Monument to the 26th Militia at Gettysburg
Many local (and national) Civil War buffs are aware of the Battle of Hanover and the Skirmish of Wrightsville. However, there was other fighting in York County, albeit very minor in nature, including insignificant cavalry skirmishes near Jefferson and Dover, as well as near York, where Virginia cavalry fired potshots at retreating Union forces as they were abandoning York for Wrightsville. One other York County town was spared the frightful rattle of gunfire and the fear of potential casualties to be nursed in area homes, despite two opposing forces warily eyeing one another in nearby fields.
Dillsburg was a sleepy little rural village nestled in the shadow of South Mountain. It was primarily known in 1863 as a rest stop for travellers on the road from York to Carlisle, and it boasted a couple of fine taverns, a few stores, a post office, and some other businesses, as well as a nearby sprawling commercial fruit farm. Not far away was the strategically important, from a military viewpoint, gap in the mountain range at Yellow Breeches Creek. That passage offered an egress from the Cumberland Valley into the heart of northwestern York County.
