Gettysburg Campaign: January 2009 Archives

Confederate forces in June 1863 were quite active in York County, Pennsylvania, trying to destroy the logistics and communications infrastructure. Telegraph lines were a particular target, and telegraph stations were often raided, including those at Hanover and Hanover Junction. Another military objective were the railroad bridges. Upon entering Pennsylvania, Confederate cavalry on June 15 and 16 of that year raided the Cumberland Valley Railroad, which was to become a repeated target over the next two weeks. The Gettysburg Railroad was the next Pennsylvania line to receive damage, when a couple bridges between Gettysburg and New Oxford went up in flames. Finally, on June 28 and June 29, the focus shifted eastward to the Hanover Branch Railroad and the Northern Central Railway.

Among the many bridges torched or otherwise wrecked along the NCR's line was its longest bridge, the 324-foot span over the Codorus Creek near the P.A. & S. Small flour mills.

The aerial photograph of the modern York Flour Mills, Inc. is courtesy of Microsoft Virtual Earth, and shows the location of one of the old P.A. & S. Small mills nestled between the railroad and the Codorus Creek. In 1863, the railroad line was the Northern Central's tracks that led from Baltimore to Harrisburg, and Confederate troops camped in and around the mill yard. Armed guards made sure no one broke into the mill.

Earlier in the war, thousands of Union soldiers crossed by the landmark mill on troop trains headed south to join what became the Army of the Potomac.

Philip Albright Small and his brother Samuel were among the leading citizens of York, Pennsylvania, during the mid-19th century. They inherited mills, land, and wealth from their industrious father, George Small, who built the original mill on the Codorus Creek in Manchester Township. They owned comfortable homes in downtown York, were well respected by most of the citizenry, and well networked within both the social and business fabric of York County and the region.

During the Gettysburg Campaign, the Small brothers were also known to the invading Confederate army. In fact, their mills were a particular target for Major General Jubal A. Early.

Of course not - he wasn't even alive.

However, his far-reaching influence on military thinking may have made an impact on why Robert E. Lee lost the Battle of Gettysburg (or maybe it was just that the Yankees had something to do with it). Gettysburg Park Ranger Dr. Chuck Teague spoke earlier tonight at the monthly meeting of the York Civil War Round Table, presenting a PowerPoint presentation examining what impact the theories of war espoused by Napoleon may have had on Lee's thinking and planning.

Chuck has become widely known in Civil War circles in recent years, and his theories and ideas always spark lively conversation and thought.

The John Scott Hotel, seen above in this December 2008 photograph, was among the small cluster of buildings that made up the hamlet of Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania, on June 27, 1863, as the veteran 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry approached following the railroad and nearby roads.

The junction was defended by Lt. Col. William Sickles, who was destined to have the worst week of his military career (perhaps of his entire life). Little did he know as the howling Confederates headed toward his line of nervous, inexperienced militia that within days, he would lose Hanover Junction, walk to Wrightsville, be captured there by John B. Gordon's Georgians, be censured by his superiors in the press and public record as a coward, and then break his leg when he fell off a railroad handcar after being paroled by the Rebels. It was certainly a bad few days for the star-crossed officer.

Before his eyes, the Rebel attack unfolded, and his men hit the panic button...

Modern view of Hanover Junction from the approximate line of the Union defensive positions that "protected" the junction in June 1863.

With the rapid development of the railroad industry in the 1840s and 1850s, farmers in rural areas such as southern York County now had a convenient and reasonably priced way to get their produce and goods to markets in larger towns such as Baltimore and Harrisburg, as well as points beyond. Several new railroads were constructed in the county, and work crews were kept quite busy laying out and building the lines. Once the railroad tracks were finished and all the supporting buildings, signage, etc. in place, commercial service began. Small hamlets developed around many of the refueling stops / cargo / passenger stations, and York County maps became dotted with new names such as Hanover Junction, Smith's Station, Porters Sideling, and dozens of other waysides.

Among the new railroads was the Hanover Branch, which ran from Hanover Junction (where it connected with what became the Northern Central) and the bustling town of Hanover. Later, another railroad connected Hanover with Gettysburg to the west.

All three roads became targets of the Confederate raiders in late June 1863, with the vulnerable wooden bridges being particular objects of Rebel attention.

Jefferson Station was located west of Jefferson, Pennsylvania, near the intersection of Krafts Mill Road and Jefferson Road (today's State Route 516). It was a railstop on the Hanover Branch Railroad serving the farmers of the Codorus region. The embankment in the right center marks the old track bed. Photo taken from the top of a hill along Jefferson Road / 516 looking to the southeast.

Click to enlarge the photos.

A Cannonball reader has asked me to do a series of posts on the Hanover Branch Railroad during the Gettysburg Campaign. In the first of these, we will look at the little known Confederate cavalry raid on Jefferson Station, an event not marked by any kind of commemorative historical wayside marker, unlike so many other incidents during "the Late Unpleasantness."

Background posts:

The Cost of the Rebel Invasion - Part 1
The Cost of the Rebel Invasion - Part 2
The Cost of the Rebel Invasion - Part 3
The Cost of the Rebel Invasion - Part 4

The Gettysburg Campaign, notwithstanding the 50,000+ human casualties and countless animals, cost the citizens of several southern tier Pennsylvania counties a significant financial loss in terms of damage or loss of personal property and, in some cases, loss of real property such as houses and barns.

A government commission in 1869 covened in York, Hanover, and Dillsburg to hear citizens complaints and tally their losses. Any York Countian who wished to file a claim for damages could do so at that time. The commissioners officially placed the damages to York County, Pennsylvania, at $127,668.55 (an astounding $2,003,824.66 in 2007 using the Consumer Price Index calculations for relative worth).

How did this rank compared to other Pennsylvania counties, and how much was caused by the Confederates and Yankees respectively?

U.S. government photo from 1979 of the heavily modified exterior of 21-23 West Market Street in downtown York, Pennsylvania. In 1863, this was the confectionery and store of prosperous merchant Valentine C. Erney.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Valentine C. Erney was a Swiss immigrant who established a profitable confectionery company in downtown York. In the summer of 1863, his establishment proved to be very popular with Major General Jubal Early's infantrymen who occupied York and its immediate vicinity.

Today, his long since demolished store is the location of York's Cherry Lane park, a popular summertime outdoor spot to eat, look at the murals, relax with friends, and listen to live musical concerts.

What did the Confederates take from the 48-year-old Erney's store?

A view taken December 28 of the historic Detters Mill in northwestern Dover Township in York County, Pennsylvania. A lengthy column of Confederate soldiers passed by this mill, watering their horses in the nearby Conewago Creek. The old mill has been converted into apartments.

On July 1, 1863, as J.E.B. Stuart's column continued it march from Dover, Pennsylvania, to Carlisle, a portion of the division under Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee and Col. John Chambliss, Jr. turned off the main road (State Road / Carlisle Road; portions of which are today's State Route 74). and headed down Harmony Grove Road. Shortly after passing the white frame country church, they reached the Conewago Creek, dividing Dover Township from Warrington and Washington townships.

More than two thousand Confederate cavalrymen rode past the site of Harmony Grove Church, a landmark in Dover Township, York County, Pennsylvania. The present white frame building was constructed sometime about 1870 I believe.

Jeb Stuart's Confederate cavalry filed northwesterly from Dover, Pennsylvania, toward Carlisle in neighboring Cumberland County. Stuart did not turn west to follow the trail of Jubal Early's division, but elected to head to Carlisle, where it was rumored the bulk of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps was located.

Just north of Dover, in early afternoon, Stuart split his column to make better time and to scour a wider region of the countryside for fresh horses. He kept Wade Hampton's brigade and the wagon trains with him on the State Road, and sent Fitzhugh Lee and John Chambliss, Jr. to the left on Harmony Grove Road toward Wellsville.

The dust clouds kicked up by the cavalry and wagon train could be seen for miles.

This covered bridge spanned Little Conewago Creek east of Dover, Pennsylvania. Photo from an old postcard.

Confederate horsemen were quite active in Dover Township visiting farms and mills collecting horses, mules, grain, and flour. On June 28 and 29, Col. William H. French's 17th Virginia Cavalry roamed the region, raiding more than forty farms and taking horses. Recruited in the mountain region of what had since become West Virginia, they were proficient foragers, and scores of York Countians were paid a visit by these troopers. At the same time, Major John Campbell of the First Louisiana Brigade (the famed and feared Louisiana Tigers) and a large contingent of infantrymen and wagons were raiding mills and nearby farms north of York, including roaming into Dover Township.

A view taken in December 2008 of the northwestern corner of the main intersection in Dover, Pennsylvania. In the 19th century, Dover had a town square, which accounts for the setback of the white frame building on the left. The town (and surrounding township) had a significant population of citizens with German heritage, including Mrs. Forscht, who owned the corner lot with the white house. The sturdy red brick building to the right was the office of Dr. John Ahl, which would be the Confederates' business office during their half-day stay in Dover on July 1, 1863. Here, General Wade Hampton fired off dispatches via couriers, and later supervised the parole of 230 Yankees, including 21 men captured at Hanover.

Dawn of July 1, 1863, saw Dover firmly in the grasp of the famed Southern cavalier, Major General James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart. His men surrounded the town, with the brigade of the future Governor of South Carolina, Wade Hampton III, likely occupying the ground immediately west of Dover as it was the rear guard of the force, and it is known that Hampton's men later that day skirmished with Federal pursuers near Salem Church. What is less clear is the exact location of the brigades of Fitzhugh Lee and John Chambliss, Jr. although I am still combing through old records to see if a clue can be obtained. It is known that the main body of the Rebels camped near Fox Run, the main source of water in the Dover area, although picket posts were established well out the main roads.

For more photos of modern Dover and commentary, click the link.

Typical York County farmland. Confederate columns criss-crossed the undulating region during the last week of June 1863. Rebel soldiers took more than 1,000 horses from county residents, at times leaving behind worn out nags and mules. Stuart's column freed 80 exhausted mules in one farmer's field, destroying his entire crop of oats. Many farmers hid their animals in ravines, hollows, brushy fields, orchards, woods, and on mountains. However, the Rebels often discovered the horses and mules and took them with them when they departed.

June 30, 1863, had been a trying day for J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry division. Many of the troopers had participated in an emotional battle against Union cavalry at the Battle of Hanover, and several men left friends and family members behind, dead or wounded. The Secessionist saddle soldiers had then endured a grueling ride through southwestern York County's undulating terrain, hampered by a captured train of 125 Yankee supply wagons. Most would march an average of 23 miles from Hanover.

The lead elements of Stuart's column, the Virginia brigade of Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, began arriving in Dover sometime about 2:00 a.m. on July 1.

Seasonal Gettysburg National Military Park ranger Lt. Col. (ret.) Chuck Teague will be the featured speaker at the Wednesday, January 21, 2009, monthly meeting of the York Civil War Round Table. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. as usual in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust, 250 E. Market Street, York, Pennsylvania.

Admission and parking are both FREE, and the public is welcome!

Dr. Teague will present a PowerPoint presentation entitled "The Shadow of Napoleon on Lee at Gettysburg," a study of how Lee's classical training in Napoleonic military techniques may have influenced his decision making during the critical stages of the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg.

A view of the town square in Jefferson, Pennsylvania, (also known as Codorus Post Office during the Civil War) looking to the northwest down Berlin Street. The unusual iron Napoleon cannon tube was the subject of an earlier Cannonball entry. William T. Crist's dry goods store once occupied the large brick building during the Civil War. Rebel troopers paid a visit to this building during Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's June 30, 1863, pause at Jefferson.

All photos taken by SLM on December 18, 2008.

Jefferson, a small village in southern York County, saw three different armed forces of cavalry pass through its town square during a single week in the Gettysburg Campaign. It was first visited on June 27, 1863, by Elijah V. White and the 250-man 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, which had trotted into town from Hanover Junction to the northeast and then took the road in the upper right of this photo northwesterly toward Spring Forge (now Spring Grove).

On June 30, twenty times the number of Confederate cavalrymen would ride through the town square... and then on July 1, it would be Union cavalry that passed through Jefferson, this time to the welcome of the townspeople.