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17th & 23rd Tennessee Infantry

Editor’s Note: Do you have information on this unit’s role at the Siege of Petersburg?  Please contact us using the Contact button in the menu at the top of the screen.  We are happy to exchange information with other researchers.

Note: The 17th and 23rd Tennessee regiments had been consolidated in November 1863 and remained consolidated to the end of the war.

Muster In:

  • Organized on June 11, 1861.  Mustered into Confederate service on August 15, 1862(17th TN)1
  • Organized on July 31, 1861.  Mustered into Confederate service on August 23, 1861. (23rd TN)2

Muster Out: April 9, 18653,4

Commander(s):
Colonel Richard H. Keeble
Commander Image

Colonel Horace Ready
Commander Image

Commander 3
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle: Johnson’s Brigade | Hoke’s Division | Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia | Confederate Army5

  • Commander: Colonel Richard H. Keeble6
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Second Offensive Order of Battle: Johnson’s Brigade | Hoke’s Division | Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia | Confederate Army7

  • Commander:
    • Colonel Richard H. Keeble (killed on June 30, 1864)8
    • ? (June 30, 1864)
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Third Offensive Order of Battle:

Johnson’s Brigade | Hoke’s Division | Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia | Confederate Army (July 1-7, 1864)9

Johnson’s Brigade | Department of Richmond | Confederate Army (July 7-31)10

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: Johnson’s Brigade | Department of Richmond | Confederate Army11

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: Johnson’s Brigade | Department of Richmond | Confederate Army12,13

  • Commander: Colonel Horace Ready14
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: Johnson’s Brigade | Department of Richmond | Confederate Army15

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle:

Johnson’s Brigade | Department of Richmond | Confederate Army (November 1864)16

Archer’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army (December 1864)17

  • Commander:
    • None listed. (November 1864)
    • Colonel Horace Ready (at least December 3, 1864)(December 1864)18,19
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: On November 30, the Tennessee regiments of Johnson’s Brigade were transferred to Archer’s Brigade. (Need source)

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: McComb’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army20,21,22,23,24

  • Commander: Colonel Horace Ready (January & February 1865)25,26,27
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: McComb’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army28,29

  • Commander:
    • None listed. (March 1865)30
    • Colonel Horace Ready (wounded April 2)(April 1-2, 1865)31
    • ? (after Col. Ready was wounded)(April 2, 1865)32
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles33,34:

  • Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865)
  • Fort Harrison (September 29-30, 1864)
  • Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Tennessee by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 117-118
    2. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Tennessee by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 126-128
    3. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Tennessee by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 117-118
    4. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Tennessee by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 126-128
    5. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 114
    6. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 114
    7. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 114
    8. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 114
    9. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 124
    10. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 126
    11. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 2 (Serial Number 88), page 1213: “Abstract from Tri-Monthly Return of the Department of Richmond…August 31, 1864”
    12. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 143
    13. Sommers, Richard J. “Grant’s Fifth Offensive at Petersburg: A Study in Strategy, Tactics, and Generalship.  The Battle of Poplar Spring Church, the First Battle of the Darbytown Road, the Second Battle of the Squirrel Level Road, the Second Battle of the Darbytown Road (Ulysses S. Grant, Virginia).” Doctoral Thesis. Rice University, 1970. Print. p. 1315.
    14. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 143
    15. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 152
    16. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 160
    17. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165
    18. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165
    19. Died.” Richmond Examiner. December 5, 1864, p. 1 col. 1
    20. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 174
    21. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1173: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General R. E. Lee, January 31, 1865”; This list contains many commanders who were not there.  They were the “official” commanders but may have been gone on leave.  I have used none of the leaders from this list as a result.
    22. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1182: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, January 31, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from January 26-31, 1865, and the leaders should be accurate for this time frame.
    23. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184
    24. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1271: “Organization of the Infantry and Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, February 28, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from February 28, 1865.  However, leaders listed are from January.  I’ve chosen to ignore the leaders and just use this source for the organization of the order of battle.
    25. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 174
    26. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1182: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, January 31, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from January 26-31, 1865, and the leaders should be accurate for this time frame.
    27. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184
    28. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193
    29. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 203
    30. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193
    31. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 203
    32. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 203
    33. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Tennessee by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 117-118
    34. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Tennessee by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 126-128
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