Riflemen Without Rifles:
The Life and Death of the
Thirty Seventh Tennessee Infantry Regiment

The Civil War is full of many bizarre and interesting stories. Among the many stories that have filled history books there is an ommission of one of the most unlucky regiments in the Confederate army. The Thirty-Seventh Tennessee began with the intention of being a rifle regiment yet it was nearly disbanded for want of any arms let alone rifles. While the regiment had one of the most perplexing histories it performed brilliantly in some of the heaviest battles of the war. In the end the perplexing story of the Thirty Seventh Tennessee is best told by the men who bled the ground red and those who were haunted by the memories for the rest of their days.

This is the story of the rise and fall of a Western Confederate Infantry Regiment. These men were not the typical soldiers, entire companies were drawn from three states. When information exists we will follow the men from the beginning of the war at their homes to the bitter end, whatever that was for each person. While some met their end at the point of a musket, some fought it out to the bitter end, others died in nameless places or died in the prisons of their boyhood nation. Many others chose the time and place for their end in the regiment.

I hope that you enjoy this history of a hodgepodge regiment and if you can expand its history please let me know.