| 6th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Cavalry | |
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| Active | October 7, 1861 – August 7, 1865 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Allegiance | Union |
| Branch | Union Army |
| Type | Cavalry |
| Size | total enrollment = 1,758 men |
| Part of | 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac |
| Engagements | American Civil War
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The 6th Regiment, Ohio Cavalry was a regiment of Union cavalry raised in ten counties in northeastern and north-central Ohio for service during the American Civil War. It primarily served in the Eastern Theater in several major campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, and was particularly active during the Gettysburg Campaign of 1863.
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The 6th Cavalry Regiment was commissioned as a three-years regiment. It was organized at Camp Hutchison in Warren, Ohio, on October 7, 1861, and first served under Colonel William R. Lloyd.[1]
The 6th was on duty at Warren until January 1862, and then garrisoned Camp Chase and Camp Dennison until May 1862. The troopers were finally given their horses while stationed at Camp Dennison, and the officers led the men in various mounted cavalry drills. Following completion of training, the 6th moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, on May 13, and then to Strasburg, Virginia, to join Major General John C. Fremont's army in the Shenandoah Valley. The 6th was attached to the Mountain Department until June 1862, and participated in several engagements with the Confederates, first seeing combat at the Battle of Woodstock on June 2. Other battles during this period included Cross Keys and Cedar Mountain.
In late June, the 6th moved to the Virginia Peninsula and became part of the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 1st Corps, Pope's Army of Virginia until July 1862. The regiment saw considerable action during the Northern Virginia Campaign in the late summer, and was engaged in skirmishing during the Second Bull Run operations. As part of the Army of the Potomac, the 6th Ohio Cavalry participated in the Fredericksburg operations in November and December 1862. It subsequently went into winter quarters, guarding the Rappahannock River.
In 1863, the 6th participated in the Battle of Kelly's Ford. Later that year, it was heavily involved in the Gettysburg Campaign, fighting at the Battle of Brandy Station and in several smaller engagements during the Union operations in the Loudoun Valley of Virginia, including the battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville. It traveled into Pennsylvania with the division as part of the brigade of Col. Pennock Huey, but before the Battle of Gettysburg withdrew to Westminster, Maryland, to guard the army's supply trains. The regiment was active during the retreat of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in July. Later in the year, the 6th participated in both the Mine Run and Bristoe campaigns.
After spending the winter fighting Mosby's guerillas, in the spring of 1864 the 6th joined Ulysses S. Grant's movement on Richmond, participating in several battles while serving in the Cavalry Corps under Philip H. Sheridan. It was involved in the Union cavalry operations during the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg, as well as taking part in the Battle of Trevillian Station.
In 1865, the regiment was in the Battle of Five Forks and then, during Robert E. Lee's retreat, in the Battle of Sayler's Creek during the Appomattox Campaign. The 6th Ohio Cavalry marched in the Grand Review of the Armies in May and then mustered out of the service at Petersburg, Virginia, on August 7, 1865.
The 6th Ohio Cavalry lost during its term of service 5 officers and 52 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and 4 officers and 177 enlisted men by disease, for a total of 238 fatalities. More than 1700 men served in the ranks at one time or another, although the field strength of the regiment rarely exceeded 500 men at any given time.
A stone monument to the regiment stands along Taneytown Road on the Gettysburg Battlefield. It features a relief of a saber-wielding cavalryman mounted on his horse at full gallop.
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