5th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment The 5th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War . It was a part of the famed Michigan Brigade , commanded for a time by Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer . Service . Organized in Detroit , Michigan , the 5th Michigan Cavalry was mustered into service on August 30 , 1862 , and left for Washington , D . C . , on December 4 of that year . The regiment served in the defenses of the capital until June 1863 , when it joined the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac . Over the next month , the 5th Michigan Cavalry took part in a several major battles , including the Battle of Hanover on June 30 , the Battle of Gettysburg from July 1 to July 3 , and the Battle of Williamsport from July 6 to July 14 . The regiment then participated in a series of smaller engagements followed by the Battle of Mine Run from November 26 to December 2 . Early in 1864 came the Battle of Morton ' s Ford , on February 6 and 7 , and three months later the Overland Campaign began . The 5th Michigan saw action in several battles of this campaign , including the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6 and 7 , the Battle of Totopotomoy Creek from May 28 to 31 , and the Battle of Cold Harbor from May 31 to June 1 . After the First Battle of Deep Bottom on July 27 and 28 , the unit was ordered back towards Washington , D . C . , to take part in Sheridan ' s Shenandoah Valley Campaign from August to October . The 5th Michigan saw action in the Battles of Opequon , Fisher ' s Hill , and Cedar Creek . The next spring , in late March and early April 1865 , the regiment took part in a series of battles of the Appomattox Campaign : at Dinwiddie Court House , Five Forks , Sayler ' s Creek , Appomattox Station , and finally Appomattox Court House , which ended with the surrender of the Confederate Army . After participating in one last expedition , the regiment headed to Washington in May , where it took part in the Grand Review of the Armies . The regiment was moved to Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , on June 1 before being mustered out of service on June 23 , 1865 . Veterans and recruits were transferred to the 1st Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment . Total strength and casualties . The regiment suffered 6 officers and 135 enlisted men killed in action or mortally wounded and 3 officers and 322 enlisted men who died of disease , for a total of 466 fatalities . Notable soldiers . Russell A . Alger served as commander of the 5th Michigan Cavalry beginning in February 1863 ; he later became the Governor of Michigan , U . S . Secretary of War , and a U . S . Senator . Among the initial officers of the regiment was William d ' Alton Mann , a future newspaper and magazine publisher . Future United States Representative from Michigan Jonas H . McGowan served in the 5th until November 1862 , when he accepted a captaincy in the 9th Michigan Cavalry . A 5th Michigan cavalryman was responsible for the death of Confederate Major General J . E . B . Stuart ; during the Battle of Yellow Tavern , Private John A . Huff of Company E shot and mortally wounded the general . Three men earned the Medal of Honor while serving with the 5th Michigan Cavalry . Captain Smith H . Hastings of Company M was awarded the medal for his actions during an engagement in Newby ' s Crossroads , Virginia , on July 24 , 1863 . Two enlisted men , Corporal Gabriel Cole of Company I and Sergeant Henry M . Fox of Company M , received the medal for capturing battle flags during the Battle of Opequon at Winchester , Virginia , on September 19 , 1864 .