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Your master's thesis was a great success thanks to the help of your friend and his time machine. Now it is on to your doctoral dissertation and for this you plan an extended stay back in time. You will travel back and serve as a scout for many of the most famous Confederate cavalry officers the South produced. You start out on the Western frontier serving in the the states of Missouri and Kansas. You are serving under a guerilla leader with the likes of the James brothers and Younger brothers in your outfit. Your commander is considered an outlaw by the Union but a partisan by the Confederacy. Who is your commander?

William Clark Quantrill. Quantrill briefly joined the Missouri State Guard but did not like military discipline so he formed his own band of fighters. His group grew to a size estimated to be as large as 450 men at one point. He is most famous or infamous for the Lawrence Massacre. He died in a Union ambush in 1865.

You head south to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to join the "Iron Brigade" of Missouri volunteers for the Great Raid. In 11 days the brigade will travel 1,500 miles through Missouri, inflicting upwards of 1,000 Union casualties and destroying millions of dollars worth of supplies along the way. Who is the commander of the "Iron Brigade"?

Joseph Orville Shelby. In recognition of the great success of his raid, Shelby was promoted to brigadier general. He went on to command a division during Gen. Sterling Price's Missouri raid in 1864.

After your time with the "Iron Brigade" you cross the Mississippi River and head into Mississippi to join one of the most brilliant cavalry commanders of the war. You arrive just in time to take part in the Battle of Brice's Crossroads. You are outnumbered by more than two to one by the Union but the faith of your comrades in their commander is undaunted. Through his masterful command of the battlefield, the Confederate cavalry routs the Union forces and gain a great victory. Who is this brilliant commander?

Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest is most infamously remembered as the commander in charge of Confederate forces at the Fort Pillow Massacre in which hundreds of African-American troops were slaughtered and for his association with the Ku Klux Klan after the war. His brilliance as a military leader was tarnished by these events.

After the Battle of Brice's Crossroads you head to Georgia to join up with the cavalry opposing Sherman's march on Atlanta. Your commander now is the commander of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Tennessee. He has distinguished himself in battle after battle and raided deep into Tennessee after the Battle of Chickamauga. After the war he would gain distinction serving as a general of cavalry for the US Army in the Spanish-American War. Name this commander.

Joseph Wheeler. Wheeler served well as a cavalry commander in Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas. In the Spanish-American War he commanded the cavalry in Cuba, which included Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders.

Next you head into Tennessee to join up with a commander who is about to make a raid into Ohio and Indiana. You spend the next 46 days traveling through Indiana and Ohio, striking fear into the Northern civilian population. Your commander tries to get you back to the safety of the South but is thwarted by Union troops. Eventually you break away from his command when he surrenders and you head south on your own. Who is the commander of this failed raid that inspired so much terror?

John Hunt Morgan. Although Morgan's Raid caused quite a stir in both the North and the South, the cost in men was not worth the gains made. Morgan was taken prisoner but escaped four months later with six other officers of his command.

After your narrow escape you decide to head to Virginia to join the main army of the South. Your new commander has already gained a reputation for daring by twice leading his cavalry around the entire Union army, once in the Peninsula Campaign and once in the Maryland Campaign. You have joined just in time to try to stop Grant on his drive to Richmond. Who is your commander?

James Ewell Brown "JEB" Stuart. Stuart proved time and again to be a distinguished cavalry commander but when Lee needed him most during the Gettysburg campaign he was not present. There is great dispute about whether this was due to bad luck because the Union cavalry had kept him occupied in the battles of June or bad timing on his part or less than explicit orders on Lee's part. Stuart was killed at Yellow Tavern in a bloody battle with Union cavalry on May 11, 1864.

Next you find yourself serving under a raider of immense talent. He commands partisan rangers and with him you make many raids deep behind enemy lines. One such raid is the Greenback Raid. You are so successful that Grant tells Sheridan that if any of you are caught, you should be hung without a trial. Who is this commander who caused Grant such consternation?

John Singleton Mosby. Mosby was known as the "Gray Ghost" for his ability to attack and then disappear before the enemy knew what had hit them. His most famous raid was at the Fairfax Court House. There he capture Union General Stoughton and some other officers. Lee wrote Jefferson Davis about the raid and requested a reward for Mosby which was granted. He was promoted and given his own command.

You remain in the Eastern Theatre but now join up with an outfit commanded by one of Union General Custer's close friends. They were one time classmates at West Point. The two meet in battle several times with your commander getting the best of Custer at Buckland Mills, called the "Buckland Races" because of the Confederate chase of the routed Union forces. Custer returned the favor at Tom's Brook and chased the routed Confederates for ten miles. Custer called this the "Woodstock Races". Who is this friend of Custer and your commanding officer?

Thomas Lafayette (Tex) Rosser. In the battles between Rosser and Custer a friendly rivalry flourished despite the deadly serious business in which they were engaged. Custer captured Rosser's wardrobe wagons at the Battle of Trevilian Station. Rosser wrote Custer: "Dear Fanny You may have made me take a few steps back today, but I will be even with you tomorrow. Please accept my good wishes and this little gift - a pair of your draws captured at Trevillian Station. Tex" Custer replied: "Dear friend Thanks for setting me up in so many new things, but would you please direct your tailor to make the coat tails of your next uniform a trifle shorter. Best regards G.A.C." http://www.americancivilwar.asn.au/meet/2004_04_mtg_custer.pdf

Next you head off to Eastern Tennessee to join up with an irascible commander of a newly formed cavalry brigade. Your new commander made a name for himself in the Eastern theatre before having a falling out with JEB Stuart. Under his old command, his troops had secured the passes through which Lee and the Confederates travelled into Pennsylvania and he held them after the defeat so Lee could get back south. Who is you new commander?

William Edmondson "Grumble" Jones. Grumble Jones had a distinguished career before his falling out with JEB Stuart. Although outnumbered at the Battle of Brandy Station, Jones' men held their own and beat the troopers of Union General Buford. He died in the Battle of Piedmont while leading a cavalry charge against a numerically superior force.

For your final tour of duty you join an artillery unit whose commander is noted for transforming light artillery into a viable arm of the cavalry. At Fredericksburg he distinguished himself by delaying a whole army corps of the Union for two hours using only a two gun battery. Before his duel was over, the Union had trained over 20 guns on him and his single remaining gun, which he helped man. Although ordered to withdraw he held his ground until the last then finally withdrew. Who was this commander?

John "Gallant" Pelham. Pelham was called "The Gallant Pelham" because of what he did at Fredericksburg. In 1863 JEB Stuart named his third child Virginia Pelham in honor of him. The United States Field Artillery has also named camps after him.