Cavalry was used for many years, including during the Civil War and World War I. By looking at the types of cavalry, the breeds of horses they used, and how successful they were, you can see how important cavalry truly was to the Civil War. Furthermore, by exploring the uses of cavalry, the breeds of horses used and the struggles faced, one can also learn about the difficulties experienced by the cavalry in the First World War. Cavalry were specifically forces that fought exclusively on horseback, and a small percentage of mounted forces actually fell into this particular category. Most of the cavalry during the Civil War was located in the Union (Hooper 80). Each cavalry regiment had twelve companies and each company consisted of one hundred men. Each company was led by the usual command hierarchy such as captain, lieutenants and sergeants; however, they also contained their own blacksmiths and saddlers ("Commandants"12). The other three types of mounted forces included the following: mounted infantry, dragoons. and irregular forces. Mounted infantry were similar to cavalry, however, if necessary, they could dismount to fight on foot. Another category of mounted forces were the dragoons (Hyslop 284). Dragoons were armed knights, who had to be skilled in combat on horseback, as well as on foot ("Commanders" 11). Although they were extremely skilled on the battlefield, they were also used for additional purposes (Hyslop 284). Dragoons provided protection to the main army and assisted it by taking on a support and aid role ("Commanders" 11). Irregular forces, also known as partisan rangers or guerrillas, were generally mounted forces (Corrick 74). Irregular forces were used to disperse... the middle of paper... artillery. Cavalry units were converted to basic infantry to accommodate this new technology (Vuksic 260, 262, 267). Many of these warrior horses also died during the intensity of the battle. For example, at the beginning of the war there were 22 million horses, by the end there were only 2.3 million (Moore 39). In the Civil War, cavalry flourished due to the various types of mounted forces they established, their skillful tactics, and their exceptional selection of horse breeds to carry out their military tasks. Although the cavalry of World War I tried to implement the same effective tactics and also used exceptional horse breeds, the new inventions of modern artillery surpassed these mounted forces. While the cavalry may not have been as successful in World War I as it was in the Civil War, it still proves to be a significant part of history today.