CAPT. E. TROUP RANDLE, Sr. was born near Sparta, Hancock County, GA, Sept. 18, 1825. His father was Edmund Randle, descendant of a wealthy and influential Virginia family that settled in Georgia, and his mother was Sarah Hines Colquitt, a sister of the distinguished Walter H. Colquitt, a senator from Georgia, and aunt of the late Alfred H. Colquitt, major general in the Confederate army and governor of Georgia, as well as United States senator.
The name Randle is an abbreviation of Randolph, that having been the original English family name; members of that family settled in Virginia, and in time the name was changed as noted, as was often the case in earlier days. Whether bearing the original name or the later one, the family has served the State well in time of war or peace and the word of its members has been as good as a bond.
Captain Randle, therefore, came from a patriotic family, one that has been represented in every war in which America has been engaged; his father was a lieutenant under Gen. Andrew Jackson in the Indian fighting of the War of 1812. Captain Randle was educated in Georgia, and in 1846 he removed to Alabama and engaged in farming in what is now Bullock county, then a part of Macon.

He was among the first to lay his life and fortune upon the altar of Southern independence. He was on duty at Montgomery prior to April, 1861, and in that month went to Lynchburg, VA, and was mustered in as third sergeant of the Southern Rifles, Company D, Third Alabama infantry, under Col. Jones M. Withers. At the reorganization in the spring of 1862, he was elected first lieutenant under Capt. R. H. Powell, and in this capacity he commanded his company until commissioned captain in 1863.

He fought at Seven Pines and throughout the Seven Days battles before Richmond, beginning with Mechanicsville and ending with Malvern Hill. In September, 1862, he participated in the Maryland campaign, sharing the famous defense of the gaps of South Mountain against McClellan's army. In Rhodes' brigade against Hooker's corps before Boonesboro Gap, Lieut. Randle was shot through the hips and disabled for six months.

At Chancellorsville he led the Third Alabama through the Wilderness over the Federal works, where he was wounded, his arm being shattered; having it sashed to his waist, he remained on the battlefield until the battle closed; after injuring the arm the bullet came out through his breast, tearing it into shreds; the arm was amputated, and in 1864, mutilated and suffering from his wounds, he was ordered to report to Gen. Jones M. Withers at Montgomery, Ala, being unfitted for active field service.

Captain Randle followed agricultural pursuits after the war, and also served as sheriff of the county in 1866-1867. Despite his painful injuries, Captain Randle retained the fine spirit and cheerfulness that made him a welcome addition to any circle. He was noted for his ready wit and humor, and it was the belief of his friends that he would have become one of America's leading lecturers had he chosen to take up that line.

On Nov. 22, 1866, he was married to Mary Carter, daughter of Col. James F. Carter and Mary Powell. Seven children would be born to Captain Randle and his wife. Mary Carter Randle was one of those Daughters of the South who are famed in song and story for their many graces of mind and feature, combining in herself many qualities which have made her memory a blessed one to her friends and family; her mother, Mary Powell, was of "Chunnenuggee," seat of the proudest and most aristocratic families of southeastern Alabama.

Mrs. Randle died in 1894; her husband lived until March 14, 1903. He was given military honors, numerous friends and comrades of battle-fields gathering from all parts of the country to pay the last tribute of love and respect to this noble, true and brave citizen; special honor was accorded the sacred spot which entombs his body, on Memorial day, by the Ladies' Memorial association and by the Daughters of the Confederacy, whose grand marshal he was, he having been elected for life; the Sons of the Confederacy had honored him prior to his death by naming their camp in this county (Bullock) the E. Troup Randle camp.

SOURCE: Notable Men of Alabama by Hon. Joel Campbell DuBose, Editor, Vol. I, pp. 215-217, originally published ca. 1904; The Reprint Company, Publishers, SC, 1976:
 (bio by: Charlene)