The 3rd Indiana Cavalry Regiment, also designated the 45th Indiana Infantry Regiment or the 45th Indiana Volunteers was a military unit from the U.S. state of

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

that participated in 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 ...

. It consisted of two separate "wings" that never operated together: * The 3rd Indiana Cavalry Regiment (East Wing) (or Right Wing), consisting of Companies A, B, C, D, E and F, organized at

Madison, Indiana Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the large ...

, August 22, 1861, that were intended for service with the 1st Regiment Indiana Cavalry. On October 22, the six companies were designated the 3rd Cavalry and assigned to the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the 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 June 1865 following the Battle of ...

in the Eastern Theater of the war. The East Wing saw action at the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

and fought with distinction at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

, where in the opening day's action on July 1, 1863, the unit held off far larger Confederate forces until the main Union force arrived.Eric J. Wittenberg, The Devil's to Pay:John Buford at Gettysburg. El Dorado, CA: Savas Beatie LLC, 2014). * The 3rd Indiana Cavalry Regiment (West Wing) (or Left Wing), consisting of Companies G, H, I, K, L and M. The first four companies were organized at Madison on October 1, 1861. In December, they were assigned to the

Army of the Ohio The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union Army, Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863. History 1st Army of the Ohio General Orders No. 97 appointed ...

. Company L, organized in October 1862, and Company M, organized in December 1862, later joined the unit in

Eastern Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 counti ...

. The West Wing saw action at the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 18–20, 1863, between the United States Army and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a U.S. Army offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southe ...

. In December 1864, the West Wing companies were transferred to the 8th Regiment Indiana Cavalry.

References

Sources

* ''Indiana Battle Flags and a Record of Indiana Organizations in the Mexican, Civil and Spanish–American Wars'', Indianapolis: Indiana Battle Flag Commission (1929), pp. 589–601. * ''Indiana at Antietam: Report of the Indiana Antietam Monument Commission'', Indianapolis: Aetna Press (1911), pp. 139–153.

External links

* {{Indiana in the Civil War 3 cav Military units and formations established in 1861 Excelsior Brigade 1861 establishments in Indiana

See also

References

Sources

External links