The Cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland

During its two-year history, the cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland fought the Confederates in some of the most important actions of the Civil War, including Stones River, Chickamauga, the Tullahoma Campaign, the pursuit of Joseph Wheeler in October 1863 and the East Tennessee Campaign. They battled with legendary Confederate cavalry units commanded by Nathan Bedford Forrest, John Hunt Morgan, Wheeler and others. By October 1864, the cavalry grew from eight regiments to four divisions—composed of units from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and Tennessee—before participating in Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, where the Union cavalry suffered 30 percent casualties. This history of the Army of the Cumberland’s cavalry units analyzes their success and failures and re-evaluates their alleged poor service during the Atlanta Campaign.

Dennis W. Belcher has edited or authored nine books on the Civil War and has published in the North & South magazine. He lives in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Dennis W. Belcher
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 356
Bibliographic Info: 64 photos, 14 maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2016
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9480-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2396-2
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by David A. Powell 1
Preface 5
Part I: Major General David S. Stanley, Chief of Cavalry
1. The Union Cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland 9
2. The Battle of Stones River 33
3. Middle Tennessee, January–June 1863 57
4. The Tullahoma Campaign, June 23–July 5, 1863 87
5. The Advance on Chattanooga 103
Part II: Brigadier General Robert B. Mitchell, Acting Chief of Cavalry
6. The Battle of Chickamauga 143
7. The Union Cavalry Guards the Tennessee River; Wheeler’s Raid 164
Part III: Brigadier General Washington Lafayette Elliott, Chief of Cavalry
8. The Knoxville Campaign and Campaigning in East Tennessee: A New Beginning 177
9. Preparation for the Atlanta Campaign: Two Divisions Divided 191
10. Rocky Face Ridge to the Chattahoochee River, May–July 9, 1864 211
11. Chattahoochee River to Atlanta, July 10–August 7, 1864 243
12. Atlanta to Lovejoy’s Station, August 8–October 26, 1864 265
Epilogue 286
Appendix A: Biographical Notes 293
Appendix B: Organization of the Cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland 299
Chapter Notes 305
Bibliography 328
Index 335

“an informed and informative history…is very highly recommended for community and academic library American Civil War collections”—Midwest Book Review; “a well-written and interesting monograph on a little-known subject”—Civil War Times; “shines needed light on an overlooked group. The book is a deeply researched, finely focused, and richly detailed leadership, organization, and operations study of a formation that emerged from humble origins in November 1862…both a freshly original narrative history and a beneficial reference tool”—Civil War Books and Authors; “undoubtedly will be considered the standard on this subject”—Civil War News.