Historical Sketch And Roster Of The Texas 30th Cavalry Regiment

On August 18, 1862, Col. Edward J. Gurley organized ten companies at Waco, Texas, to form the Thirtieth Texas Cavalry, also known as the First Texas Partisan Rangers. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Gurley obtained permission from President Jefferson Davis to raise a regiment of cavalry. A majority of the men Gurley enlisted in his command came from Waco and the surrounding area, many to avoid the stigma of conscription. Besides McLennan, men came from Bastrop, Johnson, Bosque, Comanche, Chambers, Erath, Hill, and Ellis counties, all in North Central Texas near the frontier, with a small number of men from Arkansas.
After the Second Battle of Cabin Creek, the Thirtieth Texas Cavalry received orders that transferred it to Gen. William Henry Parson's Brigade, replacing the Twenty-first Texas Cavalry in March 1865. The Thirtieth Texas Cavalry finally disbanded in May 1865 at Wallace Prairie, Texas, near Austin after serving with Parson's Brigade for only two months.

John Rigdon has authored a number of books on the American Civil War and is the manager of the web site, Research OnLine, (www.researchonline.net) the premier site for researching Civil War ancestors in the Civil War. His titles include the Historical Sketch and Roster Volumes (1100 plus titles) and a dozen volumes in the "We Fought" series focusing on particular battles and commanders. Additionally John works in translation of materials in several languages and maintains the website, www.wordsrus.info. John resides in the foothills of the Appalachians outside Cartersville, GA. where he enjoys gardening and aquaponics. You may reach him at jrigdon@researchonline.net.