The 1st Dakota Cavalry was a Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

 of two companies raised in the Dakota Territory

Dakota Territory

The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...

 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...

. They were used for service along the frontier, primarily to protect the settlers during the Sioux Uprising of 1862

Dakota War of 1862

The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of the eastern Sioux. It began on August 17, 1862, along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota...

.

Company A

By order of the War Department, organization of a cavalry unit was begun in the winter of 1861-2, with recruiting stations established at Yankton

Yankton, South Dakota

Yankton is a city in, and the county seat of, Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,454 at the 2010 census. Yankton was the original capital of Dakota Territory. It is named for the Yankton tribe of Nakota Native Americans...

, Vermillion

Vermillion, South Dakota

Vermillion is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the tenth largest city in the state. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 10,571. Vermillion lies atop a bluff near the Missouri River.The area has been home to...

, and Bon Homme. At Yankton, with Captain Nelson Miner commanding, the 98 men of Company A were mustered into service on 19 Apr 1862. They first were stationed at Fort Randall under Lt Col Pattee of the 7th Iowa Cavalry, but detachments of the company were afterward sent to protect the settlements at Yankton, Vermillion, Sioux Falls and Brule Creek.

Upon the commencement of the August 1862 uprising, Company A escorted the settlers as they moved to protective stockades.Governor William Jayne

William Jayne

William A. Jayne was an American physician and statesman. He served as Governor of the Dakota Territory and as the territory's delegate to the United States House of Representatives during the American Civil War....

 also called for "every able-bodied man to arms in defense of the homes of Dakota", with 399 men responding.

Company B

At this time Captain Alpheus G Fuller, an early settler in the territory, began raising a cavalry militia in Bon Homme and Charles Mix counties, the "Miltia Brigade of Dakota". Failing to form a company for U.S. service, the men were merged in with volunteers being organized at Elk Point

Elk Point, South Dakota

Elk Point is a city in Union County, South Dakota, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,963 as of the 2010 census...

, and were mustered in as Company B on 31 March 1863 at Sioux City, Iowa

Sioux City, Iowa

Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....

 with Captain William Tripp

William Tripp

William Tripp was an American politician, lawyer, soldier, and surveyor....

 commanding. This company was known by the settlers as the "Dakota Rangers".

Both companies were engaged in the protection of the Dakota frontier towns, while Generals Henry Sibley

Henry Hastings Sibley

Henry Hastings Sibley was the first Governor of the U.S. state of Minnesota.-Early life and education:...

 and Alfred Sully

Alfred Sully

Alfred Sully , was a military officer during the American Civil War and during the Indian Wars on the frontier. He was also a noted painter.-Biography:...

, with regiments of infantry and cavalry from Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

 and Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

, sought out the hostile Indians throughout the territory. The two companies were split into detachments for use in the several settlements.

With the Civil War ended, and the Indian troubles drawing to a close in 1865, the two companies were mustered out, Company A on 9 May and Company B on 15 Nov, 1865. A list of soldiers gives the battalion a total of 194 soldiers.

Engagements

In June 1864, Gen Sully selected the 1st Dakota Cavalry to serve as his guard while he travelled to Fort Sully, to rendezvous with other forces joining him there. Upon the completion of the brigade, the expedition left Ft Sully on 24 June 1864. On 28 July 1864, Sully's force of 2,200 soldiers encountered a camp of between 5-6,000 warriors, and the Battle of Killdeer Mountain commenced. The US forces lost 5 killed and 10 wounded in the battle, but they were not said to be from the 1st Dakota Cavalry.