The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-07-03

Plantations were raised under very un-
usual circumstances, and not under me
sanction OF either the Government OF
the United States or of California There
were a large number of young men who
were anxious to enter the army, and
when it was found that the California
volunteers were being kept on this coast
a proposition was made to the State Of
Massachusetts, to raise cavalry COM
pany here, take it East and credit 1T to
the untitled quota of that State. On
October %. 1862. Captain j. Sewell
Reed received the necessary authority
from Governor John A. Andrew of Mas
sachusetts, and recruiting was COM
menced the following day. Assembly
Hall, at the northwest corner of Kearny
and Post streets, was made the head
quarters, and H. H. Fillebrown was the
first enrolled on the 2Sth. IN three
weeks over 800 men applied for enlist
| ment but only 100 were selected. Every
| member chosen was young and an ex-
! pert horseman. The company was
| equipped by the citizens of San Fran
cisco, and was indeed body OF SOL
diers equal to any the world had ever
seen. 1t was mustered into the United
States service by Lieutenant Colonel
| George H. Ringgold. u. S. A., at Plait's
Hall, December 10, 1862 and the next day
sailed for the East on the steamer Gold
en- Age. The company arrived at Read
I, vile, near Boston, January 4, 1868.
| Three months later what was known
| as the California Battalion" left San
/ Francisco to join the Eastern army. 1t
! consisted of four companies of cavalry
| enlisted under the same conditions as
/, the Hundred" After much negotia-
1 L
and Massachusetts, permission was CIV
en- to Major d. w. c. Thompson to raise
/ the battalion, and it was rapidly re-
cruited. The permission was received
January IL. 1868. Within two months
thirteen officers and 3S7 enlisted men
We're mustered and drilled, ana IN
| March DIST the battalion sailed for the
East on the steamer Constitution. The
troops arrived at New York April 14tn,
and proceeded to Readville for instruc-
| ton.
The service of these five companies
was nearly identical, and they must be
referred to conformity. The Hundred"
were assigned to active duty as part
| of the Second Massachusetts, Cavalry.
In February, 1868, they reached York
town, Virginia, under command of Ma
jor Caspar Crowninshield, where they
| performed picket and scouting duty
| and received their first baptism OF blood
at South Anna bridge, where seventy
| Californians and twenty Massachusetts
men captured 1913 Confederates in a
dismounted charge upon their earth
works, with the cry of Captain Reed,
Boys. remember California; ringing
In their ears. In July they Joined the
the regiment at Centerville, Virginia,
| and fret of
| ganized part of the command The
Battalion was ordered to the front
May 18th, and was first attached to the
Twenty-third Army Corps. It's initial
service was as pickets on the outposts
| between Washington and the Army of
the Potomac and fighting Mosbys guer-
rillas The bodies joined the Army Of
the Potomac, then commanded by Cen
| eral Joe Hooker on June 26th and de-
tailed by that commander as his spe-
cial escort, went with him to Harper's
Ferry, where he received notice OF be-
/ ing relieved from command Thence
| the Californians marched to Gettys-
burg, and were engaged in watching
Stuarts rebel cavalry, attacking his
rear guard and capturing and losing
several men. They formed the right of
| a cavalry force that started on July
Sth to make reconnaissance into the
Shenandoah Valley to observe the
movements of Lees army
On the morning of the 18th a sharp
action took place at Ashby's Gap, ex-
clusvely by the four companies of the
| battalion, against an enemy strongly
posted. in which the Confederates were
driven up the valley In this action
two men We're killed, many wounded
| and SaUar91 90 hnf IN,
the skirmishes that Immediately fol-
lowed a goodly number of prisoners
were taken and much information
gained of the movements of the en-
envy On the Both it engaged with
Mosby near Aide, and recaptured
train of thirty-three wagons that had
! been taken the day before by the reb-
els. August 10Th an unsuccessful but
severe engagement took place between
about thirty Californians and Mosby's
command near Coyle's Tavern. Vir-
ginia, in which three of the battalion
were killed and several wounded and
captured. In this skirmish Colonel
Mosby was severely wounded, and dis
abled for several months During the
remainder of the fall the Californians
had several running fights with Mosby's
men, Whites Battalion of Partisan
Rangers, and the Sixth Virginia Cav
airy. in which many men were lost and
captured. On February %, 1864, near
Drainsville, Va, detachment of Cali
fornians was surprised by the enemy.
Captain Reed was in command, and
was killed at the head of his troops
with thirteen others. This was the
most disastrous affair of the war to
the Californians. Their last fight with
Mostly was at Aide, when, in COM
pany with details from other regiments,
they were forced to retire with con-
siderable loss before a superior force
For a year they were pitted against
the men of Mosby, White, Imboden,
Kuschela and Gilmore, and had hunt
ed them night and day, mounted and
dismounted and over several Virginia
counties. When a fair. square fight
could be obtained the Calforians were
never beaten: their reverses We're very
few. They SO returned the compli-
ments of war that Colonel Mosby spoke
of them in the history of his command
that 'he considered the Californians
the most formidable of all his OPP
/ ponents.'
On the 9TH of July, 1864, a portion
of the CalifornanS We're moved to
II. 49, - a.