The 1st Rhode Island Cavalry Regiment was organized between December 1861 and March 1862 at
Pawtucket as the
1st New England Cavalry. Late in that month, the regiment was sent to
Washington, D.C., and initially assigned to Hatch's cavalry brigade in
Nathaniel Banks'
V Corps in the Department of the Shenandoah. Throughout the war, the regiment would be a part of many reorganizations of the cavalry, although the majority of its service was with the
Army of the Potomac. Most of the regiment's service in 1862 was in northern
Virginia, where it served as scouts to determine enemy movements, as well as foraging for supplies and screening infantry movements. The troopers saw action contesting
Stonewall Jackson's cavalry in the Valley Campaign. They fought in the
Second Bull Run Campaign, as well as many other battles of note, including service in the cavalry actions surrounding the
Battle of Fredericksburg. In 1863, they participated in the
Chancellorsville Campaign, and played an important role in the opening battle of the
Gettysburg campaign at
Brandy Station. Shortly thereafter, isolated and alone deep in Confederate territory on a scouting mission, they lost nearly 240 of their 280 remaining men at the June 17 skirmish at Middleburg. The regiment was refitted with new recruits and performed scouting and outpost duty along the upper
Potomac River until September, when they rejoined the Army of the Potomac, participating in the
Bristoe Campaign and
Mine Run Campaign. The following year, the 1st Rhode Island served in the defenses of Washington, D.C., before eventually returning to the Shenandoah Valley under the command of
Philip H. Sheridan. Due to heavy battle losses, the regiment was consolidated to a
battalion of four companies on January 1, 1865. They continued serving in the valley for much of the rest of the war before being mustered out at
Baltimore, Maryland on August 3, 1865. During the war, the regiment lost 1 officer and 16 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and 2 officers and 77 enlisted men to disease. Hundreds more were wounded or captured. A total of 2,124 different men served in the regiment at various times, although its field strength normally was less than 500 effectives. ==Notable members==