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History:
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"MORE
ABOUT THE TERRIBLE BLACK HORSE.
Alexandria, July 25, 1861. I overheard one of the men
sitting on the door step of the house describing the charge
of the Black Horse Cavalry, part of which, I believe, is
Capt. Scott's Fauquier cavalry. He said they advanced in a
wedge form, then opened, disclosing a battery which fired
upon his regiment, and that then the cavalry charged upon
the regiment, hemming it in on all sides; and, cutting
right and left with tremendous blows, each blow powerful
enough to take off a man's head. he said he never wished to
see such a charge again."
--
The Richmond Daily Inquirer, quoting the Baltimore
Exchange
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The Black
Horse was initially formed in Fauquier County in 1859 as an
independent volunteer cavalry company. It was mustered into the
service of the Commonwealth of Virginia in May of 1861 and
subsequently became Company H of the 4th VA Cavalry. However, the
name "Black Horse Troop" continued to be used. The Black Horse Cavalry was sometimes
erroneously applied to Confederate cavalry as a whole, for example
after First Manassas, a famous painting erroneously depects "The Black Horse" cavalry routing
Zouave troops from New York when it actually was JEB Stuart's 1st Virginia Cavalry. The Black Horse won a reputation as fierce fighters
and excellent riders that caused them to instill fear in the enemy
throughout the War.
The roster
of the Black Horse included a great many young men from the oldest
and most established families of Fauquier County, in the heart of
Virginia's horse country. Many had honed their skills for years
before the War in foxhunting and at the jousting tournaments held in
Fauquier Springs, and rapidly adapted those skills to the needs of
cavalry in wartime.
The Black
Horse troop served from First Manassas to Appomattox Court House,
participating in every major battle and campaign which involved the
Army of Northern Virginia and never surrendering their colors. The
unit produced three brigadier generals and numerous post-war elected
officials.
The 4th
Virginia Cavalry was comprised of companies from Prince William,
Chesterfield, Madison, Culpeper, Powhatan, Goochland, Hanover,
Warren, and Buckingham counties, some of the finest sons of the
“old Dominion”.
- Historical
Roster of the Black Horse:
Roster
- Index PDF file
From The Black Horse Calvary: An Annotated Bibliographical
Register of Members of the Company., by historian Lynn
Hopewell (descendant of Strother Seth Jones, member of the Black
Horse) (yet to be published)
- Arms
& Equipments of the Black
Horse:
October
1863 inventory of items issued to Co.
H,
researched by Jim Rowe
- Books
about the Black Horse:
Visit
historian and author Lynn Hopewell's website, BlackHorseCavalry.org
for
information on the forthcoming publication of his history of the
Black Horse.
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