The 7th Cavalry is the newest regiment to join the Midwest Brigade. Since horses are not in the game yet, the 7th plays as infantry with the main line, but often act as scouts and skirmishers during a battle, making sure that the Midwest Brigade and its Union allies flanks are secure.
THE HISTORY OF THE 7TH OHIO CAVALRY
The 7th Ohio Cavalry Regiment was a regiment of Union cavalry raised in southern Ohio for service during the American Civil War. Nicknamed the "River Regiment" as its men came from nine counties along the Ohio River, it served in the Western Theater in several major campaigns of the Army of the Ohio.
The regiment primarily operated in Kentucky, Tennessee, and western North Carolina, seeing action in several campaigns and cavalry raids as part of the Army of the Ohio. It was part of the Union forces hastily sent northward in the summer of 1863 in pursuit of Morgan's Raiders, seeing action at the Battle of Buffington Island where much of Morgan's command was captured. Colonel Garrard accepted the surrender of the Confederates under Col. Basil W. Duke.
In July 1864, the regiment moved from Tennessee into Georgia and joined the forces of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman during the Atlanta Campaign. It participated in numerous skirmishes and engagements with Confederate cavalry until the fall of Atlanta in late July. The regiment then accompanied the army of George H. Thomas northward back into Tennessee during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign, again engaged in scouting and periodic skirmishes with the Confederates, particularly during the retreat of the beaten Army of Tennessee as it withdrew towards the Tennessee River.
In March 1865, the regiment participated in Wilson's Raid into Alabama and was among the troops to enter Selma. It pursued retreating Confederates as far as the Andersonville Prison in Georgia, where news was received that Robert E. Lee had surrendered in Virginia. The regiment was mustered out on July 4, 1865, and returned home to Ohio. During the war, the regiment lost 2 officers and 26 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and 4 officers and 197 enlisted men by disease, for a total of 229 fatalities.
