Bryan --

By 1864 and even earlier in some cases, most Confederate cavalry leaders were no longer stars but were getting rocked. The breech-loading carbine and use of the saber in close quarters gave the Federal trooper a deadly edge (so to speak) over his Confederate counterpart, who was usually armed with a single-shot rifled musket. When fighting mounted in close quarters, the Southerner's rifled musket was no better than a club.

I happened across some Confederate cavalry inspections for two or three brigades operating east of the Mississippi. Arms for these commands can be posted on the appropriate message board if anyone's interested. (Hint: pistols and revolvers are in short supply, not even enough for all the officers.)