Date of Award

Spring 2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Director

Harold Wilson

Committee Member

Douglas Greene

Committee Member

Willard C. Frank

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.H47 F73 2007

Abstract

The history of warfare is replete with episodes chronicling the struggle between developing tactics with technological advances. From the bow to the smoothbore musket, military leaders have always been forced to alter their tactics in order to take advantage of technological advances. During the American Civil War the Union cavalry was able to achieve great heights by wedding their tactics to the advanced firearms their troopers carried. Realizing the potential of breech-loading and repeating firearms the Union cavalry, from 1861-1865, developed a flexible set of tactics that took advantage of those modern weapons. Their efforts came to fruition as the war ended in the spring of 1865, as the Federal cavalry had become an unrivaled mounted force at that time. Prior to the American Civil War, theorists declared that the cavalry served a specific and limited purpose in warfare. Europeans believed that the cavalry was an offensive aim that was strictly limited to relying on the mounted charge. Arguing that horse soldiers should not fight dismounted the European cavalry remained true to its traditional role as a strictly mounted force. In America, young Union officers deviated from the traditional path after two years of failure. Modern firearms provided an opportunity for Union officers to devise new, flexible tactics that provided a battlefield edge. Combining dismounted and mounted action with close artillery support, Federal cavalry officers designed a mounted force that had never been seen before on the battlefield.

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DOI

10.25777/bsw4-wg73

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