The 1st Nebraska Cavalry Regiment was a 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 conscript ...

that 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 of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

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 ...

Service

The 1st Nebraska Cavalry Regiment was created from the 1st Nebraska Infantry on October 11, 1863. The regiment was commanded by

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 o ...

Robert Ramsay Livingston. It was later designated 1st Nebraska Veteran Cavalry on July 10, 1865, after being consolidated with 1st Battalion Nebraska Volunteer Cavalry. The regiment was attached to District of Southeast Missouri,

Department of the Missouri The Department of the Missouri was a command echelon of the United States Army in the 19th century and a sub division of the Military Division of the Missouri that functioned through the Indian Wars. History Background Following the successful ...

, to November 1864. District of Northeast Arkansas, Department of the Missouri, to January 1864. District Northeast Arkansas,

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 ...

, to May 1864. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, VII Corps, Department of Arkansas, to October 1864. 4th Brigade, Cavalry Division, VII Corps, to October 1864. District of Nebraska and District of the Plains, to July 1866. The 1st Nebraska Cavalry mustered out of service on July 1, 1866.

Detailed service

* 1863 * 1st Nebraska Cavalry was created October 11, 1863. * Duty at St. Louis, Mo., until November 30. * Moved to Batesville, Ark., November 30-December 25, 1863. * 1864 * Operations in northeastern Arkansas January 1–30, 1864. ** Action at Black River January 18. ** Jacksonport January 19. ** Expedition after Freeman's forces January 23–30. ** Sylamore Creek January 23 (detachment). ** Sylamore January 24. * Scout to Pocohontas February 9–20. ** Morgan's Mills, Spring River, February 9. ** Pocohontas February 10. * Expedition from Batesville after Freeman's forces February 12–20. ** Spring River, near Smithfield, February 13. * Expedition to Wild Haws, Strawberry Creek, etc., March 10–12. * Scout from Batesville to Fairview March 25–26. * Spring River, near Smithville, April 13 (detachment). * Moved to Jacksonport, Ark., April 17–19. * Attack on Jacksonport April 20. * Expedition to Augusta April 22–24. * Near Jacksonport April 24. * Moved to Duvall's Bluff May 25–30. * Veterans on furlough June 10 to August 13.

The First Nebraska Cavalry had "veteran volunteered," as it was called. After a person had served in the field eighteen months, then he could "veteranize," as it was said, and enlist for three years longer and get a bounty of $300, so that soldiers and sometimes regiments "veteranized." The First Nebraska was a regiment in which the men had veteranized to such an extent that it was reorganized as a veteran regiment, and bore the name of veteran volunteer in the title of the regiment. The incursions of the Indians, and the vast damages which they had done in Nebraska, raised such an outcry that the Government had to send Nebraska troops home for the protection of Nebraska, the same as a portion of our regiment was stationed in Iowa. And so it happened that the "First Nebraska Veteran Volunteer Cavalry" was drawn from the field, and the Confederacy, and sent out to fight Indians in the Northwest. The 7th Iowa Cavalry and the First Nebraska got along together very well.

* Left Omaha for Fort Kearney, Nebraska, August 15, arriving there August 23, 1864. * Operations against Indians in Nebraska and Colorado until July 1866, participating in numerous affairs with hostile Indians at Plum Creek, Spring Ranch, Julesburg, Mud Springs, Elm Creek and Smith's Ranch. Also engaged in scout and escort duty. * 1865 * Operations on overland stage route between

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Julesburg, Colorado Julesburg is the statutory town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Sedgwick County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,225 at the 2010 United States Census. It is close to the Nebraska border. History T ...

, January 14–25, 1865. * Operations on

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 In a ...

, Colo., February 2–18. * Scout from Dakota City April 12–16 and April 22–27 (detachments). * Scout from

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers. They joined ...

to Wind River, Nebraska., May 3–21 (detachment), * Scout from Plum Creek to

Medway Station Medway station was a railroad station in Medway, Massachusetts. It served the West Medway Branch (later the Millis Branch), and opened in 1861. History Medway station was originally part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, until ...

, Wind River, Nebraska., May 8–20 (detachment). * Scout from Fort Kearney to Little Blue River, Nebraska, May 9-June 2 (detachment). * Scout from Cottonwood May 12–14 (1st Battalion). * Scout from Plum Creek, Nebraska., May 26–27 (detachment). * Expedition to Platte and

Mojave River The Mojave River is an intermittent river in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Most of its flow is underground, while its surface channels remain dry most of the time, ...

s, Nebraska., June 12-July 5 (detachment). * 1866 * Mustered out July 1, 1866. Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. p.1344
This volume only covers service during the War of the Rebellion, which officially ended in late July, 1865. This Volunteer regiment like many others in the Western United States continued in service for another year or more until they could be replaced by U. S. Army units.

Commanders

* Colonel Robert Ramsay Livingston * Colonel William Baumer

Notes

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * ''History of the State of Nebraska'' (Chicago: The Western Historical Company), 1882. ;Attribution * {{CWR

External links