The 2nd United States Colored Cavalry Regiment in Virginia
*The 2nd United States Colored Cavalry Regiment was organized on this date in 1863. They were a Black military unit that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 2nd Colored Cavalry Regiment was organized at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Fort Monroe was a critical Union stronghold on the Virginia coast that became a place of refuge for escaped slaves once the war began. The US Bureau of Colored Troops was formed in May 1863 and began enlisting Black men into military units. Initially, the Colored Troops did manual labor and support duties, but later, they took part in combat. All the officers of the US Colored Troops were white; Black soldiers were not commissioned as officers until after the war.
The commanding officer of the 2nd Colored Cavalry was Colonel George W. Cole, a veteran officer from New York State. The 2nd Cavalry was assigned to garrison and guard duties at Fort Monroe until the spring of 1864. The first battle of the Regimen was on March 9, 1864, near Suffolk, Virginia. A Union officer reporting on the actions of the 2nd Colored Cavalry at Suffolk wrote, "Never did soldiers display more bravery." In May 1864, the 2nd Cavalry took part in General Benjamin Butler's Bermuda Hundred campaign on the south bank of the James River.
The 2nd Cavalry, as dismounted infantry, took part in the Siege of Petersburg that began in the summer of 1864, fighting in various actions along the defensive lines. In June, the regiment was deployed by boat to Brownsville, Texas, to guard the US-Mexican border. South of the border, Mexican Republican forces had been fighting against the French-backed Mexican Empire since 1861.
As the American Civil War drew to a close, the United States was able to focus more attention on supporting Mexican President Benito Juárez's republican forces. Troops from the 2nd Cavalry briefly occupied the Mexican town of Bagdad on the south bank of the Rio Grande in January 1866 to support Mexican troops there. The regiment was mustered out of service on February 12, 1866.
