What I have read about Civil War and the Indian Wars of the 1870's - 1880's,
seem to indicate that most of the time, cavalry was used for reconnaissance. J.E.B. Stuart was one of the primary officers fir this kind of work. It can be argued that the Battle of Gettysburg was a mistake because JEB went off on a Recon Raid, but did not keep General Lee informed of where he was and what he saw.
During the Civil War and beyond the cavalry would ride up, dismount, and engage the enemy. I have read that as many as 1 in 4 men were used as horse holders. The recovered evidence at Little Big Horn seems to bear this out. Custer and his men formed a long skirmish line. While the attacking Indians were at a distance, this was fine, the Springfield trap rifle had the ability to keep opponents at long range. Once the Indian fighters got closer, using terrain, the fire power of their repeating Winchesters and Henrys overwhelmed the 7th Cav. Of course being outnumbered about 9 -1 did not help.
My $0.02
Mike
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