General David McMurtie Gregg

General David McMurtie Gregg. . , Gregg and the 8th Pennsylvania fought in the Peninsula Campaign, where he distinguished himself in the Seven Days Battles, expertly screening retreating Union Infantry. The Battle of Antietam was his next engagement, but cavalry played little role. He received a furlough and married Ellen F. Sheaff on October 6, 1862, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; the couple honeymooned in New York City., Gregg was promoted to brigadier general just before the Battle of Fredericksburg. As at Antietam, the cavalry was underutilized and held in reserve. He commanded a brigade in the division of Alfred Pleasanton. Gregg was sent to assume command of another cavalry brigade when its commander, George Dashiell Bayard, was killed by an artillery shell that reached behind the infantry lines., After Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker assumed command of the demoralized Army of the Potomac, he shook up the cavalry organization because the mounted arm had not been used effectively. He removed cavalry units from corps and divisions, and consolidated them as a separate Cavalry Corps, under Maj. Gen. George Stoneman. Gregg assumed command of the 3rd Division in February 1863. (Although infantry divisions are typically commanded by major generals, few Union cavalry division leaders rose above brigadier general, and Gregg was no exception.)