In their care was placed the fate of the new nation. They composed a single
company of the 4th Virginia Cavalry - but they were better known as the
Confederate "Black Horse Cavalry." Raised in Virginia's Fauquier County, they
had answered the Southern call to arms in 1861, and had immediately dis-
tinguished themselves in combat. Their calm courage under fire eventually
earned them a unique post of honor: scouts and protective escorts for the
commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, General Robert E. Lee, and his
irreplaceable "right arm," General Stonewall Jackson.

The troops of the Black Horse Cavalry, said their admirers, were "the bravest
of the brave." In the winter of 1863, they kept Lee posted on the movements
of the enemy, conducted countless bold raids - and captured hundreds of North-
ern troops. On February 28, 1863, General Lee officially cited them for their efforts
and sacrifices. The "bravest of the brave" - the Black Horse Cavalry - had lived
up to their name.

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