Confederate Regiments & Batteries * Virginia
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1861
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| September | Completed organization at Sangster’s Cross Roads in Prince William County under the command of Colonel Beverly Robertson (West Point Class of 1849), Lieutenant Colonel Williams C. Wickham and Major William Henry Fitzhugh Payne.
Company A – The Prince William Cavalry (Prince William County) Assigned to Stuart’s Cavalry Brigade, Army of the Potomac. |
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1862
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| April 25 | The regiment reorganized for the war. It reported 450 effectives. Colonel Robertson lost election for colonel and Lieutenant Colonel Wickham was elected colonel. |
| May 4 |
Battle of WilliamsburgColonel Wickham was badly wounded by a saber wound in a cavalry charge and Major Payne was shot in the face and captured. |
| June 9 | Major Payne was promoted to lieutenant colonel, although still a Federal prisoner. Captain Robert E. Utterback of Company F was promoted to major. |
| June 13 | Captain Alexander Hobson of Company F was promoted to major. |
| July 24 | Lieurenant Colonel Payne was paroled. |
| July 28 |
The Cavalry Division of the Army of Northern Virginia was created under the command of Major General James E.B. Stuart. The 4th Virginia Cavalry was assigned to the brigade of Brigadier General Fitzhugh Lee, along with the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 9th Virginia Cavalry and Breathed’s Battery of Horse Artillery. Colonel Robertson was ordered to North Carolina to recruit and train new cavalry regiments. |
| August | While recuperating at home from his Williamsburg wound Colonel Wickham was taken prisoner. He was paroled and quickly exchanged for Lieutenant Colonel Thomas L. Kane of the Pennsylvania “Bucktails,” who was related to his wife. |
| August | Colonel Wickham returned to the field. |
| September | Company H was detached as Headquarters Escort for Major General Jackson. Lieutenant Colonel Payne returned to duty. |
| September 17 |
Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam)The regiment was commanded by Colonel Williams C. Wickham. From the War Department marker for F. Lee’s Brigade on the Antietam battlefield: The 3rd, 4th and 9th Virginia Cavalry of Lee’s Brigade reached the field late in the afternoon of the 15th and took position on the extreme left of the Confederate Army… On the night of the 16th the Brigade was massed near the river in support of the Horse Artillery. The 1st Cavalry, detached on the 10th, rejoined on the morning of the 17th and the Brigade took position on the left of Jackson’s Command, which it assisted in resisting the Union advance. On September 18th and 19th the Brigade covered the withdrawal of the Army of Northern Virginia to the south bank of the Potomac. |
| November 3 |
UppervilleColonel Wickham was wounded in the neck by a shell fragment. |
| December 13 |
Battle of Fredericksburg |
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1863
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| April 30-May 6 |
Chancellorsville Campaign |
| May | Colonel Wickham was elected to Congress as representative from the Richmond district but stayed with his command until 1864, leaving his seat vacant. |
| June 9 |
Battle of Brandy Station |
| June 30 |
Battle of Hanover. PennsylvaniaLieutenant Colonel Payne’s hose was killed and he was captured. |
| July 3 |
Battle of GettysburgThe regiment brought 544 men to the field and lost 16 casualties. From the monument to F. Lee’s Brigade on the Gettysburg battlefield: July 3. The Battalion being on duty with Ewell’s Corps the Brigade brought only five regiments to this field where it arrived soon after midday and took position on the left of Hampton’s Brigade on the edge of the neighboring woods. It participated actively in the conflict which ensued. |
| September 1 | Lieutenant Colonel Payne was promoted to colonel, although still a Federal prisoner. |
| September 4 | Major Utterback resigned due to disability from typhoid fever. Captain William Wooldridge of Company B and Captain Robert L. Randolph were promoted to major. |
| September 9 | Stuart’s Cavalry Division was enlarged to a corps. Brigadier General Fitzhugh Lee was promoted to major general and given command of a division. Colonel Williams Wickham was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the brigade, which was assigned to Fitz Lee’s division. |
| October 24 | Major Hobson was killed while detached serving as a brigade staff officer. |
| November 26-December 2 |
Mine Run Campaign |
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1864
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| February 11 | Major Robert L. Randolph was promoted to lieutenant colonel. |
| May 5-7 |
Battle of The Wilderness |
| May 7 |
Battle of Todd’s TavernCaptain Graves was wounded. |
| May 8 |
Alsop’s Farm, SpotsylvaniaColonel Payne was exchanged. |
| May 9-24 |
Sheridan’s Expedition to the James |
| May 9-10 |
Beaver Dam StationMajor Wooldrige was wounded, losing his leg. |
| May 11 |
Yellow TavernColonel William Cheek was severely wounded. |
| May 11 | Ground Squirrel Church |
| May 12 | Lieutenant Colonel Randolph was killed. Major Wooldridge was promoted to lieutenant colonel. |
| June 11 |
Battle of Trevilian’s Station |
| mid-August | The regiment, with Fitzhugh Lee’s Division, was transferred to the Shenandoah Valley and assigned to Lieutenant General Jubal Early’s Army of the Valley. |
| August 16 | Front Royal |
| August 18 | Opequon Creek |
| August 19-21 | Berryville |
| October 9 |
Battle of Tom’s Brook |
| October 14 | Captain Charles Old of Company F was promoted to major. |
| November 1 | Colonel Payne was promoted to brigadier general. Lieutenant Colonel Wooldridge was promoted to colonel. |
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1865
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| January | The brigade’s men were disbanded to their homes to forage their mounts through the winter. |
| mid-March | The regiment re-formed and moved to the Richmond area |
| April 1 |
Battle of Five ForksBrigadier General Payne was wounded. |
| April 9 |
Appomattox Court HouseThe cavalry cut its way through Federal lines and escaped. Only two men from the 4th Virginia Cavalry were left to surrender with the army. |
| April 11 | The regiment disbanded at Lynchburg. |