In June and July of 1863, about 7500 Confederate and Union soldiers passed through Jefferson, taking horses, livestock, supplies, and food from local residents. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's rebel troops occupied the town on June 30. Plundered by both North and South, like many nearby towns, the citizens of Jefferson keenly felt the effects of the Civil War off the battlefield but on the armies' line of march. Within days troops converged on Gettysburg.