23rd Battalion, Tennessee Infantry

Historical Notes:
The Tennessee 23rd Infantry Battalion was organized at camp near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in November, 1862. Its members were raised in Lincoln, Hardin, Bedford, and Franklin counties. The unit contained five companies and served in J.C. Brown's, Brown's and Reynolds' Consolidated, and Palmer's Brigade, Army of Tennessee. In November, 1863, it was consolidated with the 45th Regiment. The battalion fought at Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge, then participated in various conflicts during the Atlanta Campaign. Later it moved back to Tennessee with Hood but was not engaged at Franklin and Nashville. It ended the war in North Carolina. This unit lost twenty-eight percent of the 155 at Chickamauga, and the 45th/23rd Battalion totalled 316 men and 340 arms in December, 1863. It was included in the surrender on April 26, 1865. Officers:
Major:
Tazewell Waller Newman (Taz)

As a part of the 23rd / 45th Consolidated:
Colonels Addison Mitchell and Anderson Searcy; Lieutenant Colonels Alexander Hall and Ephraim F. Lytle; and Majors Samuel A. Carter, James B. Moore, Tazewell W. Newman, and C.H. Wadley.
Colonel Anderson Searcy; Lieutenant Colonel Alex Hall, of the 45th; and Major T. W. Newman of the 23rd Battalion.
Assignments:
Major General J. C. Breckinridge's Division, Brigadier General John C. Brown's Brigade, composed of the 18th, 26th, 32nd, 45th Tennessee Infantry Regiments, and the 23rd Battalion.
Brown's and Reynolds' Consolidated
Palmer's Brigade, Army of Tennessee.
Battles:
Chickamauga
Missionary Ridge
The Atlanta Campaign
The Carolinas’ Campaign
Bentonville
Rosters:
The roster of this unit contains the names of 999 men.

W. P. Simpson, Co. "A". Formerly Co. "E", 9th (5th) Kentucky. Organized March 10, 1862 at Mulberry, Lincoln County, Tennessee.
William T. Powers, Co. "B". Formerly Co. "F", 9th (5th) Kentucky. This company was a consolidation of what was left of Crews' Battalion after the Battle of Shiloh. Muster rolls indicate that it was organized at Savannah, Hardin County, in January, 1862.
Thomas J. Stanfield, Co. "C". Organized October 20, 1862 at Thompson Creek, Bedford County. Mustered in at Winchester, November 13, 1862.
William J. Awalt, Co. "D". Organized November 7, 1862 at Ridgeville, then Franklin, now Moore County. Some of its men were from Bedford County.
James L. Moore, Co. "E". Organized November 8, 1862 at Lynchburg, then Franklin, now Moore County, with men from Franklin and Lincoln Counties.
Bibliography for Research: