- ification. The constitution was, however, by a subsequent act of congress, declared adopted. At the same election state officers and mem- bers of congress and of the legislature were chosen. The legislature having assembled and complied with the requirements of the law of congress for the admission into the Union of certain southern states passed June 25, 1868, Alabama became entitled to representation in congress, and on July 14, 1868, the control of affairs passed from the military to the civil au- thorities. The 15th amendment to the federal constitution was ratified by Alabama Nov. 16, 1870, the 14th amendment having been pre- viously ratified as a condition of representation in congress. ALABAMA, a river of the state of Alabama, formed by the union of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers about 10 m. (direct) N. N. E. of Mont- gomery. It has a westerly course as far as Selma, whence it flows southerly until it joins the Tombigbee about 50 m. above Mobile, to form the Mobile river. It is navigable for ves- sels of 6 feet draught to Claiborne, 60 m. above the junction. Small steamboats ascend it to Montgomery, 320 m. by the course of the river, the depth of water being from 3 to 5 feet, and in high water about 20 m. further to "Wetump- ka on the Coosa. The river is very tortuous throughout its course, and on its banks are some of the largest cotton plantations in the South, and much valuable timber. The most important cities and towns on the Alabama are Montgomery, Selma, Cahawba, and Claiborne. ALABASTER, the name frequently given to two different mineral substances the one a sulphate of lime, a pure variety of gypsum, and the other a carbonate of lime, of the same chemical composition as most of the marbles. It was used with the same ambiguity by the ancient Greeks and Romans. The resemblance of the two substances is in their delicate white color and fine grain. Each is easily carved and susceptible of a fine polish. They might well in ancient times have passed as varieties of the same substance : the gypsum alabaster being more delicate and softer to cut, and re- quiring much more care to polish ; the calcare- ous alabaster more firm, and better adapted for the sculpture of larger figures. The latter was frequently obtained from the drippings of the water in limestone caves, which holds car- bonate of lime in solution, and deposits it in the form of stalactites and stalagmites. These by a little ingenuity were made to take the forms of the mould the waters dripped upon ; or the natural stalagmites of the purest colors were selected, and then wrought into the desired figures. The name alabaster, now properly limited to the gypseous variety, is derived from the town Alabastron, the site of which is be- lieved to have been between the Red sea and the Nile in Middle Egypt. Here the stone was