page_title: 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment
section_title: Conclusion
hierarchical_section_title: 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment / Conclusion
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a crop of photo of Colonel Theo. F. Rodenbough, of the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry in the American Civil War. Before assuming command of the 18th during May 1865, he was in the cavalry of the regular U.S. Army.
context_page_description: The 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was present for 50 battles, beginning with the Battle of Hanover on June 30, 1863, and ending with a skirmish at Rude's Hill in March 1865. A majority of its fighting was in Virginia, although its first major battle was in Pennsylvania's Gettysburg campaign. It was consolidated with the 22nd Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment on June 24, 1865, to form the 3rd Provisional Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment.
  The regiment was organized at Pittsburgh and Harrisburg between October and December 1862. Green County was the source of recruits for three companies, while additional recruits came from elsewhere in the state. Companies L and M were late additions to the regiment, and were originally meant to be part of a 19th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment. Recruits for these two companies were mostly from the Philadelphia area.
  The regiment served in the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the Shenandoah. Among major battles where it saw action were the Battle of the Wilderness, the Third Battle of Winchester, and the Battle of Cedar Creek.
context_section_description: For the next few weeks of 1865, the battalion camped at Kernstown near Winchester. On April 9, the surrender of Lee's army was announced. The battalion went on scouting missions, guarded wagon trains, and had picket duty over the next two weeks. On April 26, the rest of the regiment returned from Camp Remount and joined the battalion. The regiment camped in Staunton, Harrisonburg, Mt. Jackson, and Cedar Creek over the next few weeks. On May 5 they were joined by some of their officers who returned from Confederate prisons. Colonel Theophilus F. Rodenbough joined the regiment on May 12 and took command. On the same day, Private John Kies died from wounds suffered earlier—the last soldier in the regiment to die from action. For the rest of the month, the regiment moved toward Cumberland and camped nearby. Portions of the regiment mustered out in early June. Company E mustered out on July 1—the same day part of Company C was put under arrest for insubordination. On July 20, the 18th and 22nd Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiments were combined and became the 3rd Provisional Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment—with an effective date retroactive to June 24.
  During the war, the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry had five officers and 55 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded. An additional two officers and 232 enlisted men died from disease. Over half of the men that died from disease died in Confederate prisons, and almost two thirds of those that died in prisons died at Andersonville Prison. Colonel (later Brigadier General) Rodenbough was the only Medal of Honor recipient, but his award was for actions while in another regiment.
caption: Colonel Theophilus F. Rodenbough
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