David McMurtrie Gregg David McMurtrie Gregg ( April 10 , 1833 – August 7 , 1916 ) was a farmer , diplomat , and a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War . Early life and career . Gregg was born in Huntingdon , Pennsylvania . He was the first cousin of future Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin and the grandson of Pennsylvania Congressman Andrew Gregg . He graduated from the United States Military Academy ( West Point ) in 1855 and was given a commission as a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U . S . Dragoons Regiment ( heavy cavalry ) . During his tenure at West Point , he interacted with two classmates who would become great cavalry generals — an opponent and a commander , respectively : J . E . B . Stuart , class of 1854 , and Philip Sheridan , class of 1853 . His first real assignment was in the New Mexico Territory , as a company commander in the 1st U . S . Dragoons . His unit was ordered to California and he traveled with his friend Dorsey Pender ; they later bought a racehorse together . His company then marched to Fort Vancouver , in Washington Territory . During this tour of duty , Lt . Gregg had his first taste of combat , engaged with 160 men against 1 , 000 Indian warriors , who had surrounded them . The fighting lasted for three days , although casualties were minor , and Gregg managed a fighting retreat . Civil War . At the start of the Civil War , Gregg returned to Washington , D . C . , where he was promoted to captain in the 3rd U . S . Cavalry , followed soon by a transfer to the 6th U . S . Cavalry . He developed typhoid fever and barely escaped death when his Washington hospital caught fire . In January 1862 he became colonel of the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry . Gregg and the 8th Pennsylvania fought in the Peninsula Campaign , where he distinguished himself in the Seven Days Battles , expertly screening retreating Union infantry . The Battle of Antietam was his next engagement , but cavalry played little role . He received a furlough and married Ellen F . Sheaff on October 6 , 1862 , in Montgomery County , Pennsylvania ; the couple honeymooned in New York City . Gregg was promoted to brigadier general just before the Battle of Fredericksburg . As at Antietam , the cavalry was underutilized and held in reserve . He commanded a brigade in the division of Alfred Pleasonton . Gregg was sent to assume command of another cavalry brigade when its commander , Brig . Gen . George Dashiell Bayard , was killed by an artillery shell that reached behind the infantry lines . After Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker assumed command of the demoralized Army of the Potomac , he shook up the cavalry organization , because the mounted arm had not been used effectively . He removed cavalry units from corps and divisions , and consolidated them as a separate Cavalry Corps , under Maj . Gen . George Stoneman . Gregg assumed command of the 3rd Division in February 1863 . ( Although infantry divisions are typically commanded by major generals , few Union cavalry division leaders rose above brigadier general , and Gregg was no exception . ) At the Battle of Chancellorsville , Stoneman ' s corps , including Gregg ' s division , was dispatched on a raid around Lee ' s left flank to destroy facilities in his rear . The raid lasted nine days and caused a lot of destruction in the rear of the Army of Northern Virginia , but it accomplished little strategically and Stoneman was widely criticized for lack of aggression and not being able to draw any Confederate forces away from the main battle . Maj . Gen . Alfred Pleasonton replaced Stoneman in command of the Cavalry Corps . During the start of the Gettysburg Campaign , Lee ' s stealthy troop movements away from the Fredericksburg area caused Union consternation and Pleasonton was ordered to find out where they were going . Launching a surprise attack on Maj . Gen . J . E . B . Stuart at Brandy Station resulted in the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the war . The initial assault crossed the Rappahannock River at Beverly Ford under command of Brig . Gen . John Buford . While Buford attacked , Gregg led the 2nd and 3rd Divisions across Kelly ' s Ford to attack the flank and rear of the Confederates on Fleetwood Hill , where Stuart ' s headquarters were located . The fighting was fierce , saber - wielding , and hand - to - hand . The Confederates managed to repulse Gregg . The battle overall was essentially a draw , although it surprised and humiliated Stuart , and orders left behind provided valuable intelligence about Lee ' s intentions to invade Maryland and Pennsylvania . In the middle of the Gettysburg Campaign , Pleasonton reorganized his corps and Gregg now commanded the 2nd Division . He led it in cavalry engagements at Aldie , Middleburg , and Upperville . While his fellow , newly promoted division commander Maj . Gen . John Buford was initiating the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1 , 1863 , Gregg was still moving north . His division arrived mid - day on July 2 and took up positions to protect the right flank and rear of the Union Army . On July 3 , Stuart started a large raid to flank the Union right and hit their trains and lines of communications , hoping to exploit the infantry assault on the Union center ( Pickett ' s Charge ) , which had just started . Three miles east of Gettysburg , in what is now called " East Cavalry Field " , Stuart ' s forces collided with Gregg ' s division and Brig . Gen . George A . Custer ' s brigade of the 3rd Division . A lengthy mounted battle , including hand - to - hand combat , ensued . Both sides claimed victory , but Stuart was blocked from achieving his objectives in the Federal rear . In October 1863 , Lee attempted to flank the Union army near Warrenton , Virginia . Gregg ' s division delayed Lee until the II Corps under Maj . Gen . Gouverneur K . Warren arrived to block the movement . Gregg caused an incident when , after this engagement , he did not get adequate mention in Maj . Gen . George G . Meade ' s after action report and demanded a court of inquiry to correct the record . Gregg commanded the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac in early 1864 until the arrival of Maj . Gen . Philip Sheridan , who commanded the cavalry of the forces of Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant in the Overland Campaign . The most important use of Gregg ' s cavalry during this campaign was to screen Union movements southward , battle to battle , but a significant raid was staged that culminated in the Battle of Yellow Tavern , where J . E . B . Stuart was mortally wounded , dealing the Confederacy a hard blow . Gregg ' s division also was heavily engaged at the Battle of Haw ' s Shop , where it fought Wade Hampton ' s troopers west of Hanovertown , Virginia . Hampton had superior numbers , but Gregg ' s troopers had the Spencer repeating rifle . Finally , Custer ' s brigade attacked through difficult terrain , ousting Hampton ' s men from their position . Concluding the raid culminating in the Battle of Trevilian Station , Sheridan ' s cavalry retreated toward Bermuda Hundred . Gregg ' s division covered the retreat , especially in the Battle of Saint Mary ' s Church . Gregg ' s division survived a strong attack directed by Wade Hampton , but it lost several prisoners , including Colonel Pennock Huey . Gregg commanded the cavalry division that remained near Petersburg while Sheridan was engaged in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign against Jubal Early . In his role as cavalry commander , Gregg screened various union movements in the Siege of Petersburg . Gregg ' s division was particularly engaged at the Second Battle of Deep Bottom , the Second Battle of Ream ' s Station , and the Battle of Peebles ' Farm . Near the end of his service , he was promoted to the brevet rank of major general . Later life . David Gregg resigned his army commission , in a letter dated January 25 , 1865 : Gregg ' s real reasons for resigning before the end of the war are lost to history . According to Edward Longacre ' s biography of Gen . John Buford , Gregg feared a violent death in battle and described himself as a " coward " when , in late 1864 , his nerve finally gave way and he resigned his commission . He missed exciting cavalry actions in the Appomattox Campaign . He settled in Reading , Pennsylvania , his wife ' s home . He farmed near Milford , Delaware , but his life was dull and he apparently regretted leaving the army . In 1868 he applied for reinstatement , but the cavalry command he wanted went to his cousin , John Irvin Gregg , so he remained an unhappy civilian . In 1874 , he was appointed by President Grant to be U . S . Consul to Prague , Austria - Hungary , but soon returned home because his wife was homesick . Gregg was active in state and local affairs and raised funds to preserve Valley Forge as a national shrine . He visited Gettysburg Battlefield numerous times and gave speeches at events . In 1891 , he became active in politics and was elected to a term as Auditor General of Pennsylvania . Gregg died in Reading , Pennsylvania , one of the oldest survivors of the war in the state , and is buried there in Charles Evans Cemetery . He is memorialized with a bronze equestrian statue in Reading and the American Legion Post there is named " Gregg Post " in his honor .