Rush's Lancers: The Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Civil War

by Eric J. Wittenberg

Overview

The Complete Story of a Legendary Civil War Unit
The Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, also known as Rush’s Lancers, was a completely volunteer unit and one of the finest regiments to serve in the Civil War. Tracing their history from George Washington’s personal bodyguard during the Revolutionary War, many of the men of the Sixth Pennsylvania were the cream of Philadelphia society, including Richard H. Rush, grandson of Dr. Benjamin Rush, Maj. Robert Morris, Jr., great-grandson of the financier of the Revolutionary War, Capt. Charles Cadwalader, whose great-grandfather was a general under George Washington, Frank H. Furness, architect and Medal of Honor recipient, and George G. Meade, Jr. But it was their actions in battle, not their illustrious family histories, that distinguished Rush’s Lancers. The Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry earned a reputation for being a highly trained and reliable unit, despite being armed initially with antiquated weapons, leaving their mark on key battlefields, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Hanover Court House, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Brandy Station—where they conducted one of the most famous charges of the war—and Appomattox.
    Drawing upon letters, diaries, memoirs, service and pension files, contemporary newspaper coverage, official records, and other primary sources, Rush’s Lancers: The Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Civil War by distinguished military historian Eric J. Wittenberg is an engrossing account of these young men from both Philadelphia’s social elite and the city’s working classes who, despite not being professional soldiers, answered the Nation’s call to war.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594163555
Publisher:	Westholme Publishing
Publication date:	09/30/2020
Edition description:	1
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Eric J. Wittenberg is author of many acclaimed books on Civil War history, including Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions, Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads and the Civil War’s Last Campaign, and The Union Cavalry Comes of Age: Hartwood Church to Brandy Station.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 Formation of the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry 1

2 Learning to Be Soldiers 19

3 The Lancers in McClellan's 1862 Peninsula Campaign 32

4 The Maryland and Fredericksburg Campaigns of 1862 57

5 The Stoneman Raid 73

6 The Battle of Brandy Station 98

7 The Gettysburg Campaign 119

8 In the Field and in Winter Camp with the Army of the Potomac 143

9 1864: Campaigning with Grant and Sheridan 169

10 The Lancers Go to the Shenandoah Valley 196

11 The End of the Line for the Lancers 210

12 Requiem 229

Appendix: Campaigns of the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry 244

Notes 249

Bibliography 291

Index 305

Acknowledgments 313

Editorial Reviews

A superb regiment, noted for intelligence, bravery and stalwart service, the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry was an elite outfit, in the truest sense. That they were accepted and admired by the Regulars, alongside whom they served on many a hard-fought field, speaks volumes of the gallantry and dash of these sons of the Keystone State.”—Brian C. Pohanka, historian and adviser for the motion pictures Cold Mountain and Glory

From the Publisher