The 2nd Pennsylvania Cavalry was organized in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania beginning in September 1861 as the "59th Volunteers" and mustered in for three years service under the command of Colonel Richard Butler Price.
The regiment was attached to Sturgis' Command, Military District of Washington, to August 1862.
John Buford's Cavalry Brigade, II Corps, Army of Virginia, to September 1862.
2nd Brigade, Stahel's Cavalry Division, XXII Corps, to June 1863.
2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac, to February 1865.