First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry
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The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry is a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and is the oldest continuously serving unit in the United States military. Also known as the First City Troop, it was one of the first patriotic military organizations established in the American Revolution. It was organized in 1774 as the Light Horse of the City of Philadelphia, often referred to as the Philadelphia Light Horse.
Early members came from a number of local social organizations, including the Schuylkill Fishing Company, the Schuylkill Company of Fort St. Davids, the St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia, the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Society of the Sons of St. George, and especially the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club. Captain Samuel Morris was Gloucester's first president and Captain Robert Wharton its last.
During the Revolution, the troop fought in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown. It often served as George Washington's personal bodyguard. The unit also saved James Wilson at the "Battle of Ft. Wilson" riot.
During the American Civil War, the First City Troop was called into active duty several times, beginning with the 1861 campaign that led to the First Battle of Bull Run. During the Gettysburg Campaign, the company, under the command of future U.S. Speaker of the House Samuel J. Randall, performed scouting duties around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in late June before fleeing to neighboring York County following a brief skirmish on June 26, 1863. The company later helped defend the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge against the Confederate forces of John Brown Gordon.
Today, the First City Troop continues to serve the nation, deploying overseas with the Pennsylvania National Guard in support of Army operations. It continues to be a stalwart of the Philadelphia social scene and draws its membership from Troop A, 1st Squadron, 104th Cavalry, 28th Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
[edit] Further reading
- Brooke, George, III. With the First City Troop on the Mexican Border. Philadelphia: 1917.
- Clark, William P. Official History of the Militia And the National Guard of the State of Pennsylvania from the Earliest Period of Record to the Present Time. 3 vols. Philadelphia: 1909-1912.
- First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. By-Laws, Muster Roll, and Papers Selected from the Archives of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, 1840.
- First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. History of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry; From Its Organization November 17th 1774 to Its Centennial Anniversary .... Philadelphia: Hallowell, 1875.
- Hendler, Charles J., compiler. Official History of the Militia and National Guard of the State of Pennsylvania. 4 vols. Philadelphia: 1936.
- McBarron, H. Charles, Jr. "First Troop Philadelphia Light Horse, 1809-1815." Military Collector and Historian, 3 (March 1951), pp. 14-16.
- Risley, Clyde A.; James P. Simpson; and John R. Elting. "Light-Horse of the City of Philadelphia, 1776-1777." Military Collector and Historian, 23 (Winter 1971), pp. 121-122.
- "A Return of the First City Troop, 1799." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 23 (1899), p. 127.
- John Thomas Scharf, Thompson Westcott, History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Lippincott, Phila., 1884.
