The 4th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

that served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. It was originally recruited as the 4th East Tennessee Cavalry.

Service

The 4th Tennessee Cavalry was organized at

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a pass through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains, near the junction of the U.S. states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. It is famous in American colonial history for its r ...

and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on February 9, 1863 at

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

(TN) under the command of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

R. M. Edwards. Four companies were organized in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

from December 1862 through January 1863. The cavalry was attached to the posts of: * Nashville,

Department of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

, to January 1864 * 3rd Brigade, Cavalry Division, XVI Corps,

Department of the Tennessee Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, to April 1864 * 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Cavalry Corps,

Army of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

, to June 1864 * Districts of Nashville and North Alabama, Department of the Cumberland, to October 1864 * 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to December 1864 * 1st Brigade, 7th Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to February 1865 * 2nd Brigade, 7th Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to February 1865 * 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division West Mississippi, to May 1865 * 1st Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, West Mississippi, to July 1865 The cavalry was mustered out of service August 14, 1865 in Nashville.

Detailed service

* Duty at Camp Spear, Nashville to August 1863 * Green Hill, to June 14 * Ordered to Carthage, TN to August 30; duty there and at Murfreesboro and Nashville to December * Action at Friendship Church, September 29 * Expedition to Memphis, TN, December 28–January 4, 1864 * Moved to Colliersville, January 14 * Smith's Expedition to Okolona, Miss., February 11–26 * Coldwater, February 11 * Holly Springs, February 12 * Near Okolona, February 18 * West Point, February 20–21 * Prairie Station, February 21 * Okolona and Tallahatchie River, February 22 * Ordered to Nashville, TN, February 27; duty there to June * Duty on the line of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad and in District of North Alabama to July * Decatur, Alabama (AL), June 1 (A detachment at Decatur to October 1864) * Sand Mountain, July *

Rousseau's Opelika Raid Rousseau's Opelika Raid (July 10–22, 1864) saw 2,700 Union cavalry led by Major General Lovell Rousseau raid deep into Alabama in the Atlanta Campaign during the American Civil War. The successful raid began at Decatur, Alabama, and was only ...

from Decatur to West Point & Montgomery Railroad, July 10–22 * Near Coosa River, July 13 * Greenpoint and Ten Island Ford, Coosa River, July 14 * Opetika, Chehaw Station, and near Auburn, July 18 * Siege of Atlanta to August 5 * Scouts to England Cove, TN, July 7–9 and July 12–18 (detachments) * McCook's Raid on Atlanta & West Point Railroad, July 27–31 * Near Campbellton, July 28 * Lovejoy's Station, July 29 * Clear Creek and near Newnan, July 31 * Chattahoochie River, July 31 * Ordered to Decatur, AL, August 5 * Near Pond Springs, AL, August 9 (detachment) * Expedition from Decatur to Moulton, August 17–20 * Near Pond Springs August 18–19 (detachment) * Rousseau's pursuit of Wheeler, September 1–8 * Operations against Forrest in eastern Tennessee, September 16–October 10 * Action at Pulaski, September 26–27 * At Nashville to December * Action at Owen's Cross Roads, December 1 * Demonstration on Murfreesboro, December 5–7 * Wilkinson's Cross Roads near Murfreesboro, December 7 * Battle of Nashville, December 15–16 * Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River, December 17–28 * Hollow Tree Gap, Franklin and West Harpeth River, December 17 * Franklin, December 18 * Rutherford Creek, December 19 * Lynnville, December 23 * Anthony's Hill, December 25 * Sugar Creek, December 25–26 * Hillsboro, December 29 * Near Leighton, December 30 * Narrows, January 2, 1865 * Thorn Hill, January 3 * At Gravelly Springs to February * Moved to Vicksburg, Miss., thence to New Orleans, Louisiana (LA) and Mobile Bay, AL, February 11–March 23 * Campaign against Mobile and its defenses, March 26-April 9 * Occupation of Mobile, April 12 * March to Montgomery, LA April, 13–25 * Ordered to Mobile April 27 * Expedition from Spring Hill, AL to Baton Rouge, LA, May 8–22 * Ordered to Nashville, May 27 * Garrison duty at Johnsonville to July

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 234 men during service; 1 officer and 24 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 4 officers and 205 enlisted men died of disease or accident.Fox, William F., Lt.-Col., 'Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865', Albany, N.Y., 1889, p. 520.

Commanders

* Colonel R. M. Edwards * Lieutenant Colonel

Jacob Montgomery Thornburgh Jacob Montgomery Thornburgh (July 3, 1837Rothrock (''French Broad-Holston Country'', p. 497) lists July 5 as his date of birth. Thornburgh's grave monument at Old Gray Cemetery gives July 3 as his date of birth.– September 19, 1890) was an ...

- commanded at the battle of Nashville

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * Eckel, Alexander. ''History of the Fourth Tennessee Cavalry, U.S.A., War of the Rebellion, 1861-65'' (Johnson City, TN: Overmountain Press), 2001. eprint of 1929 edition* Wiefering, Edna. ''Tennessee Union Soldiers'' Vol. 1 (Cleveland, TN: Cleveland Public Library), 1996. ;Attribution * {{CWR

External links