The 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment (also known as the 159th Pennsylvania Volunteers) was a cavalry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Most of its fighting happened in the last half of 1863 and full year 1864. The regiment fought mainly in West Virginia and Virginia, often as part of a brigade or division commanded by Brigadier General William W. Averell and later Brigadier General William Powell.
The regiment was organized near Pittsburgh between August and November 1862. With the exception of one company from the Philadelphia area, its recruits were from western Pennsylvania. The regiment's original commander, Colonel James M. Schoonmaker, was one of the youngest regimental commanders in the Union Army at 20 years old. Pittsburgh attorney William Blakeley was the regiment's original lieutenant colonel.
The regiment saw significant action at the Battle of White Sulphur Springs, Battle of Droop Mountain, Battle of Moorefield, and the Third Battle of Winchester. The regiment had two officers and 97 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, while disease killed 296 enlisted men. The three original majors were Thomas Gibson, Shadrack Foley, and John M. Daily. Captain Thomas R. Kerr won the Medal of Honor for capturing a regimental flag at Moorefield where he was an advance scout, while Schoonmaker received the same award for action at the Third Battle of Winchester.
Formation and organization
James M. Schoonmaker, of Pittsburgh, began recruiting during August 1862. At the time, he was a lieutenant in the Union's 1st Maryland Cavalry Regiment. During recruiting, newspapers sometimes referred to Schoonmaker's cavalry as the "Stanton Cavalry". With the exception of Philadelphia's CompanyA, recruiting was conducted in western Pennsylvania. The men were mustered into service from August 21 through November 4, 1862, for three years. The regiment was mustered into service on November 23, 1862, as the 14th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry. In Pennsylvania, the regiment was also known as the One Hundred and Fifty-Ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, since it was the 159th regiment of any branch raised in Pennsylvania.
Original leadership was Schoonmaker as Colonel and William H. Blakeley as lieutenant colonel. Thomas Gibson, Shadrack Foley, and John M. Daily were majors commanding the First, Second, and Third battalions, respectively. Schoonmaker was only 20 years and four months old at the time, making him one of the youngest regiment commanders in the Union Army. The regiment spent time at Camp Howe and Camp Montgomery, near Pittsburgh, before moving to Hagerstown, Maryland on November 24, where it received horses, arms, and equipment. On December 28, the regiment moved to Harper's Ferry, Virginia, where it was assigned picket and reconnaissance (scouting) duty.
Early action
On May 7, 1863, a detachment of unmounted men was left in Harper's Ferry under the command of Major Foley, while the remaining portion of the regiment joined the 4th Separate Brigade of the VIII Army Corps at Grafton, Virginia (now West Virginia). In addition to protecting the B&O Railroad terminal at Grafton, the regiment also protected nearby communities such as Philippi, Beverly and Webster. On May 23, Brigadier General William W. Averell took command of the brigade, which consisted of one cavalry regiment, three mounted infantry regiments, two infantry regiments, a cavalry battalion, and two batteries. Early in the morning on July 3, Major Gibson led two squadrons of the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry as they rescued an infantry regiment near Beverly.
The regiment took part in the pursuit of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia as it was retreating from Pennsylvania to Virginia after the Battle of Gettysburg. On July 4, Major Foley led a force of 300 men (including men from the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry and other regiments) that burned a bridge over the Potomac River and captured enemy soldiers. On July 13, Colonel Schoonmaker led most of the regiment as it was involved with capturing one of Lee's supply trains and several hundred prisoners. Foley's detachment rejoined the regiment shortly after July 15.
Averell's raids in 1863 and 1864 Lewisburg and the law books
Averell received new orders, dated August 12, to retrieve law books from Lewisburg and attack several targets at points in between. Significant fighting began on the morning of August 26 west of White Sulphur Springs when Averell's advance guard was intercepted by Confederate troops.
A soldier from another regiment wrote that during the battle the 14th Pennsylvania "made one of the most daring charges of the war, not only facing a murderous storm of leaden hail from the front but also, to their surprise, received an enfilading fire along their flank from a large body of infantry concealed in a cornfield...." The charge was led by Colonel Schoonmaker and Captain John Bird from CompanyG. Bird was wounded, captured, and eventually taken to Libby Prison. Schoonmaker's horse was shot but he escaped on a dead soldier's horse.
Over 100 men from the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry were killed, wounded, or captured in the battle—nearly half of all Union casualties. Fighting ended by the morning of the next day as both sides were almost out of ammunition. The battle became known as the Battle of White Sulphur Springs, and Averell was prevented from reaching Lewisburg.
Lewisburg and the railroad
On October 23, Averell was ordered to capture, or drive away, a Confederate force stationed near Lewisburg in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. After Lewisburg, Averell was to attack the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad near Dublin Station.
Averell departed on November 1, and his force was intercepted before it could get to Lewisburg. At Droop Mountain on the November 6, Schoonmaker commanded a portion of Averell's force that included the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry and most of the artillery. They created a diversion that enabled two of Averell's infantry regiments to flank the Confederate mountaintop position, causing Confederate troops to be partially surrounded before they fled south to Lewisburg. The Confederate troops were soundly defeated, but many escaped and the raid on the railroad was called off.
Salem raid Averell's raid on the Salem depot of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad began on December 8, when his brigade departed from New Creek (present day Keyser, West Virginia). Colonel Schoonmaker was sick and hospitalized, so the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William H. Blakeley. Majors Daily and Foley were also with the regiment, and Major Gibson led his independent command.
The 14thPennsylvania Cavalry was armed with Spencer seven-shot carbines, Colt's Navy revolvers, and sabers. Reaching Salem, Virginia, on December16, the brigade spent only six hours destroying railroad infrastructure because they discovered that Major General Fitzhugh Lee's Cavalry Brigade was on a train moving to Salem. On the return north, Averell split his command with Averell leading one column and the 14th's Lieutenant Colonel Blakeley leading the other. Blakeley's column met Confederate troops on the evening of December 19 near Covington, Virginia, and the Jackson River. Averell's column was able to cross a bridge over the river, but Blakeley with CompanyA from the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry were the only ones from Blakeley's column that crossed the bridge before it was burned. The Union soldiers on the safe side of the burned bridge continued north.
Those that could not cross the bridge, including all but one company from the 14th Pennsylvania, were thought to have been captured—but fighting continued all night. Confederate officers contacted the regiment's Major Foley demanding surrender. Foley refused—and men from the regiment began shouting "the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry never surrenders". A place about upriver was successfully used to ford the river, and Foley's assumed-captured force caught up with Averell in the Allegheny Mountains. Casualties for the regiment were six drowned, five wounded, and 25 captured in the attempted bridge crossing.
Crook-Averell 1864 Raid on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad At the beginning of 1864, Averell's Brigade, including the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry, had its winter quarters at Martinsburg, West Virginia. Averell was given command of the 2nd Cavalry Division, which included the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry in a brigade commanded by Colonel Schoonmaker. The 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry was commanded by Major Daily.
In late April, Averell's division joined Brigadier General George Crook for dual raids on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. Averell led a cavalry force of 2,079 men and attacked further west from Crook. After abandoning an attack on a salt mine, Averell proceeded east toward Wytheville and its lead mine, to "prevent the enemy from concentrating against General Crook". On May 10, Schoonmaker's brigade started the fighting in the four–hour Battle of Cove Mountain. The fighting was inclusive, and Averell's force escaped at night after suffering 114 casualties.
Hunter's attack on Lynchburg
Averell and Crook arrived in Staunton, Virginia, on June 8 as ordered by Major General David Hunter. The cavalry was reorganized on June 9, with Averell in command of the 2nd Division. Schoonmaker commanded one of three brigades in the 2nd Division, and it consisted of the 8th Ohio Cavalry Regiment and the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Major Daily commanded the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry.
Advancing toward Lynchburg, Averell's division arrived in Lexington on June 11, with the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry in the advance. Hunter ordered the Virginia Military Institute (a.k.a. VMI) buildings bombed and destroyed, and relieved Schoonmaker from command because Schoonmaker did not burn VMI immediately when he took the town. On the next day, Hunter ordered Schoonmaker to proceed south with his brigade, and handed Schoonmaker a paper that said Hunter's treatment of Schoonmaker "had been under a misapprehension".
At sunrise on June 17, Averell moved toward Lynchburg until it was about away. At that time, a battle began with Schoonmaker's brigade arriving first and deploying on the left side of the pike. The cavalry fought dismounted until late in the afternoon, when it was replaced by infantry and artillery. Fighting continued on the next day with the cavalry back in front, although the Union forces were now on the defensive. That evening the Union Army retreated westward. The regiment's casualties from June10 through June23 totaled 27.
Kernstown
In July, the regiment moved to Martinsburg, Virginia, and was part of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of West Virginia. The regiment, brigade, and division commanders were still the same, and Hunter was still commander of the Department of West Virginia, but Brigadier General Crook commanded the army in the field. On July 24, Crook ordered Averell to conduct a flanking maneuver near the Front Royal road to cut off what Crook believed was a small band of Confederates.
By 11:00am, Schoonmaker's brigade began the maneuver as the advance, and discovered a huge Confederate force trying to turn the Union left flank. While Crook's infantry was falling back, Confederate infantry tried to cut off Averell from the rest of Crook's army. Confederate infantry on foot could not outrace Averell's cavalry, but they did cause a panic—especially Schoonmaker's brigade that had absorbed the brunt of the initial attack. Union forces retreated through Winchester, continued across the Potomac River, and finally stopped at Hagerstown, Maryland. The Second Battle of Kernstown was a major defeat for Crook. Union casualties were 1,185 killed, wounded or missing; including 13 for the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry.
Chambersburg and Moorefield