7th Virginia Cavalry was organized during the late spring of 1861. In October authority was given to increase its size, and by the summer of 1862 the regiment contained twenty-nine companies. In June it was reduced to ten companies. Ten companies formed the 12th Regiment Virginia Cavalry, seven became the 17th Battalion Virginia Cavalry, one transferred to the 14th Regiment Virginia Cavalry, and one became J.W. Carter’s Battery. The unit served in W.E. Jones’, Rosser’s, and J. Dearing’s Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia. It took part in Jackson’s Valley Campaign and the conflicts at Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Upperville, Fairfield, Bristoe, Mine Run, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. Later the regiment was involved in Early’s Shenandoah Valley operations and disbanded in mid-April, 1865. None of its members were at Appomattox on April 9.

The field officers were Colonels Turner Ashby, Richard H. Dulany, William E. Jones, and A.W. McDonald; Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Marshall; and Majors O.R. Funsten, Daniel C. Harcher, and Samuel B. Myers.

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

West Virginia counties contributing soldiers: Mercer, Monroe

7th Virginia Cavalry – National Park Service

7th Virginia Cavalry, Virginia Regimental History Series, by Richard L. Armstrong, H.E. Howard Publishing, 1992.

7th Virginia Cavalry, Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia, by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 113-114, entry #202.

7th Virginia Cavalry, A Guide to Virginia’s Military Organizations, 1861-1865, by Lee A. Wallace, Jr., pp. 47-49.

Short History of the 7th Virginia Cavalry, with images of some of its members.