12th Illinois Cavalry

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12th Illinois Cavalry

Flag of Illinois.svg

Illinois flag
Active February 24, 1862, to May 29, 1866
Country United States
Allegiance Union
Branch Cavalry
Engagements

Harpers Ferry
Battle of Gettysburg
Stoneman's 1863 Raid

Contents

12th Cav, Co. H and I (McClellan Dragoons)
Peninsula Campaign
Seven Days
Battle of Antietam
Fredericksburg

The 12th Illinois Cavalry Regiment was a volunteer cavalry regiment which served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Cavalry soldiers or warriors fighting from horseback

Cavalry or horsemen are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms. An individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon, or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used other animals, such as camels, mules or elephants. Infantry who moved on horseback, but dismounted to fight on foot, were known in the 17th and early 18th centuries as dragoons, a class of mounted infantry which later evolved into cavalry proper while retaining their historic title.

Regiment Military unit

A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country and the arm of service.

Union Army Land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War

During the American Civil War, the Union Army referred to the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. Also known as the Federal Army, it proved essential to the preservation of the United States of America as a working, viable republic.

History

The 12th Cavalry was organized at Camp Butler in February 1862. It was part of the Army of the Potomac from September 1862 to November 1863; the Department of the Gulf from March 1864 to February 1865; and the Department of Texas from July 1865 to May 1866.

Army of the Potomac unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War

The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in May 1865 following the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in April.

Department of the Gulf

The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War.

The Department of Texas was a military department of the United States Army that existed from 1850 to 1861, and again from 1865 to 1866, from 1870 to 1913 and during the First World War. It was subordinate to the Military Division of the Missouri.

The 4th Illinois Cavalry was consolidated with the 12th Illinois Cavalry on June 14, 1865.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 38 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 4 officers and 192 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 234 fatalities. [1]

Commanders

Arno Voss German American politician

Arno Voss was a German American military commander, lawyer, and politician. After studying law in Ohio, Voss came to Chicago, Illinois to edit a newspaper. He later established a law practice there. In 1862, he was named colonel of the 12th Illinois Cavalry, leading the brigade until 1864. After the war, Voss re-opened his practice and served one term in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Hasbrouck Davis American general

Hasbrouck Davis was an American general from Massachusetts. The son of prominent politician "Honest" John Davis, Davis attended Williams College and briefly taught before studying to become a Unitarian minister. He later studied law and moved to Chicago, Illinois to practice. He was mustered into service with the 12th Illinois Cavalry in 1862, later leading the regiment as a colonel. Late in his war service he was brevetted to brigadier general. In 1870, he died in the wreck of the SS Cambria.

See also

Illinois in the American Civil War

The U.S. state of Illinois during the American Civil War was a major source of troops for the Union Army, and of military supplies, food, and clothing. Situated near major rivers and railroads, Illinois became a major jumping off place early in the war for Ulysses S. Grant's efforts to seize control of the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers. Statewide, public support for the Union was high despite Copperhead sentiment.

Notes

  1. ↑ The Civil War Archive website after Dyer, Frederick Henry. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.
  2. ↑ Illinois in the Cvil war website after Illinois Adjutant General's muster rolls

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References


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