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. In regards to the citizenship of the men the regiment would have been more appropriatly called the 37th Confederate. This designation would fit better with the mix of East Tennesseeans, Middle Tennesseans, Georgians and Alabamians. While the regiment had some of the worst commanders 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.