The Charleston Light Dragoons

by Edward L. Wells

The Charleston Light Dragoons, Company K, 4th South Carolina Cavalry, joined Hamptonís Division in Virginia as the 1864 Overland Campaign was heating up. It was a time that Hampton said, "We didn't have time to bury our dead."

When the campaign of attrition began the Federal horse that had been so badly mismanaged early in the war now rode in masses under aggressive, seasoned commanders. A long casualty list was of little consequence if the riders of Hampton and Lee could be depleted and defeated.

The white glove company of old Charleston was thrown into this bitter cauldron after three years of relative ease on the South Carolina coast.

This often requested, and seldom seen history fills a void in the history of Hampton's Cavalry and the last year of the war. Despite heavy odds and declining numbers they were never defeated on the field.