Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II ENLISTMENT FOR THE CIVIL WAR When the crisis of secession arose in 1861, President Lincoln, without awaiting the sanction of Congress, directed that the Regular Army be immediately increased by one regiment of cavalry, one regiment of .artillery, and eight regiments of infantry. At that time there were five mounted regiments in the army?two of dragoons, one of mounted rifles, and two of cavalry. The new mounted organization was designated as the Third Cavalry. In order to simplify matters for the large volunteer army being organized at the time, Congress voted, on August 3, 1861, before the organization of the new regiment had been completed, that all mounted regiments should belong to the cavalry, and on August 10, 1861, the recently created regiment was designated as the Sixth Cavalry. General Chaffee was one of the original members of the regiment, and for twenty-five years, through the Civil War and the Indian wars, he followed its fortunes and had no small part in molding its character and sustaining its well-earned reputation. The regiment was engaged in sixty battles and combats while in the Army of the Potomac, during the Civil War, and, except when disabled by wounds, General Chaffee was constantly with it. The history of the regiment in the Indian wars revolved in no small degree around General Chaffee. During a quarter of a century there was littleof hardship or victory that he did not share with the regiment; hence in tracing its story by flood and field during that period General Chaffee’s trail is readily followed. The Sixth Cavalry was recruited mainly in western Pennsylvania, New York, and eastern Ohio, in the summer of 1861, at the same time that volunteer regiments were being organized in those regions. Among the officers appointed to the reg…
