Shell and Be Damned

Robert E. Lee chose the Cumberland Valley as his invasion route into Pennsylvania partly because it was the breadbasket of the region and could supply not only preserved meat and canned goods, but also mules, horses, cattle, and other livestock for the struggling Confederate Army in Virginia. Confederate troops under General Richard Ewell and his subordinate General Albert Jenkins took Shippensburg, Carlisle, and Mechanicsburg, but pulled back when Lee ordered a concentration of his troops. The Union Army arrived at Carlisle, followed shortly thereafter by Confederate General Jeb Stuart’s troops. Stuart demanded surrender of the borough and Union General William Smith refused, telling him to “shell and be damned.” Thirty artillery shells were lobbed into Carlisle before Stuart received his orders from Lee and redeployed to join the other Confederates in Gettysburg.

Carlisle, Pennsylvania · United States