The 17th Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 raised in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 for service in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. It fought with the Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

, in southwestern Virginia, and in the Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...

.

Virginia’s 17th Cavalry Regiment was organized at Salem, Virginia, in January, 1863, by consolidating the 33rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry with three new companies.

It was assigned to Jenkins' and McCausland's Brigade, was active in the Gettysburg Campaign, then returned to western Virginia. The regiment fought at Cloyd's Mountain, was with Early in the Shenandoah Valley, and saw action around Appomattox.

There were 241 engaged at Gettysburg and during February, 1864, it contained 311 effectives. In April, 1865, it disbanded at Lynchburg. The field officers were Colonel William H. French, Lieutenant Colonel William C. Tavenner, and Major Frederick F. Smith.