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22nd New York Cavalry Regiment

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22nd New York Cavalry Regiment
ActiveMarch 8, 1864 (left NYS) to August 1, 1865 (mustered out)
Country United States
AllegianceUnion
BranchCavalry
EngagementsBattle of the Wilderness
Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse
Battle of Cold Harbor (at Port Royal, Virginia)
Siege of Petersburg
Wilson–Kautz Raid
Sheridan's Valley Campaign
Insignia
4th Division, IX Corps

The 22nd New York Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Service

The regiment was organized in Rochester, New York between December 1863 and February 1864, and was mustered in for three years' service. Some of the veterans recruited came from the 23rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

The companies were recruited principally:

The regiment served in the 9th Corps, at Alexandria, Virginia, from March, 1864; in the 4th Division, 9th Corps, from April, 1864; in the 2d Brigade, 3d Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac, from May, 1864; unattached, Army of the Potomac, from May 8, 1864; with its brigade in June, 1864; with the Army of the Shenandoah from October, 1864, and in the Cavalry Division, Army of West Virginia, from February, 1865.

The regiment's reputation early in its existence was poor, largely in line with that of its recruiter and first commander, Colonel Samuel J. Crooks. Crooks' command of the 8th New York Cavalry earlier in the war had been so disastrous that he was forced to resign, yet he was given a second chance with this regiment. The Brockport newspaper in March 1864 reported Crooks' second effort "had the opposition of the Enrolling Board, a portion of the city press, and many prominent citizens."[1] During the 22nd's organizational period in Rochester, soldiers from the regiment engaged in skirmishes with Rochester city police on the streets, and a murder occurred in camp during a boxing match; Crooks refused to cooperate with civil authorities in investigating until ordered to do so.[2] During the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse the 22nd was considered "green" and Crooks prone to exaggeration (he was eventually placed under arrest by Major General George G. Meade); it reportedly "skedaddled" when hit by the Confederate forces of Armistead L. Long. Army of the Potomac Provost Marshal Marsena R. Patrick took the disorganized regiment under his wing, but they still had their horses stolen from them by the veteran 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry.[3]

The regiment was mustered out of service at Winchester, Virginia, on August 1, 1865, except for a detachment mustered out at Hart Island, New York on May 1 of that year.

Total strength and casualties

During its service, the regiment lost by death, killed in action, 2 officers, 9 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 1 officer, 13 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, 1 officer, 178 enlisted men; total, 4 officers, 200 enlisted men; aggregate, 204; of whom 87 enlisted men died in the hands of the enemy.[4]

Commanders

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Andrews, William G. (2013). Civil War Brockport: A Canal Town and the Union Army. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625845771. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  2. ^ George Levy and Paul Tynan (Summer 2004). "CAMPGROUNDS OF THE CIVIL WAR, in ROCHESTER HISTORY Vol. LXVI No. 3, ed. by Ruth Rosenberg-Naparsteck City Historian, pp.19-20" (PDF). Rochester NY City Historian. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  3. ^ Gordon C. Rhea (1997). The Battles for Spotsylvania Courthouse and the Road to Yellow Tavern May 7-12, 1864 pp. 21-25, 38. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 9780807158142. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  4. ^ "22nd Cavalry Regiment Civil War Rochester Cavalry". New York State Military Museum. Retrieved November 9, 2012.

References