As 3 a.m. neared on July 5, 1863, the van of the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg arrived at Leitersburg after nearly twelve hours of nonstop marching through heavy rain and thickening mud in a race to Williamsport, the Potomac River, and safety. There the 1st Vermont Cavalry suddenly dashed onto the Leitersburg Pike and captured more than 100 men along with horses, mules, cattle, and wagons, then sped toward Hagerstown and Boonsboro in search of more Confederates but failed to strike the column again. After the initial shock, the Leitersburg train continued unmolested toward the Potomac. Participants recalled men and horses exhausted and battered, soldiers sleeping where they dropped as water rose around them, battery horses collapsing dead, no halt for bivouac during the more than 40-mile march from Gettysburg to Williamsport, and drivers and riders falling asleep in their saddles as the whole army dozed while marching.
