Ashby's command was reorganized as a full brigade under Brigadier General Robertson and assigned to J.E.B. Stuart. Command of the 7th Virginia, now reduced to ten companies, and was passed to Colonel William E. "Grumble" Jones. It was under Jones' watchful eye that the 7th Virginia Cavalry would finally learn military discipline. One of Jones' first acts was to have a number of grindstones brought into the camp. This done, he ordered the men to sharpen their sabers, admonishing, "If you want to cut, have something you can cut with. If you want to bruise, better get a club." The men responded derisively, surmising they would have need of neither saber nor club as they would never close with the enemy while commanded by the old infantry colonel. They soon learned the error of their assumption at 1st Brandy Station and Gainesville.

For more detailed information on this regiment, and the men who fought in it, I recommend
the 7th Virginia Cavalry
by Richard L. Armstrong
Available from The Virginia Regimental Histories Series