General George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer was appointed brigadier general on June 29, 1863, and assigned command of the Michigan brigade, which he led as Union cavalry entered Hanover on the morning of June 30, 1863. Pastor Zieber recalled that during the Federal charge driving the enemy out of town, he saw men led by Custer come dashing down Abbottstown Street, meet a squad of the enemy directly in front of them, and fight a sharp encounter, while townspeople, having lost all consciousness of danger, applauded whenever their troops gained an advantage. Custer's troops helped push J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry out of Hanover and impeded Stuart's linkup with Jubal Early's Confederate infantry as it redeployed from York toward Gettysburg. As a result, Stuart did not arrive at Gettysburg until late on July 2. The Battle of Hanover was therefore an early important action in the Gettysburg campaign that favored the Union, and Custer also took a leading part in the great cavalry fight on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, where he won distinction for gallantry.

Hanover, Pennsylvania · United States