Civil War Records First Cavalry Regiment, Company F

The First Cavalry was organized–that is, seven companies, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G–at Alton, in 1861, and was mustered into the United States service July 3. Companies I, H and K, were not mustered in with the Regiment, nor did they operate in the field as a part of the Regiment proper.

From Alton the Regiment moved to St. Charles, Mo., where Colonel U. S. Grant was then in command. After remaining at this point a few days drilling, and receiving arms and uniforms, the Regiment moved in a westerly direction until it arrived at Jefferson City; remained there but a few days; from thence it moved to Mexico; from Mexico to Hannibal; and from Hannibal to Lexington. While on the way to Lexington, Company C, commanded by Captain Mitchell, encountered a rebel force, under command of Colonel McGoffin, at Georgetown, in which the command lost 1 man killed and 4 wounded: Captain Mitchell was among the latter. The rebels retreated but Colonel McGoffin was captured and held as a prisoner of war until after the battle of Lexington.

The battle of Lexington was the principal engagement in which the Regiment took part though it was ever on the alert and did much scouting and valuable service in various ways.

At Lexington the Regiment was joined by the Irish Brigade, under command of Colonel James Mulligan, and a small body of Missouri home guards.

The battle of Lexington really commenced on Monday September 11, at which time an advance force of 3,000 men under General Harris advanced upon the place. The First Cavalry and the Thirteenth Missouri were ordered out to meet them. A decisive action occurred which resulted in considerable loss to the Confederacy. After this there was little of moment until the 18th, each party anxiously watching the re-enforcements and Colonel Mulligan making his position as strong as possible.

Colonel Mulligan met the attack of the enemy with undaunted bravery and almost overwhelmed with a greatly superior force it was only after fifty-two hours of hard and uninterrupted fighting he surrendered the place. Colonel Mulligan’s force all told, numbered less than 2,500 men while that of the enemy was 10,000 or more. The surrender took place on the 20th of September.

The officers were put on parole while the privates were given their choice of taking an oath to not again take up arms until they were exchanged or to remain prisoners of war. They chose to take the oath and they were escorted to the railroad where they took passage for Quincy and from thence to St. Louis, where they remained until they were joined by the officers of the Regiment a week later.

The Regiment was paid off at St. Louis about the last of September, and returned to their homes to await an exchange. In November, however, the Governor having failed to effect an exchange of the non-commissioned officers and privates, ordered them to Springfield and discharged them.

The commissioned officers were exchanged in December, and were ordered to re-organize the Regiment and it was also ordered that such of the non-commissioned officers and privates as wished might return with their respective companies and draw pay as if they had remained continuously in the service, and to complete the re-organization by the enlistment of recruits. With this understanding the Regiment was re-organized at Benton Barracks in June, 1862. Quite a number of the non-commissioned officers and privates of the original organization returned to their respective companies.

The Regiment remained at Benton Barracks a month or more when it was moved westward and was engaged for a time in guarding supply trains and supply depots at Rolla, Houston, Westplains and other places.

In the re-organization of the Regiment there were one or two vacancies in nearly if not all the companies; some of the officers having been promoted or assigned to other regiments while others had resigned.

In attempting to fill these vacancies a great dissatisfaction ensued throughout the entire Regiment which culminated in an order from the war department disbanding and mustering out of service the officers and men, which took place at Benton Barracks July 14., 1862.

The order to muster our the Regiment included Company I and H, which had been on detached service from their first enlistment in July, 1861, and which were in no way involved in the trouble which resulted in the peremptory disbanding as the following history of their service will show:

Company I was the first company of soldiers enlisted in White county. It was organized to go into the Eighteenth Infantry under President Lincoln’s call for 75,000 men but failing to get into that Regiment it was afterwards mustered in as cavalry at Alton about the 12th of June, and on the 12th of July were assigned to duty at Bird’s Point. For a month or more this company was the only cavalry force at Bird’s Point where it was kept continuously on the move scouting the country.

In the meantime Company H had arrived at Cairo and some time in August it was sent over to Bird’s Point. Both companies were in the battle of Belmont and also with General Pope at the capture of New Madrid. Some weeks later Company I acting as a body guard for General Payne crossed the Mississippi River in transports and assisted in the capture of the rebel army at Island No. 10. The two companies remained at New Madrid until after the capture of Memphis when they were sent to that point and it was while there that the order came mustering them out of the service with the Regiment which was then at Benton Barracks.

It is worthy of remark to say that Company K was never in reality a part of the First Cavalry for it was transferred to the Fifteenth Cavalry as Company M.

It is also worthy of remark that in the interval which ensued between the surrender of Lexington and the re-organization and muster out of the First Cavalry a great many of the men entered other regiments and remained in the field until the war was over. ^[1]History from the Adjutant General’s Report.

 

Name and Rank	Residence	Date of Rank or Enlistment	Remarks
Captains:
John Burnap	Springfield	July 3, 1861	MO July 14, 1862
First Lieutenants:
Garrett Elkin	Springfield	July 8, 1861	Resigned & Tr. to 10th Cav.
Thomas S. Pinckard	Springfield	Jan. 10, 1862	Resigned Mar. 1, 1862
John Q. A. Floyd	Springfield	Mar. 1, 1862	MO July 14, 1862
Second Lieutenants:
John C. Parks	Springfield	July 8, 1861	MO July 14, 1862
First Sergeant:
Daniel S. Whittenhall	Springfield	Apr. 19, 1862	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Q. M. Sergeant:
David W. Thomas	Springfield	Apr. 19, 1861	MO July 14, 1862
Sergeant:
John Q. A. Floyd	Springfield	Apr. 19, 1861	Prom. 1st Sgt, then 1st Lt.
Thomas B. Brown	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 21, 1861
Peter Livergood	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Frederick Henry	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Corporals:
John F. Pritchard	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Heaton Hill	Springfield	“	Died of wounds received at Lexington, MO  Sept. 18, 1861
George Breckenbaugh	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
William Graham	Springfield	“	“
William H.H. Center	Springfield	“	“
Joseph Newman	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
H. L. Hinman	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Robert A. Jones	Springfield	“	“
Buglers:
Napoleon B. Utt	Springfield	Apr. 19, 1861	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Charles J. Schryver	Springfield	“	“
Saddler:
William Barnhill	Springfield	Apr. 19, 1861	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Wagoner:
Nicholas Prater	Springfield	Apr. 19, 1861	MO Oct. 24, 1861. See Veterinary Surgeon non-comm. staff
Blacksmiths:
Charles Gathard	Springfield	Apr. 19, 1861	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Cyrus Youst	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Privates:

Armstrong, Samuel A.	Springfield	Apr. 19, 1861	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Barry, William	Springfield	“	“
Brown, John H.	Springfield	“	“
Burdoas, John	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Coles, William E.	Springfield	“	“
Cole, Stephen D.	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Curtis, Charles A.	Springfield	“	“
Dibble, Emery	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Easley, Thomas H.	Springfield	“	Died Benton Barracks, MO Mar. 14, 1862
Ernst, John	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Ervin, George	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Foster, Miner A.	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Frey, George W.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Gilmore, Henry	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Harris, Charles F.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862 as Sgt.
Haas, Michael	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Herndon, Edward G.	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Johnson, Irvin	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862 as Cpl.
Kiser, James	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Lindsay, John D.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862 as Cpl.
Lee, Thomas W.	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Layton, Charles	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Lane, Abram B.	Springfield	“	“
Lisk, Frank	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Lewis, Andrew	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Mahan, Charles	Springfield	“	Disch. Apr. 1, 1862, wounds
Mathews, Henry or Emery	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
McCoy, Peter	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
McGuire, Barney	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Meyer, William H.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862 as Cpl.
Penny, Jacob	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Pinckard, Thomas S.	Springfield	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Russell, John	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862 as Cpl.
Stevens, John J.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Spring, John W.	Springfield	“	“
Thompson, Andrew J.	Springfield	“	Died Benton Barracks, MO
Taylor, Richard S.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862 as Cpl.
Wall, Johnson C.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Waddle, Alfred	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862 as Cpl.
Whitaker, James	Springfield	“	“
Welch, Ebenezer H.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Wright, Marion	Springfield	“	Disch. Apr. 19, 1862, Disability
Wallace, Nels S.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Zimmerman, George	Springfield	“	“
Recruits:
Brickley, John	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	MO July 14, 1862
Biggins, Patrick	Springfield	Jan. 9, 1862	Tr. to Co C
Binker, Joseph	Quincy	July 30, 1861	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Brown, Orlando	Quincy	“	“
Bane, George W.	Springfield	“	“
Boothe, William	Springfield	“	“
Cahill, Michael	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	MO July 14, 1862
Chesley, Ed. A.	Springfield	“	“
Cord, J. J.	Springfield	Mar. 1, 1862	“
Clark, William H.	Quincy	July 30, 1861	Died Benton Barracks, Jan. 29, 1862
Chandler, Jasper	Quincy	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Caykendall, John R.	Quincy	“	“
Caykendall, H. G.	Quincy	“	“
Deal, John	Quincy	“	“
Emery, Josiah	Quincy	“	MO July 14, 1862
Emery, Perry	Quincy	“	“
Fitzpatrick, Sol	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	“
Flynn, Daniel R.	Springfield	“	“
Goughran, John	Springfield	“	“
Grubb, James	Springfield	“	“
Graham, George W.	Springfield	“	“
Graham, John J.	Springfield	“	“
Hubbell, Charles N.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862 as 1st Sgt.
Hancock, Lyman D.	Springfield	Mar. 1, 1862	MO July 14, 1862
Heiney, Sylvester	Springfield	“	“
Hutchinson, Amos C.	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	“
Johnson, John	Quincy	July 30, 1861	“
Knight, James W.	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	MO July 14, 1862 as wag’r
Knox, David A.	Quincy	July 30, 1861	MO July 14, 1862
Lobsdill, Orin L.	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	MO July 14, 1862 as blacksmith
Lance, Daniel D.	Quincy	July 30, 1861	MO July 14, 1862
Lindsay, Thomas J.	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	“
Leland, John T.	Quincy	July 30, 1861	Disch. Mar. 26, 1862, wounds
Leclair, Francis	Quincy	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861
McCormack, John	Quincy	“	MO July 14, 1862 as Sgt.
Melville, Charles	Quincy	“	MO July 14, 1862 as bugler
Murray, David	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	In confinement since July 11, 1862
McCluskey, James	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
McGurk, James	Springfield	“	“
McCoy, Robert	Springfield	Mar. 1, 1862	“
Moore, William E.	Quincy	July 3, 1861	Deserted June 6, 1862
Neal, Richard	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	MO July 14, 1862
Oliver, George H.	Springfield	“	Disch. Apr. 21, 1862, Disability
Phillips, George G.	Springfield	“	MO July 14, 1862
Parsons, Francis M.	Springfield	“	“
Palmer, James R.	Quincy	July 30, 1861	Killed Lexington, MO, Sept. 20, 1861
Phillips, James	Springfield	Mar. 1, 1862	Deserted March 1862
Reading, David T.	Quincy	July 30, 1861	MO July 14, 1862 as saddler
Skinkle, William	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	MO July 14, 1862
Smith, Louis D.	Quincy	July 30, 1861	“
Smith, Robert C.	Springfield	Mar. 1, 1862	“
Sullivan, Thomas H.	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	“
Sarsfield, Patrick	Springfield	Jan. 9, 1862	Tr. to Co C
Southwick, Adam	Springfield	Jan. 1, 1862	Died Rolla, MO, May 6, 1862
Spiece, John	Quincy	July 30, 1861	MO Oct. 24, 1861

Thompson, Andrew J.	Springfield	July 3, 1861	Died at Benton Barracks, May 1862
Tinsley, James	Quincy	July 30, 1861	MO Oct. 24, 1861
Whitney, Jacob	Quincy	Jan. 1, 1862	MO July 14, 1862 as bugler
Welch, John S.	Quincy	“	“
West, Benjamin F.	Quincy	“	“
West, John	Quincy	“	“
Whitney, Joseph	Quincy	“	“
Wilton, Abram H.	Quincy	July 30, 1861	Disch. Apr. 9, 1862, Disability
Wheeler, Charles L.	Quincy	“	Disch. Apr. 6, 1862, wounds
Watson, Daniel T.	Quincy	“	MO Oct. 24, 1861