This Mighty Scourge

I recently finished reading Joe Collea’s recent book, “The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War.”  It seems that I’ve been on a cavalry book binge, as of late, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  Published by McFarland & Company, Inc. on December 23, 2009 it is Mr. Collea’s first book on the Civil War.  Collea describes himself as a lifelong history teacher that is now principal of Hartford High School in White River Junction, Vermont.  An educator for over 40 years he was a Fulbright Scholar.  He studied at the American University in Cairo.

The first thing I noticed when I started reading “The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War was the excellent chapter notes.  Collea has spent many years researching the 1st Vermont Cavalry and it shows.  His appendixes are worthy of a read by themselves, but are best enjoyed during and after reading the book.

• Appendix A: Muster Roll of the First Vermont Cavalry
• Appendix B: Engagements of the 1st Vermont Cavalry
• Appendix C: Assignments of the 1st Vermont Cavalry
• Appendix D: Medal of Honor Recipients in the 1st Vermont Cavalry
• Appendix E: “Farnsworth’s Charge” Revisited: The Second Battle of Gettysburg
• Appendix F: Garryowen

Collea quickly jumps into things in the first chapter, Recruitment: The Birth of a Regiment.  During this chapter the reader is led on a journey through the recruitment process and the politics involved in fielding a regiment.  Interestingly enough, the author describes how the 1st Vermont Cavalry nearly became an infantry regiment.  If it were not for well connected political allies it is quite possible Colonel Charles Tompkins’ soldiers would have been infantrymen instead of cavalry troopers.

The next four chapters deal with camp life and training.  I found these chapters very interesting as the author develops many of the soldiers into “real people.”  Unlike large battle narratives, this book allows you to get to know the soldiers and officers and you feel like you are in their camps.  Many of the soldiers you will follow throughout the entire book and you are with them when they get promoted – or in some cases you are there when they get cashiered from the service.

Throughout the rest of the book, Collea takes you directly into action with the 1st Vermont Cavalry.  His prose is excellent and provides vivid imagery of the battles the Green Mountain Boys fought in.  He covers all of their engagements including minor skirmishes with Confederate Partisan Ranger John S. Mosby.  Some of the significant engagements Collea covers in detail are:

1. Mt. Jackson (the 1st Vermont Cavalry’s baptism of fire)
2. Actions near Middletown, Virginia during US Major General Nathaniel Banks’ 1862 retreat
3. Miskel’s Farm (one of the more devastating fights against Mosby)
4. Gettysburg (a well written narrative of US Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick’s July 3 attack on Longstreet’s line at Gettysburg)
5. Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid
6. Battle of Yellow Tavern
7. Battle of Hawe’s Shop (another heartbreaking battle)
8. Wilson-Kautz Raid with an emphasis on the Battle of Stoney Creek
9. Battle of Tom’s Brook (Woodstock Races)
10. Battle of Cedar Creek (the pinnacle of success for the 1st Vermont Cavalry with three troopers receiving Medals of Honor)
11. Appomattox Station (the final battle of the Civil War for the 1st Vermont Cavalry)

Throughout the book, Collea expertly moves from describing a battle to telling the story of a trooper or the family he leaves behind.  These stories will pull at your heartstrings and help you understand how personal the Civil War was on the home front.  Throughout the book, the reader will find 22 maps.  These excellent maps were produced by the author’s son, Bob Collea.

I highly recommend “The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War” for any serious students of the Civil War.  The chapters of the book melt away as Mr. Collea takes you on a long, fascinating journey with the 1st Vermont Cavalry.  This book will be especially intriguing for anyone with a high level of interest in cavalry operations.

I was able to speak with Joe Collea on March 29, 2010.  The following interview is very interesting and Collea was very engaging to interview.  As always, I have split the interview into separate parts so you can listen to the entire interview at your leisure.

Details about “The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War”
Written by: Joseph D. Collea, Jr.
Paperback: 343 pages
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc.
Date of First Edition: December 23, 2009
ISBN-10: 0786433833

Joseph D. Collea, Jr. Interview – 13 Parts
Interview Date: March 29, 2010
Total Time: 1 hour 22 minutes 56 seconds

Part 1:

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Time: 7:09
Contents: Welcome and introductions | About Joe and his interest in the Civil War | Joe’s mentors and historians | The 1st Vermont Cavalry – nearly did not exist | The Morgan horse in the Civil War

Part 2:

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Time: 7:19
Contents: The 1st Vermont is mustered in | Life in camp | The 1st Vermont heads to the Shenandoah Valley | The Battle of Mt. Jackson

Part 3:

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Time: 8:28
Contents: Battles around Winchester | The retreat into Maryland | New cavalry command structure | Engagement at Ashby’s Gap | About Addison Preston

Part 4:

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Time: 7:00
Contents: The affair at Aldie, Virginia | Captain Huntoon made the scapegoat | The capture of Captain John Woodward | Battle of Miskel’s Farm – opportunity missed

Part 5:

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Time: 6:32
Contents: Joe’s use of firsthand accounts from soldiers’ wives | Regimental histories vs. large battle narratives | The 1st Vermont was a tight knit group of brothers | The Battle of Hanover | Small victories provide the 1st Vermont with confidence and experience

Part 6:

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Time: 6:12
Contents: Judson Kilpatrick’s assault on Longstreet’s lines at Gettysburg – July 3, 1863| The ground south of Little Round Top and how it played into the defeat of Kilpatrick’s attack at Gettysburg

Part 7:

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Time: 4:44
Contents: Joe’s transitions from a battle narrative to a soldier’s story | Researching “The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War” | Researching Civil War soldiers and battles at the National Archives

Part 8:

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Time: 7:55
Contents: The 1st Vermont Cavalry’s part in the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid | The changing tactics of Federal Cavalry tactics – Federal raids became the norm with “Hard War” being delivered to the southern citizenry | The Confederate backlash against the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid | Another shake-up in the Federal Cavalry command structure – the reaction of the 1st Vermont Cavalry

Part 9:

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Time: 6:22
Contents: The Overland Campaign and Federal cavalry actions under US Major General Philip Sheridan | The Battle of Yellow Tavern | The Battle of Hawe’s Shop – its impact on the 1st Vermont Cavalry

Part 10:

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Time: 5:42
Contents: The 1st Vermont’s participation in the Wilson-Kautz Raid | Fighting Wade Hampton’s Cavalry at Stoney Creek | US Major General James H. Wilson leaves the Army of the Potomac – another shake-up of in the command structure of Sheridan’s Federal Cavalry

Part 11:

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Time: 6:55
Contents: The 1st Vermont heads to the Shenandoah Valley to defeat Jubal Early’s Army of the Valley | The fiasco on Back Road – Alfred T.A. Torbert reputation is tarnished | Torbert attacks Thomas Rosser’s Confederate Cavalry at Tom’s Brook (Woodstock Races) | The Battle of Cedar Creek – the 1st Vermont Cavalry’s shining moment | The 1st Vermont Cavalry was awarded three Medals of Honor for their actions at Cedar Creek

Part 12:

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Time: 6:36
Contents: The 1st Vermont musters out its veterans after Cedar Creek | The Battle of Waynesborough, Virginia – Early’s Army of the Valley’s last battle | Sheridan’s decision to join Grant at Petersburg instead of Sherman’s army in North Carolina | The battles of Five Forks and Appomattox Station | The Vermont cavalry under General George Custer at Appomattox Court House – a fitting finish to the war for the Green Mountain Boys | The 1st Vermont Cavalry during Frontier service in the northeast | Final mustering

Part 13:

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Time: 2:02
Contents:  Joe’s future projects | Wrap up and closing

Today, Christians around the world are celebrating Good Friday.  However, 147 years ago today the soldiers fighting in the Civil War were engaged in spring campaigning.  Near Snow Hill, Tennessee flowering dogwoods were blooming and the native grasses were becoming a luxuriant green.  A new color was soon to be introduced – RED.  With US Major General William S. Rosecrans’Army of the Cumberland well entrenched at Murfreesboro skirmishes were common in the vicinity.  Over the past several weeks CSA Colonel Basil W. Duke’s 1st Cavalry Brigade, of Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan’sCavalry Division, had been on the move constantly.  They patrolled south of Murfreesboro scouting for any Federal movements.  On the Federal side US Colonel Eli Long’s Second Cavalry Brigade of Brigadier General John B. Turchin’sSecond Cavalry Division were active.  The 3d Ohio Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Charles B. Seidel, and the 4th Ohio Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver P. Robie were scouting in the area of Snow Hill on April 2.  They would clash with CSA Colonel D. Howard Smith’s 5th Kentucky (CSA) Cavalry regiment.  With the Federal forces having a significant numerical superiorty, they would be victorious at Snow Hill suffering nine casualties (1 killed), while Smith lost 50 killed and wounded.  The cavalry skirmishes would continue for the next several weeks leading up to the Tullahoma Campaign.

Eri D. Woodbury was born on May 30, 1837, to Henry Woodbury and Hannah Davidson Woodbury, at Francetown, New Hampshire.    He would enlist in the 1st Vermont Cavalry, on December 14, 1863, as a private in Company E.  Woodbury was a graduate of Dartmouth College and would quickly learn the ropes of a cavalry trooper, “….(while) riding his horse to water, with only a halter, (when) he ran off: but I rode as far as he ran.”  The next day he wrote, “In mounting a horse for water today, while a couple of officers were looking on, I sprang and land(ed) clear of the other side in the mud.”(i)  Obviously Woodbury would learn to ride better as he had many cavalry engagements awaiting him!

On May 5, 1864, during the opening phases of the Battle of the Wilderness, Woodbury would see action at Craig’s Meeting House where he was sent forward, on foot, as a skirmisher.  Woodbury would describe the action, “I had taken a position behind a rail fence when one of Co. came up on my right and I moved about a foot and a half to the left, he taking my place.  In a half a minute a ball hit him in the temple – and without a groan he was ‘mustered out.’  His warm blood formed a little pool in which my knees were steeped.”(ii)  Woodbury would survive the skirmish at Craig’s Meeting House unscathed. 

During the Overland Campaign, Woodbury, and the 1st Vermont Cavalry, would participate in several significant engagements: Yellow Tavern, Meadow Bridge, and Hawe’s Shop.  After the Army of the Potomac crossed the James River, the 1st Vermont would participate in many raids south of Petersburg, most notably the Wilson-Kautz Raid.  This raid’s objective was to tear up track on three railroads: Richmond and Danville, Weldon and Southside.  Additionally, two important bridges were to be destroyed: High Bridge on the Southside and Roanoke on the Richmond and Danville.  After tearing up 60 miles of track the troopers reached High Bridge on June 25.  This bridge was heavily guarded and significant action took place in trying to push the Rebels from the bridge.  The 1st Vermont, while not directly involved in the fighting at High Bridge, were assigned rear guard duty – a very important assignment with Fitzhugh Lee’s Confederate Cavalry prowling in their rear.  During the evening, Wilson and Kautz determined that it was impracticable to remain in the area and made plans to reunite with the Army of the Potomac at Petersburg.  Their route would take them in a roughly northeasterly direction, swinging in somewhat of an arc.  For two and a half days, their return march proved uneventful.  This would change as the approached Stoney Creek.  There at Sappony Church was CSA Major General Wade Hampton’s cavalry division, many dismounted, blocking their route to the Federal lines at Petersburg.  Over the next couple of hours the 1st Vermont would work to throw up modest works.  Woodbury was assigned a front position from which he would kneel, directing his fire at the Confederate position.  While not well liked by most troopers, this position did offer them some protection from the Confederate musketry.  As Woodbury describes, “…many a time during that night the balls struck in this frail defense or in the dirt so near it as to sprinkle us with sand.”(iii)  The fight at Stoney Creek would continue throughout the night.  With first light, Wilson quickly determined to pursue a different route.  Pulling Kautz’s command out of line, he ordered them north towards Ream’s Station.  By mid-morning Wilson ordered the rest of his troopers to pull out of line and head for Ream’s Station.  The 1st Vermont, 3d Indiana and 8th New York were given the unenviable job of fighting a delaying action against a much larger Confederate force.  This would require the troopers to march a distance, dismount and fight the enemy, re-mount when the pressure became too severe, ride a distance and repeat the whole process – all the while under enemy fire.  Eventually, during this delaying action, over 60 Vermonters would be captured, many of which would end up at the dreaded Andersonville Prison.  Finding portions of Fitzhugh Lee and Hampton’s cavalry, along with a division of Confederate infantry, at Ream’s Station, Kautz and Wilson changed plans and would make their escape to the west – a direction the Confederates would not expect – before turning around and heading further south and then pushing east to the Weldon where their route would be open.  While Wilson was setting his plans in motion, Kautz was able to make his escape, with portions of Wilson’s command, and would arrive at the Federal camps on June 29.  Wilson’s much longer route would prevent him from arriving at Petersburg until July 2.  The cost of the Wilson-Kautz Raid was high with the Federal cavalry suffering over 900 casualties.  It was another sad chapter in the close knit 1st Vermont which would suffer 90 casualties.  Having left with 370+ men, the Green Mountain Boys would suffer a casualty rate nearly 25%, quite high for a mounted arm.(iv)

Over the next three weeks the 1st Vermont would receive some much needed rest.  They would camp on some high ground near the James River, enjoying much needed provisions.  In August, with CSA Lieutenant General Jubal Early’s 2d Corps Army of Northern Virginia (the 2d Corps would be designated the Army of the Valley) on the prowl in the Shenandoah Valley and Maryland, things began to change quickly in Army of the Potomac’s camps.  With the Lincoln administration fearing a raid on Washington City, Grant detached portions of his army (two divisions of cavalry, VI Army Corps and XIX Army Corps) to Harper’s Ferry.  Once there they would combine with the VIII Corps and form the Middle Department with US Major General Philip Sheridan in command of the combined forces.  Sheridan wasted no time and pushed his army into the Shenandoah Valley to confront Jubal Early’s Army of the Valley.  Finding Early’s forces spread out, near Winchester, Sheridan would attack them on September 19.  At what would be known as the Battle of Third Winchester (or Battle of Opequon), Sheridan would roughly handle Early sending him retreating up the valley.  The 1st Vermont Cavalry had little involvement in this battle. 

Next Sheridan’s army would find Early’s army holding high ground at Fisher’s Hill.  Executing a wonderfully designed plan, Sheridan was able to rout Early from the hill on September 21–22.  While the fight was going on at Fisher’s Hill, US Brigadier General Alfred Torbert was in command of a cavalry detachment sent towards Front Royal to block the Valley Turnpike sealing Early’s escape route from Fisher’s Hill.  The third cavalry division failed to block the road.  On October 7, Torbert’s rear guard was attacked by CSA Brigadier General Thomas Rosser’s Confederate cavalry division.  The 1st Vermont was in the rear guard and young Eri Woodbury described the unfolding events, “Today while pursuing our devastating course (the “Burning” of the Valley) we were attacked by Gen. Rosser’s Div. of Cavalry. I was sent out on a skirmish line with a squad of men.  While there they flanked us upon the left, & our troops were forced into a confused retreat.  I was at one time very near being captured.”  Sheridan was furious that Torbert had failed.  Besides the battlefield losses, Rosser’s troopers were able to capture seven important portable forges.  On October 8, Sheridan met with Torbert and made his thoughts quite clear: “That night I told Torbert I expected him either to give Rosser a drubbing next morning or get whipped himself, and the infantry would be halted until the affair was over.  I also told him that I proposed to ride out to Round Top Mountain to see the fight.”(v)

On the next morning, October 9, Torbert was able to resuscitate his career.  In what would be called the Battle of Tom’s Brook (also known as the Woodstock Races) Torbert’s numerically superior cavalry, containing two divisions, was able to easily flank Rosser’s position.  As historian Joseph D. Collea, Jr. described in his book, “The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War,” the Battle of Tom’s Brook “was a cavalry fight from start to finish.”  The First Vermont was positioned on the right flank and would not see action until later in the battle.  With Brigadier General George Custer leading the right wing, which included the 1st Vermont, the cavaliers charged forward in textbook style, building momentum gradually, rolling forward “in a walk to the skirmish line, then a trot, then a gallop, then a wild rush of shouting troopers and frantic horses.”(vi)  Custer’s troopers quickly pushed CSA Colonel Thomas Munford’s cavalry from Spiker’s Hill while the left wing drove the remainder of Rosser’s cavalry from their position.  Woodbury, then a sergeant, described the action, “We charged them, drove them and then drove them about seven miles.”(vii)  It was at this point that the “races” began with Custer’s wing driving the Confederate cavalry towards Columbia Furnace while the left wing drove them towards New Market.  The 1st Vermont would regroup, near Strasburg, after driving the enemy nearly twenty-six miles.

After the defeat of Jubal Early’s Army of the Valley at Fisher’s Hill, and the cavalry battle at Tom’s Brook, Federal army commanders felt that Early’s army was pretty well played out.  By the morning of October 19, Sheridan’s entire Middle Department was bivouacked north of Cedar Creek, near Middletown.  It was during the overnight hours, of October 19, that Early set in motion one of his most daring plans.  Sending CSA Major General John B. Gordon’s Division on a wide right flanking march, Gordon was able to slam into US Brigadier General George Crook’s VIII Corps at first light.  Quickly followed by the rest of Early’s army, Crook’s soldiers were pushed from their camps while their coffee was brewing.  The VIII Corps were quickly routed and pushed through US Brigadier General William Emory’s XIX Corps camps with the result being the same.  The Federal lines did not begin to stabilize until the last remaining Federal army corps, US Brigadier General James B. Rickett’s VI Corps, was pushed north, beyond Middletown.  Unfortunately, for the Federal fortunes, Phil Sheridan was at Winchester.  While he was away, US Major General Horatio Wright was left in charge of the army.  While Wright was an able commander, he was surprised by the early morning attack and was unprepared to defend his position.  Sheridan, hearing sounds of battle, mounted his powerful horse, Rienzi, and dashed back to his army.  Covering the seventeen miles very quickly, Sheridan would find his army in disarray north of Middletown.

Quickly bringing order, out of the chaos, Sheridan deployed his army to counterattack.  Riding in front of his lines he motivated his troops and the soldiers quickly realized they would be back in their camps that night.  Early, realizing Sheridan had no plan to retreat, determined to set up a defensive line north of Cedar Creek.  With the VI Corps marching towards the Confederate line, Sheridan ordered Custer to attack the Rebel left flank.  Placing the 1st Vermont and 5th New York into line, he quickly began to push across the open fields of grass.  Eri Woodbury would once again see action and would provide his country with his most valuable service at Cedar Creek.  Confederate General John B. Gordon described the events unfolding around him, “There came from the north side of the plain a dull, heavy swelling sound like the roaring of a distant cyclone, the omen of additional disaster.  It was unmistakable.  Sheridan’s horsemen were riding furiously across the open fields of grass to intercept the Confederates before they crossed Cedar Creek.”(viii)  The sudden charge of infantry and cavalry proved more than the Early’s shell shocked soldiers could handle.  As Collea described in his book, “Before the Vermonters a cavalryman’s dream lay waiting – a foe, already psychologically defeated, was in every-man-for-himself flight.”  This was not lost on the Vermont troopers, including Woodbury.  Charging past the most forward Federal infantry position the 1st Vermont was pushing the Rebels hard.  During the enemy’s flight, Woodbury, conspicuously mounted on his horse, and alone, came upon four armed Confederate infantrymen.  With one of the Rebels hiding a flag behind his back, Woodbury, with only a saber, demanded their surrender.  The tar-heels immediately complied becoming prisoners and turning over their weapons and flag.  Woodbury, himself, describes it best, stating that he noticed “a little hill on the left of the road at the entrance to Fisher’s Hill was covered with fugitive infantry.  I charged in alone, cut off four, and captured a battle flag belonging to the 12th NC Regt.’s infantry.”(ix)  The victory was complete.  Jubal Early’s Army of the Valley, already weakened, was forced to retreat deeper into the Shenandoah Valley.

The 1st Vermont Cavalry, would establish their winter camps near Winchester.  On February 27, Sheridan’s army pushed south.  Leading the van of the army was Colonel William Wells’ cavalry brigade – including the proud 1st Vermont.  Wells had entered the service as captain of Company C, 1st Vermont.  He was a favorite amongst the men from Vermont and had advanced slowly to brigade command.  Sheridan’s objectives, during the late winter of 1865, were left somewhat to his discretion.  Besides destroying the Virginia Central Railroad he was interested in the James River Canal and Lynchburg.(x)  Upon reaching Staunton, Sheridan sent Custer’s division east towards Waynesboro, on March 2.  Brigadier General Thomas Devin’s cavalry division followed Custer.  Waynesboro was situated on the Virginia Central Railroad making it strategically important to Sheridan.  Upon approaching the village, Custer found Early’s troops situated behind earthworks just west of town.  Reconnoitering the area, it was determined that Early’s left flank was vulnerable to attack.  Sensing an attack on this sector could crumble Early’s position, Custer turned again to the 1st Vermont.  After forming their lines the brave Green Mountain boys charged the Rebel line, which quickly folded.  With additional units attacking the center, Early was once again forced to retreat.  While a small engagement, in term of forces engaged, the Confederates suffered over 1,500 casualties – most of them captured.  Early and his staff, however, were able to elude capture.  With the Shenandoah Valley completely cleared of resistance, Sheridan exited the valley and pushed south, destroying the James River Canal locks near Goochland Court House.  On March 27 Sheridan reunited with the Army of the Potomac at Hancock’s Station near Petersburg. 

The beginning of the end was at hand.  Grant, now reunited with Sheridan, intended to use his forces immediately.  On April 1, Sheridan commanding a force that included Devin and Custer’s cavalry divisions and US Major General Gouverneur K. Warren’s V Corps, attacked CSA Major General George Pickett’s division at Five Forks.  While Woodbury, and the 1st Vermont, were held in reserve on the Federal left flank, the V Corps rolled up Pickett’s left flank forcing another Confederate retreat.  The loss of Five Forks made Robert E. Lee’s position at Petersburg untenable.  On the evening of April 2, Lee evacuated the trenches at Richmond and Petersburg and headed west.  Sheridan again played a major role, in the retreat to Appomattox, preventing Lee from pushing south towards a junction with CSA General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee in North Carolina.  On April 8, learning that supply trains were arriving at Appomattox Station, Custer’s cavalry division was able to defeat the Confederate reserve artillery, commanded by CSA Colonel Lindsay Walker, that was guarding the station.  The 1st Vermont Cavalry played a significant role in the action there, holding the right flank of the attacking Federal line.  While no Confederate casualty figures were given, nearly 1,000 soldiers were captured including Brigadier General Young Moody.  Additionally 25–30 guns were captured along with a huge amount of supplies in the railroad cars.  After surviving nearly 18 months unscathed, recently promoted First Lieutenant Eri Woodbury would be wounded in the woods north of the station.  Woodbury described his wounding, “Suddenly (I) felt a blow (and a) numbing sensation across my breast and found myself turning a double somersault off into the bushes.”  Getting up from the ground, Woodbury checked himself out and found his “fingers were completely knocked out and hanging over the backside (of my) hand by a little shred of skin.”(xi)  This chance encounter with a piece of shrapnel would result in Woodbury having his right hand amputated.

On April 9, with the two sides facing off near Appomattox Court House, the Vermont cavalry was focused on a Rebel wagon train.  With the Confederate position untenable, Custer would receive a courier from Lieutenant General James Longstreet requesting a cease fire so Grant could receive Robert E. Lee’s surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.  It is fitting that Custer, and his 1st Vermont Cavalry, would play an instrumental role in the closing of the Civil War.  While Sheridan’s cavalry would not be at Appomattox Court House for the official surrender ceremonies, they would take part in the Grand Review of the Federal armies in Washington on May 23.  The 1st Vermont would finish its term of service at Champlain, New York, where they were on frontier duty.  They would officially muster out of service on August 9, 1865.  Due to his wounding, Lieutenant Woodbury would muster out on June 21.

After the war Woodbury would marry Emma M. McChesney.  He would become a professor at the Episcopal Academy (present day Cheshire Academy) in Cheshire, Connecticut.  He would become headmaster of the academy in 1892 and remain in that position until 1896 when he was made Principal Emeritus.(xii)  Woodbury would be presented the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Cedar Creek.  The citation, dated October 26, 1864, reads:

During the regiment’s charge when the enemy was in retreat Sgt. Woodbury encountered 4 Confederate infantrymen retreating.  He drew his saber and ordered them to surrender, overcoming by his determined actions their willingness to further resist.  They surrendered to him together with their rifles and the 12th North Carolina (C.S.A.) regimental flag.(xiii)

Lieutenant Eri Woodbury died on April 14, 1928 and is buried at Saint Peters Church Cemetery in Cheshire, Connecticut.  He is a true American HERO.

(i) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pg. 208.
(ii) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pg. 226.
(iii) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pg. 245.
(iv) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pgs. 247–248.
(v) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pg. 258.
(vi) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pg. 259.
(vii) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pg. 260.
(viii) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pgs. 264–265.
(ix) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pgs. 266–267.
(x) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pg. 276.
(xi) Collea, Jr., Joseph D., The First Vermont Cavalry in the Civil War, published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2010, Pg. 283.
(xii) See Eri D. Woodbury at Cheshire Academy’s website.
(xiii) For further information see Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients: A Complete Illustrated Record, by Broadwater, Robert P., published by McFarland & Company, Inc. in 2007, Pg. 223.

David Acheson was born in Washington, Pennsylvania on January 10, 1841.  He was the third of nine children born to Alexander and Jane Acheson (Wishart).  With the outbreak of the Civil War, the Acheson boys began enlisting in the army.  John Acheson, the oldest of the Acheson boys, enlisted in the 85th Pennsylvania Infantry regiment on November 14, 1861.  John would be promoted to the rank of captain, in Company A, on February 29, 1864.  He would serve through the end of the Civil War, reaching the rank of brevet major.  David would enlist in the 140th Pennsylvania Infantry, as captain of Company C, on August 22, 1862.  Alexander (Sandie), David’s younger brother, would enlist in the 140th Pennsylvania on the same day.  Sandie would serve his entire three year enlistment, mustering out on December 9, 1864, with a rank of captain.

Captain Acheson would be well regarded by the soldiers in his company.  Through his leadership, drilling and training he would earn their trust.(i)  After a brief stint guarding the North Central Railroad the 140th Pennsylvania would be assigned to the V Corps, Middle Department, reporting to Falmouth, Virginia on December 15, 1862.  Arriving too late to participate in the debacle at Fredericksburg, the first major action the 140th would participate in would be at Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863.  Having been transferred to the Third Brigade, First Division of US Major General Darius Couch’s II Corps, Acheson would see hard action at Chancellorsville.(ii)  US Major General Joseph Hooker’s Army of the Potomac would be brutally repulsed, retreating north across the Rappahannock River.

In June, CS General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia would take the war north of the Mason-Dixon Line.  Arriving in Pennsylvania, in late June, Lee would be opposed by a new Federal commander, US Major General George Gordon Meade.  All roads pointed to Gettysburg, where from July 1–3, 1863, 160,000 men would give battle.  On the second day of battle, new II Corps commander, US Major General Winfield S. Hancock would be ordered to support US Major General Daniel E. Sickles’ III Corps which was nearly a mile out of position.  US Brigadier General John Caldwell’s First Division would be sent to support the III Corps.  Captain David Acheson’s Company C, 140th Pennsylvania would be part of US Brigadier General Samuel Zook’s Third Brigade.  They would be sent through the retreating remnants of Sickles’ III Corps, into a rapidly advancing enemy.  Acheson, leading from the front, would be shot twice by a soldier in the 3d South Carolina Infantry.  Unfortunately, due to the speed of the approaching Confederates, Acheson’s mortally wounded body would be left on the field.  When the Confederates retreated, on July 3, Acheson’s body was recovered, and buried on the John T. Weikert Farm.  One of his soldiers carved his initials in a small boulder used as a temporary headstone.  Acheson would be re-buried near his home, in Washington, Pennsylvania, on July 15, 1863.  Fortunately the carved boulder allowed his family to find his remains.  Five years later, a member of Company C returned to Gettysburg.(iii)  Finding the boulder used as Acheson’s temporary headstone, he carved the initials deeper into the rock, allowing future generations to know where Acheson was originally buried.

Captain David Acheson served with distinction at Gettysburg, and is a true American HERO.

(i) Captain David Acheson: 140th Pennsylvania used to research this article.
(ii) The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System was used to research this article.
(iii) U.S. Civil War Soldiers Records and Profiles, from Ancestry.com, was used to research this article.

James Trimble Brown(i) was born in Pulaski, Tennessee on February 25, 1842.  Born to Neill S. Brown and Mary Anne Trimble, he was well educated by his parents.  His father was governor of Tennessee, during the Mexican War.  He would become a school teacher in Nashville.  His uncle, John C. Brown, was a major general in the Confederate Army of Tennessee. 

With the outbreak of the Civil War, young “Trim” Brown, then 19, entered the Confederate service as a 1st Lieutenant in the artillery.  During the war he would serve in all three branches of the Confederate military.  In 1862, having learned that Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest was organizing a cavalry brigade to operate in central Tennessee – where his home was located - he lobbied Major Baxter Smith to join the staff of his 8th Tennessee Cavalry regiment.  Smith later said, to The Daily American (Nashville, Tennessee), “because of my knowledge and admiration for his father and the family,” he was placed on his staff.

In July 1862, Forrest was ordered to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to seize the Federal garrison stationed there (approximately 940 men), commanded by US Brigadier Thomas T. Crittenden.(ii)  The garrison was a supply depot for the Federal Army of the Ohio, commanded by US Major General Don Carlos Buell.  Situated on the important Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, it was of strategic importance to the Army of the Ohio.  Attacking the garrison before dawn, on July 13, Forrest surprised the Federal troops, over running the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry.  During the ensuing battle, the Confederate cavalry was facing stiff opposition from the 3rd Minnesota Infantry, supporting a battery of four cannon.  Bedford Forrest, asked Smith if his cavalry could capture the hastily formed enemy line.  Smith, after looking towards his staff, determined they could and answered affirmatively.  He stated that “Trim” Brown looked like he was, “eager for the fray.”  Advancing rapidly, they captured the position, leading to a complete Confederate victory at the battle of First Murfreesboro.  Baxter Smith later said of Trim’s performance, “No one on that memorable day bore himself more gallantly or acted his part better.”(iii)

In September 1862, Trim Brown was appointed aide-de-camp of his uncle’s infantry brigade.  He performed well in the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga.  The following year, Trim would return to the cavalry, of the Army of Tennessee, as assistant adjutant general, a position he would hold through the end of the Civil War.  He would receive brevet promotion to captain, however he would never be confirmed by the government.  His final rank would be first lieutenant, the same rank he was appointed to at the start of the war.

Brown would return to Nashville after the war, marrying Jane Foster Nichol.  They would have two sons and a daughter.  Becoming a lawyer, his ambition would earn him a reputation as one of the best attorneys in Nashville.  In 1878, Trim would run for district attorney.  On May 31, while attending Decoration Day festivities (honoring Union dead from the Civil War), he would become ill, supposedly from the heat.  His condition would worsen and he would die while being cared for by his brother-in-law, a local physician.  He was 36 years old.  A local attorney compared him to President Andrew Jackson, “In war he exhibited the heroism of a soldier.  He possessed as high an order of courage as ever characterized the Hero of Hermitage, and was as knightly and heroic in his bearing.”(iv)

His funeral was large and well attended.  It included a procession of the local militia, of which Trim was a member, two large guns and his rider-less horse followed the hearse.  The helmet he had worn rested on the horn of his saddle.  Lieutenant James Trimble Brown was interred at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.  He is a true American HERO, having fought bravely for the cause he believed in.

(i) James Trimble Brown, at Ancestry.com, was used to research this article.
(ii) Battle of Murfreesboro I, at Wikipedia, was used to research this article.
(iii) Coddington, Ronald S., Faces of the Confederacy, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press in 2008, Pg. 39.
(iv) Coddington, Ronald S., Faces of the Confederacy, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press in 2008, Pg. 41.

The 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry would be organized in Philadelphia between July, and August, 1861.  They would be promptly moved to Washington D.C. and assigned to US Brigadier General Fitz John Porter’s Division, in the Army of the Potomac.

In September 1862, the 3rd would take part in the Maryland Campaign and would fight at Antietam.  In December 1862, the regiment would participate in the Battle of Fredericksburg.     

In February, 1863, with the reorganization of the Army of the Potomac’s cavalry, into one cavalry corps, the 3rd Pennsylvania would be assigned to the Second Brigade (Colonel John B McIntosh) of the Second Division (Brigadier General William Averell) of Brigadier General George Stoneman’s Cavalry Corps.  The 3rd would participate in the cavalry engagement at Kelly’s Ford, on March 17, as the Army of the Potomac participated in St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

In early June 1863, with Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia pushing north, the 3rd Pennsylvania would be engaged in the cavalry fight at Brandy Station (Fleetwood Hill).   The regiment would take part in actions against CS Major General J.E.B. Stuart, as he pushed north, east of the Shenandoah Mountains, including Aldie, Upperville and Westminster.

Arriving at Gettysburg, they would take part in the fighting at Brinkerhoff’s Ridge, on July 2, 1863.  In command of the regiment was Lieutenant Colonel Edward S. Jones.  Fighting both Confederate cavalry, and the famed Stonewall Brigade, the 3rd would be pressed hard at a stone wall.  As Lieutenant William Brooke-Rawle tells, “The wall was the key to our position, as both the enemy and ourselves at once perceived.” ¹  On July 3, the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry would be involved in the fighting at the East Cavalry Field, and suffered severely.  After Gettysburg, the 3rd would participate in the action as the Federal Army pushed south after Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, including Auburn and Bristoe Station.  Closing out 1863, they would be engaged in the battles of the Mine Run campaign.

¹ Wittenberg, Protecting the Flank: The Battles for Brinkerhoff’s Ridge and East Cavalry Field, p. 36.