The 2nd Kansas Cavalry Regiment 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 that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Service

The 2nd Kansas Cavalry was organized at

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, Kansas beginning on November 8, 1861, but its designation was changed to 9th Kansas Infantry on February 4, 1862. It was changed again on March 5, 1862, to 2nd Kansas Cavalry. It was mustered in under the command of Colonel Alson C. Davis. The regiment was attached to Department of Kansas November 1861 to August 1862. 2nd Brigade, Department of Kansas, to October 1862. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Frontier, Department of Missouri, to February 1863. District of Southwest Missouri, Department of Missouri, to December 1863. 2nd Brigade, District of the Frontier, to January 1864. 2nd Brigade, District of the Frontier, VII Corps, Department of Arkansas, to March 1864. 1st Brigade, District of the Frontier, VII Corps, to April 1864. 3rd Brigade, District of the Frontier, VII Corps, to January 1865. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, VII Corps, to February 1865. Unattached, VII Corps, to August 1865. On May 22, 1862, an order was received from District Headquarters for the 2nd Kansas Cavalry to provide a 150-man detail to man a battery of six 10-pdr Parrott rifles at Fort Leavenworth. This battery became known as Hopkins' Battery and remained in service until August 1, 1862. Some officers were ordered to return to the regiment, while the remaining men were mounted and ordered to reinforce Major General Don Carlos Buell in northern Alabama. This detachment ultimately participated in the Kentucky Campaign, saw minor action at the Battle of Perryville and captured a rebel flag and 24 prisoners at Lancaster, Kentucky, in a skirmish there. These men returned to the regiment by January 1, 1863. The 2nd Kansas Cavalry mustered out of service on August 17, 1865.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 181 men during service; 2 officers and 62 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 116 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Alson C. Davis * Colonel

Robert Byington Mitchell Robert Byington Mitchell (April 4, 1823January 26, 1882) was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and the Governor of the New Mexico Territory from 1866 to 1869. Early life and career Mitchell was born on April ...

* Colonel

Samuel Johnson Crawford Samuel Johnson Crawford (April 10, 1835 – October 21, 1913) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War, and the third Governor of Kansas (1865–1868). He also served as one of the first members of the Kansas Legislature. ...

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 ...

Owen A. Bassett

Notable members

* Colonel

William F. Cloud William F. Cloud (March 23, 1825March 4, 1905) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War who participated in many battles in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. Early life and career Cloud was born near Columbus, Ohio and enlist ...

- Namesake of Cloud County, Kansas. *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Avra P. Russell, Company K - Namesake of Russell County, Kansas, died of wounds received at the Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. * Sergeant Marion Harper, Company E - Namesake of Harper County, Kansas, killed at

Waldron, Arkansas Waldron is a city in Scott County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 3,386 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Scott County. History Waldron was platted in 1845 by surveyor W. P. Waldron, and named for him. A post of ...

* Private William D. Mitchell, Company K - Namesake of Mitchell County, Kansas, promoted to captain of a Kentucky regiment, killed at the Battle of Monroe's Crossroads, North Carolina * Private Vincent B. Osborn, Company A - Namesake of

Osborne County, Kansas Osborne County (standard abbreviation: OB) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 3,500. The largest city and county seat is Osborne. History Early history For many millennia, the G ...

, lost a leg at Roseville, Logan County, Arkansas

Notes

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * ''Official Military History of Kansas Regiments During the War for the Suppression of the Great Rebellion'' (Leavenworth, KS: W. S. Burke), 1870. ;Attribution *

External links

History of the 2nd Kansas Cavalry by the Museum of the Kansas National Guard
{{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union Army from Kansas Artillery units and formations of the American Civil War