Alan J. Pitts
Re: 17th Inf. Co. A-Noah Branch
Tue Apr 17 10:57:59 2001


There are only two rolls for his company, covering the last four months of 1862. These show Noah Branch as enlisted on Sept. 15, 1862, and present for duty through the end of the year. Since there isn't anything else on roll, you might be out of luck as far as confirming death in action. If a widow didn't remarry and filed a pension application, you might learn something there. Otherwise, unless something really unusual about his company appears, you'll probably have to rely on family records and stories.

The 17th Alabama was a garrison regiment assigned to Mobile during most of the war. It was ordered to north Georgia in the spring of 1864 and served in the Army of Tennessee during the Atlanta and Nashville campaigns that year. The only battle in 1865 would be Bentonville NC, a few weeks before the surrender.

A couple of new books about Bentonville are available: you need to know that the 17th Alabama served in Shelley's Brigade, Walthall's Division. You might also check Zorn's book, "Hold At All Hazards", a history of the 29th Alabama, which also served in the same brigade. It would give you a good idea of what happened to these men.