SEVENTH TEXAS CAVALRY
The Seventh Texas Cavalry Regiment was organized in Victoria, Texas, in the summer of 1861. The unit registered nearly 1,000 effectives and was structured into ten companies. The men of the Seventh Cavalry were recruited primarily from the Texas counties of Washington, Bexar, Guadalupe, Williamson, Angelin, Polk, Trinity, Cherokee, Rusk, Walker, Houston, Anderson, and Tarrant. The original commander of the regiment was William Steele.
Shortly after being organized, the Seventh Cavalry was mustered into service in the Confederate Army and on November 8, 1861, was assigned to Henry H. Sibley”s Brigade, Department of Texas. On January 21, 1862, the unit was attached to the Army of New Mexico. From February 19 to August 7, 1862, the regiment participated in Sibley”s Campaign, including the major engagements at Valverde and Glorieta Pass.
On September 12, 1862, Col. William Steele was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and command of the Seventh Cavalry passed to Col. Arthur P. Bagby. On January 1, 1863, the unit was on detached service to take part in Confederate Gen. John B. Magruder attack to re-take the city of Galveston that had been held by Union forces since October 1862 Beginning in March 1863 the Seventh Cavalry was moved east where it participated in operations in Louisiana. The regiment remained in Louisiana for the remainder of the war and fought in the following battles – Bayou Vermillion, Donaldsonville, Cox’s Plantation, Bayou Bourbeau, Buzzards Prairie, Grand Coteau, Carrion Crow Bayou and finally the Red River Campaign.
The unit was disbanded on May 27, 1865 at Wild Cat Bluff, Texas.
In the movie, ‘The Good the Bad and the Ugly’, Blondie and Tuco portrayed by Eli Wallach and Clint Eastwood disguise themselves as members of the 7th Texas Mounted Rifles.
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Southwest Living History Association
