3rd Texas Cavalry Regiment
3rd Texas Cavalry Regiment | |
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Active | 13 June 1861 – May 1865 |
Country | Confederate States of America |
Allegiance | Confederate States of America, Texas |
Branch | Confederate States Army |
Type | Cavalry and Infantry |
Size | Regiment |
Nickname(s) | South Kansas-Texas Mounted Volunteers |
Engagements |
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Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
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Texas Cavalry Regiments (Confederate) | ||||
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The 3rd Texas Cavalry Regiment or South Kansas-Texas Mounted Volunteers was a unit of mounted volunteers that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment fought at Wilson's Creek and Chustenahlah in 1861, Pea Ridge, Corinth siege, Iuka, Second Corinth, and the Holly Springs Raid in 1862, Thompson's Station in 1863, and at Yazoo City, in the Atlanta campaign, and at Nashville in 1864. The regiment fought dismounted at Iuka and Second Corinth before being remounted for the rest of the war. The regiment surrendered to Federal forces in May 1865 and its remaining 207 men were paroled.
Formation
The 3rd Texas Cavalry formed at
History
1861
The 3rd Texas Cavalry left Dallas in July 1861, together with
Most of the tribes in Indian Territory joined the Confederacy, while other Native Americans chose to remain loyal to the Union. The pro-Union Indians with their leader Opothleyahola fled toward Kansas with their families and their livestock, with the 9th Texas Cavalry Regiment and pro-Confederate Indians under Douglas H. Cooper in hot pursuit. There were inconclusive skirmishes at Round Mountain on 19 November 1861 and Chusto-Talasah (Bird Creek) on 9 December.[8][note 1] The 3rd Texas Cavalry fought in the Battle of Chustenahlah on 26 December.[2] After failing to stop Opothleyahola's band, Cooper asked for help and James M. McIntosh led 1,380 Texas horsemen to defeat the Union Indians at Chustenahlah. After the fighting was done, McIntosh immediately marched his Texans to Fort Smith, Arkansas. Confederate Indians led by Stand Watie arrived after the battle and launched a pursuit that killed 700 of Opothleyahola's fleeing band.[9]
1862
At the
After Pea Ridge, Van Dorn transferred his 22,000-man army to
At the Second Battle of Corinth on 3–4 October 1862, the 3rd Texas Cavalry (dismounted) was in W. Bruce Colbert's brigade, Hebert's division, Sterling Price's corps.[23] On 3 October, Colbert's brigade was in reserve behind Hebert's three frontline brigades during the opening 10:00 am attack.[24] At 3:30 pm, Colbert's brigade still formed the reserve.[25] On 4 October, Van Dorn expected Hebert's division to attack at dawn, as ordered. Instead, Hebert reported himself sick at headquarters and had to be replaced by Martin E. Green.[26] In the confusion, Green's troops did not attack until 10:00 am.[27] Green's two right-hand brigades broke through the Union defenses and seized Battery Powell, but sustained heavy losses.[28] The two left-hand brigades, which included Colbert's, ran into stiffer opposition. The 3rd Texas Cavalry fought against some of the same Federal units that it fought at Iuka (48th Indiana and 11th Ohio Battery). After 45 minutes of fighting, Colbert's soldiers were repulsed with serious losses. The Union troops captured 132 men from Colbert's brigade.[29] At Corinth, the 3rd Texas Cavalry lost 2 killed, 29 wounded, and 13 missing.[30]
In December 1862, John C. Pemberton appointed Van Dorn the commander of three cavalry brigades and ordered him to wreck Ulysses S. Grant's supply depot at Holly Springs, Mississippi.[31] Van Dorn started from Grenada, Mississippi with 3,500 cavalrymen and the Holly Springs Raid was a smashing success. On 20 December the Union garrison was caught napping and 1,500 men were captured and paroled. About $1,500,000 worth of supplies went up in smoke and compelled Grant to withdraw from northern Mississippi.[32] The remounted 3rd Texas Cavalry participated in the raid.[2] It was part of a new brigade formed on 23 October 1862. The brigade was led by John Wilkins Whitfield and consisted of the 3rd Texas, 6th Texas, 9th Texas, and 27th Texas Cavalry Regiments.[33]
1863–1865
The 3rd Texas Cavalry fought at the Battle of Thompson's Station on 5 March 1863.[2] On 4 March, a Federal infantry brigade led by John Coburn marched south from Franklin, Tennessee on a reconnaissance. It quickly ran into elements of William Hicks Jackson's Confederate cavalry division. Coburn warned headquarters that he was walking into a trap, but he forged ahead. The next morning he approached Thompson's Station and drove Confederates from hills just north of town. At this time, the Union artillery and cavalry units suddenly left the field.[34] Van Dorn ordered Jackson's troopers to dismount and attack Coburn's soldiers frontally. Meanwhile, Nathan Bedford Forrest's division rode around the Union left flank, captured Coburn's wagon train, and blocked the Union escape route.[35] The fighting went on for five hours.[34] The Federals surrendered when they ran out of ammunition. Confederate casualties numbered 357 while the Union troops lost 1,600 killed, wounded, and captured.[35]
Later, Whitfield's brigade was sent to Mississippi to take part in futile operations to relieve the Siege of Vicksburg. After Vicksburg fell, the 3rd Texas Cavalry defended Mississippi against Federal incursions.[2] On 4 June 1863, a report by W. H. Jackson stated that Whitfield's cavalry brigade counted 123 officers and 1,354 men present for duty in the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 27th Texas. The 3rd Texas was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Boggess.[36] On 29 October 1863, Colonel Mabry took temporary leadership of the brigade when Whitfield became too ill to continue.[33] On 16 December Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross assumed permanent command of the brigade.[2] For the first few months of 1864, the units of Ross's brigade engaged in operations along the Yazoo River,[33] including fighting in the Battle of Yazoo City on 5 March.[37] In May 1864, Ross's brigade was transferred to Georgia.[2]
During the Atlanta campaign, Ross's brigade was part of W. H. Jackson's cavalry division and Lieutenant Colonel Boggess led the 3rd Texas Cavalry.[38] Aside from day to day skirmishes, the regiment fought at the battles of New Hope Church, Lovejoy's Station, and Jonesborough.[2] The regiment suffered heavy casualties during the campaign and the Federals captured their battle flag at Lovejoy's Station in August 1864.[1] On 18 August 1864, 4,700 Union cavalry under Hugh Judson Kilpatrick set out on a raid to wreck the Macon and Western Railroad. Though Ross' brigade only counted 400 men, it significantly slowed down the Federal horsemen. The raiders drove Ross' troopers out of Jonesborough but heavy rains began, preventing the Union cavalry from burning the railroad ties. On 20 August, Kilpatrick marched his cavalry to Lovejoy's Station where they were ambushed by Confederate infantry and cavalry and attacked from the rear by Ross' brigade. Kilpatrick ordered Robert H. G. Minty's brigade to break out to the rear. In the ensuing saber charge, the Union cavalry routed Ross' outnumbered troopers and found the battle flag in a captured ambulance. Kilpatrick's division escaped to Union lines with the loss of 237 casualties.[39]
The 3rd Texas Cavalry Regiment fought in the subsequent
See also
Notes
- Footnotes
- ^ Monaghan named the 4th Texas, an early name for the 9th Texas.
- Citations
- ^ a b Texas Archives 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Hale 2011.
- ^ National Park Service 2017a.
- ^ Lang 2007, p. 29.
- ^ Battles & Leaders 1987, p. 306.
- ^ a b Battles & Leaders 1987, p. 290.
- ^ Battles & Leaders 1987, pp. 301–303.
- ^ Monaghan 1955, pp. 217–224.
- ^ Monaghan 1955, pp. 225–227.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, pp. 334–335.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, pp. 96–100.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, pp. 110–112.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, p. 115.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, pp. 116–118.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, pp. 144–145.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, p. 264.
- ^ Oates 1994, p. 37.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 325.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 79.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 88.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, pp. 90–91.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, pp. 96–98.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 327.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 167.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 203.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 235.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 237.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, pp. 240–245.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, pp. 250–251.
- ^ Official Records 1886, p. 382.
- ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 310.
- ^ Boatner 1959, p. 405.
- ^ a b c d Benner 2017.
- ^ a b Battlefield Trust 2017.
- ^ a b National Park Service 2017b.
- ^ Official Records 1889, p. 947.
- ^ Dobak 2011, p. 202.
- ^ Battles & Leaders 1987, p. 292.
- ^ Castel 1992, pp. 471–473.
References
- "3rd Regiment, Texas Cavalry (South Kansas-Texas Mounted Volunteers)". National Park Service. 2017a. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- "The Battle of Thompson's Station". American Battlefield Trust. 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Vol. 1. Secaucus, N.Y: Castle. 1987 [1883]. ISBN 0-89009-569-8.
- Benner, Judith Ann: ROSS'S BRIGADE, C.S.A. from the Handbook of Texas Online (June 22, 2017). Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- ISBN 0-679-50013-8.
- ISBN 0-7006-0562-2.
- ISBN 0-8078-2320-1.
- Dobak, William A. (2011). "Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored Troops 1862–1867" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, U.S. Army. p. 202. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- Hale, Douglas: THIRD TEXAS CAVALRY from the Handbook of Texas Online (June 6, 2011). Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- "Historic Flags of the Texas State Library and Archives: TSLAC 306-4049 Third Texas Cavalry Regiment". Austin, Tex.: Texas State Library and Archives Commission. 2017.
- Lang, Andrew F. (2007). "Lone Star Pride: The Good-Douglas Texas Battery, CSA 1861–1865". East Texas Historical Journal. 45 (2): 26–40.
- Monaghan, Jay (1955). Civil War on the Western Border 1854–1865. New York, N.Y.: Bonanza Books. ISBN 0-8032-3091-5.
- ISBN 0-292-71152-2.
- Shea, William L.; Hess, Earl J. (1992). Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4669-4.
- "Thompson's Station". National Park Service. 2017b. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Volume XVII Part I. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. 1886. p. 382. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
- "The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XXIV Part III". Washington, D.C.: United States War Dept. 1889. Retrieved June 18, 2020.