36th Virginia Cavalry Battalion was organized in February, 1863, with four companies, later increased to five. The unit was assigned to A.G. Jenkins’, W.E. Jones’, B.T. Johnson’s, and Payne’s Brigade. It had a force of 125 men at Gettysburg, moved to Western Virginia, then took part in operations in East Tennessee. The 36th was with McCausland at Chambersburg, served with Early in the Shenandoah Valley, and was active around Appomattox. After cutting through the lines at Appomattox, it disbanded.

Major James W. Sweeney was in command.

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

West Virginia counties contributing soldiers: Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Clay, Greenbrier, Jackson, Kanawha, Logan, Monroe, Nicholas, Ohio, Putnam, Roane, Wayne, Wood

36th Battalion Virginia Cavalry – National Park Service

36th and 37th Battalions Virginia Cavalry, Virginia Regimental History Series, by J.L. Scott, H.E. Howard Publishing.

36th Battalion Virginia Cavalry, Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia, by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 140-141, entry #237.

36th Battalion Virginia Cavalry, A Guide to Virginia’s Military Organizations, 1861-1865, by Lee A. Wallace, Jr., pg. 67.