The 37th Tennessee 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 ...

from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

that served with the

Confederate States 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 ...

in 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 ...

. The regiment was organized in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

in late 1861. It was composed mainly of men from counties such as Grainger, Blount, Sevier, Bradley, Washington, Jefferson, Bedford with others joining from North Georgia and Alabama. Colonel

William Henry Carroll William Henry Carroll (1810 – May 3, 1868) was a wealthy planter, a postmaster, and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Early life Carroll was born in Nashville, Tennessee to William Carroll, ...

had a hard time acquiring weapons for his men, and there delivery to the regiment was delayed for several weeks. By December 9, 1861, Carroll had nearly 800 recruits but had only enough weapons for 200. A week later he was reprimanded by

Judah P. Benjamin Judah Philip Benjamin, QC (August 6, 1811 – May 6, 1884) was a United States senator from Louisiana, a Cabinet officer of the Confederate States and, after his escape to the United Kingdom at the end of the American Civil War, an English ba ...

for not following his order to procure enough weapons, who also threatened to disband the regiment if this issue was not quickly resolved. Within a month, Carroll had armed his regiment and was on the march to meet up with the 38th Tennessee Infantry Regiment under

Felix Zollicoffer Felix Kirk Zollicoffer (May 19, 1812 – January 19, 1862) was an American newspaperman, slave owner, politician, and soldier. A three-term United States Congressman from Tennessee, an officer in the United States Army, and a Confederate brigad ...

. The 37th arrived at Mill Springs and were greeted joyously as reinforcements. The entire ordeal turned into a failure, and Zollicoffer died in battle. Carroll was criticized and resigned from his post as a consequence. Chesley Jarnigan, a 28-year-old merchant, took command of the 37th and commanded it until his death in the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between United States, U.S. and Confederate States of America, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union Army, Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign ...

References

Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Tennessee Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 1865 disestablishments in Tennessee 1861 establishments in Tennessee Military units and formations established in 1861 {{AmericanCivilWar-unit-stub

See also

References