The 6th Iowa 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
Indian Wars.
Service
The 6th Iowa Cavalry was mustered into Federal service at
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...
, for a three-year enlistment between January 31 to March 5, 1863. In 1864, eleven of the regiment's twelve companies were part of Lieutenant Colonel Samuel M. Pollock's 1st Brigade of Brigadier General Alfred Sully's District of Iowa. In this organization, these companies participated in the Northwestern Indian Expedition, fighting at the
Battle of Killdeer Mountain and in the
Battle of the Badlands. The regiment was mustered out of Federal service on October 17, 1865.
Total strength and casualties
A total of 1420 men served in the 6th Iowa at one time or another during its existence.
It suffered 1 officer and 21 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 1 officer and 74 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 97 fatalities.
Commanders
*
Colonel David S. Wilson
* Colonel Samuel McLean Pollock
[Iowa Genweb Iowa in the Civil War Project after Logan, Guy E., Roster and Record of Iowa Troops In the Rebellion, Vol. 1]
See also
*
List of Iowa Civil War Units
*
Iowa in the American Civil War
Notes
References
The Civil War Archive
Units and formations of the Union Army from Iowa
1863 establishments in Iowa
Military units and formations established in 1863
Military units and formations disestablished in 1865
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