Three-fourths of a mile south of this site on the Hunterstown Road, newly appointed Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer led the Michigan Cavalry Brigade, made up of the 1st, 5th, 6th, and 7th Regiments, in his first charge against superior Confederate cavalry forces under General Wade Hampton and Cobb's Legion on July 2, 1863. During the attack, Custer's horse was shot from under him, leaving him uninjured but on the ground and vulnerable to Confederate sabers. He was saved by the bravery and quick thinking of Norvell Francis Churchill of Company "L," 1st Michigan Cavalry, who deflected a saber blow and pulled the "boy general" onto his own horse, carrying him out of danger.

Photo: Craig Swain

Photo: Craig Swain

Photo: Bill Coughlin

Photo: Craig Swain

Photo: Craig Swain

Photo: Bill Coughlin

Photo: Craig Swain

Straban, Pennsylvania · USA