page_title: Cavalry in the American Civil War
section_title: Types of mounted forces
hierarchical_section_title: Cavalry in the American Civil War / Types of mounted forces
caption_attribution_description: English: Recruiting poster for the New York Cavalry, 1st Battalion, Mounted Rifles, which served from 1861 to 1865 in the American Civil War. The battalion was under command of Col. C. C. Dodge, assisted by Capt. A. G. Patton and Capt. L. B. Reynolds, recruiting officers. Courtesy The New York Historical Society and the Library of Congress American Memory.
context_page_description: The American Civil War saw cavalry tactics move largely away from the offensive towards the defensive, with the emphasis on screening, reconnaissance, raiding and harassment. Development of the rifled musket had also rendered the cavalry charge impractical.
  In the first half of the war, the Confederates enjoyed the advantage in cavalry, as southern men were more accustomed to the riding and shooting life, and most of the experienced cavalry officers from the regular army had chosen to side with the Confederacy.
  By the second half, from 1863 onward, the Union Army had gained an equal cavalry capability, through Benjamin Grierson's brilliant deception tactics in the Mississippi valley, and Philip Sheridan's aggressive movements, while in command of the Army of the Shenandoah at the end of the war in Virginia.
  Cavalry units proved highly expensive to maintain, and unscrupulous agents would often exploit shortages by supplying defective animals at exorbitant prices.
context_section_description: There were four types of mounted forces prevalent in the Civil War.
  Cavalry were forces that fought principally on horseback, armed with carbines, pistols, and sabers. Only a small percentage of Civil War forces met this definition—primarily Union mounted forces in the Eastern Theater during the first half of the war. Confederate forces in the East generally carried neither carbines nor sabers. A few Confederate regiments in the Western Theater carried shotguns, especially early in the war.
  Mounted infantry were forces that moved on horseback but dismounted for fighting on foot, armed principally with rifles. In the second half of the war, most of the units considered to be cavalry actually fought battles using the tactics of mounted infantry. An example of this was the celebrated "Lightning Brigade" of Col. John T. Wilder, which used horses to quickly arrive at a battlefield such as Chickamauga, but they deployed and fought using standard infantry formations and tactics. By contrast, at the Battle of Gettysburg, Federal cavalry under John Buford also dismounted to fight Confederate infantry, but they used conventional cavalry tactics, arms, and formations.
  Dragoons were hybrid forces that were armed as cavalrymen but were expected to fight on foot as well. The term comes from the French Army, representing a cross between light cavalry and infantry. The fighting tactics of the forces deployed by Union General Philip Sheridan in 1864, and by Confederate General Wade Hampton after the Battle of Yellow Tavern, fit the dragoon model, although those units did not adopt the term.
  Irregular forces (partisan rangers or guerrillas) were generally mounted forces. There is little commonality as to their weapons—in general, any available were used. The Confederacy produced the most famous irregular leaders, including William Clarke Quantrill and John S. Mosby.
caption: Recruiting poster for the First Battalion, New York Mounted Rifles
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