The 1st Regiment New York Mounted Rifles, sometimes designated

7th Regiment New York Volunteer Cavalry The 7th New York Cavalry Regiment, the "Northern Black Horse Cavalry" and more properly designated 1st Regiment New York Mounted Rifles, was a cavalry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service This regiment was organized a ...

, was a

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 ...

of 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 ...

Service

Recruiting poster New York Mounted Rifles

Companies organized and mustered in between July 1861 and September 1862, and served in the Department of Virginia (

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 ...

and IV Corps) and

Department of Virginia and North Carolina The Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a United States Military department encompassing Union-occupied territory in the Confederate States during the Civil War. In 1863 it was formed by the merging of two previously existing departmen ...

, principally at

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, Williamsburg and

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Cou ...

; in Wistar's Division, XVIII Corps, from January 1864; in the Cavalry,

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River (Virginia), James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. Histor ...

, with the 3d Brigade, 1st Division,

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

, from March 1864; a detachment as escort, headquarters Army of the James, from July 1864; unattached from August 1864; in the 3d Brigade of the Cavalry Division, Army of the James, until March 1865; again unattached to the close of the war; and at

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

, from April 1865. Companies H and D served with the 10th Corps from June 1864; with XVIII Corps from August 1864. July 17, 1864, 270 men of the 16th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment, who had volunteered to serve with the regiment, were transferred to it. September 6, 1865, the regiment received the designation, 4th Regiment New York Provisional Cavalry, and its final record will be found under that head.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment lost by death, killed in action, 1 officer, 18 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 1 officer, 12 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, 4 officers, 125 enlisted men; total, 6 officers, 155 enlisted men; aggregate, 161; of whom 8 enlisted men died at the hands of the enemy.1st Mounted Rifles Regiment Civil War
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Commanders

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge of ...

Charles C. Dodge *Colonel

Edwin Vose Sumner Jr. Edwin Vose Sumner Jr. (August 16, 1835 – August 23, 1912) was a general in the United States Army. Born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania; he was the son of General Edwin Vose Sumner, one of the oldest generals to serve during the American Civil War ...

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Benjamin F. Onderdonk

Notes

{{Reflist

References

The Civil War Archive

External links