Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer's Michigan... by James Harvey Kidd

His Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer's Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Civil War (published in 1908) remains a classic narrative of service in the cavalry, which has been reprinted several times since. He was actively involved in veterans' affairs throughout the rest of his life and was a frequent contributor to their organizations as a speaker and writer. Following the war he returned to his hometown and became involved in journalism, eventually publishing his own newspaper.

Kidd rose to colonel of his regiment, served briefly as brigade commander, and was eventually breveted brigadier general for his services. By war's end, the Wolverines had served in the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac and under Sheridan in his Army of the Shenandoah. 'Custer's Wolverines,' as they were popularly known, gained renown as one of the finest volunteer cavalry units to serve in the eastern theater, fighting in more than sixty battles or skirmishes. Brigaded with the 1st, 5th, and 7th Michigan cavalry regiments, the Michigan Cavalry Brigade distinguished itself under the leadership of its first commander, Gen.

A twenty-one-year-old University of Michigan student from Ionia, Michigan, Kidd enlisted in the federal army and managed to recruit a company of cavalry that was accepted as Company E, 6th Michigan Cavalry, with himself as captain. The name James Kidd (1840-1913) is not altogether unfamiliar to Civil War aficionados, particularly to those with an interest in Union cavalry operations.

Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer's Michigan... by James Harvey Kidd