The 2nd Iowa Cavalry was recruited in the following counties and organized at
Davenport, Iowa they mustered in at
Camp Joe Holt for three years of Federal service between August 30 and September 28, 1861. • Company A - Muscatine County • Company B - Marshall County • Company C - Scott County • Company D - Polk County • Company E - Scott County • Company F - Hamilton County and Franklin County with Scott County • Company G - Muscatine County with Scott County • Company H - Johnson County with some Scott County • Company I - Cerro Gordo, Delaware and other counties with Scott County • Company K - Des Moines County with Scott County • Company L - Jackson County with Scott County • Company M - Jackson County with Scott County The men numbered 1,050 and Captain
Washington L. Elliott was appointed colonel. On the 7th of December the Second Cavalry left Davenport for
Benton Barracks near Saint Louis. While here the men were crowded into closed quarters where a great amount of sickness prevailed resulting in sixty deaths. Among other engagements, the Regiment took part in Grierson's Raid through Mississippi in April 1863, being detached from the main column (6th and 7th Illinois Cavalry) after a few days to decoy the Confederate pursuit. They engaged the
2nd/22nd Tennessee Cavalry (Barteau's) at
Palo Alto, Mississippi on April 21 and 22, 1863 and reported six missing after the skirmish. The regiment was mustered out of Federal service on September 19, 1865, in Selma, Alabama. ==Total strength and casualties==