Initial Deployment and Service
The 17th Georgia was sent to northern Virginia via railroad through Tennessee and Lynchburg. It was brigaded with the 1st, 2nd, 15th, and 20th Georgia regiments. The 1st Georgia transferred out in October 1861 when the army was being restructured. The 17th Georgia eventually became part of Toombs' brigade, D.R. Jones' Division, Army of the Potomac. It saw its first combat in May 1862 on the Peninsula, serving in the wing of Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder as he opposed the Federal Army's advance under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan. After periods of intense rain and small insignificant actions, the 17th Georgia fell back towards Richmond and did not participate in the counterattack led by General Joseph E. Johnston at the Battle of Seven Pines. After this battle, General Robert E. Lee took command of the army and renamed it the Army of Northern Virginia.
However, the regiment did not rest for long. On June 27, 1862, the 17th Georgia, along with the rest of Toombs' Brigade, engaged Federal forces at the Battle of Garnett's Farm. The 17th secured the left flank of the brigade, while the 2nd and 15th Georgia heavily engaged the enemy and lost many killed and wounded. The following day, after a grueling twenty-mile (32 km) march in the hot sun, the regiment finally stopped to rest. On July 1, the 17th Georgia participated in the final day of the Seven Days Campaign fighting at the Battle of Malvern Hill. The brigade lost almost 300 men killed and wounded during the Seven Days, including two regimental commanders and two adjutants.
In mid-July, the regiment left its positions on the Peninsula and moved back towards Richmond. It was then that the Army of Northern Virginia was reorganized into two Army Corps—the First, led by Lt. General James Longstreet, and the Second, commanded by Lt. General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The 17th Georgia was placed with Toombs' Brigade, in Jones' Division of the First Corps. The regiment moved north and fought at the Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run), where it suffered heavily. On August 30, 1862, the 17th Georgia and the rest of Toombs' Brigade engaged the Federal Army of Virginia under the command of Maj. Gen. John Pope at Second Manassas. The regiment entered the battle with 200 men and left the field with only 99. The brigade had lost a total of 37 killed and 294 wounded.
The Army of Northern Virginia then moved north and crossed the Potomac River for its first invasion of the North. The Maryland Campaign culminated in the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam) on September 17, 1862. Toombs' Brigade performed well, defending the right flank of Lee's army and preventing the IX Corps of Ambrose Burnside from readily crossing Antietam Creek. For most of the battle, the 17th Georgia guarded the First Corps' supply train, but did participate in the last fight of the day by assisting the "Light Division" of Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill. In all, Toombs' Brigade suffered 160 casualties, but inflicted more than 2,300 on the enemy (a 34:1 ratio).
The 17th Georgia moved south out of Maryland with the army and took up positions on the south side of the Rappahannock River in Virginia. It was at this point that Colonel Benning was given command of the brigade, and Col. Wesley Hodges assumed command of the regiment. During the Battle of Fredericksburg, the brigade was not heavily engaged and suffered only two wounded and two killed.
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