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.
See also
*
Indiana in the Civil War
Indiana, a state in the Midwest, played an important role in supporting the Union during the American Civil War. Despite anti-war activity within the state, and southern Indiana's ancestral ties to the South, Indiana was a strong supporter of ...
*
List of Indiana Civil War regiments
List of military units raised by the state of Indiana during the American Civil War.
Artillery units
Cavalry
''Note: Cavalry regiments also had infantry designations.''
*1st Indiana Cavalry Regiment (28th Infantry)
*2nd Indiana Cavalry R ...
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