Henry W. Laird was born in the Lexington District of South Carolina on June 3, 1821. He married Sarah Ann Long on September 5, 1848, in Alabama, and they had nine children. Sarah was born in Butler County, Alabama, on April 24, 1832.
Laird enlisted in the Confederate Army’s Gulf Rangers at Geneva, Alabama, on September 14, 1861. This unit subsequently became Company D, 1st Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi Infantry (also known as the 4th Confederate Infantry). He was elected Captain of the company.
He was captured during the Battle at Island Ten on April 8, 1862, and was taken to Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin, where he arrived on April 20, 1862. He was later imprisoned in Camp Douglas (Chicago) Illinois. After the unit was exchanged at Vicksburg, it was reorganized as Company E, 54th Alabama Infantry, but Laird was not reelected as Captain.
He enlisted in Captain Monroe’s Company on September 20, 1863, in Coffee County, Alabama. He was detailed for post duty in Montgomery in May 1864 because he was unfit for field duty.
Henry died on October 10, 1904, in Glendale. Sarah died in DeFuniak Springs on March 8, 1918.
Henry Laird Burial: Gum Creek Cemetery, Glendale
Sarah Ann Laird Burial: Gum Creek Cemetery, Glendale