"Late
Patrol Near Cedartown"
Near the end of the Civil War wounded veterans, old men, and young boys were operating as Home Guard in north Alabama and Georgia. Armed and equipped with what could be scrounged from the depleted arsenals or brought from home, these men have dismounted and are preparing to advance into the woods. The young boy is drawing his father's old Walker revolver. This scene is inspired by stories about a fifteen year old Confederate cavalryman: my great-great grandfather John Ephraim Roberts of Cedartown, Georgia.
"Fire
the Field"
In a desperate attempt to allow for Confederate infantry to fill the crumbling defenses on a small rise to their rear known to the locals as Honey Hill, Capt. Peeples' men of Co. K, 3rd. South Carolina Cavalry formed a thin line before the head of Sherman's massive "March to the Sea". Fighting off the approach of five thousand Federal troops on the morning of November 30, 1864, Peeples' one hundred troopers slowly retreated, fighting as dismounted skirmishers. Though a victory, hard fought and brilliantly executed, Honey Hill only served to delay the inevitable four long, agonizing months.
"5th.
Virginia Deploying as Skirmishers"
His company is deploying as mounted skirmishers in the autumn of 1863,and this Confederate trooper is drawing the Kerr revolver issued to the saber companies of the 5th Virginia Cavalry. His uniform is the Richmond second issue shell jacket( with the shoulder straps cut off) and Federal issue trousers. The captured McClellan saddle is equipped with a leather valise provided for the 5th and is resting on a saddle blanket woven of spanish moss. These were manufactured by the South and issued to replace the wool saddle blankets –– requisitioned for sleeping blankets –– as wool became scarce.
"Early
Morning Encounter"
A mid-war Federal trooper is on picket duty in early morning ground fog, engaged in the lethal probing process of armies on the move. His unit has yet to be issued Spencer carbines and his weapons and tack have seen hard use. The trooper's mount, though conditioned to gunfire, is startled by a sudden shot. His McClellan saddle is rigged for march order,i.e., stripped to the bare essentials this late in the war.
"Marching
With Stuart"
Though a lover of music and gaiety, what J.E.B. Stuart knew best was the grueling endurance required for his legendary lightning quick marches. "Jeb" is seen here on one of those marches as he is in front of a saber company of the 1st Virginia Cavalry, the regiment he first commanded at the outset of the war. Stuart's life ended brutally at Yellow Tavern but his legend as the last of the old world cavaliers endures.
