William Overall Yager

William Overall Yager
Personal details
Born	(1833-04-03)April 3, 1833 Page County, Virginia, U.S.
Died	January 20, 1904(1904-01-20) (aged 70) Page County, Virginia, U.S.
Spouse	Mary Elizabeth Rhodes ​ ​ (m. 1863)​
Children	5
Alma mater	Virginia Military Institute
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States
Branch	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Colonel
Commands	1st Texas Cavalry Regiment (1864–65)
Battles	American Civil War Battle of Mansfield Battle of Pleasant Hill Battle of Yellow Bayou

William Overall Yager (April 3, 1833 – January 20, 1904) was an American politician from Virginia who previously served as a senior officer of the Confederate States Army, commanding the 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War from 1864 to 1865.

Early life and education

Yager was born in Page County, Virginia, to Nicholas Wesley and Christina Williams (née Overall) Yager. In 1852, he graduated from the Virginia Military Institute, fifth in his class. Relocating to Seguin, Texas, he married Mary Elizabeth Rhodes. The couple had one son and four daughters.

American Civil War

Yager was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Confederate States Army onn April, 1861, and served initially as adjutant for the First Regiment, Texas Mounted Rifles, also known as McCulloch's Regiment. He spent the autumn and winter of 1861 with this unit in Central Texas and engaged in sporadic negotiations and skirmishes with local Indian groups. In December 1861, McCulloch recommended Yager as commander of a cavalry battalion, and, when the First Regiment was reduced to a battalion of five companies and re-designated the 8th Texas Cavalry Battalion.

In April 1862, Yager was authorized to form a new cavalry battalion. This unit, when organized, was designated the 3d Texas Cavalry Battalion, also referred to as Yager's Battalion, Texas Mounted Volunteers. When the 8th and 3d Texas cavalry battalions were consolidated on May 2, 1863, and renamed the 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment, Yager was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and placed second in command, with Colonel Augustus Buchel as commanding officer. Following Buchel's death from wounds he had received at the Battle of Pleasant Hill on April 12, 1864, Yager was promoted to colonel and given command of the regiment. He held the position until the end of the war.

Later life

From 1874 to 1880, Yager represented Page County, Virginia, in the House of Delegates. He also served as county superintendent of schools in 1880, and county treasurer from 1884 to 1896. He died in Page County on January 20, 1904, and was buried in the Yager family crypt in Luray.

Further reading

• Lester N. Fitzhugh, "Saluria, Fort Esperanza, and Military Operations on the Texas Coast, 1861–1864", Southwestern Historical Quarterly 61(July 1957).
• Stanley S. McGowen, Horse Sweat and Powder Smoke: The First Texas Cavalry in the Civil War (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1999).
• James A. Mundie Jr., with Bruce S. Allardice, Dean E. Letzring, and John H. Luckey, Texas Burial Sites of Civil War Notables: A Biographical and Biographical and Pictorial Field Guide (Hillsboro, Texas: Hill College Press, 2002).

External links

• William Overall Yager at Find a Grave