17th Indiana Infantry Regiment

The 17th Indiana Infantry Regiment, also known as 17th Indiana Mounted Infantry Regiment, was an infantry and mounted infantry regiment that served in the Union Army from 1863-1865 during the American Civil War. It served in West Virginia before being transferred to the Western Theater.

17th Indiana Infantry Regiment 17th Indiana Mounted Infantry Regiment
Active	June 12, 1861 – August 1865
Country	United States of America
Allegiance	Union Army
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry Mounted Infantry
Engagements	American Civil War
Commanders
Colonel of the Regiment	Milo S. Hascall John T. Wilder Jacob G. Vail

Initial infantry service

The 17th Indiana was organized at Indianapolis, Indiana, and mustered on June 12, 1861. It left the state for Parkersburg, West Virginia, on July 1, 1861, and was subsequently attached to the District of the Kanawha until September, 1861. Cheat Mountain District, W. Va., to November, 1861. Governor Oliver P. Morton appointed John T. Wilder as the lieutenant colonel of the 17th Indiana Infantry Regiment three months after the regiment was organized. On March 2, 1862, Wilder became the regiment's colonel, replacing Milo Hascall, who became a general.

Conversion to mounted infantry

In December 1862, the regiments colonel, John T. Wilder was promoted to command of the 2nd Brigade, 5th Division, Center, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland. After fruitless attempts to chase down rebel cavalry raiders on foot, the brigade was converted to mounted infantry. At the same time, Wilder proposed to the regiments in the brigade the private purchase of repeating rifles. The regiment voted to go ahead with the conversion to mounted infantry and the purchase of the rifles. Along with the other regiments in the brigade, the 17th chose Spencer repeating rifles, invented by Christopher Spencer, as their weapon.[1]

As part of the "Wilder Lightning Brigade" the 17th was among the first units fighting in the Civil War to receive the Spencer repeating rifle.

After intense training and development of new tactics, the "Lightning Brigade" was ready for service. The mounted infantry proof of concept for the Army of the Cumberland occurred in their first mounted infantry action at the Battle of Hoover's Gap.[2][3] Despite torrential rains, the 17th and its brigade gained the gap so quickly that they surprised and scattered surprised the Confederate 1st (3rd) Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, under Colonel J. Russell Butler at breakfast in front of the entrance of the gap.[4] The 17th drove the enemy before it along the seven mile length of the gap until they were halted by four brigades of infantry and four batteries of guns at the southeastern exit. The massive superiority of firepower the 17th and its brethren had with the Spencers allowed them to entrench and hold the southern entrance against numerous assaults by numerically superior rebel infantry and artillery through the rainy day until the sodden remainder of the XIV Corps slogged to join them at their position.

With the Lightning Brigade, the 17th found itself detached from the XIV Corps to serve as a mobile reserve for all three of the Corps within the Cumberland. After playing a key role in the feint that forced Bragg from Chattanooga, the regiment raided, skirmished, and scouted through the summer into the Chickamauga Campaign. The brigade distinguished itself with its performance at Chickamauga. During the battle, it maintained integrity and discipline exacting high casualties on its attackers. After the battle, it retreated with the army to Chattanooga where it was besieged.

The performance of the brigade had demonstrated the value of mounted infantry, and Wilder and the regiments were commended. During the reorganization after Grant took command in the city, the brigade was broken up and the regiments were transferred to the Cavalry Corps. The 17th and the 98th Illinois Mounted Infantry were assigned to 2nd Brigade under Colonel Eli Long of the 2nd Division of the Cavalry Corps under Major General George Crook.

On 1 October, the 17th joined the rest of the Cavalry Corps operating against Wheeler's rebel cavalry, then in the Sequatchie Valley. On 3 October in a night attack at Thompson's Cove, the regiment routed the 2nd Brigade of Kelly's Division, capturing a number of arms and the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry's colors The next day it drove more elements of Wheeler's horsemen out of McMinnville. Regaining contact with the enemy on 7 October beyond Shelbyville, the 17th drove the enemy from the field and into Parmington. When the rebels attempted to make a stand, the regiment charged and took three of Wheeler's guns, a great number of small arms, and 300 prisoners. The regiment regrouped with the 998th Illinois in Huntsville, AL until 13 October, when it started in pursuit of enemy cavalry again.

Service history

Its assignments are as follows:

• 15th Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to January, 1862.
• 15th Brigade, 4th Division, Army of the Ohio, January, 1862.
• 15th Brigade, 6th Division, Army of the Ohio, to September, 1862.
• 15th Brigade, 6th Division, 2nd Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862.
• 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Left Wing 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to December, 1862.
• 2nd Brigade, 5th Division (Center), 14th Army Corps, to January, 1863.
• 2nd Brigade, 5th Division, 14th Army Corps, to June, 1863.
• 1st Brigade, 4th Division, 14th Army Corps, to October, 1863.
• Wilder's Mounted Brigade, Army of the Cumberland, to November, 1863.
• 2nd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland, November, 1863.
• 3rd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland, to October, 1864.
• 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Wilson's Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to August, 1865.[5]

Notable members

• Mordecai Davidson (1845–1940), professional baseball owner and manager
• John Davis (1838–1901), Medal of Honor recipient
• Milo Smith Hascall (1829–1904), Brigadier General
• Jacob G. Vail (1827–1884), brevet Brigadier General
• John T. Wilder (1830–1917), brevet Brigadier General

Notes

1. A Spencer carbine at the Smithsonian Institution
2. Lightning at Hoover's Gap: the Story of Wilder's Brigade, Glenn W. Sunderland, Thomas Yoseloff
3. http://howcanamandiebetter.com/the-lightning-brigade
4. National Park Service battle description Archived March 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
5. Civil War Archive

Bibliography

• Baumgartner, Richard A. (2007). Blue Lightning: Wilder's Mounted Brigade in the Battle of Chickamauga. Huntington, W.V.: Blue Acorn Press. ISBN 978-1-885033-35-2.
• Connolly, James A. (1959). Paul M. Angle (ed.). Three Years in the Army of the Cumberland: The Letters and Diary of Major James A. Connolly. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780527190002. OCLC 906602437.
• Connolly, James A. Primary Sources: The Road to Chickamauga. Washington, D.C.: American Battlefield Trust.
• Connelly, Thomas L (1971). Autumn of Glory: The Army of Tennessee 1862–1865. Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-2738-8. OCLC 1147753151.
• Cozzens, Peter (1992). This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga. Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252065941. OCLC 53818141.
• Daniel, Larry J.; Lamers, William M. (1961). The Edge of Glory: A Biography of General William S. Rosecrans, U.S.A. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World. ISBN 9780807123966. OCLC 906813341.
• Duke, Basil W. (1906). Morgan's Cavalry. New York: Neale Pub. Co. OCLC 35812648. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Dyer, Frederick H. (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, Iowa: Dyer Pub. Co. ASIN B01BUFJ76Q. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Eicher, David J.; McPherson, James Alan (2001). The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780743218467. OCLC 892938160.
• Esposito, Vincent J. (1959). West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger. OCLC 5890637. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012.
• Frisby, Derek W. (2000). Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T. (ed.). Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History - Tullahoma Campaign. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393047585. OCLC 317783094.
• Hallock, Judith Lee (1991). Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat, Volume II. Tuscaloosa, Al.: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 9780585138978. OCLC 1013879782.
• Kennedy, Frances H. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 9780395740125. OCLC 60231712.
• Korn, Jerry (1985). The Fight for Chattanooga: Chickamauga to Missionary Ridge. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books. ISBN 9780809448166. OCLC 34581283.
• McWhiney, Grady. (1991). Braxton Bragg and Confederate Defeat, Volume I. Tuscaloosa, Al.: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 9780817391850. OCLC 1013878393.
• Martin, Samuel J. (2011). General Braxton Bragg, C.S.A. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN 9780786459346. OCLC 617425048.
• Robertson, William Glenn (2010). Woodworth, Stephen W. (ed.). The Chickamauga Campaign - Bull of the woods? James Longstreet at Chickamauga. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 9780809385560. OCLC 649913237.
• Robertson, William Glenn (Spring 2007). The Chickamauga Campaign: The Fall of Chattanooga. Columbus, Ohio: Blue & Gray Magazine. OCLC 682510222.
• Robertson, William Glenn (Fall 2007). The Chickamauga Campaign: McLemore's Cove. Columbus, Ohio: Blue & Gray Magazine. OCLC 682510222.
• Robertson, William Glenn (Spring 2008). The Chickamauga Campaign: The Armies Collide. Columbus, Ohio: Blue & Gray Magazine. OCLC 682510222.
• Robertson, William Glenn (Spring 2008). The Chickamauga Campaign: The Battle of Chickamauga, Day 1. Columbus, Ohio: Blue & Gray Magazine. OCLC 682510222.
• Robertson, William Glenn (Summer 2008). The Chickamauga Campaign: The Battle of Chickamauga, Day 2. Columbus, Ohio: Blue & Gray Magazine. OCLC 682510222.
• Smith, Derek (2005). The Gallant Dead : Union and Confederate Generals Killed in the Civil War. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780811748728. OCLC 1022792759.
• Starr, Stephen Z. (1985). The Union cavalry in the Civil War / Vol. 3 The war in the west, 1861-1865. Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 9780807112090. OCLC 769318010.
• Sunderland, Glenn W. (1969). Lightning at Hoover's Gap: the Story of Wilder's Brigade. London: Thomas Yoseloff. ISBN 0498067955. OCLC 894765669.
• Sunderland, Glenn W. (1984). Wilder's Lightning Brigade and Its Spencer Repeaters. Washington, Ill.: Bookworks. ISBN 9996886417. OCLC 12549273.
• Thomas, Edison H. (1985). John Hunt Morgan and His Raiders. Lexington, Ky.: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9781306184373. OCLC 865156740.
• Tucker, Glenn (1961). Chickamauga: Bloody Battle in the West. Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill Co. ISBN 9781786251152. OCLC 933587418.
• Woodworth, Steven E. (1998). Six Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803298132. OCLC 50844494.
• U.S. National Park Service (2007). NPS Hoover's Gap Battle Description. Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Park Service. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013.
• U.S. National Park Service (2007). Chickamauga Battle Description. Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Park Service. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013.
• United States. War Department. (1880–1901). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

See also

• List of Indiana Civil War regiments
• Indiana in the Civil War
• Souvenirs, 17th Indiana Regiment: a history from its organization to the end of the war (1913) at the Internet Archive