The 12th Illinois Cavalry Regiment was a volunteer

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

which served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

History

The 12th Cavalry was organized at Camp Butler in February 1862. It was part of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal 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 surrender of the Confedera ...

from September 1862 to November 1863; the

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was co ...

from March 1864 to February 1865; and the

Department of Texas The Department of Texas was a military department of the United States Army that existed from 1850 to 1861, and again from 1865 to 1866, from 1870 to 1913 and during the First World War. It was subordinate to the Military Division of the Missouri. ...

from July 1865 to May 1866. The 4th Illinois Cavalry was consolidated with the 12th Illinois Cavalry on June 14, 1865. 12th IL Cavalry MN020

At the

Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot ...

, the monument to the unit is west of Gettysburg on Reynolds Avenue between the Railroad Cut and Chambersburg Road. It was dedicated in 1891 by the State of Illinois.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 38 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 4 officers and 192 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 234 fatalities.

Commanders

*Colonel Arno Voss (1861–1864) *Colonel Hasbrouck Davis (1865)

References

External links

* *{{Cite web , title=12th Illinois Cavalry Monument , url=http://www.virtualgettysburg.com/exhibit/monuments/pages/sr090.html , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717213504/http://www.virtualgettysburg.com/exhibit/monuments/pages/sr090.html , archive-date=2011-07-17 Units and formations of the Union Army from Illinois 1862 establishments in Illinois Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1866 1866 disestablishments in Illinois

History

Total strength and casualties

Commanders

See also

References

External links