Edward Augustus Green, son of Moses and Harriet Basye Green, was born on October 22, 1836 in Rappahannock County, Virginia. In 1855, he married Elizabeth Tacy Leary (1839-1882) of Warren County, Virginia; the couple initially lived in Rappahannock County, where Edward was employed as a carpenter, and would have nine children. The Greens had moved to Front Royal, Virginia by July 1861, when, according to Green, he entered the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. (No record of this initial enlistment could be found). On September 25, 1862, Green enlisted as a private in Company E, 12th Virginia Cavalry. Eventually promoted to first corporal, Green was paroled at Winchester, Virginia on April 29, 1865. In post-war records, Green is listed variously as a farmer, a store clerk, a merchant, and a housing contractor. In 1887, he married Laura Frances Bennett (1853-1923), by whom he fathered one child. Edward A. Green died on November 12, 1918 at Front Royal and was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery.

The 12th Virginia Cavalry (also known as the 10th Virginia Cavalry) was organized June 21, 1862 and comprised of ten companies which had served previously in the 7th Virginia Cavalry. In mid-September, the 12th was combined with the 2nd, 6th, and 7th regiments, the 17th Virginia Cavalry Battalion, and Chew's Artillery Battery, to form the Laurel Brigade within J.E.B. Stuart's Corps. The regiment engaged in more than 100 skirmishes and battles, including 2nd Bull Run, Antietam, The Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and Appomattox; and participated in the 1863 Jones-Imboden Raid into West Virginia.