2nd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment

The 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment was a volunteer cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army in the western theater of the American Civil War.

2nd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment
ActiveSeptember 1, 1861  November 15, 1865
CountryUnited States
AllegianceUnion
BranchCavalry
SizeRegiment
EngagementsAmerican Civil War
Commanders
ColonelCadwallader C. Washburn
ColonelThomas Stephens
Lt. Col.Levi Sterling
Lt. Col.H. Eugene Eastman
MajorGeorge N. Richmond
Lt. Col.Nicholas H. Dale

Service

The 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry was organized at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, between December 30, 1861, and March 10, 1862. The regiment was divided for a significant portion of their service, with the 1st battalion (companies A, D, G, and K), remaining in Missouri from June 1862 until September 1864, when they rejoined the other two battalions at Vicksburg. While separated, the 1st battalion served as a private bodyguard for general Egbert B. Brown in Missouri, and were then assigned to Francis J. Herron and participated in the Battle of Prairie Grove, and were subsequently an escort for general William W. Orme.

The regiment achieved veteran status in March 1864.

About a fifth of the regiment mustered out of federal service at Memphis, Tennessee, on July 3, 1865, comprising men whose term was set to expire on or before October 1, 1865. The remainder of the regiment was mustered out at Austin, Texas, on November 15, 1865, and disbanded at Madison, Wisconsin, on December 14, 1865.

Total strength and casualties

The 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry initially recruited 1,127 officers and men. An additional 998 men were recruited as replacements, for a total of 2,125 men.[1]

The regiment suffered 24 enlisted men killed or died from wounds in action, and 4 officers and 284 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 312 fatalities.[2][3]

Commanders

  • Colonel Cadwallader C. Washburn (October 10, 1861  June 5, 1862) was promoted to brigadier general and later rose to major general. After the war, he became a U.S. congressman and the 11th governor of Wisconsin. He is also considered one of the founders of General Mills.
  • Colonel Thomas Stephens (August 7, 1862  July 3, 1865) began the war as lieutenant colonel and was detached to training and drilling duty at Springfield, Missouri. He returned to the regiment and was promoted to colonel after Washburn's promotion to brigadier. He was absent due to illness in the Summer of 1864, and was then court-martialed over a controversy in November 1864. He mustered out in July 1865. Before the war, he had been inspector general of the Wisconsin militia. Before emigrating to the United States, he had served in the Queen's Life Guard in the British Army.
    • Lieutenant Colonel Levi Sterling (June 5, 1862  August 7, 1862; February 1863  May 1863) was major of the 3rd battalion and commanded the regiment as a major during his first stint, after Washburn was promoted and while Stephens was absent on detached duty, and then commanded the regiment as lieutenant colonel when Stephens was assigned to command the brigade. He resigned in June 1863. Before the war, he had served several terms in the Wisconsin legislature.
    • Lieutenant Colonel H. Eugene Eastman (May 1863  June 10, 1863; November 1863  March 1864) was major of the 2nd battalion and commanded the regiment as major during his first stint, when Stephens was acting with the brigade and Sterling was absent. On his second stint, he was in command as major again when Stephens was sent to Wisconsin for recruitment. Eastman was captured while visiting a local family in Mississippi and was later ransomed. He was dismissed in July 1864. Before the war, he had served as mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
    • Major George N. Richmond (May 1864  November 1864) was major of the 3rd battalion and commanded the regiment as major while Stephens was in command of all cavalry at Vicksburg after Eastman left. He was dismissed from service in November 1864 due to some controversy. Earlier in the war, he had been captain of Co. E. After the war he served in the Wisconsin legislature and was mayor of Appleton, Wisconsin.
  • Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas H. Dale (November 1864  December 1864; July 3, 1865  November 15, 1865) was major of the 1st battalion and commanded the regiment as major during his first stint, when Stephens was being court-martialed. He was in command again after Stephens and about 200 others mustered out of service in 1865. He was designated for promotion to colonel but was never mustered at that rank. Earlier in the war he was captain of Co. G.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. "1907 Wisconsin Blue Book - Wisconsin in the War of the Rebellion". Archived from the original on 2007-03-26. Retrieved 2007-04-19. The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin Compiled and Published Under the Direction of J. D. Beck, Commissioner of Labor and Industrial Statistics, 1907 Democratic Printing Company, State Printer, Madison, WI 1907
  2. http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unwicav.htm#2ndcav The Civil War Archive website after Dyer, Frederick Henry. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.
  3. Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. p. 50.


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