1st Battalion Nevada Volunteer Cavalry The 1st Battalion of Nevada Volunteer Cavalry , or the Nevada Territory Cavalry Volunteers , was a unit raised for the Union army during the American Civil War . It remained in the west , garrisoning frontier posts , protecting emigrant routes , and engaged in scouting duties . The unit was disbanded in July 1866 . Organization . Commanding Officers < br > Companies History . Recruitment . In the spring of 1862 , recruiting for the army in the Nevada Territory began in Virginia City . These early volunteers were mustered into the 3rd California Cavalry , and occupied military posts within the territory . The following spring , Nevada was authorized to raise their own battalion of cavalry for three - years service . Recruitment offices were first opened at Gold Hill and Silver City , and the first men began mustering in on 17 June 1863 . Other recruiting stations were later opened in Aurora , Carson City and Genoa and the battalion of six companies would be completed in April 1864 . Company A was recruited in Silver City under Elias Brevoort " Buck " Zabriske who then became captain . Company B was recruited in Gold Hill under Joseph H . Matthewson who became lieutenant and Noyes Baldwin became captain . These two companies were mustered into service in Salt Lake City . Being the ranking captain , Zabriske was offered command of the two companies but declined . Baldwin was then placed in command . Four more companies were added to the battalion after its mustering . Company C was recruited throughout the state with John H . Dalton as captain . Company D was recruited in Gold Hill with Milo George as captain . Company E was recruited at Genoa , Carson City and Silver City with Robert Lyon as captain . Company F was recruited in Aurora with Joseph W . Calder as captain . Having never reached full regimental strength , no colonel was appointed to command . Alfred A . C . Williams was appointed major of the battalion on March 18 , 1864 and served as the completed battalion ' s first commander . A month later on April 6 , Williams was promoted to lieutenant colonel and Milo George of Company D became major . Major George served as the post commander of Camp Nye in Carson City , Nevada with Companies D and E . Williams resigned on December 21 , 1864 and George was promoted to the lieutenant colonelcy the following day with Noyes Baldwin eventually succeeding to the position of major on March 31 , 1865 . Lieutenant Colonel George was in command of the battalion when it was mustered out of service in 1865 . Operations . The companies , or detachments of , would be engaged in various scouting missions and fort garrisoning during their service . Companies A and B left for the Utah Territory in 1864 , where they encamped at Fort Bridger , Companies C and F manned Camp Douglas in Utah , while the other two were engaged in numerous skirmishes with hostiles throughout Nevada . The Expedition to the Humboldt River would take Captain Wells and Company D on a 1 , 200 mile scouting operation , from their camp at Fort Churchill north and west to the California border and back . In the 84 days , they never engaged or saw any hostile Indians . The Pyramid Lake , Walker Lake and Mud Lake operations in March 1865 involved Companies D and E investigating the murders of miners and the theft of cattle from settlers . The 10 March incident at Walker Lake with Capt Wallace and Company E was settled quickly , with the suspected murderers being handed over by the Paiute band . For Capt Wells and Company E , however , encountering the Smoke Creek Paiutes at Mud Lake ( now Winnemucca Lake ) on 14 March became a battle ( see " " Battle of Mud Lake " " ) . Though only one man was wounded , twenty - nine Indians were killed in the action . Reports from both sides offer largely different versions of the incident . Table ( or Godfrey ' s ) Mountain , 20 May 1865 . Capt Littlefield , with 35 men of Company D , while on a scouting run near Paradise Valley , encountered a large band of Paiutes . Largely outnumbered , he returned to camp to notify Captain Almond Wells , who gathered up Co . E and returned to the scene with a force of 65 soldiers . Chief Zeluawick , with 500 Paiute , Shoshone and Bannock warriors , held a position on top of a butte . Wells , Littlefield and 40 men ( the remainder of the force keeping the horses ) charged up the hill and fought until night fall , when a retreat was ordered . Two soldiers were killed and four wounded in the attempted assault . Skirmishes with these bands of Paiutes continued throughout the summer , with additional troops of the 1st Battalion Nevada Volunteer Infantry and 2nd California Cavalry taking part . Companies D and E , along with a detachment from Company F , would be mustered out on 18 November 1865 . Companies A , B and C would be mustered out of service on 12 July 1866 , while the remainder of Company F stayed on until 21 July .