2nd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment

2nd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment
Active	September 1861 to June 30, 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union (loyal Virginia)
Branch	Cavalry
Engagements	Battle of Charleston (1862) Battle of Lynchburg Battle of Rutherford's Farm Battle of Kernstown II Battle of Opequon (a.k.a. Third Battle of Winchester) Battle of Fisher's Hill Battle of Cedar Creek Battle of Five Forks Battle of Sailor's Creek
Commanders
Colonel	William M. Bolles 1861–62
Colonel	John C. Paxton 1862–63
Colonel	William H. Powell 1863–64
Lt. Colonel	David Dove 1863–64
Lt. Colonel	John J. Hoffman 1864
Lt. Colonel	James Allen 1864–65

The 2nd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized in Parkersburg, Virginia (now West Virginia) during September 1861. Most of the original members of this regiment were from southeastern Ohio, and planners thought that this regiment would become the 4th Ohio Cavalry. Their application was rejected by the governor of Ohio, so the unit became the 2nd Regiment of Loyal Virginia Volunteer Cavalry. The "Loyal Virginia" part of the name was replaced with "West Virginia" after the state of West Virginia was created in 1863. Today, the National Park Service lists them as 2nd Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry under a heading of Union West Virginia Volunteers.

The regiment's first full–fledged war experience happened in early January 1862 in northeastern Kentucky, where they assisted the command of Colonel James A. Garfield. For the next two years, most of the regiment's fighting was in the mountainous backwoods of what later became the southern portion of West Virginia, especially the Kanawha River Valley. During the Kanawha Campaign in September 1862, the 2nd Regiment of Loyal Virginia Volunteer Cavalry cleared away Confederate cavalry that intended to prevent a retreating Union Army from reaching the safety of Ohio. By 1864, the regiment was part of the Army of West Virginia, and spent much of its time fighting in the western portion of today's state of Virginia. It participated in General David Hunter's unsuccessful raid on Lynchburg. It also participated in Union General Philip Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign, playing an important part in the Third Battle of Winchester.

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Wikipedia