Virginia Cavalry Units Enrolled in April 1861

Recently, we posted Statement Showing the Number, by Companies, of the Virginia Volunteers who Entered Service Prior to July 1, 1861, highlighting the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Paymaster General’s Office tally of all Virginia volunteer companies prior to July 1, 1861. It contains valuable information that, when compared to other sources, can help piece together the whole picture of Virginia’s early war deployments.

As an example, we’ll compare this document to regimental histories and other sources, to come up with an accurate list of all cavalry companies enrolled by the Commonwealth of Virginia in April 1861 (or as accurate as possible). The “number of men” listed below does not include officers. Each company usually had one captain and two lieutenants, but sometimes three. The number of companies enrolled on each date does not always line up, but the document reflects 28 companies enrolled in April, and I found 28 companies with April enrollment dates.

Date of Enrollment	No. of Cavalry Companies	No. of Men	Companies Enrolled on that Date According to Secondary Sources
17 April 1861	1	69	Powhatan Troop; Albermarle Rangers
18 April 1861	4	266	1st Rockbridge Dragoons; Shepherdstown Troop; Letcher Brock’s Gap Rifles
19 April 1861	5	327	Newtown Light Dragoons; Berkeley Troop; Valley Rangers; Fauquier Mountain Rangers; Churchville Cavalry
20 April 1861	6	419	Princess Anne Cavalry; Surry Cavalry; Prince George Cavalry; Fairfax Cavalry
21 April 1861	1	95	Light Guard; Stafford Rangers
22 April 1861	1	70	Sussex Light Dragoons; Rappahannock Cavalry; Loudoun Cavalry
23 April 1861	2	144	Prince William Cavalry; Chesterfield Light Dragoons
24 April 1861	1	83	Madison Invincibles; Wise Dragoons
25 April 1861	7	462	Black Horse Troop; Lancaster Cavalry; Mercer Cavalry; Fairfax Cavalry – Chesterfield Troop
26-30 April 1861	None	None	Loudoun Light Horse
	28	1,935

Determining the formation date of individual units is difficult because sources often distinguish between “date accepted into state service”, “enrollment date”, and “muster date”. The Paymaster General’s Office used “date of enrollment,” which is not always available in secondary sources. However, Paymaster General Henry Hill did caveat his tally by writing “In some instances I found a difficulty in fixing the exact date of entry into service… In such cases I took the commencement of pay as the date of entry.”

Whenever possible, I used “enrollment date” or the earliest date mentioned in secondary sources.

Company	Date of Enrollment	County	Commander
Powhatan Troop	April 17, 1861	Powhatan	Capt. John F. Lay
Albermarle Rangers	April 17, 1861	Albemarle	Capt. James W. Timberlake
1st Rockbridge Dragoons	April 18, 1861	Rockbridge	Capt. Matthew X. White
Shepherdstown Troop	April 18, 1861	Jefferson	Capt. William A. Morgan
Letcher Brock’s Gap Rifles	April 18, 1861	Rockingham	Capt. John Q. Winfield
Newtown Light Dragoons	April 19, 1861	Frederick	Capt. James H. Drake
Berkeley Troop	April 19, 1861	Berkeley	Capt. George N. Hammond
Valley Rangers	April 19, 1861	Augusta	Capt. William Patrick
Fauquier Mountain Rangers	April 19, 1861	Fauquier	Capt. Turner Ashby
Churchville Cavalry	April 19, 1861	Augusta	Capt. Franklin Sterrett
Princess Anne Cavalry	April 20, 1861	Princess Anne	Capt. John Fentress
Surry Cavalry	April 20, 1861	Surry	Capt. Travis W. Taylor
Prince George Cavalry / Dragoons	April 20, 1861	Prince George	Capt. Edmund Ruffin, Jr.
Fairfax Cavalry / Washington’s Home Guard	April 20, 1861	Fairfax	Capt. Edward B. Powell
Light Guard / St. Bride’s Cavalry	April 21, 1861	Norfolk	Capt. John Edward Doyle
Stafford Rangers	April 21, 1861	Stafford	Capt. Thomas Waller
Sussex Light Dragoons	April 22, 1861	Sussex	Capt. Benjamin W. Besches
Rappahannock Cavalry / Old Guard	April 22, 1861	Rappahannock	Capt. John Shac Green
Loudoun Cavalry	April 22, 1861	Loudoun	Capt. Daniel T. Shreve; Capt. W. W. Mead
Prince William Cavalry	April 23, 1861	Prince William	Capt. W. W. Thornton
Chesterfield Light Dragoons	April 23, 1861	Chesterfield	Capt. William B. Ball
Madison Invincibles	April 24, 1861	Madison	Capt. William Thomas
Wise Dragoons	April 24, 1861	Fauquier	Capt. John A. Adams
Black Horse Troop	April 25, 1861	Warrenton	Capt. John Scott; Capt. William H. Payne
Lancaster Cavalry	April 25, 1861	Lancaster	Capt. Merlwether Lewis
Mercer Cavalry	April 25, 1861	Spotsylvania	Capt. Corbin Crutchfield
Fairfax Cavalry / Chesterfield Troop	April 25, 1861	Fairfax	Capt. Mottram Dulany Ball
Loudoun Light Horse	April 27, 1861	Loudoun	Capt. Richard W. Carter

On April 17, 1861, the Virginia Secession Convention passed an ordinance of secession subject to approval by referendum in May. That same day, however, it authorized Governor John Letcher to raise volunteer companies in secret until April 20th. During that time, some militia companies were activated to seize the Harpers Ferry Arsenal and Gosport Navy Yard.

From the formation dates listed above, it’s obvious some of these cavalry companies had advanced word of the Convention’s actions. Two companies of cavalry, the Powhatan Troop and Albermarle Rangers, were accepted into state service on April 17th. Powhatan County is just west of Richmond, so it’s conceivable a courier reached there as soon as the ordinance was passed. According to author Kenneth Stiles, the troop was attending drill when it was ordered to report to Richmond.

These early deployments teach us much about the order of military events immediately following the passage of Virginia’s Ordinance of Secession. Unfortunately, many original records concerning Virginia’s militia were burned in 1865, but what disparate information is available can help piece together the story.

Sources

• Sources: Armstrong, Richard L. 7th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1992.
• Armstrong, Richard L. 11th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1992.
• Beale, R.L.T. History of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry in the War Between the States. Richmond: B.F. Johnson Publishing, 1899.
• Driver, Robert J., Jr. 1st Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1991.
• Driver, Robert J., Jr. 5th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1997.
• Driver, Robert J., Jr. 10th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1992.
• Krick, Robert K. 9th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1982.
• Musick, Michael. 6th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1990.
• Stiles, Kenneth. 4th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1985.
• Wallace, Lee A., Jr. A guide to Virginia Military Organizations, 1861-1865. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1986.