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"Y" Seventeenth Virginia Infantry. Date unknown.
The following information was taken from the above web sites and information from ??? . .
The 17th Virginia Infantry Regiment was organized at Manassas Junction on June 10, 1861. It was composed of ten companies, many of which began as pre-war volunteer militias in Alexandria, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, and Warren Counties. The ten companies of the 17th Virginia Infantry are:
Company A: Alexandria Riflemen. This unit was made up of men from Alexandria County (Now ?? County). It was previously Company B, Sixth Virginia State Infantry Battalion.
Company B: Warren Rifles. This unit was made up of men from Warren County
Company C: Loudoun Guard. This unit was made up of men from Loudoun County.
Company D: Fairfax Rifles. This unit was made up of men from Fairfax County.
Company E: Mount Vernon Guard. This unit was made up of men from Alexandria County (Now ?? County). It was previously Company A, Sixth Virginia State Infantry Battalion.
Company F: Prince William Rifles. This unit was made up of men from Prince William County.
Company G: Emmett Guard. This unit was made up of men from Alexandria County (Now ?? County). It was previously Company F, Sixth Virginia State Infantry Battalion.
Company H: Old Dominion Rifles. This unit was made up of men from Alexandria County (Now ?? County). It was previously Company C, Sixth Virginia State Infantry Battalion.
Company I: O'Connell Guards. This unit was made up of men from Alexandria County (Now ?? County).
Company K: Warrenton Rifles. This unit was made up of men from Warrenton, in Faquier County.
The core of these volunteers were four companies organized on February 18, 1861 as a volunteer militia battalion. The Mount Vernon Guard, Alexandria Riflemen, Old Dominion Rifles, and the Alexandria Artillery were attached to the 175th Regiment (Alexandria), Virginia Militia. On April 2, the General Assembly passed an act authorizing a battalion be raised in the city of Alexandria with three companies of infantry and one of artillery. On April 4, Captain Montgomery Dent Corse, of the Old Dominion Rifles was unanimously elected to command the battalion as a Major.
The oldest company, the Mount Vernon Guard, was organized on June 21, 1842, but always observed July 4 as their anniversary. The first time they probably appeared in uniform was in October 1842 when the passed in review before President Tyler.
The Alexandria Riflemen were organized on March 10, 1856. Originally choosing the name "Alexandria Sharp Shooters", they quickly reconvened their meeting when some realized how the initials would look painted on the back of their knapsacks. The change of name to "Alexandria Riflemen" was unanimous. They were organized, with the Mount Vernon Guard, into a volunteer battalion under the command of Major Turner Wade Ashby. Ashby had been a lieutenant in Capt. Corse's company during the Mexican War.
The Old Dominion Rifles was organized on December 6, 1860. Organization was complete by January 7, 1861 with the election of Corse as captain and Arthur Herbert as lieutenant.
The Alexandria Artillery was formed in 1850 as the Mechanical Artillery. The new name was adopted in 1856.
On April 2, the Virginia General Assembly formally authorized the raising of a battalion in the city of Alexandria with three companies of infantry and one of artillery. On April 4, Captain Montgomery Dent Corse of the Old Dominion Rifles was unanimously elected to command the battalion and promoted to rank of Major.
Before the end of April, three more companies were attached to Corse's command at Alexandria:
On April 24, the 80 men of the Loudoun Guard arrived from Leesburg and went to quarters at Tennesson's old restaurant on Cameron Street. The light infantry company was organized early in November, 1859 by Capt. Charles B. Tebbs. They were attached to the 57th Regiment (Loudoun County), Virginia Militia.
The Fairfax Rifles had been formed at Fairfax Court House by Capt. William H. Dulany on December 1, 1859 as the Fairfax Rifle Rangers and attached to the 60th Regiment (Fairfax County) Virginia Militia. James W. Jackson was an early member of the 60th Militia before moving to Alexandria to become the co-proprietor of the Marshall House. The Fairfax Rifles joined Corse under the command of Lt. William A. Barnes on April 25, 1861 and were assigned to barracks on Prince Street, near Fairfax Street.
Capt. Robert H. Simpson, a teacher, organized the Warren Rifles in Front Royal. In early 1860, the graduate of VMI attached the Rifles to the 149th Regiment (Warren County) Virginia Militia. The company marched to Winchester on April 18, 1861 to enroll for active service. From there, they proceeded by rail to Harper's Ferry. Ordered to Alexandria to escort a shipment of captured arms, they stopped at Front Royal and arrived in Alexandria on April 26. They were quartered on the north side of Cameron Street, between Fairfax and Royal Streets.
Two companies of Alexandria's Irish citizens were added to the battalion on April 25, 1861: an artillery company, the Irish Volunteers, and a light infantry company, the Emmett Guard. The latter would eventually become Company G of the 17th Virginia Infantry. Before end of April, two cavalry units and three more companies were attached to the battalion: the Chesterfield Troop, Fairfax Cavalry (also known as the Washington Home Guard), Loudoun Guard, Fairfax Rifles and Warren Rifles.
By April 27, Corse's command was designated the Sixth Battalion of Virginia Volunteers under Lieutenant Colonel Algernon S. Taylor, who was commissioned in the Provisional Army of Virginia. A native of Alexandria, he was also a nephew of Zachary Taylor, the 12th President of the United States.
On May 3, the battalion took an all night train ride from the Orange and Alexandria station to the Culpepper Court House sixty miles away. When they discovered an error by a telegraph operator, who wrote "Battalion" instead of "Battery," they returned on the morning train less the Alexandria Artillery.
Receiving travel orders on May 5, the battalion left by train at 11 p.m. This time they reached only Springfield Station, ten miles away, when they found the orders were a mistake. By noon on the 7th, they were back in Alexandria. This time, Colonel Taylor was questioned by authorities as to his premature evacuation of the city. He reported the withdrawal was due to the inefficient condition of a large part of his battalion and the vulnerability of his exposed and indefensible position. Taylor wrote that the two Irish companies, totaling about 240 privates, were armed with altered flintlocks without cartridges or caps. The Mount Vernon Guard had new muskets, but 52 of the 86 privates were without accouterments, 15 without arms, and very few had much ammunition. The 53 Warren Rifles had minie rifles with nine rounds each while the 85 rank and file of the Old Dominion Rifles had minie rifles with an average of five rounds and four caps each. Although Taylor's report did not include the Alexandria Rifles, another made about the same date reported the 69 men had 50 muskets and no ammunition. The 40 privates of Captain Ball's cavalry company had carbines and sabers but a limited amount of ammunition. Captain Powel's Fairfax Cavalry numbered 30 with only 22 mounts and only a few Colt revolvers.
The authorities in Richmond and Potomac Department headquarters at Culpepper Court House were evidently not satisfied with Taylor's report. He lost his command on May 10. His replacement was Colonel George Hunter Terrett, who had resigned from the U. S. Marine Corps on April 22 and had been commissioned as a colonel in the Provisional Army of Virginia by May 7, 1861. Major Corse had served as assistant general under Taylor and continued in that capacity under the new commander.
The arrival of the gunboat Pawnee at Alexandria caused quite a bit of excitement. Concern arose over the increased possibility of an enemy advance from Washington. Guards were placed at the foot of Cameron Street to keep an eye on the blockading steamer. Those not on guard duty were regularly at drill by squad, by company, and by battalionCoccasionally under the command of Colonel Terrett.
On May 18, another Irish company, the O'Connell Guard, was organized under Captain Stephen W. Prestman and composed largely of railroad workers. The Alexandria Gazette of May 23 carried an appeal for ladies to help make uniforms for the new company.
It was also on May 23, 1861 that the polls opened in Alexandria for the purpose of voting on ratification of the ordinance of secession. Only 106 voted in opposition, while 983 ratified the ordinance. The battalion went on active duty soon after the Ordinance of Secession was passed on May 23.
By 2 a.m. on the 24th, Union troops had crossed the Potomac River bridges into Virginia. Steamers carrying the 11th New York Fire Zouaves under Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth arrived at the foot of King Street. As the Zouaves landed, pickets fired shots warning of the enemy's approach and began falling back toward the city. At about 3 a.m., Captain Simpson rushed to his Warren Rifles: "Wake up, boys! They are coming! By George, they are across the bridge!"
Lieutenant Reigart B. Lowry, U. S. Navy, left the Pawnee about 4:30 a.m. to meet with Colonel Terrett and demand the surrender of Alexandria. The surrender was refused and Terrett announced he would evacuate the city. He ordered the battalion to assemble at Lyceum Hall and await further orders. Learning of the enemy approach by Washington Street, the battalion was ordered to depart by way of Duke Street at about 6:50 a.m. The Old Dominion Rifles were almost captured at Peyton's Grove when they were late getting the order. Captain Herbert managed to get his riflemen up to the retreating column as it moved westward on Duke Street and avoided their capture. As they evacuated the city, they were told that James Jackson had killed Col. Ellsworth and was, himself, killed instantly by Cpl. Francis Brownell while attempting to retrieve the Confederate flag Ellsworth had removed from the roof of the Marshall House.
On May 24, 1861, the effective date of Virginia's secession, Union troops moved into northern Virginia. An invading force of more than 2,000 members of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves and the 1st Michigan Volunteers occupied Alexandria.
Although it had grown to an 800-troop garrison, the battalion was unable to defend the city. Its units marched three miles out of Alexandria and, from there, many troops traveled by train to Manassas Junction, where they joined other Confederate forces. These men formed the nucleus of what became the 17th Virginia Infantry of the Confederate States Army on June 10.
Of the men who formed the 17th Virginia in June 1861, most of those who were destined to live through the ordeal would not return to Alexandria until the Civil War ended in 1865. With the exception of Gettysburg, the 17th Virginia participated in most of the major actions involving the Army of Northern Virginia, from First Manassas to Appomattox Courthouse.
After Gettysburg, on July 19th, Merritt, in the meantime, had also encountered enemy forces at Manassas Gap. The 1st U.S. had been sent into the Shenandoah Valley in an attempt to enter the town of Front Royal. Reinforced by the 2nd and 5th U.S., the Regulars engaged in a sharp skirmish with the enemy infantry in the western approach to Manassas Gap. The Regulars captured five officers and twenty- one enlisted men of the 17th Virginia Infantry and obtained intelligence that Longstreet's corps was deployed and camped between Manassas Gap and Chester Gap.
Stable and steady leadership was important to the success of the 17th Virginia. Over the four years of the War Between the States, the regiment had only two commanding officers: Corse, who was commissioned a Colonel at the war's outbreak, and Lieutenant Colonel William P. Munford. In November ???? Col. Corse was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.
Like many Civil War units, the 17th Virginia Regiment frequently was known by alternative designation derived from the name of the Commanding Officer. The Regiment was also known as:
Corse's Infantry (Montgomery D. Corse, Col. of the Regiment)
Marye's Infantry (Morton Marye??)
Taylor's Infantry (Grayson Taylor. ??)
Muford's Infantry (William Muford, ??)
Brent's Infantry (George W. Brent, ??)
Simpson's Infantry (Robert H. Simpson, ??)
Herbert's Infantry (Arthur Herbert, ??)
Lebew's Infantry (Francis W. Lebew, ??)
Hooe's Infantry (Phillip B. Hooe, ??)
Knox's Infantry (Robert F. Knox, ??)
They reported to brigade commanders with vast experience and storied careers: Generals James Longstreet, Charles Clark, Richard Ewell, James Kemper, and A. P. Hill. The following is a summary of the unit's assignments.
Date Command (Commanders)
July 21, 1861 Third Brigade, First Corps, Army of the Potomac
July 25, 1861 Fourth Brigade, First Corps, Army of the Potomac
January 14, 1862 Ewell's Brigade, Third Division, Potomac District, Department of Northern Virginia
April 30, 1862 AP Hill's Brigade, Center Position, Army of Northern Virginia (ANV)
May 21, 1862 AP Hill's Brigade, Second Division, ANV
July 23, 1862 First Brigade, Longstreets's Division, Longstreet's Command, ANV
September 20, 1862 Kemper's Brigade, DR Jones Division, Longstreet's Corps, ANV
November 26, 1862 Corse's Brigade, Pickett's Division, Longstreet's Corps, ANV
October 1, 1863 Unattached, Department of North Carolina
February 29, 1864 Corse's Brigade, Department of North Carolina
May 5, 1864 Corse's Brigade, Hoke's Division, Department of North and South Carolina
August 31, 1864 Corse's Brigade, Pickett's Division, First Corps, ANV
With the passage of time, the 17th Virginia developed a reputation for being one of the better units in the Confederate Army. General Robert E. Lee described the regiment as "a splendid body of men," while General George Pickett, its division commander, remarked, "It is the only regiment in my command that never fails me." It was said that the men of the 17th Virginia could do more hard fighting and be in better plight afterward than any other troops. And hard fighting they did.
The 17th saw service in Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Engagements of the 17th Virginia Infantry, 1861-65
Action Location Date(s)
Skirmish Fairfax Courthouse, Va. (Co. K only) 
June 1, 1861
June 1, 1861Skirmish Blackburn's Ford, Mclean's Ford, Mitchell's Ford July 18, 1861
Battle First Manassas (Bull Run), Va. July 18-21, 1861
July 18-21, 1861Skirmish Munson's Hill, Va August 31, 1861
August 31, 1861Battle Williamsburg, Va. May 5, 1862
May 5, 1862Battle Seven Pines, Va. May 31, 1862
May 31, 1862Battle Mechanisville, Beaver Dam Creek June 26, 1862
June 26, 1862Battle Gaines' Mill, Va. June 26, 1862
June 26, 1862Battle Frayser's Farm, Va. June 27, 1862
June 27, 1862Battle Second Manassas (Bull Run), Va. August 30, 1862
August 30, 1862Battle South Mountain September 14, 1862
September 14, 1862Battle Sharpsburg (Antietam), Md. September 16-17, 1862
September 16-17, 1862Operation Loudon, Faquier, Rappahoannock Counties October 26-Nov 10, 1862
October 26-Nov 10, 1862Battle Fredericksburg, Va. December 12-15, 1862
December 12-15, 1862Siege Suffolk, Va. April 15-May 3, 1863
April 15-May 3, 1863Skirmish Ashby's Gap, Va June 20, 1863
June 20, 1863Skirmish Berry's Ford, Va. July 20, 1863
July 20, 1863Skirmish Manassas Gap, Va. July 20, 1863
July 20, 1863Skirmish Zollicoffer, Tn. Sept. 20 & 24, 1863
Sept. 20 & 24, 1863Raid Suffolk, Va. November 11, 1863
November 11, 1863Expedition New Bern, NC Jan. 28- Feb 10, 1864
Jan. 28- Feb 10, 1864Operation Sperryville, NC March 17-18, 1864
March 17-18, 1864Operation Plymouth April 17-20, 1864
April 17-20, 1864Operation South of the James River May 4-28, 1864
May 4-28, 1864Engagement Swift Creek, Va May 9, 1864
May 9, 1864Skirmish Flat Creek Bridge, Va. May 15, 1864
May 15, 1864Battle Drewry's Bluff, Va. May 16, 1864
May 16, 1864Operation Bermuda Hundred, Va May 17-30, 1864
May 17-30, 1864Battle Cold Harbor, Va. June 1-12, 1864
June 1-12, 1864Assault Petersburg, Va June 16, 1864
June 16, 1864Defense Petersburg, Va. June 17, 64-Mar. 28, '65
June 17, 64-Mar. 28, '65Assault Petersburg, Va. June 18, 1864
June 18, 1864Skirmish Hare's Hill, Va June 24, 1864
June 24, 1864Skirmish Hare's Hill, Va June 28, 1864
June 28, 1864Operation North Side of the James River August 13-20, 1864
August 13-20, 1864Engagement Boydton Plank Rd (Hatcher's Run), Va. October 27-28, 1864
October 27-28, 1864Skirmish Dinwiddie Courthouse, Va. March 30-31, 1865
March 30-31, 1865Skirmish Hatcher's Run, Va. March 31, 1865
March 31, 1865Battle Five Forks, Va. April 1, 1865
April 1, 1865Battle Sayler's Creek, Va. April 6, 1865
April 6, 1865Surrender Appomattox Courthouse, Va. April 9, 1865
April 9, 1865 The 17th Virginia Infantry Regiment suffered 1,261 casualties (including killed, wounded, taken prisoner, and died of disease) over the four years of the War Between the States.
An examination of the paroles granted at Appomattox Courthouse shows that fewer than fifty officers and enlisted men of the 17th Infantry surrendered here. The following list shows the number surrendered:
Staff 1 Surgeon, 1 Chaplain, 1 Quartermaster Sergeant, 1 Commissary Sergeatn
Company A 1 Sergeant, 7 Privates
Company B 8 Privates
Company C 1 Sergeant, 2 Privates
Company D 4 Privates
Company E None
Company F None
Company G 12 Privates
Company H 5 Privates
Company I 2 Privates
Company K 1 Sergeant, 1 Private
Among the members of Company G who gave their lives in defense of the Southern Confederacy were these Irish sons of Alexandria, whose names are inscribed on that city's Confederate Statue: Lt. W.E. Gray, Lt. Saml. B. Paul, Lt. Jno. F. Addison, Sgt. Jas. W. Ivor, Cpl. P. Doyle, D. Dohoney, P. Harrington, Jno. Horrigan, Jas. Keating, Jno. Murphy and Wm. Purcell.
Regimental records and an examination of the paroles at Appomattox Courthouse indicate that eleven members of the Emmett Guard -- the largest number remaining from any company in the 17th Virginia -- were present when Lee's Army of Northern Virginia laid down its arms.
Four times wounded in battle, Corse survived the Civil War. He served with the 17th Virginia through most of its major battles. On April 6, 1865, at the Battle of Sayler's Creek, then Brigadier General Corse was captured by Union forces. He was held as a prisoner-of-war at Fort Warren, Boston, until taking the Oath of Allegiance to the United States following Lee's surrender to Grant. Corse was far from the only high-ranking Confederate to be held at Fort Warren. Among his contemporaries in captivity were General Ewell and Vice President Alexander Stephens.
