1st Florida Cavalry Regiment
{{For|Union Regiment|1st Florida Cavalry Regiment (Union)}}
{{infobox military unit
| unit_name = 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment
| image = 1st Florida Cavalry & 4th Florida Infantry Regiments Flag.png
| caption = Battle flag of the combined 1st Florida Cavalry and 4th Florida Infantry regiments (1863).
| dates = April 5, 1861 - February 1862
| country = {{flag|Confederate States of America|1861}}
| allegiance = {{flagicon image|Flag of Florida (1861).svg}} Florida
| branch = {{army|CSA}}
| type = Army Corps
| role = infantry tactics
trench warfare
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| command_structure = Army of Tennessee
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| battles = American Civil War
- Siege of Knoxville
(September—December 1863) - Kentucky Campaign
- Battle of Chickamauga
- Battle of Chattanooga
- Atlanta Campaign
- Franklin-Nashville Campaign
(Tennessee Campaign) - Second Battle of Franklin
(Tennessee Campaign) - Battle of Nashville of John Bell Hood
(Tennessee Campaign) - Carolinas Campaign
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| notable_commanders = Col. William G. M. Davis
Lt. Col. George Troup Maxwell
Lt. Col. William Tennent Stockton
Lt. Col. Benjamin Bradley Sample
| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_label = Shoulder sleeve insignia
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File:William Tennent Stockton.jpg of the 1st Florida Cavalry]]
The 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment was a Confederate army unit during the U.S. Civil War, originally organized in July 1861 at Tallahassee. Members of the regiment came primarily from Alachua, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Leon, Levy, Nassau and Suwannee counties. It left for the western theater in 1862.
Organization
The 1st Florida Cavalry was organized in July 1861 just south of Tallahassee.{{cite web |title=1st Florida Cavalry Regiment |url=https://ehistory.osu.edu/exhibitions/Regimental/florida/confederate/cavalry/fl/0001 |website=www.ehistory.osu.edu |publisher=The Ohio State University |access-date=11 April 2023}} William G. M. Davis, a relatively wealthy lawyer from Leon County, used his own funds to start the regiment and was elected colonel of the unit. Companies that made up the unit were raised from the following counties: Alachua, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Leon, Levy, Nassau, and Suwannee.{{cite thesis |type=Masters |last=Sheppard |first=Jonathan C. |date=2004 |title="Everyday Soldiers": The Florida Brigade of the West, 1861-1862 |url=https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:176255/datastream/PDF/view |publisher=The Florida State University}}
After mustering in, the unit served in Florida until the spring of 1862, at which time Companies A, E, and F continued to serve as cavalry while the other seven companies were dismounted.{{cite web |title=1st Regiment, Florida Cavalry |url=https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CFL0001RC#:~:text=1st%20Cavalry%20Regiment%20was%20organized,Levy%2C%20Duval%2C%20and%20Alachua. |website=www.nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=11 April 2023}}
The unit was engaged at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in 1863. During combat, the unit lost its entire officer cadre to casualties. As a result, the 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment was combined with the 4th Florida Infantry Regiment during the 1863-1864 winter camp in Dalton. The new combined unit remained together until the surrender of the Army of Tennessee in 1865.{{cite web |title=4th Regiment, Florida Infantry |url=https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CFL0004RI#:~:text=4th%20Infantry%20Regiment%20was%20organized,Washington%2C%20Jackson%2C%20and%20Hillsborough. |website=www.nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=1 July 2023}}
Assignments
- Department of West Florida, April - October 1861
- Department of Alabama and West Florida, October 1861
- Army of Pensacola, Department of Alabama and West Florida, October 1861 - February 1862
- Army of Tennessee, February 1862 - April 1865
| class="toccolours" style="fixed: left; margin-left: 1em;" width="300px"
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background:grey" | Officers of the 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment | |
| Rank | Name |
| colspan="2" | |
| --- | |
| Colonel | William G. M. Davis{{cite web|url=http://myweb.fsu.edu/rthompson2//cw/1-fl-cav/1-fl-cav-s.html |accessdate=18 March 2018 |title=Florida 1st Cavalry Staff |author=Jim Thomas |publisher=Florida State University}} |
| Lt. Colonel | George Troup Maxwell |
| Lt. Colonel | Benjamin Bradley Sample |
| Lt. Colonel | William T. Stockton[https://www.floridamemory.com/exhibits/floridahighlights/stockton/ Letters Relating to the Civil War Service of William T. Stockton], Stockton, William Tennent, Papers 1845-1869, Collection M88-21, State Library and Archives of Florida |
Battles
- Scouting activities around Union occupied Fernandina Beach in 1861{{Cite book |last=Sheppard |first=Jonathan C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/797834655 |title=By the noble daring of her sons: the Florida Brigade of the Army of Tennessee |date=2012 |isbn=978-0-8173-8603-0 |location=Tuscaloosa, AL | publisher = University of Alabama Press |oclc=797834655}}
- Siege of Knoxville, September—December 1863
- Kentucky Campaign
- Battle of Chickamauga
- Battle of Chattanooga
- Atlanta Campaign
- Tennessee Campaigns (Franklin-Nashville Campaign, Second Battle of Franklin, and Battle of Nashville) of John Bell Hood
- Carolinas Campaign{{cite web|url=https://www.floridamemory.com/collections/civilwarguide/history.php |accessdate=18 March 2018 |author=R. Boyd Murphree |publisher=Florida State Library & Archives |title=Florida and the Civil War: A Short History}}
The 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment surrendered in North Carolina in April 1865.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://myweb.fsu.edu/rthompson2//cw/1-fl-cav/fl-1st-cav.html Members of the Florida 1st Cavalry - Florida State University]
Category:1861 establishments in Florida
Category:Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Florida