First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry
By Joseph Seymour
(November 2008 Civil War News)

Illustrated, introduction, softcover, 127 pp., 2008. Arcadia Publishing, 420 Wando Park Blvd., Mount Pleasant, SC 29464, $19.99 plus shipping.

Reviewer: Blake A. Magner
Blake A. Magner is the Book Review Editor of Civil War News. He makes his liv­ing as an editor, writer, car­tographer and photographer of Civil War history. He is author of At Peace With Honor: The Civil War Burials of Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Review:
Though simply a picture book, First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry is a nice history of the oldest mounted unit in the United States Army and one of the oldest units in the National Guard. The unit was organized on Nov. 17, 1774, as a reconnaissance troop in the Philadelphia area during the Revolutionary War.

Because the unit was founded in the nation’s capital city its role became much larger as a ceremonial unit for special observances both official and private.

This is not to say that the unit was not a fighting outfit as over the years it has served in many wars and battles. During the Revolution the First Troop fought at the battle of Trenton and then Princeton where it defended a bridge against British cavalry and for which it received a letter of thanks from Gen. George Washington.

The unit went on to serve during the Whiskey Rebellion, the War of 1812, the Mexican War and Civil War where many members became soldiers in the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Rush’s Lancers. Members then served in the Spanish-American War, the chase for Pancho Villa, World War I, World War II, Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and today’s war against terrorism.

Members have included Charles S. Cheston who rose to brigadier general during World War II and Charles Conrad Jr., the third man to walk on the moon.

The illustrations, which are crisp and clear, show the unit’s history from its organization through to the members who have been deployed to Iraq. Though the Civil War is only briefly mentioned there are a number of illustrations relating to that conflict.

This nicely done volume will be of interest to anyone interested in the pomp and circumstance of Philadelphia’s most elite mounted unit and those interested in the evolution of the cavalry from the Revolution to the war on terrorism.