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1st New York Mounted Rifles

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Note: Sometimes designated 7th New York Cavalry.

Muster In: First organized at New York City as a Squadron of two Companies, “A” and “B,” for duty in the Dept. of Virginia, and; mustered in at Fortress Monroe, Va., July 30, 1861. Companies “C” and “D” organized at Newburg, N.Y., and mustered in September 18 and October 16, 1861. Companies “E,” “F,” “G” and “H” organized at New York City and mustered in June to August, 1862. Companies “I,” “K,” “L” and “M” organized August and September, 1862.1
Muster Out: Mustered out by consolidation with 3rd New York Cavalry, July 21, 1865, to form 4th Provisional Cavalry.2

Commander(s):
Colonel Benjamin F. Onderdonk
Commander Image

Colonel Edwin V. Sumner
EdwinVSumnerJr1stNYMRv091p4675L3

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander G. Patton
AlexanderGPatton1stNYMRv073p3614L4

Major Henry Terwilliger
Commander Image

Commander 5
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle: Unassigned Cavalry | Army of the James | Union Army5,6

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander G. Patton (June 14, 1864)7
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Second Offensive Order of Battle: Unassigned Cavalry | Army of the James | Union Army8,9

  • Commander: Colonel Benjamin F. Onderdonk (June 30, 1864)10
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Third Offensive Order of Battle:

Third Brigade | First Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army (July 1-?, 1864)11

Unattached Troops | Army of the James | Union Army (July ?-31, 1864)12

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander G. Patton (July 31, 1864)13
  • Unit Strength:
    • >397 officers and men PFD (July 20, 1864)14
    • >377 officers and men PFD (July 31, 1864)15
  • Weapons:
  • Note: At some point in July 1864 the 1st New York Mounted Rifles moved from 3/1/X/AotJ to become an unattached unit in the Army of the James. More research is needed to find the date and a source.
  • Note: A detachment of the 1st New York Mounted Rifles served as Major General Benjamin F. Butler’s personal escort during the Third Offensive.16
  • Note: A detachment of the 1st New York Mounted Rifles, companies D and H, was unattached but serving with the Eighteenth Corps, probably at HQ.17

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: Unattached | Army of the James | Union Army18

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander G. Patton (August 31, 1864)19
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle:

Unattached | Cavalry Division | Army of the James | Union Army (prior to October 13, 1864)20

Third Brigade | Cavalry Division | Army of the James | Union Army (definitely October 13, 1864 and after)21

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: Third Brigade | Cavalry Division | Army of the James | Union Army22,23

  • Commander: Major Henry Terwilliger (October 31, 1864)24
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle: Third Brigade | Cavalry Division | Army of the James | Union Army25

  • Commander: Colonel Edwin V. Sumner (December 31, 1864)26
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: Third Brigade | Cavalry Division | Army of the James | Union Army27,28

  • Commander:
    • Colonel Edwin V. Sumner (temporarily commanding the Third Brigade while Colonel Andrew W. Evans was taking a leave of absence starting on February 5, 1865)(January 31 & February , 1865)29,30
    • Lieutenant Colonel Alexander G. Patton (February 28, 1865)31
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle:

Third Brigade | Cavalry Division | Army of the James | Union Army (March 1-?, 1865)

Headquarters | Department of Virginia | Union Army (March ?-April 2, 1865)32

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
    • 466 officers and men PFDE (March 31, 1865)33
  • Weapons:
  • Note: At some point in March 1865, the 3rd Brigade of Kautz’s Cavalry Division was discontinued, and the 1st New York Mounted Rifles was assigned to Headquarters of the Department of Virginia.  In this role, they started on an expedition from Deep Bottom to near Weldon, N. C., March 28-April 11.34

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles35:

  • Petersburg June 8-10.
  • Assaults on Petersburg June 15-18.
  • Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond June 16, 1864, to March 27, 1865.
  • Deep Bottom June 23, 1864.
  • Surrey Court House July 11.
  • Richmond & Petersburg Railroad July 21.
  • Deep Bottom July 27-29.
  • Strawberry Plains August 14-18.
  • Cox’s Mills September 16.
  • Chaffin’s Farm September 29-October 1.
  • Darbytown Road October 13 and 16.
  • Fair Oaks October 27-28.
  • Cone’s Creek December 21.
  • White Oak Swamp February 5, 1865.
  • Expedition from Fort Monroe to Fredericksburg March 5-8.
  • Expedition from Fort Monroe into Westmoreland County March 11-13.
  • Williamsburg March 11.
  • Near Windsor March 12.
  • Near New Kent Court House March 17.
  • Seven Pines March 18.
  • White House March 19.
  • Expedition from Deep Bottom to near Weldon, N. C., March 28-April 11.

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
    2. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
    3. Edwin V. Sumner image.  MOLLUS-Mass Civil War Photograph Collection, Vol. 91, Page 4675L.  United States Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA. ↩
    4. Alexander G. Patton image.  MOLLUS-Mass Civil War Photograph Collection, Vol. 73, Page 3614L.  United States Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA. ↩
    5. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), p. 238 ↩
    6. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), p. 552 ↩
    7. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), p. 46. ↩
    8. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), p. 238 ↩
    9. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), p. 552 ↩
    10. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 2 (Serial Number 81), p. 552 ↩
    11. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), page 263: This attachment of a mounted cavalry unit to an infantry brigade does not make a great deal of sense.  Dyer’s Compendium mentions nothing of this arrangement.  Phisterer’s New York in the War of the Rebellion does mention that they were attached to 3/1/X/AotJ but still acting as cavalry from March 1864 to July 1864.  I am unsure what led to this positioning of the 1st New York Mounted Rifles in 3/1/X/AotJ.  More research is needed. ↩
    12. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 3 (Serial Number 82), page 738 ↩
    13. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 3 (Serial Number 82), page 738 ↩
    14. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), pp. 163-178: The unit had this number of officers and men “present for duty equipped” on June 30, 1864.  Present for Duty Equipped attempts to strip away anyone not actually going into combat.  Those non-combatants are included in PFD, the way I represent unit strengths across this web site for consistency.  So the unit had at least this number of officers and men PFD, though we know that number is higher. ↩
    15. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), pp. 163-178: The unit had this number of officers and men “present for duty equipped” on June 30, 1864.  Present for Duty Equipped attempts to strip away anyone not actually going into combat.  Those non-combatants are included in PFD, the way I represent unit strengths across this web site for consistency.  So the unit had at least this number of officers and men PFD, though we know that number is higher. ↩
    16. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), page 263 ↩
    17. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XL, Part 1 (Serial Number 80), page 267 ↩
    18. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 2 (Serial Number 88), page 619: “Organization of the Army of the Potomac…August 31, 1864” ↩
    19. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 2 (Serial Number 88), page 619: “Organization of the Army of the Potomac…August 31, 1864” ↩
    20. Sommers, Richard J. “Grant’s Fifth Offensive at Petersburg: A Study in Strategy, Tactics, and Generalship.  The Battle of Poplar Spring Church, the First Battle of the Darbytown Road, the Second Battle of the Squirrel Level Road, the Second Battle of the Darbytown Road (Ulysses S. Grant, Virginia).” Doctoral Thesis. Rice University, 1970. Print. p. 1302. ↩
    21. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 1 (Serial Number 87), page 147: “Return of Casualties in the Union Forces (September-October 1864)” ↩
    22. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 468: “Organization of the Union Forces” (October 31, 1864)” ↩
    23. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 1 (Serial Number 87), page 152: “Return of Casualties in the Union Forces…Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road, Va., October 27-28, 1864” ↩
    24. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 468: “Organization of the Union Forces” (October 31, 1864)” ↩
    25. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 1127: “Organization of the Union Forces” (December 31, 1864) ↩
    26. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 1127: “Organization of the Union Forces” (December 31, 1864) ↩
    27. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 338: “Organization of the Union Forces” (January 31, 1865) ↩
    28. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 751: “Organization of the Union Forces” (February 28, 1865) ↩
    29. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 338: “Organization of the Union Forces” (January 31, 1865) ↩
    30. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 751: “Organization of the Union Forces” (February 28, 1865) ↩
    31. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 751: “Organization of the Union Forces” (February 28, 1865) ↩
    32. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
    33. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 1 (Serial Number 95), pages 61-63 ↩
    34. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩
    35. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) ↩

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