The regiment was initially assigned to guarding the upper Potomac and was attached to the command of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in the Valley. In the spring of 1862 the regiment took part in Jackson's Valley Campaign,[3] where the exploits of the unit and its commander, Turner Ashby, became famous on both sides of the war. Near the conclusion of the campaign, Ashby was mortally wounded and Col. Richard Henry Dulany took command of the regiment, which had swelled to 29 companies. The regiment was reorganized at the end of the campaign, with the original 10 companies remaining and the excess 19 forming the 12th Regiment and 17th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry. Together with these two regiments, the 7th would become the nucleus of the famed Laurel Brigade.
McDonald, William Naylor (1907). Washington, Bushrod C. (ed.). A History of the Laurel Brigade(PDF). Baltimore, MD: Mrs, Kate S. McDonald. p. 586. OCLC1048208291. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.