During the American Civil War, a group of Confederate soldiers with the Tuskegee Light Infantry Company raised $1,800 (equivalent to $54,936 in 2023) to purchase him to act as their drummer.
[3] On June 4, 1870, after a contentious meeting of the Macon County Republican Party, Alston and his wife were shot at while inside their home.
Later, testifying before an investigative committee, Alton said that he was actually shot by white members of the Macon County Democratic Party, naming Cullen A.
[3][9] In 1871 Alston served as a delegate to the meeting of the Colored National Labor Union's Alabama convention.
[10] In 2011, Alston was named on a historical marker in Montgomery, Alabama along with other African American legislators who served during the Reconstruction era.