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"If you want to have a good time, jine the cavalry!"

Confederate Cavalry Song

Photo: National Archives

This corporal proudly shows off the uniform and weapons of the cavalry. His shell jacket is trimmed in yellow braid on the cuffs, back, edges and collar. The crossed saber insignia of the cavalry is visible on his cap. He is holding the M1860 cavalry saber in his left hand and has a Colt revolver tucked in his belt.

In 1861, the cavalry was in the middle of an identity crises.  It didn’t know what it was or how it was to be used.  Traditionally, the cavalry’s role was to act as a shock force, slashing at the enemy’s flanks in swift attacks or exploiting gains made by the enemy in massive mounted charges, as in Napoleon’s time.  But in the 20 years prior to the start of the Civil War, the cavalry had been largely forgotten and was relegated to guarding wagon trains, scouting against Indians and manning small outposts on the frontier.

The war would produce a number of legendary cavalrymen on both sides.  J.E.B. Stuart and George Custer represented the dashing, saber-wielding cavalier of European tradition, while John Mosby, Benjamin Grierson and Nathan Bedford Forrest, the "Wizard of the Saddle", represented the modern cavalrymen, raiding deep into enemy territory and scouting far ahead of the main army.