Born on this site about 1820 to Phillip and Sarah Roddy, Phillip Dale Roddy grew up in poverty. His father a saddle maker and War of 1812 veteran, was one of the earliest murder victims in Moulton. Phillip Dale was raised by his mother and received little education. He married Margaret McGaughey 6 Nov 1845. Phillip worked as a tailor, served as Lawrence County Sheriff (1849-1852), and steamboat captain (1860) in Franklin County. In Oct 1862, at Tuscumbia, Roddy raised a company that became part of the 4th AL Cavalry. He served as captain, colonel, and brigadier general. His efforts in keeping the Union Army north of the Tennessee River earned him the title "Defender of North Alabama." Roddy's battlefield encounters included Shiloh, Streight's Raid, Gen. Dodge at Tuscumbia, and actions in MS and GA. In his 1866 Federal pardon, Gen. Grant and other Union Officers praised his honor and humane treatment of northern sympathizers and prisoners. After the war, Roddy's family lived in Tuscaloosa and he became associated with a merchant house in New York. He died in London, England 1897 and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Tuscaloosa. His mother lies in the McDonald Cemetery at Moulton, next to her husband's reputed grave. The Roddy house collapsed 22 Mar 1872.
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