From Hanover's Center Square, major roads radiate to York, Baltimore, Frederick and Carlisle, and for the second time that day the square became the scene of brutal combat. A few blocks to the north, nearly 400 mounted cavalrymen from New York and Pennsylvania reformed under the command of Major John Hammond. Riding in a column, four horses abreast, they used several side streets to reach Abbottstown Street, now Broadway, before proceeding to the Center Square. Members of the 5th New York Cavalry Regiment later recalled that Major Hammond led the charge into the Center Square with drawn sabers. The Union onslaught of counterattacks was sudden and strong. The battle-worn Confederates then began to retreat along Frederick Street as well as through the side streets and into the fields. By that time, the debris of battle was evident throughout the town, with many dead or dying horses and discarded weapons scattered along the streets. On the Broadway side, the cellar under the drug store was entered through a large wooden door that lay flat, or even with the pavement, and across that door the cavalry charged again and again, while one resident later recalled how fearful his parents were lest the cellar door should prove too weak to bear the weight of the horses.

Photo: Henry T. McLin

Photo: Shane Oliver

Photo: Beverly Pfingsten

Pennville, Pennsylvania · USA