Virginia 7th Cavalry Regiment

The 7th Virginia Cavalry also known as Ashby's Cavalry was raised in the spring of 1861 by Colonel Angus William McDonald The regiment was composed primarily of men from the counties of the upper Shenandoah Valley as well as from the counties of Fauquier and Loudoun. Two companies contained men from the border counties of Maryland.

The regiment was initially assigned to guarding the upper Potomac and was attached to the command of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in the Valley. In the spring of 1862 the regiment took part in Jackson's Valley Campaign, where the exploits of the unit and its commander, Turner Ashby, became famous on both sides of the war. Near the conclusion of the campaign, Ashby was mortally wounded and Col. Richard Henry Dulany took command of the regiment, which had swelled to 29 companies. The regiment was reorganized at the end of the campaign, with the original 10 companies remaining and the excess 19 forming the 12th Regiment and 17th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry. Together with these two regiments, the 7th would become the nucleus of the famed Laurel Brigade.

As part of the brigade, the 7th saw major action during the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863 and was at the famed cavalry Battle of Brandy Station that same year. They took part in Jubal A. Early's ill-fated Valley Campaigns of 1864 and were at Appomattox Courthouse, though much of the unit escaped through federal lines and returned home to disband rather than taking parole with the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia.

FIELD OFFICERS:

1st Angus William McDonald

2nd Turner Ashby

3rd Richard Henry Dulan

ASSIGNMENTS:



BATTLES:

Jackson's Valley Campaign

Kernstown (March 23, 1862)
McDowell (May 8)
Front Royal (May 23)
Winchester (May 25)
Cross Keys (June 8)
Port Republic (June 9)
Battle of Harpers Ferry

Battle of Brandy Station

Gettysburg Campaign

Valley Campaigns of 1864

ROSTERS:

The rosters of this unit contains the names of 1686 men.

A - Fauquier Mountain Rangers (Fauquier Co.)
B - (1st) Howard Dragoons (Howard Co., Md.)
B - (2nd) Letcher Brock's Gap Rifles (Rockingham Co.)
C - Shenandoah Rangers (Shenandoah Co.)
D - Jordan's Co. (Page Co.)
E - Bowen's Mounted Rangers (Warren Co.)
F - Hampshire Rifleman (Hampshire Co.)
G - Mason Rangers (Maryland and Loudoun Co.)
H - (1st) Brock's Gap Sharpshooters (Rockingham Co.)
H - (2nd) Shoup's Co. (Rockingham Co.)
I - Shand's Company(Rockingham Co.)
K - Miller's Company (Shenandoah Co.)
Bibliography for Research:
Crute, Joseph Units of the Confederate States Army Midlothian, VA: Derwent Books, 1987. Concise summary of the units service.

Sifakis, Stewart. Compendium of the Confederate Armies...Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, The Confederate Units and the Indian Units. Westminster, MD: Willow Bend Books, 1995. (2 photocopied pages). E547S53.

Southern Historical Society The Southern Historical Society Papers. Cartersville, GA: Eastern Digital Resources, 1998.

U. S. Government Printing Office. Official Records of the American Civil War Davenport, IA. Eastern Digital Resources.

Brock, R. A. The Appomattox Roster. Cartersville, GA: Eastern Digital Resources, 1998.
Originally published as Volume 15 of the Southern Historical Society Papers in 1887 by The Society, Richmond, VA. This book contains 56,000 names of men who surrendered at Appomattox. It shows the mans unit of service and some additional notes.
Rigdon, John C. - Editor Civil War Soldiers Service Records - Virginia. 2012. Davenport, IA Eastern Digital Resources.

Rigdon, John C. - Editor Virginia Civil War Soldiers Index. 1996. Davenport, IA Eastern Digital Resources.

Confederate Military History, Extended Edition. Vol. 4: Virginia. Cartersville, GA: Eastern Digital Resources, 1998. 1295 p. E484C65.1987v4. Contains numerous, scattered references to Virginia units.

REFERENCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_Virginia_Cavalry