Career
Capehart enlisted in the Union Army and was commissioned captain and placed in command of Company A, 1st West Virginia Cavalry. He was subsequently promoted to major of the regiment. Major Capehart assumed command of the 1st West Virginia during the Battle of Gettysburg when Colonel Nathaniel Richmond was promoted to brigade commander.
On July 4, 1863 Capehart"s regiment, in a daring midnight charge down a mountainside during a thunderstorm, attacked and captured a retreating Confederate wagon train.
This act would lead to the awarding of the Medal of Honor. Capehart was later promoted to lieutenant colonel.