Steve
15th Confederate Cavalry
Mon Sep 18 19:17:27 2000


Greetings Folks,
I am an active member of the 15th Confederate Cav reenacting group and my duties inlcude editor of the unit newspaper, chief horse holder, head hay fetcher, primary gofer, and other duties as the Commanding Officer may direct.
I would like to add to a post from a week or so ago about the unit history with some of the information that I have been able to glean.
The unit was originally formed in Mobile in 1861 as the 15th Alabama Cavalry Regmt by Theodore O'Hara who was a prominent Mobilian and poet, whose best known work is the poem "Bivouac of the Dead". The unit was formed as mounted infantry and O'Hara was commissioned as the colonel of the regiment.
In late 1863 the unit was reorganized as the 15th Confederate Cavalry Regmt through a consolidation of five companies from the 3rd Florida Cav Battlaion and five independent Alabama cavalry companies. Because the unit was composed of companies from several states, it bore the designation as Confederate States cavalry.
Companies "A" through "E" of the unit were composed of the Florida men and companies "F" through "K" the Alabama men. The unit was assigned to the Army of the Gulf and Henry Maury was the unit commander.
The Regiment was used primarily for coastal defenses and to