The 2nd Kansas Cavalry Regiment was a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

that served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Service

The 2nd Kansas Cavalry was organized at

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

beginning on November 8, 1861, but its designation was changed to 9th Kansas Infantry on February 4, 1862. It was changed again on March 5, 1862, to 2nd Kansas Cavalry. It was mustered in under the command of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Alson C. Davis. The regiment was attached to

Department of Kansas The Department of Kansas was a Union Army command department in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. This department existed in three different forms during the war. 1861 The first "Department of Kansas" was created on N ...

November 1861 to August 1862. 2nd Brigade, Department of Kansas, to October 1862. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division,

Army of the Frontier The Army of the Frontier was a Union army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the American Civil War. It fought in several minor engagements in Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Kansas. In June 1863 the Army was discontinued but ...

, Department of Missouri, to February 1863. District of Southwest Missouri,

Department of Missouri The Department of the Missouri was a command echelon of the United States Army in the 19th century and a sub division of the Military Division of the Missouri that functioned through the Indian Wars. History Background Following the successful ...

, to December 1863. 2nd Brigade, District of the Frontier, to January 1864. 2nd Brigade, District of the Frontier,

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII ...

, Department of Arkansas, to March 1864. 1st Brigade, District of the Frontier, VII Corps, to April 1864. 3rd Brigade, District of the Frontier, VII Corps, to January 1865. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, VII Corps, to February 1865. Unattached, VII Corps, to August 1865. On May 22, 1862, an order was received from District Headquarters for the 2nd Kansas Cavalry to provide a 150-man detail to man a battery of six 10-pdr

Parrott rifle The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle-loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War. Parrott rifle The gun was invented by Captain Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He was an American soldier and inven ...

s at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

. This battery became known as Hopkins' Battery and remained in service until August 1, 1862. Some officers were ordered to return to the regiment, while the remaining men were mounted and ordered to reinforce Major General

Don Carlos Buell Don Carlos Buell (March 23, 1818November 19, 1898) was a United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican–American War, and the American Civil War. Buell led Union armies in two major Civil War battles— Shiloh and Pe ...

in northern

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. This detachment ultimately participated in the

Kentucky Campaign The Confederate Heartland Offensive (August 14 – October 10, 1862), also known as the Kentucky Campaign, was an American Civil War campaign conducted by the Confederate States Army in Tennessee and Kentucky where Generals Braxton Bragg and ...

, saw minor action at the

Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the Ame ...

and captured a rebel flag and 24 prisoners at

Lancaster, Kentucky Lancaster is a home rule-class city in Garrard County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. As of the year 2020 U.S. census, the city population was 3,901. Located south of Lexington, Lancaster is the site of the Ke ...

, in a skirmish there. These men returned to the regiment by January 1, 1863. The 2nd Kansas Cavalry mustered out of service on August 17, 1865.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 181 men during service; 2 officers and 62 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 116 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Alson C. Davis * Colonel

Robert Byington Mitchell Robert Byington Mitchell (April 4, 1823January 26, 1882) was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and the Governor of the New Mexico Territory from 1866 to 1869. Early life and career Mitchell was born on April ...

* Colonel Samuel Johnson Crawford * Lieutenant Colonel Owen A. Bassett

Notable members

* Colonel William F. Cloud - Namesake of

Cloud County, Kansas Cloud County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Concordia. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 9,032. The county was named after William Cloud, an officer in the America ...

. *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Avra P. Russell, Company K - Namesake of

Russell County, Kansas Russell County is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Russell. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,691. The county was named for Avra Russell. The city of Russell was the home of former U.S. S ...

, died of wounds received at the

Battle of Prairie Grove The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on December 7, 1862. While tactically indecisive, the battle secured the Union control of northwestern Arkansas. A division of Union troops in the Army of the Fronti ...

, Arkansas. * Sergeant Marion Harper, Company E - Namesake of

Harper County, Kansas Harper County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Anthony. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,485. The county was named for Sergeant Marion Harper of the 2nd Kansas Ca ...

, killed at

Waldron, Arkansas Waldron is a city in Scott County, Arkansas, Scott County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 3,386 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Scott County. History Waldron was platted in 1845 by surve ...

* Private William D. Mitchell, Company K - Namesake of

Mitchell County, Kansas Mitchell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Beloit. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,796. The county was named for William Mitchell. History Early history For m ...

, promoted to captain of a Kentucky regiment, killed at the Battle of Monroe's Crossroads, North Carolina * Private Vincent B. Osborn, Company A - Namesake of

Osborne County, Kansas Osborne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Osborne. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 3,500. The county is named for Vincent Osborne, a captain in the American Civil ...

, lost a leg at Roseville,

Logan County, Arkansas Logan County (formerly Sarber County) is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,131. Its two county seats are Booneville and Paris. History The Arkansas General Assembly defined the stat ...

* Thomas Martin, Private, 2nd Kansas Cavalry, Company C, Saline County Kansas, Salina, KS, prominent farmer and Kansas pioneer and Irish immigrant. Severely wounded in the arm at the Battle of Prairie Grove AR, Reed Mountain. His brother was in the Union Army and died during the Civil War, Ohio 43rd, Infantry.

Notes

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * ''Official Military History of Kansas Regiments During the War for the Suppression of the Great Rebellion'' (Leavenworth, KS: W. S. Burke), 1870. ;Attribution * {{CWR

External links

History of the 2nd Kansas Cavalry by the Museum of the Kansas National Guard

"Skirmish at Reed's Mountain", ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas''
Cavalry regiments of the United States Army