The 8th Illinois Cavalry Regiment was a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

that served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The regiment served the duration of the war, and was the only Illinois cavalry regiment to serve the entire war in the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

. They also aided in the hunt for John Wilkes Booth and served as President Lincoln's honor guard while he lay in state under the rotunda. Lincoln gave them the nickname of "Farnsworth's Abolitionist Regiment" when he watched them march past the White House.

Service

The regiment was commissioned on August 11, 1861, and was assembled for service in St. Charles, Illinois, on September 18, 1861, at the site donated by Colonel Farnsworth called Camp Kane. They were sent out on July 17, 1865, in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Battle of Gettysburg

During the Gettysburg Campaign, the 8th Illinois Cavalry was in the division of Brig. Gen.

John Buford John Buford Jr. (March 4, 1826 – December 16, 1863) was a United States Army cavalry officer. He fought for the Union Army, Union during the American Civil War, rising to the rank of brigadier general. Buford is best known for his actions in th ...

. They deployed west of Gettysburg on June 30, 1863, under the command of Colonel William Gamble, and waited for oncoming Confederates that arrived early the following morning. The first shot of the subsequent battle was fired by

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Marcellus E. Jones of Company E, who borrowed a

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...

from Sergeant Levi Shafer and fired at an unidentified officer on a gray horse over a half-mile away. The 8th, along with the rest of the

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

, performed a fighting withdrawal toward

McPherson's Ridge McPherson Ridge is a landform used for military engagements during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, when the I Corps of the Union Army had a headquarters on the ridge and was defeated by the Confederate division of Major General Henry Heth. Th ...

, delaying the Confederate division of

Henry Heth Henry Heth ( not ) (December 16, 1825 – September 27, 1899) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Eastern theater of the American Civil War, Eastern Theater of the American ...

for several hours and allowing the Union I Corps to arrive. Two decades after the war ended, veterans of the regiment dedicated a monument to the 8th Illinois along the crest of McPherson's Ridge. Jones also erected a monument in recognition of the first shot he fired on the location of the shot next to the Whistler's home just east of Marsh Creek on the Chambersburg Pike. The stone was quarried from Naperville

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

; Naperville was the hometown of Levi Shafer, whose carbine Jones borrowed.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered a total of 250 fatalities; seven officers and 68 enlisted men killed in action or died of their wounds and one officer and 174 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel

John F. Farnsworth John Franklin Farnsworth (March 27, 1820 – July 14, 1897) was a seven-term United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Illinois (1857-1861, 1863-1873) and a Colonel (United States), colonel in the Union Army during the Am ...

- promoted brigadier general on December 5, 1862. * Colonel William Gamble - mustered out with the regiment.Illinois in the Civil War website after Illinois Adjutant General's muster rolls
/ref> * Lieutenant Colonel David Ramsay Clendenin - commanded at various times during the war, eventually Bvt. Brig. Gen. USV and Col. USA * Major

John Lourie Beveridge John Lourie Beveridge (July 6, 1824 – May 3, 1910) was the 16th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1873 to 1877. He succeeded the recently elected Richard J. Oglesby, who resigned to accept a Senate seat. Beveridge previously served in ...

- commanded at Gettysburg, then promoted to colonel and commander of the 17th Illinois Cavalry in November 1863 was Governor of Illinois, 1873-1877. * Major William H. Medill - commanded at Antietam and Williamsport before dying from wounds in the latter.

Other notables

* Sergeant Horace Capron, Jr. -

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient; son of

Horace Capron Horace Capron (August 31, 1804 – February 22, 1885) was an American businessman and agriculturalist, a founder of Laurel, Maryland, a Union (American Civil War), Union officer in the American Civil War, the United States secretary of agri ...

* First Lieutenant

Elon J. Farnsworth Elon John Farnsworth (July 30, 1837 – July 3, 1863) was a Union Army captain in the American Civil War. He commanded Brigade 1, Division 3 of the Cavalry Corps (Union Army) from June 28, 1863 to July 3, 1863, when he was mortally wounded and ...

- promoted in June 1863 to brigadier general as assigned to a brigade command; killed in the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

. Nephew of Colonel Farnsworth. * Captain George Alexander Forsyth, later a famed Indian fighter in the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

. * Lieutenant Marcellus Jones, would go on to remove the Dupage County records from Naperville, Illinois and take them to Wheaton, Illinois, where the present county seat is located. * Private Henry Laycock - later a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

References

The Civil War Archive

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:008 Illinois Cavalry Regiment Units and formations of the Union army from Illinois 1861 establishments in Illinois Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865