1st Michigan Cavalry

Regimental History and Service Record

Organized at Detroit, Mich., August 21 to September 6, 1861. Mustered in September 13, and left State for Washington, D.C., September. 29, 1861. Attached to Cavalry Brigade, Army of the Potomac, to December, 1861. Cavalry, Banks' Division, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1862. Cavalry, 1st Division, Banks' 5th Corps, to April, 1862. Hatch's Cavalry Brigade, Dept. of the Shenandoah, to June, 1862. Cavalry Brigade, 2nd Corps, Army of Virginia, to September, 1862. Unassigned, Alexandria, Va., September, 1862. Price's Cavalry Brigade, Military District of Washington, to February, 1863, and 22nd Army Corps, Dept. of Washington, to March, 1863. 1st Brigade, Stahel's Cavalry Division, 22nd Army Corps, to June, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1864. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac, to August, 1864. Army of the Shenandoah, Middle Military Division, to March, 1865, and Army of the Potomac to June, 1865. Dept. of Missouri to August, 1865. District of the Plains, Dept. of Missouri, to September, 1865. District of Dakota, Dept. of Missouri, to December, 1865, District of Utah, Dept. of Missouri, to March, 1866.

SERVICE.--

• Operations in Loudoun County, Va., February 25-May 6, 1862.
  • Occupation of Loudoun Heights February 27.
  • March 6, 1862 - Skirmish at Berryville, Virginia
• Capture of Leesburg March 8.
• Reconnaissance to Snicker's Gap March 12.
• March 23, 1862 - Battle of Winchester, Virginia

Strasburg March 27. Advance from Strasburg to Woodstock and Edenburg April 1-2. Salem and Woodstock April 1. Edenburg April 1-2. Thoroughfare Gap April 2. Greenwich April 3. Catlett's Station April 4. Warrenton April 5. Columbia Furnace April 7. White Plains April 11. Rectortown April 14. Piedmont, Mt. Jackson and New Market April 17. McGaheysville April 27. Linden May 15. Operations in the Shenandoah Valley May 15-June 17.

• May 24, 1862 - Action at Middletown, Virginia
• Retreat to Williamsport May 24-26.
• May 25, 1862 - Battle of Winchester, Virginia (5 Companies)
• Expedition from Gainesville June 7-8.
  • June 24, 1862 - Skirmish near Milford, Virginia (detachment)

Strasburg Pike June 26. Reconnaissance to Front Royal June 29-30. Luray June 30. Culpeper Court House July 12. Orange Court House July 15. Reconnaissance to Madison Court House July 17. Reconnaissance to Orange Court House under Crawford August 2. Battle of Cedar Mountain August 9. Reconnaissance to Orange Court House August 13, and to Louisa Court House August 16. Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia August 16-September 2. Fords of the Rappahannock August 21-23. Lewis Ford and Bull Run August 30. Duty in the Defenses of Washington, D C., until June, 1863.

• September 5, 1862 - Skirmish at Monocacy, Maryland
• November 28-30, 1862 - Reconnaissance to Berryville, Virginia
  • November 30, 1862 - Action at Berryville, Virginia
• Expedition to Catlett's and Rappahannock Station January 8-10, 1863.
• Brentsville January 9.
• Near Union Mills February 14 (Detachment).
• June 11-August 1, 1863 - The Gettysburg Campaign
  • June 30, 1863 - Action at Hanover, Pennsylvania
  • July 1-3, 1863 - Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
  • July 2, 1863 - Action at Hunterstown, Pennsylvania
  • July 4, 1863 - Skirmish at Fairfield Gap, Pennsylvania
  • July 4, 1863 - Action at Monterey Gap, Pennsylvania
  • July 5, 1863 - Action at Smithsburg, Maryland
  • July 6, 1863 - Action at Hagerstown, Maryland
  • July 6, 1863 - Action at Williamsport, Maryland
  • July 8, 1863 - Action at Boonsboro, Maryland
  • July 10-12, 1863 - Skirmishes about Hagerstown, Maryland
  • July 12, 1863 - Skirmish near Funkstown, Maryland
  • July 14, 1863 - Engagement at Falling Waters, Maryland
• Ashby's Gap July 20.
• July 24, 1863 - Skirmish at Battle Mountain, Virginia

Barbee's Cross Roads July 25. King George Court House August 24. Expedition to Port Conway September 1-3. Lamb's Creek Church, near Port Conway, September 1. Advance from the Rappahannock to the Rapidan September 13-17. Stevensburg and Pony Mountain September 13. Culpeper Court House September 13. Somerville Ford September 14-16. Reconnaissance across the Rapidan September 21-23. White's Ford September 21-22. Robertson's Ford and near Liberty Mills September 23. Bristoe Campaign October 8-22. James City October 8-9-10. Bethesda Church October 10. Near Culpeper and Brandy Station October 11. Gainesville October 14. Groveton October 17-18. Gainesville, Catlett's Station and Buckland's Mills October 19. Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7-8. Mine Run Campaign November 26-October 2. Morton's Ford November 26. Raccoon Ford November 26-27. (4 new Companies organized October 13 to December 29, 1863.) Demonstration on the Rapidan February 6-7, 1864. Regiment consolidated to 8 Companies February 15, 1864. Kilpatrick's Raid on Richmond February 28-March 4. Fortifications of Richmond March 1.

• May 4-June 12, 1864 - The Overland Campaign
  • May 5-7, 1864 - Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia
    • May 5-6, 1864 - Engagement at Todd's Tavern, Virginia
    • May 6, 1864 - Combat at Brock Road, Virginia
    • May 6, 1864 - Combat at the Furnaces, Virginia
    • May 7-8, 1864 - Engagement at Todd's Tavern, Virginia
  • May 9-24, 1864 - (Sheridan's) Expedition from Todd's Tavern to the James River, Virginia
    • May 9-10 1864 - Skirmish at Beaver Dam Station, Virginia
    • May 11, 1864 - Engagement at Yellow Tavern, Virginia
    • May 12, 1864 - Engagement at Meadow Bridge, Virginia
    • May 21, 1864 - Action at Hanover Court House, Virginia
  • May 26-28, 1864 - Operations on Line of the Pamunkey River, Virginia
    • Dabney's Ferry, Crump's Creek May 27.
    • May 27, 1864 - Skirmish near Hanover Junction, Virginia
    • May 27, 1864 - Action at Hanovertown, Virginia
    • Haw's Shop and Aenon Church May 28.
  • May 28-31, 1864 - Operations on Line of the Totopotomoy River, Virginia
    • Old Church and Mattadequin Creek May 30.
  • May 31-June 1, 1864 - Battles of Cold Harbor, Virginia
    • May 31-June 1, 1864 - Combat at Bethesda Church, Virginia
    • May 31-June 1, 1864 - Engagement at Cold Harbor, Virginia
  • June 7-24, 1864 - (Sheridan's) Raid to Trevillian Station, Virginia
    • June 11-12, 1864 - Engagement at Trevillian Station, Virginia

Newark, or Mallory's Cross Roads, June 12. Black Creek, or Tunstall's Station, and White House, or St. Peter's Church, June 21. Jones' Bridge June 23. Demonstration north of the James River July 27-29. Deep Bottom July 27-28. Ordered to Washington, D.C., August. Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign August 7-November 28. Winchester and Tell Gate near White Post August 11. Cedarville, or Front Royal, August 16 and 18. Kearneysville August 23. Near Kearneysville August 25. Shephardstown August 25. Leetown and Smithfield August 28. Smithfield Crossing of the Opequan August 29.

• September 4, 1864 - Skirmish at Berryville, Virginia
• Locke's Ford, Opequan Creek, September 13.
• Sevier's Ford, Opequan Creek, September 15.
• Battle of Opequan, Winchester, September 19.
• Fisher's Hill September 21.
• September 22, 1864 - Skirmish near Milford, Virginia

Luray September 24. Port Republic September 26-28, Mt. Crawford October 2. Luray Valley October 8. Tom's Brook October 8-9. Battle of Cedar Creek October 19. Near Kernstown November 11, Expedition into Loudoun and Faquier Counties November 28-December 3. Middleburg December 2. Raid to Gordonsville December 19-28. Madison Court House December 21. Liberty Mills December 22. Jack's Shop, near Gordonsville, December 23. Expedition from Edenburg to Little Fort Valley, February 13-17, 1865. Sheridan's Raid from Winchester February 27-March 25. Occupation of Staunton March 2. Waynesboro March 2. Duguidsville March 8.

• March 15, 1865 - Skirmish at Hanover Court House, Virginia

Appomattox Court House March 28-April 9. Dinwiddie Court House March 30-31. Five Forks April 1. Scott's Cross Roads April 2. Tabernacle Church, or Beaver Creek Pond, April 4. Sailor's Creek April 6. Appomattox Station April 8. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. Expedition to Danville April 23-29. March to Washington May. Grand Review May 23. Moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, June 1. Powder River Expedition and operations against Indians in District of the Plains and Dakota July to November, 1865. Duty in District of Utah until March, 1866. Mustered out March 10, 1866. (Company "D" served detached as Provost Guard at Alexandria November 25, 1862, until June, 1863.) (Regiment absent on furlough December 21, 1863, to March 1, 1864. Returned to Camp Stoneman, D.C., and duty there until April, 1864.

Regimental Roster

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Regiment Statistical Information

Regiment Casualty Comparisons by Source

Source	Casualties	Remarks
Dyer	14 Officers and 150 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded 6 Officers and 244 enlisted men by disease Total 414	None
Fox	14 Officers and 150 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded Total 164 (Combat Losses) Fox lists this unit as 2nd on the list of units "sustaining greatest loss in action" (Cavalry units with over 200 casualties)	None
WotRWiki Statistics	0 troops killed Includes 0 troops mortally wounded Includes 0 troops killed by disease All others are troops killed in action or under special circumstances	This feature is not yet available. Check back soon for updates!

Legacy

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Sources

• Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. The Dyer Publishing Company (Des Moine, 1908). (Pages 759, 760, 762, 763, 827, 828, 896, 897, 900, 902, 911, 920, 932, 933, 935, 936, 937, 938, 939, 940, 941, 942, 952, 953, 960, 1269)
• Fox, William F. 1840-1909. Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865: A Treatise on the Extent and Nature of the Mortuary Losses in the Union Regiments, With Full and Exhaustive Statistics Compiled From the Official Records on File in the State Military Bureaus and at Washington. Albany: Albany Pub. Co., 1889. (Page 6)