Ironside (cavalry) and foot soldiers in Jo Walton's alternate history series the Small Change trilogy are named 'Ironsides'. Lawrence J. Epstein writes that the lyric "heaven is like Ironside's" in Bob Dylan's I Pity the Poor Immigrant refers to the puritanical view of religion shared by the followers of Cromwell. Ironside (cavalry) The Ironsides were troopers in the Parliamentarian cavalry formed by English political leader Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, during the English Civil War. The name came from "Old Ironsides", one of Cromwell's nicknames. Cromwell first mustered a troop of cavalry (then referred to as "horse") at Huntingdon in Huntingdonshire,
Cavalry in the American Civil War (later, "squadrons"), two "wings" of six companies each was used through the Indian Wars. Civil War regiments were rarely near authorized strength so that they were commonly brigaded with two to four other regiments. Two to four brigades were combined into divisions. By the end of the war, 272 cavalry regiments were formed in the Union Army and 137 in the Confederate Army. Early in the war, most cavalry regiments were dispersed to be under the command of infantry formations, such as divisions or corps. As commanders realized the importance of long-range reconnaissance and raiding, the organizations changed to consolidate