Cavalry

Cavalry — marelibri

Civil War Cavalry Administration Senate Report on Union Mounted Forces by State 1862

1862ref. 126661862. Stanton Edwin M. Report of the Secretary of War concerning cavalry forces of the United States 1862 documents the federal system for assessing and organizing Union mounted troops during the rapid military expansion of the Civil War. Prepared in response to a Senate resolution of January 29 the report required the War Department to determine how many troops had been raised in each state distinguish cavalry that had been mounted from units that had not and assess what portion of the force was needed for effective service. Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas concluded that approximately 40000 cavalry troops would meet the requirements of the service illustrating how federal officials used state-level returns to evaluate military readiness and manpower needs. The document provides primary-source evidence for the study of Union cavalry organization recruitment equipment federal-state military coordination and wartime administrative planning. Stanton Edwin M. Report of the Secretary of War. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office 1862. 37th Congress 2d Session Senate Executive Document No. 26. Eight pages measuring approximately 9.75 x 5.75 inches. Seven pages consist principally of tabular returns headed "Report of the cavalry forces of the United States" prepared in compliance with a February 14 1862 request from Assistant Adjutant General George D. Ruggles. The tables identify units and commanders by state list numerical strength and the authority under which troops were raised and record operational condition with distinctions such as mounted armed equipped partially organized or unarmed. A concluding return compiled from muster rolls records volunteer cavalry by state and distinguishes regiments companies commissioned officers enlisted men and aggregate strength; the total shown is 64133 volunteer cavalry including 62 regiments and 45 additional companies. The report demonstrates the process by which the Union converted rapidly raised cavalry formations into standardized administrative information revealing the uneven condition of mounted forces across the states and the difficulty of maintaining complete central records during wartime mobilization. The Adjutant General explicitly noted that some units could not yet be distinguished as mounted or unmounted and that information was incomplete for several states and territories making the report useful not only for numerical strength but also for understanding the limitations of Civil War military bureaucracy. Minor wear to edges; otherwise no significant defects noted. Very good. A data-rich congressional document showing how the War Department measured the strength readiness and organization of Union cavalry in early 1862. unknown