The Third Michigan Cavalry
The Third Michigan Cavalry was organized in Grand Rapids in September of 1861. They were mustered into service on Oct. 4th, 1861 with 1,160 officers and enlisted men enrolled. The regiment left Michigan for St. Louis, Missouri, in November of 1861 under the command of Colonel Robert H.G. Minty. They were sent south to the Shiloh battlefield in March and then took part in the siege of Corinth, Miss., in May of 1862. New members were enlisted while in Corinth.
After telegraphic communications were destroyed between General Grant in LaGrange, Tenn., and General Sherman in Memphis, Tenn., in November of 1862, Lieutenant Cicero Newell carried dispatches between Sherman and Grant through enemy territory keeping them in communication. The regiment remained in Tennessee and Mississippi during 1863. By the end of that year they had driven out the bandits and guerillas that had infested that area. They were often sent to perform dangerous scouting duties and became known for that.
They reenlisted in January 1864 and after a one month furlough in Michigan, they reassembled in Kalamazoo and returned to St. Louis, Missouri, and were then sent on to Arkansas to perform scouts and marches to secure food and supplies.
They took part in taking over Mobile, Alabama and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1865. In July of 1865 they reported to General Philip H. Sheridan, who led them to San Antonio, Texas, to guard the Mexican border.
The Third Michigan Cavalry was disbanded in Michigan in 1866.
The regiment, “did active service in ten states, occupying more territory and marching more miles than any regiment that left the state.” (Record of Service, 1865).