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1st Maine
Regiment Cavalry
in the Civil War
| Regimental History |
| First Cavalry. — Cols., John Goddard, Samuel H. Allen, Calvin S.
Douty, Charles H. Smith ; Lieut.-Cols., Thomas Hight, Calvin S. Douty, Charles H. Smith,
Stephen Boothby, Jonathan P. Cilley; Majs., Samuel H. Allen, David P. Stowell, Calvin S.
Douty, Warren L. Whitney, Jonathan P. Cilley, Charles H. Smith, Stephen Boothby, George M.
Brown, Sidney W. Thaxter, Constantine Taylor, Benjamin F. Tucker, Paul Chadbourne, Daniel
S. Curtis, Joel W. Cloudman. This regiment was raised at large, consisted of twelve
companies, and was mustered in at Augusta, Nov. 5, 1861, for three years. It was the equal
of any in the service in the character of its men and the quality of its horses. It
remained encamped at Augusta until the following spring. Companies A, D, E and F left the
state for Washington on March 14, 1862, under command of Col. Allen, arriving there on the
19th. Companies B, I, H and M, under Maj. Douty, arrived on the 24th, and C, G, K and L,
under Maj. Stowell, on the 28th. A, B, E, H and M, under Lieut.-Col. Douty, joined Gen.
Banks' corps at Strasburg, Va., on May 11, and were attached to Gen. Hatch's cavalry
brigade. The other seven companies were first assigned to Gen. Abercrombie's brigade, and
soon afterwards to Gen. Ord's division at Fredericksburg. The men participated in their
first severe engagement on May 23, when Lieut.-Col. Douty with his command and two
companies of the 1st Vt. cavalry, charged the enemy at Middletown, Va., covering Banks'
retreat to Williamsport. The loss was 176 horses and equipments. The regiment was reunited
at Warrenton, Va., on July 10, and attached to Bayard's brigade, with which it took part
in the battle of Cedar mountain. It participated in the retreat of Gen. Pope's forces to
Fairfax Court House, where it arrived on Sept. 3 and reported to Gen. Reno, having engaged
the enemy at Brandy Station on Aug. 20, and been present at the second battle of Bull Run
on the 30th, under Brig.-Gen. Elliott of Pope's staff. Arriving in Washington on Sept. 4,
it was attached to Burnside's corps and engaged the enemy at Frederick, Md., on the 12th.
Co. G, acting as Gen. Reno's body-guard, took part in the battle of South mountain, Cos. M
and H, under Gen. Porter, in that of Antietam. The regiment (except Cos. G, M and H)
remained at Frederick from Sept. 12 to Nov. 2, up to which period it had lost in action
and worn out in service nearly 700 horses. The severity of the service to which the men of
this regiment were subjected may be inferred from a bare recital of the battles in which
they were subsequently engaged and from data showing some of their heaviest losses. The
list of battles includes, in addition to those above mentioned : Fredericksburg, Rappa-
hannock Station, Brandy Station, Aldie, Middleburg, Upperville, Gettys- burg,
Shepherdstown, Sulphur Springs, Mine Run, about Richmond, Old Church, Todd's tavern,
Ground Squirrel Church, Hawes' shop, Cold Har- bor, Trevilian Station, St. Mary's Church,
Deep Bottom, Reams' Sta- tion, Wyatt's farm, Boydton road and Bellefield. Col. Douty was
killed at Aldie, Va., while leading a gallant charge, on June 17, 1863, as was Capt.
Summatt while rallying his men under a murderous fire of grape and canister. Three hundred
selected men from the regiment participated in the daring raid of Gen. Kilpatrick to the
vicinity of Richmond, Feb. 27 to March 12, 1864, the loss of the 1st in this famous raid
being 93 men killed, wounded or missing and over 200 horses. It also moved with the
cavalry corps on Gen. Sheridan's first raid, May 9, 1864, until within 3 miles of
Richmond. In the engagement at Trevilian Station, June 24, 1864, its loss was 10 officers
and 58 enlisted men. During August of this year its loss in killed, wounded and missing
was 49 men and 75 horses, and the total casualties during 1864 amounted to 295 officers
and enlisted men. In Aug., 1864, seven companies of the 1st D. C. cavalry were transferred
and assigned to the several companies of this regiment by a special order of the war
department. The original members of the regiment whose term of service expired Nov. 4,
1864, were mustered out at Augusta, Me., on the 25th, while the regiment, now composed of
veterans, recruits and members of the 1st D. C. cavalry whose term had not expired,
participated in the closing battles of the war; was mustered out of the U. S. service at
Petersburg, Va., Aug., 1, 1865, and arrived in Augusta, Me., on the 9th. |
Footnotes:
Regimental history taken from "The Union Army" by Federal Publishing
Company, 1908 - Volume 1
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