27th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry

Brief History
27th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry also called 25th Regiment, was assembled at Camp Trenton, Tennessee, in September, 1861. At Chickamauga, only a remnant 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.

All of the companies except one changed company letters when the regiment was reorganized in May 1862. The letters used after the reorganization are shown in the list below, with prior letters indicated.


 * Company A - Captain Aaron Lawler - formerly Company E - men from Benton County.
 * Company B - Captains A.M. Johnson, R.P. Johnson - formerly Company K - men from McNairy County.
 * Company C - Captains A.W. Caldwell, Stephen S. Sanford, M.H. Campbell, T.H.C. Perry - formerly Company B - men from Troy, Obion County.
 * Company D - Captains C.H. Williams, William P. Timberlake, John T. Priddy, John C. Lipscomb - "The Felix Rebels" - men from Henderson County.
 * Company E - Captains Isham G. Hearn, Jo I. sharp - formerly Company G - "The Decatur Tigers" - men from Decatur County.
 * Company F - Captains Smauel A. Sayle, John Maynard, Thomas N. Kizer - formerly Company I - men from Henderson County.
 * Company G - Captains John P. Burns, F. J. Wood - formerly Company C - men from Crockett County, (then Haywood).
 * Company H - Captains J.L. G. Matheny, S.M. Crabtree, I.F. Looney, J. NI. Null - formerly Company F - men from Weakley County and Carroll Counties.
 * Company I - Captains Richard Barham, John W. Carroll - formerly Company A - men from Henderson County.
 * Company K - Captains Blackburn H. Brown, John M. Tayler, Neill A. Senter - formerly Company H - "The Henderson County Sharpshooters." Men from Henderson County.

Company B ( Captain A. W. Caldwell) organized at Troy, August 20, 1861. Many men from Obion County.

Captain Samuel Crabtree - many men from Weakley County

Captain John Matheny - many men from Weakley County

The information above is from The Goodspeed History of Tennessee, Vol. 12.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 1,545 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.


 * Carroll, John W. (John William). Autobiography and reminiscences. (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990),


 * 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. A brief history and memorial rolls of the 27th Tennessee Infantry begin on page 415.


 * 27th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, (accessed 26 Sep 2011). Also called 25th Tennessee Infantry Regiment.  Brief history, list of officers.


 * MORTALLY SMITTEN CONFEDERATE INFANTRYMEN OF THE 27th AND 13th INFANTRY REGIMENTS, CIVIL WAR, Jonathan Kennon Thompson Smith, (accessed 26 Sep 2011). The information for these listings was taken by the present writer from the "Compiled Military Service Records, Confederate.


 * 27th Tennessee Infantry History, (accessed 26 Sep 2011). Roster of men from Benton County, Company A, former Company E.


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