This is from the large group of material belonging to George W. Mowers of Fayetteville, PA, and preserved in the family until very recently. Mowers did two tours of duty, his first just a few months after his eighteenth birthday, when he enrolled at Chambersburg on 7/11/63 and mustered in as a private at Harrisburg on 7/15/63 in Co. D of the 21^st Pennsylvania Cavalry. The regiment was originally recruited starting in June 1863 in response to the call for militia to serve for six months in response to Lee’s impending move north in the Gettysburg campaign. Companies were mustered in from June 23 to August 10, some of the early recruits seeing action against Confederate troops while scouting at Gettysburg on June 26. The regiment as a whole only took the field, however, in August, and even then was divided between postings at Harpers Ferry and at Pottsville and Scranton. In February 1864 they reunited at Chambersburg for discharge and the reconstituting of the regiment of men enlisting for three years service.

The regiment was dismounted and equipped as infantry soon after arriving in Washington in May, and was assigned to the 5^th Corps. It suffered losses at Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Jerusalem Plank Road, the Mine Explosion, Weldon Railroad, Peebles Farm and Poplar Springs Church. It was finally mounted again in October and assigned to Gregg’s Cavalry Division, seeing action at Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher’s Run, Dinwiddie Courthouse, Five Forks, Amelia Springs, Sailor’s Creek and Farmville. One company had been assigned to duty in Pennsylvania and another at army headquarters. Almost half the men had lost their horses in service and those men were apparently transferred to infantry duty again in the final assault at Petersburg, leaving the regiment understrength. At Amelia Springs the mounted portion was reported to have lost 98 men out of 234 engaged in less than an hour’s fighting.

Mowers service predated this later duty, but he was a member of the regimental association and is photographed at the dedication of one of the regiment’s monuments at Gettysburg. Ironically, despite not being fully organized at the time, the regiment has two monuments on the battlefield, one funded by the state and one by the veterans’ association. They were entitled to this by virtue of the presence of Bell’s Company of Adam’s County Cavalry, which became Co. B of the 21^st regiment. Bell’s men were mustered in on June 23 and were scouting around Gettysburg on June 26 with some other Pennsylvania units called up for service. They were driven off by Confederate advance troops, but not without shedding blood. George Sandoe of Bell’s company was killed along the Baltimore Pike on June 26 and is regarded by many as the first casualty of the battle.

The silk ribbon has black printing on a cavalry-yellow ground reading simply, “Annual Reunion / 21^st / Regiment/ PA Cavalry.” The ribbon is suspended from a brass-framed celluloid disk picturing a mounted cavalryman. The ribbon and button have the maker stamp and label of Whitehead and Hoag, who were prolific suppliers of badges and ribbons to veterans. Mowers died in 1895, but ribbons and buttons were apparently given to family members. This and one or two other ribbons from the estate bear dates slightly later than his death and were likely acquired by his widow or one of his sons. Mowers, himself, is pictured in a reunion booklet at the Gettysburg monument dedication with two of his children.

This is a nice ribbon from a unit with some interesting and varied history. [sr]

Note: If you wish to have a copy of Mowers' military and pension records, it is an additional $40.00 charge.

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