For the most part, it was just a matter of terminology. In the Western Theatre, most Confederate cavalry was really mounted infantry. The horses were a means of getting from one place to another. Most Confederate cavalry units carried a variety of weapons, which consisted of many 2-band or 3-band infantry rifles. Most common were .577 Enfields, .58 Springfields, .54 Austrians, and .69 smoothbore Springfields. Also carried were carbines of various types, and shotguns. As most fighting was done on foot, pistols were not widely carried. Due to Sherman's numbers superiority in infantry, Johnston was forced to use Wheeler's cavalry to supplement the infantry on the flanks in the Atlanta Campaign, such as was done at Pickett's Mill. Confederate cavalry generally used Poinsett's tactics in use at beginning of the war), as Cook's didn't come in until mid-war, and probably was adopted very little by Confederate cav. I'm sure a lot of Federal units never switched from Poinsett's.