Gettysburg Campaign: December 2008 Archives

Three brigades of veteran Confederate cavalry under Major General J.E.B. Stuart passed through scenic York County, Pennsylvania, on June 30, 1863, en route from the Battle of Hanover to Dover, PA where they camped for the evening near Fox Run.

Background post: Rebels visit Dover - Part 1 of a series.

Dover had managed to miss the big one so far, as Jubal Early's 5,000 infantrymen bypassed the town on June 28 and instead headed farther south to Weigelstown before cutting across York County to the Harrisburg Road near Emigsville and turning south to York. Now, on the afternoon of June 30, Stuart's three brigades, burdened by a slow moving captured Union supply train of 125 forage-laden wagons, began pulling out of the Hanover vicinity.

Their destination was York, where Stuart hoped to link up with Early, but circumstances would lead them to Dover.

In 1886, York author, lawyer and judge John Gibson penned what at the time was the "official" history of York County, Pennsylvania. Much of his section on the Civil War was taken from research and notes by George Reeser Prowell, who would in 1907 publish his own, larger history of York County.

The York County Heritage Trust has hard copies of Gibson's and Prowell's works, and they are well worth perusing for the history buff interested in learning more about York County, Pennsylvania, during the Civil War. From an Internet genealogy dealer a few years ago, I picked up a fully searchable, downloadable copy of Gibson's history in CD format, and I have used it quite often as a reference to this area's local history. I have found Gibson and Prowell to be very useful, although they clearly have several errors when it comes to the Civil War information.

Here is the bulk of Gibson's information on York County in the Rebellion, which I have slightly edited for clarity and rearranged the order to make a little more sense (the original text is not well organized). I have also changed a couple of Gibson's titles and subtitles. I have also italicized the names of most York countians in case you spot an ancestor's name.

The cover photo for this upcoming book is courtesy of Chambersburg, PA history buff and taltented photographer Will Dupuis, who specializes in Gettysburg-related photography. For more of his work, click this link or visit his homepage.

My latest book of human interest stories from the Gettysburg Campaign, Gettysburg Glimpses: True Stories from the Battlefield, will be available in March 2009. Watch this blog for ordering information! Autographed first edition copies will be available for pre-order in February.

There are several new stories from here in York County in this 153-page collection of more than 200 stories from the battlefield and the campaign. The vast majority of these anecdotes and incidents will be new to you. Some are ironic, some humorous, some tragic, but all are sure to be of interest.

Here are a few examples from this new book, which is a companion to my two-volume Human Interest Stories of the Gettysburg Campaign.

A view of the exterior of the Schultz house on Emig Street in Hallam, Pennsylvania. This heavily modified stone house dates from the early 19th century, and is shown in this U.S. government photograph taken in the 1980s. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

On Sunday afternoon, June 28, 1863, nearly 2000 Confederate soldiers marched through the tiny village of Hallam, Pennsylvania, in the heart of Hellam Township in eastern York County. Led by pre-wear Georgia attorney and businessman John Brown Gordon, the Rebels were marching from York to Wrightsville, where they were supposed to seize the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge and control access to Lancaster County.

It would not work out as General Gordon hoped.

More than 700 York County residents suffered losses to the passing armies during the Gettysburg Campaign. In a few cases, they were victimized more than once, and at times to both the Union and Confederate forces. One such multiple unfortunate was wealthy Hanover merchant and land owner Josiah W. Gitt, whose properties were in the wrong places at the wrong times.

A view looking north at what in 1863 was the Henry Fishel farm just east of Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania. This was among the scores of farms in Adams and York counties visited in the Gettysburg Campaign by Elijah V. White's 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (later nicknamed the "Comanches" for their war cries). The Rebels burned the railroad bridge over Fishel Creek (seen in the upper center). CLICK TO ENLARGE these photos for a better look at the farm.

Lt. Col. Elijah White's men split off from John Gordon's Confederate brigade shortly after leaving Gettysburg on June 26, 1863. They had stolen dozens of horses at Gettysburg, became drunk on local whiskey, and killed an Adams County cavalryman, George Washington Sandoe. They "widely scattered" upon leaving Gettysburg on the 27th, with some of the battalion accompanying Gordon as far as Abbottstown on the turnpike (now U.S. 30) before turning southward to Hanover. Others followed the railroad, burning bridges and heading into McSherrystown. Evidence exists that at least part of the battalion took Hanover Road (today's S.R. 116) to reach McSherrystown and then Hanover (horses were stolen along the way from farms on 116). Later, they raided Hanover Junction and some visited Seven Valleys.

Here is one of their stories from their afternoon of merriment at the expense of York Countians...

The above satellite photo shows the most likely route Colonel William H. French's 17th Virginia Cavalry took to reach the twin railroad bridges over the Conewago Creek near York Haven, Pennsylvania. CLICK TO ENLARGE THE PHOTO.

Background posts: Fire on the Conewago!; More on the York Haven bridges.

On June 28, 1863, Confederate cavalry from the mountains of West Virginia conducted a daring raid in unfamiliar enemy territory to destroy a pair of the Northern Central Railway's wooden railroad bridges over the Conewago Creek just south of York Haven in northeastern York County, Pennsylvania. The map shows the likely route, pieced together from surviving Confederate and civilian accounts, as well as from studying the postwar damage claims filed with the court system. These sworn testimonies were from farmers and residents who were trying to recoup their losses in horses and property taken by the Rebels.

Scenic Bath County, Virginia, was home to Company K of the 52nd Virginia, Its ranks were filled with hardy mountain men who were not strangers to guns, spartan lifestyles, or outdoor living.Their Civil War experience would take them to the vicinity of York, Pennsylvania.

More than 10,000 Confederate soldiers passed through York County, Pennsylvania, between June 27 and July 1, 1863. Very few left any written accounts of their brief visit, which was too lengthy for most Pennsylvanians of the day. Perhaps surprisingly, the fewest accounts that I have located to date come from the brigade of William "Extra Billy" Smith, a former Governor of Virginia who would resign during the Gettysburg Campaign to resume his political career. I have only uncovered a handful of references to York County, despite the brigade's two-day stay north of York along the road to Emigsville (now North George Street; then the turnpike to Harrisburg).

Here is one such story, used by written permission of Duke University, where the original letter is archived. The writer used flowery, outstanding penmanship, and was lucid and well educated, because the entire four-page letter has few spelling or grammatical errors, unlike many other rural soldiers on both sides.

While the Battle of Gettysburg raged on July 1, 1863, elements of David M. Gregg's cavalry division of the Union Army of the Potomac wasted several hours on a fruitless countermarch near Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania, because of conflicting orders the general received from HQ. This was not uncommon in the Civil War (or today).

CLICK THE MAP TO ENLARGE IT FOR MUCH BETTER VIEWING.

Please read the background post first! Oh, Just make up your mind, general!

I spent part of the day yesterday down in Hanover Junction with my little grandson. We mapped out what I believe were the various routes elements of David McMurtrie Gregg's division of Union cavalry took in its series of countermarches, and took a few photographs. Refer back to the map above during this discussion.

The Official Records of the War of the Rebellion is a compilation of the majority of the official reports written by the senior generals, corps, division, and brigade commanders, and often regimental or battery commanders as well. They usually focus on the movements of the particular unit and its subsequent battle actions. Some reports are lengthy; others are quite terse. Some are simple matter-of-fact rehashes of the facts; others are pages of flowery prose that may at times be self-serving to the writer. Keep in mind that these reports were meant to be read by the chain-of-command and then archived by the respective War Departments, so they normally "white-wash" the events described. However, often the real story, or as commentator Paul Harvey termed it "the rest of the story," may at times can be found in the common foot-soldiers' accounts in letters, diaries, newspaper articles, or regimental histories.

Here's one such story behind the official report from William E. Miller, an officer in the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry who would be awarded a Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg.

The National Park Service has announced the winter schedule for the series of lectures lon the Gettysburg Campaign and the Battle of Gettysburg ed by park rangers from the Gettysburg National Military Park. These lectures and presentations are free of charge, and will be held in the meeting rooms in the new Gettysburg Visitors Center.

See also: Dueling carbines in Warrington Township for another local Civil War skirmish

Many York Countians are well aware of the Battle of Hanover, and some have heard of the engagement at Wrightsville. Few are aware that very minor skirmishes took place at several other locations within York County; minor encountered that left no or few casualties and have long since been forgotten. Even their exact locations are now hard to pinpoint, so don't plan on relic hunting.

Here's another example of these times when gunfire between the Blue and the Gray echoed through a section of York County.

As the long column of Confederate cavalry snaked its way through northwestern York County on July 1, 1863, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart split his force to make better time and to sweep a wider area for fresh horses. The brigades of John R. Chambliss, Jr. and FitzHugh Lee rode through the village of Warrington, where they too separated, with Chambliss following the State Road to Carlisle and Lee heading into Wellsville.

The fun was just beginning.