SEVENTEENTH TEXAS INFANTRY Through the efforts of R.T.P. Allen the Seventeenth Texas Infantry was organized during the summer of 1862. Col. Allen had, along with his son, Robert D. Allen, established the Bastrop Military Academy at Bastrop, Texas, in the mid-1850's. Most of the men who served in the regiment were recruited in and around Bastrop and many of them had attended Allen's Academy. Andrew Jackson enlisted in this company on April 16, 1862. Shortly after being mustered into Confederate service, the unit was ordered to report for duty in Arkansas. On Aug. 8, 1862, It was reported en route to Little Rock, Ark. The Seventeenth Texas Infantry spent its entire career in the Trans-Mississippi Department. Listed below are the specific higher command assignments of the unit. The dates shown are not necessarily the dates on which the regiment was assigned to the command listed; rather, they frequently refer to the earliest date thus far found in which the unit served in the capacity shown.
Similar to almost all civil War units, the Seventeenth Texas Infantry was frequently known by an alternate designation derived from the name of the unit's commanding officer or from the name of an officer commanding a detachment of the unit at some specific time or place. Alternate, unofficial designations of this type Identified as having been used by or for the Seventeenth Texas Infantry appear below: Robert T. P. Allen's Infantry The Seventeenth Texas infantry participated in a number of engagements during its career. It served with particular distinction during the Red River Campaign in the spring of 1864. The list below identifies those skirmishes, engagements, battles, etc. in which the unit took part.
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| The Seventeenth Texas Infantry was not
stationed at Galveston when the forces in the Trans-Mississippi Department were
surrendered. Most of the Infantry units in that Department had been concentrated around
Shreveport, La. during the last weeks of the War and the regiment was near that city when
it was included in the surrender of the last major Confederate forces to lay down their
arms. No records have been found to indicate exactly how many members of the unit were still with it when it was surrendered. Almost all Trans-Mississippi units experienced extremely heavy rates of desertion when news of the surrender of Confederate eastern forces reached the area. There is no reason to believe that the Seventeenth Texas infantry was any different than the other forces in the area. Consequently, It is doubtful if the regiment numbered more than two hundred officers and men when finally surrendered. (From: Institute for Civil War Research, Middle Village, New York). From records at the National Archives, we are able to get a glimpse of Andrew Jackson's participation with his military unit. Company muster rolls were taken periodically (mostly for purposes of pay). On these records Andrew Jackson's status was as follows: |
| April-June 1862 | Present, but permitted 15 days furlough for the purpose of saving his wheat crop. |
| Sept - Oct 1862 | Present |
| Nov – Dec. 1862 | Absent sick |
| Jan – Feb. 1863 | Present |
| July - Aug 1863 | Absent sick |
| Jan - Feb 1864 | Absent without leave since November 3, 1863. Informal certificate received to December 28, 1863. |
| April 1865 | Without leave retirement expired February 19, 1865. |
From the book "The Texas Turnbo's"
By: Charles A. Turnbo
Page 27