17th Indiana Infantry Regiment
in the American Civil War
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Online Books:
17th Indiana Infantry Officer Roster - Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana, Volume 2, by W.H.H. Terrell, Adjutant General, Indiana, 1865 17th Indiana Infantry Soldier Roster - Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana, Volume 4, by W.H.H. Terrell, Adjutant General, Indiana, 1866 Regimental History Seventeenth Indiana Infantry. — Cols., Milo S. Hascall, John T. Wilder, Jacob G. Vail; Lieut. -Cols., John T. Wilder, George W. Gorman, Henry C. Jordan, Jacob G. Vail, Frank White; Majs., George W. Gorman, Henry C. Jordan, James Thompson, William T. Jones, Jacob G. Vail, James U. Anderson, John J. Weiler, Henry Henley. This regiment was organized at Camp Morton, Indianapolis, in May, 1861, and was mustered in on June 12. It left the state July 1, for Parkersburg W. Va., and on the 23d reached Oakland, Md. It was engaged in constructing fortifications at Camp Pendleton until Aug. 7, and was then ordered to Cheat mountain, going into camp at Elk Water. It was engaged at the Green Brier river Oct. 3. On Nov. 30, it reported to Gen. Buell at Louisville, Ky., and was assigned to Nelson's division. It remained at Camp Wickliffe, near New Haven, from Dec. 10 until Feb. 10, 1862, and then moved to Nashville. Col. Hascall was appointed brigadier-general, Mar. 25, and was succeeded as colonel by Lieut. -Col. Wilder. The regiment left Nashville on Mar. 29, reaching Shiloh on April 8. It was in the siege of Corinth and moved with Buell's army through Alabama to McMinnville, Tenn., where it was engaged in the attack and rout of Forrest. It marched to Louisville, skirmishing with Bragg's rear-guard at Munfordville, and was in camp at Bardstown until Oct. 18, when it began the march to Nashville. It was engaged in numerous expeditions until Feb. 1, 1863, and then moved to Murfreesboro, where the regiment was mounted and kept on scouting expeditions, being equipped with Spencer rifles in May. At Hoover's gap, it repulsed several charges by superior numbers, and when reinforced captured 75 prisoners and 126 stands of arms, its loss being 48 killed and wounded. It next marched to Manchester, capturing many prisoners, was in a skirmish near Chattanooga on Aug. 21, and moved towards North Chickamauga and Dalton. It was in a sharp fight with Scott's brigade of cavalry and 2 pieces of artillery, near Ringgold in September, defeating the enemy, and was in frequent skirmishes until the battle of Chickamauga, in which the regiment several times broke the enemy's lines and repulsed a severe charge with a counter-charge, in which the Confederates were driven back, leaving many prisoners with the 17th. The regiment attacked and routed a brigade at Thompson's cove on Oct. 3, and was in a skirmish at McMinnville the next day, driving the enemy from the town. It also attacked a Confederate force near Shelbyville, driving it from the field and into Farmington, where a charge was made, resulting in the capture of 3 guns, a large number of small arms and 300 prisoners. The regiment then moved for Huntsville, Ala., going into winter quarters at Mayville, on the 27th. On Nov. 18, 250 of the regiment marched towards Chattanooga, destroying a quantity of the enemy's stores and 77 wagons near Ringgold, and a foundry at Cleveland. On the 30th they run the enemy's lines into Knoxville, and on Dec. 5, crossed into North Carolina, thence back into Tennessee, and camped at Charleston from Dec. 14 to Jan. 18, 1864, when they joined the regiment at Nashville. About this time 286 men reenlisted and were furloughed home, reporting at Louisville on April 2. On the 18th the regiment marched for Nashville and proceeded from there to join the movement on Atlanta. From May 10 until Oct. 31, it was constantly engaged in the cavalry and scouting operations incident to that campaign, being in many skirmishes and the engagements at Pumpkin Vine creek, Big Shanty, Belle Plain road, Kennesaw mountain, Marietta, Chattahoochee river, Stone mountain, Flatrock, New Hope Church, Rome and Coosaville. It left Rome on Nov. 1, for Louisville, leaving its horses with Kilpatrick's cavalry. It was remounted and left for Gravelly Springs, Ala., on Nov. 28, and on March 12, 1865, marched with Wilson's cavalry, overtaking the forces under Roddey and Forrest at Ebenezer Church, 29 miles from Selma, on April 1, where in a charge, the 17th captured 100 prisoners and a gun. It participated in the action at Selma, driving the enemy into the forts, then out of them and out of the interior works and from their position behind the railroad embankment, taking all the forts from No. 18 to the river on the west side of the town. It also took 4 pieces of artillery and 300 prisoners and lost 12 killed and 80 wounded. It then moved to Macon, Ga., where it drove the enemy into the city and saved two bridges which were about to be destroyed. The city was surrendered, together with 3,000 prisoners, including Gens. Howell Cobb, Mackall, Mercer and G. W. Smith, 5 stands of colors, 60 pieces of artillery and 3,000 small arms. The regiment had but 451 men in this action, but the enemy believed it was the advance of a large force. The regiment was on post duty at Macon until Aug. 8, 1865, when it was mustered out. Its original strength was 1,063. Gain by recruits, 960; reenlistments, 288; total, 2,311. Loss by death, 232; desertion, 161; unaccounted for, 82.Footnotes: Regimental history taken from "The Union Army" by Federal Publishing Company, 1908 - Volume 3 |
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