See The Sites
First Battle of Hagerstown
Hagerstown, MD 21740At the July 6, 1863 First Battle of Hagerstown, Confederates forces holding the town beat back Union cavalry attempting to attack the Confederate wagon train retreating from Gettysburg.
At theJuly 6, 1863First Battle ofHagerstownthe Union Third Cavalry Division, commanded by Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick, attacked Confederate cavalry holdingHagerstown,Marylandand protecting its wagon train retreating fromGettysburgto thePotomac River. Approaching from the south, Kilpatrick’s horsemen charged into town and drove the Confederate defenders back to the town square. Three batteries of Confederate horse artillery opened fire, driving the Union cavalry back. Kilpatrick’s artillery responded in kind. A series of charges and countercharges took place, and at times the fighting was conducted dismounted and hand-to-hand. Local citizens joined in the fighting on both sides. When the Confederates deployed Brig. Gen. Alfred Iverson’s infantry brigade, it turned the tide of battle. Setting up an ambush, it fired volleys into Kilpatrick’s unsuspecting troopers, inflicting casualties and causing them to pull back after six hours of fighting.
See these sources and websites for additional information:
Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent, One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4–14, 1863, 2008.
Kent Masterson Brown, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, & the Pennsylvania Campaign, 2005.
Civil War Trails marker:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=6533
Battle of Smithsburg
Smithsburg, MD 21783At the Battle of Smithsburg, Confederate cavalry took possession of the town from Union cavalry, which helped shield the Confederate wagon train retreating from Gettysburg.
At the July 5, 1863 Battle of Smithsburg, in the late afternoon Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart led two cavalry brigades down South Mountain through Raven Rock Pass and approached Smithsburg. Early in the day the town had been occupied by Union Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s Third Cavalry Division. Kilpatrick had placed his three cavalry brigades facing toward the pass, expecting any Confederate movement would be from that direction. Dismounted cavalry from both sides skirmished in the mountain crags east of Smithburg before the Confederates emerged from the mountains. Artillery from both sides opened as well. In the early evening, as one of the Confederate brigades began to turn the left flank of the Union position, Kilpatrick ordered a general retreat and withdrew toward Boonsboro. Stuart’s command then moved in and occupied the town.
See these sources and websites for additional information:
Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent, One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4–14, 1863, 2008.
Kent Masterson Brown, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, & the Pennsylvania Campaign, 2005.
Civil War Trails marker:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=2000
Other markers:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=1997
Second Battle of Hagerstown
Hagerstown, MD 21742
At the July 12, 1863 Second Battle of Hagerstown, Union Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s Michigan cavalry brigade took possession of the town from the Confederates.
On July 12, 1863 the Union Third Cavalry Division commanded by Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick approached Hagerstown, Maryland in support of an infantry division from the Eleventh Corps. After charging and capturing nearly the entire Confederate picket line on the outskirts of town, Kilpatrick ordered Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s brigade of Michigan cavalry to charge into Hagerstown. He did so, skirting barricades, and took possession of the town. In all, about 500 Confederates were taken prisoner. Some Union soldiers who had been hiding in the homes of local citizens since the July 6 First Battle of Hagerstown emerged and rejoined the Union army. The Union occupation of Hagerstown forced the Confederate army back to their prepared defenses around Williamsport, Maryland as it prepared to cross the rain-swollen Potomac on its retreat from Gettysburg.
See these sources and websites for additional information:
Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent, One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4–14, 1863, 2008.
Kent Masterson Brown, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, & the Pennsylvania Campaign, 2005.
Civil War Trails marker:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=6534
First Battle of Funkstown
Funkstown, MD 21734At the July 7, 1863 First Battle of Funkstown, Union and Confederate cavalry clashed on the outskirts of town, with the southern horsemen chasing off a Union reconnaissance.
The July 7, 1863 First Battle of Funkstown began when the Union Sixth U.S. Cavalry Regiment of Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt’s Reserve Brigade scouted along the National Road toward Funkstown,Maryland. It encountered the pickets of the Confederate Seventh Virginia Cavalry from Brig. Gen. William E. “Grumble” Jones’s brigade. The southern cavalry was protecting the Confederate line of retreat from Gettysburg through Hagerstown. After an initial volley, the Confederates charged the Union horsemen and drove them back. A running skirmish ensued for over a mile, as the Union horse soldiers initially executed an orderly retreat. A narrow bridge over a stream bottled up the U.S. cavalry, however, and the southern horsemen fell upon them and inflicted heavy losses. As the Confederates advanced near the Union First Cavalry Division’s main camp, they fired a volley, but in turn were charged by fresh regiments from the encampment. The new Union horsemen took a number of prisoners from among the Confederates whose mounts had tired and given out. The Confederates retreated back to their original lines and were reinforced, at which point the Union troopers gave up the pursuit.
See these sources and websites for additional information:
Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent, One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4–14, 1863, 2008.
Kent Masterson Brown, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, & the Pennsylvania Campaign, 2005.
Second Battle of Funkstown
Funkstown, MD 21734At the July 10, 1863 Second Battle of Funkstown, Confederates forces resisted a Union assault on its positions near Funkstown,Maryland before withdrawing after dark.
The July 10, 1863 Second Battle of Funkstown began when Union First Cavalry Division commander Brig. Gen. John Buford dismounted the horsemen from his three brigades and advanced from near Boonsboro toward Funkstown, Maryland. Initial contact with southern cavalry occurred near Beaver Creek, with the Confederate pickets falling back toward Funkstown where Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart commanded the forces in and around the town. Accurate artillery fire and the advance of Buford’s brigades caused the southern lines to waver. Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet forwarded two infantry brigades and a battery to shore up Stuart’s lines, which formed a semi-circle north and east of Funkstown. Union infantry, in turn, came to Buford’s support. In the day-long battle, Stuart held his ground and fought off the Union assault, which allowed Confederate General Robert E. Lee further time to prepare his defenses and consolidate his position at Williamsport during the retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia from Gettysburg. After dusk, Stuart withdrew from Funkstown to the west side of Antietam Creek.
See these sources and websites for additional information:
Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent, One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4–14, 1863, 2008.
Kent Masterson Brown, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, & the Pennsylvania Campaign, 2005.
Civil War Trails marker:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=1158
Other markers:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=388
Battle of Williamsport
Williamsport, MD 21795At the July 6, 1863 Battle of Williamsport, Confederate forces holding the town held off a Union cavalry attack, which kept open General Lee’s line of retreat from Gettysburg.
Confederate Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden commanded the wagon train of wounded that retreated fromGettysburgtoWilliamsport,Maryland. Upon his arrival in the latter town on July 5, Imboden found the rain-swollen river too high for fording. OnJuly 6, 1863two Union cavalry divisions were advancing towardWilliamsport. Imboden had limited cavalry, however, and infantry support was still miles away. To resist the assault, Imboden quickly raised a scratch force of about 700 teamsters and organized them into companies under the command of wounded officers and officers serving as commissaries and quartermasters. He also used the walking wounded to bolster his force. In the late afternoon the Union First Cavalry Division began probing the Confederate position from the east. Imboden deftly shifted troops from secure portions of his defensive line to threatened portions. Late in the day the cavalry brigade commanded by Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee came to Imboden’s support and attacked the Union cavalry, which caused it to break off the engagement. Imboden’s improvisation and vigorous defense ofWilliamsportsaved about 4,000 wagons and 10,000 head of livestock from Union cavalry, and kept open General Robert E. Lee’s line of retreat fromGettysburg.
See these sources and websites for additional information:
Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent, One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4–14, 1863, 2008.
Kent Masterson Brown, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, & the Pennsylvania Campaign, 2005.
Steve French, Imboden’s Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign, 2008.
Civil War Trails marker:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=2002
Battle of Boonsboro
Boonsboro, MD 21713The July 8, 1863 Battle of Boonsboro during the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg was the largest cavalry battle fought on Maryland soil during the Civil War.
On the morning of July 8, 1863 Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart advanced five brigades of cavalry from the vicinity of Williamsport and Funkstown toward Boonsboro to locate and engage Union cavalry that threatened General Robert E. Lee’s line of retreat from Gettysburg. The opposing sides first clashed at the Beaver Creek bridge northwest of Boonsboro, with the Confederates pushing the Union horsemen back to the outskirts of town. The ground was so soft from recent rain that most of the battle was fought by dismounted cavalry. After repeated Confederate assaults upon the Union defensive line, it was on the verge of breaking when infantry support arrived in the evening to shore up Union lines. The Union forces counterattacked and drove the Confederates back behind Beaver Creek. Although the battle was largely a stalemate, Stuart’s attack had tied up two divisions of Union cavalry and prevented it from posing a threat to the retreating Confederates columns. The battle, which lasted from late morning to dusk, was the largest cavalry battle fought on Maryland soil during the entire war.
See these sources and websites for additional information:
Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent, One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4–14, 1863, 2008.
Kent Masterson Brown, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, & the Pennsylvania Campaign, 2005.
Civil War Sites Advisory Commission’BattleSummary:
http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/md006.htm
Civil War Trails marker:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=1630
Other markers:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=7008
Second Battle of Falling Waters
Downsville, MDAt the July 14, 1863 Second Battle of Falling Waters, Union cavalry attacked the rear guard of the Confederate army as it retreated across its pontoon bridge at Falling Waters.
At the July 14, 1863 Second Battle of Falling Waters, Union cavalry commanded by Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick made an impetuous attack on the Confederate rear guard protecting a pontoon bridge over the Potomac opposite Falling Waters, West Virginia. Two companies initially charged several brigades of Confederate infantry protected by earthworks. Badly outnumbered, the force suffered heavy casualties. As other Union cavalrymen came forward, they joined the fighting which surged back and forth, and which at times was conducted hand-to-hand. As the Confederates continued to retreat across the pontoon bridge, Union horsemen captured several hundred prisoners. Kilpatrick failed to coordinate his assault with that of Brig. Gen. John Buford, who was maneuvering his division to a position from which he planned to attack the rear of the Confederate position.
See these sources and websites for additional information:
Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent, One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4–14, 1863, 2008.
Kent Masterson Brown, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, & the Pennsylvania Campaign, 2005.
Battle of Cunningham’s Crossroads (Battle of Cearfoss)
Cearfoss, MD 21740At the July 5, 1861 Battle of Cunningham’s Crossroads, a small force of Union cavalry attacked the Confederate wagon train of wounded retreating fromGettysburg.
On July 5, 1861a force of about 200 Unioncavalrymen commanded by Capt Abram Jones attacked the Confederate wagon train of wounded, commanded by Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden, retreating from Gettysburg to Williamsport, Maryland. Using a parallel ridgeline to conceal his force, Jones’ men charged a vulnerable portion of the train and caught the Confederates by surprise. His men captured 134 wagons, over 600 horses and mules and 2 artillery pieces, and took 645 prisoners. Jones drove the captured material, livestock and prisoners to safety in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
See these sources and websites for additional information:
Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent, One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4–14, 1863, 2008.
Kent Masterson Brown, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, & the Pennsylvania Campaign, 2005.
Steve French, Imboden’s Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign, 2008.
Battle of Hancock (Bombardment of Hancock)
Hancock, MD 21750At the January 5–6, 1862 Battle of Hancock, the Confederates under Stonewall Jackson bombarded Hancock,Maryland when his demand for its surrender was refused.
After capturing Bath(Modern-day Berkeley Springs,WV),Virginia on January 4, 1862, in the evening Confederate General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson ordered a few artillery rounds to be fired into Hancock in retaliation, he stated, for Union shelling of Shepherdstown,Virginia. The next day Jackson demanded the surrender of Hancock,Maryland under the threat of further bombardment. Union Brig. Gen. Frederick W. Lander, commanding the Union forces in Hancock, refused the request. After giving two hours notice for local citizens to depart, in the afternoon the bombardment began and continued until dark. Union artillery responded in kind. The following day Jackson resumed the bombardment around noon. In the late afternoon he attempted to cross the Potomac at Sir John’s Run, but abandoned the effort. The next day Jackson withdrew from the river.
See these sources and websites for additional information:
http://www.hancockmd.com/HancockMDHistory.pdf
Thomas M. Rankin, Stonewall Jackson’s Romney Campaign, January 1–February 20, 1862, 1994.
John H. Nelson, “Bombard and be Damned”: The Effects of Jackson’s Valley Campaign on Hancock, Maryland, and Fulton County Pennsylvania, 1997.
Civil War Sites Advisory Commission’BattleSummary:
http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/md001.htm
Civil War Trails marker:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=832
Other markers:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=739
The Mansion House
2 South Main Street Mercersburg, PA 17236In the summer of 1862, Company C, 126th Pennsylvania Infantry held recruiting rallies in front of the mansion.
The mansion was built circa 1798 and used as a dormitory by Marshall College. It was acquired by Colonel Murphy in 1845 who managed it as a prominent hotel until 1864. In the summer of 1862, Company C, 126th Pennsylvania Infantry held recruiting rallies in the front of the mansion. On July 3, 1863, three scouts of the Virginia 12th Cavalry skirmished with two Federal infantrymen. One Confederate fled, one was captured, and Pvt. J.W. Albans was killed instantly.
Franklin County native James Buchanan addressed a political gathering from the balcony here in 1856, shortly before he attained the presidency.
See these sites and sources for additional information:
Mansion website: http://www.colonelmurphysmansionhouse.com/
Historical Marker Database: http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=8041
“Bridgeside,” Steiger Family House
120 North Main Street Mercersburg, PA 17236Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart stopped at the Steiger house in October, 1862, intending to use the house as his headquarters.
Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart stopped at the Steiger house in October, 1862, during the first Chambersburg Raid. He planned on using the house as his headquarters while his troops gathered supplies and civilian hostages from Mercersburg. Mrs. Steiger perhaps saved her family’s belongings by suggesting to Stuart that he not enter her home because her children had measles. Stuart complied and instead ate lunch on the side porch. Coincidentally, Stuart and his troops encountered George Steiger when they were leaving town later in the day (George was not home when Stuart had arrived). The Confederates seized Steiger’s horses and wagon and held him hostage. He was able to escape and traveled a circuitous route home to avoid capture. He finally arrived home at 1:00 a.m. to the shock and delight of his family and neighbors.
See these sites and sources for additional information:
The Steiger House is now a Bed and Breakfast: http://steigerhouse.com/index.html
Historical Marker Database: http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=18534
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=18536
Winger House
Northeast corner of Routes 75 and 995 intersection, Claylick Mercersburg, PA 17236On October 10, 1862, Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart and his cavalrymen captured ten Mercersburg citizens, including Joseph Winger, the postmaster of nearby Claylick.
General J.E.B. Stuart and his cavalrymen passed through Mercersburg on their way to Chambersburg on October 10, 1862. They captured ten Mercersburg citizens, including Joseph Winger, the postmaster of nearby Claylick. Some captives were soon released because of their age, while others, including Winger, were taken to Richmond’s Libby Prison and paroled some months later. Winger’s son, Benjamin, became a colonel for the Union Army and was responsible for recruiting volunteers from the Chambersburg area in the fall of 1862. After the war, he and his unit were responsible for helping to reconstruct ravaged south-central Virginia.
See these sites and sources for additional information:
Greencastle Museum information: http://www.greencastlemuseum.org/Special_Exhibits/civil_war.htm
Historical Marker Database: http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=8030
Chambersburg Raids
Blairs Valley Road Mercersburg, PA 17236This road served as a popular entry point for Confederate forces invading Pennsylvania.
On October 10, 1862, Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart entered Pennsylvania. Among his goals was the destruction of an iron bridge at Chambersburg. Stuart’s men were unable to fully destroy the bridge, though they seized horses, food, ammunition, and hostages. They then moved on to Chambersburg, where they took more horses, cut telegraph wires, and burned railroad shops. They departed back into Maryland near Emmitsburg the following day.
On July 29, 1864, Confederate General John McCausland’s cavalry unit, numbering 2,800 men, marched north on this road. They reached Chambersburg the next day and demanded a 100,000 dollar (in gold) or a 500,000 dollar (in Union currency) ransom for the town. When the residents failed to raise the ransom, McCausland and his men burned the town, destroying more than 500 structures and leaving more than 2,000 citizens homeless. Between the fire and drunken Confederate soldiers looting homes and abusing civilians, the total damage was estimated to be 1.6 million dollars. In retaliation, mobs of angry townspeople killed several soldiers. Not all Confederates acted with wanton abandon; some helped citizens escape with their valuables, and one officer, Colonel William Peters, refused to take part in the burning, for which McCausland arrested him. Chambersburg was the only Northern town to be destroyed by Confederates, and the raid helped to inspire the Union to adopt a more aggressive strategy for the remainder of the war.
See these sites and sources for additional information:
“Explore Franklin County” brochure: http://www.explorefranklincountypa.com/pdf/FCVB-Civil-War.pdf
Historical Marker Database: http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=43132
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=43111
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=18532
Zion Union Cemetery
Zion Union Lane Mercersburg, PA 17236The Zion Union Cemetery is an African-American cemetery holding at least thirty-eight veterans of the United States Colored Troops (USCT).
Mercersburg had the largest population of free African-Americans in central Pennsylvania before the outbreak of the Civil War, a remarkable percentage of whom volunteered for the Union Army when it began accepting African-American troops in 1863. Of these men, forty-four enlisted in either the 54th or 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and another forty-four enlisted in a variety of regiments within the USCT. Mercersburg was second only to Philadelphia in supplying troops for these regiments. At least thirty-eight veterans are buried in the Zion Union Cemetery, including thirteen members of the 54th Massachusetts, which constitutes the largest known burial site of 54th troops in a private cemetery. The 54th Massachusetts became famous for its valor and helped spur African-American recruiting by the Union Army in the remaining years of the war.
See these sites and sources for additional information:
Dickinson College Civil War research engine: http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/33004
Pennsylvania Civil War Trails: http://www.pacivilwartrails.com/stories/tales/zion-union-cemetery
Historical Marker Database: http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=44650&Result=1
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=44651
Lincoln Cemetery
Long Lane and Lincoln Lane Gettysburg, PA 717-334-5533At least 30 veterans of the USCT are buried in this cemetery for African Americans in Gettysburg.
Following the Civil War, African American veterans were denied the right to be buried in the U.S. national cemeteries for Civil War soldiers. Gettysburg’s African American veterans were buried in Lincoln Cemetery, the African American cemetery in town. At least 30 members of the USCT are buried here.
See these sites and sources for additional information:
Deborah A. Lee, Honoring Their Paths: African Americans Contributions Along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground, 2009, 34-36.
Historical Marker Database: http://www.hmdb.org/Marker.asp?Marker=31242
