14th Tennessee Infantry The 14th Tennessee Regiment was organized at Camp Duncan , Clarksville in May 1861 by Col . W . A . Forbes , Below is a more complete and accurate narrative concerning the 14th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry regiment . Nearly 1 , 000 officers and men served in the 14th Tennessee , during the War Between the States . Yet , only a scant 40 remained alive with the regiment at Appomattox , when Lee surrendered . Hard fighting in more than two dozen battles and engagements left the unit ' s ranks decimated , tattered and worn . At Gettysburg alone , the regiment lost 58 percent of the men who entered the battle . Originally organized in May 1861 , at Clarksville , Tennessee , the 14th almost immediately received orders transferring it to the Virginia theatre . Here the regiment remained for the duration of the war and served with distinction in the Army of Northern Virginia , until its final capitulation . During this time , the 14th Tennessee fought in virtually every major battle or campaign conducted by Robert E . Lee . The 14th served as part of James J . Archer ' s famed " Tennessee " brigade assigned to A . P . Hill ' s Light Division . Hill ' s men earned a hard won reputation for making critical counterattacks preserving Confederate victories at Cedar Mountain , Second Manassas and Sharpsburg . The 14th fought in the van of each of Hill ' s desperate onslaughts . At Chancellorsville , Archer ' s Brigade seized the critical high ground of Hazel Grove , forcing the Union right wing to fold back upon its center and allowing Lee to reunite his divided forces in the face of a numerically superior enemy . Gettysburg nearly destroyed both the 14th Tennessee and Archer ' s brigade . On the first day of battle , along Willoughby Run , the famous Union Iron Brigade turned Archer ' s unsupported flank . His command retreated in wild confusion . The 14th had just devastated the 2nd Wisconsin with withering volley fire at close range when it discovered itself alone and exposed on the right and rear . Using the protection of Herbst Woods , the 14th retired in good order . After a day ' s rest , Lee assigned the remnants of the " Tennessee Brigade " to a special task force under Pettigrew to join Pickett ' s all " Virginia " division in an attack upon the Union center . What remained of Archer ' s brigade now formed the hinge joining Pettigrew ' s and Pickett ' s men . Together , they formed a battle array of more than 10 , 000 troops , stretching almost a mile wide . The men from Tennessee aligned on Pickett ' s left and went in at The Angle alongside the shattered Virginians . Long before any one reached the wall , Union fire slaughtered men in droves . An eyewitness , reporting on Archer ' s men , wrote : " Every flag in the brigade excepting one was captured at or within the works of the enemy . The 1st Tennessee had 3 color - bearers shot down , the last of whom was at the works , and the flag captured . The 13th Alabama lost 3 in the same way , the last of whom was shot down at the works . The 14th Tennessee had 4 shot down , the last of whom was at the enemy ' s works . The 7th Tennessee lost 3 color - bearers , the last of whom was at the enemy ' s works , and the flag was only saved by Captain Norris tearing it away from the staff and bringing it out beneath his coat . The 5th Alabama Battalion also lost their flag at the enemy s works . " The colors of the 14th Tennessee were among the first to pierce the Union line and it lost heavily in captured men . At the time , the banner of the 14th bore battle honors for the fighting at Seven Pines , Mechanicsville , Cold Harbor , Shepherdstown , Fredericksburg , Chancellorsville , Ox Hill , Harper ' s Ferry , Sharpsburg , Frazier ' s Farm , Cedar Run and Manassas . Barely 100 men reformed the regiment on the following day . Despite its losses , the 14th Tennessee and the rest of Archer ' s once proud brigade continued to serve in Heth ' s division of AP Hill ' s III Corps . They added additional honors to their record for service at Falling Waters , Bristoe Station , Mine Run , The Wilderness , Spotsylvania , Cold Harbor , Petersburg , Globe Tavern , Weldon Railroad , Reames ' Station , Burgess ' Tavern , and Hatcher ' s Run .