The 1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment 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 Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. It was first formed of five companies as 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry between August and October 31, 1861, at Camp Merchant near

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

. After the battalion was organized it was sent to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

, three companies being stationed at

Camp Latham Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

, near Los Angeles, and two at

Camp Carleton Camp Carleton was the largest of several military camps to be maintained at various times in the vicinity of San Bernardino. It was established in the fall of 1861 by Captain William A. McCleave and a detachment of the 1st California Cavalry to che ...

, near

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

. November 20–29, 1861, a detachment under Second Lt. C. R. Wellman was stationed at Camp Wright, and pursued and captured Dan Showalter's party west of the San Jose Valley and

Warner's Ranch Warner's Ranch, near Warner Springs, California, was notable as a way station for large numbers of emigrants on the Southern Emigrant Trail from 1849 to 1861, as it was a stop on both the Gila River Trail and the Butterfield Overland Mail stag ...

. The battalion remained in Southern California until the spring of 1862, when it became part of the

California Column The California Column was a force of Union volunteers sent to Arizona and New Mexico during the American Civil War. The command marched over from California through Arizona and New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and as far east as El Paso, ...

, and formed the advance force of that Column during the march to

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomin ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. In 1863, the Regiment was brought to full strength when seven more companies were raised to bring it to a full strength of twelve companies. The five companies first organized were mustered out August 31, 1864, the terms of service of most of the men having expired. Two new companies, B and C, were organized in New Mexico, by consolidation of the few men whose terms had not expired, and by new enlistments, and two new companies were enlisted in California, A and E, which, upon the completion of their organization, were sent to Arizona. All of the companies of First Volunteer Cavalry (Companies B, C, F, G, H, K, and M) stationed in New Mexico and Texas, were ordered to assemble at Baird’s Ranch, near

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

, to be mustered out of the service, during the month of September, 1866. Company M was the last mustered out on the September 30, 1866. 1st Volunteer Cavalry Regiment spent its entire term of service in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

in California and New Mexico Territory and Texas. The California State Military Museum; 1st Regiment of Cavalry, California Volunteers
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1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry Commanders

* Colonel Benjamin F. Davis August 19, 1861 - November 1, 1861 * Lt. Colonel Edward E. Eyre November 1, 1861 - November 30, 1862 * Colonel David Ferguson November 30, 1862 - November 6, 1863 * Colonel Oscar M. Brown November 6, 1863 - December 31, 1865 * Lt. Colonel Clarence E. Bennett December 31, 1865 - October 19, 1866 * Major

William McCleave William A. McCleave (1825 – February 3, 1904) was an Irish-born American soldier and officer in the U.S. Army who served in the Indian Wars and the American Civil War. Biography William McCleave was born in northern Ireland in 1825. Losing his ...

October 19, 1866 - October 21, 1866

Company assignments

* Company A October 1861 sent to

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

from Oakland. Duty there until March 1, 1862. Marched to

Fort Yuma Fort Yuma was a fort in California located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department o ...

and on to Stanwix Rancho by March 16. March 29, 1862 Skirmish six miles beyond Stanwix Rancho on the

Gila River The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of ...

. A small scouting party of the company under Lt. James Barrett engaged in battle at Picacho Pass in which he and 2 others were killed and 3 wounded April 16, 1862. * Company B October 1861 sent to

Camp Wright Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station is located in the western foothills of the Laguna Mountains, in northern San Diego County, California. It is located on State Route 79, northwest of Warner Springs and Warner's Ranch. The station was built o ...

. November 20–29, 1861, Second Lt. C. R. Wellman pursued and captured

Daniel Showalter Daniel Showalter (1830–1866), was a California miner, state legislator, duelist, secessionist, and Confederate States of America military officer in Texas. Early life Daniel Showalter was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania and came to Cal ...

's party near

, west of the San Jose Valley. nd Lt. Wellman was in Company B according to Records of California Men in the War of the Rebellion.* Company C * Company D * Company E * Company F Mustered at

Camp Stanford Camp Stanford was an American Civil War tent camp established on March 3, 1863, in present-day Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton ...

October 31, 1863. * Company G Mustered at Camp Stanford June 12, 1863. * Company H * Company I * Company J * Company K Organized at Camp Merchant,

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

; moved to

Camp Morris Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

in October 1863, in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...

. Moved to Drum Barracks in December, 1863. Moved to Tucson, Arizona Territory in February 1864, then on to Camp Valverde and

Fort Craig Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico. The Fort Craig site was approximately 1,050 feet east-west by 600 feet north-so ...

at the end of March 1864, arriving in April and remaining until moving to Fort Union in August. Moved to Cottonwood Springs in October and returned to Fort Union in December 1864, remaining there until May 1865 when they moved to the Camp near Fort Larned,

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

where they remained until moving to Camp at Lower Cimarron Springs in August, 1865. They returned to Fort Union November 1865, moving on to Camp Lincoln in December 1865 where they remained until May 1866 when they returned to Fort Union on June 30, 1866. The company assembled at Baird's Ranch, near Albuquerque, to be mustered out of service, during the month of September, 1866. * Company L * Company M Organized at Camp Union, California, July 1, 1863. Moved to Tucson via

Drum Barracks The Drum Barracks, also known as Camp Drum and the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum, is the last remaining original American Civil War era military facility in the Los Angeles area. Located in the Wilmington section of Los Angeles, near the Port ...

, in February, 1864. At

Camp Goodwin Camp Goodwin, and Fort Goodwin, a historical locale, at an elevation of 2648 feet, located in Graham County, Arizona. History Camp Goodwin, then Fort Goodwin, was constructed in June 1864 by the California Volunteers, of the Union Army in Arizo ...

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state o ...

March 31, 1864. In

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern Ne ...

from April to October, 1864, then moved to Hatch's Ranch, New Mexico. Moved to Camp at Blue Water Creek in November, 1864 and participated in the "Kiowa and Comanche Expedition," near Fort Bascom, New Mexico in December, 1864. It then returned to Las Cruces in January, remaining until May 1865 when they moved to

Fort Selden Fort Selden was a United States Army post, occupying the area in what is now Radium Springs, New Mexico. The site was long a campground along the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. It was the site of a Confederate Army camp in 1861. The U. S. Ar ...

, then Fort Craig in June, returning to Fort Selden until September 1866 when it moved to Baird's Ranch to muster out on September 30, 1866. It was the last company of the regiment to be mustered out.

References

{{reflist

Sources

The California State Military Museum; 1st Regiment of Cavalry, California Volunteers

Records of California men in the war of the rebellion 1861 to 1867 By California. Adjutant General's Office, SACRAMENTO: State Office, J. D. Young, Supt. State Printing. 1890. pp.68-167
Units and formations of the Union Army from California Military units and formations of the United States in the Indian Wars Military units and formations established in 1861 1861 establishments in California Military units and formations disestablished in 1866 1866 disestablishments in New Mexico Territory

1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry Commanders

Company assignments

See also

References

Sources