Massachusetts 1st Volunteer Cavalry (Union)

Secessionville

In early June 1862, the Union divisions of Brig. Gens. Horatio G. Wright and Isaac I. Stevens, under the overall command of Brig. Gen. Henry Benham, landed on James Island just southwest of Charleston, South Carolina. Benham entrenched at Grimball's Landing near the southern end of the Confederate defensive line around the city. On June 16th, Benham's 6,500 men from the 3rd New Hampshire, 8th Michigan, 7th Connecticut, 28th Massachusetts, and 79th New York "Highlanders" infantry regiments advanced toward C…READ MORE

Antietam

The Army of the Potomac, under the command of Maj. Gen. George McClellan, mounted a series of powerful assaults against General Robert E. Lee's forces along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17th, 1862.READ MORE

Fredericksburg

In early November, Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside took command of the Army of the Potomac, and made immediate plans to move the army once again toward Richmond.READ MORE

Kelly's Ford

In 1863, the recently organized Union Cavalry Corps possessed superior equipment and the advantages of a plentiful supply of men and horses over their Confederate counterparts, but lacked the confidence, experience, and leadership to challenge Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart's troopers. That March, Confederate cavalry under Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee conducted raids against elements of the Union line along the Rappahannock River. In response, on March 16th, 2,100 Union cavalrymen under Brig. Gen. William Averell se…READ MORE

Lieutenant ColonelGreely S. Curtis

ColonelHorace B. Sargent

Brigadier GeneralWilliam W. Averell

Chancellorsville

On April 27, 1863, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker launched a turning movement designed to pry Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia out of its lines at Fredericksburg.READ MORE

ColonelLouis P. Di Cesnola

ColonelAlfred N. Duffié

Brandy Station

> *As we emerged from the woods into an open space or field where our mounted skirmishers were deployed, it was clearly discovered that our troops were confronted with a heavy line of infantry, who, with weapons of a longer range than that of our carbines, were dismounting our men at a fearful rate, whilst they were unable to inflict any punishment upon the enemy. As Colonel Devin approached the skirmish line, he at once became the target for the Rebel sharp shooters and, the way the minnie balls were whiz…READ MORE

Aldie

Less than two weeks after the start of the Gettysburg Campaign, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry successfully screened the Confederate infantry as it marched north behind the sheltering Blue Ridge Mountains. The Union Cavalry Corps commander, Brig. Gen. Alfred Pleasanton, ordered forward the division of Brig. Gen. David McMurtrie Gregg to penetrate Stuart's screen. The probing Federals of Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry brigade, in the advance of Gregg's division, encountered Col. Thomas T. Munford…READ MORE

ColonelJohn B. McIntosh

Brigadier GeneralDavid McMurtrie Gregg

Gettysburg

In the summer of 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee launched his second invasion of the Northern states. Lee sought to capitalize on recent Confederate victories and defeat the Union army on Northern soil, which he hoped would force the Lincoln administration to negotiate for peace. Lee also sought to take the war out of the ravaged Virginia farmland and gather supplies for his Army of Northern Virginia. Using the Shenandoah Valley as cover for his army, Lee was pursued first by Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Ho…READ MORE

Second Auburn

Federal and Confederate cavalry engaged at the First Battle of Auburn on October 13, and left General James Ewell Brown Stuart's men trapped. Stuart concealed 3,000 men in a ravine overnight before getting word to Lee. Lee sent General Richard S. Ewell to Stuart's aid, and his force engaged a Federal rearguard under General Gouverneur K. Warren in the Second Battle of Auburn on October 14.READ MORE

Wilderness

The first battle between Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Robert E. Lee erupted late in the morning of May 5, 1864, as Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's Union V Corps attacked Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps on the Orange Turnpike southwest of the old Chancellorsville battlefield. Although Federal infantry managed to break through at several points, the Confederate line held. Fighting shifted to the south as Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's Third Corps engaged Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's II Corps and ele…READ MORE

Spotsylvania Court House

Following the Battle of the Wilderness, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant marched the Union army south with the hope of capturing Spotsylvania Court House and preventing Robert E. Lee's army from retreating further. Lee's Confederates, however, managed to get ahead of the Federals and block the road. Fighting began on May 8th, when the Union Fifth Corps under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren and the Sixth Corps under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick engaged Confederate Maj. Gen. Richard Anderson's First Corps at Laurel Hi…READ MORE

Yellow Tavern

It was early morning when the column of gray- and butternut-clad horsemen reined up and came to a halt along the Telegraph Road. Exhausted, they dismounted and put their horses under cover near a ramshackle, three-story structure. Once a wayside inn, it had long since been abandoned, but was still known locally for the color of its failing siding: Yellow Tavern.READ MORE

Cold Harbor

After two days of inconclusive fighting along Totopotomoy Creek northeast of Richmond, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Robert E. Lee turned their sights on the crossroads of Cold Harbor. Roads emanating through this critical junction led to Richmond as well as supply and reinforcement sources for the Union army. On May 31, 1864, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's cavalry captured Cold Harbor. The next day, Sheridan held the crossroads against a Confederate attack. With reinforcements from both armies arriving…READ MORE

Second Petersburg

As the Overland Campaign concluded, the strategic goals of Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant shifted from the defeat of Robert E. Lee's army in the field to eliminating the supply and communication routes to the Confederate capital at Richmond. The city of Petersburg, 24 miles south of Richmond, was the junction point of five railroads that supplied the entire upper James River region. Grant knew Petersburg was the key to the capture of Richmond and that Lee would be forced to defend it. Marching south from Co…READ MORE

First Deep Bottom

Two weeks after Union forces arrived to invest the Confederate defenders of Petersburg, the battle lines of both sides settled into a stalemate. Since Cold Harbor, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was reluctant to mount a large frontal attack against well-entrenched Confederates. By late June, Grant's lines covered most of the eastern approaches to Petersburg, but neither side seemed ready to risk an offensive move. Determined to break the stalemate, Grant agreed to plans to blow up part of the Confederate def…READ MORE

Crater

Two weeks after Union forces arrived to invest the Confederate defenders of Petersburg, the battle lines of both sides had settled into a stalemate. Since Cold Harbor, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was reluctant to mount a frontal attack against well-entrenched Confederates. By late June, Grant's lines covered most of the eastern approaches to Petersburg, but neither side seemed ready to risk an offensive move. Part of the Union line was held by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's Ninth Corps. Some of Burnside'…READ MORE

ColonelWilliam Stedman

Army of the Potomac

Vaughan Road

The battle of Vaughan Road was fought in October 1st, 1864 at Dinwiddle County, Virginia. It was part of the Siege of Petersburg campaign. The battle resulted in a Union victory with the Union army maintaining control over the road.READ MORE

Cedar Creek

Also known as: Cedar Creek, Belle GroveREAD MORE

Brigadier GeneralHenry E. Davies

Brigadier GeneralDavid M. Gregg