| Unit Name: | 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment |
| Dates: | April 5, 1861 - February 1862 |
| Allegiance: | Florida |
| Type: | Army Corps |
| Role: | infantry tactics trench warfare |
| Command Structure: | Army of Tennessee |
| Battles: | American Civil War
|
| Notable Commanders: | Col. William G. M. Davis Lt. Col. George Troup Maxwell Lt. Col. William Tennent Stockton |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Shoulder sleeve insignia |
The 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment was a Confederate army unit during the U.S. Civil War, originally organized in July 1861 at Tallahassee. Members of the regiment came primarily from Alachua, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Leon, Levy, Nassau and Suwannee counties. It left for the western theater in 1862.
The 1st Florida Cavalry was organized in July 1861 just south of Tallahassee.[1] William G. M. Davis, a relatively wealthy lawyer from Leon County, used his own funds to start the regiment and was elected colonel of the unit. Companies that made up the unit were raised from the following counties: Alachua, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Leon, Levy, Nassau, and Suwannee.[2]
After mustering in, the unit served in Florida until the spring of 1862, at which time Companies A, E, and F continued to serve as cavalry while the other seven companies were dismounted.[3]
The unit was engaged at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in 1863. During combat, the unit lost its entire officer cadre to casualties. As a result, the 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment was combined with the 4th Florida Infantry Regiment during the 1863-1864 winter camp in Dalton. The new combined unit remained together until the surrender of the Army of Tennessee in 1865.[4]
| Officers of the 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Rank | Name |
| colspan="2" | ---- |
| Colonel | William G. M. Davis[5] |
| Lt. Colonel | George Troup Maxwell |
| Lt. Colonel | William T. Stockton[6] |
The 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment surrendered in North Carolina in April 1865.