Category Archives: 2nd Dragoons/ 2nd Cavalry

Fiddler’s Green: David S. Gordon

11 Friday Mar 2011

Posted by in 2nd Dragoons/ 2nd Cavalry, 2nd/ 5th Cavalry, Fiddler's Green

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I recently received a request to check into David Stuart Gordon, and unearthed a very interesting cavalryman’s career.

David Stuart Gordon was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania on May 23, 1832, four years to the day before the birth of the regiment in which he would spend the majority of his career. Prior to the war, he moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he worked as a merchant and the city auditor.

After Lincoln was elected president, Senator James H. Lane of Kansas offered him a bodyguard of men from Kansas to protect him during his trip to Washington. Lincoln declined the offer, but Lane sent the men to Washington anyway. They organized themselves as a company known as the “Frontier Guard,” and established their headquarters at the Willard Hotel. Senator Lane was the company’s captain, and David S. Gordon was its first sergeant. Four days after the surrender of Fort Sumter, the company was asked by the Secretary of War to secure the White House. The company remained on duty there for several weeks before they were honorably discharged.

It is not surprising, then, that Gordon was in the first round of civilian appointments of officers to replace resignations in the regular army’s regiments. Senator Lane likely had something to do with this, since he was appointed to the Army from Kansas and not his native Pennsylvania. He was appointed second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry on April 26, 1861, and accepted the appointment the next day. Companies from the regiment were at that time arriving at Carlisle Barracks, PA from their evacuation of Texas. As soon as the first companies were refitted, they were dispatched to Washington, D.C. to defend the capitol. Gordon joined them when they reached Washington. He does not appear on the regiment’s muster rolls in April, May or June 1861.

On May 31, 1861, he accompanied Lt. Charles Tompkins and his company on a raid to Fairfax Courthouse (see here for details). Following the raid, and probably as a result of the hubbub surrounding it, Lt. Gordon was appointed an aide de camp to General Keyes. He was captured while serving in this position on July 21, 1861, during the battle of Bull Run.

Gordon was quite well-travelled as a prisoner, as the Confederate government struggled to establish a system for handling prisoners of war. Initially sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, he was subsequently incarcerated at Castle Pinckney, Charleston, SC; Columbia jail, SC; and Salisbury, NC. He was not exchanged until August 1862.

In the meantime, the U.S. cavalry regiments were redesignated the month after Bull Run. The 2nd Cavalry became the 5th Cavalry, and the 2nd Dragoons became the 2nd Cavalry. So Gordon emerged from captivity to service in a new regiment of the same name. Such was the confusion over which regiment Gordon was assigned to that he appears in George Price’s Across the Continent With the Fifth Cavalry only in Charles Tompkins’ entry. He served for several months as the inspector of the U.S. Army’s Parole Camp at Annapolis, MD before joining the regiment just before the battle of Fredericksburg.

Following the battle of Fredericksburg, Lt. Gordon was assigned to the staff of General Schenk, commander of the Middle Department at Baltimore, MD. He served as an acting assistant adjutant general to General Schenk through the Gettysburg campaign. On April 25, 1863, he was promoted to captain in the 2nd US Cavalry, and on paper assigned to Company D, though still listed on detached service. He received a brevet to major, U.S. Army for gallant and meritorious service at the battle of Gettysburg.

He rejoined his regiment during the pursuit from Gettysburg, seeing action at Manassas Gap, Rappahannock Station, and Culpeper Courthouse.

In 1864 he served with regiment during the Wilderness campaign and Sheridan’s two raids. He commanded the regiment on the second day of the battle of Trevillian Station when Capt. T.F. Rodenbough was seriously wounded on June 11. He commanded the regiment through the battle of Deep Bottom on July 27-28, 1864, and during the majority of the Shenandoah campaign from August to October 1864.

In late October he was assigned to Carlisle Barracks for recruiting duty, as were officers from all the regular cavalry regiments. He was further assigned to Cincinnati, OH, where he recruited for his regiment from October 1864 to January 1865.

His regiment did not participate in the Appomattox campaign, and as the senior officer present he assumed command when he rejoined it at Point of Rocks, MD from March to November 1865.

At that point the majority of the brevetted officers returned from duty with volunteer regiments, and Gordon made the long slide down to once again commanding his Company D. The regiment was assigned to duty on the frontier In November, and began the long march to Fort Leavenworth, KS. Once the regiment reached Kansas, Gordon and Company D were further assigned to Fort Lyon, CO, where they remained until October 1866.

The 2nd US Cavalry was reassigned to the Department of the Platte under pre-war commander Philip St. George Cooke at the end of the year, and the regiment’s companies were reassigned to forts in what is today Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Capt. Gordon and his company spent only a few weeks at their new post of Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory when they once again received marching orders. Following news of the Fetterman massacre, a column of infantry and cavalry was dispatched to the relief of Fort Kearney in January 1867. Gordon commanded a squadron of his own company and Company L in support of four companies of the 10th Infantry. An impromptu winter march across Nebraska must have been a challenging mission. Once they reached the fort, the majority of the column returned to Fort Laramie, but Gordon and his company garrisoned the fort until it was closed the following July.
Gordon’s next post was Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming Territory, where he and his company served from August 1868 to May 1869. During this period his service is described as “engaged with hostile Indians and escorting mail and government trains.” Gordon later published an account of this expedition in the Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States in 1911.

Gordon’s company conducted an extended scouting expedition of the Wind River valley from May to September 1869, engaged multiple times with hostile Indians before moving to Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory in October. They were engaged in the affair at Miner’s Delight, WT on May 4, 1870, but I could not locate any information on said affair. They were then assigned to Camp Douglass, WT, where they spent the next five years.

At this point Gordon’s career becomes very cloudy. He was steadily promoted, so it’s unlikely any seriously untoward happened at Miner’s Delight, but there is no mention of further postings. He was promoted in the regiment to major on June 25, 1877 and lieutenant colonel on November 20, 1889.

In 1892, he was assigned to command Fort Myer, Washington, D.C. He finally left his regiment on July 28, 1896, when he was promoted to colonel and command of the 6th U.S. Cavalry. Gordon was promoted to brigadier general upon his retirement on May 23, 1896.

Brigadier General David S. Gordon died on January 30, 1930, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Sources:
Gordon, David S. “The Relief of Fort Phil Kearny,” Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States, Volume 49, September-October 1911, pages 280-284.
Henry, Volume 1, page 153
Heitman, page 465
Lambert, Joseph. One Hundred Years With the Second Cavalry. San Antonio: Newton Publishing Company, 1999.
New York Times articles, December 29, 1895 and January 28, 1912.
Price, George F. Across the Continent with the Fifth Cavalry. New York: Antiquarian Press, Ltd, 1935.
Rodenbough, Theophilus F. From Everglade to Canyon with the Second United States Cavalry. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000.
Speer, John. The Life of General James H. Lane.

Will the Real John Dolan Please Stand Up?

03 Thursday Mar 2011

Posted by in 2nd Dragoons/ 2nd Cavalry, 2nd/ 5th Cavalry

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One of the joys of studying history is chasing down odd threads to see where they lead. I recently came across one such thread as I was cross-referencing information between regiments. I chanced upon an account of a former noncommissioned officer in George Price’s Across the Continent With the Fifth Cavalry that touched on three different regular cavalry regiments. Price’s account is the only more or less contemporary account of the regiment during the Civil war and on the frontier. It’s a decent reference as long as one keeps in mind that it has a very friendly bias (he was one of the regiment’s officers) and is entirely anecdotal in nature.

The individual in question, First Sergeant John Dolan, at the time of his death, “had been in continuous service for nearly thirty years, and had served more than twenty years as a first sergeant.”

A perfect soldier to profile, I thought. Given the information laid out by Price, there should be a wealth of information available on this fine soldier. Alas, trying to corroborate Price’s information in some areas proved to be quite challenging. A quick check of the National Park Service’s database revealed no less than ten John Dolans in regular cavalry regiments during the Civil War, from 5 of the 6 regular cavalry regiments. Two were for a first sergeant of Company B, 4th US Cavalry.

Price’s coverage begins at the beginning of Dolan’s career. “He served two enlistments in the First Dragoons from 1850 to 1860, and during his first enlistment was on active service against hostile Indians and was distinguished for bravery and good deportment. He participated during his second enlistment, in many expeditions, and was frequently engaged in combats with the Apaches in Arizona and New Mexico.”

The only records that I can find for a John Dolan in a mounted regiment through regimental muster rolls or enlistment documents prior to the Civil War are for the 2nd Dragoons, not the 1st Dragoons. According to his enlistment documents, Dolan was born in Longford, Ireland, and was described as 23 years old, 5’ 10” tall, with grey eyes, dark hair and a ruddy complexion. He was enlisted in Company B, 2nd Dragoons by Captain James Oakes in Pittsburgh on April 6, 1853. He reenlisted in the same company as a private at Fort Riley, Kansas Territory on February 6, 1857. 1st vs 2nd Dragoons is an easy enough mistake, so perhaps it was the same person.

Price continues: “His third enlistment was with the First (now Fourth) Cavalry, and during the year 1860 he participated in an expedition against the Kiowas and Comanches. He served, with his regiment, during the early operations of the war of the Rebellion, participating in the battles of Springfield and Shiloh, and the fall of Corinth.”

This is possible, but would have required Dolan to move between units a bit. In 1860, B Company, 2nd Dragoons, commanded by Captain John Buford, was in Utah on the Mormon Expedition, not fighting Indians. Transfers of soldiers and noncommissioned officers between companies within the regiment were not unheard of, however, if not an everyday occurrence. There were companies from the regiment in New Mexico and Colorado, and their movements east toward the war would have brought them into contact with the 4th Cavalry in Missouri at about the time of the battles mentioned. Indeed, the only regular cavalry representatives at the battle of Shiloh were Company C, 2nd Dragoons and Company I, 4th Cavalry, commanded by an infantry lieutenant. These two companies remained together through the fall of Corinth.

At this point, our two Dolans diverge. 2nd Dragoon Dolan must have continued east with his regiment. He was in Carlisle, Pennsylvania when he was sworn in for his third enlistment, according to his enlistment papers, into Company M, 2nd Cavalry on May 28, 1862 as a private. During their long march west, the regiment had been redesignated as the 2nd Cavalry. His enlistment documents describe him as 32 years old, 5’ 11” tall, with grey eyes, dark hair and a ruddy complexion, matching our previous description.

“He distinguished himself in the battles of Perryville and Stone River; commanded his company at Stone River, and had a horse killed under him during the pursuit of General Bragg; also had a horse killed under him and was severely wounded while commanding the advance-guard at the battle of Snow Hill,” according to Price.
Official reports verify this. In the regimental commander’s report on the battle of Murfreesboro, or Stones River, Captain Elmer Otis notes, “First Sergt. John Dolan, Company B, captured a captain and received his sword.” (OR, Vol. 20, part I, page 650)

“He was recommended for a commission in 1863, but declined an examination; was again recommended in 1864, but failed to pass the required physical examination because of the wounds received at Snow Hill.”

Entirely possible, as several first sergeants in the 4th Cavalry, many of them the same ones mentioned in the report from Stones River for gallantry while leading their companies, received commissions as second lieutenants in the regiment. Given his wounds, it is entirely possible that he wasn’t able to pass the examination. Another 4th Cavalry first sergeant who was appointed a lieutenant in the 6th US Cavalry waited several months to report to his new regiment while his wounds healed.

“He served with General Sherman’s army in Georgia, and afterwards joined the army under General Thomas and participated in the battle of Nashville, where he had a horse killed under him, was captured and sent to Andersonville, where he remained four months, when he was exchanged, and rejoined his regiment in July 1865.”
This describes the course of the remainder of the 4th US Cavalry’s campaigns during the war, and logically makes sense. Unfortunately, I could find no reference to a John Dolan from the 4th US Cavalry in any records from Andersonville, and there is a pretty significant existing database. There was a John Dolan from the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, but he perished from diarrhea, and the only regular army John Dolan was from the 19th US Infantry.

Meanwhile, Dragoon Private Dolan again reenlisted at Carlisle, PA on April 11, 1865. This time he enlisted in Company I, 2nd Cavalry. His enlistment documents describe him as 35 years old, 5’11” tall, with grey eyes, brown hair and a ruddy complexion. He reenlisted a final time at Fort D.A. Russell, Dakota Territory on April 11, 1868, into the same company. Other than his age, his description in the documents is unchanged. He was discharged as an orderly sergeant from the 2nd Cavalry at the same post on May 24, 1869 in General Order #26, Department of the Platte and disappears from any further records.

As for Price’s Dolan, “he was in constant service, after the war, in Georgia and Texas until December 1870, when he was discharged for disability resulting from the breaking out of old wounds; after his wounds had again healed he enlisted in the Sixth Cavalry in November 1871, and had active service in the Indian Territory and Arizona until the expiration of his fifth period of service, when he joined the Fifth Cavalry, in 1876, on his sixth enlistment.”

All quite possible, and accurate descriptions of units and locations, but I was unable to locate any documents confirming the information.

“..was again recommended in 1878, and when he met his death in battle a bill was pending in Congress authorizing the President to appoint him a second lieutenant and place him on the retired list. It was favorably reported upon after the gallant soldier was dead.”

First Sergeant John Dolan, Company F, 5th U.S. Cavalry was killed in action at Milk Creek, Colorado on September 29, 1879. Price eulogized him as “a model first sergeant, and perfect in the duties of his office. He commanded, under all circumstances, the respect and good-will of his officers.”

Where does this leave us? With not one but two John Dolans, each of whom served in regular cavalry regiments over 25 years, including the entire Civil War. Surely that’s worth a memory and a few minutes of your time?

References

Price, George F. Across the Continent with the Fifth Cavalry. New York: Antiquarian Press Ltd., 1959. Page 682.

Returns from Regular Army Regiments, 1821-1916 (accessed via Ancestry.com)

U.S. Army Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 (also accessed via Ancestry.com)

Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database, National Park Service

Official Records of the War of the Rebellion (as noted in text)

Fiddler’s Green – Myles Moylan

17 Sunday May 2009

Posted by in 2nd Dragoons/ 2nd Cavalry, 5th Cavalry, 7th U.S. Cavalry, cavalry, Custer, Fiddler's Green, medal of honor

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As a former commander of Company C, 2nd U.S. Dragoons (at the time in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, currently designated the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, but still on continuous active service since 1836), it’s always gratifying to turn up information on one of the company’s soldiers. Little did I suspect, however, where following Moylan’s life would lead me. Shiloh, Gettysburg, Little Big Horn, Wounded Knee — Myles Moylan was definitely born to be a cavalryman. Despite controversy shrouding his career more than once, the quality of the 36 years of his service speaks for itself.

Myles Moylan was born at Amesbury, Massachusetts on December 17, 1838. His father was Thomas Moylan and his mother was Margaret Riley, both born in Ireland. Educated in local schools, he worked as a shoemaker prior joining the army. He was enlisted as a private in Company C, 2nd U.S. Dragoons by Lieutenant McArthur in Boston, Massachusetts on June 8, 1857. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’9 ½” tall, with black hair, gray eyes and a ruddy complexion. For some reason he listed Galway, Ireland as his place of birth on his enlistment paperwork.

Army life apparently agreed well with young Myles. He was promoted to corporal on October 1, 1858, and sergeant exactly two years later. During this time, he served in the Utah expedition of 1857-1858 and later in Kansas and Nebraska. He fought in an engagement with Indians at Blackwater Springs, Kansas on July 11, 1860. Sergeant Moylan was promoted to first sergeant of the company on May 17, 1861.

This last promotion proved very important to the company, as all of its assigned officers resigned at the outbreak of the war. Company C left Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on June 11, 1861, under the command of Lieutenant Farrand of the 1st U.S. Infantry. It didn’t rejoin the rest of the regiment until June 1863. During these two years, it was commanded by eight officers of different regiments and corps, including four infantry officers and two artillery officers. It would have been the steady hand of the first sergeant that kept the company functioning.

First Sergeant Moylan led his company through engagements at Wilson’s Creek, Missouri, Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee. He re-enlisted at Pittsburgh, Tennessee on April 1, 1862, just days before the battle of Shiloh. He continued to serve with the company through that battle and the subsequent siege of Corinth. During the winter of 1862-1863, they served as the escort for General Grant for several months at Memphis, Tennessee. First Sergeant Moylan remained with the company until March 28, 1863, when he was discharged at Memphis, Tennessee. He was appointed a second lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Cavalry on February 19th, but it took over a month for the news to reach him.

Lieutenant Moylan joined his new regiment in Virginia in May, and was assigned to Company D. He immediately assumed command of the company upon his arrival due to a shortage of officers with the regiment. He commanded the company through engagements at Brandy Station, Aldie, Middletown, Upperville, Gettysburg, Williamsport, Boonsboro, Funkstown, Falling Waters, Manassas Gap, Front Royal, and Brandy Station again in August. The regiment moved with the rest of the Reserve Brigade to Giesboro Point, D.C. for remounting and refitting from August to October 1863. His final battle with the regiment was the engagement at Morton’s Ford, Virginia on October 11th, as part of the diversion for Kilpatrick’s raid.

His commission was revoked and he was dismissed from the service on October 20, 1863 for an unauthorized visit to Washington, D.C. and failing to report to military district headquarters. Sympathetic biographers have on several occasions referred to this as a “trifling offense,” but given the length of his service he should have known better. In his defense, officer absenteeism was a common problem subject to periodic crackdowns during the war, and he may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He didn’t stay out of action long, however. He enlisted in Company A, 4th Massachusetts Cavalry at Malden, MA under the fictitious name of Charles E. Thomas on December 2, 1863. Despite using a nom de guerre, he received a $325 bounty for enlisting. Given his experience, it is unsurprising that he was a sergeant in the company by December 26th, and appointed first lieutenant a month later on January 25, 1864.

Lieutenant Moylan led his company through engagements on John’s Island, South Carolina in July, 1864, and near Jacksonville, Florida in October before his regiment was assigned to the forces besieging Petersburg. He was promoted to captain of Company K on December 1, 1864, and served briefly on the staff of Major General John Gibbon. He commanded a squadron of the regiment at the headquarters of the XXIV Corps during the Richmond campaign, and on April 9, 1865 received a brevet promotion to major of volunteers for gallant and meritorious services during the campaign in Virginia. He was honorably mustered out of service with his regiment on November 14, 1865 at Richmond, Virginia.

After the holidays, Moylan was back in uniform, this time once again under his own name. He enlisted in the general mounted service at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania as a private on January 25, 1866, and on March 10th was promoted to corporal.

Corporal Moylan was assigned to the new 7th U.S. Cavalry when it was formed on August 20, 1866, and his fortunes soared again. He was noticed by the regiment’s Lieutenant Colonel Custer, and was appointed the regiment’s first sergeant major on September 1, 1866. The two had briefly served together in the 5th Cavalry prior to Gettysburg. Moylan would serve in the 7th Cavalry for the next 26 years.

Custer encouraged his new sergeant major to apply for a commission once again. He was appointed a first lieutenant, 7th U.S. Cavalry on July 28, 1866, but was initially unable to accept it because he failed the appointment examination. Custer obtained permission to administer a second test, however, and tutored him to pass the examination the second time.

Such patronage was not without its costs. The new lieutenant was not initially admitted into the junior officer’s mess, though whether this was due to his prior enlisted service or Custer’s favoritism is unclear. Lieutenant Moylan served as the regimental adjutant from February 20, 1867 to December 31, 1870, when he was relieved at his own request. He served in the 1868 Washita campaign, following which he was also assigned as an acting assistant adjutant general of the troops serving in Kansas from 1868 to 1869. Lieutenant Moylan was assigned on recruiting service from January 1871 to January 1873.

While on recruiting service, Myles Moylan married Charlotte Calhoun on October 22, 1872 at Madison, Indiana. Charlotte, or Lottie as she was known, was the 19 year old sister of First Lieutenant James Calhoun. Lieutenant Calhoun also served in the 7th Cavalry, and was married to Custer’s half sister, so this further cemented Moylan’s ties to the Custer family.

Moylan was promoted to captain in the 7th U.S. Cavalry on March 1, 1872, and assigned to command of Company A when he returned to the regiment. He commanded Company A and at times a squadron during the Yellowstone and Black Hills expeditions of 1873 and 1874.

Captain Moylan commanded his company at the battle of Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876, and was one the few officers of the regiment to survive the fight. He participated in the fight of Major Reno’s column in the valley, and later the Reno-Benteen defense on the bluff. Moylan lost both his patron and his brother in law during the battle. Interestingly given his ties to Custer, he later wrote a controversial letter defending Reno’s actions during the battle. He was part of the burial detail after the fight, and several months later wrote to Libby Custer of how he’d found her husband’s body on the battlefield.

Captain Moylan again led his company in the campaign against the Nez Perce the following year, when he earned the Medal of Honor. After a forced march of several days, the cavalry column successfully overtook a camp of the elusive tribe near Bear Paw Mountain, Montana on September 30, 1877. During the subsequent battle, he “gallantly led his command in action against Nez Perce Indians until he was severely wounded,” according to the award citation. He was reportedly wounded in the right thigh while at the head of his company charging at a full gallop. His was one of nine medals of honor awarded for the battle. He was brevetted major in the regular army for the battle on February 27, 1890, and his medal of honor was awarded November 27, 1894.

In 1880, Captain Moylan commanded his company and Fort Meade, Dakota Territory, according to census data. He commanded a battalion of three companies of cavalry during the summer Little Missouri River campaign of 1881, and his own company during an engagement with Crows in Montana Territory on November 5, 1887. He continued to serve on the frontier through the fighting at Wounded Knee in 1890.

Captain Moylan was promoted to major in the 10th U.S. Cavalry on April 8, 1892. He retired a year later, on April 15, 1893, after a career of almost 36 years. He and his wife moved to California, where he settled in San Diego with his wife. They had no children.

Major Myles Moylan died of stomach cancer in San Diego, California on December 1, 1909. Lottie survived him by seven years, dying March 29, 1916. The couple had no children, and are buried together in Greenwood Memorial Park, San Diego.

Sources:

Hammer, Kenneth. Men With Custer, Biographies of the 7th U.S. Cavalry. Fort Collins: Old Army Press, 1972.

Hatch, Thom. The Custer Companion. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2002.

Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903. Page 733.

Henry, Guy V. Military Record of Army and Civilian Appointments in the United States Army, Volume I. New York: D. Van Nostrand Publishing, 1873. Page 172.

Index to Compiled Military Service Records (accessed at http://www.ancestry.com on May 14, 2009)

Powell, William H. Records of Living Officers of the United States Army. Philadelphia: L.R. Hamersly & Co., 1890.

Price, George F. Across the Continent with the Fifth Cavalry. New York: Antiquarian Press, Ltd., 1959.

Rodenbough, Theophilus F. From Everglade to Canyon with the Second United States Cavalry. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000.

U.S. Army Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914. (accessed at http://www.ancestry.com on May 15, 2009)

Utley, Robert. Life in Custer’s Cavalry. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1987.

Wert, Jeffry D. Custer. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Book Review: From Everglade to Canyon

03 Tuesday Mar 2009

Posted by in 2nd Dragoons/ 2nd Cavalry

≈ 2 Comments

I had planned to write a review of Theophilus Rodenbough’s From Everglade to Canyon just after I posted his Fiddler’s Green entry. While researching the author’s life, however, I discovered this review from its original publication and found history’s words much more interesting than mine. Merritt’s comments weren’t too surprising, as he was a popular scapegoat after the 1864 elections and after the war, particularly by the cavalry. I found the comments on General Wright and Cedar Creek intriguing, and am now curious whether Major Smith was present on the battlefield, and if so where.

The following article is from the New York Times edition of January 28, 1876.

“New Publications

The Second United States Cavalry

From Everglade to Canon with the Second Dragoons, (Second United States Cavalry.) An authentic account of service in Florida, Mexico, Virginia, and the Indian country, including the personal recollections of prominent officers, with an appendix containing orders, reports, and correspondence, military records, &c, (1836-1875) Compiled by Theophilus F. Rodenbough, Colonel and Brevet brigadier general, united States Army (late Captain, Second Cavalry) Illustrated. New York: D. Van Nostrand.

The Second Dragoons – more recently and better known as the Second United States Cavalry – was originally organized under an act approved May 23, 1836. David E. Twiggs was its first Colonel, and William S. Harney its Lieutenant Colonel. These names, with those of Col. May, Major Gen. Buford, Brevet Major gen. Philip St. George Cooke, Brevet major Gen. Wesley Merritt, Col. I.N. Palmer, and others whose services were quite as distinguished, carry back the memory to the days of the Seminole War in Florida, then to the Mexican War, in which the organization bore a most brilliant part, following that to frontier service in California, New Mexico, Kansas, and Utah, and finally to the war of the rebellion. From the first Bull Run to the famous battle of Cedar creek, when Sheridan “sent the enemy whirling through Winchester,” the Second cavalry bore a prominent part in every important battle in Northern Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley. Besides this, it executed some of the most brilliant “raids” of the war, so that its varied experiences cover all the phases of army life, and the rehearsal of its exploits recalls many of the most stirring events in our military history as a nation.

Gen. Rodenbough’s gallant services in connection with the regiment abundantly entitle him to discharge the duties of its historian. He was appointed Second lieutenant of the Second Dragoons March 27, 1861; was promoted to a First Lieutenant the following May, and after serving with the Army of the Potomac through the campaign on the Peninsula, was appointed captain July, 1862. At the battle of Manassas, Aug. 29-30, he was captured, but was exchanged a week afterward, and during the Rappahannock campaign in January-May 1863, he was in constant service – among other duties commanding a squadron during the Stoneman raid. He commanded the regiment in the battle of Gettysburg, as well as during the Richmond campaign, (April-July 1864) accompanying Sheridan on his raid toward Charlottesville in june, and receiving a wound at the battle of Trevillian Station, which kept him out of the field for three months. He returned to his regiment in September, just in time to command it during the battle of the Opequan, where he lost an arm. One promotion after another testified to his gallantry during the war and in individual actions, until he was made Brevet brigadier general in the regular Army in March, 1865, and in December, 1870, was retired from active service, “with full rank of Colonel of cavalry on account of wounds received while on duty.”

In compiling this volume Gen. Rodenbough has modestly but wisely allowed the chief actors in the campaigns through which the Second cavalry passed – those who have made its history – to tell their story in their own words. As a consequence, we have a succession of vivid sketches of campaigns on the frontier and of hard fighting in the field, told with an enthusiasm and force which could only spring from a memory of personal experience. Col. A.T. Lee, for instance, describes a scout with Ben Beall during the Seminole War; Gen. P. St. George Cooke gives his recollections of the campaigns of 1855-1860 in New Mexico and Kansas, a “Trumpeter’s Notes,” by Chief Bugler William Drown, supply sketches of the doings of the organization partly during this same period, (1852-8); “The Letters of a Subaltern” give incidents of the early days of the war, when McClellan was organizing the Army in front of Washington and come down to the famous “change of base” to the James River; one of the “raiders” describes the famous Stoneman raid of 1863; Gen. Merritt sketches the operations of the force from Beverly Ford to Mitchell’s Station, covering some of the hardest fighting and its most brilliant exploits; Col. Charles McK. Leoser tells of a “Ride to Richmond in 1864,” and of his subsequent experience in a rebel prison; Col. William H. Harrison describes the events from Deep Bottom to Winchester in 1864, and Major S. smith gives his personal recollections of Fisher’s Hill and Cedar Creek. Reminiscences of less eventful times are presented by Major Alfred E. Bates, brevet Major Lewis Thompson and Lieut. Gustavus C. Doane, who assume the duty of describing the campaigns in the North-west from 1866-1875, including the Piegan expedition of 1870 and the two Yellowstone expeditions. Gen. Rodenbough introduces and connects these different papers with enough narrative to make them present a tolerably complete history of the organization through all its vicissitudes and exploits, and in an appendix he collects a list of the battles of the regiment, a summary of the military records of the officers, the roll of honor, and numerous orders, reports of operations &c. A carefully-prepared index gives the names of all officers mentioned in the volume, and makes reference easy to the different documents. Maps and numerous illustrations also add to the value and attractiveness.

Such a description of the contents of the handsome volume indicates but slightly the vast amount of labor which its preparation has cost Gen. Rodenbough. Still more imperfectly does it suggest the varied interest which it possesses for the unprofessional reader. Here and there one comes upon incidents either thrilling or grotesque, and which effectively lighten up the severer narratives of skirmishes and battles. Gen. Merritt, for instance, throws into a foot note this laughable story of the fight at Beverly Ford:

“While Dr. Wilson, Chief Surgeon of the regular brigade, was operating in a ‘field’ or ‘flying’ hospital in the cool shade of some trees, exposed occasionally to the warm compliments of the enemy’s artillery, a shell suddenly fell near him as he was in the act of bandaging the leg of a dragoon who had been slightly wounded. Simultaneously with the appearance of the shell the man jumped to his feet and hopped off with amazing agility, exclaiming, ‘Doctor, this isn’t a good place – it’s be-be-better down there!’ at the same time executing the most extraordinary kangaroo hops on one foot, while yards upon yards of the Doctor’s valuable bandage was streaming over the grass behind him. The Doctor started in pursuit, calling upon the fugitive in ‘gentle and persuasive’ tones to halt. All the non-combatants or stragglers joined in the hue and cry, but the stampeded youth continued his camel-like course until the bandage took a turn around the stump and brought him to the ground. It is needless to say that the irate surgeon returned that patient ‘for duty’ on the next morning in report of the company.”

Gen. Merritt, by the way, opens his contribution to this volume with some plain-spoken criticisms upon McClellan and his treatment of the cavalry when he had assumed command of the Army. “It was a grave misfortune,” writes Gen. Merritt, “that the controllers of our Army organization in the early part of the rebellion did not appreciate the part that cavalry was to play in the war – a misfortune for the country – a greater misfortune for the cavalry. *** The few cavalry regiments which were permitted by by our frugal Government *** were emasculated and disorganized by furnishing details as escorts , guides, orderlies, and small scouting parties, until nowhere in the State of Virginia was there a sufficient force of Union cavalry to meet successfully the splendidly-organized squadrons of Southern horse under Stuart and the younger Lees. No one was more to blame for this than McClellan, and no one of the unfortunate commanders of the Army of the Potomac suffered more because of the lack of properly organized cavalry than this general. Nor did he know how to use the cavalry he had in hand. His treatment of cavalry and cavalry commanders was proverbially harsh and unjust. He divided it up with a lavish hand among his infantry corps, division and brigade commanders, so that the smallest infantry organization had its company or more of mounted men, whose duty consisted in supplying details , as orderlies for mounted staff officers, following them mounted on their rapid rides for pleasure or for duty; or in camp, acting as grooms and bootblacks at the various head-quarters. It is not wonderful that this treatment demoralized the cavalry. It is not strange that the early cavalry commanders looked with despair on their shattered squadrons, and submitted in disgust to the disintegration which their best efforts could not prevent, and afterward in silence to the abuse for failures which they did not deserve. It was not until McClellan was removed that the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac was fairly organized under Stoneman, with Buford and David Gregg as his lieutenants. Then it was that we commenced practicing the lessons which the enemy had taught us, pursuing his tactics to his ruin.”

By virtue of having lost an arm at the battle of the Opequan, when he was in command of the regiment, Gen. (then Captain) Rodenbough might have been pardoned had he himself given an account of that famous conflict, but he modestly leaves that duty to others. Major Robert S. Smith in writing of the action says:

“History has given to Gen. Sheridan all honor for his great military services rendered to his country, but has it been equally just to that noble commander, Gen. Wright, to whose matured judgment and skillful action the country has often been indebted? The world accepts success as the only proof of greatness, and by this severe interpretation it cannot now be determined whether the arrival of Gen. Sheridan at the hour he came on the battle-field of Cedar Creek was a greater misfortune to Gen. Wright than it was a benefit to the country. *** No one could more highly appreciate his great achievements than I do. I only plead for equal justice. If Gen. Sheridan had been at the head-quarters of the Army in the morning would that have prevented the surprise upon Crook’s corps? And after the enemy had gained the entrenchments behind Cedar Creek was it possible for the Army to do otherwise than fall back until a new position could be taken, and the line of battle re-formed? This was done, and an Army superior in discipline and numbers faced the enemy ready to advance when Gen. Sheridan arrived. Could the result have been different than it was with such an Army led by so experienced an officer as Gen. Wright?”

In a foot note in which he calls attention to the fact that Major Smith does not speak of the morale of the Army on Sheridan’s arrival, Gen. Rodenbough indicates that does not fully agree with the writer in his criticisms. Still the question may stand as reviving a question which was discussed at the time of the battle to some extent, and which the future historian of the war may consider in describing this notable incident in Sheridan’s campaigns. Such memoirs de service as this are chiefly valuable for the side lights which they throw upon the events with which they are connected. Gen. Rodenbough has shown what conscientious labor, inspired by genuine enthusiasm, can accomplish in this direction, and if future compilers of similar records shall show the same care in their preparation there is no danger that such volumes may be unreasonably multiplied. On page 21 we notice an error in crediting the publication of a military order to The New York Times in 1836, some years before this journal was established.”

Fiddler’s Green: Theophilus F. Rodenbough

25 Tuesday Nov 2008

Posted by in 2nd Dragoons/ 2nd Cavalry, Fiddler's Green

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This is an entry that I’ve been working on for quite some time, off and on. Some of the sources were hard to find, and there were always “a couple more things” that I wanted to check on or delve deeper into before I posted it. So here at long last is the entry on someone whom I greatly admire.

Theophilus Francis Rodenbough was born on November 5, 1838 in Easton, Pennsylvania. He was the eldest of two sons of Charles Rodenbough, a wiring manufacturer, and Emily Cauffman of Philadelphia. He attended private schools, had private tutors, and completed a course of English literature and mathematics at Lafayette College in 1837.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, President Lincoln appointed Rodenbough a second lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons on March 27, 1861, at the request of Andrew H. Reeder. Reeder, a native and fellow resident of Easton, was prominent in the Republican Party for his service as the governor of Kansas in the late 1850s.

Lieutenant Rodenbough was initially assigned to Company E, but several months would pass before he joined the regiment. He served as the post adjutant and quartermaster of Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania until January 1862. He was promoted to first lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoons on May 14, 1861.

When he finally joined the regiment in January 1862, he was assigned to Company H. He immediately assumed command of the company as its assigned captain, Alfred Pleasonton, was on detached service. During the peninsula campaign he commanded Company H and often the squadron consisting of it and its sister company. He distinguished himself on several occasions, most notably during the battle of Gaines Mill. He was promoted to captain in the 2nd US Cavalry on July 17, 1862.

He and his company were part of Captain Thomas Hight’s squadron captured by Fitz Lee’s brigade following the second battle of Bull Run on August 31, 1862. He was paroled a week later, and exchanged on September 21, 1862 at Aiken’s Landing, Virginia for Samuel Y. Finley of the 6th Florida Infantry.

Recognized for his ability despite this setback, he was assigned to command one of the regiment’s two new companies, Company L, when they were authorized on September 24, 1862. He was sent north Pleasant Valley, Maryland to recruit and organize his company October 1862 to January 1863. He and his new company spent the remainder of the winter on picket duty near Falmouth, Virginia.

Captain Rodenbough and Company L participated in Stoneman’s Raid, during which he led a column of nearly 300 members of his own regiment and the 5th U.S. Cavalry to destroy a bridge over the South Anna River near Louisa Court House. The following month, he was slightly wounded and had two horses shot out from under him at Beverly Ford during the battle of Brandy Station on June 9, 1863.

When regimental commander Wesley Merritt was promoted to brigadier general later that month, Rodenbough assumed command of the regiment. This left his company without officers, as he had been the only officer present since Stoneman’s Raid. Captain Gordon returned to take command of the regiment on July 6th. Rodenbough served with distinction throughout the Gettysburg campaign, including actions at Upperville, Williamsport, Boonsboro, Funkstown, Falling Waters, Manassas Gap and again at Brandy Station at the end of July.

He accompanied the regiment and the rest of the brigade to Camp Buford at Giesboro Point for refitting in September, where he finally received additional officers for his company. His first lieutenant was a guest at Libby Prison, but his second lieutenant, Charles McMasters, was previously featured in a Fiddler’s Green entry. Captain Rodenbough spent the winter of 1863 performing picket duty with his regiment near Brandy Station. At times during the fall and winter, he performed as an “acting field officer,” according to the regimental muster rolls.

Rodenbough was again in command of his regiment for the beginning of Sheridan’s cavalry campaign in the spring of 1864. He was commended for his performance at Todd’s Tavern, as well as fighting in engagements at Culpeper Court House and Old Church during the spring.

Captain Rodenbough led the advance of the Regular Brigade with his regiment at the battle of Trevillian Station on June 11, 1864. He was wounded during the battle, and turned command of the regiment over to Captain David Stanley. In 1893, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for the battle. His citation reads “for distinguished gallantry in action at Trevillian Station, Va., June 11, 1864, where he was severely wounded while handling his regiment with skill and valor.”

Rodenbough was back in command of his regiment several weeks later, and led his regiment in the great charge that decided the battle of Opequon or Third Winchester on September 19, 1864. He was severely wounded in the right arm and his horse killed while leading the regiment’s charge. His right arm was amputated later that day.

First Sergeant Conrad Schmidt of Company K rode forward and rescued his wounded commander, earning a Medal of Honor. The citation reads “Went to the assistance of his Regimental Commander, whose horse had been killed under him in a charge, mounted the officer behind him, under a heavy fire from the enemy, and returned him to his command.” First Sergeant Schmidt’s actions served as the inspiration for the painting “Sergeant’s Valor” by Don Stivers.

Captain Rodenbough was brevetted major, regular army, for gallant and meritorious services during this battle. Following the battle, he served on general recruiting service in Philadelphia until April 1865 while recuperating from his wounds.

Rodenbough was brevetted lieutenant colonel on March 13, 1865 for gallant and meritorious service during the war, and colonel on the same date for gallantry and meritorious service in the battle of Todd’s Tavern, Virginia. He was further brevetted brigadier general, regular army, for gallant and meritorious service in the battle of Cold Harbor. In his recommendation for this brevet, General Sheridan wrote the following:

“Colonel Rodenbough was one of the most gallant and valuable young officers, under my command, in the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. He was constantly in the field with his regiment, the 2d U.S. Cavalry (a portion of that time in command of it), from the spring of ’62 up to the time of his being wounded whilst gallantly leading his regiment at the battle of the Opequan, September 19, 1864.” On April 13, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier general of volunteers for gallant and meritorious service during the war.

Rodenbough was granted a leave of absence from the regular army at the recommendation of General Sheridan to accept the colonelcy of the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry on April 29, 1865. Rodenbough was transferred from the regiment to command the 3rd Provisional Cavalry (Pennsylvania), a provisional brigade consisting of regular and volunteer units, on June 24, 1865. He served there and in command of the district of Clarksburg, West Virginia until honorably mustered out of volunteer service on October 31, 1865.

Returning to his regular army rank of captain, Rodenbough served on Major General Dodge’s staff during the winter of 1865 as the inspector general for army forces in Kansas and the territories at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He then rejoined his regiment at Fort Ellsworth, Kansas in May 1866 and was employed with his company constructing Fort Harker until September 1866.

Upon the reorganization of the army in the summer of 1866, he was promoted to major of the new 42nd US Infantry on July 28, 1866. He was involved in organizing the regiment from September to November 1866, then commanded the post of Plattsburg Barracks until the following December. He subsequently commanded the post of Madison Barracks, New York until 1869.

Major Rodenbough also served on boards for the selection of a magazine fed gun, the examination of officers, and reportedly “the investigation of the case of the first colored cadet at West Point.” I assume this indicates the court martial of Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper of the 10th U.S. Cavalry in 1870, but could not locate verification of this.

Rodenbough retired from the army at his own request at the rank of colonel on December 15, 1870, “with the full rank of the command held when wounded.” He was retired again, as a Brigadier General, U.S.A., on April 23, 1904, according to that year’s Army Register.

Theophilus Rodenbough married Elinor Frances Foster in New York City on September 1, 1868. Their eldest daughter died in childhood. His son, James Foster Rodenbough, was living in Easton and working as a civil engineer with the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company at the time of his father’s death. His daughter, Nina, married and lived in New York City.

Following his retirement, Rodenbough became the most prominent American cavalry historian of the 19th Century. His books began with a history of his regiment with From Everglade to Canyon with the Second Dragoons in 1875. Other works included Afghanistan or the Anglo-Russian Dispute (1882), Uncle Sam’s Medal of Honor (1887), The Bravest Five Hundred of ‘Sixty-one (1891), August Leaves from Family Trees (1892), and Sabre and Bayonet (1897). The Bravest Five Hundred and Sabre and Bayonet were revisions of his earlier work on Uncle Sam’s Medal of Honor. His most ambitious work culminated in 1896 with the release of The Army of the United States: Historical Sketches of Staff and Line with Portraits of Generals-In-Chief, which he edited with active duty Major William Haskin. He also authored several articles in the Cavalry Journal, and served on the editing committee of the history of the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry published in 1909. His final literary efforts were in editing several volumes of the ten volume Photographic History of the Civil War, published in the year of his death.

In addition to his writing, Rodenbough held many prominent positions following his retirement. He served as the Deputy Governor of the U.S. Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C. through the end of 1871. He then worked as the General eastern Agent of the Pullman Car Company from 1872 to 1873. From 1876 to 1877, Rodenbough was the Associate Editor of the Army and Navy Journal and the Corresponding Secretary of the Society of the Army of the Potomac in 1878. He was an assistant inspector general for the state of New York from 1879 to 1882. He worked from 1878 to 1893 on the Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States as secretary, then editor and vice president. He was also the Chief of the Bureau of Elections for the city of New York from 1890 to 1892.

Theophilus F. Rodenbough died in New York City on December 19, 1912. He is buried in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Sources:

Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903), page 529.

Henry, Guy V. Military Record of Army and Civilian Appointments in the United States Army, Volume I (New York: D. Van Nostrand Publishing, 1873), pg 434.

Pierce, Frederick Clifton. Foster Genealogy. New York: Press of W.B. Conkey Company, 1899. Pages 973-974.

Rodenbough, Theophilus F. Autumn Leaves from Family Trees. New York: Clark & Zugall, 1892. Pages 153-155.

Rodenbough, Theophilus F. From Everglade to Canyon with the Second United States Cavalry (New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1875)

Rodenbough, Theophilus F., ed. History of the Eighteenth regiment of cavalry, Pennsylvania volunteers New York: Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., 1909.

Wittenberg, Eric J. Glory Enough For All. Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s, Inc., 2002.

Wittenberg, Eric J. The Union Cavalry Comes of Age. Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s, Inc., 2003.

Fiddler’s Green: Thomas Hight

31 Friday Oct 2008

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Thomas Hight was born in Indiana, and appointed to West Point from there in July 1849. He graduated 9th in his class on July 1, 1863 and was promoted to brevet second lieutenant of dragoons. He served as an instructor at the Cavalry School for Practice at Carlisle, Pennsylvania until the following year.

Hight was promoted to second lieutenant in the 2nd US Dragoons on May 24, 1854. he joined his new regiment at Jefferson barracks, Missouri, then accompanied them on frontier duty from Fort Leavenworth for the next two years. He participated in an expedition against the Sioux and one into New Mexico. When the army formed two new cavalry regiments in 1855, he was offered a position as a second lieutenant in the 1st US Cavalry, which he declined. He served on recruiting duty in 1856 and was promoted to first lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoons on February 2, 1857. From 1857 to 1860, he participated in the Utah Expedition and a march to Oregon.

Lieutenant Hight was on a leave of absence when the war broke out, but rejoined the regiment and was promoted to captain on May 13, 1861. He spent the summer at Camp Knox in Rockland, Maine, where he was the mustering officer for seven of the state’s initial ten volunteer regiments. He was detached from 2nd US Cavalry to serve as the lieutenant colonel of the 1st Maine Cavalry on October 19, 1861, but resigned from volunteer service to rejoin his regular regiment on March 14, 1862.

He commanded a squadron during the peninsula campaign, and was captured with his squadron by Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee’s brigade during a reconnaissance following Second Manassas. His squadron was so small that General Stuart reported it as a single company in his official report on the campaign. He was paroled after Stuart linked up with General Jackson’s forces two days later.

Captain Hight served in Washington, DC during the winter of 1862. He resigned on April 27, 1863, after being absent without leave since January 21st.

After his resignation, he joined the 31st Maine Infantry as a lieutenant colonel of volunteers on March 12, 1864. The regiment was mustered in on April 17th, and immediately pushed forward to Virginia. He was promoted to colonel on April 29th, and commanded the regiment during the Wilderness and Overland campaigns. The regiment lost heavily in the Wilderness, and then lost a further 195 killed, wounded and missing at Spotsylvania Court House on May 12th. He was honorably discharged after the battle of Cold Harbor on July 2, 1864.

Thomas Hight returned to Augusta, Maine following his discharge, where he worked as a druggist until his death on August 17, 1867, at the age of 38.

Sources:

Cullum, George W. Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, Volume 2 (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1891), pgs 527-528.

Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903), page 529.

Rodenbough, Theophilus F. From Everglade to Canyon with the Second United States Cavalry (New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1875)

What Happened Was….

28 Tuesday Oct 2008

Posted by in 2nd Dragoons/ 2nd Cavalry

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I’m not sure why the last couple of posts have been about things gone wrong. The picket line story was too funny to pass up, and then I found this one. Not the way I would normally pick to feature my favorite (and parent) regiment, but you have to admire the way Captain Thomas Hight makes this report. Though addressed to the adjutant, the report is intended for the regimental commander. Can you imagine having to write a report to explain this to your commander?

To put the report into context, Captain Hight had just disembarked from the transports which had sailed them from the peninsula back to Washington when he was ordered out to join General Sumner. August 31, 1862 was the day after the end of the battle of Second Bull Run. I’ll have more on Captain Hight in the next few days.

“Washington, D.C., September 3, 1862.
Lieut. J.F. McQuesten,
Adjutant, Second U.S. Cavalry:

Sir: In reply to your communication of this date I have the honor to make the following report of the manner in which my squadron was captured on the 31st ultimo:

On the 30th ultimo I was ordered with my squadron from Alexandria to report to general Sumner at Annandale. I moved with the squadron to the place designated, and finding that General Sumner had moved on, I followed with the squadron, sending to General Sumner to know if I should join them with the squadron. I received orders to do so, and joined him about 5 or 6 miles from Centreville, where the command spent the remainder of the night.

At daylight the next morning I was directed by General Sumner to leave him twelve orderlies, and with the remainder of the squadron to make a reconnaissance several miles to the right and front, returning to meet him in the rear of Centreville.

After performing this duty I met General Sumner at Centreville and reported that I had found no trace of the enemy. I then moved with General Sumner to a short distance to the right of Centreville, when I was again directed to make a reconnaissance to the right as far as Germantown. I accordingly moved to the right as far as the turnpike, and learning that Germantown was to the rear on the road, I turned in that direction, and after going 2 or 3 miles halted my command for rest and to give my horses a small feed, as they had been nearly twenty-four hours without being unsaddled or having anything to eat. About fifteen minutes after halting my sentinel reported horsemen in the rear on the road over which I had just come, but as we had been passing stragglers for the last few miles I supposed that they were some of our own men, but went to see myself; not being satisfied, I gave directions to bridle up. It was again reported that they were our troops, but immediately after my command was charged by two squadrons of Confederate cavalry, closely followed by the light division of Major-General Stuart, numbering between 2,000 and 3,000 cavalry and two horse batteries. The leading squadrons immediately opened fire upon me, which was returned by a portion of my command, the remainder of the command attempting to make their escape from so overpowering a force by fleeing through the fields toward the shelter of the woods.

Thus surrounded by so large a force, while dismounted, I had nothing left for me but surrender or massacre. I surrendered to Brigadier-General Fitz. Lee, commanding the leading brigade of the enemy, my remaining force, Lieut. R.E. Clary and about 20 men.

The enemy afterward brought in 25 or 30 more men of the squadron and about 20 infantry stragglers that they had picked up on the road over which I had passed.

The men were paroled, and myself and Lieutenant Clary taken along with the enemy as prisoners.

Private Martin Kelley of my command was badly wounded, and left behind, with a wounded soldier of the enemy.

Lieutenant Rodenbough of the squadron was brought in the next morning to General Lee.

I remained a prisoner with the enemy until the morning of September 2, when I was paroled and sent with Lieutenants Clary and Rodenbough to our pickets near Falls Church.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
THOS. HIGHT,
Captain, Second Cavalry”

Source: Official Records, Volume XII, Part 3, pages 809-810.

A Terrible Night on the Picket Line

22 Wednesday Oct 2008

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I turned up this article not long ago, and was initially somewhat torn about posting it. I eventually decided to put it up, for several reasons. One, it illustrates that cavalry duty wasn’t all charging into battle with sabers extended and carbines blazing. Second, there aren’t too many first person accounts by Regulars of wartime experience. Third, having participated in countless night maneuvers, I can sympathize with Sergeant Ellis while still finding the whole story pretty amusing. The 11th New York Cavalry was unofficially known as “Scott’s 900,” and twenty rods is slightly more than 100 yards. The article is transcribed exactly as Sergeant Ellis wrote it. The entire article is reprinted from The Maine Bugle, Campaign II, Call 3, July 1895, pages 204-207.

“A Terrible Night on the Picket Line

“By Sergeant Hiram Ellis, Second U.S. Cavalry

“In October 1863, after the great flanking march of the Army of the Potomac, the regiment which I belonged, the 2d U.S. Cavalry, was sent into Maryland to get necessary supplies and to relieve our horses from the hardships of the campaign which had rendered them almost useless. We passed through Leesburg, crossed the Potomac at Young’s Island, followed the tow path down to Seneca Locks, under the canal through the culvert and went into camp near the main or river road. We had hardly got settled for the night when the patrol that was always marching up and down on the tow path, reported that an important post of the picket a few miles down the river was without guard. And it was afterwards found that the patrol on its downward march had reported the same to the Scots 900, a regiment stationed a few miles further down. Upon receipt of this report our colonel issued the following order:

“Send a company to that point to guard it for the night, to place one sentinel at the mouth of the culvert and two others at his discretion.”

“At that time I was first sergeant and temporarily in command of the company. The sergeant-major brought the order to me, saying that my company was detailed for that duty, and gave me directions how to find the place. We saddled up and set out, arriving at the place just after dark, and posted the sentinels according to orders. In order to make my story clear I will make this explanation.

“From the main, or river, road to the canal, it was about twenty rods by a small road or by-path, surrounded with sparsely growing shrubs and small pines. This path had a slight rise for about half the distance, then fell off sharply to the bottom of a ravine, this ravine running parallel with the river. The path here made a slight turn to the right, continuing to the bed of a stream that flowed through the culvert, beyond which was a ford of the river. Directly across the ravine, on a slight bluff, stood a block house, or “bomb proof,” and I must describe this, as it has much to do with my story. It was built by setting two rows of timber like a stockade, one outside the other about seven feet apart, and the space between filled with earth, the top covered with heavy timbers and then with earth to a depth of about seven feet. The only entrance to this block house was through a hole so small that only one man could get through at a time, and on hands and knees at that. While the sentinels were being posted, some of the men investigated the hole, got inside and built a small fire so that the inside of the place could be seen. It looked like a good place to spend the night. Our horses were ranged along the bottom of the ravine and fastened to trees and bushes that grew plentifully on one side.

“Upon getting inside the block house it was found that while a good place to spend the night, it would be a bad place in case of attack, because one man with a picked stick would hold us all prisoners or starve us to death. It was therefore ordered that if attacked every man should get out and get to his horse as soon as possible. I will say here, that I had posted sentinels as follows: One at the mouth of the culvert, on a bank of the canal further down the stream, and one at the highest point of the by-path already mentioned. We had hardly got ready to spend the night in the block house when the sentinel posted up the road, challenged, and called out the guard. We got out through that unfortunate hole as quick as we could into line and after a parley allowed one of the party to approach and give the countersign. It was then found to be a company of the “Scots 900” sent there with orders almost identical with mine. It was under command of a lieutenant who at once took command of the whole. He looked at my orders and together we rode around and visited my sentinels, who challenged sharply and required the countersign in good style.

“He approved of what I had done and suggested that as his orders required him to post sentinels he would take two men from his company and for relief he would take three men from my company and two from his and so on till morning. One of these men was posted south of the block house, on high ground, and the others to the north on what would be a continuation of the ravine, or what we supposed was a cropping ledge slightly higher than the surrounding intervale. It was afterward found on a direct line with the culvert. These sentinels were posted without saying anything about it to the others. Then our troubles began. I will say that the night was very dark, the stars could be dimly seen through the haze, and the atmosphere was in condition to transmit sound to a long distance. No wind was perceptible. We had scarcely got inside the block house when a shot was fired, immediately followed by others, and a general uproar outside. We all made a dive for that confounded hole and got out, and there was trouble enough. The sentinels on the low ground were chasing each other, challenging and shooting right and left, and those on the high ground were firing and calling out the guard. And then all made a break for the block house. After much confusion order was restored and as no enemy was found, the sentinels were returned to their posts. Then the lieutenant and myself investigated. We found that the last sentinel posted had fired first and he explained that he had heard something and seen something move, and had challenged and threatened and then fired, but since returning to his rest had seen nothing. I had posted Frank Kelley at the mouth of the culvert, as good a man as I had. He explained that he had heard men talking at the further end of the culvert and after a few pistol shots had been fired, a whole battery of artillery fired, and seeing the flash of a gun up in the field felt sure we were attacked, and made all the noise he could. A further investigation showed that the echo in the culvert would account for all the noise he had heard.

“We then returned to the block house and the lieutenant decided to relieve the guard then and start new so as to avoid any further trouble. The detail was made and we crawled out of that miserable hole and made the rounds systematically, relieving the guard and leaving everything in good order. As the night was chilly, the lieutenant and myself crawled inside once more and had scarcely got in when shots were fired and all hands got outside of that infernal hole and found that the shots we heard were from some party up in the main road, and that a regular battle was going on up there. We felt sure that the enemy was around and made a disposition to give him a warm reception as soon as he came within range. Our whole force was drawn up across the path at the bottom of the ravine. Our carbines were fully charged and every man was instructed just what to do. Soon the firing died out and we could hear a parley going on and after considerable loud talk the whole party seemed to be coming towards us. The lieutenant placed one of his best men at the post on the top of the hill with positive orders to challenge before he fired. True to his instructions, when the party got near enough, he sung out “Who comes there?” fired, and then scampered down the hill to where we stood in line of battle. The forces approaching, then knowing that it was the enemy, opened up on us with everything they could, and we knowing it was the enemy, returned the compliment in kind and together we filled the sky full of bullets for a short time. But our fire soon slackened and the enemy appeared to have retreated. We began to look around to see if any of our men were hurt, when a voice was heard asking what troops we were.

“After a long parley he was allowed to come in, and we found that he belonged to our regiment and that the whole crowd were United States troops sent to our relief. It seems that when we had our first scrimmage the noise we made was heard up to our camp and reported to the colonel that Sergeant Ellis was attacked, and he at once ordered out a company to our relief. The noise was also heard down to the camp of the Scots nine hundred, and a company was ordered out to their relief. These two companies meeting where they had no right to expect any troops, naturally mistook each other for the enemy and pitched into each other, and had a regular fight; but after a while found out their mistake and joined together, but were unable to account for the first firing they had heard. They approached our position, and the reception we gave them led them to believe that the picket was in the hands of the enemy, and had therefore opened on us with all their might. About this time it began to grow light, so the pickets were called in and each party prepared to return to camp and report; but first the ranking officers wanted to find out how the row began.

“The man who fired the first shot was found and taken to the place where he was posted to explain how it was. He insisted that he had seen and heard something that would not answer his challenge; and sure enough on the low ground, right in front of where he stood lay an old cow — dead, the blood still oozing froma bullet wound. We then started for camp. When we got up in sight of the main road we saw down on the right a line of skirmishers and upon the left a line of skirmishers, all coming towards us, and all wore the blue; and behind each was the rest of their regiment in all the pomp and circumstance of war.

“As soon as we were near enough to understand the case each line involuntarily halted and looked at each other. Then the commander of each regiment, seeming to comprehend, rode to the front between the lines and went at each other, and if you never heard a wordy war you would have heard one then. It did seem as if blood would be spilt then, if not before. But their ammunition was soon expended, and more explanations followed, when it was found that when our second and third fights were going on it was reported to our colonel, “Sergeant Ellis is having another fight down there,” and to the colonel of the Scots 900, “They are at it again up there.” Then each colonel called in all the force he could raise and came to the rescue as I have described. After the investigation had all been gone over again without much satisfaction to any one, each regiment started for its own camp, when a broad smile came over all that had not actually been engaged, but to us who were there, it was a serious affair. We were all badly frightened and much ammunition had been expended but the only thing wounded or killed was that old cow.”

Editor’s afterword: The entire Reserve Brigade was at the Cavalry Depot at Giesboro Point, Washington, D.C. from August 12 to October 11, 1863. The regiment didn’t have a “colonel” serving with it at the time. It was commanded during the Bristoe Run campaign (October 9-22, 1863) by Captain George A. Gordon, and it is reasonable to assume that he was commanding during this incident as well. (Source: OR-Series I, Volume XXIX, Chapter XLI, Pg 212)

Fiddler’s Green: Charles E. Farrand

12 Friday Sep 2008

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This Fiddler’s Green entry is about an honorary cavalryman. Charles Farrand was actually an infantry officer, but he commanded cavalrymen for a good portion of the war. In my mind, this makes him an enlightened infantryman, but I do admit a touch of bias.

Charles E. Farrand was born in April 1835 in Cayuga County, New York. His father was a US Navy officer who later achieved the rank of commodore in the Confederate Navy during the Civil War. He was admitted to the US Military Academy on July 1, 1853, listing his residence as Brockport, Monroe County, New York. He graduated four years later, 36th in his class. Initially assigned as a brevet second lieutenant to the 2nd US Infantry on graduation, he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, 7th US Infantry on January 2, 1858.

After the outbreak of the Civil War, Farrand was promoted to first lieutenant in the newly-created 11th US Infantry Regiment. He didn’t reach his new regiment for some time, however. During the early campaigns in the western theater of the war, he commanded Company C, 2nd US Cavalry. This company had been left without officers after the deluge of resignations at the beginning of the war, and was trying to make its way east to join the rest of the regiment in the eastern theater.

Lieutenant Farrand first commanded the company in combat during the battle of Wilson’s Creek. He was commended by his superiors for his conduct during the battle and for securing an abandoned cannon during the retreat. In his report on the battle, General Fremont wrote “Second Lieutenant Charles E. Farrand, First Regiment U.S. Infantry, distinguished for gallant and meritorious conduct under the command of General Sigel.” (OR, Ser I, Vol 3, pg 56) He was promoted to captain in the 11th US Infantry on October 24, 1861.

Captain Farrand commanded a cavalry squadron consisting of his company and Company I, 4th US Cavalry through the Forts Henry and Donelson campaign, Shiloh, Iuka and Corinth. He became an aide de camp for Major General William S. Rosecrans in October 1862 during the Corinth campaign, and apparently served with him through the remainder of the war.

After the war, the 20th US Infantry Regiment was created by adding two companies to the second battalion of the 11th US Infantry on September 21, 1866. Captain Farrand was transferred with the battalion to the new regiment on the same date. He was honorably mustered out of service on January 1, 1871.

Charles E. Farrand died on September 29, 1900 according to the Colorado State Archives, and is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Denver, Colorado

Happy Birthday, 2nd US Cavalry!

26 Monday May 2008

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Yesterday marked the 172nd birthday of the 2nd US Cavalry, the oldest active continuously serving regiment in the Army. Currently mounted on Strykers, the regiment is serving outside of Baghdad as the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment.

An article from the Stars & Stripes on the event is here.

Happy Birthday, Dragoons! Best wishes for continued success and a safe return home. Toujours Pret!