4th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry

United States     U.S. Military      Iowa      Iowa Military      Iowa in the Civil War      4th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry

Brief History
This Unit was organized at Camp Harlan, Mount Pleasant, September to November, 1861. Companies muster in "A," "E" and "F" November 23, "B," "C," "D," "I," "K" and "M" November 25, "G" November 27, "L" December 24, and "H" January 1, 1862. They mustered out at Atlanta August 10, 1865, and discharged at Davenport, Ia., August 24, 1865.

For more information on the history of this unit, see:


 * The Civil War Archive section, 4th Regiment Cavalry, (accessed 27 June 2012).
 * The Wikipedia article, 4th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, (accessed 27 June 2012).

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 2,656 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

Company A - from MacIntosh, County and Jasper County

Company B - mostly men were from Delaware County, though many came from Buchanan, Dubuque, Clayton and other counties. Roster.

Company I - many men from Adair County

Company K - from Wright County

The roster of the 4th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry is found in Roster of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry Veteran Volunteers 1861-1865, by Wm. Forse Scott, (New York: J J Little, 1902).

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in ‘Iowa in the Civil War’ and ‘United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865’ (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * Iowa in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Iowa, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * Scott, William Forse. The story of a cavalry regiment : the career of the Fourth Iowa Veteran Volunteers from Kansas to Georgia 1861-1865.(Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah,1985 and (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1993)


 * Scott, William Forse. Roster of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry Veteran Volunteers, 1861-1865. (Salt Lake City, Utah : Genealogical Society of Utah, 1998)