The 12th Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 that served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Service

The 12th Tennessee Cavalry was organized at Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

 and mustered in for a three year enlistment on August 24, 1863 under the command of Colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

 George Spalding

George Spalding

George Spalding was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.-Biography:Spalding was born in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland and immigrated to the United States in 1843 with his parents. The settled in Buffalo, New York, where he attended the public schools. He later moved to Monroe,...

. As late as February 22, 1864, only six companies had completed organization.

The regiment was attached to District of Nashville, Department of the Cumberland, to January 1864. Defenses of Nashville & Northwestern Railroad to April 1864. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, Cavalry Corps, Department of the Cumberland, to October 1864. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to December 1864. 2nd Brigade, 5th Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to February 1865. 1st Brigade, 5th Division, Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to May 1865. Department of the Missouri

Department of the Missouri

Department of the Missouri was a division of the United States Army that functioned through the American Civil War and the Indian Wars afterwards.-Civil War:...

 to October 1865.

The 12th Tennessee Cavalry mustered out of service at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on October 7, 1865.

Detailed service

Scout to Florence, Ala., July 20–25, 1863 (detachment). Duty at Nashville and on Nashville & Northwestern Railroad at Pulaski, Tenn., until November 1864. Duck River April 22, 1864. Scout in Hickman and Maury Counties May 2–12. Lincoln County June 14. Scout from Pulaski to Florence, Ala., July 20–25 (detachment). Triune August 3–4. Florence August 10. Operations against Forrest in northern Alabama and middle Tennessee September 16-October 10. Richland Creek, near Pulaski, September 26. Pulaski September 26–27. Nashville Campaign November-December. On line of Shoal Creek November 5–20. Campbellsville and Lynnville November 24. In front of Columbia November 24–27. Franklin November 30. Battle of Nashville December 15–16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17–28. West Harpeth River December 17. Spring Hill December 18. Rutherford Creek December 19. Curtis Creek December 19. Lawrenceburg December 22. Lynnville and Richland Creek December 24. King's Gap, near Pulaski, December 25. At Gravelly Springs, Ala., until February 1865. At Eastport, Miss., until May. Moved to St. Louis, Mo., May 15–17, thence to Rolla, Mo., June 20–26, and to Fort Riley, Kan., June 29-July 8. Powder River Expedition July to September.

Commanders

• Colonel George Spalding - mustered as lieutenant colonel
  Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
  In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
  
   and promoted when the regiment's twelfth company was organized in August 1864

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 226 men during service; 5 officers and 28 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 191 enlisted men died of disease.

See also

• List of Tennessee Civil War units
• Tennessee in the Civil War
  Tennessee in the Civil War
  To a large extent, the American Civil War was fought in cities and farms of Tennessee; only Virginia saw more battles. Tennessee was the last of the Southern states to declare secession from the Union, but saw more than its share of the devastation resulting from years of warring armies...
  
  

External links

• Brief unit history, including officers' names, regimental strengths, etc.