Battle of Hanover
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Hanover took place on June 30, 1863, in Hanover
Hanover, Pennsylvania
Hanover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, southwest of York and north-northwest of Baltimore, Maryland.The town is situated in a productive agricultural region. The population was 15,289 at the 2010 census. The borough is served by a 717 area code and the Zip Codes of 17331-34...

 in southwestern York County, Pennsylvania
York County, Pennsylvania
York County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 434,972. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania....

, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...

 of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...

's Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

, which was riding north to get around the Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

, attacked a Federal cavalry regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

, driving it through the streets of Hanover. Brig. Gen.
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 Elon Farnsworth's brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

 arrived and counterattacked, routing the Confederate vanguard and nearly capturing Stuart himself. Stuart soon counterattacked. Reinforced by Brig. Gen. George A. Custer's Michigan Brigade
Michigan Brigade
The Michigan Brigade, sometimes called the Wolverines, the Michigan Cavalry Brigade or Custer's Brigade, was a brigade of cavalry in the volunteer Union Army during the latter half of the American Civil War...

, Farnsworth held his ground, and a stalemate ensued. Stuart was forced to continue north and east to get around the Union cavalry, further delaying his attempt to rejoin Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

's army, which was then concentrating at Cashtown Gap west of Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...

.

Background

As Robert E. Lee moved his Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

 northward in June 1863 through the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...

 towards Pennsylvania, portions of his cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart slipped eastward across the path of the Union Army of the Potomac. A series of raids in eastern Maryland netted prisoners and supplies, as well as disrupting Federal communications and telegraph lines. However, Stuart was not in position to effectively screen Lee's advance or to provide intelligence on the movements of the Federal army. As Stuart headed north in an effort to link with Lee, Union cavalry commander Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton
Alfred Pleasonton
Alfred Pleasonton was a United States Army officer and General of Union cavalry during the American Civil War. He commanded the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac during the Gettysburg Campaign, including the largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war, Brandy Station...

, riding towards Pennsylvania to the west of Stuart, ordered his divisions
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

 to fan out across a wide swath, keeping an eye out for Confederates.

Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's division was on the Union right flank. The majority of his men passed through Hanover early in the morning of June 30, pausing briefly for refreshments and to receive the greetings of the jubilant townspeople. Their town had been raided three days before by Confederate Lt. Col.
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 Elijah V. White
Elijah V. White
Elijah Viers "Lige" White was commander of the partisan 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry during the American Civil War. His men became commonly known as "White's Comanches" for their war cries and sudden raids on enemy targets.-Early life:Elijah White was born in the area of Poolesville, Maryland...

's cavalry, attached to Maj. Gen. Jubal Early's division that had occupied York County. White's Virginians and Marylanders had followed the railroad to Hanover from nearby Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...

, and taken horses, food, supplies, clothing, shoes, and other desired items from the townspeople, often paying with valueless Confederate money or drafts on the Confederate government. White's raiders had destroyed the area's telegraph wires, cutting off communications with the outside world, before sacking the nearby Hanover Junction
Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania
Hanover Junction is a small unincorporated community in south-central York County, Pennsylvania, United States, near the borough of Seven Valleys...

 train station. The unexpected arrival of Kilpatrick's column was a pleasant surprise to the residents of Hanover, who warmly greeted the Union troopers with food and drink.

Most of Kilpatrick's men remounted and passed through town, heading northward through the nearby Pigeon Hills towards Abbottstown
Abbottstown, Pennsylvania
Abbottstown is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1011 at the 2010 census.-History:Abbottstown is named for John Abbott, who founded it in 1753.In 1950 Abbottstown had a population of 538.-Geography:...

. He left behind a small rear guard force to picket the roads south and west of Hanover. In the meantime, Stuart had left his billet at Shriver's Corner, Maryland, and was proceeding northward across the Mason-Dixon Line
Mason-Dixon line
The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...

 into Pennsylvania. Hearing that Federal cavalry had been spotted near his intended destination, Littlestown, Pennsylvania
Littlestown, Pennsylvania
Littlestown is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,434 at the 2010 census.Originally laid out by Peter Klein in 1760, the town was first named "Petersburg". German settlers in the area came to call the town "Kleine Stedtle"...

, he instead turned towards Hanover in adjacent York County. His progress was slowed considerably by a cumbersome train of over 125 heavily laden supply wagons that he had captured near Rockville, Maryland
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...

. In addition, he had skirmished with Delaware cavalry on June 29 at Westminster, Maryland
Westminster, Maryland
Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV...

, further delaying him.

The battle

Shortly before 10:00 a.m. on June 30, the rear guard of the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry encountered Confederate videttes about three miles (5 km) southwest of Hanover at Gitt's Mill. In the ensuing exchange of small arms fire, a Confederate cavalryman died and several were wounded. Shortly afterwards, 25 men from Company G of the 18th Pennsylvania were captured by the 13th Virginia from John R. Chambliss
John R. Chambliss
John Randolph Chambliss, Jr. was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army and then, during the American Civil War, in the Confederate States Army. A brigadier general of cavalry, Chambliss was killed in action during the Second Battle of Deep Bottom.-Early life:Chambliss was...

’s brigade, the vanguard of Stuart's oncoming cavalry. Also that morning, a series of minor engagements occurred near Littlestown and elsewhere along Stuart's path.

Southwest of Hanover at a tiny hamlet now known as Pennville
Pennville, Pennsylvania
Pennville is a census-designated place in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Pennville is located at in Penn Township, adjacent to the borough of Hanover....

, the 2nd North Carolina Cavalry struck the 18th Pennsylvania’s main column and split it in two. Union survivors retired in disorder through the streets of Hanover just as Stuart's horse artillery
Field Artillery in the American Civil War
Field artillery in the American Civil War refers to the important artillery weapons, equipment, and practices used by the Artillery branch to support the infantry and cavalry forces in the field. It does not include siege artillery, use of artillery in fixed fortifications, or coastal or naval...

 arrived, unlimbered, and opened fire. As the Confederates occupied the town in the wake of the fleeing Pennsylvanians, General Farnsworth wheeled the 5th New York Cavalry into position near the town commons and attacked the Rebel flank in the streets, forcing the Tar Heel
Tar Heel
Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the state and inhabitants of North Carolina as well as the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans....

s to abandon their brief hold on the town. The commander of the 2nd North Carolina, William Henry Fitzhugh Payne, was captured after his dying horse pitched him into a nearby tanning vat. A Union soldier pulled Payne out and took him prisoner.

As more of Chambliss's men (and General Stuart) arrived on the scene, they were met by additional Federals near the sprawling Karle Forney farm, just south of Hanover. Nearly surrounded in the confused fighting, Stuart and a staff officer made their escape cross-country through the hedges bordering the country lane, at one point leaping their horses over a 15 feet (4.6 m) wide ditch. Hearing the unmistakable sound of distant gunfire, Judson Kilpatrick raced southward towards Hanover, with his horse dying in the town square from the severe ride. The young general began to deploy his men in and around Hanover, barricading some streets with barrels, farm wagons, dry goods boxes, and anything else that might provide cover. Shortly before noon, fighting at the Forney farm ceased as the Rebels broke off contact. Kilpatrick positioned Custer's newly arrived brigade on the farm and awaited developments.

When Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish-American War.-Early life:...

's Virginia brigade arrived, Stuart moved his and Chambliss's men into a new position on a ridge extending from the Keller Farm southwest of Hanover to Mount Olivet Cemetery southeast of town. Meantime, Kilpatrick repositioned the brigades of the newly promoted duo of Custer and Farnsworth to form a better defensive perimeter and then brought up his guns.

Leaving the captured wagons two miles (3 km) south of town under heavy guard, Wade Hampton
Wade Hampton III
Wade Hampton III was a Confederate cavalry leader during the American Civil War and afterward a politician from South Carolina, serving as its 77th Governor and as a U.S...

 at 2 p.m. brought his brigade and Breathed's Battery into position near the Mount Olivet Cemetery on the extreme right of Stuart's line. An artillery duel ensued for the better part of two hours as opposing cannons hurtled shells over the town. Fragments blasted holes in several houses and narrowly missed killing Mrs. Henry Winebrenner and her daughter, who had just left their balcony when a projectile came hurtling through the upstairs.

During the prolonged artillery exchange, Custer's dismounted 6th Michigan moved forward to within 300 yards (274.3 m) of Chambliss and the two guns supporting his line. Flanked and losing fifteen men as prisoners, the Wolverines tried again and succeeded in securing the Littlestown-Frederick Road, opening a line of communication with the Union XII Corps
XII Corps (ACW)
The XII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.The corps was formed by U.S. War Department General Order of March 13, 1862, under which the corps organization of the Army of the Potomac was first created. By that order, five different corps were constituted: one of...

. Stuart and Kilpatrick made no further aggressive moves, and both sides initiated a series of skirmishes and minor probing actions.

Aftermath

Disengaging slowly and protecting his captured wagons, Stuart withdrew to the northeast through Jefferson
Jefferson, York County, Pennsylvania
Jefferson is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 733 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Jefferson is located at...

 towards York
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...

, known from recent newspapers to be the location of Early's division. En route, Stuart heard at New Salem
New Salem, Pennsylvania
New Salem, also known as York New Salem, is a borough located in York County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the borough had a total population of 724.- Geography :New Salem is located at 39°54'9" North, 76°47'35" West ....

 that Early's Division had recently left York and marched northwestly through Dover
Dover, Pennsylvania
Dover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,007 at the 2010 census.-History:James Joner purchased in 1764 and laid out the town of Dover...

. Stuart changed course and headed northward through the night on winding, hilly country roads, still trying to locate Early or Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell
Richard S. Ewell
Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E...

, thinking the latter still to be towards the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

.

The head of Stuart's seventeen-mile (27 km) long column arrived in Dover at 2:00 a.m. on the morning of July 1, with the rear guard there by 8:00 a.m. Stuart learned that Early had passed through town and was heading westward towards Shippensburg
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
Shippensburg is a borough in Cumberland and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensburg lies in the Cumberland Valley, 41 miles west-southwest of Harrisburg, and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1900, 3,228 people...

 as the army concentrated. Stuart paroled over 200 Union prisoners and gave his troopers a much needed six-hour rest (while, unknown to Stuart, Maj. Gen. Henry Heth
Henry Heth
Henry "Harry" Heth was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He is best remembered for inadvertently precipitating the Battle of Gettysburg, when he sent some of his troops of the Army of Northern Virginia to the small Pennsylvania village,...

's Confederate infantry division collided with Brig. Gen. John Buford
John Buford
John Buford, Jr. was a Union cavalry officer during the American Civil War, with a prominent role at the start of the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early years:...

's Union cavalry at Gettysburg). Stuart resumed his exhausting march through the afternoon and early evening, seizing over 1,000 fresh horses from York County farmers.

Leaving Hampton's Brigade and the wagons at Dillsburg
Dillsburg, Pennsylvania
Dillsburg is a borough adjacent to Carroll Township in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,563 as of the 2010 census.-Geography:Dillsburg is surrounded by Carroll Township in northwestern York County, Pennsylvania...

, Stuart headed for Carlisle
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...

, hoping to find Ewell. Instead, Stuart found nearly 3,000 Pennsylvania and New York militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

 occupying the borough. After lobbing a few shells into town during the early evening and burning the Carlisle Barracks
Carlisle Barracks
Carlisle Barracks is a United States Army facility located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is part of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command and is the site of the U.S. Army War College...

, Stuart withdrew after midnight to the south towards Gettysburg (see Skirmish at Carlisle
Battle of Carlisle
The Battle of Carlisle was an American Civil War skirmish in Pennsylvania on the same day as the Battle of Gettysburg, First Day. Stuart's Confederate cavalry briefly engaged Union militia under Maj. Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith at Carlisle and set fire to the Carlisle Barracks...

). The fighting at Hanover, the long march through York County with the captured wagons, and the brief encounter at Carlisle slowed Stuart considerably in his attempt to rejoin the main army and locate Lee. The "eyes and ears" of the Army of Northern Virginia had failed Lee.

Losses at Hanover were relatively light in terms of casualties, but the cost in time in delaying Stuart from linking with Lee proved to be even more costly. Estimates vary as to the number of men lost at Hanover; Union losses in one source are listed as 19 killed, 73 wounded, and 123 missing (for a total of 215). The 18th Pennsylvania had suffered the most, with three men killed, 24 wounded, and 57 missing. On the Confederate side, Stuart's losses are generally estimated as 9 dead, 50 wounded, and 58 missing, for a total of 117.

The battlefield today

The fighting in Hanover is commemorated by "The Picket," an impressive bronze statue of a mounted cavalryman sculpted by famed Boston artist Cyrus E. Dallin. Paid for by the state of Pennsylvania, it was erected in 1905 in the center square. Two bronze plaques installed by the Federal government in 1901 bear inscriptions relating to the movements of the Army of the Potomac on June 30 and July 1, 1863. In addition, a small number of artillery pieces are located on the town's square, including serial number 1 of the Parrott Rifle. A wall plaque on a modern building and a star surrounded by four horseshoes installed in the sidewalk mark the location of Custer's headquarters and the "Custer Maple," a prominent tree used by the boy general to tether his horse.

In 2005, the borough erected over a dozen wayside markers at key spots along the city streets to help interpret the battle for visitors, and three years later the state added its own markers as part of the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails initiative. However, much of the open area south of town, including the Forney farm where Custer advanced, has been lost to modern development, as has the once open hills a half-mile north of Hanover Center Square where Kilpatrick's artillery deployed. Elder's Battery of four cannons was deployed along what is now Stock Street east of Carlisle Street and Pennington's Battery was deployed along what is now 4th Street west of Carlisle Street.

The York County Heritage Trust and some local Hanover organizations sponsor guided tours of the battle sites.

Further reading

  • Wittenberg, Eric J., and J. David Petruzzi, Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg, Savas Beatie, 2006, ISBN 1-932714-20-0.

External links



<-- Coord of Hanover, PA --/>
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