On July 6, 1863, as Confederates retreated from Gettysburg, Union cavalry pursued them toward Williamsport, where the flooded Potomac River blocked Gen. John D. Imboden’s escape and Gen. Robert E. Lee’s main infantry column and substantial Confederate cavalry support were still absent. Forced to stand alone, Imboden organized about 700 wagoners into infantry companies under wounded officers, commissaries, and quartermasters, placed them on his flanks, and strengthened his center with 2,100 dismounted cavalrymen and 24 cannons, forming a three-mile perimeter on a crescent-shaped ridge a half-mile west of Williamsport. Two Union cavalry divisions nearly 7,000 strong advanced to destroy the wagon train and cut off the Confederate retreat, and Gen. John Buford’s division arrived first, attacking along this road at 4 p.m. For the next five hours, Buford tested Imboden’s line with carbine and artillery fire but could not break it. As darkness approached and reports spread that Confederate cavalry reinforcements were arriving, the Federals withdrew. This fight prevented the capture of 4,000 Confederate wagons and 10,000 animals and kept open the Army of Northern Virginia’s route of retreat.
