The First Vermont Cavalry 1st VT Cavalry Monument at Gettysburg (Photo from BufordsBoys.com website) The First Vermont Cavalry was one of the cavalry regiments assigned to guard the southern defenses of Washington, along with the 18th Pennsylvania, 2nd Pennsylvania, the 5th New York and the First Virginia. The latter was a Federal unit mostly comprised of recruits from what was shortly to become West Virginia. The First Vermont Cavalry were frequent opponents of Mosby's Command, particularly in the early stages of the partisan ranger band's activities in 1863. Noteworthy enagements included the Fight at Aldie Mill, the Herndon Station Raid, in which 4 officers and 21 men were captured, the Fight at Miskell's Farm, in which the unit suffered signficant casualties, including the loss of Captain Henry Flint, commander of Company I, and the Catlett's Station Raid, in which the First Vermont managed to capture Mosby's prized 12 lb mountain howitzer. In their three years of service at the front, the First Vermont were involved in 76 battles and skirmishes and achieved an excellent reputation. Therefore, Mosby's men being able to get the better of them in a number of engagements was no easy feat, and a testimony to the capabilities of Mosby's command. The First Vermont particularly distinguished themselves at Gettysburg, where they formed part of General Farnworth's brigade and took part in "Farnsworth's Charge" on Round Top on July 3rd. Maj. William Wells commanded the leading battalion in this charge, riding by the side of Gen. Farnsworth. Wells survived the charge miraculously unscathed, while General Farnsworth was killed in action. Wells received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery in leading this charge and there is a monument to him at Gettyburg as well as to the First Vermont as a whole. First Vermont Cavalry: Key Links: On this site: Herndon Station Raid Men Captured at Herndon Station Biographical Links: Maj. William Wells At MosbysRangers.com Main Site: Fight at Aldie Mill On other sites: Vermont in the Civil War: First Vermont Cavalry, Main Page History of the First Vermont (also from VermontCivilWar.org) Roster of Company L, First Vermont Cavalry (the men who were at Herndon Station) Francis Guber's collection of cartes de visite (photographs) of officers and one enlisted man of the First Vermont (also from VermontCivilWar.org) Carte de Visite Photographs of Officers of the First Vermont Online: Maj. Gen. William Wells (picture as a colonel - he was a major during his main encounters with Mosby, e.g. when taken prisoner at Herndon Station) Maj. Robert Schofield (a captain when he was captured by Mosby) Lt. Perley Cheney (one of the four officers captured by Mosby at Herndon) Capt. Henry Flint -- Killed in the fight at Herndon Station Col. Edward B. Sawyer (was colonel of the regiment at the time of the spring 1863 engagements with Mosby's command) Pvt. Frederick Wiggins, Co. C -- the one picture of an enlisted man in the Guber collection, useful in showing what their uniforms looked like. Jerome Bonaparte Hatch - online bio from a researcher Buford's Boys Website: Commemorating the cavalrymen of the Army of the Potomac, particularly at Gettysburg. Key links on this site: The First Vermont Monument at Gettysburg Monument to William Wells at Gettysburg

Visit MosbysRangers.com For information on the event, contact: Richard Downer: mosbysraid@HRIAssociates.com (general information, logistics, civic involvement) Kathryn Coombs: MosbyWeb@aol.com (reenactors, living history program, website)