Benjamin Franklin DeBruhl

<br/>Benjamin Franklin DeBruhl’s  first enlistment was in the 2nd SC Regiment,   He served six months when they discovered he was only 16<br/>years old.  He went home and when he reached 18 he enlisted again in the 7th SC Regiment of cavalry.  He served in this regiment<br/>for the duration of the war.  They were the last troops out when Richmond fell.  They provided the rear guard action for Lee's retreating <br/>army west towards Appomattox.  The 7th burned the bridge over the James River as they left Richmond.  They ended up in Appomattox<br/>the night before April 9th.  Their commander Fitzhugh Lee requested permission from his Uncle Robert E. Lee to try for a breakout.  Permission<br/>was granted and the 7th broke out and rode towards Lynchburg, Va.  They received word that Joseph E. Johnston had surrendered to <br/>General William Tecumseh Sherman in North Carolina.  This ended all hope for a linkup with the Confederate Army in North Carolina.<br/>Their commander disbanded the troop, and admonished them to make their way home and to live under the laws of the new governmen- <br/>- great grandchild Kim DeBruhl