10th Virginia Cavalry Regiment explained

Unit Name:10th Virginia Cavalry Regiment
Dates:May 1862 – April 1865
Branch: Confederate States Army
Type:Cavalry
Size:Regiment
Battles:American Civil War
Disbanded:April 1865
Notable Commanders:Col. Robert A. Caskie
Col. William B. Clement
Col. J. Lucius Davis

The 10th Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.

Organization

Virginia's 10th Cavalry Regiment, formerly called 1st Cavalry Regiment, Wise Legion and 8th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, was organized in May 1862. Many of the men were from Richmond, Albemarle, Rockingham, Kanawha, Jackson and Henrico counties of Virginia.[1]

Service

The 10th Virginia Cavalry served in Hampton's, W.H.F. Lee's, Chambliss' and Beale's brigades in the Army of Northern Virginia.[2] After fighting in the Seven Days Battles, it saw action at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Brandy Station, Upperville, Gettysburg, Bristoe, and Mine Run. It was involved in the Wilderness Campaign, the defense of Richmond and Petersburg, and the Appomattox Courthouse operations.[3] [4] [5]

The regiment fought at Gettysburg at 236 soldiers strength.[6] [7]

Officers

Its commanders were Colonels Robert A. Caskie, William B. Clement, and J. Lucius Davis; and Lieutenant Colonel Zachariah S. McGruder.

Captain William Hartman Kable of the 10th Virginia was also the founder of the Kable School, later Staunton Military Academy, many of the facilities of which are now in use by Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia.

Surrender

The 10th Virginia Cavalry surrendered at Appomattox with 3 officers and 19 men; all others escaped hiding the regimental colors with the help of a local woman.[8]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Hudnall, William Roosevelt. Three Confederate Soldiers from Kanawha County, West Virginia: The Hudnalls, Why and How They Served and the Men Who Led Them. New Canton, Va: Kellys Creek Publishers, 2001.
  2. McClellan, Henry Brainerd. The life and campaigns of Major-General J. E. B. Stuart: Commander of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia. Richmond, Va.: J. W. Randolph and English, 1885, p. 187.
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=xhVCAAAAIAAJ&dq=The%2010th%20Virginia%20Cavalry&pg=RA1-PA398 Reports of the Operations of the Army of Northern Virginia, Volume 1. By Confederate States of America
  4. Driver, Robert J. 10th Virginia Cavalry. Virginia regimental histories series. Lynchburg, Va: H. E. Howard, 1992.
  5. https://books.google.com/books?id=prxZAAAAYAAJ&dq=The%2010th%20Virginia%20Cavalry&pg=PA475 The War of the Rebellion: Formal reports, by War Department
  6. https://books.google.com/books?id=vgYtAAAAYAAJ&dq=The%2010th%20Virginia%20Cavalry&pg=PA348 Journal of the United States Cavalry Association
  7. https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CVA0010RC 10th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (1st Cavalry Regiment, Wise Legion)
  8. Coski, John M. The Confederate Battle Flag: America’s Most Embattled Emblem. Harvard University Press, 2006, p. 41.