Vladikavkaz Institute of Management, Russia The article tells about the formation and development of Tersky Cossack troops. The author has considered the function of charity within the boundaries of social assistance to a military estate in a post reform period. The kinds and means of social care and charity carried out by Cossack troops have been vastly represented; the role of the state for the formation of this system has also been defined. The author has managed to motivate and prove the urgency of the revival of Cossack troops in Russia.