Company D, 4th Texas Cavalry Regiment of the Arizona Brigade at Ellis County, Texas, ca. spring, 1864.
In April, 1862 Lt. Col. John R. Baylor was authorized by the Confederate War Department to recruit a brigade of volunteers in order to recapture southwestern territory. At the same time, Col. Spruce M. Baird also began recruiting volunteers in Texas for the same purpose. A year later these volunteers recruited by Baylor and Baird were organized into four regiments - the "Arizona Brigade" - yet none of the four ever set foot into Arizona Territory, and only two (the 2nd and 3rd) served in the same brigade, but they still retained their original name. The 4th mostly ended up serving in Texas in John "Rip" Ford's cavalry command, while the other three regiments went on to see action in Louisiana and Arkansas.
In 1863 Col. Baird began recruiting most of his men from around the Pecos River in West Texas, which drew in all kinds of ruffians and undesirables, draft evaders, deserters, outlaws, etc. Of the four regiments, the 4th was probably the roughest of the bunch and generally lacked any kind of discipline.
Link to history of the 4th Texas Cavalry, Arizona Brigade:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qkf17
Further reading on the 4th Texas Cavalry and the Arizona Brigade:
http://www.chab-belgium.com/pdf/english/Arizona Brigade.pdf
http://caarchrebel.blogspot.com/2012/08/4th-texas-cavalry-arizona-brigade.html
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