Name/Title
Chew's Battery of Stuart's Horse ArtilleryEntry/Object ID
LIB693Description
(From the preface) Chew's Horse Artillery Battery, in operation from November 1861, was comprised largely of white men from Jefferson County.
Five months earlier in June 1861, the 7th Virginia Cavalry was organized and assigned to Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. This cavalry regiment was commanded by Colonel Angus McDonald, with second in command Lieutenant Colonel Turner Ashby. By the spring of 1862 Ashby would take over and his leadership, as well as his novel ideas for artillery, would have a lasting impact on the character of cavalry warfare on both sides. In November, Captain Roger P. Chew and First Lieutenant Milton Rouss urged Ashby to establish a battery of horse artillery to accompany the cavalry. While horse artillery was used in Europe, none were known to exist in the Western Hemisphere. Prior to this, the so-called mounted artillery traveled with the infantry. Because all of the men of a mounted artillery battery did not ride horses, using them with the cavalry was impractical. In the case of horse artillery, the cannoneers rode horses, enabling them to keep up with the cavalry. Ashby agreed and turned to the Confederate Secretary of War, Judah P. Benjamin, who approved the plan. The battery commander was an eighteen year-old - Captain Roger Preston Chew. His company, selected as the first horse artillery unit in either army, rode with the 7th Virginia, then known as "Ashby's Cavalry." Second in command was First Lieutenant Milton Rouss. By December, the battery had two guns: a British-made, 12 pound, "Blakely" rifle, and a Tredegar three-inch rifle. As was typical in the Confederate army, this new outfit was named after its captain - "Chew's Battery." By December of 1861 three unusual men came together: Major General "Stonewall"Jackson, Lieutenant Colonel Turner Ashby, and Captain Roger Preston Chew. They would change the manner of cavalry warfare with the outset of Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862.Acquisition
Accession
00Source or Donor
Found in collectionAcquisition Method
GiftBook Details
Author
Cassedy, Edward K., Intro by Trout, Robert J.Publisher
Jefferson County MuseumPlace Published
* Untyped Place Published
Charles Town, WVDate Published
2006