The original inquiry presented a question concerning “dismounted cavalry.” Any mounted cavalry unit could be ‘dismounted’ in a particular engagement – it appears that in all the engagements by ggg grandfather’s and his brothers’ units participated against unmounted Federal units (Courtland, Britton’s Lane, Holly Springs, Thompson’s Station, Colliersville, Decatur, etc.) the Confederate cavalry fought dismounted in part if not in whole. However, the term “dismounted” also appears in official reports (regarding tables of organization, etc.) in reference to cavalry regiments that are no longer mounted and have been assigned to infantry brigades. For example, if you look at the records of mid 1864 concerning the composition of Army of Tennessee, and looked at Granbury’s infantry brigade, along with four “infantry” regiments would be the “17th Texas Cavalry (dismounted)” and the “24th Texas Cavalry (dismounted).”

I earlier referenced I thought Texas actually raised more cavalry units than infantry. After looking at a couple of websites listing the regiments raised in the states, this appears to be correct (in addition to a number of state force mounted units which I presume were needed for frontier protection against the Comanches). It also appears, overall, Confederate states raised a higher proportion of “cavalry” or “mounted infantry” regiments than did their Federal counterparts. For example, while it seems Mississippi and Iowa each had just under fifty “infantry” regiments, Iowa had about eight numbered cavalry regiments, while Mississippi had roughly twice that. Illinois and Indiana each seem to have formed over 130 infantry regiments each by mid 1864, and seventeen (Illinois) and thirteen (Indiana) cavalry units. Alabama appears to have formed roughly the same number of cavalry units as either of these two states, but only half the number of infantry regiments of either. While this is not a scientific survey, as I do not know teh particulars of these regiemnts, the number of units supposedly raised indicates a far higher percentage of cavalry units in Confederate states, even when compared with ‘western’ Federal states.

The Atlanta Campaign is also interesting in this regard. While numbers vary, it seems to be generally accepted that Sherman had somewhat over 100,000 men in May 1864, and Johnston and Polk somewhere around 60-65,000. In other words, Confederate forces overall were roughly 60 percent of the Federal. However, in cavalry, there does not appear to be such a wide discrepancy. Federal cavalry seem to have numbered around 10,000 to 12,000. While it is uncertain how many of Wheeler’s cavalry were mounted and ready in May, after the arrival of Jackson’s cavalry division with Polk’s forces from Mississippi it would seem the Confederates had at least 7,000 to 8,000 mounted troops.

Around the same time, at the battle of Mansfield, Louisiana (April 1864), Taylor’s Confederate army consisted of five infantry and four cavalry brigades, with two additional Louisiana state guard cavalry battalions. Of the twenty regiments/battalions in the “infantry” brigades, virtually half (nine) were “dismounted” cavalry regiments. This was in addition to the fifteen-odd cavalry regiments/battalions in the “cavalry” brigades of Taylor’s army.

It also appears a number of Confederate cavalry regiments became permanently assigned to infantry brigades from a fairly early date. At Iuka and Corinth, in September/October 1862, the 1st Missouri Cavalry, 3rd Missouri Cavalry, 1st Texas Legion, 3rd Texas Cavalry, 6th Texas Cavalry, 9th Texas Cavalry, and 3rd Arkansas Cavalry all served among the six infantry brigades of Price’s Army of the West - about a fifth of the total regiments of these brigades. (Price’s Army had a further four regiments and one battalion mounted in Armstrong’s brigade—the 2nd Arkansas, 2nd Missouri, Adams’ Regiment, 1st Mississippi Partisan Rangers, and Sanders Battalion). The 1st Missouri Cavalry, 3rd Missouri Cavalry (and the 1st Arkansas Cavalry Battalion) were in Greene’s infantry brigade at Champion’s Hill and Vicksburg in May and June 1863, and in Cockrell’s infantry brigade throughout 1864, and thus appear to have spent the whole war as infantry.

Likewise, at Murfreesboro in December 1862/January 1863, several cavalry regiments were assigned to infantry brigades, in addition to what appear to be a substantial number of mounted regiments in Wheeler’s corps. For example, Ector’s Infantry Brigade included the 10th, 11th, 14th, and 15th Texas Cavalry regiments. A year and a half later, the 10th and 14th were still in that same brigade (as well as the 32nd Texas Cavalry). In another example, cavalry regiments that were in Granbury’s Infantry Brigade at Chattanooga by October 1863 were still in that brigade a Franklin thirteen months later. The 1st Florida Cavalry served dismounted in an infantry brigade during the battles around Chattanooga, and was also still in the brigade at Franklin.

The only examples I can think of offhand where cavalry units assigned to infantry brigades and fought under those brigades, but later returned to the mounted role, are the four Texas units that were in Price’s army at Iuka and Corinth (they were remounted soon thereafter as what would eventually be Ross’s Brigade) and the 11th Texas Cavalry, which later served in Wheeler’s Corps.