Historical Sketch and Roster of the Missouri 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Union)

Historical Sketch and Roster of the Missouri 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Union)

By John C Rigdon

The Second Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, also known officially as Merrill's Horse, was one of only a handful of Missouri regiments to be officially "named" as well as numbered. The regiment was raised under the authority of Major General John C. Frémont, commander of the Western Department of the U. S. Army, headquartered at St.

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Book Information

Publisher: Independently Published
Publish Date: 11/30/2018
Pages: 102
ISBN-13: 9781790538348
ISBN-10: 1790538343
Language: English

Full Description

The Second Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, also known officially as Merrill's Horse, was one of only a handful of Missouri regiments to be officially "named" as well as numbered.The regiment was raised under the authority of Major General John C. Frémont, commander of the Western Department of the U.S. Army, headquartered at St. Louis, Missouri. The regiment was organized by Captain Lewis Merrill, a regular Army officer and a veteran of the prewar U.S. 2nd Dragoons. Serving as a Colonel of Volunteers, Merrill organized companies of volunteers from Missouri and other western states at St. Louis's Benton Barracks. Merrill enforced a level of discipline unusual for volunteer regiments, demanding a level of professionalism comparable to U.S. Regulars.Through most of 1862, Merrill's Horse was assigned the difficult mission of fighting guerrillas and irregular Confederate cavalry in north Missouri. Often operating with Federal Missouri State Militia cavalry, the regiment established a reputation of extreme aggressiveness and effectiveness in the counter-guerrilla mission. Later in the war Merrill's Horse provided distinguished service in more conventional cavalry missions against regular Confederate units. However, in Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama the regiment was repeatedly called on to return to the difficult specialist counterinsurgency mission of guerrilla fighting.The regiment ended the war guarding the railroad lines between Chattanooga and Atlanta.

About the Author

John Rigdon has authored a number of books on the Civil War and is the manager of the web site, Research OnLine, (www.researchonline.net) the premier site for researching Civil War ancestors in the Civil War. His titles include the Historical Sketch and Roster Volumes (1100 plus titles) and a dozen volumes in the "We Fought" series focusing on particular battles and commanders. Addi

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