12th Virginia Cavalry [also called 10th Regiment] was organized at Conrad’s Store, Virginia, in June, 1862, with companies from the 7th Regiment Virginia Cavalry. The unit served in W.E. Jones’, Rosser’s, and J. Dearing’s Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. It fought in Northern Virginia, in the Maryland Campaign, at Brandy Station, then was involved in various conflicts in the western part of Virginia. The regiment continued the fight at Bristoe and Mine Run, in the battles around The Wilderness and Cold Harbor, and in Early’s operations in the Shenandoah Valley. During mid-April, 1865, it disbanded.

The field officers were Colonel Asher W. Harman, Lieutenant Colonels Richard H. Burks and Thomas B. Massie, and Major John L. Knott.

[Source: National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System]

West Virginia counties contributing soldiers: Berkeley, Jefferson

12th Virginia Cavalry – National Park Service

12th Virginia Cavalry, Virginia Regimental History Series, by Dennis E. Frye, H.E. Howard Publishing, 1988.

12th Virginia Cavalry, Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia, by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 120-121, entry #210.

12th Virginia Cavalry, A Guide to Virginia’s Military Organizations, 1861-1865, by Lee A. Wallace, Jr., pp. 53-54.

The Last Survivor: The Memoirs of George William Watson: a Horse Soldier in the 12th Virginia Cavalry CSA, by George William Watson, Night Hawk Press, 1993.