On June 15, 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s second invasion of the North began at Williamsport as 2,000 of Gen. Albert G. Jenkins’s infantrymen crossed the Potomac River. Over the next eleven days, almost 50,000 soldiers under Gens. James Longstreet and A.P. Hill entered Maryland there. Hungry Confederates temporarily occupied the town, and many residents welcomed them with tables in the streets loaded with milk, bread, and meat. Less than a month later, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, reeling from defeat at Gettysburg, returned. The first wounded arrived on July 5, the day after the battle ended, but were trapped by the rain-swollen river. Williamsport became a great hospital for thousands of wounded, according to Confederate Gen. John B. Imboden, who ordered every family in town to cook for the casualties. Ferryboats soon began transporting the army across the river as Union signal corpsmen watched, and by July 14, most of the soldiers had left Maryland behind. Even after the water subsided, the current remained swift, and the tallest men formed two lines from shore to shore with their guns interlocked to mark a strong and stable line. Despite their efforts, ammunition was soaked and Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s corps lost 8,000 pairs of shoes to the rushing waters.
