United States War of 1812 Cavalry Units

United States U.S. Military  U.S. War of 1812  United States War of 1812 Cavalry Units

Introduction
The U.S. Cavalry was active from 17 November 1775 to 1951 as part of the Army.

At the beginning of the War of 1812, the U.S. Cavalry had one regiment of light dragoons with eight troops. Another regiment was added and the two were known respectively as the First United States Dragoons and the 2nd United States Dragoons. On March 30, 1814, these were combined into one Light Dragoons regiment, which was disbanded after the war. The retained officers and men were added to the Corps of Artillery.

In 1813, two battalions of volunteer cavalry were raised with 1,200 men in 14 companies.

For additional information, see the Wikipedia article, Cavalry (United State).

Light Dragoons
List of officers, p. 16.

A list of the companies for each dragoon unit is on the NARA website.

Dragoons

1st Dragoons

2nd Dragoons

Light Dragoons

1st Light Dragoons

2nd Light Dragoons

Component parts of the Dragoons were:

1 Colonel 1 Lieutenant Colonel 2 Majors 1 Adjutant 1 Quartermaster 1 Surgeon 2 Surgeon's mates 1 Sergeant major 1 Quartermaster sergeant 1 Principal musicians 1 Principal farrier 1 Riding master 8 troops 981 Strength of regiments 1 regiment 981 Total strength

Records and Resources

 * Gordon, William A, A Compilation of Registers of the Army of the United States, from 1815 to 1837..., (Washington: James C. Dunn, 1837), Digital version: Internet Archive with Light Dragoons officers, Recruiting Districts, states in each Military District, list of General Staff, Lineal Rank officers, and the West Point staff and cadets.