3rd Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment

3rd Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry
Active	June 17, 1863 - October 8, 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Cavalry Infantry (June 25, 1864 - February 14, 1865)
Size	Regiment
Part of	During Valley Campaigns of 1864: 2nd Brigade (Molineux), 3rd Division (Grover), XIX Corps (Emory), Army of the Shenandoah
Commanders
Colonel	Thomas Edward Chickering
Colonel	Lorenzo Dow Sargent
Insignia
XIX Corps (2nd Division) badge

The 3rd Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized by consolidating the 41st Massachusetts Mounted Infantry and the 2nd Battalion Massachusetts Cavalry on June 17, 1863. The regiment served with the XIX Corps, Army of the Gulf during the Red River Campaign in 1864. Its heaviest combat during this campaign took place during the Battle of Sabine Crossroads.

On June 25, 1864, the unit was dismounted and ordered to serve as infantry. They were sent north on July 15 with other units of the XIX Corps to become part of the Army of the Shenandoah and served as infantry in several large battles during the Valley Campaigns of 1864. The regiment took significant casualties during the Third Battle of Winchester and the Battle of Cedar Creek.

In February 1865, the unit was remounted again as cavalry and served in the Shenandoah Valley until the end of the war. The companies that had been the 2nd Battalion reached the end of their term of service in December 1864 and January 1865 and were replaced with two new companies consisting of Massachusetts recruits. The bulk of the regiment that had enlisted as the 41st Massachusetts were mustered out on May 20, 1865. What remained of the regiment took part in the Grand Review of the Armies in Washington, D.C. and then were deployed to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. After serving in Kansas and Nebraska, they were mustered out on September 28 and returned to Boston.