The 5th Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 that served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Service

The 5th Kentucky Cavalry was organized at Columbus, Kentucky

Columbus, Kentucky

Columbus is a city in Hickman County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 229 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Columbus is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

 December 1861 to February 1862 and mustered in for a three year enlistment at Gallatin, Tennessee

Gallatin, Tennessee

Gallatin is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Tennessee, United States, along a navigable tributary of the Cumberland River. The population was 23,230 at the 2000 census. Named for U.S...

 on March 31, 1862 under the command of Colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

 David Rice Haggard.

The regiment was with the unattached cavalry, Army of the Ohio

Army of the Ohio

The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.-History:...

, to September 1862. 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862. 4th Division, Center, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland

Army of the Cumberland

The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...

, to January 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to July 1863. (District Central Kentucky, Department of the Ohio

Department of the Ohio

The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.General Orders No...

, April to June 1863; 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XXIII Corps, to July 1863; 4 companies) 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January 1864. 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, XVI Corps, Army of the Tennessee

Army of the Tennessee

The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. It should not be confused with the similarly named Army of Tennessee, a Confederate army named after the State of Tennessee....

, to April 1864. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October 1864. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to November 1864. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to January 1865. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to May 1865.

The 5th Kentucky Cavalry mustered out of service on May 3, 1865.

Detailed service

Duty at and near Columbia scouting and operating against guerrillas on border until February 1862. Gradysville, Ky., December 12, 1861. Moved to Gallatin, Tenn., February 1862, and duty there and in Tennessee until September. Lebanon, Tenn., May 5. Lamb's Ferry May 10. Expedition to Rodgersville, Ala., 13-14. Lamb's Ferry May 14. Sweeden's Cove June 4. Chattanooga June 7. Raid on Louisville & Nashville Railroad August 12–21 (detachment). Hartsville Road near Gallatin August 21 (detachment). March to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg, August 22-September 26. Glasgow, Ky., September 18. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–22. Burksville November 8. Kimbrough's Mills, Mill Creek, December 6. Operations against Cluke's forces in central Kentucky February 18-March 5, 1863. Duty at Franklin and in middle Tennessee until June. Near Nashville May 4. University Depot and Cowan July 4. Expedition to Huntsville July 13–22. Expedition to Athens, Ala., August 2–8, Passage of Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga Campaign August 16-September 22. Reconnaissance from Alpine to Summerville and skirmish September 10. Battle of Chickamauga September 19–21. Operations against Wheeler and Roddy September 30-October 17. Smith's Expedition from Nashville to Corinth, Miss., December 28, 1863, to January 8, 1864. Smith's Expedition to Okolona, Miss., February 11–26. Okolona, Ivey's Hill, February 22. New Albany February 23. Atlanta Campaign May to September. Scout from Alpine to Summerville May. Near Nickajack Gap May 7. Near Resaca May 13. Battle of Resaca May 14–15. Adairsville May 17. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 4. Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. On line of the Nickajack July 2–5. On line of the Chattahoochie July 5–17. Summerville July 7. Sandtown and Fairburn August 15. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Kilpatrick's Raid around Atlanta July 18–22. Lovejoy's Station August 20. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Flint River Station August 30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Lovejoy's Station September 2–6. Operations against Hood in northern Georgia and northern Alabama September 29-November 3. Camp Creek September 30. Sweetwater and Noyes Creek near Powder Springs October 1–3. Van Wert October 9–10. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Jonesboro November 15. Towallaga Bridge November 16. East Macon November 20. Griswoldsville November 22. Sylvan Grove and near Waynesboro November 27. Waynesboro November 27–28. Near Waynesboro November 28. Near Louisville November 30. Millen Grove and Louisville December 1. Rocky Creek Church December 2. Waynesboro December 4. Siege of Savanhah December 10–21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April, 1865. Blackville, S.C., February 7. Near White Post February 8. Williston February 8. Johnson's Station, February 11. About Columbia February 15–17. Lancaster February 27. Phillips' Cross Roads, N. C., March 4. Rockingham March 7. Monroe's Cross Roads March 10. Averysboro, Taylor's Hole Creek, March 16. Battle of Bentonville March 19–21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 8–13. Morrisville and occupation of Raleigh April 13. Chapel Hill April 15. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 213 men during service; 4 officers and 32 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 5 officers and 172 enlisted men died of disease.

See also

• List of Kentucky Civil War Units
• Kentucky in the Civil War
  Kentucky in the Civil War
  Kentucky was a border state of key importance in the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln recognized the importance of the Commonwealth when he declared "I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky." In a September 1861 letter to Orville Browning, Lincoln wrote "I think to lose...