8th Cavalry Regiment, usually called Terry's Texas Rangers, was organized with 1,170 men at
Houston, Texas, in Deptember, 1861. Its members were raised in Houston, Richmond,
Columbus, Gonzales, and Wharton, and Bastrop County. The regiment was one of the hardest
fighting cavalry units in the war. It was assigned to Wheeler's, Wharton's, and T. Harrison's
Brigade, and fought at Shiloh, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga. Later it was
active in the Knoxville and Atlanta Campaigns, the defense of
Savannah, and the campaign of the Carolinas. On April 26, 1865, it surrendered with about 30
men. The field officers were Colonels Gustave Cook, Thomas Harrison, Thomas S. Lubbock,
Ben. Franklin Terry, and John A. Wharton; Lieutenant Colonels Samuel P. Christian, Marcus L.
Evans, Stephen C. Ferrill, and John G. Walker; and Majors William R. Jarmon and Leander M.
Rayburn.
