Curious Consolidation
The Creation of the US Cavalry, 1855-1861
On Saturday, 3 August 1861, the Congress of the United States adopted An Act Providing for the Better Organization of the Military Establishment that, among many other things, changed the titles of the five regiments of horse soldiers in then in the permanent service of the Federal Government. Thus, the First and Second Regiments of Dragoons, the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, and the First and Second Regiments of Cavalry became, respectively, the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Regiments of U.S. Cavalry.
The other sections of the act of 3 August 1861 dealt with a wide variety of military matters: the form of the oath to be taken by cadets at West Point, the daily ration issued to soldiers, the retirement of regular officers of the Army and Marine Corps, and the creation of a corps of medical students, as well as the appointment of ordnance officers, topographical engineers, inspectors general, and chaplains. However, the only other provision of the bill that touched upon the mounted arm replaced the separate seniority lists of individual regiments with a consolidated register of all cavalry officers.