The 7th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Cavalry was an 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...

. It was a part of the famed Michigan Brigade

Michigan Brigade

The Michigan Brigade, sometimes called the Wolverines, the Michigan Cavalry Brigade or Custer's Brigade, was a brigade of cavalry in the volunteer Union Army during the latter half of the American Civil War...

, commanded for a time by Brigadier General

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...

.

Service

The 7th Michigan Cavalry was organized at Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...

 in October 1862 by William d'Alton Mann

William d'Alton Mann

William d'Alton Mann was an American Civil War soldier, businessman, and newspaper and magazine publisher....

, a future prominent Michigan newspaper and magazine publisher. He was later named as the regiment's 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...

.

The regiment was mustered out of service on December 15, 1865.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 4 officers and 81 enlisted men killed in action or mortally wounded and 2 officers and 256 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 343
fatalities.

See also

• List of Michigan Civil War Units
• Michigan in the American Civil War
  Michigan in the American Civil War
  Michigan made a substantial contribution to the Union during the American Civil War. While far removed from the fighting in the war, Michigan supplied a large number of troops and several generals, including George Armstrong Custer. When, at the beginning of the war, Michigan was asked to supply no...
  
  
• Mary Burns (US Civil War soldier)
  Mary Burns (US Civil War soldier)
  Mary Burns was an American woman who disguised herself as a man in order to fight in the American Civil War.She enlisted in the 7th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment in order not to be parted from her lover, who was in the same regiment....