In June 1863, as the Confederate Army prepared after taking York to cross the Susquehanna River by capturing the bridge linking Wrightsville and Columbia, overtake Lancaster, and advance to Harrisburg, several hundred Union troops retreating from York, some already wounded, joined the Pennsylvania Militia and a valiant Black militia company to defend the western side of the bridge. Outnumbered by more than a thousand men, they abandoned their defenses and retreated across the span. To deny its use, Union forces first tried to blow up part of the Wrightsville-Columbia Bridge, a key link for local commerce and communications, but when that failed, Colonel Jacob Frick ordered it burned. The destruction of the bridge spared Lancaster and slowed the Confederate advance toward Harrisburg. More broadly, the struggle around Gettysburg drew in six nearby counties as civilians and militia answered the call to arms, endured threats and property destruction, women raised funds and nursed tens of thousands of wounded soldiers, and free men and freed men enlisted to fight for their rights, contributing to a turning point for the Union cause.