The American Civil War saw extensive use of horse-mounted soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Approximately fourteen percent of the Union Army consisted of cavalry, while in the Confederate States Army about twenty percent of soldiers were mounted. In the history of warfare there was heavy cavalry whose primary role was on the battlefield conducting a cavalry charge; light cavalry which was more suited to screening, raiding, and reconnaissance; and dragoons (or mounted infantry) who used horses to travel to the battlefield but fought on foot. For a variety of reasons cavalry in the American Civil War focused on the latter two roles. In the first half of the war, the Confederates enjoyed the advantage in cavalry, not least because most of the experienced cavalry officers from the Regular Army had chosen to side with the Confederacy. Notable Confederate cavalry leaders included J. E. B. Stuart, famed for literally riding rings around the Union's Army of the Potomac, and Nathan Bedford Forrest, who caused havoc with Union supply lines. The Battle of Brandy Station in 1863 is considered the point by which Union cavalry proved itself equal to the Confederates, and onward through the second half of the war they continued to improve. This was exemplified by Benjamin Grierson's brilliant deception tactics in the Mississippi valley, and Philip Sheridan's aggressive movements while in command of the Army of the Shenandoah at the end of the war in Virginia. Cavalry units proved highly expensive to maintain, and unscrupulous agents would often exploit shortages by supplying defective animals at exorbitant prices. Types of mounted forces There were four types of mounted forces prevalent in the Civil War. Cavalry were forces that fought principally on horseback, armed with carbines, pistols, and sabers. Only a small percentage of Civil War forces met this definition—primarily Union mounted forces in the Eastern Theater during the first half of the war. Confederate forces in the East generally carried neither carbines nor sabers. A few Confederate regiments in the Western Theater carried shotguns, especially early on in the war. Mounted infantry were forces that moved on horseback but dismounted for fighting on foot, armed principally with rifles. In the second half of the war, most of the units considered to be cavalry actually fought battles using the tactics of mounted infantry. An example of this was the celebrated "Lightning Brigade" of Col. John T. Wilder, which used