2nd Ohio Cavalry Regiment

2nd Ohio Cavalry Regiment
Unit name	2nd Ohio Cavalry Regiment
Caption	Ohio cavalry troopers, c. 1863
Dates	November 1861 – July 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Cavalry
Size	Regiment
Notable commanders	Edward H. Phelps; William H. H. Taylor

2nd Ohio Cavalry Regiment was a Union cavalry regiment raised in Ohio during the American Civil War that served in the Western Theater and in operations in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas Campaign. Organized late in 1861, the regiment participated in raids, reconnaissance, and mounted skirmishing supporting major operations such as the Tullahoma Campaign, the Chickamauga Campaign, and the Atlanta Campaign while attached to formations under commanders like William S. Rosecrans, George H. Thomas, and William T. Sherman.

Formation and Organization

The regiment was organized at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, Ohio and at Columbus, Ohio with companies mustered between November 1861 and February 1862 under state authorities and Federal mustering officers including Ohio Adjutant General. Recruitment drew volunteers from counties such as Franklin County, Ohio, Hamilton County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and Montgomery County, Ohio who enlisted for three years under the Enrollment Act-era volunteer system and earlier state recruitment statutes. After initial training in cavalry drill, reconnaissance, and horsemanship at local posts, the regiment was assigned to the Army of the Ohio and later consolidated into corps and divisions within the Department of the Ohio, Department of the Cumberland, and ultimately elements of the Military Division of the Mississippi.

Service History

The 2nd Ohio Cavalry served in columns led by generals such as Don Carlos Buell, Ambrose Burnside, and Joseph Hooker in logistical and screening roles supporting infantry operations. During 1862 the regiment participated in operations around Corinth, Mississippi and Middle Tennessee receiving orders from cavalry commanders including Ethan Allen Hitchcock-era staff and brigade leaders like John T. Wilder. In 1863 the regiment took part in the pursuit following the Battle of Chickamauga and in 1864 was active in Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign undertaking raids against Confederate railroads such as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and guerrilla bands linked to leaders like Nathan Bedford Forrest. In the closing months of the war the regiment operated in the Carolinas Campaign during the advance that culminated in the surrender negotiations involving Joseph E. Johnston and culminating near Raleigh, North Carolina.

Engagements and Battles

Elements of the regiment saw action in numerous engagements including skirmishes and set-piece battles such as operations at Shiloh, reconnaissance actions near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, scouting during the Tullahoma Campaign, and skirmishing during the Battle of Chickamauga. The unit participated in cavalry raids interrupting Confederate supply lines at points like Resaca, Georgia, Kennesaw Mountain, and near Marietta, Georgia. Mounted detachments fought at fords and crossings such as the Battle of Stones River environs and in the overland movements that included actions near Atlanta, Savannah, Georgia during the March to the Sea, and later encounters in South Carolina and North Carolina during Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign.

Commanders and Personnel

Commanding officers included Colonel Edward H. Phelps, Lieutenant Colonel William H. H. Taylor, and other field officers commissioned by the Governor of Ohio under the authority of state and federal mustering agents. Company officers and noncommissioned officers were drawn from local elites, veteran volunteer leaders, and militia backgrounds connected to institutions like the Ohio State Militia and local Vigilance Committees of the era. The regiment’s staff liaised with army headquarters under generals such as William S. Rosecrans, George H. Thomas, and cavalry chiefs like Philip H. Sheridan in later theaters where coordination with Quartermaster and Signal Corps assets was required.

Casualties and Strength

At muster the regiment’s authorized strength approximated a typical Union cavalry regiment structure of twelve companies (A–M excluding J) with aggregate strength fluctuating due to recruitment, reenlistment under Veteran Volunteer statutes, combat losses, disease, and detachments for provost duty. The unit sustained casualties from combat at actions listed above and from disease common in Civil War camps such as dysentery and typhoid fever that affected many Union Army units. Men were wounded, captured, and exchanged under the Dix–Hill Cartel procedures early in the war and later paroled or consolidated; surviving veterans mustered out in mid-1865 following service termination orders and General Orders issued by the United States War Department.

Equipment and Uniforms

As a Union cavalry regiment, troopers were equipped with weapons and accouterments issued through the Ordnance Department including carbines such as the Sharps carbine and Caliber .44 Henry rifle in some companies, model Springfield Model 1861 sidearms for officers, and edged weapons like the U.S. Cavalry saber and Colt Army Model 1860 revolvers. Horses and tack were supplied and maintained via the Quartermaster Department with standardized bridles, saddles such as the McClellan saddle, cartridge boxes, and sabretaches; uniforms adhered to Union cavalry patterns including shell jackets, forage caps, and overcoats procured through contracts with Ohio armories and depots like Franklin Arsenal.

Legacy and Commemoration

Veterans of the 2nd Ohio Cavalry participated in postwar organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic, Ohio Veterans’ Reunion societies, and aided in monument projects at battlefields like Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and local memorials in counties of origin such as Hamilton County, Ohio and Franklin County, Ohio. Regimental histories and compilations appeared in periodicals and postwar records archived by institutions like the Ohio History Connection, the National Archives, and the Library of Congress. Modern commemorations include entries in Civil War registers, battlefield markers, and digital collections preserved by Civil War Trust-affiliated organizations and state historical societies.

Category:Units and formations of the Union Army from Ohio Category:Cavalry regiments of the American Civil War Category:Military units and formations established in 1861 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1865