6th Pennsylvania Cavalry The 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry was a Union cavalry regiment during the American Civil War . They were known for their early use of 9 - foot lances , and were called " Rush ' s Lancers . " History . The regiment was raised during August and September 1861 from companies raised in Philadelphia , Montgomery and Berks counties by Richard H . Rush , who had been authorized to do so by Governor Curtin . Rush was appointed colonel of the regiment , with John H . M ' Arthur as lieutenant colonel and C . Ross Smith and Robert Morris , Jr . , as majors . At the suggestion of Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan , the men were armed with Austrian lances . After several weeks of training in Philadelphia , the regiment was transferred to Washington , D . C . , where it was assigned to the Cavalry Division of the Army of the Potomac . The regiment served with the army during the Peninsula Campaign and Maryland Campaign , skirmishing many times but seeing no heavy fighting . During the Battle of Fredericksburg , it served as the provost guard for the Center Grand Division , guarding the bridges to the grand division ' s rear . It was absent during the Battle of Chancellorsville , participating instead in Stoneman ' s Raid . In the May 1863 , the regiment was rearmed with Sharps carbines and assigned to the Reserve Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division . It fought in the Gettysburg Campaign and Mine Run Campaign . The following year , it fought in the Overland Campaign and Sheridan ' s Valley Campaign among the Valley Campaigns of 1864 . In September , the regiment ' s original enlistments expired , and the unit was reorganized for an additional three years . Following the Appomattox Campaign , it was ordered to Washington , D . C . , where it was consolidated with the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry and 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry to form the 2nd Pennsylvania Provisional Cavalry . The combined regiment was sent to Louisville , Kentucky , where it was mustered out in August 1865 . The 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry had one Medal of Honor Recipient : Captain Frank Furness , commander of Company F . During the Battle of Trevillian Station ( June 11 – 12 , 1864 ) , Furness " Voluntarily carried a box of ammunition across an open space swept by the enemy ' s fire to the relief of an outpost whose ammunition had become almost exhausted , but which was thus enabled to hold its important position , " according to the citation for the medal , awarded on October 20 , 1899 . Reenactors . A group based in Morrisville , New York portrays Company G . Today . In August 1861 , members of First Troop , Philadelphia City Cavalry , were mustered in and organized into companies C and E of the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry for Federal service in the Civil War . Companies C and E were mustered out on 17 June 1865 . The First Troop , Philadelphia City Cavalry ( 17 November 1774 ) is the oldest , continuously active Cavalry Troop in the US Army , currently serving as A TRP , 1st / 104th CAV , Pennsylvania Army National Guard . The Civil War campaign streamers of the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry currently fly from A Troop ' s guidon along with streamers ranging from the American Revolution to World War II . The Troop recently served in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia ( 2002 - 3 ) and the Sinai ( 2008 ) . Numerous artifacts of the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry are currently housed in the Troop ' s private museum which is currently closed due to construction .