of any responsibility for replacing an injured horse. Commanders often tried to procure specific breeds for their men, with the Morgan being a particular favorite within the Army of the Potomac. Famous Morgan cavalry mounts from the Civil War included Sheridan's "Rienzi" and Stonewall Jackson's "Little Sorrel". Early in the war, the Army of the Potomac did not organize its cavalry regiments into larger formations to perform independent operations, but instead paired them with infantry divisions. Here they were often wasted by being used merely as pickets, outposts, orderlies, guards for senior officers, and messengers. In July 1862 the first independent brigades were formed but were unfortunately used for many of the same roles. The first officer to make effect use of cavalry was Major General Joseph Hooker, who in February 1863 consolidated the Army of the Potomac's cavalry into a dedicated Cavalry Corps under a single commander, George Stoneman. Similar developments played out with other Union armies. Halfway into the war, during the summer of 1863, the Union cavalry came into its own. Widely regarded as inferior to its Southern counterpart up until then, the Battle of Brandy Station, although tactically indecisive, is recognized as the point at which it was acknowledged to have comparable competence. In 1864, Philip Sheridan was given command of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac, and he deployed his horsemen in a more effective, strategic way than his predecessors. Despite the reluctance of his superior, Major General George G. Meade, Sheridan convinced General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant to allow him to deploy the cavalry in long-range raids, the first of which, at Yellow Tavern, resulted in the death of Confederate commander Jeb Stuart. He later employed his cavalry force effectively in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 and the Appomattox Campaign, in pursuit of Robert E. Lee. In the Western Theater, two effective cavalry generals have not achieved the fame of their Eastern counterparts: Benjamin Grierson's dramatic raid through Mississippi was an integral part of Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg Campaign; James H. Wilson was invaluable in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign and in his 1865 Alabama raid. Significant cavalry battles and raids The following are Civil War battles, campaigns, or separate raids in which cavalry forces played a significant role. Battle of Brandy Station — 20,500 combatants, in 1863, Pleasanton leads the largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war Battle of Chancellorsville — ambitious plan