53rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry

Brief History
The 53rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry was organized at Fort Donelson, Tennessee, during January, 1862. Many were lost in the Atlanta Campaign and at Franklin and Nashville, and few surrendered on April 26, 1865.

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.


 * Company A - Men from Giles County.
 * Company B - Men from Marshall County.
 * Company C - Men from Giles County.
 * Company D - Men from Marshall and Giles Counties.
 * Company E - Men from Marshall and Giles Counties.
 * Company F - Some men from Perry County.
 * Company G - Men from Giles County.
 * Company H -
 * Company I - Men from Giles County.
 * Company K - Men from Giles County.
 * Fifty-third Tennessee Regiment
 * Company B (Captain W. B. Holden. later W. F. Collins) - many men from Marshall County
 * Company E (Captain I. H. Hill, later S. C. Orr) - many men from Marshall County Company D (Captain W. H. Wilkes) - many men from Marshall County    The information above is from Goodspeed's History of Tennessee, Vol 8.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 1,286 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier or sailor. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in 'Tennessee in the Civil War' and 'United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865' (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * Tennessee in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Tennessee, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * Lindsley, John B. The Military Annals of Tennessee: Confederate, First Series; Embracing a Review of Military Operations, with Regimental Histories and Memorial Rolls, Compiled from Original and Official Sources. 1886. Reprint. Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint Co., 1974. (FS Library book 976.8 M2L.) Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive.  Memorial rolls of the 53rd Tennessee Infantry begin on page 569.


 * Tennesseans in the Civil War, 53rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment, (accessed 22 Oct 2011).


 * 53rd Infantry, Giles County, (accessed 22 Oct 2011).


 * The Fifty-third Tennessee (Confederate) Regiment, a brief history, (accessed 29 Dec 2011).


 * Giles County, Infantry, (accessed 30 Dec 2011). A brief history.