Edward Crossland

Who was Edward Crossland?

Edward Crossland was a Confederate army officer in the American Civil War and later a United States Representative from Kentucky. He commanded a brigade of cavalry in the Western Theater and served in several battles.

Crossland was born in Hickman County, Kentucky, to Samuel Crossland and his wife Elizabeth Harry. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1852. He began his practice at Clinton, Kentucky, and also served as sheriff of Hickman County in 1851 and 1852. Crossland was member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1857 and 1858.

In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, he became a captain in the Confederate Army's 1st Kentucky Infantry Regiment. He went to Northern Virginia with his regiment, and in December 1861 they took fought in the Battle of Dranesville under J. E. B. Stuart. The regiment was then assigned to the Army of Northern Virginia, where it served until its one-year enlistment expired. Crossland had by then become its lieutenant colonel.

Following his discharge, Crossland was elected colonel of the 7th Kentucky Infantry and served with them in Mississippi. In 1864, the 7th Kentucky Infantry was mounted and assigned to Maj. Gen. Hylan B. Lyon's Brigade of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry Corps. Crossland served under Forrest until the war's end in May 1865. His last battle was at Selma, Alabama, on April 2, 1865.