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Regular Cavalry in the Civil War

Regular Cavalry in the Civil War

Category Archives: Memorial Day

Memorial Day: On the Death of Edward Falkner

26 Monday May 2014

Posted by dccaughey in 1863, 6th U.S. Cavalry, battle of Brandy Station, Memorial Day, poetry

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6th U.S. Cavalry, Beverly Ford, Brandy Station, cavalry, Civil War, Memorial Day

It strikes me as appropriate on Memorial Day, formerly Decoration Day for the Civil War dead, to post on a fallen soldier. And I do not think I can do so more eloquently than this family member did in 1863. Jimmy and I both loved this poem and had hoped to include it in our history of the 6th U.S. Cavalry, but unfortunately there wasn’t room.

“Lines on the Death of Mr. Edward Falkner, Jun., of the 6th Regiment U.S. Cavalry, Who fell in a Cavalry Charge at Brandy Station, on the ‘Rappahannock,’ 9th June, 1863.
The freest land the sun illumes,
Resounds with shouts of war;
The South a hostile form assumes
‘Gainst freedom’s sacred law;

And freedom’s sons pour out their life
Her Honour to sustain,
And kindred meet in bloody strife
Upon the battle plain;

And happy homes are rudely shorn
Of all that gave them joy,
For sire and son away are borne
Upon the field to die.

The maiden mourns in deep distress
For him she once caressed;
The widow strains the fatherless
Upon her sobbing breast.

Thousands that left their native land,
In search of peaceful toil,
Are stretched by war’s relentless hand
Upon the gory soil.

One home of five left England’s shore
With all she boasts behind,
And crossed the wide Atlantic o’er
A better land to fnd.

These dwelt in peace till age’s frost
Upon the parents came,
And boyhood of their sons was lost,
In manhood’s hardy frame; —

Who fired with zeal for freedom’s cause,
The Federal army join,
And in defence of righteous laws
Confront the Southern line.

The eldest chose the horseman’s ground,
Where swords and lances gleam,
And soon among his comrades found
Respect and high esteem;

For though his rough and stalwart frame
Could fearless meet the foe,
His dauntless heart knew mercy’s name,
And felt for others’ woe.

Long did the starry banner wave,
As emblem of the free,
Where manfully he fought to save
The flag of liberty.

But on the 9th of June he fell
By Rappahannock’s side,
When in a noble charge to quell
The advanced rebel tide.

Two thousand of the choicest horse
From out the Federal band,
Were marched against the Southern force
At General Lee’s command.

The armies met, the fight began,
And tumult filled the air,
While streams of fire like lightning ran,
Midst the conflict there.

Charge! Charge!! my men, their leader cried,
And ere the bugle sounds,
The gallant horsemen fiercely ride
Across the rebel bounds.

Where, through dense clouds of dust and smoke,
The bullets fell like rain,
While the hoarse cannon’s thunder spoke
A requiem for the slain.

But in that charge our hero died,
Pierced by a musket ball,
And o’er his foaming charger’s side
Was lifeless seen to fall.

The missile through his heart had broke,
And did its work too well;
For not a word the soldier spoke
When to the ground he fell.

Swift from its cell, amid the strife,
The soldier’s spirit fled,
Nor lingered long that moral life
‘Twixt dying and the dead.

With willing hands the corpse to save,
From the stern fate of war,
His comrades bore it o’er the wave,
To a more peaceful shore;

And dug with mournful haste a grave,
For him they loved so well,
While tears of manly sorrow strayed,
Down their rough cheeks, and fell

On the uncoffin’d form that lies,
In death’s cold slumber there,
And turned to heaven their tearful eyes,
In mute but earnest prayer.

Thus broke the sacred chain that bound
That home in life and love,
But firmer will its links be found,
That bind that home above.

Green be the memory of the brave
That fought for freedom’s right,
And nobly died her flag to save
From the slave tyrant’s might.

Honour to England’s sons of toil,
That left their native shores,
And fell upon a foreign soil
For freedom’s righteous laws.

J.F.
Birmingham, 1863.”

 

Edward Falkner was born in England in 1838, and was a farmer in New York before the war. He enlisted into Company I, 6th U.S. Cavalry at Rochester, New York on September 7, 1861. He was killed in action as the poem states at Beverly Ford on June 9, 1863.

Memorial Day

28 Monday May 2007

Posted by dccaughey in Casualties, Memorial Day

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Since we’re celebrating Memorial Day today, it seems appropriate to post about those who lost their lives in the regular cavalry regiments during the Civil War. Who knows, someday I might even find all of their names someday.

The 1st US Cavalry lost 9 officers and 73 enlisted men killed and died of wounds, for a total of 82. Another 93, 2 officers and 91 enlisted men, died of disease, accidents or in prison. Total deaths were 175, the most of any of the six regiments. I found this surprising, since they missed all of the fighting in 1861 and had no exceedingly high casualty engagements such as Gaines’ Mill or Fairfield.

The 2nd US Cavalry lost 5 officers and 73 enlisted men killed and died of wounds, for a total of 78. Another 95 personnel, 3 officers and 92 enlisted men, died of disease, accidents or in prison. Total deaths were 173, second among the six.

The 3rd US Cavalry lost 2 officers and 30 enlisted men killed and died of wounds, for a total of 32. Another 108 personnel were lost due to disease, accidents and prison deaths. Total deaths were 140, the lowest of the six regiments. This is easily explained, given that they had the fewest engagements of the six regiments during the war.

The 4th US Cavalry lost 3 officers and 59 enlisted men killed and died of wounds, for a total of 62. One additional officer and 108 enlisted men died due to disease, accident or prison, for a total of 109. Total deaths were 171, third among the regiments. I’d expected this total to be higher since they had elements in major battles in both theaters before the regiment was consolidated in the western theater following Antietam.

The 5th US Cavalry lost 7 officers and 60 enlisted men killed or died of wounds, for a total of 67. Another 2 officers and 90 enlisted men died due to disease, accidents or in prison. Total deaths were 159, again lower than I’d expected due to the losses at Gaines’ Mill alone.

The 6th US Cavalry lost 2 officers and 50 enlisted men killed or died of wounds, for a total of 52. They lost an additional 107, one officer and 106 enlisted men, to disease, accidents or prison deaths. Again, these numbers were lower than I’d expected, given losses at Fairfield and Funkstown.

Totals for all regiments were 28 officers and 345 enlisted men killed or died of wounds, for a total of 373. 12 officers and 592 enlisted men died of disease, accident or prison, for a total of 977. Again, these numbers seem somewhat low, but only include deaths, not total casualties.

Sources for this information include Haskin and Rodenbough’s 1896 The Army of the United States and Fox’s Regimental Losses of the Civil War.

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A Meaningful Finale

A 28-year Army veteran takes to the Appalachian Trail to contemplate a life well served & the road ahead

The Task at Hand

A Writer's On-Going Search for Just the Right Words

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A Journal of the Digitization of a Civil War Battle

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Campaigns of the U. S. Civil War

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