Jeff. Davis Legion

Last updated

Jeff. Davis Legion
Active1861–1865
DisbandedApril 26, 1865
CountryFlag of the Confederate States of America (1865).svg  Confederate States
AllegianceFlag of Mississippi (1861-1865).svg  Mississippi
BranchBattle flag of the Confederate States of America.svg  Army
Type Cavalry
Size Regiment
Facings Yellow
Engagements

The Jeff. Davis Legion (also known as the Jeff Davis Legion, Mississippi Cavalry) was a cavalry regiment of the Confederate States Army. Made up of companies from Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia; it fought primarily in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. In 1865, it was reassigned to the Army of Tennessee, surrendering at Greensboro, N.C.

Contents

Formation

The Jeff. Davis Legion was organized as the 2d Battalion, Mississippi Cavalry, consisting of five companies on October 24, 1861, at Camp Cooper, Virginia. Company A, from Mississippi, was mustered for the war. Companies B and C, from Mississippi, were mustered for 12 months. Company D, from Alabama, was mustered for 12 months and Company E, from Alabama, mustered for the war. In December 1861, Company F, from Georgia, was attached to the battalion by order of the Secretary of War, when Major William T. Martin was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. A portion of the battalion (the 12 month companies) were reorganized under Act of Congress on May 23, 1862. The war companies retained their existing organization. The election was held for field officers in accordance with instructions from the Secretary resulting in the election of the existing field officers. The unit retained this organization until July 11, 1864, when three companies of Love's Battalion, Alabama Cavalry, and one company of the 20th Battalion, Georgia Cavalry, were attached to the unit increasing it to a regiment with one colonel and two majors. [1]

History

Led by Lieutenant-Colonel Martin, the Jeff. Davis Legion joined what would eventually become the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. It fought in the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862; doing surveillance of Union movements and gaining knowledge of their dispositions. Reporting to Brigadier-General Jeb Stuart, the report led to a flank maneuver around Major-General George B. McClellan's army, in which two squadrons of the Legion participated. Later, Stuart wrote that the unit had performed extremely well and helped him greatly.

During the Seven Days Battles the Legion was ordered to across the Chickahominy. They took control of the South Anna, screening the crossing of Thomas J. Jackson and his troops. After Jackson crossed, it went north and fought against the 42nd New York Infantry. It dislodged the Union from the position and took 3 prisoners. On September 5, during the Maryland campaign, Wade Hampton's brigade crossed the Potomac in order to retake a battery captured by the Union. The Legion operated as rear guard and covered the mountain gap while the rest of the brigade followed Robert E. Lee's army to Middleton; and at daylight of September 13 the Legion was attacked by the pursuing Union forces. It held off the Union troops until it had to give way, buying the Confederates valuable time. "Martin and his men fought with their accustomed gallantry," was Hampton's report.

When Martin was promoted and transferred in 1863, command of the Legion developed on Lieutenant-Colonel J. Fred. Waring. The composition of the unit changed several times during the war and in March 1864 it was augmented into a full regiment of 10 companies. When Hampton went to South Carolina, the Legion, its brigade now led by Pierce M.B. Young, accompanied him. Serving as part of the Army of Tennessee it fought in the Carolinas and surrendered with the rest of General Joseph E. Johnston's forces in April 1865.

Regimental order of battle

Units of the Jeff. Davis Legion included: [2]

See also

Notes

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

Related Research Articles

4th Michigan Cavalry Regiment was a regiment of cavalry in the Union Army during the American Civil War fighting in the western front as part of the Army of the Cumberland. It was noted as being the regiment that captured the fleeing President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, as the Confederacy collapsed in the spring of 1865.

This is a list of Confederate government Civil War military units, not raised by any state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton's Legion</span> Military unit

Hampton's Legion was an American Civil War military unit of the Confederate States of America, organized and partially financed by wealthy South Carolina planter Wade Hampton III. Initially composed of infantry, cavalry, and artillery battalions, elements of Hampton's Legion participated in virtually every major campaign in the Eastern Theater, from the first to the last battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">108th Cavalry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 108th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the Georgia and Louisiana Army National Guards of the United States Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10th Mississippi Infantry Regiment</span> Regiment of infantry

The 10th Mississippi Infantry Regiment was a regiment of infantry in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought in several campaigns and battles in the Western Theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choctaw in the American Civil War</span> Role in warfare

The Choctaw in the American Civil War participated in two major arenas—the Trans-Mississippi and Western Theaters. The Trans-Mississippi had the Choctaw Nation. The Western had the Mississippi Choctaw. The Choctaw Nation had been mostly removed west prior to the War, but the Mississippi Choctaw had remained in the east. Both the Choctaw Nation and the Mississippi Choctaw would ultimately side with the Confederate States of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd/22nd Tennessee Cavalry (Barteau's)</span> Military unit

The 2nd Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, also known as the 22nd Tennessee Cavalry after it was consolidated with the 21st Tennessee Cavalry (Wilson’s), was a cavalry unit of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, organized on June 12, 1862. The unit was originally commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Clark Russell Barteau, who was promoted from the rank of private on the day that he was placed in command of the new regiment. He was promoted to colonel a year later.

The following units and commanders fought in the Carolinas campaign of the American Civil War. The Union order of battle is listed separately. Order of battle compiled from the army organization during the campaign.

The 3d Arkansas Cavalry Regiment (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army Cavalry regiment during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">18th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Marmaduke's)</span> Military unit

The 18th Arkansas Infantry (Marmaduke's) (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was also briefly identified as the 1st Arkansas Infantry Battalion. The unit was most often referred to as the 3rd Confederate Infantry Regiment. The designation "Confederate Infantry Regiment" was intended to convey the difference between Provisional Confederate Army units and Regular Confederate Army Units, with Provisional units being those regiments who received a state designation such as "XX Arkansas Infantry Regiment". In practice, the designation was most often utilized when Regiments were assembled utilizing companies from more than one Confederate state. The "3rd Confederate Infantry Regiment" is occasionally misidentified as the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel Van H. Manning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillips' Legion</span>

Phillips' Legion or Phillips' Georgia Legion was a unit of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

The following list is a bibliography of American Civil War Confederate military unit histories and are generally available through inter-library loan. More details on each book are available at WorldCat. For an overall national view, see Bibliography of the American Civil War. For histories of the Union, see Bibliography of American Civil War Union military unit histories. For a guide to web sources see: Carter, Alice E.; Jensen, Richard. The Civil War on the Web: A Guide to the Very Best Sites—Completely Revised and Updated (2003).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Florida Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 1st Florida Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised by the Confederate state of Florida during the American Civil War. Raised for 12 months of service its remaining veterans served in the 1st (McDonell's) Battalion, Florida Infantry from April 1862 on. In August the depleted battalion was consolidated with the 3rd (Miller's) Battalion into the reorganized 1st Florida Infantry Regiment again. In December 1862 it merged with the 3rd Florida Infantry Regiment and received the form it kept till the war's end as the 1st and 3rd Consolidated Florida Infantry Regiment. Fighting as part of the Army of Tennessee in the Western Theater of the American Civil War it was surrendered on April 26, 1865.

The 1st Arkansas Cavalry Battalion (Stirman's) (1864–1865) was a Confederate Army cavalry battalion during the American Civil War. The unit was also known as Brooks 1st Arkansas Cavalry Battalion, Stirman's, 1st Arkansas Cavalry Battalion, Stirman's Sharpshooter Regiment, 1st Regiment Arkansas Sharpshooters, and finally simply as Stirman's Arkansas Cavalry Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Missouri Cavalry Regiment (Confederate)</span> Military unit

The 1st Missouri Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">32nd Texas Cavalry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 32nd Texas Cavalry Regiment, sometimes incorrectly named Andrews's 15th Texas Cavalry Regiment, was a unit of volunteer cavalry mustered into the Confederate States Army in May 1862 and which fought during the American Civil War. The regiment was formed around companies from Richard Phillip Crump's 1st Texas Cavalry Battalion which fought in Indian Territory and at Pea Ridge. Many of the soldiers died of disease in the unhealthy camps near Corinth, Mississippi. The cavalrymen were dismounted in July 1862 and served as infantry for the rest of the war. The regiment fought at Richmond, Ky., Stones River, and Chickamauga in 1862–1863, in the Meridian and Atlanta campaigns and at Nashville in 1864, and at Spanish Fort and Fort Blakeley in 1865. The regiment's 58 surviving members surrendered to Federal forces on 9 May 1865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Fred. Waring</span> Colonel of the Confederate States Army

Colonel Joseph Frederick Waring was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army, commanding a cavalry regiment in the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Louisiana Infantry Regiment (Confederate)</span> Military unit

The 4th Louisiana Infantry Regiment was a unit of volunteers recruited in Louisiana that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Formed in May 1861, the regiment served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The unit fought at Shiloh and Baton Rouge in 1862 and at Jackson in 1863. A detachment served during the Siege of Port Hudson and was captured. In 1864, the regiment fought in the Atlanta campaign where it lost heavily at Jonesborough. At Nashville in December 1864 most of the men were captured. The survivors were consolidated with several other units and fought at Spanish Fort in April 1865. The remnant surrendered in May 1865.

References

  1. Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Mississippi. NARA Microfilm Publication, M269, 427 rolls. War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group Number 109, Washington, D.C.: National Archives
  2. "Jeff Davis Legion, Mississippi Cavalry". National Park Service. Retrieved April 9, 2020.

Further reading