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Fighting Spirits of Emmitsburg
William Emmit founded the town of Emmitsburg in 1785 and through the years Emmitsburg
grew to become recognized as a symbol of religion due to its many churches & schools such as Saint Joseph College, and Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary School. During the outbreak of the
Civil War, many town residents mustered into military service for both sides. Fighting for the Confederacy were townsmen such as Charles Aloysious Donnelly who enlisted at
Charleston, South Carolina, before the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Daniel Beltzhoover, a professor of mathematics at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary became a Lt. Colonel in the 1st
Louisiana Heavy Artillery and fought during the Vicksburg Campaign of 1863. Beltzhoover’s Battery was one of the honored units in the western Campaigns. Samuel T. Walker served in
the 10th Virginia Infantry and was promoted to Lt. Col. in April of 1862. He was killed during the battle of Chancellorsville (Virginia) when a cannon ball passed through him. Alanzo
L. Barry traveled to North Carolina and enlisted in 1862 with Rankin’s battery that became part of the 1st North Carolina Heavy Artillery. Many other Emmitsburg men enlisted at
Winchester in 1862 and served in various Virginia and Maryland Regiments.
Cole’s Cavalry Company C, a Federal unit, is the most memorable in Emmitsburg’s Civil War history. They were known as the Keystone Rangers, commanded by Captain John C. Horner. In
1862, Captain Horner retired from service and Captain Albert Hunter became the new commander. Most of the men in Horner’s Company of Cole’s Cavalry were from Western Maryland and
Southern Pennsylvania including the Emmitsburg area, the Taneytown area, and the Gettysburg area. Most of the men were farmers and planters who were young, unmarried, accustomed to
the use of firearms and had knowledge of riding. Their extensive knowledge of Western Maryland, and the topography of the Shenandoah Valley that runs through Pennsylvania deep into
southern Virginia, served as a great asset to the Union cause.
Major Oliver Horner of Cole’s Cavalry is one of the most celebrated Civil War heroes of Emmitsburg. Oliver Horner entered the service as private in Company C, on August 27, 1861 and
by February was promoted to Major of Cole’s Cavalry. After the close of the war he entered into the mercantile business. He was appointed postmaster on March 11, 1869, and resigned
on April 15, 1877. In October 1882, he organized the Banking House of Annan, Horner, and Company of which he was cashier and general manager.
Another hero and prominent Emmitsburg citizen was Samuel McNair. Samuel enlisted on August 27, 1861 and was wounded in action on September 2, 1862. During the Gettysburg Campaign,
Samuel and a few other Emmitsburg men started for Gettysburg on the 29th of June and were the first Union soldiers to enter Gettysburg after Ewell’s Division moved toward York.
McNair and his friends captured a Confederate who proved to be a carrier of dispatches from Lee to Ewell. It was this little band of Cole’s Cavalry that captured the first Rebels
during the famous battlefield of Gettysburg.
To learn more about Cole’s Cavalry or the men who served in the Confederacy, please visit www.emmitsburg.net
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