SEVENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY. 249

son were well-known practitioners of Harford County. The line officers, as a rule, were
all highly respected citizens of their several counties. Two of the captains, Edward M.
Mobley, of Washington County, and David T. Bennett, of Frederick County, were subse-
quently promoted in succession to the command of the regiment, made vacant by casual-
ties of service. Captain Daniel Rinehart, of Carroll County, was a brother of the world-
renowned sculptor.

First Service.

Early in September, 1862, the advance of Lee's army into Maryland occasioned fre-
quent reports of the immediate proximity of his cavalry. The streets or Baltimore were
barricaded, and before the Seventh had progressed so far in its tactics as the battalion
drill, it was, on several occasions, ordered into line in expectation of a raid.

Maryland Brigade.

On the 8th of September, 1862, it was brigaded with the 1st, 4th, 6th and 8th Regi-
ments of Maryland Infantry and Alexander's Battery of Baltimore Light Artillery,
under the command of Brigadier-General John R. Kenly. From that time on, until muster
out at the end of the war, the military history of the Seventh is mainly identified with that
of the famous Maryland Brigade, composed of the organizations just named, with
the exception of the Sixth and Alexander's Battery, subsequently assigned elsewhere.

The Maryland brigade continued a part of the 8th Army Corps nominally, although
serving successively under General Franklin, General Couch and General French, either
as an independent brigade or in detachments, until on the 11th of July, 1863, it was defi-
nitely assigned to the Army of the Potomac as the 3d Brigade, 3d Division, 1st Army Corps.

In January, 1864, it became the 2d brigade of the same division. Upon, the reor-
ganization of the Army of the Potomac under Lieutenant-General Grant, in March, 1864,
the old first corps was merged in the fifth, and the Maryland brigade was then designated
3d Brigade, 2d Division, 5th Army Corps. After the Battle of the Wilderness and the first
engagement at Spottsylvania, this division was so shattered that it was broken up, and
most of its regiments assigned to other commands, the Maryland brigade serving tempo-
rarily as an independent organization, reporting to corps headquarters. Upon the reor-
ganization of the division in June, 1864, the Maryland brigade finally became the 2d
Brigade, 2d Division, 5th Army Corps, until mustered out May 31, 1865.

At the Front.

As soon as the result of the battle of Antietam was known, the Maryland brigade,
which, until that time had been required to guard and picket the approaches to the city,
was ordered to the front. Its first service in the presence of the enemy was between
Hagerstown and Williamsport, where they found General Reynolds with a body of raw,
ununiformed Pennsylvania militia, engaged in trying to hold in check a force of the
enemy's cavalry. Much to the relief of the militia, the Marylanders were promptly
deployed in their front, and, upon their advance, the opposing force withdrew, their
artillery covering the retreat with a few inaccurate shots. This was on the 19th of
September, 1862.

From that time on, until the 29th of October, the Maryland brigade remained in
camp in the vicinity of Williamsport, guarding the fords of the Potomac; the cavalry