David McMurtrie Gregg - Later Life

Later Life

David Gregg resigned his army commission, in a letter dated January 25, 1865:

Having for more than three years been on uninterrupted service in the field, commanding cavalry in the Army of the Potomac, I at this time find such an imperative demand for my continued presence at home that my personal attention may be given to pressing private duties and business, that I can no longer defer action to secure my discharge from the service.

Gregg's real reasons for resigning before the end of the war are lost to history. According to Edward Longacre's biography of Gen. John Buford, Gregg feared a violent death in battle and described himself as a "coward" when, in late 1864, his nerve finally gave way and he resigned his commission. He missed exciting cavalry actions in the Appomattox Campaign. He settled in Reading, Pennsylvania, his wife's home. He farmed near Milford, Delaware, but his life was dull and he apparently regretted leaving the army. In 1868 he applied for reinstatement, but the cavalry command he wanted went to his cousin, John Irvin Gregg, so he remained an unhappy civilian. In 1874, he was appointed by President Grant to be U.S. Consul to Prague, Austria-Hungary, but soon returned home because his wife was homesick.

Gregg was active in state and local affairs and raised funds to preserve Valley Forge as a national shrine. He visited Gettysburg Battlefield numerous times and gave speeches at events. In 1891, he became active in politics and was elected to a term as Auditor General of Pennsylvania.

Gregg died in Reading, Pennsylvania, one of the oldest survivors of the war in the state, and is buried there in Charles Evans Cemetery. He is memorialized with a bronze equestrian statue in Reading and the American Legion Post there is named "Gregg Post" in his honor.