3rd Louisiana Cavalry, C.S.A.- Author's Notes

the
3rd Louisiana Cavalry
C.S.A.

(also known as the 1st Louisiana Cavalry Regiment, Partisan Rangers; 9th Louisiana Cavalry Battalion, Partisan Rangers or Wingfield's Cavalry)

Author's Notes

Roster

1) This roster was drawn from many sources, including Booth's "Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers & Confederate Commands"; Bergeron's "Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Commands, 1861-1865"; The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; Louisiana Confederate Pension Records; Individual personal accounts of the regiment's history; The burial database of the former Young - Sanders Center; Records of Confederate Soldiers Homes and others. It is as complete and accurate as I can manage, given that the regiment's records were scattered and fragmented both by the tides of war and it's aftermath. It is certain that there are troopers not listed and there may be some listed who should rightfully be listed with another regiment. If you find inaccuracies or omissions, please see numbers 4 & 5 below.

2) The troopers of this regiment are shown in the company with which they served the longest, or in the significant battles of the war. Many served in more than one company, particularly the men of Companies I and K.

3) Ranks shown are the highest rank known to have been attained by the individual Trooper or Officer during the war. This has obviously resulted in a top heavy "order of battle".

4) The more common errors known to exist in many soldier's records is the confusion between the three different organizations that were at one point or another were known as the 3rd Louisiana Cavalry. The regiment to which this document is concerned is Colonel James Wingfield's Third Louisiana Cavalry, which was also known as the 1st Louisiana Cavalry Regiment, Partisan Rangers; the 9th Louisiana Cavalry Battalion, Partisan Rangers ; or Wingfield's Cavalry Regiment. The most common regiment with which it is confused is Colonel Issac Harrison's Third Louisiana Cavalry (aka the 15th Cavalry Battalion, Partisan Rangers). Harrison's Regiment served chiefly in western Louisiana, while Wingfield's served in Eastern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Booth's records have misidentified many of Wingfield's troopers as having served with Harrison, an error I have attempted to repair here. If an individual trooper's record in Booth identifies his place of capture as Gainesville or Citronelle, Alabama, in May of 1865, it is certain that he was a member of Wingfield's regiment no matter which is listed. Booth's listing apparently drew on POW lists drawn up by the Union forces at the final surrender, many of which merely identified the 3rd La.Cavalry Regiment. Union officers and editors mistakenly added Harrison's designation to many of them later. To add to the confusion, a unit also called the 3rd Louisiana Cavalry was temporaily formed from Colonel John Pargoud's 13th Cavalry Battalion in western Louisiana. Though it exsisted only on paper for three or four months, and some of the companies refused to accept the assignment at all, it remains in some records with this designation. In editing these records I have made the following assumptions:

If the individual 3rd La. Cavalry Trooper:

A) Enlisted at Camp Moore or a Parish East of the Mississippi in May of 1862 or,
B) Is listed as a POW captured in the final surrender at Gainesville or Citronelle, Alabama in May of 1865 or,
C) Is Listed as being Killed, Wounded or Captured in a battle Known to have involved Wingfield's Cavalry or,
D) Is listed on any Regimental Roll, Roster or after-action report, of Wingfield's Cavalry, or any of it's detchments or,
E) states in his pension application that he belonged to Wingfield's Cavalry or any of it's detachments or companies

that he indeed served with Wingfield's regiment, and not with one of the others.

5) I would like this document to be as full and complete as possible. If you know of a trooper that you believe should be listed and is not, please e-mail me at: rebcav@cnnw.net . Before I will list a new entry, I want to make sure he served with Wingfield's regiment and not one of the others. If he meets one of the guidelines above, please note which one, and provide documentation if possible ( what source the information came from is sufficient in most cases.) Transcripts of Pension applications can be obtained from the archives of the State of Louisiana: http://www.sec.state.la.us/pension1.htm There is a small cost (about 5 - 10 dollars in most cases), the details can be found at the site.

NOTE: I would greatly appreciate the donation of pension transcripts or copies for the Regimental History.

6) I will be happy to provide what information I can on individual troopers and officers, though in many cases it is limited. Generally, it will consist of information from Booth's records, pension index information, and any other information I have found in my research. As a rule, more information is available for Officers than enlisted troopers due to the nature 19th century military reporting. E-mail inquiries to: rebcav@cnnw.net. All I ask in return is the sharing of any regimental or personal history information regarding the regiment.

Regimental History

A fairly extensive regimental history is in the works. I hope to have it available soon. (I know, I've said that before)

Thank You for visiting,

Neale S. Brown
GGGrandson of Pvt. Galamaree B. Spring, Co. E

and his brothers:

Lt. John Spring, Co. A
Sgt. Henry Spring, Co. A
Sgt. James Spring, Co. E
Pvt. Hilton Spring, Co. E

Roster of the 3rd Louisiana Cavalry

History of the 3rd Louisiana Cavalry