1st Dakota Cavalry
| 1st Dakota Cavalry Battalion | |
|---|---|
| Active | April 19, 1862 – November 15, 1865 |
| Disbanded | May 9, 1865 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} United States
|
| Allegiance | Union |
| Branch | Cavalry |
| Size | Company "A" Company "B" |
| Engagements | |
The 1st Dakota Cavalry was a Union battalion of two companies raised in the Dakota Territory during the American Civil War. They were deployed along the frontier, primarily to protect the settlers during the Sioux Uprising of 1862.
By order of the War Department, organization of a cavalry unit began in the winter of 1861, with recruiting stations established at Yankton, Vermillion, and Bon Homme. At Yankton, with Captain Nelson Miner commanding, the 98 men of Company A were mustered into service on April 19, 1862. They first were stationed at Fort Randall under Lieutenant Colonel Pattee of the 7th Iowa Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, but detachments of the company were afterward sent to protect the settlements at Yankton, Vermillion, Sioux Falls and Brule Creek, Dakota Territory.
Upon the commencement of the August 1862 Sioux uprising, Company A escorted settlers as they moved to protective stockades. Governor William Jayne also called for "every able-bodied man to arms in defense of the homes of Dakota", with 399 men responding.
At this time Captain Alpheus G. Fuller, an early settler in the territory, began raising a cavalry militia in Bon Homme and Charles Mix counties, the "Militia Brigade of Dakota". After failing to form a company for U.S. service, the men were merged in with volunteers being organized at Elk Point, and were mustered in as Company B, on March 31, 1863, at Sioux City, Iowa, with Captain William Tripp commanding. This company was known by settlers as the "Dakota Rangers".
...
Wikipedia