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The Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
 was the only organized cavalry
Cavalry

The Cavalry is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat, it represents the mobility and offensive power of the armed forces....
 corps
Corps

A Corps is either a large formation , or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service....
 in the Confederate Army
Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
 during the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. Prior to the establishment of a formal corps, cavalry organization in the Confederacy consisted mostly of partisan
Partisan (military)

A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation. The term can apply to the field element of resistance movements that opposed Nazi Germany rule in several countries during World War II, or those who after the war fought the Soviet Union in the Eastern blo...
 ranger units and some battalions, a few of which were loosely organized into regiment
Regiment

A regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. Depending on the nation, military branch, mission, and organization, a modern regiment resembles a brigade, in that both range in size from a few hundred to 5,000 soldiers ....
s, such as Brig. Gen.
Brigadier General

Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field....
 Turner Ashby
Turner Ashby

Turner Ashby, Junior was a Confederate States Army cavalry Brigadier General in the American Civil War. He achieved prominence as Stonewall Jackson's cavalry commander in the Shenandoah Valley and might have been one of the most famous cavalry commanders of the war had he not been killed in battle in 1862....
's regiment, and Colonel
Colonel

Colonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures....
 J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart

James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names....
's 1st Virginia Cavalry Regiment.

Background
The source and essence of the Cavalry Corps lay in the background of the age of the Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia Cavaliers (historical)

For the sports teams, see Virginia Cavaliers.Virginia Cavaliers were Cavalier supporters in the royal colony of...
, the royal families of the Colony of Virginia
Colony and Dominion of Virginia

The Colony of Virginia was the English colony in North America that existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution ....
 who brought the breeding of horses and horsemanship
Equestrianism

Equestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving horses. This broad description includes both use of horses for practical, working animal purposes as well as recreational activities and animals in sport....
 to the colony.






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The Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
 was the only organized cavalry
Cavalry

The Cavalry is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat, it represents the mobility and offensive power of the armed forces....
 corps
Corps

A Corps is either a large formation , or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service....
 in the Confederate Army
Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
 during the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. Prior to the establishment of a formal corps, cavalry organization in the Confederacy consisted mostly of partisan
Partisan (military)

A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation. The term can apply to the field element of resistance movements that opposed Nazi Germany rule in several countries during World War II, or those who after the war fought the Soviet Union in the Eastern blo...
 ranger units and some battalions, a few of which were loosely organized into regiment
Regiment

A regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. Depending on the nation, military branch, mission, and organization, a modern regiment resembles a brigade, in that both range in size from a few hundred to 5,000 soldiers ....
s, such as Brig. Gen.
Brigadier General

Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field....
 Turner Ashby
Turner Ashby

Turner Ashby, Junior was a Confederate States Army cavalry Brigadier General in the American Civil War. He achieved prominence as Stonewall Jackson's cavalry commander in the Shenandoah Valley and might have been one of the most famous cavalry commanders of the war had he not been killed in battle in 1862....
's regiment, and Colonel
Colonel

Colonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures....
 J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart

James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names....
's 1st Virginia Cavalry Regiment.

Background


The source and essence of the Cavalry Corps lay in the background of the age of the Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia Cavaliers (historical)

For the sports teams, see Virginia Cavaliers.Virginia Cavaliers were Cavalier supporters in the royal colony of...
, the royal families of the Colony of Virginia
Colony and Dominion of Virginia

The Colony of Virginia was the English colony in North America that existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution ....
 who brought the breeding of horses and horsemanship
Equestrianism

Equestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving horses. This broad description includes both use of horses for practical, working animal purposes as well as recreational activities and animals in sport....
 to the colony. Fine horsemanship was an ingrained part of Virginia culture and history, and many Virginians were raised riding and breeding horses
Horse breeding

Horse breeding refers to reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given list of horse breeds....
, and thus were capable of jumping and military skills on the horse that were unequaled by Union cavalry during the war.

Command under Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart

Jeb Stuart
The rise of the Cavalry Corps can be almost entirely tied to the career and organizational efforts of its first commander, Maj. Gen.
Major General

Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General....
 J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart

James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names....
, and was formally established on August 17, 1862. Stuart's command increased in size as part of the history of the Cavalry Corps, as he commanded a brigade
Brigade

A brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army....
, and then a division
Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
 of cavalry, which finally grew in size to a complete corps. Key engagements of the Cavalry Division/Corps under Stuart's leadership included:

  • The Raid around McClellan's army (Peninsula Campaign
    Peninsula Campaign

    The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
    )
  • The Raid on General Pope
    John Pope (military officer)

    John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
     (First Battle of Rappahannock Station
    Battle of Rappahannock Station I

    }|-||}The First Battle of Rappahannock Station, also known as Waterloo Bridge, White Sulphur Springs, Lee Springs, or Freeman's Ford, took place from August 22 to August 25, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia and Fauquier County, Virginia, as part of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War....
    )
  • Defense of Crampton's Gap (Maryland Campaign
    Maryland Campaign

    The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign, of September 1862 is widely considered one of the major Turning Point of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
    )
  • The Raid around McClellan's army (following the Battle of Antietam
    Battle of Antietam

    The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern United States soil....
    )
  • The Raid beyond the Rappahannock River
  • The Battle of Fredericksburg
    Battle of Fredericksburg

    The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, from December 11 to December 15, 1862, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major general Ambrose E....
    : Check of Franklin's attack
  • The Battle of Chancellorsville
    Battle of Chancellorsville

    The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, fought near the village of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, from April 30 to May 6, 1863....
     (Stuart temporarily commanded Second Corps
    Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia

    The Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia was a military organization within the Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia during much of the American Civil War....
    )
  • The Battle of Brandy Station
    Battle of Brandy Station

    The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest to take place ever on American soil....
  • The Raid around Meade's army (Gettysburg Campaign
    Gettysburg Campaign

    File:Meade and Lee.jpgThe Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate States Army Full General Robert E....
    )
  • The screen and defense of Lee following the Battle of Gettysburg
    Battle of Gettysburg

    The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
  • The screen and defense of Lee against Sheridan
    Philip Sheridan

    Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to Major general and his close association with Lieutenant general Ulysses S....
     in the 1864 Overland Campaign
    Overland Campaign

    The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War....


Following the death of Stuart on May 11, 1864, the essence of the Cavalry Corps organization persisted, as subsequent cavalry commanders continued to manage multiple cavalry divisions until the end of the war.

Command under Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton

Wade Hampton
The second commander, wealthy South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
 planter Wade Hampton III
Wade Hampton III

Wade Hampton III was a Confederate States of America cavalry leader during the American Civil War and afterwards a politician from South Carolina, serving as its governor and as a U.S....
, had previously been promoted to major general leading a division under J.E.B. Stuart. Hampton then took over the Cavalry Corps after Stuart's death at the Battle of Yellow Tavern
Battle of Yellow Tavern

The Battle of Yellow Tavern was fought on May 11, 1864, as part of the Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. A clash between Union Army and Confederate States Army cavalry forces, it is best known for the mortal wounding of legendary Confederate cavalry commander Major General J.E.B....
. General Hampton first managed the corps beginning with engagements screening General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
's army along the Pamunkey River
Pamunkey River

The Pamunkey River is a tributary of the York River , about 90 mi long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. Via the York River it is part of the drainage basin of Chesapeake Bay....
, in engagements such as the Battle of Haw's Shop
Battle of Haw's Shop

The Battle of Haw's Shop was fought on May 28 1864, in Hanover County, Virginia, as part of Union Army Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate States Army Gen....
 (historical Hawe's Shop). Hampton was originally from Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County....
, and continued to use cavalry units from the Carolinas in his corps. Continuing in command through the Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War....
, General Lee decided to release his Carolina cavalry units, including Hampton, back to the aid and defense of South Carolina under the Army of Tennessee
Army of Tennessee

The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate States Army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War....
, as Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman began his march from Georgia to Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina, in the Civil War

The Southern United States city of Columbia, South Carolina, was an important political and supply center for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
. Hampton and the Carolina cavalry units were moved by rail to Columbia, and fought delay-and-defense actions against Sherman. Key engagements under Hampton's leadership included:

  • The Battle of Haw's Shop
    Battle of Haw's Shop

    The Battle of Haw's Shop was fought on May 28 1864, in Hanover County, Virginia, as part of Union Army Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate States Army Gen....
  • The Battle of Trevilian Station
    Battle of Trevilian Station

    }|-||}The Battle of Trevilian Station was fought on June 11 and June 12, 1864, in Union Army Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate States of America Gen....
  • The Beefsteak Raid
  • The Siege of Petersburg
    Siege of Petersburg

    The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War....


Command under Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee

Fitzhugh Lee General
Upon the departure of General Hampton, Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee

Fitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate States Army cavalry General officer in the American Civil War, Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish-American War....
 took over the smaller remaining Cavalry Corps in February 1865. He was in command of the corps through the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
, and through the course of the Appomattox Campaign
Appomattox Campaign

The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate States Army General Robert E....
, until the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. Key engagements under Lee's leadership included:

  • Defense of Lee during the Appomattox Campaign
  • The last cavalry charge on April 9, 1865, at Farmville, Virginia
    Farmville, Virginia

    Farmville is a town in Cumberland County, Virginia and Prince Edward County, Virginia counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 6,845 at the United States Census 2000....


Key partisan and ranger commanders operating in or with the ANV Cavalry Corps

  • Turner Ashby
    Turner Ashby

    Turner Ashby, Junior was a Confederate States Army cavalry Brigadier General in the American Civil War. He achieved prominence as Stonewall Jackson's cavalry commander in the Shenandoah Valley and might have been one of the most famous cavalry commanders of the war had he not been killed in battle in 1862....
  • John D. Imboden
    John D. Imboden

    John Daniel Imboden was a lawyer, teacher, Virginia state legislator. During the American Civil War, he was a Confederate States Army cavalry General officer and Irregular military fighter....
  • William E. "Grumble" Jones
    William E. Jones

    William Edmondson Jones, known as Grumble Jones, was a planter, a career United States Army officer, and a Confederate States Army cavalry General officer, killed in the American Civil War....
  • John S. Mosby
    John S. Mosby

    John Singleton Mosby also known as the "Gray Ghost," was a regular Confederate States Army Cavalry battalion commander in the American Civil War....
  • Elijah V. White
    Elijah V. White

    Elijah Viers "Lige" White was commander of the partisan 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry during the American Civil War. His men became commonly known as "White's Comanches" for their war cries and sudden raids on enemy targets....