A Thunderous Charge

James Ewell Brown (J.E.B.) Stuart, Lee's cavalry commander and the trusted eyes and ears of the Confederate Army, was absent during most of the march north and did not rejoin the Confederate Army until July 2, leaving Lee without vital intelligence gathering. On July 3, Stuart's cavalry moved to the Confederate left flank to explore a route into the Union rear, where it encountered Union General David M. Gregg's horsemen along the Hanover Road. The forces collided in one of the war's most explosive cavalry fights, as several thousand men battled across these fields in a hand-to-hand duel, with dismounted skirmishers from both sides, supported by horse artillery, exchanging brisk fire before mounted attacks followed.

Pennsylvania · United States