Collin Chronicles, Volume 16, Number 3, Spring 1995/6 Page: 4 of 32
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PAGE 58 SPRING 1995/6 COLLIN CHRONICLES
FRONTIER TEXAS CAVALRY
The Frontier Texas Cavalry was organized by order of the Texas State Legislature in order to
constitute a command for the special protection of the frontier against Indian depredations. The unit was
organized in late 1862 and accepted into Texas state service on January 1, 1863. It remained in state
service until finally mustered into Confederate service on May 25, 1864. From that date onward, the
regiment was sometimes incorrectly known as the Forty-Sixth Texas Cavalry. This numeric designation
was unofficial and it had no standing with the Confederate War Department in Richmond.
A great deal of confusion has arisen between this unit and two other Texas cavalry regiments,
Border's Texas Cavalry and the Border Texas Cavalry.
Like almost all Civil War units, the Frontier Texas Cavalry was often known by an alternate
designation derived from the name of its commanding officer. Unofficial names of this type used by or for
the regiment are shown below.
James E. McCord's Cavalry
Col.
W.J. Alexander's Cavalry -Major
James B. Barry's Cavalry
Lt. Col.
H.T. Edgar's Cavalry
William Wallace's Cavalry
James N. Norris' Cavalry
Col.
Alfred N. Obershein's Cavalry -Lt. Col.
Even though the regiment spent more than a year and a half in state service, it nevertheless was
assigned to various Confederate higher commands. Authority over the regiment was complex and difficult
at best, during this period and, on at least two occasions before the unit actually entered Confederate
service, Trans-Mississippi authorities requested that state authorities turn the regiment over to them.
The list below identifies the specific higher command assignments of the regiment both before and
after it entered Confederate service.
January 6, 1863 Cavalry, Western Sub-District, District of Texas, New Mexico and
Arizona, Trans-Mississippi Department
March 28, 1863 Attached, District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona
Trans-Mississippi Department
June 30,1864 Fort Belknap, Texas, District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona,
Trans-Mississippi Department
Dec. 31, 1864 Eight Texas Cavalry Brigade, Third Texas Cavalry Division, Third
Corps, Army of Trans-Mississippi
April 30, 1865 Attached, Central Sub-District, District of Texas, New Mexico and
Arizona, Trans-Mississippi Department.
During its career, the Frontier Texas Cavalry operated against Indians as set out in its conditions of
enlistment. At one time, at least, it also operated against deserters and renegades along the Trinity River.
Listed below are the engagements in which the regiment took part. Without a doubt, it is an
incomplete listing. The unit took part in a large number of small affairs against Indians. The names of
most of the events have not been recorded,
Expedition against Comanches on the Wichita River, Tex Jan 15, 1863
Operations against Indians in Western Texas May 1
25, 1863
Skirmish, Hondo River, Tex. May 8, 1864
Operations along the Trinity River, Tex. May 15
June, 1864
Skirmish, Elm Creek, Texas Oct. 13, 1864
Operations against Indians near Fort Belknap, Tex. Oct. 13-20, 1864
Action, Dove Creek, Texas Jan 8, 1865
continued p 60
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Collin County Genealogical Society. Collin Chronicles, Volume 16, Number 3, Spring 1995/6, periodical, 1996; Plano, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth10777/m1/4/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Collin County Genealogical Society.