5th Regiment, Michigan Cavalry

Brief History
The 5th Regiment, Michigan Cavalry was organized at: Detroit, Michigan and mustered in August 30, 1862. The Regiment mustered out June 23, 1865 and Veterans and Recruits were transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry.

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


 * The Civil War Archive section, 5th Regiment Cavalry (accessed 12 July 2012).

For a history of this regiment see Michigan Regimental Historieswhich gives a brief history, places served, battles fought, commanders and company rosters.

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
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.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 2791 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Company A - Many men from Wayne County - see Roster

Company B - Many men from Kent County and Ottawa County - see Roster

Company C - Many men from Wayne County - see Roster

Company D - Many men from Wayne County - see Roster

Company E - Many men from Macomb County and St. Clair County - see Roster

Company F - Many men from Muskegon County - see Roster

Company G - Many men from Clinton County - see Roster

Company H - Many men from Wayne County - see Roster

Company I - Many men from Allegan County - see Roster

Company K - Many men from Genesee County and Washtenaw County- see Roster

Company L - Many men from Kalamazoo County and Allegan County - see Roster

Company M - Many men from Branch County - see Roster

Unassigned Company - Many men from Wayne County and Jackson County - see Roster

See Rosters, as there were men from many different Counties in these Companies

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 ‘Michigan 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.


 * 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.


 * Cooper, David M. (David Mack); Ferry, Noah Henry.Obituary discourse on occasion of the death of Noah Henry Ferry : major of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry, killed at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1993)


 * Harris, Samuel. "The Michigan Brigade of Cavalry at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, Under Command of Brig.-Gen. Geo. A. Custer" ( Chicago [Ill.]: Samuel Harris &amp; Co, 1894). . Other Libraries


 * Kidd, James Harvey. "Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer's Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Civil War" (Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1983). Digital copy.Other Libraries.


 * Longacre, Edward G. "Custer and his Wolverines: the Michigan Cavalry Brigade, 1861-1865" (Cambridge, Massachusetts. Da Capo, 2004). Digital copy at Google Books. Other libraries


 * Michigan, and George H. Turner. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, 1861-1865 [Fifth Cavalry]. Lansing, Mich: Michigan Adjutant-General's Dept, 1905. . Other Libraries