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by Walter S. Farquhar "7th Pennsylvania Cavalry" Although the 7th Pennsylvania Cavary had only two companies from Schuylkill County, it had the original colonel, and several men from hereabout who won the Distinguished Service Award. The 7th ranged all over the country. To understand the scope of its operations, it should be recalled that the Civil War had three master plans. One included the great battles fought between Washington and Richmond; the second was opening of the Mississippi; the third driving diagonally through the heart of the Confederacy by way of Louisville, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Atlanta, to the sea. It was in the last-stated campaign the 7th participated, serving under Don Carlos Buell, W. S. Rosecrans, George B. Thomas, and William T. Sherman, and fighting against famous Confederate cavalry leaders such as Nathan Forrest, Joe Wheeler, and John Morgan. Heber Thompson twice won the distinguished servce medal, when he led the charge at McMinnville where General Wheeler's battleflag was captured, and at Selma where Forrest was driven out of a strong position when Corporal Ed Shutt, of Ashland, earned it, too. Major John E. Wynkoop (not the colonel) won it at Sweden Grove; Captain William H. Jennings at Murfreesboro, and Sergeant John Ennis, at Shelbyville. The last-named lost his life on April 2, 1865, the same day Colonel George Gowen was killed at Petersburg, the Saint Clair and Pottsville GAR Posts later being named in their honor, respectively. And Colonel Wynkoop performed a feat which seldom has been duplicated. It was when a superior officer surrendered to the Confederates - and the Pottsville colonel served notice on both his commander and the Confederate general that he would not surrender. And he didn't. He cut his way out. Early in 1864, after the 7th had been reduced to some 340 men, it came home on a month's furlough and was recruited back to full war strength. Although Harrisburg was its place of recruitment, with outfits from various parts of the state, Colonel William B. Sites, who had replaced Colonel Wynkoop by that time, came to Pottsville, where he was presented with a sword and silver spurs. On its return, in March, the regiment was armed with the Spencer repeating rifle. The 7th fought in all the great battles of the West. It charged on the second day at Shiloh, a fight which still remains the bloodiest west of the Alleghenies. At Murfreesboro, the Pennsylvanians carried communications between the farflung flanks of Rosencrans' army. At Chickamauga, it opened the great battle, being first to discover the Confederates were about to attack in force, and informing the high command of that fact. Then, the 7th held off the enemy for three hours at a bridge, unaware that Longstreet's veterans from Gettysburg were being encountered. Then, in the retreat to Chattanooga, the 7th had the honor of being the rear guard of the great army. After that, the 7th was with Sherman all the way to Atlanta, over rugged terrain, in almost constant combat. In front of Atlanta, the 7th rode all around that city, and was in the big fight at Jonesboro, in the decisive action. In fact, the cavalry cut its way through, again, in that battle. It was there Heber Thompson was taken prisoner - though he lived to write the story of the First Defenders. After the capture of Atlanta, Sherman marched to the sea and then northward through the Carolinas. Hood tried to divert that maneuver by moving across Sherman's supply line, back toward Chattanooga. So, Sherman detached George Thomas to deal with Hood - and the 7th went with him and mopped up the demoralized Confederates after Thomas had shattered and scattered them at Franklin. Then, the 7th had the distinction of joining the Cavalry of General James Wilson, who invaded Alabama and Mississippi. It was then, in the Montgomery-Macon area, the idea of advancing on Andersonville was suggested. But a report came through that Jefferson Davis was in the vicinity, near Irwinsville. At the time and during most of the war, the 7th had been brigaded with the 4th Michigan, the latter outfit being ordered toward Irwinsville, with the 7th following two hours later. That the Michigan cavalry captured the Confederate President is a matter of history. And the 7th Pennsylvania was so near at the time, it had to get out of the way to allow the procession to pass. That was on May 10, a month after Lee's surrender. Thus, the 7th's final position was historic. On August 25, 1865, the regiment was ordered back to Harrisburg, where it was mustered out. Its record was unparalleled.
Source:
Editorial Musings by Walter S. Farquhar Also: Farquhar, Walter S., Farquhar Revisited, Selected Musings by Walter S. Farquhar, Pottsville, Pa., The Historical Society of Schuylkill County, 1967: 28
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