Age of cavalry soldiers in the Civil War

Saber09

Cadet
Joined
Jul 12, 2019
Hi all! I went to Gettysburg recently with my dad on a father and son trip and it was incredible. After coming back home I decided to do some research to see if I had any Civil War connections in my family. I found out that an E. D'Aquin served in a Confederate unit called the Orleans Light Cavalry which was from New Orleans. Sure enough, my great great grandfather, Edmond D'Aquin, lived in New Orleans during that time. As if to clinch it, there was a Civil War pension filed in Louisiana under the name Edmond D'Aquin. The only problem is, Edmond was born in 1847. This would have only put him at 14 at the start of the war. I have no other relatives on the D'Aquin side alive at that time who has a first name starting with E. Is it possible he could have served in the cavalry at that age? Or am I on the wrong track? Thanks so much!
 
Thanks for the replies! I was wondering that as well byron ed, that possibly he could have joined up toward the end of the war when he was older. My only question about that would be the fact that he was from New Orleans. Since New Orleans was a Union occupied city by that point, would it still have been possible for him to fight for the Confederacy? And is there any chance he could have joined at the onset, perhaps as a bugle boy or something of that nature?
 
I searched service records for Louisiana and found a card on file for E. D'Aquin in Captain Greenleaf's Company of Orleans Light Horse. It said to see records for A. D'Aquin who has 23 records on file. This A. D'Aquin enlisted in 1861 so I don't think this is your ancestor.
 
I appreciate you taking the time to check that out for me! I suppose that was an error on Ancestry.com's entry. There's still the issue of that pension filed for Edmond D'aquin, but it's possible that could have been filed under the wrong category. That's a shame, he was pretty much my only chance of a Civil War ancestor since most of the rest of my family was still in Germany and France at the time. It's still a fascinating part of American history and I hope I can learn more about it!
 
I do recall one of our members had an ancestor that joined the Cavalry at a very young age (could be @CSA Today or @Rebforever ), and the reason I remember it is because it surprised me at the time. So, I don't think it's out of the question, though going by what @DixieRifles said it may be unlikely in your ancestors case. Though, if he was a mature looking 14yr old who lied about his age anything is possible. And I know there were a few who did that.
 
I appreciate you taking the time to check that out for me! I suppose that was an error on Ancestry.com's entry. There's still the issue of that pension filed for Edmond D'aquin, but it's possible that could have been filed under the wrong category. That's a shame, he was pretty much my only chance of a Civil War ancestor since most of the rest of my family was still in Germany and France at the time. It's still a fascinating part of American history and I hope I can learn more about it!
Sounds like if it's not your direct grandfather it could still be an ancestor right?or did I miss something?
 
I appreciate you taking the time to check that out for me! I suppose that was an error on Ancestry.com's entry. There's still the issue of that pension filed for Edmond D'aquin, but it's possible that could have been filed under the wrong category. That's a shame, he was pretty much my only chance of a Civil War ancestor since most of the rest of my family was still in Germany and France at the time. It's still a fascinating part of American history and I hope I can learn more about it!
How far have you gotten with your ancestry ? If this guy isn't your 3x great grandfather he was probably family and if you know your grandfather was born in New Orleans in 1847 I would look at possible brothers and his father and uncles from his mother and fathers side you might discover a whole companies worth of civil war ancestors
 
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Hi all! I went to Gettysburg recently with my dad on a father and son trip and it was incredible. After coming back home I decided to do some research to see if I had any Civil War connections in my family. I found out that an E. D'Aquin served in a Confederate unit called the Orleans Light Cavalry which was from New Orleans. Sure enough, my great great grandfather, Edmond D'Aquin, lived in New Orleans during that time. As if to clinch it, there was a Civil War pension filed in Louisiana under the name Edmond D'Aquin. The only problem is, Edmond was born in 1847. This would have only put him at 14 at the start of the war. I have no other relatives on the D'Aquin side alive at that time who has a first name starting with E. Is it possible he could have served in the cavalry at that age? Or am I on the wrong track? Thanks so much!
It Francois Edmond D'aquin born 1847 in new Orleans?
 
I do recall one of our members had an ancestor that joined the Cavalry at a very young age (could be @CSA Today or @Rebforever ), and the reason I remember it is because it surprised me at the time. So, I don't think it's out of the question, though going by what @DixieRifles said it may be unlikely in your ancestors case. Though, if he was a mature looking 14yr old who lied about his age anything is possible. And I know there were a few who did that.
Yep, that would be me. G-Grandd was 12 years old when he joined the Cavalry. But he was later transferred to the 52nd Virginia Infantry.
 
That's a shame, he was pretty much my only chance of a Civil War ancestor
Edmond's older brother Jules D'Aquin served as a Private in Co A 7th Battalion Louisiana Infantry
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