After disengaging from Union cavalry in the late afternoon of June 30, Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry division, slowed by 125 fully loaded Union supply wagons and 600 mules carrying Union materials, left Hanover and made a half-circle march south and then northeast around town. Gen. Wade Hampton's brigade, serving as the rear guard, did not leave Hanover until after dark. Still out of touch with Gen. Robert E. Lee, Stuart moved through York County by way of Jefferson, New Salem, and, well after midnight, Dover, while his men raided farms for supplies and horses. On July 1, Stuart and part of his exhausted command went on to Carlisle in search of supplies and information, while Hampton's brigade remained in Dillsburg and Gen. John R. Chambliss' brigade remained in Churchtown in Cumberland County. After shelling Carlisle for several hours, Stuart learned that fighting had begun at Gettysburg. After burning the Carlisle Barracks, he started toward Gettysburg about 1:00 am on July 2. Some historians argue that during the first two days of the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee suffered an information blackout because Stuart, his ablest cavalry officer, and Stuart's three cavalry brigades were absent, depriving the Confederates of intelligence and strategic high ground.

Photo: Courtesy Library of Congress

Photo: Anonymous

Photo: Courtesy York County History Center

Photo: Courtesy Gettysburg National Military Park

Photo: Cosmos Mariner

Pennville, Pennsylvania · USA