POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

The six stereoviews on these pages, taken in November 1861, show the 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry assembling at Camp Brigham in Readville, Mass., roughly two months after volunteer cavalry companies—nearly all drawn from state militia—began to muster in Massachusetts. Upon forming at the camp, the 1st expected to select its field officers from its own ranks, but Massachusetts Governor John Andrew interceded. Andrew felt that professional leadership was required in preparing qualified units on short notice. For the 1st, he handed the command reins to Virginia native Robert Williams, a former 1st Dragoon, and named Horace Binney Sargent, a member of his own staff, as lieutenant colonel.

At the outset of the war, many volunteers considered the cavalry a more appealing and dashing option than other branches of the military. To be truly proficient, however, most troopers needed to train for long periods of time, usually months. Andrew deserved credit for correctly recognizing the difficulties entailed. By the fall of 1861, the war that many had once predicted would be short had become a bloody,