7th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment (Confederate)
| 7th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1862–1865 |
| Country | .svg.png){kind=small} Confederate States |
| Allegiance | .svg.png){kind=small} Tennessee |
| Branch | .svg.png){kind=small} Army |
| Type | Cavalry |
| Size | Regiment |
| Nickname(s) |
|
| Engagements | American Civil War
|
| Commanders | |
| Colonel | William Lafayette Duckworth |
| Colonel | William Hicks Jackson |
| Colonel | John G. Stocks |
| Lieutenant Colonel | William Fletcher Taylor |
| Major | Clement Claiborne Clay |
The 7th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment recruited from the state of Tennessee and served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment fought in both the Western theater of the American Civil War and the Trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War. While the majority of the regiment came from Tennessee a minority came from Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, and Mississippi. Although a regiment, the unit frequently served as a detachment in various armies including the Army of Tennessee, the Army of the West, and the Army of the Trans-Mississippi among others.[1]
History
The 7th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment has its origins as the 6th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion, or Logwood's Cavalry Battalion and William Hicks "Red" Jackson's 1st Tennessee Cavalry Regiment.[2] The 6th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion was organized in July, 1861 with six total companies. Many of the men were from Haywood, Fayette, Tipton, and Shelby counties.[2] The 6th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion was organized as follows:
| Company | Earliest Moniker | Primary Place of Recruitment | Earliest Captain |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Memphis Light Dragoons | Memphis and Shelby County | Thomas H. Logwood |
| B | The Hardeman Avengers | Boliva and Hardeman County | James Jackson Neely |
| C | Hill's Cavalry | Haywood, Fayette, and Tipton County | Charles H. Hill |
| D | The Haywood Rangers | Haywood County, Tennessee | John G. Haywood |
| E | The Tennessee Mounted Rifles | Shelby County | Josiah "Joe" S. White |
| F | The Shelby Light Dragoons | Shelby County | John Goff Ballentine |
The 6th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion served in the Western Department of the Confederate States Army, a detachment of the 6th Battalion fought at the Battle of Belmont and later the unit saw action in various battles in both Tennessee and Kentucky. In April, 1862 the 6th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion merged with William Hicks Jackson's 1st Tennessee Cavalry Regiment and was redesignated as the 7th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment.[2]
Organization
The 7th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment was assembled in April, 1862. Its companies were from the counties of Shelby, Henry, Haywood, Fayette,Tipton, Hardeman, and Weakley County, Tennessee.[2] Many of the previous companies from the 6th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion kept their original monikers given to them in 1861.[5] The companies were organized as follows:
| Company | Earliest Moniker | Primary Place of Recruitment | Earliest Captain |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Memphis Light Dragoons | Memphis and Shelby County | William F. Taylor |
| B | Hill's Cavalry | Haywood, Fayette, and Tipton County | James P. Russell |
| C | Marion Foxes or Shelby Light Dragoons | Memphis, Marion, and Shelby County | S. P. Bassett |
| D | The Haywood Rangers | Haywood, Fayette, and Tipton County | L. W. Taliaferro |
| E | Hardeman Avengers | Boliva and Hardeman County | W. J. Tate |
| F | Forked Deer Rangers | Crockett County, Tennessee | Clement Claiborne Clay |
| G | The Independent Rebel Rangers | Henry County, Tennessee | John G. Stocks |
| H | Weakley County, Tennessee | H. C. McCuthcen | |
| I | Tipton County, Tennessee | James R. Alexander | |
| K | Shelby, Fayette, and Tipton County | Samuel T. Taylor | |
| L | The Western Rangers | Haywood County, Tennessee | Alexander Duckworth |
| M | Haywood and Lauderdale County | B. T. Davis |
Service
For much of the regiments early history it served under Major General Earl Van Dorn and Van Dorn's Army of the West. After 1862 the 7th Tennessee Cavalry served under Forrest's Cavalry Corps and other various brigades as a detachment including; Frank Crawford Armstrong, Robert A “Black Bob” McCulloch, James Ronald Chalmers, William F. Slemons, James Jackson Neely, and Edmund Rucker. The regiment confronted the Union Army in Mississippi, moved with Nathan Bedford Forrest to West Tennessee and Kentucky, then saw action in East Tennessee. Later the regiment participated in the Battle of Franklin and Battle of Nashville, and in 1865 skirmished in Alabama. Following Wilson's Raid the regiment surrendered in Gainesville, Alabama, in May, 1865.[2] William Hicks Jackson was appointed as the Confederate commissioner to complete the paroling of General Forrest's command in Columbus, Mississippi.[6]
Commanders
- Colonels: William Lafayette Duckworth, William Hicks Jackson, and John G. Stocks
- Lieutenant Colonel: William Fletcher Taylor
- Major: Clement Claiborne Clay.
Strength
The regiment contained 696 effective men in July, 1862, the regiment later had only 210 present for duty in October, 1863.[2]
Notable people
- Nathan Bedford Forrest – Originally served as a Private in Josiah White's Company E "Tennessee Mounted Rifles" along with his brother Jesse A. Forrest and 15-year-old son.[7]
- Jesse Anderson Forrest – The younger brother of Nathan Bedford Forrest served in Captain Whites Company E. Forrest later rose to the rank of Lieutenant colonel in the 21st Tennessee Cavalry Regiment.
- William "Bill" Montgomery Forrest – the son of Nathan Bedford Forrest joined at the age of 15 as a Private and later was promoted to the rank of Captain.[8]
- William Hicks Jackson – Served as the second Colonel of the regiment. Jackson was originally the commander of the 1st Tennessee Cavalry Regiment or "Jackson's Regiment".
- Clement Claiborne Clay – The son of Clement Comer Clay. Clay served as the Major of the regiment, he was also elected as a Senator from Alabama to the Confederate States Congress.
- John Goff Ballentine – Served as the Captain of Company F. Ballentine was wounded at the Battle of Lockridge Mill in a duel with 5th Iowa Cavalry Regiment Major Carl Schaeffer Boernstein. Ballentine would later be elected as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 7th district.
See also
- Nathan Bedford Forrest
- Forrest's Cavalry Corps
- Western theater of the American Civil War
- Tennessee Civil War Confederate Units
- Cavalry in the American Civil War
- Army of the West (1862)
- Army of the Trans-Mississippi
References
- ^ Young, John Preston (1890). The Seventh Tennessee Cavalry (Confederate) : a history. Robert W. Woodruff Library Emory University. Nashville, Tenn. : Printed for the author, Pub. House of the M.E. Church, South, Barbee & Smith, agents.
- ^ a b c d e f "Battle Unit Details – The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
- ^ "6th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion – Tennessee & the Civil War". 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
- ^ Ullrich, Dieter (1997-01-01). "They Met at Lockridge's Mill". Faculty Research at Morehead State University.
- ^ a b "7th (Duckworth's) Tennessee Cavalry Regiment – Tennessee & the Civil War". 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
- ^ Young, John Preston (1890). The Seventh Tennessee Cavalry (Confederate) : a history. Robert W. Woodruff Library Emory University. Nashville, Tenn. : Printed for the author, Pub. House of the M.E. Church, South, Barbee & Smith, agents. p. 151.
- ^ Axelrod, Alan (2011-03-01). Generals South, Generals North: The Commanders of the Civil War Reconsidered. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-7627-7488-3.
- ^ "Portraits of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest". 2018-03-03. Retrieved 2025-07-09.