The Memoirs of P.H. Sheridan and H.B. McClellan's Campaigns of Stuart's Cavalry have been of especial value in this respect; the latter helping to give both sides of the picture, particularly in the accounts of the battles of Buckland Mills and Yellow Tavern. Wade Hampton's official reports were put to similar use in describing the battle of Trevilian Station.
So far as mention is made of individual officers and men there is no pretense that the list is complete. Those whose names appear in the text were selected as types. Hundreds of others were equally deserving. The same remark applies to the portraits. These are representative faces. The list could be extended indefinitely.
It was intended to include in an appendix a full roster of all the men who served in the Sixth Michigan cavalry and in the other regiments as well; but this would have made the book too bulky. By applying to the adjutant general of Michigan the books published by the state giving the record of every man who served in either of the regiments in the brigade can be obtained.
The Roll of Honor—a list of all those who were killed in action, or who died of wounds received in action—is as complete as it was possible to make it from the official records. In a very few cases, men who were reported "missing in action," and of whom no further record could be found, were assumed to have belonged in the list, but these are not numerous enough to materially affect the totals.
For the rest, the author cannot claim that he has done justice to either of these organizations, but he has made an honest effort to be fair and impartial, to tell the truth as he saw it, without prejudice. How well he has succeeded is not for him to say. "It is an interesting story," said an officer who served with distinction in the Fifth Michigan cavalry. If that shall be the verdict of all the comrades who read it, the writer will be satisfied.
CONTENTS
- [ A National Awakening]
- [ An Eventful Winter ]
- [ Recruiting in Michigan]
- [ The Summer of 1862 ]
- [ Joining the Cavalry ]
- [ In the Regimental Rendezvous]
- [ The Departure for Washington ]
- [ The Arrival in Washington ]
- [ The Stay in Washington ]
- [ Field Service in Virginia ]
- [ In the Gettysburg Campaign ]
- [ From Gettysburg to Falling Waters ]
- [ From Falling Waters to Buckland Mills]
- [ The Battle of Buckland Mills ]
- [Winter Quarters in Stevensburg ]
- [ The Wilderness Campaign ]
- [ The Yellow Tavern Campaign ]
- [ Yellow Tavern to Chesterfield Station ]
- [ Hanovertown and Haw's Shop ]
- [ The Trevilian Raid ]
- [ In the Shenandoah Valley]
- [ The Battle of Cedar Creek ]
- [ A Mysterious Witness ]
- [ A Meeting With Mosby]