Civil War Service
In 1861 Pettus chose to follow the Confederate cause. He was chosen as a delegate to the secession convention in Mississippi, where his brother John was serving as governor. Pettus then help organize the 20th Alabama Infantry, and was elected as one of its first officers. On September 9 he was made the regiment's major, and on October 8 he became its lieutenant colonel.
From then on Pettus served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. During the Stones River Campaign, he was captured by Union soldiers on December 29, 1862. He was exchanged a short time later, and was captured again on May 1, 1863. At the time Pettus was part of the surrendered garrison that had been defending Port Gibson in Mississippi, however he managed to escape and return to his own lines. He was promoted to colonel on May 28, and given command of the 20th Alabama.
During the 1863 Vicksburg Campaign, Pettus and his regiment was part of the force defending Confederate control of the Mississippi River. When the garrison was surrendered on July 4, Pettus was again captured, and would be a prisoner until his exchange on September 12. Six days later he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and on November 3 he was given brigade command in the Army of Tennessee. Pettus and his brigade participated in the Chattanooga Campaign, posted on the extreme southern slope of Missionary Ridge on November 24, and fought during the action the following day.
Pettus and his command took part in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, fighting in the battles of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, Atlanta on July 22, and Jonesborough from August 31 to September 1. Beginning on December 17, he temporarily led a division in the Army of Tennessee. Afterward during the 1865 Carolinas Campaign, Pettus was sent to defend Columbia, South Carolina, and participated in the Battle of Bentonville from March 19–21. Pettus was wounded in this fight, hit in his right leg during the battle's first day. On May 2 he was paroled from Salisbury, North Carolina, and was pardoned by the U.S. Government on October 20.
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