Charles E. Capehart

Charles E. Capehart was a cavalry officer of the United States Army during the American Civil War and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. Born in 1833 in Conemaugh Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, near Johnstown, he was the younger brother of Henry Capehart, who also became a distinguished Union cavalry officer and Medal of Honor recipient. Charles ultimately rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, although he held the rank of Major when he performed the action for which he received the Medal of Honor. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Capehart entered Union military service soon after the Civil War began in 1861. His early service was with Illinois troops, but illness interrupted his first enlistment. After recovering, he returned to military service and eventually received a commission as a cavalry officer. On May 16, 1862, he became a captain in the 1st Virginia Cavalry (Union). When West Virginia became a separate state in 1863, the regiment was redesignated the 1st West Virginia Cavalry. Capehart advanced rapidly, receiving promotion to Major on June 6, 1863, only weeks before the Gettysburg Campaign. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The 1st West Virginia Cavalry became part of the Army of the Potomac’s mounted forces and fought in the Gettysburg Campaign. The National Park Service order of battle for Gettysburg lists Major Charles E. Capehart with the 1st West Virginia Cavalry in Brigadier General Elon J. Farnsworth’s cavalry brigade. On July 3, 1863, Capehart and his regiment participated in cavalry operations south of Gettysburg during the final day of the battle. Farnsworth was killed during that fighting, creating changes in command that soon placed greater responsibility on Capehart. National Park Service After the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee began withdrawing the Army of Northern Virginia toward the Potomac River. Part of the Confederate retreat—including troops, supplies, wounded men, wagons, and equipment—moved through the mountain passes west of Gettysburg. Union cavalry was ordered to pursue the retreating columns. One of the most significant clashes during that pursuit occurred at Monterey Pass and Monterey Mountain, Pennsylvania, during the night of July 4–5, 1863. Congressional Medal of Honor Society By this point, Capehart had assumed command of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry in the field. The conditions were exceptionally difficult. The fighting took place at night during a heavy rainstorm, with poor visibility and confused movement along the narrow mountain roads. Union cavalry encountered Confederate troops protecting the retreating wagon column, and the struggle developed into a chaotic mounted engagement in darkness and rain. Congressional Medal of Honor Society It was during this action on July 4, 1863, that Major Capehart performed the act of gallantry for which he would later receive the Medal of Honor. While commanding his regiment, Capehart led his cavalrymen down the mountainside at midnight in heavy rain and directly against the Confederate wagon train. Rather than allowing the retreating column to escape through the pass, he pressed the attack under extremely difficult conditions. The charge disrupted the Confederate movement, resulting in the capture and destruction of numerous wagons and the taking of many prisoners. This daring mounted assault became the defining action of Capehart’s military career. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The significance of Capehart’s action lay not merely in personal exposure to danger but also in his responsibility as the officer commanding the regiment. A cavalry charge at night, through rain and mountainous terrain, carried serious risks of disorder, collision, separation, and friendly fire. Capehart nevertheless maintained offensive momentum and personally led his regiment into the Confederate column. His conduct demonstrated the aggressive leadership and battlefield courage that the Medal of Honor citation later recognized. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Capehart continued serving after Gettysburg and Monterey Pass. His advancement did not end with his promotion to major. On August 1, 1864, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, the highest verified rank recorded for him. He remained associated with the 1st West Virginia Cavalry through the closing stages of the Civil War and left military service after the Confederate surrender in 1865. For the VictoriaCross.ca database, Lieutenant Colonel is therefore the correct primary Rank field, while Major should be preserved as his rank at the Medal of Honor action. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Medal of Honor Charles E. Capehart received the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary conduct at Monterey Mountain, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1863. His official citation records that, while commanding the regiment, he charged down the mountainside at midnight during heavy rain against the enemy’s retreating wagon train, leading to the capture or destruction of many wagons and the taking of numerous prisoners. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Capehart did not receive the decoration immediately after the Civil War. His Medal of Honor was formally presented on April 7, 1898, almost thirty-five years after the action. The award was not posthumous; Capehart was alive to receive the recognition. Because he was an Army recipient and the presentation occurred in 1898, the correct historical database selection for the project is Medal of Honor 1896–1903 Army. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Capehart’s family has an unusual place in Medal of Honor history. His older brother Henry Capehart, also an officer of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry, received the Medal of Honor for saving a drowning soldier under fire at the Greenbrier River in 1864. The Capehart brothers are therefore among the small number of sibling pairs in American military history in which both brothers received the Medal of Honor. Congressional Medal of Honor Society After the war, Charles Capehart spent much of his later life in the Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia area. He married Mary Louise Sawyer in 1866, and they had a family. His military past, however, remained the central source of his historical recognition, particularly his leadership during the Gettysburg Campaign and the dramatic pursuit of Lee’s retreating army through Monterey Pass. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Charles E. Capehart died on July 11, 1911, in Washington, D.C. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, where his grave is recorded in Section 3, Grave 2033. Arlington National Cemetery includes him among the Civil War Medal of Honor recipients interred there. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Capehart’s legacy rests on both leadership and personal courage. He entered the war as a volunteer, developed into an experienced cavalry officer, rose to Lieutenant Colonel, and became one of the most distinguished members of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry. Yet the defining moment of his career remained that stormy night of July 4, 1863, when, as a Major commanding his regiment, he led his troopers down Monterey Mountain against the retreating Confederate column. The Medal of Honor presented to him in 1898 permanently recognized that action and secured Charles E. Capehart’s place among the notable cavalrymen of the American Civil War.