Battle of the American Civil War
The
Battle of Hunterstown
was an
American Civil War
skirmish at
Beaverdam Creek
near
Hunterstown, Pennsylvania
, on July 2, 1863, in which
Wade Hampton
's Confederate cavalry withdrew after engaging
George Armstrong Custer
's and
Elon Farnsworth
's Union cavalry.
[1]
Background
[
edit
]
At dawn on July 2, 1863, the
Union
Army of the Potomac
deployed near
Gettysburg
had cavalry posted elsewhere to protect the flanks and to look for Confederate activity, particularly
Maj. Gen.
J.E.B. Stuart
's cavalry. Stuart arrived at Gen.
Robert E. Lee
's headquarters between noon and 1 p.m., and about an hour later
Brig. Gen.
Wade Hampton
's exhausted brigade arrived. Stuart ordered Hampton to take a position to cover the left rear of the Confederate battle lines. Hampton moved into position astride the Hunterstown Road four miles northeast of
Gettysburg
, blocking access for any Union forces that might try to swing around behind Lee's lines. Two brigades of Union cavalry from Brig. Gen.
Judson Kilpatrick
's division under Brig. Gens.
George Armstrong Custer
and
Elon J. Farnsworth
were probing for the end of the Confederate left flank later the afternoon of July 2.
[2]
Engagement
[
edit
]
Custer's men collided with Hampton on the road between Hunterstown and Gettysburg. As he led a charge of Company A, 6th Michigan Cavalry, against the Confederate rear guard, Custer fell under his wounded horse and was saved by his orderly, Norvell F. Churchill.
[3]
Hampton wanted to escalate the action, positioning most of his brigade along a ridge in readiness to charge Custer's position. At that stage, Elon Farnsworth arrived with his brigade. Hampton did not press his attack, and an artillery duel ensued until dark when Hampton withdrew towards Gettysburg.
Aftermath
[
edit
]
The battlefield (
colloq.
"
North Cavalry Field
", which is northeast of the
Gettysburg Battlefield
)
[4]
is privately owned and includes a power plant. The village of Hunterstown has a small plaque commemorating the nearby engagement, and on July 2, 2008, a marble monument honoring Custer was unveiled and dedicated.
[5]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Battle of Hunterstown"
. The Historical Marker Database
. Retrieved
3 July
2016
.
- ^
Rummel, George A. III (2000).
Cavalry of the Roads to Gettysburg: Kilpatrick at Hanover and Hunterstown
.
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
: White Mane Publishing Company.
ISBN
1-57249-174-4
.
- ^
Petruzzi and Stanley, p. 162. Churchill's middle initial is cited by Wittenberg, p. 43.
- ^
The 2008 colloquialism by Troy Harman
Archived
2016-04-01 at the
Wayback Machine
attempts to infer the battlefield is part of the
Gettysburg Battlefield
and, by extension, the cavalry skirmish is part of the
Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day
, because it was on the same day at a neighboring location (
cf.
Battle of Carlisle
,
Skirmish of Littlestown
).
- ^
Messeder, John (July 3, 2008).
"Hunterstown monument honors battle participants"
. Gettysburg Times
. Retrieved
2008-07-05
.
References
[
edit
]
- Harman, Troy.
Hunterstown: North Cavalry Field of Gettysburg
. Hunterstown Historical Society website, accessed August 1, 2013.
- Kross, Gary.
The Cavalry at Gettysburg
, speech on September 14, 1995.
- Petruzzi, J. David, and Steven Stanley.
The Complete Gettysburg Guide
. New York: Savas Beatie, 2009.
ISBN
978-1-932714-63-0
.
- Wittenberg, Eric J.
Protecting the Flank at Gettysburg: The Battles for Brinkerhoff's Ridge and East Cavalry Field, July 2–3, 1863
. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013.
ISBN
978-1-61121-094-1
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Campaigns and battles
| |
---|
Fights and skirmishes
| |
---|
Cities and counties
| |
---|
Units and
people
| |
---|
Posts and hospitals
| |
---|
Manufacturers
| |
---|
Civil War museums and
historic sites
| |
---|
Monuments and memorials
| |
---|
|