Ferguson's Brigade

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Ferguson's Brigade
Active1863–1865
DisbandedMay 6, 1865
CountryFlag of the Confederate States of America (1865).svg Confederate States
BranchBattle flag of the Confederate States of America (1-1).svg  Army
Type Cavalry
Size Brigade
Battles
Commanders
Commanding officers Brig. Gen. Samuel W. Ferguson

The Ferguson's Brigade, also known as "Ferguson's Cavalry Brigade", was a cavalry formation of the Confederate States Army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War commanded by Brigadier-General Samuel W. Ferguson until it was disbanded in May 1865.

Contents

History

Organized on August 15, 1863, in Okolona, Mississippi, Ferguson's Brigade first saw action on October 26 at the Battle of Vincent’s Cross Roads. [1] [2] On February 13, 1864, it was at Big Mountain, in front of Loring’s division, confronting Sherman’s Meridian expedition. Throughout the Atlanta campaign the brigade was a part of Jackson's Cavalry Division, where it took part in the battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, and Lovejoy's Station. [3] [4] [5] The brigade also participated in the Battle of Ladiga during Hood's ill-fated Tennessee campaign. [6] In November and December it was attached to Iverson’s Division, Wheeler's Cavalry Corps, [7] where the brigade fought during Sherman’s march to Savannah and siege of that city. [4] [8] Ferguson's Brigade participated in the Carolinas campaign and was part of the escort of President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet until it was disbanded on May 6, 1865, near Washington, Georgia, by order of Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Notes

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Archives and Records Administration .

References

  1. U.S. War Department (1890). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, vol. XXXI, part I. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 37–38. OCLC   29216042 via Internet Archive.
  2. Cash, William M.; Howorth, Lucy Somerville, eds. (1977). My Dear Nellie: The Civil War Letters of William L. Nugent to Eleanor Smith Nugent. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. pp. 125–127. ISBN   0-87805-036-1. LCCN   77024597. OCLC   3186595. OL   4554869M.
  3. "Gen. Sherman's Memoirs". The New York Times . Vol. XXV, no. 7588. New York. January 10, 1876. p. 5 via Internet Archive.
  4. 1 2 Rowland, Dunbar (1978) [1st pub. Mississippi Department of Archives and History:1908]. Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898. Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Reprint Company. pp. 422, 424, 428–429, 433. ISBN   978-0-87152-266-5. LCCN   78-2454. OCLC   3706088. OL   8348111M via Internet Archive.
  5. Elliott, Daniel T.; Dean, Tracy M. (2007). Nash Farm Battlefield: History and Archaeology (PDF) (Report). LAMAR Institute Research Publication Report Number 123. Savannah, Georgia: The LAMAR Institute. pp. 11, 29, 46, 55, 70, 72. Retrieved January 10, 2026 via Wordpress.
  6. "Cavalry Fight at Ladiga, Ala" . The Camden Daily Journal. Vol. I, no. 117. — Mobile Register, 2d. Camden, S. C. November 15, 1864. p. 1. Retrieved April 26, 2025 via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. Dodson, W. C., ed. (1899). Campaigns of Wheeler and his Cavalry, 1862-1865. Atlanta, Ga.: Hudgins Publishing Company. p. 421. OCLC   848579306 via Internet Archive.
  8. Jones, Charles C. (1874). The Siege of Savannah in December, 1864, and the Confederate Operations in Georgia and the Third Military District of South Carolina During General Sherman's March from Atlanta to the Sea. Albany, N. Y.: Joel Munsell. pp. 115, 136. OCLC   1084957628. OL   6915627M via Internet Archive.
  9. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. IV, part II (Grant-Lee ed.). New York: The Century Company. 1884. p. 763-764. OCLC   906809333 via Internet Archive.
  10. U.S. War Department (1897). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, vol. XLIX, part II. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 628, 702. OCLC   29216042 via Internet Archive.
  11. McAllister, L. C. (January 1905). Cunningham, S. A. (ed.). "Disbanding President Davis's Escort". Confederate Veteran . Vol. XXXIII, no. 1. Nashville, Tenn.: S. A. Cunningham. p. 25. OCLC   1564663 via Internet Archive.
  12. Ferguson, S. W. (June 1908). Cunningham, S. A. (ed.). "Another Account by Gen. S. W. Ferguson, Biloxi. Miss". Confederate Veteran . Vol. XVI, no. 6. Nashville, Tenn.: S. A. Cunningham. pp. 263–264. OCLC   1564663 via Internet Archive.
  13. Gilbert, C. E. (March 1930). Pope, E. D. (ed.). "The Confederate Treasury". Confederate Veteran . Vol. XXXVII, no. 3. Nashville, Tenn.: Trustees of the Confederate Veteran. p. 87. OCLC   1564663 via Internet Archive.