13th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (12th Months, 1861-62) (Confederate)

Brief History
This Unit was formed in July 1862, using the 16th Battalion Virginia Cavalry as its nucleus. It was assigned to W, H. F. Lee's, Chambliss', and Beale's Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia. The unit was active in, the conflicts at Fredericksburg, Brandy Station, Upperville, Hanover, Gettysburg, Bristoe, Kelly's Ford, and Mine Run. This regiment had 298 men in action at Gettysburg and surrendered on April 9, 1865, with 10 officers and 78 men. Field officers: Colonels John R. Chambliss, Jr. and Jefferson C. Phillips; Lieutenant Colonels Alexander Savage and Thomas E. Upshaw; and Majors Benjamin W. Belsches, Joseph E. Gillette, and Benjamin F. Winfield.

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.


 * The men were from Petersburg and the counties of Southampton, Sussex, Prince George, Surry, and Nansemond.

Company A (the Southampton Cavalry) - many men from Southampton County

Company B (The Petersburg Light Dragoons) - many men from Petersburg, Virginia

Company C (Randolph's Dragoons) - many men from Nansemond County

Company D (Jackson's Avengers) - many men from Sussex County

Company E (The Cockade Cavalry) - many men from Petersburg, Virginia

Company F (Prince George Cavalry) - many men from Prince George County

Company G (The Surry Cavalry) - many men from Surry County

Company H (Sussex Light Dragoons) - many men from Sussex County

Company I  (The Nansemond Cavalry) - many men from Suffolk, Nansemond County

Company K  - many men from Surry County

The information above is from 13th Virginia Cavalry, by Daniel T. Balfour.

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 Virginia 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.


 * Virginia in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Virginia, 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.


 * Balfour, Daniel T. 13th Virginia Cavalry. (Lynchburg, Virginia : H.E. Howard, c1986),


 * Brock, R. A. (Robert Alonzo). Miscellaneous papers, 1672-1865, now first printed from the manuscript in the collections of the Virginia Historical Society : comprising charter of the Royal African Co., 1672; report on the Huguenot settlement, 1700; papers of George Gilmer, of "Pen Park," 1775-1778; orderly book of Capt. George Stubblefield, 1776; career of the iron-clad Virginia, 1862; memorial of Johnson's Island, 1862-4; Beale's Cav. Brigrade Parole, 1865. (Richmond [Virginia] : Virginia Historical Society, 1887), and