Alan J. Pitts
Re: 7th Cavalry Regiment, US Regular Army
Mon Apr 30 15:29:58 2001


Agree with above comment. I don't know much about the history of the 7th U. S. Cavalry, but wondered if it existed during the war. As it turns out, it didn't! Here's a few lines from a webpage on the regiment:

As the nation expanded westward following the close of the Civil War the Army Department determined that more units were needed to protect settlers and fortune seekers heading west. On 28 July 1866, Congress authorized the creation of four additional cavalry regiments. Due to the racial segregation of the day, two white regiments and two black regiments would be organized. By General Order 92, the 7th and 8th Cavalry Regiments activated at Fort Riley, Kansas on 21 September 1866.

Additional note: six regiments of "Unites States Volunteers" were recruited at prisoner-of-war camps in the north, not three.

Also, here's an unusual site on baseball as played by the Seventh Cavalry prior to Little Big Horn, the "Benteen Base Ball and Gymnasium Club":

http://www.users.qwest.net/~cvbba/Benteens.htm