Military: Civil War: Three Year Regiments- Part IV: Taylor's Philadelphia in the Civil War, 1861-1865: PA
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PHILADELPHIA
in the
CIVIL WAR
1861-1865
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CAVALRY VOLUNTEERS, THREE YEAR ENLISTMENTS
Philadelphia furnished to the Union armies more cavalrymen than any
other city with the possible exception of New York. The only body of
volunteer cavalry in the field during the three months' campaign, and
the first volunteer regiment of cavalry mustered into the three-year
service were of Philadelphia origin. This arm attracted a large element
from youth of position and wealth. The officers were generally worthy of
the men they led.
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FIFTY-NINTH REGIMENT
(Second Cavalry)
Colonel R. Butler Price to January 31st, 1865
Lieut.-Col. Jos. P. Brinton to February 28th 1865
Major Joseph Steele to June 17th, 1865
Colonel William W. Sanders to July 13th, 1865
Total Enrollment: 1,970 Officers and Men
Of the twelve companies composing this regiment seven, A, B, C, E, G, H
and K, were recruited in Philadelphia, the balance coming from the
interior counties. The command was formed between September, 1861 and
April 1862. The Philadelphia companies were rendezvoused at Camp
Patterson, Point Breeze.
Upon April 14th, 1862, the regiment was assembled at Baltimore, and upon
the 25th proceeded to Washington, and, being furnished with mounts, was
encamped at Cloud's Mills, Va., where the command was assigned to Cook's
Brigade, 1st Reserve Army Corps. Early in August the regiment moved to
the Rapidan River and there joined Gen. N. B. Buford's Brigade of the
Second Corps. In the course of Pope's campaign at Cedar Mountain, the
second Bull Run and Chantilly the regiment performed important services
and sustained considerable loss. On September 10th Col. Price succeeded
Gen. Buford in command of the brigade. Lieut.-Col. Joseph P. Brinton
assumed command of the regiment. On October 1st Price's Brigade became
the First Brigade, Bayard's Division. In the autumn movements on the
Occoquan River, a tributary of the Potomac, a portion of the regiment
was overwhelmed, losing about one hundred killed, wounded and missing.
Wintering in this section, the 2d Cavalry joined the Second Brigade of
Stahel's Division, at Fairfax Court House, on April 4, 1863. In the
Gettysburg campaign this division was commanded by Major-General Alfred
Pleasonton. The duties of the regiment at Gettysburg, as it was attached
to the provost guard at headquarters, being the patrol of the rear, to
escort the body of Gen. Reynolds and guard three thousand prisoners to
Westminster, Maryland, and, later, to perform provost duty after the
battle; its losses were few. After the pursuit of the enemy and a series
of forays, the regiment was attached, on October 19th, to the Second
Brigade, Second Division, Cavalry Corps. The cavalry was actively
engaged in the various clashes of the Mine Run campaign and in a raid
into the Shenandoah Valley. While in winter quarters at Warrenton a
large proportion of the regiment re-enlisted. When the veterans
returned, with many recruits, the 2d Cavalry participated in the battle
at Todd's Tavern, on May 7th, 1864, and in Sheridan's raid toward
Richmond, destroying the railroad and supplies, defeating Stuart's
Cavalry at Yellow Tavern and attacking the works within sight of the
Confederate capital. Crossing the Chickahominy River, the raid was
continued to the James River, after which the cavalry finally rejoined
the army. A second equally daring raid, for the destruction of the
railroads, formed a part of the cavalry duties in the general advance
commanded by Gen. Grant. In July the Second Brigade was employed in
front of Petersburg. Subsequently it accompanied the expedition to Deep
Bottom, north of the James River, and was engaged in the affairs of
August 14th and 16th at Malvern Hill and Charles City Cross Roads. In
February, 1865, Lieut.-Col. Brinton was honorably discharged. He was
succeeded by Junior Major Joseph Steele. Under this officer the regiment
participated in the campaign incident to the reduction of Petersburg and
the event of Appomattox.
After a brief connection with the 1st Pennsylvania Provisional Cavalry
the regiment was mustered out at Cloud's Mills, Va., July 13th, 1865.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or died from wounds 6 officers; 52 men
Died from disease or other causes - 2 officers; 183 men
Wounded, not mortally - 9 officers; 108 men
Captured or missing - 1 officer; 90 men
BATTLES
Wolftown, Cedar Mountain, Rappahannock Station, Catlett's Station,
Second Bull Run, Chantilly, Occoquan, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, Mine
Run, Wilderness, Todd's Tavern, Beaver Dam Station, Yellow Tavern,
Ground Squirrel Bridge, Richmond Fortifications, Meadow Bridge, Brook
Church, Hawes' Shop, Hanover Court House, Cold Harbor, Trevilian
Station, White House Landing, Baltimore Cross Roads, St. Mary's Church,
Jerusalem Plank Road, Lee's Mills, Malvern Hill, Deep Bottom, White Oak
Swamp, Ream's Station, Poplar Spring Church, Wyatt's Farm, Stony Creek
Station, Boydton Road, Hatcher's Run, Appomattox Campaign
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SIXTIETH REGIMENT
(Third Cavalry)
(Young's Kentucky Cavalry)
Colonel William H. Young to October 31st, 1861
Colonel William W. Averill to September 26th, 1862
Colonel John B. McIntosh to July 21st, 1864
Lieut.-Colonel Edward S. Jones to August 24th, 1864
Total Enrollment: 1,856 Officers and Men
William H. Young, of Kentucky, undertook the organization of this
regiment in Philadelphia in the summer of 1861. The several companies
were recruited in various sections. Companies A (the Merchant Troop), B,
C, F, I, K and M were raised in Philadelphia, D came from Washington
(being known as the "President's Mounted Guard"), E was recruited in
Lycoming, Clinton and Tioga Counties, G was of Pittsburgh origin. H (the
old "Adamantine Guards," dating from 1801) was from Cumberland County, L
came from Schuylkill County. A few of the men in Company I were from
Delaware County. The first company (A) was sent to Washington on July
18th and other companies speedily followed, although without uniforms or
equipments. The regiment was assembled and equipped in Washington Park,
Washington, D. C. It was, as official records prove, the first volunteer
cavalry regiment of the Union Army to take the field.[126]
[126] Headquarters Cavalry Brigade
Washington, D. C., September 11th, 1861
Colonel W. H. Young, Commanding Kentucky Cavalry,
Colonel, allow me to congratulate you upon having put the first
regiment of cavalry in the field. * * * *
George Stoneman, Brig.-Gen. and Chief of Cavalry.
(Extract)
The unfortunate and unaccountable synonym of the regiment resulted in
its failure to secure its proper numerical designation and it thus
became known to fame as the 3d Cavalry.
Soon after organization the command of the regiment was given to William
W. Averill, a graduate of West Point and an accomplished officer of the
regular army, under whom the men were thoroughly drilled through the
winter at Camp Marcy, upon the site of which the important army post of
Camp Meyer is now located. With the opening of an active campaign on
March 10th, 1862, the 3d Cavalry was the extreme advance of the Army of
the Potomac, and the first Union troops to enter Centreville and to
traverse the battlefield of Bull Run since the disastrous rout of the
summer of 1861. A few days after this episode the regiment was embarked
from Alexandria via Fortress Monroe to the Virginia Peninsula. Here the
3d Cavalry was attached to Heintzelman's Third Corps. Following the
reduction of Yorktown and Williamsburg the cavalry swept in advance of
the army toward its goal at Richmond. Then followed the month of battles
and marches, beginning with Fair Oaks and ending at Malvern Hill and
Harrison's Landing, the cavalry constantly defending the army trains
from the inroads of the enemy. At Harrison's Landing the cavalry arm was
reorganized, the 3d being assigned to the First Brigade, which was in
command of Col. Averill, who was active in forays upon both sides of the
James River. When McClellan's army again moved the 3d Cavalry proceeded
down the Peninsula, embarked at Yorktown, and on September 6th reached
Washington and was at once hurried through Maryland, and on the evening
of September 16th Companies C and H were the advance troops to first
develop the enemy's position at Antietam. Upon Col. Averill's promotion
to the rank of brigade commander, another cavalry officer of the regular
service, Lieut. John B. McIntosh, a graduate of the Naval Academy, was
commissioned colonel. After a period of frequent brushes with the enemy
the 3d went into winter quarters on Potomac Creek, remaining there until
the following March. At this time the Cavalry Corps was organized under
Gen. Stoneman. The cavalry signalized the beginning of the campaign of
1863 at Kelly's Ford, "the first cavalry battle of the Civil War." Then
followed Chancellorsville and Stoneman's raid and the prelude to
Gettysburg. Upon that field the Second Cavalry Division, far out upon
the right flank, had its own battle, of momentous importance to the army
and the Nation, but obscured by the dramatic events nearer the town. It
was here that the 3d was the point of the flying wedge that broke
Stuart's advance and saved the lines on Cemetery Ridge and the reserves
from attack in the rear. The tactical importance of this action as a
factor in the general result of the battle cannot be overestimated.
The autumn movements included actions at Culpeper, Rapidan Station and
Occoquan. At the latter affair Lieut. Ellwood Davis, of Company H, was
killed. In the trying Mine Run experience the 3d was engaged at New Hope
Church and Parker's Store, losing fifty-three men, killed, wounded and
captured. At the end of the year the regiment was "veteranized." Those
who re-enlisted, at a time when the conditions were most depressing,
numbered seventy-five. This contingent, together with men whose terms of
enlistment had not expired and five newly recruited companies, carried
the colors of the 3d through to Appomattox and for several months later.
A tragic event, occurring at this period, was the death of Capt. Walter
S. Newhall, drowned, on December 18th, 1863.[127]
[127] Fearless, enterprising and efficient, Capt. Walter Symonds
Newhall, of the Germantown family of the name, was the admiration of
every cavalryman. In the opening months of the war he had served as
an officer under the intrepid Major Zagonyi in the western army. At
the date of his death he was Acting Assistant Adjutant General on the
brigade staff. Upon starting to join his brother, Capt. Frederick C.
Newhall, of Gen. Pleasonton's staff, upon a visit home, he was
drowned by his horse falling upon him at a ford of an effluent stream
of the Rappahannock River. Ever afterward the Newhall memorial flag
was carried with the regimental colors at the head of the regiment.
Under a new commander, coming from his western triumphs, the Army of the
Potomac renewed, in the spring of 1864, its determined efforts to carry
the flag of the Union further south. The Cavalry Corps was now led by
Major-Gen. Philip H. Sheridan. The 3d Cavalry was honored by selection
for duty at Headquarters of the army, under the command of the Provost
Marshal General, and as the escort of Gen. U. S. Grant once more led the
army toward the James River. The 3d Cavalry was the first to reach
Butler's "bottled up" command. An order was issued on July 17th which
resulted in the formation of the veterans and recruits into an
independent veteran battalion.
The non-veterans, when entitled to discharge, were sent to Washington
and thence to further duty in the Shenandoah Valley. This contingent was
finally mustered out at Philadelphia, August 24th, 1864. The
Philadelphians who remained with the colors reached home, as part of the
5th Cavalry, one year later.
The 3d Battalion escorted Gens. Grant and Meade into the fallen City of
Petersburg and a few days later led the army, as escort of Gen. Meade,
to Appomattox Court House, and was witness of the formal surrender
agreed upon at the McLean house.
While engaged upon provost duty at Richmond the 3d Battalion was
consolidated into four companies and under Lieut.-Col. James W. Walsh
the command was transferred to the 5th Cavalry. Here the identity of the
3d was lost. These troops were mustered out at Richmond on August 7th,
1865, and returned by sea to Philadelphia. A number of the officers
afterward entered the regular army, one, Col. John B. McIntosh, reaching
the rank of brevet major-general.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or died from wounds - 1 officer; 44 men
Died from disease or other causes - 2 officers; 125 men
Wounded, not mortally - 7 officers; 59 men
Captured or missing - 7 officers; 161 men
BATTLES
Magruder's Ferry, Springfield Station, Vienna, Yorktown, Williamsburg,
Savage Station, Jordan's Ford, Charles City Cross Roads, Malvern Hill,
Sycamore Church, Antietam, Harper's Ferry, Four Locks, Unionville,
Piedmont, Ashby's Gap, Amissville, Newby's Cross Roads, Kelly's Ford,
Hartwood Church, Stoneman's raid, Brandy Station, Aldie, Gettysburg, Old
Antietam Forge, Shepherdstown, Culpeper, Rapidan Station, Occoquan, Mine
Run, Ellis' Ford, Warrenton, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna,
Totopotomoy, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Boydton Plank Road, Weldon
Railroad, Hatcher's Run, Appomattox Court House
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SIXTY-FIFTH REGIMENT
(Fifth Cavalry)
(Cameron Dragoons)
Colonel Max Friedman to March 9th, 1862
Lieut.-Col. Stephen E. Smith to September 29th, 1862
Colonel David Campbell to October 13th, 1862
Lieut.-Col. William Lewis to April 29th, 1864
Colonel Robert M. West to August 7th, 1865
Total Enrollment: about 3,000 Officers and Men
This regiment was composed of twelve companies, of which ten were
recruited in Philadelphia, and two, I and M, in Pittsburgh. Under the
synonym of the "Cameron Dragoons" the command was regarded as an
independent organization, being formed by direct orders of the Secretary
of War. In October, 1861, it was credited by the Government to the quota
of the State of Pennsylvania, and was designated by Governor Curtin as
the 65th Regiment of the line. In its formative period it was encamped
upon Ridge road, near Girard College, leaving for Washington on August
22d, where the Pittsburgh companies reported later. The urgent need of
cavalry at that time resulted in the immediate use of these untried
troopers who began, by detachments, their active service as scouts under
Brig.-Generals Louis Blenker and William F. Smith, in the Army of the
Potomac, and later as part of the advance brigade commanded by Col.
Robert M. West. In May, under the command of Col. David Campbell, the
regiment was transferred to the vicinity of Yorktown and Williamsburg,
Va., (with the exception of Companies I and K) operating in the rear of
the army then moving toward Richmond. The regiment remained in this
section of Virginia about sixteen months, and although liberally
recruited, was greatly reduced from malarial sickness, which filled the
hospitals and caused many deaths.[128] In this interval Col. Campbell
had been captured, exchanged and had resigned, the command devolving on
Lieut.-Col. William Lewis. On September 8th, 1863, the regiment was
ordered to Norfolk, and thence sent into the Dismal Swamp and Currituck
regions of Virginia and North Carolina. The warfare in this truly dismal
section of the South, against guerrillas and bushwhackers, was difficult
and trying. At Great Bridge, in Norfolk Co., Va. in October, 1864, about
one-half of the regiment re-enlisted. Soon afterward the regiment was
assigned to a brigade of cavalry commanded by Col. Samuel P. Spear, of
the 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry, then near Norfolk, and participated in an
expedition intended to liberate the prisoners held at Richmond. This
movement failed, and the 5th Cavalry returned to its winter camp at
Great Bridge, Va. In March, 1864, the regiment received two hundred and
thirty-one recruits. Lieut.-Col. Lewis was mustered out on April 29th,
and Maj. Christopher Kleinz was appointed to succeed him.
[128] The records of this regiment reveal the interesting fact that,
although in active service through a period of four years, but one of
more than one hundred officers was killed, this solitary exception
being Lieut. Samuel M. Williamson, of Company H, who refused to
surrender after being twice wounded. The relatively large mortality
list of officers and men who succumbed to disease was the inevitable
result of almost constant campaigning in the malarial tidewater
lowlands of Virginia and North Carolina.
With the beginning of the active campaign of 1864, in May, the Fifth
Cavalry distinguished itself in Kautz's effective raid into Sussex
County to cripple the Weldon Railroad. This finally brought the regiment
into touch with Gen. Butler's force at Bermuda Hundred, from which base
another raid was made upon the Richmond & Danville Railroad, and after
much skirmishing the command returned to the James river. On May 22d
Col. Robert M. West, of the 43d Pennsylvania Regiment (First Artillery
Reserve Corps) was commissioned colonel of the 5th Cavalry, which was
now employed in the early demonstrations which began the long siege of
Petersburg, and in June participated in Wilson's raid, resulting in the
further destruction of the Weldon Railroad. In the cavalry battle at
Ream's Station the regiment lost in killed, wounded and captured, about
three hundred men.
In the series of swift actions, north and south of the James river, the
cavalry was invariably at the front, and when the 5th Cavalry
established winter quarters at Charles City Road it was but a shadow of
a regiment. It remained here, on the picket line, to March 25th, 1865,
when, under Lieut.-Col. Christopher Kleinz, it joined the cavalry led by
Major-Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, thus having a spirited share in the
fighting which led to the surrender of Appomattox. After this event the
cavalry division was sent to Lynchburg, but, a few days later, began its
march toward Richmond and Washington. On May 19th three hundred and
thirty-one officers and men were mustered out, and on June 6th the
remainder was consolidated with the 3d Cavalry, which, in turn, was
mustered out on August 7th, at Richmond, Va.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or died from wounds - 1 officer; 76 men
Died from disease or in southern prisons [129] - 6 officers; 210 men
[129] Of those captured from the 5th Cavalry, seventy-six died in the
Southern prison pens.
BATTLES, ACTIONS, ETC.
Pohick Church; Flint Hill and Hunter's Mill; scout to Gloucester Point
(detachment); scout about Williamsburg; Mechanicsville (skirmish); seven
days before Richmond (Companies I and K); Savage Station; White Oak
Swamp Bridge; Malvern Hill; reconnaissance to Gloucester, etc.
(detachment); Williamsburg and Fort Magruder; scout from Yorktown; Burnt
Ordinary; Olive Creek Church (detachment); Williamsburg; Whittaker's
Mills; Chowan River; Nine Mile Ordinary; Diascund Bridge; Dix's
Peninsular campaign; Barnesville; Baltimore Crossroads; Bottom's Bridge
(July 2d); Bottom's Bridge (Aug. 26-29); New Kent Court House; Dismal
Swamp region, N.C.; Kempsville, Indiantown, Drummond Lake (Companies F
and H); advance to Raleigh (detachment); Currituck Court House; Back
Bay; scout from Great Bridge (detachment); Bingo Landing (detachment);
Camden Court House; expedition to South Mills and Camden; Wistar's
expedition toward Richmond; Deep Creek; Ballahock Station; expedition to
the Blackwater (detachment); Kautz's raid on the Petersburg and Weldon
R. R.; Kautz's raid on Richmond and Danville R. R.; before Petersburg;
siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond, including Roanoke
Station; Wilson's raid; Staunton River Bridge; Stony Creek; Ream's
Station; demonstration to Deep Bottom and Malvern Hill; New Market
Heights; Darbytown Road; Charles City Crossroads; Fair Oaks; Appomattox
campaign, including Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks, Hatcher's Run,
near Amelia Court House; Burkesville, Sailor's Creek, Prince Edwards
Court House, Appomattox Court House; duty at Richmond and other points
to Aug. 16th, 1865
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SEVENTIETH REGIMENT
(Sixth Cavalry)
Colonel Richard H. Rush to September 29th, 1863[130]
Colonel Charles L. Leiper to June 17th, 1865
[130] Col. Richard Henry Rush was born in England January 14th, 1825,
his father being at the time United States Minister to the Court of
St. James. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in
1846 and served with the army in Mexico. After his discharge from the
colonelcy of the 6th Cavalry he became commander of the Veteran
Reserve Corps. He died October 17th, 1893.
Total Enrollment: 1,800 Officers and Men
Of the ten original companies of this regiment, known as the
"Philadelphia Light Cavalry," nine were of local origin and one, Company
G, came from Reading. Col. Rush, who had an enviable reputation as a
cavalry officer of the regular service, was authorized to select his
officers, and they were chosen with reference to their social standing,
soldierly qualities and experience in the three-months' regiments then
returning from the field. Recruiting began at headquarters, 883 Market
street, on July 27th, 1861. As rapidly as companies were formed they
were sent to Camp Meigs, on the Logan Estate at Old Second street and
Nicetown lane. Major-Gen. George B. McClellan expressed the wish that
the command should be armed with lances, a weapon not before used by
American troops. This suggestion was adopted by the officers.[131] The
lances were provided at the end of November and were carried by the 6th
Cavalry at the presentation of State flags on December 4th (in which
five infantry regiments participated) and in a street parade on December
6th, long remembered as one of the most imposing military displays ever
seen in Philadelphia. Thereafter the regiment was called "Rush's
Lancers." It was completely uniformed, equipped and mounted by the
Government before being ordered into active service.
[131] This weapon was nine feet long, with an eleven inch, three-
edged blade. The staff was of Norway fir, with a ferrule and counter-
poise at the heel. Each lance bore a scarlet swallow-tailed pennant.
They were made under the supervision of the titled European officers
attached to the staff of Major-Gen. McClellan who probably suggested
the innovation to him. The lance was discarded eventually, being
unsuited to use in the South.
On December 10th Companies A, B, C and F proceeded to Washington, and
the balance of the command followed within a few days. The regiment was
encamped at Camp Barclay, north of the city. On January 1st, 1862, to
the music of their splendid mounted band, the Lancers, nearly 1,000
strong, paraded through the Capital City.
The 6th Cavalry entered Virginia on March 10th, 1862. On May 3d it was
embarked upon a fleet of schooners and tug boats to Fortress Monroe,
being attached to Emory's Second Brigade, Cavalry Reserve. During the
month the regiment as a whole, or in detachments, fought its way up the
peninsula, sharing the fortunes of McClellan's army, then near Richmond,
picketing the roads and covering the retirement of the artillery and
wagon trains through the "change of base." With the exception of three
detached companies the regiment acted as headquarters guard from
Harrison's Landing, and in early September moved from Washington, with
Pleasonton's Cavalry Division, upon the Antietam Campaign. In the battle
of the 17th (Antietam) the regimental loss was slight. In October the
Confederate raider, Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, occupied the attention of the
cavalry in Maryland.
Two additional companies were recruited in Philadelphia and, as L and M,
joined the regiment in November. Part of the regiment was detailed as
headquarters guard in December in Franklin's Grand Division, during the
Fredericksburg campaign. After the "mud march" substantial winter
quarters were built at Belle Plain Landing, on the Potomac River.
Illness, due to exposure in the early campaign of 1862, compelled Col.
Rush to resign, Major Robert Morris, Jr. taking temporary command.
During the Chancellorsville campaign the regiment raided with Stoneman's
Cavalry in the rear of the Confederates, destroying the railroads and
canals. At Beverly Ford, on May 9th, the 6th Cavalry charged the
Confederate artillery, and sustained its greatest loss, many of the
officers and men being killed, wounded or captured. With the Cavalry
Reserve Brigade the regiment reached Gettysburg on the night of July 2d,
occupying a position at the extreme left near Round Top, fighting
dismounted, on the 3d, losing twelve officers and men killed and
wounded. Merritt's Cavalry was immediately sent to Williamsport,
Maryland, and there fought the retreating Confederates, at heavy cost,
meeting them again in the passes of the Blue Ridge, with further
casualties. After a period of recuperation at Washington the 6th Cavalry
entered upon the Mine Run campaign, later going into winter quarters
near Culpeper. On December 31, 1863, one hundred and forty men re-
enlisted. In the two months of constant battling, from Spotsylvania
through to Petersburg, the 6th Cavalry followed Sheridan in two
effective raids. At Petersburg, on July 3d, Major James Starr, who had
been wounded in the Wilderness, resumed command. In August the cavalry
were hastened to the Shenandoah Valley, there encountering the usual
summer raiders. While in this section a large proportion of the men were
mustered out. The veterans and recruits were sent to the re-mount camp
in Maryland, and in November the regiment was quartered at Hagerstown.
At Winchester, Va., in January, eight hundred recruits were added to the
regiment and Major Leiper was mustered as lieutenant-colonel.
On February 27th Merritt's First Cavalry Division moved as a part of
Sheridan's force upon the last chapter in their long and varied record
of warfare. After four weeks of destructive energy the cavalry reached
Petersburg. In the exciting final running fight to Appomattox the
regiment waged its last battle, dismounted on the White Oak Road. After
the dispersal of Lee's brave fragment of an army the regiment was sent
to Danville, Va.[132] On June 17th, 1865, at Washington, the men of the
old "6th" were merged with the 2d[133] and 17th Provisional Cavalry and
were subsequently sent to Louisville, Kentucky, there being mustered out
on August 7th.
[132] "No organization in either the regular or volunteer service
enjoyed a more enviable reputation in every respect, and its service
was of so valuable a character to the Government that every endeavor
was made by me, after its muster out, to have an organization formed,
the nucleus of which should be such officers and men of the original
regiment as were desirous of again entering the service." --Philip H.
Sheridan, Major-Gen., U. S. A.
[133] The 2d Provisional Cavalry was commanded by Col. Hampton S.
Thomas, late major of the 1st Cavalry.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or died from wounds - 7 officers; 72 men
Died from disease or other cause - 3 officers; 86 men
Wounded, not mortally - 11 officers; 222 men
Captured or missing - 6 officers; 204 men
BATTLES, ETC.
Hanover Court House, Beaver Dam Station, Gaines' Mill, Glendale, White
Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, Jefferson, Crampton's Gap, Antietam,
Fredericksburg, Occoquan, Stoneman's Raid, Beverly Ford, Aldie,
Gettysburg, Greencastle, Williamsport, Boonsboro, Beaver Creek,
Funkstown, Falling Waters, Manassas Gap, Brandy Station, Bristoe
Station, Mine Run, Charlottesville, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Beaver Dam
Station, Yellow Tavern, Meadow Bridge, Old Church, Cold Harbor,
Trevilian Station, Petersburg, Deep Bottom, Berryville, Smithfield,
Waynesboro, Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks, Appomattox Court House
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EIGHTY-NINTH REGIMENT
(Eighth Cavalry)
Colonel Ernest G. Chorman to January, 1862
Colonel David McM. Gregg to January 17th, 1863
Lieut.-Col. Samuel Wilson to October 17th, 1864
Colonel Pennock Huey to January 13th, 1865
Colonel William A. Corrie to August 3d, 1865
Total Enrollment: 1,816 Officers and Men
This regiment was recruited in July, August and September, 1861, being
originally planned as a command of mounted rifles. The Philadelphia
companies were C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L and M; the latter company,
however, was partly raised in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Companies A
and B came from Chester and Lycoming counties respectively. The
organization camp was at Nicetown. Leaving Philadelphia on October 4th,
the regiment was soon afterward stationed upon Arlington Heights, Va.,
being attached to Gen. Fitz John Porter's Division. In January, 1862,
Capt. David McM. Gregg, of the 6th (Regular) Cavalry, was commissioned
as colonel, and under this officer the command became thoroughly
efficient. In April the 8th Cavalry was ordered to Hampton, Va. After
the capture of Yorktown the regiment was sent up the Peninsula, meeting
with parties of the enemy at New Kent Court House and Bottom's Bridge.
In the campaign against Richmond the 8th Cavalry was alternately advance
and rear guard of the army, and was involved in constant skirmishes
between Seven Pines and Fair Oaks, through to Malvern Hill and
Harrison's Landing. Late in August the regiment was transported to
Alexandria and attached to the Second Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Alfred
Pleasonton, Cavalry Division. In the campaign which included the battle
of Antietam the 8th Cavalry rode through Maryland and on to Gettysburg,
then endangered by raiders. The regiment reached Antietam the day after
the battle. Upon its southward march, in eighteen days, beginning with
November 1st, the command fought thirteen actions and skirmishes. One
squadron was present with Franklin's Grand Division at the battle of
Fredericksburg on December 12th-14th. With its camp at Falmouth and at
Acquia Landing the 8th Cavalry picketed the lower Rappahannock River
through the winter. In January Col. Gregg was promoted to the rank of
brigadier-general, Major Pennock Huey being commissioned colonel. The
regiment was now attached to Pleasonton's Cavalry Division. On April
21st, 1863, the cavalry held the fords of the Rappahannock, the 8th
leading the extreme advance to Chancellorsville. On the evening of May
2d, at the left of the Union line, the 8th Cavalry unexpectedly
encountered the leading column of Jackson's Confederates. Col. Huey
ordered and led a charge into the mass of infantry, in which about one
hundred and fifty of the regiment were killed and wounded. Among the
officers who died here was Major Peter Keenan, second in command.[134]
It was near this scene, and as a result of the charge, that Major-Gen.
Thomas Jonathan Jackson ("Stonewall") was wounded by his own troops, in
the darkness, from the effects of which he died eight days later.
[134] The official report of Brig.-Gen. Alfred Pleasonton with regard
to this affair and the publication of a poem entitled "Keenan's Ride"
led to a controversy which was long and bitter. For details see "A
True History of the Charge of the 8th Cavalry at Chancellorsville,"
Pennock Huey (Colonel), second edition, 1885.
After an affair near Bank's Ford and several weeks of patrol duty in
King George County the regiment, leaving Falmouth, moved northward
toward Maryland. The Second Brigade, under Col. Huey, joined in Gen.
Kilpatrick's raid upon the Confederate rear, which included a midnight
battle at Monterey Pass, and severe engagements at Hagerstown,
Williamsport, Boonsboro, St. James College and Jones' Cross Roads, all
incident to the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg. At Williamsport,
Md., on July 14th, the regiment waged the last fight of the campaign
north of the Potomac River.
Throughout the balance of the summer and the autumn the activities of
the 8th Cavalry included a succession of engagements, skirmishes and
raids which ended with the dash of December into the Luray Valley, and a
second raid across the Blue Ridge at Chester Gap in early January, 1864,
which was attended with great suffering from the intense cold. At
Warrenton winter quarters were established and here the regiment re-
enlisted, being given the usual furlough. The campaign of 1864, began
with the cavalry raid, led by Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, through the
Wilderness up to the fortifications of Richmond. In the course of this,
and a subsequent raid to Gordonsville, the 8th Cavalry sustained heavy
losses constantly. Through July and August the 8th rode and fought
alternately through the region south of Petersburg and the old battle
grounds north of the James River. Finally, on August 20th, it crossed
the James for the last time in the course of the war. Through the fall,
winter and spring there was no such thing as "cease firing" for the
cavalry. Few kept count of the forays, the skirmishes, the battles. It
was one constant Titanic struggle up to that disastrous cavalry duel at
Farmville, two days before the surrender, when the expiring prey turned
and left its heavy mark upon the 8th Cavalry. Those who escaped this
punishment made the final charge of the war in Virginia at Appomattox.
With the disappearance of an armed opponent force in Virginia the
cavalry was hurried toward the scene of Sherman's operations, but was
not needed. The 8th Cavalry was then sent to Lynchburg, its several
squadrons being stationed for the restoration of order in various towns.
On July 24th the 8th and 16th Cavalry Regiments were consolidated. At
Richmond, on August 11th, the men were mustered out of the service.
The regimental historian states that the 8th Cavalry participated in one
hundred and thirty-five battles, engagements and skirmishes, a record
equaled by but one other command.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or died from wounds - 5 officers; 57 men
Died from disease or other causes - 2 officers; 126 men
Wounded, not mortally - 8 officers; 185 men
Captured or missing - 6 officers; 308 men
BATTLES, ETC.
Yorktown, New Kent Court House, Bottom's Bridge, the Chimneys, White Oak
Swamp (May 24th, 1862), Savage's Station (May 24th, 1862), Seven Pines
(May 24th, 1862), Fair Oaks (May 25th, 1862), Garnett's Farm, Fair Oaks
(May 31st, June 1st, 1862), White Oak Swamp (June 28th, 1862), Malvern
Hill (July 1st, 1862), Haxall's Landing, Carter's Farm, Malvern Hill
(August 5th, 1862), Harrison's Landing, Falls Church, Sugar Loaf
Mountain, Frederick City, Middletown, Antietam or Sharpsburg (September
18th, 1862), Blackford's Ford, Martinsburg, Shepherdstown, Monocacy
(mouth of the), Philomont, Union, Upperville (November 3d, 1862),
Ashby's Gap, Markham, Barbee's Cross Roads, Hazel River, Corbin's Cross
Roads or Amissville, Leedstown, Fredericksburg, Richard's Ford, Ely's
Ford, Ely's Ford Road, Tabernacle Church, Chancellorsville, United
States Ford, Bank's Ford, Gainesville, Thoroughfare Gap, Emmitsburg,
Monterey Gap, Smithsburg, Hagerstown, Williamsport, Boonsboro, Jones'
Cross Roads, St. James' College, Shepherdstown, Culpeper Court House,
Rapidan Station, Sulphur Springs, Auburn, Bristoe Station, Wilderness or
Todd's Tavern, Spotsylvania, Beaver Dam Ford, Ground Squirrel Church,
Hungary Station, Brook Church or Fortifications of Richmond, Gaines'
Mill, Cold Harbor, Trevilian Station, St. Mary's Church, Petersburg,
Strawberry Plains, Deep Bottom, Reams' Station, Jerusalem Plank Road,
Stony Creek Road, Wyatt's House, Vaughan Road, Boydton Plank Road,
Belfield, Rowanty Creek, Hatcher's Run, Dinwiddie Court House, Five
Forks, Amelia Springs, Sailor's Creek, Farmville, Appomattox Court House
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
NINETY-SECOND REGIMENT
(Ninth Cavalry)
(Lochiel Cavalry)
Colonel Edward E. Williams to October 9th, 1862
Colonel Thomas C. James to January 13th, 1863
Colonel Thomas J. Jordan to July 18th, 1865
Total Enrollment: 2,400 Officers and Men
This regiment was organized at Harrisburg on August 29th, 1861. It was
recruited chiefly in the interior counties, but also contained a
considerable number of Philadelphians. On November 20th the command
moved to Kentucky, there serving in detached battalions in the
Department of the Cumberland, and later in Tennessee. In September,
1862, the regiment was attached to the Cavalry Division, Army of the
Ohio. The command continued to serve in Kentucky and Tennessee, under
Gen. Don Carlos Buell, engaged almost constantly in defending those
States form occupation by the Confederates, and in raids, often far into
wild and desolate regions. Col. Williams resigned on October 9th, 1862,
Lieut.-Col. Thomas C. James being promoted to the colonelcy. This
officer died at Philadelphia on January 13th, 1863.[135] Major Thomas J.
Jordan, who had been absent as a prisoner of war for several months,
became the third colonel, dating from Col. James' death. The 9th
participated in the Rosecrans campaign, losing heavily at the battle of
Chickamauga. After an arduous campaign in East Tennessee the regiment
was re-enlisted and recruited to a strength of twelve hundred officers
and men.
[135] Col. Thomas C. James commanded the First Troop Philadelphia
City Cavalry in the three months' campaign of 1861.
In September, 1864, Col. Jordan was assigned to command of the entire
cavalry force in Tennessee, then opposing the Confederate force of Gen.
Wheeler. The regiment joined Gen. Sherman's army at Marietta, Ga., in
November, being assigned to the First Brigade, Third Division of
Cavalry, and participated, after the fall of Atlanta, in the march to
Savannah and thence through the Carolinas, fighting its last battle near
Raleigh, and performing important service in connection with the
negotiations which finally led to the surrender of Gen. Joseph E.
Johnston. Throughout this campaign, Col. Jordan having been promoted to
command of the brigade, the 9th was commanded by Major John M. Porter,
under whom the command was finally mustered out at Lexington, N. C., on
July 18th, 1865.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed, or mortally wounded - 6 officers; 66 men
Died from disease - 2 officers; 155 men
BATTLES, ETC.
Lebanon, Ky., Spring Creek, Tompkinsville, Glasgow, Crab Orchard,
Frankfort, Perryville, Raid to East Tennessee and Kentucky, Watauga
Bridge, Jonesville, Union, reconnaissance from Franklin, Spring Hill,
Thompson's Station, Rutherford Creek, near Franklin, Davis' Mills,
Triune, Eaglesville, Middleton, Guy's Gap, Shelbyville, Elk River,
Jonesboro, Chickamauga, Sparta, Mossy Creek, Dandridge, Fair Garden,
McNutt's Bridge, Frankfort, Lawrenceburg, Readyville, Woodbury, Camp
Creek, Sweetwater, Lafayette, Ga., March to the Sea, Siege of Savannah,
Campaign of the Carolinas, Bennett's House
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ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTH REGIMENT
Eleventh Cavalry
(Harlan's Light Cavalry)
Colonel Josiah Harlan to August 19th, 1862
Colonel Samuel P. Spear to May 9th, 1865
Colonel Frank A. Stratton to August 13th, 1865
Philadelphia Companies C and E
Total Enrollment: 390 Officers and Men
Under authority of the Secretary of War, Josiah Harlan, of Philadelphia,
was engaged in August and September, 1861, in raising a regiment to be
known as "Harlan's Light Cavalry." One company was recruited in Iowa,
two in New York State, one in Ohio and a part of another in New Jersey.
Of the Pennsylvania companies, C and E were composed of recruits
enlisted in Philadelphia. Organization was effected at Philadelphia on
October 5th. While in camp of instruction in Virginia, this command, in
common with others of its independent status, was rated as irregular and
was, as Congress required, added to the Pennsylvania line as the 108th.
The several companies of the regiment served, in the course of their
enlistment, upon the Virginia Peninsula, in the Dismal Swamp and
Blackwater regions, in tide-water North Carolina, along the Weldon
Railroad, on the James River, in front of Richmond and in the Shenandoah
Valley. The 108th achieved a high reputation as an active and efficient
scouting regiment. It was re-enlisted in November, 1864. The regiment
was conspicuous among the cavalry which, under Gen. Sheridan, pursued
the Confederates to Appomattox, at which time it captured and delivered
to the proper officials one hundred and ten field pieces, forty-one
mortars, six heavy guns and an immense amount of other military stores.
Among the officers of non-Philadelphia companies, and upon the staff, in
addition to Col. Harlan, twenty were Philadelphians.
Company C was commanded successively by Captains John H. Struthers, John
Cassells and Randolph T. Stoops. This company enrolled a total of one
hundred and ninety-three officers and men. Of these, one officer, First
Lieut. Henry B. Neilson, was killed (at Ream's Station, August 25th,
1864). Of the rank and file, eight men were killed or died from wounds,
disease, or while prisoners of war. A number were wounded and captured.
The several captains of Company E were John Hartman, Jr., Amintor
Davidson, William Bailey (killed at Ream's Station, Va., June 29th,
1864), Robert S. Monroe (killed at Five Forks, Va., April 1st, 1865,
while serving as major) and Charles Kirkham. Lieut. William Lancaster
was killed at Five Forks, Va., April 1st, 1865. Of the rank and file
fifteen men were killed or died from wounds, twelve died from disease,
and a number died while in Southern prisons.[136]
[136] A tabulated list of casualties in Companies C and E has not
been obtainable.
BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS
Beaver Dam, Franklin, Va., Siege of Suffolk, South Anna River, Ashland,
Stony Creek, Weldon Railroad, Jerusalem Plank Road, Petersburg, Staunton
River, Ream's Station, Front of Richmond, Five Forks, White Oak Road,
Deep Creek, Amelia Court House, Burkeville Junction, Prince Edward Court
House, Appomattox, and many minor affairs
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ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH REGIMENT
Twelfth Cavalry
(Curtin Hussars)
Colonel William Frishmuth to April 20th, 1862
Colonel Lewis D. Pierce to December 13th, 1864
Captain Marcus A. Reno to July 20th, 1865
Total Enrollment: 2,236 Officers and Men
This regiment was composed, in the course of its term of service, of
recruits from all sections of Pennsylvania. Having its rendezvous in
Philadelphia, it naturally attracted a large number of local members. Of
the officers its first colonel, William Frishmuth, and at least twenty-
seven others, were Philadelphians. The regiment was encamped at Camp
McReynolds, near the junction of Ridge road and Columbia avenue, from
January to April, 1862. Before being ordered to the front Col. Frishmuth
resigned.
Having performed guard duty near Washington, dismounted, the regiment
finally received mounts late in July. There was brief time for cavalry
drill before orders came directing the 12th to reinforce Gen. Pope. In
this effort the regiment, led at the time by Major Darius Titus,
encountered, unexpectedly, a large force of Jackson's Confederates near
Manassas, and, choosing the alternative of a charge, lost, in killed,
wounded and captured, two hundred and sixty. Major Titus was one of
those captured. Major James A. Congdon then withdrew the regiment to
Centreville and gave to Gen. McClellan, in person, important information
concerning the location of the enemy. The 12th was then sent to patrol
the Maryland side of the Potomac River.
Joining Pleasonton's Cavalry Division the regiment was active, under
Lieut.-Col. Jacob Kohler, in the Antietam campaign, and after the battle
was assigned, with the 1st New York Cavalry, to guard the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad. The regiment was attached to the First Brigade, Second
Division of the Eighth Corps, Department of the Susquehanna, operating
in the Shenandoah Valley through the spring of 1863, being then in
command of Lieut.-Col. Joseph L. Moss. In June the regiment, heading a
reconnaissance upon the Front Royal road, discovered the approach of
Lee's Army, and formed part of a force engaged in disputing his advance,
an incident of which was a night battle and a retreat to Hancock on the
Potomac. During the battle of Gettysburg the 12th operated in the
vicinity of McConnellsburg, Pa., and following up the Confederate
retreat, captured a large number of prisoners with wagon trains and
artillery. At this time Col. Pierce had resumed command.
The regiment wintered at Martinsburg, West Virginia, and after re-
enlistment and the usual furlough, reassembled at that point in April,
1864, with mainly recruits.
The summer of 1864 was marked by a determined attempt to prevent Early's
Confederates from attacking Washington. The 12th fought his cavalry at
Solomon's Gap, Pleasant Valley and Crampton's Gap. Failing in his
demonstration upon the capital Early turned northward, which resulted in
the second battle of Kernstown, where the 12th lost heavily and won
special mention in the reports.
With Gen. Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah, the 12th formed a part of
Torbert's Division, with headquarters at Charlestown, Va. Col. Pierce
was succeeded, December 15th, by Capt. Marcus A. Reno, an officer of the
regular army. In the spring of 1865 the command was sent across the Blue
Ridge, with other troops, to clear that region of guerrillas,
participating in a battle at Hamilton. Upon rejoining the Cavalry
Division at Winchester, a movement was started toward Lynchburg. This
was halted by news of the surrender of Gen. Lee's Army, after which the
12th, having assisted in the parole of all the Confederates in that
section, was stationed at Winchester until mustered out on July 20th,
1865.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or died of wounds - 2 officers; 32 men
Died from disease - 1 officer; 107 men
BATTLES, ETC.
Maryland Campaign, Antietam, Martinsburg, Moorefield, Newtown,
Kearnysville, Bunker Hill, Charlestown, near Winchester, reconnaissance
to Wardensville and Strasburg, Fishers' Hill, Cedarville, Winchester,
McConnellsburg, Pa., Cunninghams' Cross Roads, Greencastle, Pa., Clear
Springs, Martinsburg, Jeffersonton, near Winchester, Middletown,
Winchester, Charlestown, Bolivar Heights, near Hillsboro, Snicker's
Ferry, Ashby's Gap, near Kernstown, Winchester, Bunker Hill, Cherry Run,
Winchester, Charlestown, Halltown, Mt. Zion Church, Newtown, Harper's
Ferry, near Hamilton, Goose Creek, Duty at Winchester in the Shenandoah
Valley
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEENTH REGIMENT
Thirteenth Cavalry
(Irish Dragoons)
Colonel James A. Gallagher to October 6th, 1863
Colonel Michael Kirwin to July 14th, 1865
Total Enrollment: 2,275 Officers and Men
Under authority of the Secretary of War, James A. Gallagher, of
Philadelphia, undertook the formation of a squadron of cavalry, to be
known as the "Irish Dragoons," which was to have been attached to the
Irish Brigade, then being recruited in New York city by Gen. Thomas
Francis Meagher. Further authority was given to increase this command to
a regiment. Eventually these troops were included in the Pennsylvania
quota. Eight companies, A, B, C, D, H, I, K and M, originated in
Philadelphia.
In August, 1862, Companies A, B, C and D were encamped at Frankford;
Companies H, I and K were at Camp Gallagher, on the site of the former
camp of the 88th Regiment, Falls of the Schuylkill. A detail of one
hundred men was sent to Perryville and Elkton, Maryland, on September
8th, 1862, returning to Camp Gallagher one week later. Companies H, I
and K were ordered to Baltimore September 17th, where, at Camp
Fairgrounds, they were joined by the companies from the Frankford camp.
Subsequently the remaining companies, E, F and G, arrived, and at Camp
Carroll the regiment was mounted. The regiment was ordered to the Point
of Rocks on December 13th for scouting duty on both sides of the Potomac
River, having a skirmish with White's Cavalry at Leesburg, Va., on
January 8th, 1863. The regiment was assigned February 1st to Elliott's
brigade, under Gen. Milroy.
Its first important battle, at Winchester, June 13-15th, 1863, was
opened by the 13th, and after performing notable services the regiment
covered the retreat of the army to Harper's Ferry. The regimental loss
in the four days, in killed, wounded and missing, was three hundred and
twenty-two.
Gen. Lee's pontoon bridge at Falling Waters was destroyed by a detail
from Company H on July 2d. The regiment joined the Second Brigade of
Gregg's Cavalry Division on July 8th. At Culpeper, on September 14th,
the 13th captured a large amount of stores.
At Jefferson, Va., in October, Col. Gallagher resigned as a result of
injuries and the command was assumed by Major Michael Kirwin.
At Sulphur Springs, on the Rappahannock River, October 12th, the
regiment lost one hundred and sixty-three officers and men, nearly all
being made prisoners. On the 24th the regiment relived the 2d
Pennsylvania Cavalry, on duty at army headquarters. Company G was
detailed to the headquarters of the Second Corps. Three extra companies,
which had been sent to the regiment (not indicated on the official
records), were merged into the original companies in February, 1864.
With Gregg's cavalry, the 13th participated in the Wilderness Campaign
of May 5th-11th, 1864, and accompanied Sheridan's raid, losing ten
killed and thirty-five wounded and missing, at Hawe's Shop. Here Capt.
John Kline was killed and Capt. Patrick Kane was mortally wounded. A
second raid was made toward Lynchburg, incident to which was a cavalry
fight at Trevilian Station. During the general advance to and across the
James River, initiated by Gen. U.S. Grant, Sheridan's cavalry, engaged
in convoy of the wagon trains, was in constant conflict with the enemy.
Gregg's Division fought a losing battle at St. Mary's Church, a point
ten miles north of Harrison's Landing. Here, the 13th again met with
depletions. The regiment crossed the James River on June 30th, had a
share in the advance to the Jerusalem Plank Road, and recrossed the
James, skirmishing at Malvern Hill and Lee's Mills. At Coggin's Point,
on September 16th, a detachment of one hundred and fifty from the 13th
were overpowered and captured. The regiment's closing operations of
1864, in the vicinity of the James River and Petersburg, included
battles at Wyatt's Farm, Boydton Plank Road and Hatcher's Run. At the
latter affair Capt. Nathaniel S. Sneyd was among the killed. With a
cavalry expedition to Stony Creek Station, on the Weldon Railroad,
December 1st, the 13th made it final battle, although subsequently
engaged in a number of minor affairs. In February the regiment was
transported to Wilmington, N. C., reporting to Gen. Schofield. From that
city it was sent southward to meet the head of Gen. Sherman's Army. On
March 13th a detachment of the regiment had the honor of being the first
of the eastern army to greet the veterans of the great march "from
Atlanta to the sea." A month later the flag of the 13th was raised by
Sergeant Daniel Caldwell, of Company H, upon the dome of the Capitol of
the state of North Carolina, at Raleigh. Following the surrender of
Johnston's force, the 13th was employed in the restoration of order. On
July 14th, 1865, the command was sent to Philadelphia, being mustered
out at Camp Cadwalader on the 27th.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or died from wounds - 3 officers; 67 men
Died from disease - 200 men
BATTLES
Strasburg, Fisher's Hill, Winchester, Falling Waters, Culpeper, Sulphur
Springs, Auburn, Bristoe Station, Spotsylvania, Hawes' Shop, Cold
Harbor, Deep Bottom, Trevilian Station, Gaines' Mill, White House
Landing, St. Mary's Church, Lees' Mills, Malvern Hill, Wyatts' Farm,
Boydton Plank Road, Stony Creek, Hatcher's Run, Gravelly Run, Second
Hatcher's Run, siege of Petersburg, advance on Raleigh, surrender of
Johnston
* The fact should be noted that the 13th fought three times at
Hatcher's Run.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINTH REGIMENT
Fourteenth Cavalry
(Stanton Cavalry)
Colonel James N. Schoonmaker to July 31st, 1865
Captain Joseph W. Hall to November 6th, 1864
Captain Henry N. Harrison to November 2d, 1865
Philadelphia Company A
Total (Company) Enrollment: 233 Officers and Men
One Philadelphia Company (A) was identified with the 14th Cavalry. The
balance of the regiment was raised in the western counties of the State.
Company A was recruited chiefly in the rural upper section of the City
by Capt. Joseph W. Hall, and was known as the "Washington Cavalry." The
regiment rendezvoused at Hagerstown, Md., on November 24th, 1862, under
Col. James M. Schoonmaker of Pittsburgh, and after a month of drill was
assigned to picket duty along the lower Shenandoah River, and after May,
1863, was attached to Averill's Fourth Separate Brigade, Department of
West Virginia. The regiment was active in this mountain region during
the greater part of its enlistment, performing a great amount of arduous
and effective service. In April, 1864, the 14th was moved into the
Shenandoah Valley under Gen. Hunter, participating in the numerous
battles and skirmishes incident to the struggle for the possession of
that rich source of supplies. After the surrender of the Confederates at
Appomattox the regiment was encamped at Washington, from where, on June
11th, 1865, it was ordered to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where it was
consolidated into a battalion of six companies. Company A, then under
command of Capt. Henry N. Harrison, was detailed as headquarters' escort
to Gen. G. M. Dodge, department commander. The Company (A) was retained
in the service to November 2d, 1865, when it was mustered out and sent
home.
TOTAL LOSSES (COMPANY A)
Killed or died from wounds, or while prisoners of war - 17 men
Died from disease - 8 men
Total regimental loss, killed, died from wounds, disease, or in prison -
2
officers; 393 men
BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS
Beverly, Huttonsville, Falling Waters (detachment), Moorefield
(detachment), Warm Springs, Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, Droop
Mountain, raid on Salem, raid on Saltville, Cove Gap, Lynchburg
campaign, including New Market, Piedmont, Lexington, Buchanan, near
Lynchburg; Liberty, Salem, Winchester, Moorefield, Sheridan Valley
campaign, including Fisher's Hill, Weir's Cave, Cedar Creek, Front
Royal, Millwood, Ashby's Gap
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTIETH REGIMENT
Fifteenth Cavalry
Colonel Wm. J. Palmer
Total Enrollment: 1,700 Officers and Men
The regiment was formed of an independent company known as the Anderson
Troop, which was organized in October and November, 1861, by Wm. J.
Palmer, private secretary to John Edgar Thomson, President of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company. It was intended as the headquarter guard
to Brigadier-General Robert Anderson, briefly in command of the Army of
the Cumberland. Its members, one hundred in number, were carefully
selected from over the State. The troop was accepted by Gen. Don Carlos
Buell, Second Commander of the Army, as his body guard. The troop
maintained its identity as a separate organization until after the
battle of Stone River, by which time it had become so depleted in
numbers that the company, then under the command of Lieut. Thos. S.
Maple was, in March, 1863, honorably mustered out of service.
In the summer of 1862 Capt. Palmer secured authority from the War
Department to raise a full regiment, and it became known as "The
Anderson Cavalry." All of the officers were selected from The Anderson
Troop. The care exercised in recruiting the men induced many to seek an
enlistment, and within two weeks the ranks were full, the men coming
from over thirty counties of the State. About thirty-five percent were
raised in Philadelphia, the enlistment being made in one of the offices
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at Third street and Willings
Alley. All of the enrolled men were assembled at Carlisle, Pa., and on
August 22d, 1862, were sworn into the United States service.
In September, 1862, the enemy invaded Maryland. The regiment was not yet
fully organized, armed or uniformed, but Col. Palmer took two hundred
men on cars to Greencastle and, impressing horses, proceeded to place
his outposts around Gen. Longstreet's forces at Hagerstown, Md. So well
was this done that the report in the Confederate army was that ten
thousand of the Anderson Cavalry were in their front. Col. Palmer went
repeatedly within the enemy's lines and obtained much information,
which, with the assistance of William Bender Wilson, of the telegraphic
service, he was able to send to Governor Curtin, and for several days
this was all the information that Gen. McClellan had of his enemy. After
the battle of Antietam, Col. Palmer crossed the Potomac in an endeavor
to discover the movements of the Confederates, but their troops captured
him, although he had changed his uniform for a civilian suit and assumed
the character of a student in mineralogy. He was suspected as being a
spy, but no evidence could be had to sustain it. He was held in Castle
Thunder until the following January, when he was exchanged. Col. Palmer
returned to his regiment in February, 1863, and at a most critical
period in its career, and under his superb management made it one of the
best in the army.
In November, 1862, the regiment took the cars for Louisville, where the
command received horses and soon started for Nashville. The capture of
Col. Palmer had prevented the regiment from completing its organization.
When it moved with the army to Stone's River only two hundred and
seventy-two men, under Majors Adolph G. Rosengarten and Frank B. Ward,
marched with them. In the engagements which followed it suffered
severely. Major Rosengarten was killed and Major Ward was mortally
wounded. Fourteen of the men were killed, ten wounded and fifty-six
captured.
Fully reorganized into twelve companies, the regiment served through the
Chickamauga Campaign, on duty at the headquarters of Major-General
Rosecrans, and engaged in scouting, courier and escort duties. After the
battle of Missionary Ridge, which resulted in the expulsion of Bragg's
army from this section, the command marched to the relief of Gen.
Burnside at Knoxville, being the first to arrive. The winter campaign
was unusually severe, but eminently successful. The regiment took part
in six important engagements and captured numerous prisoners and a large
amount of Confederate equipment. They recaptured twenty-three Union
soldiers and nineteen army wagons. Their losses, among officers, were
one killed, two wounded and one captured; nineteen enlisted men were
wounded or captured.
Three companies, B, H and K, of the 15th Cavalry were detailed to act as
the escort at Gen. Thomas' headquarters in the Atlanta Campaign, and
when Atlanta was captured they returned to the regiment. One of the men,
Arthur O. Granger, of Company C, acted as private secretary to General
Sherman and was with him to the end. At the surrender of Gen. Johnston
it was he who wrote out the articles of capitulation.
Private A. D. Frankenberry, of Company K, was attached to the Signal
Corps, and when the Confederates swung around to the rear and attacked
Allatoona Pass, was stationed on Kennesaw Mountain. From this place he
signaled to Gen. Corse over the heads of the enemy the message which
inspired the once popular hymn (written by P. P. Bliss) "Hold the Fort."
The regiment followed Sherman's army as far as Calhoun, Ga., and from
there was sent to help Gen. Gillam in an effort to capture Saltville. At
the same time Gen. Burbridge was coming down from the North to co-
operate, but Burbridge was driven back and badly defeated. It was
necessary for Gillam to send a despatch to Burbridge, and Col. Palmer,
with seventy-five men, delivered it, after an adventurous ride over the
mountains into Kentucky.
When Sherman started on his march to the sea, Atlanta was abandoned and
Gen. Thomas fell back to the line of the Tennessee River, and eventually
to Nashville. After the battle here, in which Gen. Hood suffered a
disastrous defeat, the regiment followed in pursuit for two hundred and
fifty miles into the State of Mississippi, and succeeded in capturing
and destroying Hood's pontoon train of seventy-eight boats, three
hundred and ten wagons and capturing two pieces of artillery. This
pursuit and capture was highly commended.
In Gen. Grant's last official report of the move of the armies embracing
the years 1864 and 1865, and embodying the movements of all the troops
in the field of over a million men, he only commends two regiments --
one of infantry for the defence of Paducah, Ky., and the 15th for the
destruction of Gen. Hood's train. When Gen. Sherman received the
dispatch of this capture he read it to his staff, and said, "The 15th is
the best regiment in my department. They can ride faster, do more hard
work and capture more trains than any regiment I have."
In January, 1865, Col. Palmer, with less than one hundred and fifty men,
crossed the Tennessee and at Red Hill, Ala., surprised and routed the
Confederate brigade commanded by Gen. Lyon and returned to Huntsville,
Ala. with one captured cannon and more prisoners than men in the
command.
In March, 1865, the command left Chattanooga, and at Knoxville joined
the Cavalry Division commanded by Gen. Geo. Stoneman. Col. Palmer was,
at this time, appointed a brigadier-general, and later commanded the
whole cavalry division. The 15th was now commanded by Lieut.-Col. Chas.
M. Betts.
The railroads of western North Carolina were pretty thoroughly
destroyed. Four companies, under Major Wagner, raided to Lynchburg, Va.,
and gave the impression to Gen. Lee, who was then retreating before Gen.
Grant, that his command was the advance of the Army of the Cumberland.
Wagner rejoined the regiment at Salisbury, N. C., and soon after the
whole division started in pursuit of the fugitive Confederate President
and his cabinet, but the glory of his capture fell to another command.
At this time Gen. Stoneman was making preparation to attack Salisbury,
and demonstrations were ordered along the line of railroad at prominent
places to divert the attention of the enemy. Col. Betts, with about a
hundred men, marched towards Greensboro, N. C. Early in the morning,
after being in the saddle all night, he learned that the 3d South
Carolina Cavalry was in camp only half a mile distant. While they were
in much superior numbers he attacked vigorously at once, surprised them
while getting their breakfast and captured their commander, Col.
Johnston, and a large number of his men -- in fact, about twice as many
as Col. Betts had in his command.
Another battalion, under Capt. Kramer, got to Jamestown early in the
morning, burned a train of commissary stores for Lee's army, destroyed
an arms factory and captured more prisoners than he cared to handle, one
man, George Alexander, taking twelve.
The other battalion burned the bridge over Reedy Fork. Jefferson Davis
and the fleeing Confederate officials had crossed it not an hour before.
It was during this pursuit that Lieut.-Col. Betts captured seven wagons
containing the baggage and official papers of Gens. Beauregard and
Pillow and also about $2,000,000 in coin and securities belonging to the
Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia and of the banks in
Macon; also over five million of Confederate money. This money was sent,
under guard, to headquarters, and after the rebellion ended, was
returned, intact, to the owners.
The regiment marched to Nashville, completing the longest raid by any
cavalry force during the war, about 2,000 miles. June 21st, 1865, it was
mustered out of service. The 15th was the only independent scouting
regiment in the Union Service.[137]
[137] In reviewing the results accomplished by the 15th, one cannot
but credit them to the splendid soldierly qualities of Gen. Palmer, a
Philadelphian, and to the high character of its enlisted men. The
General was, after the war, the pioneer railroad builder of the West,
and not only laid the rails, but peopled the country, and was
instrumental in opening up mines, factories and farms, through which
many millions are now in lucrative occupations. In 1907, while
suffering from a broken neck, occasioned by an accident, he called to
his beautiful home in Colorado Springs all of the men of his old
regiment, from every part of the country, wherever they were located,
and kept them in entertainment for a week, paying every attendant
expense.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or mortally wounded - 3 officers; 22 men
Died of disease - 103 men
BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS
Antietam, Hillsborough Pike, Stone's River, Lavergne, The Barrens,
Rover, Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Gatlinsburg, Dandridge,
Mossy Creek, capture of Vance's Raiders, Fair Garden and Indian Creek,
Resaca, Cassville, Dallas, Peach Tree Creek, Jonesboro, Devault Ford,
Carter's Station, Kingsport, McKinney's Mills, Decatur, capture of
Hood's pontoon and supply trains, Moulton, Red Hill, Wickesboro,
Wytheville, Greensboro, capture of Salisbury, capture of 3d S. C.
Cavalry, capture of part of Jefferson Davis' train, capture of Gen.
Bragg. In addition, numerous skirmishes not officially recorded.
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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIRST REGIMENT
Sixteenth Cavalry
Colonel J. Irvin Gregg to August 1st, 1864[138]
Lieut.-Col. John R. Robison to August 11th, 1865
[138] Colonel John Irvin Gregg began his military career as a private
soldier in the war with Mexico, from which he emerged a captain of
regular infantry. For services in the Civil War he was brevetted
major-general of volunteers.
Total Enrollment: 1,266 Officers and Men
This regiment, composed of men gathered from all portions of
Pennsylvania, had a considerable Philadelphia contingent, chiefly in
Company I, Capt. William H. Fry (afterward major). The regiment was
formed at Harrisburg in the fall of 1862, and was sent to Washington
November 23d. Early in January, 1863, the 16th was assigned to Averill's
Cavalry Brigade, which it joined near Falmouth, Va. At Kelly's Ford,
March 17th, the regiment achieved a victory, on the right flank, in
this, its first important battle.
In the Gettysburg campaign, Col. Gregg being in command of the brigade,
the 16th was led by Captain John K. Robison, who, as lieutenant-colonel,
continued in command throughout the enlistment. The regiment
participated in all of the great cavalry movements connected with the
campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, including Sheridan's raid on
Richmond, and was in at the death at Hatcher's Run, Dinwiddie Court
House, Five Forks, Amelia Springs and Sailor's Creek. In this final
group of battles many of the regiment were wounded. At Farmville, on the
7th of April, Lieut.-Col. Robison received his third wound. After a tour
of duty at Lynchburg, subsequent to the Appomattox surrender, the 16th
was mustered out August 7th at Richmond, Va.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or mortally wounded - 5 officers; 100 men
Died of disease - 3 officers; 194 men
BATTLES, SKIRMISHES, ETC.
Rappahannock Bridge, Grove Church, Hartwood Church, Kelly's Ford, Elk
Run, Chancellorsville Campaign, Stoneman's Raid, Brandy Station, Aldie,
Middleburg, Gettysburg, Shepherdstown, Culpeper Court House, Crooked
Run, Bristoe Campaign, Mine Run Campaign, Expedition to Luray,
Kilpatrick's Raid, Rapidan Campaign, Siege operations against
Petersburg, including movements to Deep Bottom; Malvern Hill, Strawberry
Plains, Ream's Station, Poplar Springs Church, Dinwiddie Court House,
Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher's Run, Stony Creek, Disputantia Station,
Dabney's Mills, Hatcher's Run, Appomattox Campaign, Expedition to
Danville
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ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-THIRD REGIMENT
Eighteenth Cavalry
Colonel Timothy M. Bryan, Jr., to December 29th, 1864
Colonel T. F. Rodenbough to October 31st, 1865
Total Enrollment (Philadelphia Companies): about 450 Officers and Men
Although Col. Bryan and a number of his officers were Philadelphians,
this command, as organized and placed in the field, contained no
Philadelphia companies, but early in 1863 two companies which had been
partly recruited in this city were added to the regiment, as L and M, at
Washington.[139]
[139] In the autumn of 1862 an enthusiastic citizen of Haddonfield,
N. J., was active in securing recruits for the "Continental Cavalry."
Two companies, intended as A and B, were camped at Haddonfield.
Adverse circumstances led many of the recruits to leave camp and to
enlist elsewhere. Their names were, however, carried upon the company
records as "deserters." Those who remained were, with their officers,
mustered into the service and attached to the 18th Cavalry.
The 18th Cavalry served throughout its enlistment in the Army of the
Potomac and the Army of the Shenandoah. Both of its colonels were West
Point graduates and officers of the cavalry in the regular service. With
the exception of one company, the regiment was consolidated on June
24th, 1865, with the 22d Cavalry to form the "Third Pennsylvania
Provisional Cavalry." This command was stationed at various points in
West Virginia for the suppression of guerrillas, after the close of the
war being mustered out at Cumberland, Maryland, on October 31st, 1865.
TOTAL LOSSES (COMPANIES L AND M)
Killed or died from wounds - 1 officer; 12 men
Died of disease and while prisoners of war - 19 men
Wounded, not mortally - 1 officer; 21 men
BATTLES, ETC.
Chantilly, Aldie, Hanover, Hunterstown, Gettysburg, Monterey Pass,
Smithsburg, Hagerstown, Boonsboro, Funkstown, Hagerstown, Falling
Waters, Port Conway, Rapidan Station, Robertson's Ford, James City,
Culpeper, Brandy Station, Groveton, Buckland Mills, Hay Market,
Stevensburg, Raccoon Ford, Kilpatrick's raid, Wilderness, Spotsylvania,
Yellow Tavern, Meadow Bridge, Hanover Court House, Ashland Station,
Bethesda Church, Cold Harbor, St. Mary's Church, Yellow House (Weldon
Railroad), Winchester, Summit Point, Charlestown, Kearnysville, The
Opequon, Front Royal, Milford, Waynesboro, Brock's Gap, Columbia
Furnace, Tom's Brook, Hupp's Hill, Cedar Creek, Lebanon Church, Mount
Jackson
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ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTIETH REGIMENT
Nineteenth Cavalry
Colonel Alexander Cummings
Lieut.-Col. Joseph C. Hess
Lieut.-Col. Frank Reeder
Total Enrollment: 1,762 Officers and Men
This regiment was recruited, with the exception of Companies L and M, at
Philadelphia, from June to October, 1863, its camp being located (Camp
Stanton) opposite Odd Fellows' Cemetery. All of the officers, with one
exception, and a majority of the enlisted men had seen previous service.
Early in November the regiment reported at Washington, from which it
started, on November 13th, for Mississippi, but enroute received orders
to proceed to Columbus, Kentucky, where it was assigned by Major-Gen. A.
J. Smith, in command Department of the Tennessee, to Waring's Brigade,
Brig.-Gen. B. H. Grierson's Cavalry Division, Sixteenth Corps, Col.
Cummings having been detached on recruiting duty without further service
to the regiment.[140] The 19th was now commanded by Lieut.-Col. Joseph
C. Hess. In February the regiment marched with Grierson's column upon a
raid into West Tennessee, there destroying large supply depots and much
railroad property. With headquarters at Memphis, the cavalry engaged in
a series of expeditions in Tennessee and Mississippi with varying
fortunes. At Guntown, Miss., on June 10th, the 19th shared in a defeat
at the hands of Forrest. Early in July a detachment of the regiment
accompanied Col. Klarge's expedition from Memphis to Grand Gulf, Miss.
In August, after further conflicts with Forrest, the 19th was moved
rapidly to Little Rock and thence into Missouri, against the force under
Sterling Price. Returning to Memphis on October 20th, the command was
moved by transports to Nashville, where, as a part of the brigade of
Brig.-Gen. J. H. Hammond, it was engaged in the battle of Nashville
(December 15-16th, 1864), which resulted in the defeat of Hood's
Confederates. This result entailed a hot pursuit by the Union cavalry
and a second notable battle on January 2d, 1865, at Franklin, Miss. This
campaign of pursuit continued through the month, with constant losses of
officers and men.
[140] Col. Cummings was the originator of Cummings' Evening
Telegraphic Bulletin, the initial issue of which appeared in
Philadelphia on April 12th, 1847. This paper made a specialty of
telegraphic news, and is perpetuated in the present Evening Bulletin.
Upon February 4th, 1865, at Gravelly Springs, Alabama, the regiment was
reorganized as a battalion of six companies (the supernumerary officers
being mustered out), and, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Frank Reeder,
embarked, with some detentions at Cairo and Vicksburg, for New Orleans.
>From the Crescent City, a few days later, the command proceeded to Baton
Rouge, operating from this point on scout and picket duty through the
following six months. On June 13th the battalion was reduced to four
companies, these companies, A, B, C and D, occupying a region within
which the embers of rebellion still smouldered. On July 25th, at
Clinton, La., the battalion defeated a Confederate detachment of Gen.
Wirt Adams' command. In December, Companies A and C were ordered into
Texas, and in January, 1866, near Marshall, Company A had a fight with
guerillas, losing five men killed.[141]
[141] Bates' History, vol.5, page 4. The affair above mentioned, at
Clinton, and that at Marshall, are not found in the official lists of
battles, engagements, etc.
In April, 1866, the battalion was assembled at New Orleans, where, after
several weeks of provost duty, it was mustered out on May 14th, the last
of the Pennsylvania troops to turn homeward and resume the occupations
of peace.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or died from wounds - 0 officers; 15 men
Died from disease - 3 officers; 109 men
BATTLES, SKIRMISHES AND EXPEDITIONS
Movements to Union City, Trenton, Colliersville, Tenn., and Okalona,
Miss. (including Egypt Station, West Point, Ivy Farm, Okolona,
Tallahatchie River); operations against Forrest in West Tennessee
(including Cypress Creek and near Raleigh, April 3d and 9th); expedition
to Guntown, Miss. (including Tishamingo Creek, Waldron Bridge and Davis
Mills); Grand Gulf expedition; Oxford, Miss., expedition (including
Hurricane Creek); detachment to Little Rock and Missouri (including
Noconah Creek, Co. F); Owens' Cross Roads, battle of Nashville, Hollow
Tree Gap, Franklin, West Harpeth River, King's Hill, Sugar Creek,
Gravelly Springs, service in Louisiana and Texas to end of enlistment
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ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIRST REGIMENT
Twentieth Cavalry
Six Months' Service
Colonel John E. Wynkoop to January 7th, 1864
Total Enrollment: 1,266 Officers and Men
Pursuant to an order of the War Department, dated June 9th, 1863, three
cavalry regiments were organized in Pennsylvania to serve six months.
These troops were composed, in part, of existing independent companies
and militia of the emergency class and of new recruits. They were the
181st, 182d and 185th Regiments of the line, designated respectively the
20th, 21st and 22d Cavalry. The first of these commands contained many
men recruited in Philadelphia. This regiment was organized in July,
1863, from five companies of Emergency Militia and seven of six-months'
men, at Camp Curtin, and sent from that point upon scout duty, with
other troops, into Maryland, crowding upon and skirmishing with the
rear-guard of the retreating Confederate Army. Later, a battalion was
stationed along the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in West
Virginia. Five companies were detailed, in the draft riot period, to
Philadelphia, Reading and Pottsville. The companies upon the loyal
border performed several effective raids and met with some casualties.
Brigaded with Federal cavalry and artillery from Pennsylvania and
Virginia, the 20th Cavalry helped to clear a large section of country of
disloyal elements. On muster out, January 7th, 1864, the regiment was
reorganized on a three years' basis, with camps at Philadelphia and
Harrisburg.
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ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FIRST REGIMENT
Twentieth Cavalry
Three Years' Service
Colonel John E. Wynkoop to January 15th, 1865
Colonel Gabriel Middleton to June 20th, 1865
Total Enrollment: 1,500 Officers and Men
On the completion of the term of service of the original regiment,
enlisted for six months, the command was re-organized on a three-year
basis. Twelve of the Philadelphia officers were retained. The regiment
was mustered in at Harrisburg and Philadelphia and assigned to the First
Brigade, Second Division, Eighth Corps. Later the 20th was attached to
Gen. Franz. Sigel's force in the Shenandoah Valley as part of the Second
Brigade, First Cavalry Division, with which it shared in the battle of
New Market. With the column of Major-Gen. David Hunter, who succeeded
Sigel, the regiment won fame by capturing nearly 800 prisoners at the
battle of Piedmont. Gen. Hunter then led his column, reinforced by
divisions under Gens. Crook and Averill, upon a demonstration against
Lynchburg. The subsequent retreat into the fastnesses of West Virginia
was attended by great suffering, due to want of food for the men and
forage for the horses. Major-Gen. George Crook now assumed command. The
augmented force in this department was reorganized under Major-Gen
Philip H. Sheridan. The 20th Cavalry was attached to the Second Brigade,
First Division Cavalry, Army of the Shenandoah, and actively
participated in the raid upon Gordonsville near the end of December,
1864, capturing two pieces of artillery and the fortifications in the
engagements at Magruder's Farm and Jack's Shop.
During this raid many of the men were severely frost-bitten. In January
the regiment was sent to Lovettsville, Va., and thence a few weeks later
to Duffield Station to protect the railroad against Moseby's raiders. On
February 26th the command moved to rejoin the brigade at Winchester.
During Hunter's raid the 20th was always in the advance, being the first
to reach Staunton and Lynchburg. In July, 1864, the regiment, now with
Sheridan's force opposing Early, fortified at Hall Town, and for doing
so was rewarded, soon afterward, at Cumberland, with new mounts. Through
the autumn and winter the regiment was continually moving and had no
rest in winter quarters. It was considerably re-enforced at this time.
The Army of the Shenandoah resumed active operations on February 27th,
1865. The 20th was now in command of Col. Gabriel Middleton. It was
active in a destructive raid upon the communications and stores of the
enemy, which ended in a junction with Gen. Grant's army in front of
Petersburg. The regiment participated in the cavalry movements and the
severe fighting which ended with the surrender of the remnant of the
Confederate Army at Appomattox with many casualties to officers and men.
After the surrender the 20th was ordered forward to Danville and later
to Washington, where it was consolidated with the 2d Cavalry as the 1st
Provisional Cavalry. This organization was mustered out at Cloud's Mills
on July 13th, 1865.
TOTAL LOSSES
Killed or died from wounds - 3 officers; 22 men
Died from disease - 3 officers; 100 men
BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS
New Market, Harisonburg, Piedmont, Staunton, Midway, Cedar Creek, Piney
River, Near Glasgow, Lynchburg, Salem, Martinsburg, Snicker's Ferry,
Ashby's Gap, Kernstown, Bunker Hill, Martinsburg, Madison Court House,
Liberty Mills, Gordonsville, Swope's Depot, Staunton, Waynesboro,
Goochland Court House, Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks, Scott's Cross
Roads, Tabernacle Church, Sailors' Creek, Appomattox Court House, in
addition numerous skirmishes and minor actions
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