9th Cavalry Regiment
Nickname: Stoneman's Cavalry; Westfield Cavalry
Left the State: November 26, 1861.
Mustered out: July 17, 1865
The following is taken from New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. Frederick Phisterer. Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, 1912.
Colonel John Beardsley received authority from the State to recruit this regiment; its organization commenced at Westfield and was completed at Albany. It received its numerical designation November 23, 1861, and November 27, 1861, a number of the men enlisted for the United States Lancers, an incomplete organization, which Col. Joseph Smolinski, under authority from the War Department dated August 7, 1861, endeavored to recruit, were assigned to it as part of Company M. The companies were mustered in the service of the United States for three years, between September 9 and December 13, 1861. A small portion of the men, claiming to have been fraudulently enlisted, were discharged under the orders of the Secretary of War, dated April 7 and 9, 1862. At the expiration of its term of service, those entitled thereto were mustered out, and the regiment retained in service. March 29, 1865, it was consolidated into nine companies, and received by transfer the battalion of the 4th N. Y. Volunteer Cavalry, as Companies B, E and L.
The companies were recruited principally: A at LaGrange, Linden, Pavilion, Perry, Warsaw and Wyoming; B at Little Valley, Ashford, East Otto, Mansfield and Sugar Grove; C at Jamestown and Westfield; D at Brockton, Smith Mills, Stockton and Westfield; E at East Randolph, Sherman, Harmony, Clymer and Napoli; F at Albany, Ashville, Busti, Farmington, Panama, Sugar Grove and Westfield; G at Sheldon, Java and West-field; H at Castile, Dunkirk, Irvin, Hermitage, LaGrange, Sheldon, Silver Creek, Warsaw and Wyoming; I at Westfield, Ripley, Mayville and Harbor Creek, and North East, Pa.; K at Fredonia, Forestville and Cherry Creek; L at Russell, and M at New York city, Rouse's Point, Troy and Geneva.
The regiment left the State November 26, 1861, and served at Washington, D. C., from December, 1861. March 9, 1862, Companies C, F, K and M were detached and distributed in detachments among the batteries of the Reserve Artillery, with which they served until May 22, 1862; the remaining eight companies performed during that time duty as train-guard in the Army of the Potomac. In June, 1862, it having returned from the Peninsula, the regiment was mounted at Washington, D. C., and assigned to the Cavalry Brigade, 1st Corps, Army Virginia; it served in the 1st Stahel's Division, nth Corps, from September, 1862; in the 3d Brigade, Cavalry Division, Army of the Potomac, from October, 1862; in the Cavalry Brigade, 1st Division, nth Corps, Army of the Potomac, from November, 1862; in the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac, from February, 1863; in the 2d Brigade, 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac, from May, 1863; in the Army of the Shenandoah, from October, 1864; with the Army of the Potomac, from March, 1865, and July 17, 1865, commanded by Col. George S. Nichols, it was honorably discharged and mustered out at Cloud's Mills, Va.
The regiment lost during its service by death, killed in action, 3 officers, 60 enlisted men; died of wounds received in action, 5 officers, 29 enlisted men; died of disease and other causes, 5 officers, 122 enlisted men; total, 13 officers, 211 enlisted men; aggregate, 224; of whom 16 enlisted men died in the hands of the enemy.
The following is taken from The Union army: a history of military affairs in the loyal states, 1861-65 -- records of the regiments in the Union army -- cyclopedia of battles -- memoirs of commanders and soldiers, Volume II: New York, Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio. Madison, WI: Federal Pub. Co., 1908.
Ninth Cavalry.—Cols., John Beardsley, William Sackett, George S. Nichols; Lieut. -Cols., William B. Hyde, William Sackett, George S. Nichols. Wilber G. Bentley, Timothy Hanley, Majs. William Sackett, William B. Martin, Wilber G. Bentley, Timothy Hanley, Henry W. Mason, Charles McL. Knox, James R. Dinnin, Joseph M. Kennedy. William B. Hyde, George S. Nichols, Emery A. Anderson. A. McQuinn Corrigan, Conway W. Ayres, Edward Schwartz. Col. Beardsley received authority from the state to recruit this regiment, which was organized at Albany to serve three years. The companies of which it was composed were recruited from the counties of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Wyoming, Rensselaer, Washington, St. Lawrence and Clinton during the summer and fall of 1861, and were mustered into the U. S. service between Sept. 9 and Dec. 13, 1861. Col. Beardsley was a graduate of West Point, who had seen service in Florida and Mexico, and the officers generally were well qualified for their positions. At the expiration of its term of service, the original members, except veterans, were mustered out and the regiment, composed of veterans and recruits, continued in the service. On March 29, 1865, it was consolidated into nine companies, the battalion of the 4th N. Y. cav., having been transferred to this regiment as Cos. B, E and L. The regiment was finally mustered out and honorably discharged on July 17, 1865, at Cloud's mills, Va. The 9th left the state on Nov. 26, 1861, for Washington, where it served during the ensuing winter. In March, 1862, four companies were detached for service with the reserve artillery, and the other eight companies did duty on the Peninsula as train-guard in the Army of the Potomac. Returning to Washington, the regiment was mounted in June, 1862, and assigned to the cavalry brigade ist corps, Army of Virginia, with which it participated in Gen. Pope's campaign. It formed part of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac during the remainder of the year, being frequently in action, losing 26 at Thoroughfare gap in October and 7 at Aldie in November. It served through the Chancellorsville campaign in the 1st brigade, ist cavalry division. Army of the Potomac, and through the Gettysburg compaign and the subsequent campaigns in Virginia, in the 2nd brigade, same division. It was repeatedly in action in 1863, sustaining its heaviest losses at Beverly ford, Brandy Station, and the operations in the vicinity of Culpeper, gaining a well earned reputation for gallantry and efficiency. On the opening of the campaign against Petersburg in 1864, it was heavily engaged at the Wilderness and Spottsylvania and then took part in Sheridan's raid to the James river. Returning to the army it was active at Totopotomy and Cold Harbor and then shared in Sheridan's Trevilian raid, meeting with a loss of 50 killed, wounded and missing at Trevilian Station, which was one of the severest losses in that action. The regiment was next engaged before Petersburg in June, and in July and August was active at Deep Bottom, Berryville, Newtown, Cedar creek, Cedarville. Summit Point, Kearneysville, Smithfield, and many minor skirmishes. In the fall, as part of the Army of the Shenandoah, it fought at the Opequan, Fisher's hill, Winchester, Cedar creek, Middletown, etc., sharing in all the brilliant campaign whereby Sheridan swept the valley clear of the enemy. It shared in the final Appomattox campaign, in which it met with an additional loss of 13 killed, wounded and missing. During its term of service the regiment lost 8 officers and 89 enlisted men killed and died of wounds; 4 officers and 135 enlisted men, missing; 304 officers and men wounded, including those fatally wounded; 5 officers and 122 men died of accident, disease, in prison, etc., the deaths from all causes amounting to 224. Privates Jeremiah Park and George Reynolds were awarded medals of honor by the secretary of war.
9th Regiment Cavalry, NY Volunteers | Standard | Civil War
Reuben E. Fenton, U.S. Representative from New York and later Governor, presented this “Tiffany Co.” marked standard to the 9th Cavalry in March 1863…
NYSMM Online Resources
Battles and Casualties from Phisterer (pdf)
Battles and Casualties from Phisterer (spreadsheet)
