6th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment

The 6th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed Michigan Brigade, commanded for a time by Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer.

Service
The 6th Michigan Cavalry was organized at Grand Rapids, Michigan on May 28 to October 13, 1862 and mustered in October 13, 1862. Among the officers who later joined the regiment as replacements were Thomas W. Custer, who would win two Medals of Honor while serving with the 6th in the spring of 1865.

The regiment was assigned to what became the Michigan Brigade during the early part of the Gettysburg Campaign in June 1863. It saw its first actions under General Custer at the Hanover, Hunterstown, and Gettysburg. Armed with Spencer Repeating Rifles, the 6th provided superior firepower against the lightly armed Confederate cavalry.

Sent out to the Old West frontier following the cessation of hostilities in mid-1865, the 6th, under the overall command of Brig. Gen. Patrick Connor constructed "Fort Connor" as a supply depot during the Powder River Expeditions of that summer. The regiment was mustered out of service on November 24, 1865.

Total strength and casualties
The regiment suffered 7 officers and 128 enlisted men killed in action or mortally wounded and 251 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 386 fatalities.

Commanders

 * Colonel George Gray
 * Major James Kidd