The 17th Alabama Infantry Regiment was an
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
that served in the
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
Service
The 17th Alabama Infantry Regiment was mustered in at
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
in August 1861 under Colonel
Thomas H. Watts
Thomas Hill Watts Sr. (January 3, 1819September 16, 1892) was the 18th Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1863 to 1865, during the Civil War.
Early life
Watts was born at Pine Flat in the Alabama Territory on January 3, 1819, the olde ...
. Watts organized the 17th Infantry and led it at
Pensacola
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...
and
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
, but resigned as its colonel to serve as the
Confederacy's attorney general
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
in President
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
' cabinet.
The regiment surrendered at
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
in April 1865.
Total strength and casualties
When regiment was organized at Montgomery, Alabama, it took 900 men hailing from Coosa, Lowndes, Montgomery, Pike, Randolph, Monroe, Butler, and Russell counties.
The regiment sustained particularly heavy losses in 1864 after it joined the
Army of Tennessee
The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating i ...
.
Seventeenth Alabama Infantry Regiment
''Alabama Archives''
Commanders
*Col. Thomas H. Watts
Thomas Hill Watts Sr. (January 3, 1819September 16, 1892) was the 18th Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1863 to 1865, during the Civil War.
Early life
Watts was born at Pine Flat in the Alabama Territory on January 3, 1819, the olde ...
*Col. Virgil S. Murphy
See also
*Alabama Civil War Confederate Units {{Short description, none
This is a list of Alabama Civil War Confederate Units.
Infantry
* Alabama Brigade
* 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment
**Perote Guards (Company D)
* 2nd Alabama Infantry Regiment
* 3rd Alabama Infantry Regiment
* 4th Alabama ...
*Alabama in the American Civil War
Alabama was central to the Civil War, with the secession convention at Montgomery, birthplace of the Confederacy, inviting other states to form a Southern Republic, during January–March 1861, and develop constitutions to legally run their ...
References
Further reading
*Brewer, Willis. ''Brief Historical Sketches of Military Organizations Raised in Alabama during the Civil War''. Montgomery, Al.: Alabama Civil War Centennial Commission, 1962, pp. 616–618. (Brief history and roster of officers).
*''Confederate Military History'', Extended Edition. Vol. 8: Alabama. Wilmington, NC.: Broadfoot, 1987, pp. 111–113. (Brief unit history).
*Crute, Joseph H., Jr. ''Units of the Confederate States Army''. Midlothian, VA: Derwent Books, 1987, p. 16. (Concise summary of the regiment's service).
*Sifakis, Stewart. ''Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Alabama''. New York: Facts on File, 1992, pp. 80–81. (Unit organizational history).
*Thompson, Illene D. and Wilbur E. ''The Seventeenth Alabama Infantry: A Regimental History and Roster''. Bowie, MD: Heritage, 2001.
External links
State of Alabama Archives page for 17th Alabama Infantry RegimentRoster of the Company C, 17th Alabama Infantry Regiment
Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Alabama
1861 establishments in Alabama
Military units and formations established in 1861
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