Commissioned as the colonel of the 36th Virginia Infantry in 1861, McCausland's regiment served in western Virginia before they were transferred to Kentucky. As part of the brigade of Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd, they escaped the surrender of Fort Donelson. In 1862 and 1863 he served in Virginia. At the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain in May 1864, he assumed command of the retreat of the Confederate forces from the field. In July 1864 he burned the town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the retreat from Gettysburg, Virginia, in return for the destruction of the Shenandoah Valley. He served in the battles of Petersburg, Five Forks, and in the retreat to Appomattox.
