2nd Iowa Cavalry Regiment


The 2nd Iowa Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Service

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.
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 after a few days to decoy the Confederate pursuit. They engaged the 2nd/22nd Tennessee Cavalry 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

A total of 2053 men served in the 2nd Iowa at one time or another during its existence.
It suffered a total of 269 fatalities: 1 officer and 59 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds; 8 officers and 207 enlisted men who died of disease.

Commanders

  • Colonel Washington L. Elliott
  • Colonel Edward Hatch
  • Colonel Datus E. Coon