page_title: 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment
section_title: Post Cold Harbor
hierarchical_section_title: 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment / Grant's Overland Campaign / Post Cold Harbor
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a crop of photo of LTC John W. Phillips of the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry in the American Civil War. As a major, Phillips commanded the regiment for portions of 1864. He was wounded at Gettysburg in 1863.
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: The regiment, under Brinton's command, advanced in a move toward White Oak Swamp on June 15, and had had to fight infantry in a wooded area while unassisted. Lieutenant Samuel McCormick was killed and now-Captain Tresonthick was mortally wounded on that day at St. Mary's Church in an engagement that lasted nearly five hours. Most of the June 15 fighting was dismounted, and the regiment later learned that their action was "part of the attempt to deceive the enemy, to make him believe and think that the whole army was on the north side of the James River, and would attempt to reach Richmond from that direction." Casualties for the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry for the period of June 2 through June 15 were one officer and two enlisted men killed, one officer and 33 enlisted men wounded, and 28 enlisted men captured or missing, with most of the regiment's casualties for this period coming on June 15.
  The regiment moved to the rear of Major General Horatio Wright's VI Corps on June 22. On the next day, Wilson's division departed on what would become known as the Wilson–Kautz Raid, but the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry and 3rd New Jersey Cavalry remained behind and reported to Wright. An official report lists Phillips as commander of the regiment on June 30. During July, the regiment spent most of its time on picket duty. On August 5, the regiment moved to City Point and boarded a steamship destined for Alexandria, Virginia. A few days later, after their arrival in Alexandria, the regiment became armed with Spencer repeating rifles. They departed for the Shenandoah Valley on August 11. The rest of Wilson's division was also ordered to move to the Shenandoah Valley, and the division became part of Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah.
caption: Major John Phillips
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