2nd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment

2nd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment
Unit name	2nd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment
Dates	October 1861 – July 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	United States Army
Type	Cavalry
Size	Regiment
Garrison	Madison, Wisconsin
Notable commanders	Cadwallader C. Washburn, Joseph Bailey, George H. Walther

2nd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment was a Union cavalry regiment raised in Wisconsin during the American Civil War that served in the Western Theater and Trans-Mississippi Theater between 1861 and 1865. Organized from volunteers across Wisconsin, the regiment participated in cavalry operations, raids, reconnaissance, and major confrontations against Confederate forces, interacting with Union formations and leaders across multiple campaigns. Its companies operated with other units from Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota and encountered Confederate cavalry under leaders like Sterling Price and Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Formation and Organization

Recruitment for the regiment began in the aftermath of President Abraham Lincoln's call for troops, with companies mustered into Federal service at Madison, Wisconsin and surrounding towns such as Milwaukee, Fond du Lac, and Racine. The unit was organized under the auspices of Wisconsin's governor Alexander Randall and received initial leadership from prominent state politician and entrepreneur Cadwallader C. Washburn, who later served in the U.S. House of Representatives. The regiment's structure followed Civil War cavalry norms with twelve companies (A–M, excluding J), enrolling men familiar with horsemanship from rural counties including Dane County, Jefferson County, and Waukesha County.

Service History

After mustering, the regiment was assigned to operations in the Department of the Missouri and later to forces operating in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. It performed scouting and screening duties during campaigns in Missouri, Arkansas, and the Red River Campaign. The regiment frequently coordinated with Union columns under generals such as Samuel R. Curtis, John McClernand, and Frederick Steele, conducting long-range reconnaissance from forward bases like Bentonville and riverine points along the Mississippi River. Elements served in garrison and on detached service protecting supply lines, escorting Union Navy transports, and supporting infantry operations during the Vicksburg Campaign logistics phase.

Engagements and Campaigns

The regiment saw action in numerous cavalry engagements and raids, confronting Confederate forces during operations tied to the 1862 Price Raid and during the Union effort to control Arkansas Post. It participated in skirmishes at locations including Prairie Grove, operations around Helena, and movements linked to the Camden Expedition where Union columns faced forces commanded by Earl Van Dorn and Theophilus Holmes. During the Red River Campaign, detachments engaged in reconnaissance and rear-guard actions contributing to Union withdrawal maneuvers that intersected with Nathaniel Banks' army's operations. The regiment also acted in counter-guerrilla operations against Confederate irregulars and partisans active in Missouri and Arkansas under figures such as William Quantrill and Joseph Shelby.

Commanders and Notable Personnel

Early command included Cadwallader C. Washburn, whose political career bridged state and national office, and Colonel Joseph Bailey, later notable for engineering works on the Red River and for promotion within the Union Army. Other officers who served with distinction included field commanders and staff officers who cooperated with leaders such as Samuel R. Curtis, Frederick Steele, and cavalry commanders like James H. Wilson in broader theater maneuvers. The regiment's ranks included men who later held civic office in Wisconsin municipalities and veterans who joined organizations like the Grand Army of the Republic.

Casualties and Strength

Over its term of service, the regiment's strength fluctuated due to enlistment expirations, reenlistments, disease, and battlefield losses typical of cavalry units engaged in prolonged field operations. The regiment sustained casualties from actions, skirmishes, and the harsh conditions of campaigning in the Trans-Mississippi, with disease accounting for a substantial proportion of deaths as was common in Civil War formations. Muster-out in mid-1865 followed the conclusion of major Confederate resistance; veterans and recruits were discharged in July 1865 after service records were settled at state mustering points.

Equipment and Uniforms

As a Union cavalry regiment, the unit was equipped with cavalry carbines, revolvers such as the Colt 1860, sabers patterned on the Model 1860 blade, and horse gear supplied through Ordnance Department channels. Uniforms reflected cavalry practice: shell jackets, sky-blue trousers, and leather accouterments; however, supply issues and local procurement led to variation with some troopers wearing civilian riding habits and Missouri-pattern forage caps. Horses were procured regionally, with remounts obtained at frontier depots and via wagon trains servicing the Department of the Missouri.

Legacy and Commemoration

The regiment's legacy is preserved in Wisconsin archives, veterans' pension files, and local monuments in towns where companies were raised, commemorated by monuments and regimental rolls in county courthouses and historical societies such as the Wisconsin Historical Society. Its veterans participated in Reconstruction-era civic life and veterans' reunions, contributing to memory of the American Civil War in Midwestern communities. Modern scholarship references the regiment in studies of Trans-Mississippi cavalry operations, regional wartime politics, and Civil War logistics, connecting its service to broader narratives involving figures like Sterling Price and institutions such as the U.S. Cavalry tradition.

Category:Units and formations of the Union Army from Wisconsin