The 6^th Cavalry Regiment was recruited from a swath running from the northeastern to the southwestern part of the State of Iowa.

The Regimental assembly point was near the city of Davenport where eight of the companies were mustered into the U. S. service on 31 January 1863. By 5 March 1863 the Regiment consisted of more than 1,100 personnel and was constantly increased by additional enlistments, so that when it left Davenport for active service shortly thereafter it was nearly up to the authorized strength of a Cavalry Regiment.

The Regiment served during its term of enlistment in the war against the Indians, and its record in the field brought no discredit to the cavalrymen. It suffered from hard marches, lacked the comforts or advantages of civilization; fought on unfamiliar ground against a foe that had the advantage of overwhelming numbers familiar with the surroundings, and was able to claim victory in all conflicts.

A concise history of the Regiment's grueling travel and combat experiences is not possible because the Regiment was nearly always broken up into small units; spent a great deal of time and energy occupying and defending different outposts; and on a rotation basis, were constantly scouting and marching in a great number of different directions seeking the enemy.