Organized October 1862 as a battalion of Partisan Rangers; mustered into Confederate service December, 1862; consolidated with Napier’s Battalion February 25, 1863 to form the 10th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment.
FIELD OFFICER
- Major-Nicholas N. Cox
CAPTAINS
- W. H. Bass, Co. “A”. Became 1st Company “A”, 10th Cavalry Regiment. Organized April 9, 1862 at Waverly, Humphreys County, with men from Perry and Humphreys Counties.
- W. H. Lewis, Co. “B”. Became Company “B”, 10th Regiment. Organized October 8, 1862 at Linden, Perry County.
- Elisha S. Stevens, Co. “C”. Became Company “C”, 10th Regiment. Organized October 8, 1862 at Linden, Perry County, with men from Decatur and Hickman Counties.
- B. G. Rickman, Co. “D”. Became Company “H”, 10th Regiment. Organized December 11, 1862 at Linden, Perry County.
- I. B. Herron, Co. “E”. Became 1st Company “K”, 10th Regiment. Organized October and November 1862 with men from Humphreys and Perry Counties.
This battalion should not be confused with the 2nd (Biffle’s) Battalion, of which Nicholas N. Cox was also Major. When Biffie’s Battalion was merged into the 6th, also called 1st (Wheeler’s) Cavalry Regiment, Major Cox was left without a command, and was authorized by Governor Harris to organize a battalion of Partisan Rangers. No muster rolls of the battalion were found and the information given above comes from the muster rolls of the loth Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, and from personal papers of Major Cox. The battalion operated along the East bank of the Tennessee River, between the mouth of Duck River, and Savannah, Tennessee, making raids across the river when opportunity presented. The most important of these was the capture of an Illinois Company at Henderson Station, on the Mississippi and Ohio Railroad on November 25, 1862.
When General N. B. Forrest organized his first raid into West Tennessee in December 1862, Cox’s Battalion was ordered to cross the river and join him, which it did. Just prior to the action near Jackson, Tennessee, the battalion was assigned to the duty of destroying the bridges and culverts on the railroad from Jackson to Bolivar. Two days later, on December 20, General Forrest, with his escort and Cox’s Battalion, charged into Trenton, Tennessee, and with the help of some artillery support, captured the town, and some 800 Federal prisoners.
Near the end of the raid, at the Battle of Parker’s Cross Roads, on December 28, 1862, Major Cox and nearly 300 of his men were captured. On February 25, 1863, by order of General Forrest, Cox’s Battalion was consolidated with Napier’s Battalion to form the loth Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, of which Major Cox became the first colonel, assuming command after he had been exchanged.
This unit history was extracted from Tennesseans in the Civil War, Vol 1. Copyrighted 1964 by the Civil War Centennial Commission of Tennessee and is published here with their permission. This history may not be republished for any reason without the written permission of the copyright owner.