My g-grandfather, M.D.L. Price served in Co. C, 17th Texas Cavalry, and I have done a great deal of research on this regiment. Please understand that there were actually two 17th Texas regiments. The original was recruited by Col. George Moore at Tyler, Texas in Feb 1861, served in Arkansas, where many died of disease. Most of the unit was captured at Arkansas Post in Jan. 1863. (Very few were wounded or killed in this battle) Some 17th troops escaped capture and were reformed into the 17th Texas Consolidated Regiment, which served mostly in Louisiana. The captured men from the 17th were briefly imprisoned at Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois,(where many more died of disease) then were exchanged at City Point, Virginia in May, 1863. They retained the original 17th Texas Cavalry (Dismounted) designation and were assigned to Deshler's/Granbury's Brigade, Army of Tennessee and served with great distinction in that organization for the remainder of the war.

The best individual history of the unit I have found is This Band of Heroes by James M. McCaffrey (Eakin Press, Austin, Texas, 1985)(reprint Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas, 1996) It contains a complete roster of the regiment.(I have a copy) Most of the individual Confederate records in the National Archives are pretty sketchy. If your ancestor's widow filed for a Texas Confederate pension, those records can be very helpful. These pensions did not become available until the 1890's. Indexes are available online. You will need to know the veteran's full name and county where the widow applied from to be sure you get the right one. National Archives also has a list of prisoners who died at Camp Douglas. In the Soldiers and Sailors System archives, the term "Rank/Out" simply means the rank held at the time the individual was dropped from the muster roll, whether because of death or discharge. There are numerous histories about the Army of Tennessee,General Braxton Bragg, General Joseph Johnston, and General Patrick Cleburne, that mention exploits of the famous "Texas Brigade" that the 17th was a part of.

Good luck with your research, and please don't hesitate to contact me if I can help.