At the commencement of the Civil War in 1861, Nebraska, then only a Territory, had a population numbering between 28,000 and 29,000 souls, of whom, probably, not more than one-fourth were males of the age required for military service, and yet she furnished during the war of the Rebellion, three thousand three hundred and seven officers and men, or about twelve per cent. of her entire population.

     The following is a list of the organizations raised, and the number composing each:

     The First Regiment of Nebraska Volunteers was organized in June, 1861, as Infantry, and so served until November, 1863, when they were changed, by order of the Secretary of War, to the cavalry branch of the service.

     The Regiment, under command of Col. John M. Thayer, embarked at Omaha for the field of action on the 30th of July, 1861, and for the, remainder of that year were stationed in Missouri, where they participated in numerous skirmishes and hard marches, going into winter quarters at Georgetown. On February 2d, 1862, they left Georgetown for Tennessee, reaching Fort Henry, in that State, on the 11th of the same month, and immediately proceeded to Fort Donaldson, then under siege by Gen'l Grant, at which place they arrived on the night of the 13th; were ordered to the battle field the next morning and sustained a creditable part in the battle until the surrender of the Fort two days afterward. This was the first regular engagement participated in by the Regiment; the next was the great battle of Pittsburgh Landing, in April of the same year, where they were thrown into the hottest of the fight, and the men all acted so nobly, that their Division Commander, General Lew Wallace, in his report of the battle, spoke in the highest praise of their bravery and gallantry. In this battle, as also that of Fort Donaldson, General Thayer commanded the Brigade to which his Regiment was attached.

     The Regiment next participated in the battle of Corinth, and during the remainder of the year, 1862, were engaged in innumerable skirmishes and scouting expeditions in different Southwestern States. On the 26th of April, 1863, while they were stationed at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, the enemy, under command of General Marmaduke, attacked that post, and were repulsed after a hotly contested fight, with great loss, the First Nebraska taking a prominent part in the battle, and also in the pursuit of the enemy, whom they overtook and had another fight with at Chalk Bluffs, on the St. Francois River.

     In the fall of 1863 the Regiment was stationed at St. Louis, doing guard duty and scouting in the adjoining country. By Special Orders No. 278, from Head Quarters Department of the Missouri, dated St. Louis, October 11th, 1863, the First Nebraska was mounted as a cavalry Regiment, and in the following month were ordered to duty in Arkansas where they were engaged in scouting and had numerous heavy skirmishes with the enemy. January 18, 1864, they assisted in the capture of a squad of Rebels

on Black River, and a few days later a detachment of the Regiment, under Lieut. Col. Baumer, had a three day's fight with the Rebels under Col. Freeman, at Sycamore Mountains, whom they completly [sic] routed. At Jacksonport, April 20, they were attacked in their camp by the enemy, who were driven back with considerable loss in killed and wounded. At Duvall's Bluffs the Regiment was separated, the veterans, under command of Col. Livingstone, going to St. Louis, and the non-veterans, in Command of Lieut. Col. Baumer, remaining at the Bluffs. In St. Louis the veteran Regiment were furloughed until August 13, 1864, at which date they rendezvoured [sic] at Omaha, and were assigned to duty in Nebraska. During the summer and fall of 1864, particularly, and up to the time they were mustered out of service, July 1, 1866, the Regiment rendered most valuable and efficient service on the plains in quelling the Indian disturbances of those years; in protecting the lives and property of the settlers, guarding the overland mail routes, and performing other hazardous and arduous duties. The headquarters of the Regiment during the greater portion of the time were at Fort Kearney. In July, 1865, Col. Livingston was mustered out of service under the provisions General Orders No. 83, War Department, leaving Lieut. Col. Wm. Baumer in command; and in this month, also, the First Battalion, Nebraska Veteran Cavalry was consolidated with the First Regiment Nebraska Veteran Cavalry.

     It is to be regretted that the records are so incomplete that the number of killed, wounded and taken prisoners, in the different engagements in which the Regiment participated, cannot be given.

     They served faithfully for upwards of five years, took an active part in many of the leading battles of the South, and when their presence was no longer needed to assist in crushing the Rebellion, they nobly came to the protection of their own frontier, then being invaded by the Sioux and other hostile Indians, and it was mainly through the valor displayed by them in many sharp contests with these savages that the Territory was saved from being over run and desolated.

     The following is a list of the field officers of the First Regiment of Neb., Vet. Volunteer Cavalry:

     Company A--Captains: R. R. Livingston, A. F. McKinney, Lee P. Gillette; First Lieutenants: A. F. McKinney, N. J. Sharp, John W. Haygood, Martin B. Cutler; Second Lieutenants: N. J. Sharp, John W. Haygood, John G. Whitlock.

     Company B--Captains: William Bumer, Chas. E. Provost; First Lieutenants: Peter Walter, E. Bimmeman, Theo. Leubben; Second Lieutenants: Henry Keonig, E. Bimmeman, Theo. Leubben, A. Althaus.

     Company C--Captains: J. D. N. Thompson, Thomas J. Majors, Thos. H. Griffin; First Lieutenants: Thomas J. Majors, Ruben J. Beyer, Thomas H. Griffin, David W. Smith; Second Lieutenants: Ruben J. Beyer, Thomas H. Griffin, Wm. A. Pollock, Wilson E. Majors.

     Company D--Captains: Allen Blacker, John C. Potts, First Lieutenants: Lee P. Gillette, John C. Potts; Second Lieutenants: Chas. E. Provost, Elias M. Lowe.

     Company E--Captains: W. G. Hollins, S. M. Curran; First Lieutenants: S. M. Curran, W. S. Whitten, W. H. B. Stout; Second Lieutenants, J. N. H. Patrick, W. S. Whitten, Geo. W. Reeves, A. S. Jackson, Lewis J. Boyer.

     Company F--Captains: Thos. M. Bowen, G. W. Burnes, Lyman Richardson, Henry Kuhl, E. Donovan; First Lieutenants: Alex. Scott, J. P. Murphy, Wm. M. Alexander; Second Lieutenants Alex. Scott, Jno. P. Murphy, Fred Smith, Merril S. Tuttle, Wm. B. Raper.

     Company G--Captains: John McConihe, Thos. J. Weatherwax; First Lieutenants: J. Y. Clopper, T. J. Weatherwax, Morgan A. Hance; Second Lieutenants: M. A. Hance, Jno. S. Seaton.

     Compuny [sic] H--Captains: Geo. T. Kennedy, Wm. W. Ivory; First Lieutenants: L. W. Sawyer, Silas A. Strickland, W. T. Clark, W. R. Bowen; Second Lieutenants: W. T. Clark, S. A. Strickland, S. W. Moore, Jas. M. Noster.

     Company I--Captains: Jacob Butler, Henry H. Ribbel, J. P. Murphy; First Lieutenants: H. H. Ribbel, F. D. Cramer, E. Peck, J. Talbott; Second Lieutenants: F. L. Cramer, E. Peck, Francis A. McDonald, Geo. P. Belden.

     Company K--Captains: Jos. W. Paddock, Ed. Lawler, H. F.

C. Krumme, Lewis Lowry; First Lieutenants: Robt. Howard, E. Lawler, E. Donovan, Jas. Steele; Second Lieutenants: E. Lawler, E. Donovan, Lyman Richardson, Lewis Lowry.

Was organized in the fall of 1862, as a nine months Regiment, and served about one year.

     During the greater part of the time it was attached to General Sully's command, and participated in the campaigns of that General against the hostile Indians in Western Nebraska and Dakota, who, fresh from the great massacre of whites in Minnesota, were retiring southward, threatening the lives of the settlers on the frontier, hundreds of whom were abandoning their homes and fleeing for safety to the older settlements.

     At the battle of White Stone Hill, in Dakota, in September, 1863, the causualities [sic] in the Second Nebraska, were seven men killed, fourteen wounded and ten missing; besides the loss of five horses killed, nine wounded and nine missing. The enemy were composed of the Upper and Lower bands of Yanktonai Sioux, the Black feet Sioux, and the Brule, Sans-Arc and Cathead bands of Sioux, numbering about 2000 warriors, under the command of the celebrated Yanktonai Chief, Two Bears, who, with his forces, was completely routed. In their flight they abandoned their tents, clothing, cooking utensils, and valuables of all kinds, even leaving behind many of their children.

     The following is a list of the commissioned officers of the Second Nebraska Cavalry:

     Company A--Captain, Peter S. Reed; First Lieutenant, Silas E. Seeley, Second Lieutenant, Elias H. Clark.

     Company B--Captain, Roger T. Beall; First Lieutenant Charles D. Davis; Second Lieutenant, Chas. F. Porter.

     Company C--Captain, Theodore W. Bedford; First Lieutenant, Jas W. Coleman; Second Lieutenants, H. M. Atkinson, Jacob B. Berger.

     Company D--Captain, Henry Edwards; First Lieutenant, Henry Gray; Second Lieutenant, Wilbur B. Hugus.

     Company E--Captains, Robert W. Furnas, Lewis Hill; First Lieutenants Lewis Hill, John H. Mann; Second Lieutenants, John H. Mann, Alex. S. Stewart.

     Company F--Captain, Dominick Laboo; First Lieutenants, Chas. W. Hall, R. Mason; Second Lieutenants, R. Mason, H. R. Newcomb.

     Company G--Captain, Oliver P. Bayne; First Lieutenant, Chauncey H. Norris; Second Lieutenant, Joseph F. Wade.

     Company H--Captain, John W. Marshall; First Lieutenant, Isaac Wiles; Second Lieutenant, Abraham Deyo.

     Company I--Captains, John Taffe, Silas T. Leaming; First Lieutenants, Silas T. Leaming, Moses H. Deming.; Second Lieutenants, Moses H. Deming, Jacob H. Hallock.

     Company K--Captain, Edwin Patrick; First Lieutenant, Wm. B. James; Second Lieutenant, Philip P. Williams.

     Company J--Captain, Daniel W. Allison; First Lieutenant, John J. Baiyne; Second Lieutenant, Daniel Reavis.

     Company M--Captain, Stearns Cooper; First Lieutenant, Obadiah B. Hewitt; Second Lieutenant, Francis B. Chaplin.

     When the Second Nebraska Cavalry was mustered out of service in September, 1863, Major George Armstrong was commissioned by Governor Saunders to raise an independent battalion of cavalry from the veterans of the Second Regiment, to serve during the war. This battalion, consisting of companies A, B, C and D, was mustered into service as the First Battalion, Nebraska Veteran Cavalry, and assigned to duty on the Plains.

     In July, 1865 this battalion was consolidated with the First Regiment Nebraska Veteran Cavalry, and one year later was mustered out of service.

     The following is a list of officers of the First Battalion Nebraska Veteran Cavalry.

     Company A--Captains, Geo. Armstrong, Chas. F, Porter; First Lieutenants, Chas. F. Porter, John Talbot; Second Lieutenants: H. F. C. Krumme, Merril S. Tuttle.

     Company B--Captain, Z. Jackson; First Lieutenants, Jos. N. Tuttwiler, W. H. B. Stout; Second Lieutenant Jas. M. Nosler.

     Company C--Captain, Henry Kuhle; First Lieutenant, Martin B. Cutler; Second Lieutenant, Geo. P. Belden.

     Company D--Captain, Henry F. C. Krumme; First Lieutenant, Wm. R. Bowen; Second Lieutenant, Samuel A. Lewis.

     The four Companies, A, B, C and D, composing the first battalion of this Cavalry Regiment, which was afterwards united with the Fifth Iowa Cavalry, were mainly recruited in Nebraska.

     Company A, was recruited at Omaha by M. T. Patrick, and was composed chiefly of men from Nebraska. It was mustered into the U. S. service at Omaha September 14, 1861, by Lieut. J. N. H. Patrick; M. T. Patrick, of Omaha, Captain.

     Company B, was recruited at Omaha by J. T. Croft, and was composed of men from Nebraska and a few from Iowa. It was mustered into service at Omaha, September 21, 1861, by Lieut. J. N. H. Patrick; John T. Croft, of Omaha, Captain.

     Company C, was recruited at Nebraska City and in Page County, Iowa, by Captain J. M. Young and Alfred Matthias, and was mustered into service at Omaha, September 19, 1861, as a half Company, and October 3, 1861, as a fall Company, by Lieut. J. N. H. Patrick; J. Morris Young, of Page County, Iowa, Captain.

     Company D, commenced recruiting at Omaha, and was mustered into service as a half Company, with Wm. Curl as First Lieutenant, at St. Louis, October 30, 1861. Here it was joined by a detachment of Missouri Volunteers, and was mustered in as a full company at St. Louis, November 13, 1861, with Harlan Beard, of Nebraska, as Captain.

     The following is a list of the Field Officers of the Curtis Horse Cavalry Regiment at the completion of its organization, February 1, 1862:

     W. W. Lowe, Colonel; M. T. Patrick, Lieut-Colonel; W. B. McGeorge, Adjutant; Enos Lowe, Surgeon; B. T. Wise, Assistant Surgeon; Jerome Spillman, Chaplain.

     Company A.--Captains-- M. T. Patrick, promoted Lieutenant Colonel, November 13, 1861; Wm. Kelsey, promoted Major, February 1, 1862; John J. Lower, resigned December 19, 1862; Samuel Paul, promoted from Q. M. Sergeant.

     First Lieutenants--Wm. Kelsay, promoted Captain, November 13, 1861; John J. Lower, promoted Captain February 1, 1862; Horace Wallers, resigned June 1, 1862.

     Second Lieutenants--John J Lower, promoted First Lieutenant, November 13,1861; Horace Wallers, promoted First Lieutenant February 1, 1862; F. A. Williams, resigned June 8, 1862; Marion A. Hinds, promoted from First Sergeant.

     Company B.--Captain--John T. Croft.

     First Lieutenants--Milton S. Summers, wounded and died August 29, 1862; Erastus G. McNeely, promoted from Second Lieutenant.

     Second Lieutenants--Jere. C. Wilcox, promoted Captain of Company H; Erastus G. McNeely, promoted First Lieutenant September, 1, 1862; Douglas H. Stephens, promoted from First Sergeant.

     Company C.--Captains--Morris J. Young, promoted Major, November 1, 1862; Alfred Matthias, promoted from First Lieutenant.

     First Lieutenants--Alfred Matthias, promoted Captain, Decem- [sic] 22, 1862; Chas Langdon, promoted from Second Lieutenant.

     Second Lieutenants-Charles Langdon, promoted First Lieutenant December 22, 1862; Wm. T. Wilhite, promoted from First Sergeant.

     Company D.--Captains--Harlan Beard, promoted Major, November 1, 1862; Wm. Curl, promoted from First Lieutenant.

     First Lieutenants--Wm. Curl promoted Captain November 1, 1862; W. C. McBeath,

     Second Lieutenants--Wm. Aston, promoted Bat. Adjt. January 9, 1862; Wm. C. McBeath, promoted First Lieutenant November 1, 1862; Wm. Buchanan, promoted from First Sergeant.

     The Curtis Horse served their time in the Southwestern Army, where they fought heroically in some of the most prominent battles and saw much hard service generally. They were almost constantly on the go, being engaged in many of those great raids which so crippled the enemy and gained for the Cavalry Branch of the service such deserved fame, especially during the latter part of the Rebellion.

     During the summer of 1864 Nebraska was again invaded by the Sioux, Cheyennes and other powerful bands of hostile Indians, who threatened the annihilation of the frontier settlements.

     Fears bad been entertained for a long time prior to the date mentioned that an Indian outbreak would occur unless the Government did something to check it, and in response to the calls of the settlers for protection, the Seventh Iowa Volunteer Cavalry was ordered out in the summer of 1863, and assigned to duty along the line of the overland stage route, from Fort Kearney westward to the frontier of the Territory.

     The officer directly in command of these troops in the locality named, was Major George M. O'Brien, (afterwards General O'Brien) who, being a skillful civil and military engineer, at once commenced constructing fortifications and putting the country occupied by his command in a thorough defencible [sic] position. He

selected a site for a new Post at Cottonwood Springs, and constructed the same, naming it Fort Cottonwood, which name was subsequently changed to that of Fort McPherson, and became one of the most important posts on the frontier.

     In the summer of 1864 the First Nebraska Veteran Volunteer Cavalry was also assigned to duty in this locality, which, with a few Companies of Regulars, constituted the force oil the plains at the time the outbreak commenced.

     This force, however, was deemed entirely inadequate to keep in check or afford protection to the settlers against the immense numbers of savages who were swarming down the valleys and on the overland roads, capturing the mail stages and emigrant trains, murdering the emigrants and ranchmen, taking captive the women and children, destroying stock and crops, and threatening general destruction to the whole Western border.

     The settlers from the valleys of the Blues, the Platte, and at all the unprotected points, were abandoning their homes and fleeing with their stock and household goods as best they could, in one continuous stream toward the older Counties, or to some place of rendezvous, where a few of the more courageous threw up breastworks and made other hasty preparations to meet and give battle to the invaders. The excitement in the Territory was most intense, and not without good cause. Hundreds of the settlers and their families had already been butchered and their homes laid waste, and the Indians flushed with success were advancing rapidly toward the Missouri River, in greater numbers than had ever before threatened the Territory. in this emergency Governor Saunders promptly called out additional troops to aid those already in the field.

     The following militia Companies were hastily organized and sent to the front:

     Company A--First Regiment, Second Brigade, fifty-three men, rank and file, mustered into service August 12, 1864; served four months and nine days; Thos. B. Stevenson, Captain; F. J. Bruner, M. B. Corbin, First Lieutenants; R. Andrews, Second Lieutenant.

     Company B--First Regiment, Second Brigade, fifty-three men, rank and file, mustered into service August 13, 1864; served six months; Isaac Wiles, Captain; Henry J. Straight, First Lieutenant; Leslie C. Johnson, Second Lieutenant.

     Company C--First Regiment, Second Brigade, fifty-seven men, rank and file, mustered into service August 24, 1864; served five months and thirteen days; Alvin G. White Captain; Wm. B. Rapier, First Lieutenant; Levi Anthony, Second Lieutenant.

     Company A--First Regiment, First Brigade, forty-seven men, rank and file, mustered into the service August 30, 1864; served two months and twelve days; John R. Porter, Captain; Allen T. Riley, First Lieutenant; Martin Dunham, Second Lieutenant.

     A detachment of artillery militia under command of Captain Edward P. Childs, numbering thirteen men, rank and file, was mustered into the service August 30, 1864, and served two months and twelve days.

     August 31, 1864, a Company of Pawnee Indians was called into service by authority of the Provost Marshal General, for the term of one year. They were organized and commanded by Captain Frank North. They were known as Company "A," Pawnee Scouts, numbering ninety men, rank and file, and were mustered into the United States service, January 13, 1865.

     By an order of the War Department, a Company consisting of eighty-five men, rank and file, of Omaha Indians, was called into the United States service for the term of one year, with Edwin R. Nash, Captain. They were mustered out of service, July 16, 1866.

     The timely and valuable services rendered by these troops cannot be too highly estimated. Their prompt assistance in checking the onward march of the savage foe no doubt saved the inhabitants of the Territory from a fate similar to that visited upon the settlers in north western Minnesota in 1862, when several hundred of them were massacred, and by these same Indians.

     The following is a list of the militia Companies in Nebraska, organized since 1875