Unit Name: | 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry |
Dates: | January 9, 1864-October 31, 1865 |
Country: | United States |
Allegiance: | Union |
Branch: | Cavalry |
Size: | Regiment |
Battles: | American Civil War |
Disbanded: | October 31, 1865 |
The 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry (or 5th Regiment, Massachusetts Cavalry (Colored)) was a cavalry regiment from Massachusetts, that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The regiment was organized from January 9-May 5, 1864, at Camp Meigs, Readville, near Boston. From May 12, 1864, it served dismounted and equipped as infantry until the end of war.
The regiment fought at Baylor's Farm during the Second Battle of Petersburg and the Siege of Petersburg on June 14, 1864. At the end of June 1864, it was ordered to Point Lookout, Maryland, to guard a Confederate prison. They mustered out on October 31, 1865.
The regiment lost 123 enlisted men; 7 enlisted men were killed or mortally wounded, and 116 enlisted men died of disease.
. Frederick H. Dyer. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 1. 1908. The Dyer Publishing Company. Des Moines, IA. 1240. 8697590.