Larry Tagg’s in his “The Generals at Gettysburg,” writes “Despite earning his nickname “Kill-Cavalry” at Gettysburg, Kilpatrick showed no signs of learning from Farnsworth’s disaster.” However, there are no footnotes.

Mike Peters

In “Kill-Cavalry” by Martin, the first three times he uses that phrase he does not cite anything (pp. 49, 54, 56). The cite on p. 49 is close to a quote from Meyer, “Civil War Experiences Under Bayard, Gregg, Kilpatrick and Custer” but I don’t have access to that book. Looks like Martin may be using “Kill-Cavalry” as a hindsight nom de guerre for Kilpatrick in these instances.

On p. 62, Martin cites “Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer’s Michigan Cavalry” by James Harvey Kidd p. 165: ” It was not long till every man in the division had seen him and knew him well. In a few days he had fairly earned the soubriquet “Kill Cavalry,” which clung to him till he left for the west. This was not because men were killed while under his command, for that was their business and every trooper knew that death was liable to come soon or late, while he was in the line of duty, but for the reason that so many lives were sacrificed by him for no good purpose whatever.”

This book was published in 1908 so hindsight is likely in play here, too. Contemporary ccounts by troopers or newspapers may be of value when found.

Larry