During the Battle of Fredericksburg, the 17th U.S. Infantry suffered heavy losses in the assault on Robert E. Lee's Confederates entrenched behind a stone wall.

"For one entire day, (December 14) the men of the 17th lay flat on their faces eighty yards in front of the famous stone wall, behind which the enemy was posted in large numbers and any movement on their part was sure to draw the fire of rebel sharpshooters."

On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the 17th U.S. Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel James Durrell Greene, fought in tough hand-to-hand combat in the "Wheatfield."

The battalion took over the Arghandab and Lower Shah Wali Kot districts from Canadian troops which had strong working relationships with US Navy Construction Battalion ("SeaBee") and private security forces at Forward Operating Base Frontenac, but arrived without maps and dismissed advice from the outgoing Canadians because they felt Canada was "just another country that wasn't fighting."

Their disregard for coordination led to multiple IED strikes and vehicle rollovers in areas the battalion was warned about, resulting in 22 killed and many injured.

At Fredericksburg the 17th suffered heavy losses in the assault on the famous stone wall, "For one entire day, (December 14) the men of the 17th lay flat on their faces eighty yards in front of the famous stone wall, behind which the enemy was posted in large numbers and any movement on their part was sure to draw the fire of rebel sharpshooters.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.