“It Made the Federal Cavalry”: The Emergence of the Union Cavalry during the Gettysburg Campaign

Abstract

“It Made the Federal Cavalry” most Union infantryman early in the war was “Whoever saw a dead Cavalryman?”1 Th e cavalry aspects of the Gettysburg Campaign give any student of the Civil War an excellent opportunity to examine several signifi cant developments in the fi ghting abilities, tactics, and leaders of the Union Cavalry. It also saw the fi rst signifi cant loss of confi dence in the vaunted Confederate Cavalry. Th is paper will examine three signifi cant cavalry events within the Gettysburg Campaign in order to show the reader the Union Cavalry’s development as an outstanding fi ghting force and the fi rst inklings of selfdoubt within the Confederate high command with regards to its cavalry arm of the service. Th e engagements at Brandy Station and Upperville saw the innovation of new tactics as well as a resistance on the part of Stuart to accept and respond to this new threat. More importantly, Union cavalrymen gained the selfconfi dence in their own abilities during these engagements. Union Gen. John Buford’s defense of key terrain on July 1 was signifi cant for it showed another versatile use of cavalry and aff ected the outcome of the entire campaign, a fi rst for the Union Cavalry. Th e Confederacy’s lack of intelligence about Buford was also key on this day due in large part to Stuart’s less than stellar raid into Hanover. Th ough Lee never actually blamed Stuart for the loss at Gettysburg, Lee did admit that better intelligence could have been available had more Confederate cavalry been with him during the fi rst two days of the engagement.