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Company K
Organized Sep 15, 1862 at Sparta, White County
Bryant M. Swearingen; resigned in 1864
(2nd Lt. Elijah W. Terry commanded the company the last 18 months)

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 The 8th Tennessee Cavalry was initially organized in White County as independent partisan rangers on September 4, 1862, with 12 companies under the command of Colonel George G. Dibrell. The first muster was held near Sparta in September 1862, and consisted of 921 men, primarily farm workers from Jackson, Overton, Putnam and White counties.
On October 8, the regiment marched from Sparta to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to join Brigadier General Nathan B. Forrest's Brigade. There it was reorganized into 10 companies and mustered into the CSA as the 8th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry. While at Murfreesboro, the regiment was equipped with 400 flintlock muskets and 600 sabres -- the only issue of arms ever made to it by the Confederate Government. Its first military assignment was to scout and establish pickets outside the city of Nashville. A skirmish at Neely's Bend, north of the city, was the first of several while stationed in that area.

The 8th Tennessee Cavalry was involved in a remarkable number of battles and skirmishes throughout the Civil War and suffered considerable casualties. It fought in engagements ranging from west Tennessee into southern Virginia, through the Carolinas and into Georgia. The men fought not only on horseback, but frequently engaged the enemy dismounted and sometimes in hand-to-hand combat as happened at Chickamauga. Although it was regularly short of arms and supplies and its recruits usually had little or no training, the regiment earned a reputation for discipline and dependability. Writing after the war, General Dibrell wrote "that not a piece of artillery was ever lost when supported by the Eighth. Huggin's company of artillery used to say that they had no fear of going into battle when supported by the Tennessee cavalry brigade, of which the Eighth was a part."

Its last engagement was at Beulah, NC on April 11, 1865. The next day, the regiment learned that rumors of Lee's surrender were true and marched to Greensboro, NC. From there, it helped escort President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet to Abbeville, SC where the command was dissolved. The 8th Tennessee, consisting of only 381 men, marched to Washington, Georgia and surrendered to the 4th Iowa Cavalry on May 3rd. The men were paroled on May 9, 1865, and returned to Tennessee.

While camped in Polk County, the men were confronted by a squad of federal soldiers who brought them to the nearby city of Cleveland. They were placed under guard and individually searched for any item bearing the “U.S.” insignia. The regiment was allowed to leave later that evening, but not without enduring some harassment from a few of the local citizens.

The 8th Tennessee entered Chattanooga the following day and suffered more humiliation. The provost-marshal, falsely claiming that he was under orders, confiscated the horses from those with the rank of private. After the parole of each soldier was inspected, the regiment, annoyed but in good spirits, continued its homeward journey on foot.
 

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 Battles and Campaigns
 Roster (Staff and Field)
 Photos 22 Mar 99
 Notes, References
 Links 23 Mar 99

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The 8th Tennessee Cavalry is sometimes referred to as the 13th Tennessee Cavalry. Indeed, the A. & I.G.O. recognized the unit by the latter designation. After the war, General Dibrell provided an explanation:
When the regiment was mustered at Murfreesboro by Col. Charles Carroll it was the Eighth Regiment of Tennessee Cavalry, and it bore that name thereafter. Col. Carroll was captured before sending off his muster, and when received at Richmond the regiment was numbered the Thirteenth; but we never recognized that number, and it was not so known in the army.

It is important not to confuse this regiment with the 8th Tennessee (Smith's) Cavalry. That unit was organized in January 1863, and was known in the field as the 4th Tennessee Cavalry.
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