The 35th Virginia Cavalry Battalion, also known as White's Battalion, White's Rebels and the Comanches, was a Confederate cavalry unit during the American Civil War raised by Elijah V. White in Loudoun County, Virginia in the winter of 1861-62. The battalion was initially raised as border guards along the Potomac River below Harpers Ferry but were ultimately mustered into regular service as part of the Laurel Brigade. Despite this, they continued to play a conspicuous role in the ongoing partisan warfare in Loudoun throughout the war. The battalion was particularly notable during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, when it played a prominent role in the Battle of Brandy Station and subsequently conducted a series of raids on Union-held railroads and defensive positions in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The 35th was the first Confederate unit to enter Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Organization and service history
Formed in December 1861 by Elijah V. White in Loudoun County, Virginia, the 35th consisted of six companies of cavalry, five of which were from Virginia and one from neighboring Maryland. A - White's Rebels B - Chiswell's Maryland Exiles (Montgomery County, Maryland) C - Grubb's Company D - Trayhern's Company E - Grabill's Company (Page and Shenandoah counties) F - Ferneyhough's Co.
The battalion never reached enough strength to become of full regiment. It was initially assigned to border service in Loudoun County, aiding the commands of Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill in Leesburg and Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jackson in Winchester. When Hill's command was evacuated from Leesburg to Richmond during the Peninsula Campaign, the 35th briefly joined the 2nd Virginia Cavalry based in Fauquier County, frequently raiding the Union garrisons in Loudoun, before being assigned to Jackson, where it took part in his famous Valley Campaign. In late 1862 the 35th was briefly put under the control of Maj. Gen. Jeb Stuart.
When not serving with the main army, the 35th was highly involved in the bitter partisan warfare that divided the loyalty of the residents of the Loudoun County. When mustered into the regular army, the 35th were frequently granted extended leave to return to Loudoun to seek forage and new mounts, and while at home often engaged the Federals in the area, including their western county nemesis, the Loudoun Rangers such as at the Fight at Waterford. In addition, one of White's men, John Mobberly, broke off from the unit and formed an independent guerrilla command that terrorized northwest Loudoun County during the later years of the war.
Gettysburg campaign
As J.E.B. Stuart began concentrating widely scattered Confederate cavalry and mounted infantry units in late May 1863 in preparation for the upcoming summer campaign, the 35th Battalion was assigned to the brigade of William E. "Grumble" Jones in the Army of Northern Virginia. The 35th took part in the Battle of Brandy Station on June 9. It formed a key part of the defensive position near St. James Church early in the battle, helping to fend off a series of charges by Union cavalry. Later, the battalion made a key counterattack on Federal troops on Fleetwood Hill, helping stabilize the Confederate line.
Within a few days after Brandy Station, the 35th was attached to the Second Corps of Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell to screen the advance into Maryland and Pennsylvania, and to conduct a series of raids against Federal supply lines. White led a daring attack on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad depot at Point-of-Rocks, Maryland, in which he routed his old nemesis, the Loudoun Rangers, seized and burned supply wagons, and captured a trainload of supplies intended for the Union garrison at nearby Harpers Ferry. After entering Pennsylvania on June 23, Ewell assigned the 35th to the division of Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early, which reached Gettysburg on June 26. White's men routed Union militia and home guard cavalry near Marsh Creek and became the first Confederate troops to enter the borough.