20th Virginia Cavalry
The 20th Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly in western Virginia.[1]
| 20th Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment | |
|---|---|
.png.webp) Flag of Virginia, 1861 | |
| Active | August 1863 – April 1865 |
| Disbanded | April 1865 |
| Country | Confederacy |
| Allegiance | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Confederate States of America |
| Role | Cavalry |
| Engagements | American Civil War: Valley Campaigns of 1864 |
Virginia's 20th Cavalry Regiment was organized in August, 1863, and was composed of "North Western Virginians." The unit served in W.L. Jackson's Brigade and confronted the Federals in western Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley. It disbanded in mid-April, 1865. The field officers were Colonel W.W. Arnett, Lieutenant Colonels Dudley Evans and John B. Lady, and Major Elihu Hutton.
Companies and officers
| Company | Nickname | Recruited at | First (then later) Commanding Officer |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Company A | Marion County Monongalia County | Dudley Evans |
| B | Company B | Marion County Monongalia County | William W. Arnett many formerly from Company D of 19th Virginia Cavalry |
| C | Company C | Randolph County | Elihu Hutton |
| D | Company D | Barbour County | Edward M. Corder |
| E | Company E | Harrison County | John W. Young |
| F | Company F | Harrison County | Asbury Lewis many formerly from Companies A and C of 19th Virginia Cavalry |
| G | Wood County Grays | Wood County Pleasants County | Paul Neal John D. Neal[3] |
| H | Company H | Wirt County | Joseph Hayhurst many formerly from Company A and C of 19th Virginia Cavalry |
| I | Company I | Rockbridge County | Henry L. Heiskell |
| K | Company K | Rockbridge County | Ortho Alexander |
In popular culture
In the science fiction short story, Field Test by Keith Laumer, a newly designed and built artificially intelligent superheavy tank called a Bolo Mark XX Model B is assigned to "the 20th Virginia, a regiment ancient and honorable, with a history dating back to Terra Insula".[4]
References
- Richard L. Armstrong, 19th and 20th Virginia Cavalry (H.E. Howard, Inc.1994)
- derived from Armstrong, pp. 21-22
- They were brothers, Paul (1832-1919) graduating from VMI, and becoming an instructor and later a merchant and recruiter. He contracted typhoid fever in 1861 and so did not initially lead the unit and was arrested at Ravenswood on his way south, then sent to Camp Chase. His brother had been in Co. I, 31st Virginia Infantry including about a year in the Stonewall brigade, before transferring to this unit. Per H. E. Matheny's Wood County, West Virginia in Civil War Times (republished 1987 by Trans-Allegheny Books of Parkersburg), pp. 535-537.
- Keith Laumer. "Field Test". Baen eBooks. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document: "Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, National Park Service".