The regiment was organized on May 9, 1861, and mustered into Confederateservice on August 1st. George E. Maney, who commanded the Rock City Guards (which later became companies A, B and C),[1] was elected colonel for the first 90 days.[2] Early in the war the men of the three companies called themselves the "Orphan Boys."[3] After that, command passed to Hume R. Field.[4] Private Sam Davis joined the First Tennessee as a scout, but was later executed by Union forces as a spy despite wearing a Confederate uniform when captured.[5]
^Tennesseans in the Civil War: A Military History of Confederate and Union Units with Available Rosters of Personnel, Part I. Civil War Centennial Commission. 1964.