Pre-War

Allan Sherod Cutts was born in Pulaski County, Georgia

Pulaski County, Georgia

Pulaski County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 9,588. The 2010 U.S. Census reports the population at 12,010, with a growth rate of 25.3% from 2000 to 2010, while surpassing Georgia's change of 18.3%., making it one of Georgia's fastest growing...

 on December 4, 1826. He was the twelfth and last child of Major Cutts, a farmer born in North Carolina, and Elizabeth Linsey Cutts, born in Indiana. Allen S. Cutts was raised on the farms his father occupied in Georgia. After receiving a basic education, he served in the Mexican War as a sergeant in an artillery unit from 1846 to 1848. Sgt Cutts served in the Battle of Vera Cruz and the Battle of Cerro Gordo

Battle of Cerro Gordo

The Battle of Cerro Gordo, or Battle of Sierra Gordo, in the Mexican-American War saw Winfield Scott's United States troops flank and drive Santa Anna's larger Mexican army from a strong defensive position.-Battle:...

 in the army of MG Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....

. Cutts became a merchant in Oglethorpe, Georgia

Oglethorpe, Georgia

Oglethorpe is a city in Macon County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,200 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Macon County. It was named for Georgia's founder, James Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe was once one of the largest cities in Georgia, and by the 1850s, was tagged as...

 by 1851. In 1854, he moved to Americus, Georgia

Americus, Georgia

-Early years:Americus, Georgia was named and chartered by Sen. Lovett B. Smith in 1832.For its first two decades, Americus was a small courthouse town. The arrival of the railroad in 1854 and, three decades later, local attorney Samuel H. Hawkins' construction of the only privately financed...

, where he continued work as a merchant. He also was a slave holder.
On December 17, 1854, Cutts married Fannie O. Brown of Monroe County, Georgia

Monroe County, Georgia

Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on May 15, 1821. As of 2000, the population was 21,757. The 2007 Census Estimate showed a population of 25,145...

. They had six children: Claude, Clarence, Earnest, Allen, Inez and Eldridge. Cutts was a Methodist, a Mason and a member of the Odd Fellows.

Civil War

At the outbreak of the Civil war, Cutts raised a Georgia battery of Artillery, known as the Sumter Artillery. This battery arrived in Virginia after the First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...

, but it saw action at the Battle of Dranesville

Battle of Dranesville

The Battle of Dranesville was a small battle during the American Civil War that took place between Confederate forces under General J.E.B. Stuart and Union forces under General Edward O.C. Ord on December 20, 1861, in Fairfax County, Virginia, as part of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's operations...

. In 1862 Cutts organized a battalion of Georgia artillery, the 11th Georgia Artillery Battalion, also known as the Sumter Artillery, becoming its commander.http://www.sumterartillery.com/ This work was rewarded with promotions to the ranks of major (May 22, 1862), lieutenant colonel (May 26, 1862) and colonel (April 22, 1864).

The Sumter Battalion served in the Artillery Reserve of the Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

, under BG William N. Pendleton

William N. Pendleton

William Nelson Pendleton was an American teacher, Episcopal priest, and soldier. He served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his position as Gen. Robert E. Lee's chief of artillery for most of the conflict...

, in the Seven Days Battles

Seven Days Battles

The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from...

. It remained near Richmond Virginia for a time, missing the Second Battle of Bull Run

Second Battle of Bull Run

The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...

. At the Battle of Antietam

Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...

, the Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...

 and the Battle of Chancellorsville

Battle of Chancellorsville

The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...

, Cutts’ battalion served once more in the Artillery Reserve. Col Cutts missed the Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

, in which his battalion was attached to the division of MG Richard H. Anderson

Richard H. Anderson

Richard Heron Anderson was a career U.S. Army officer, fighting with distinction in the Mexican-American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, fighting in the Eastern Theater of the conflict and most notably during the 1864 Battle of Spotsylvania Court House...

 in the corps of Ltg A. P. Hill

A. P. Hill

Ambrose Powell Hill, Jr. , was a career U.S. Army officer in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars and a Confederate general in the American Civil War...

. In that fight, Maj John Lane was in command.

Col Cutts resumed command in time for the Bristoe Campaign

Bristoe Campaign

The Bristoe Campaign was a series of minor battles fought in Virginia during October and November 1863, in the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, began to maneuver in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern...

, in which his battalion served in the Third Corps Artillery under Col R. Lindsay Walker. It also served in that formation in the Battle of Mine Run

Battle of Mine Run

The Battle of Mine Run, also known as Payne's Farm, or New Hope Church, or the Mine Run Campaign , was conducted in Orange County, Virginia, in the American Civil War....

. During the Overland Campaign

Overland Campaign

The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...

 of 1864, Cutts apparently assisted Walker in command of the guns of Hill’s Corps during the Battle of the Wilderness

Battle of the Wilderness

The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...

. He retained battalion command during most of the Siege of Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...

. Early in the siege, Cutts was assigned command of a large concentration of guns north of the James River

James River

The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...

 that harassed advancing federal forces trying to take the city of Petersburg. Despite intense counter battery fire from federal artillery, Cutts' gunners dug in and continued their fire. Cutts' battalion later served south of the Appomattox River

Appomattox River

The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long, in central and eastern Virginia in the United States, named for the Appomattocs Indian tribe who lived along its lower banks in the 17th century...

.

Maj Lane, later a lieutenant colonel, commanded whenever Cutts was on leave. It is likely that Col Cutts was absent ill at the conclusion of the war. Lane was in command just before the Appomattox Campaign

Appomattox Campaign

The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...

, but there is no clear record of the surrender of the Sumter Artillery at the end of the war.

Post war

After the war, Col Cutts farmed and traded in cotton. Col Cutts also entered politics as a Democrat, serving as mayor of Americus in 1874-1875, 1877–1878, and 1893-1896. As a member of the Georgia legislature, in 1890 and 1891, Col Cutts tried unsuccessfully to secure state funding of the Confederate Soldiers Home.

Mayor Cutts died in office in 1896. Col Cutts was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Americus.http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10502926 His wife had died on December 8, 1886.