Records of Col. Avery's 4th Georgia Cavalry are filed as 12th Georgia Cavalry Regiment.

This man appears as J. C. Burgess, enlisted at Dalton GA by Lieut. W. L. Cook, May 15, 1862. Initially this was Avery's Co. "A", later Co. "E", 12th Georgia Cavalry.

The December 1863 roll reports Burgess as armed with a Springfield rifle, which helps us understand some of the deficiencies of the typical Confederate cavalryman. He could fight effectively on foot as a mounted infantryman, but was vulnerable if forced to fight on horseback.