Samuel Adam Burney Rose was born 5 Feb. 1838 to Bennett Rose and Nancy Burney. He was named for his grandfather and maybe for an uncle on his mother's side of the family. S. A. B. served in the Civil War. On 13 Dec. 1862 he left his aging mother and found the 16 Alabama Infantry, Co. C. headquarters in Triune, Tennessee. He was 23 years old. He was given 17 days of training before seeing his first battle. It was almost his last.. As he and his unit were marching toward the battle on the 31st of December 1862, a cannon ball landed in some limestone rocks, sending fragments which struck S.A.B. in the head. His comrades thought him dead but he was only wounded. He was involved in many battles including the battles of Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain. His Regiment, after fighting in Georgia, moved on to battles in North Carolina. The brave Regiment finally surrendered in North Carolina. S. A. B. Rose, however, was on detached service near Washington, Georgia, helping to repair the railroads the Yankees had torn up. The story of S. A. B.'s war exploits has been widely publicized including several local newspapers. He was a scrappy fighter and not afraid to talk back to his captors after the surrender. It cost him his provisions for the long walk home, but a sympathetic Confederate lieutenant shared his rations with S. A. B.
S.A.B. Rose married Elmira Alemeda Hargrove at Lentzville, Limestone Co., on 12 Sept. 1867. He was almost 29 years old. They had a total of 17 children between 1869 and 1891 although some did not live into adulthood. She was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Hargrove. Elmira died in 1893 at age 42 and S.A.B. never remarried.
Like his father before him, S.A.B was active in law enforcement. He was Justice of the Peace in Limestone County in the early 1900's. His family tells that he was often called Squire Rose and was required to adjudicate legal problems of people in northwest Limestone County. S.A.B. was also a farmer.
S.A.B. Rose died early the next year, on 13 Jan. 1913. His death certificate says that he died complications of the Flu (LaGrippe) at 3 in the afternoon after an illness of two weeks. He was buried in a small cemetery on a hill near Lentzville. It is called Shoemaker Cemetery.
