7th Indiana Cavalry Regiment

The 7th Regiment Indiana Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Service

The 7th Indiana Cavalry was organized at Indianapolis, Indiana, beginning February 22, 1863, and mustered in October 1, 1863, for three years service.

The regiment was attached to District of Columbus, Kentucky, 6th Division, XVI Corps, Army of the Tennessee, December 1863. Waring's Cavalry Brigade, XVI Corps, to January 1864. 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, XVI Corps, to June 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, District of West Tennessee, to November 1864. 2nd Brigade, Wilson's Cavalry Corps, Military Division of Mississippi, to December 1864. 1st Brigade, Cavalry Division, District of West Tennessee, to June 1865. Department of Texas to February 1866.

The 7th Indiana Cavalry mustered out of service at Austin, Texas, on February 18, 1866.

Detailed service

The 7th Regiment left Indiana for Union City, Tennessee, on December 6, 1863. It then conducted an expedition to Paris, Tennessee, from December 14 to December 23, 1863. It saw action at Huntington, Tennessee, on December 27.

In 1864, its first expedition was from Union City to Trenton, Tennessee, from January 22–24, 1864. Bolivar February 6 (detachment). It was part of Smith's Expedition to Okolona, Mississippi, from February 11–26. West Point February 20–21. Okolona February 21–22. Ivey's Hill February 22. Hudsonville February 25. Regiment complimented by Generals Smith and Grierson for soldierly bearing and conduct during the expedition. Near Raleigh, Tenn., April 3. Wolf River April 8. Near Raleigh April 9 (detachment). Cypress Swamp April 10. Sturgis' Expedition to Ripley, Miss., April 30-May 9. Sturgis' Expedition to Guntown, Miss., June 1–13. Ripley June 7. Brice's Crossroads, near Guntown, June 10. Ripley June 11. White's Station June 20 and 26. Byhalia Road, near Colliersville, July 2. Action at Port Gibson, Miss., July 17. Grand Gulf July 19. Expedition to Oxford, Miss., August 1–30. Tallahatchie River August 7–9. Hurricane Creek August 9, 13-14, and 19. Oxford August 9 and 11. Lamar August 14. Colliersville August 28. White Station October 4. Near Memphis October 4 (1 company). Memphis, Tennessee, October 20 and 24. Nonconah Creek October 29 (Company F). March through Arkansas and Missouri in pursuit of Price September–November. Action at Little Blue, Mo., October 21. Independence October 22. Big Blue and State Line October 22. Westport October 23. Mine Creek, Marias Des Cygnes, October 25. At the Marmiton, October 25. Grierson's Expedition from Memphis to destroy Mobile & Ohio Railroad December 21, 1864, to January 15, 1865. Capture of Verona December 25, 1864. Egypt Station December 28. Lexington January 2, 1865. Duty at Memphis and along Memphis & Charleston Railroad until June 1865. Expedition from Memphis to Marion, Ark., January 19–22 (detachment). Expedition from Memphis into northern Mississippi March 3–11, 1865. Moved to Alexandria, La., June 6–16. Consolidated to six companies July 21. It then marched to Hempstead, Texas, August 5–26. Duty there and at Austin, Texas, until February 1866.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 294 men during service; 1 officer and 47 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 3 officers and 243 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

• Colonel John Peter Cleaver Shanks
• Major Samuel E. W. Simonson - commanded at the battles of Westport and Mine Creek

See also

• List of Indiana Civil War regiments
• Indiana in the Civil War

References

• Barnard, Sandy. A Hoosier Quaker Goes to War: The Life & Death of Major Joel H. Elliott, 7th Cavalry (Wake Forest, NC: AST Press), 2010. ISBN 0-9745-4094-3
• Cogley, Thomas Sydenham. History of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry Volunteers (La Porte, IN: Herald Co., Printers), 1876. [reprinted in 1991; ISBN 0-8902-9543-3]
• Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908.
• Lowes, James H. S. Unwritten History of the 7th Indiana Cavalry in the War of the Rebellion (Baltimore, MD: John Cox's Sons), 1899.

Attribution

• This article contains text from a text now in the public domain: Dyer, Frederick H. (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Publishing Co.