Blazer's Scouts was the name for a military company aligned with the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the second half of 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...

. They were particularly active in tracking down and confronting Confederate

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...

 partisans

Partisan (military)

A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...

 and guerrillas in West Virginia and Virginia, particularly those of Colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

 John S. Mosby

John S. Mosby

John Singleton Mosby , nicknamed the "Gray Ghost", was a Confederate cavalry battalion commander in the American Civil War...

.

History

Colonel Carr B. White

Carr B. White

Carr Baily White was a physician, officer during the Mexican War and general during the American Civil War. His Civil War service is greatly associated with operations in western Virginia and Maryland....

 organized the original 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...

 company (initially known as the Brigade Scouts or Spencer's Scouts) at Fayetteville, West Virginia

Fayetteville, West Virginia

Fayetteville is a town in and the county seat of Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,754 at the 2000 census.Fayetteville was listed as one of the 2006 "Top 10 Coolest Small Towns in America" by Budget Travel Magazine ....

, in mid-September 1863. They were first commanded by Captain John W. Spencer of the 9th West Virginia Infantry

9th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 9th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Organization:...

, but he soon was replaced by two lieutenants from Ohio 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...

s, the 12th and 91st. Men from these three regiments constituted the unit. After engaging in several operations to negate the Confederate partisans, the scouts were disbanded only two months after being formed, although they did take the field briefly in December.

Brigadier General

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 George Crook

George Crook

George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...

, the commander of the Army of West Virginia

Army of West Virginia

The Army of West Virginia served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was the primary field army of the Department of West Virginia. It campaigned primarily in West Virginia, Southwest Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley. It is noted for having two future U.S. presidents serve in...

 (also known as the VIII Corps

VIII Corps (ACW)

The VIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.- Creation and early service :The corps was initially created out of various Union commands as part of the Middle Department in the Shenandoah Valley on July 12, 1862, and was placed under the command of Major General John...

) reformed the unit in the spring of 1864 under Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 Richard R. Blazer, and the company became popularly known as Blazer's Scouts. Their mission was to protect Union supply lines and also combat Confederate guerrilla parties. They were hand-picked men selected from the 5th

5th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment

In the Second Battle of Bull Run this unit is listed by the Manassas Battlefield Park as an independent unit. They were sent by Gen. Milroy during the battle to link up with an Ohio infantry troop to try to provide support for other units attempting to hold Gen. Stonewall Jackson's line at the...

, 9th

9th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 9th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Organization:...

, 13th

13th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 13th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 13th West Virginia was organized at Pt...

 and 14th West Virginia

14th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 14th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 14th West Virginia was organized at Wheeling in western Virginia on August 25, 1862....

 infantry regiments, 2nd West Virginia Cavalry

2nd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment

The 2nd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 2nd West Virginia Cavalry was organized at Parkersburg in western Virginia between September and November 1861...

 and the 12th

12th Ohio Infantry

12th Ohio Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-History:The 12th OVI was organized at Camp Dennison, Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 3, 1861 for three-months service, and reorganized on June 28 for three years, under Colonel John W. Lowe, who was killed early...

, 23rd

23rd Ohio Infantry

The 23rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during much of the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a variety of campaigns and battles, and is remembered with a stone memorial on the Antietam National Battlefield not far from Burnside's...

, 34th

34th Ohio Infantry

The 34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It primarily served in the Eastern Theater in what is now West Virginia and in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley region...

 and 36th Ohio

36th Ohio Infantry

The 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Recruited from several counties in southeastern Ohio, the 36th OVI participated in several battles in the Eastern Theater before being transferred for a period to the...

 volunteer infantry regiments. They played important roles in the "Dublin Raid" on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad

Virginia and Tennessee Railroad

The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was an historic railroad in the Southern United States, much of which is incorporated into the modern Norfolk Southern Railway...

 and in Major General

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 David Hunter

David Hunter

David Hunter was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.-Early...

's Lynchburg Raid.

Reassigned with the VIII Corps to the Army of the Shenandoah

Army of the Shenandoah

Army of the Shenandoah refers to two armies in the American Civil War:* Confederate Army of the Shenandoah* Union Army of the Shenandoah...

 under Philip H. Sheridan, Blazer's Scouts began dueling with Mosby's Rangers in a series of operations 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...

 during the Valley Campaigns of 1864

Valley Campaigns of 1864

The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...

. They used the superior firepower of their Spencer repeating rifle

Spencer repeating rifle

The Spencer repeating rifle was a manually operated lever-action, repeating rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges. It was adopted by the Union Army, especially by the cavalry, during the American Civil War, but did not replace the standard issue muzzle-loading rifled muskets in use at the...

s effectively, and initially thwarted Confederate efforts in the region. However, on November 18, 1864, at Kabletown, West Virginia

Kabletown, West Virginia

Kabletown is an unincorporated town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, USA. The town lies along a spring-fed stream called Bullskin Run near the Shenandoah River on Kabletown Road . Kabletown's population was 10,073 in 2000....

, Mosby was able to defeat Blazer's Scouts, inflicting 42 casualties, almost half of the Union force.

In January 1865, Blazer's Scouts were officially disbanded.