The regiments of the Kentucky "Orphan" Brigade, including the 5th Ky. Inf., were converted from normal (foot) infantry to mounted infantry in the fall of 1864, following the Atlanta Campaign (the Brigade was then located in the area south of Atlanta). The units were issued mules and horses that had been in cavalry service (and some mounts were scrounged wherever they could be found - there were never enough to actually mount the entire Brigade).

The soldiers retained their infantry arms, uniforms, and gear, and when they fought, they usually dismounted and fought as traditional infantry skirmishers. The "mounted" aspect was just to get them around faster.

After being mounted, the Orphan Brigade acted mostly as scouts, operating on the flanks of Sherman's forces in his March to the Sea. Most of the actions that they fought in as mounted infantry were small skirmishes, with only a couple "pitched battles."

Confusion can arise because when the War Dept. clerks were compiling the soldiers' military service records, they marked ALL of these records for the Orphan Brigade soldiers as "Mtd. Inf.," even though that designation did not apply until Sept. 1864. So, if the soldier you are researching left the 5th Ky. Inf. before Sept. 1864 (died, disabled, POW, transferred, whatever), he did not serve in the mounted infantry, although his service record will be marked that way.

Geoff Walden