17th Alabama Infantry Regiment
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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 mar ...
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 conscript ...
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), fighti ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
.


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, Alabama, Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the Gulf Coastal Plain, coas ...
in August 1861 under Colonel Thomas H. Watts. Watts organized the 17th Infantry and led it at
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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 ...
, 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 ...
' 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 List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...
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 in ...
.Seventeenth Alabama Infantry Regiment
''Alabama Archives''


Commanders

*Col. Thomas H. Watts *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 {{AmericanCivilWar-unit-stub