4th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry (Russell's)

Brief History
4th (Russell's) Cavalry Regiment was formed at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in December, 1862, by consolidating four companies from the 3rd (Forrest's Old) Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, six companies of the 4th Alabama Battalion, and the Russell Rangers or 15th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion. Its members were from the counties of Madison, Wilcox, Monroe, Cherokee, Jackson, Marshall, and Lawrence. It was included in the surrender on May 4, 1865.

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database lists 1,724 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Companies by County:


 * Company A [formerly 3rd TN Cavalry] - many men from Wilcox County and Monroe County
 * Company B [previously, Company "D", 15th TN Cavalry Battalion] - many men from Cherokee County
 * Company C - many men from Madison County
 * Company D
 * Company E - many men from Jackson County
 * Company F [some of this company previously served in Company D, 7th AL Infantry] - many men from Madison County
 * Company G - many men from Jackson County
 * Company H [formerly 5th TN Cavalry] - many men from Marshall County
 * (Madison)
 * Co. "I" [evidently consolidated from Company A and E, 15th TN Cavalry Battalion] - many men from Marshall County
 * Company K
 * Dunagan's Co. [Russell's Battalion, 15th TN Partisan Rangers, or Russell's Rangers; company evidently broken up when battalion was raised to a regiment, 23 Nov 62

The list of companies with their counties is found on history-sites.com web site.

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier or sailor. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in 'Alabama in the Civil War' and 'United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865' (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * Alabama in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Alabama, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, e