The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1909-09-30


four o'clock and marched UP Market
Street amid the liveliest tokens of
enthusiasm. The horses are
small, compact and sinewy and evil
IDENTIFY capable of great endurance.
1t was the general remark that so
splendid body of animals had never
been seen together in this city,
"The regiment reached Washing
ton December 20, and the Washing
ton correspondent of the Boston
Journal reported to his paper that
1t was the best cavalry mount that
has been seen at the Capital"
General Stoneman, in compliment
ing Colonel Plat on the raising of
the regiment, wrote: Allow me to
express the wish that your success
through life may equal your success
in raising, mounting and bringing
into service one of the very best reg
iments of cavalry that has been
brought to my notice.
appearance. In seventy-five battles
and skirmishes, among them some
of the great and bloody battles
of the war, the regiment was engag-
ed and often with conspicuous dis
tinction. 1t was at Gettysburg, &C.
dar Creek, Cold Harbor, in the Wild
on in IO I,
Valley and finally at Appomattox
Court House. 1t was under such
Generals as Merritt, Furnsworth,
Custer, Fitzpatrick and Sheridan.
Both Farnsworth and Custer led it
personally. The rapidity of it's
movements and it's endurance in COW
ering distances brought it promptly
to the places where it was needed
and resulted in it's often being placed
in the advance for the attack. The
records of the War Department
show the facts.
"In desperate charge ordered by
Fitzpatrick at Gettysburg, General
Farnsworth led the First Vermont
Cavalry in person, riding BY the side
of Major Wells at the head of the
second battalion. They were sup
ported by Colonel Preston with the
first and third battalions. The reg
iment encountered not less than five
regiments of Confederate infantry
the First Texas, the Seventh and
Ninth Georgia, the Fourth and Fiji
teenth Alabama-and two batteries.
General Farnsworth was killed in
this charge, and a writer says that
any considerable number of the men
who charged with Farnsworth sur
vived so desperate duty, is ex-
lplainable only by the fact that they
were In constant and rapid motion.
"By public order on September II,
1868, General Fitzpatrick expressed
his thanks to Colonel Sawyer of the
First Vermont Cavalry for its prompt
and gallant manner in repulsing the
enemy the day before at Raccoon
Ford. On October IS, 1868, at
Gainesville, General Custer wrote:
The First Vermont Cavalry, under
Colonel Sawyer, deserves great cred
it for the rapidity with which they
forced the enemy to retire
General Wilson, in reporting the
battle at Craig's Meeting House
wrote BY am. the Second Brigade
with the First Vermont Cavalry, Col
onel Preston commanding, in ad-
vance had arrived at Craig's Meet
ing House. Just beyond, they en-
countered the enemy's cavalry, Ros-
ser's Brigade, and after a very sharp
fight and several handsome charges,
drove it rapidly back a distance of
+ two miles. Colonel Chapman, Bri-
gade Commander, reporting the en-
gagement at Hanover Court House
wrote: The service of the First Yer
mont Cavalry this day was arduous
and severe and it's loss was heavy
The command is worthy of the high
est praise Three days later at Cold
Harbor, the regiment lost its bril-
liant leader, Colonel Preston, of
whom General Custer then said :
There lies the best fighting colonel
in the cavalry corps
Clusters report of Cedar Creek
bears eloquent testimony to the
worth of both man and horse in the
First Vermont Cavalry. This is
what he wrote: The rapid pace at
which my command had removed
had, necessarily, extended my col
umn, and upon reaching the vicinity
OF the creek, l had but NO regiments
available,-the First Vermont and
the Fifth New York He describes
putting these regiments into action,
and then continues: Owing to the
darkness and the necessary delay at
the fords, the regiments I was ex-
Ipecting failed to reach me to assist
or even overtake the two regiments
(which were then far on their way to
lStrasburg. The result, however,
proved that these two noble regi-
ments were more than competent for
the duty assigned them. Never since
the beginning of the war, has there
been such favorable opportunity for