4th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Confederate)

Brief History
"The troops of this command did not assume a regimental form till just before the battle of Murfreesboro, in 1862. It was made up of different detachments which had been in the service from the beginning of the war.  The regiment served with the Army of Tennessee throughout the war, and participated in all the marches and battles in which that army was engaged, and surrendeered with it at Charlotte, N.C., in May, 1865."

"Units of the Confederate States Army" by Joseph H. Crute, Jr. contains no history for this unit.

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.


 * Company A - Captain David W. Alexander - Men from Marshall County.
 * Company B - Captain C.H. Ingles - Men from Sevier County and Knox County.
 * Company C - Captain Geo. Moore - Men from Wilson County and DeKalb County.
 * Company D - Lieut. Robt. Bone - Men from Wilson County and DeKalb County.
 * Company E - Captain H.E. Wyly - Men from Cannon County.
 * Company F - Captain Jas. R. Lester - Men from Wilson County and DeKalb County.
 * Company G - Captain J.W. Nichol - Men from Rutherford County and Cannon County.
 * Company H - Captain Samuel H. Glover - Men from Hamilton County and North Alabama.
 * Company I - Captain Robt. Bledsoe - Men from Fentress County.
 * Company K - Captain James H. Britton - Men from Wilson County and DeKalb County
 * Company L - Captain J.J. Parton - Men from Sevier County and Knox County.

The information about the companies is from The Military Annals of Tennessee: Confederate, First Series; Embracing a Review of Military Operations, with Regimental Histories and Memorial Rolls, page 629, by John B. Lindsley. Compiled from Original and Official Sources. (1886. Reprint. Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint Co., 1974), (accessed 19 Nov 2011).

Company A (Captain D. W. Alexander) - many men from Marshall County

The information above is from Goodspeed History of Tennessee, vol. 8.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 577 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier or sailor. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in 'Tennessee in the Civil War' and 'United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865' (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * Tennessee in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Tennessee, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * Guild, George B., A Brief Narrative of the Fourth Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, Wheeler's Corps, Army of Tennessee, Nashville, Tenn. 1913. Online book at Internet Archive, (accessed 26 Feb 2012), also found at Google Books, (accessed 26 Feb 2012) and (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990),


 * Lindsley, John B. The Military Annals of Tennessee: Confederate, First Series; Embracing a Review of Military Operations, with Regimental Histories and Memorial Rolls, Compiled from Original and Official Sources. 1886. Reprint. Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint Co., 1974. (Family History Library book 976.8 M2L.) Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive.  A brief history and memorial rolls of the 4th Regiment Tennessee Cavalry begin on page 629.


 * 4th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, Baxter-Smith's, (accessed 22 Oct 2011).