Battle of Hanover

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Battle of Hanover

"The Picket," a commemorative statue in Hanover's Center Square

Date	June 30, 1863
Location	Hanover, Pennsylvania
Result	Inconclusive

Combatants

United States of America

Confederate States of America

Commanders

Judson Kilpatrick

J.E.B. Stuart

Strength

Brigades

Casualties

215

117

Gettysburg Campaign
Brandy Station – 2nd Winchester – Aldie – Middleburg – Upperville – Sporting Hill – Hanover – Gettysburg – Carlisle – Hunterstown – Fairfield – Williamsport – Boonsboro – Manassas Gap

The Battle of Hanover took place on June 30, 1863, in York County, Pennsylvania as part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.

Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s Confederate cavalry, which was riding north to get around the Union army, attacked a Federal cavalry regiment, driving it through the streets of Hanover. Brig. Gen. Elon Farnsworth’s brigade arrived and counterattacked, routing the Confederate vanguard and nearly capturing Stuart himself. Stuart soon counterattacked. Reinforced by Brig. Gen. George A. Custer’s brigade, Farnsworth held his ground, and a stalemate ensued. Stuart was forced to continue north and east to get around the Union cavalry, further delaying his attempt to rejoin Robert E. Lee’s army, which was then concentrating at Cashtown Gap west of Gettysburg.

1 Prelude
2 The Battle of Hanover
3 Aftermath
4 The battlefield today
5 References
6 External links
7 See also

As Robert E. Lee moved his Army of Northern Virginia northward in June 1863 towards Pennsylvania, portions of his cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart slipped across the path of the Union Army of the Potomac. In a series of raids, Stuart’s men captured several Union wagon trains. However, they were not in position to effectively screen Lee’s advance or to provide intelligence on the movements of the Federal army. As Stuart turned and headed north in an effort to link with Lee, Union cavalry commander Alfred Pleasonton ordered his divisions to fan out across a wide swath, looking for Richard S. Ewell’s Rebel infantry that had passed through the area only days before. Judson Kilpatrick’s division was on the Union right flank. Instead of finding Ewell, they would stumble into Stuart’s cavalry in southern Pennsylvania.

The majority of Kilpatrick's division had passed through Hanover early in the morning of June 30, pausing briefly for refreshments and to receive the greetings of the jubilant townspeople. Their town had been raided only a few days before by Confederate Lt. Col. Elijah White's cavalry, attached to Jubal Early's division that had occupied York County. White's Virginians and Marylanders had followed the railroad to Hanover from nearby Gettysburg, and taken horses, food, supplies, clothing, shoes, and other desired items from the townspeople, often paying with valueless Confederate money or drafts on the Confederate government. White's raiders had destroyed the area's telegraph wires, cutting off communications with the outside world, before sacking the nearby Hanover Junction train station. The arrival of Kilpatrick's column was a pleasant surprise, and residents of Hanover warmly greeted them with food and drink.

Most of Kilpatrick's men remounted and passed through the town, heading northward through the nearby Pigeon Hills towards Abbottstown. He left behind a small rear guard force to picket the roads south and west of Hanover. In the meantime, Stuart had left his billet at Shriver's Corner, Maryland, and was proceeding northward across the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania. Hearing that Federal cavalry had been spotted near his intended destination, Littlestown, Pennsylvania, he instead turned towards Hanover in adjacent York County. His progress was slowed considerably by a cumbersome train of over 125 heavily laden supply wagons that he had captured near Rockville, Maryland. In addition, he had skirmished with Delaware cavalry the day before at Westminster, Maryland, further delaying him.

Shortly before 10:00 a.m. on June 30, the rear guard of the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry spied encountered Confederate videttes about 3 miles southwest of Hanover. In the ensuing exchange of small arms fire, a Confederate cavalryman died and several were wounded. Shortly thereafter, a small group of about 25 men of Company G of the 18th Pennsylvania were captured by the 13th Virginia from John R. Chambliss’s brigade, the vanguard of Stuart’s oncoming cavalry.

Southwest of Hanover near the tiny hamlet of Buttstown, the 2nd North Carolina Cavalry struck the 18th Pennsylvania’s main column and split it in two. Union survivors retired in disorder through Hanover just as Stuart's horse artillery arrived, unlimbered, and opened fire. As the Confederates occupied the town in the wake of the fleeing Pennsylvanians, General Farnsworth wheeled the 5th New York Cavalry into position near the town commons and attacked the Rebel flank in the streets, forcing the Tarheels to abandon their brief hold on the town.

As more of Chambliss’s men (and General Stuart) arrived on the scene, they were met by additional Federals near the sprawling Karl Forney farm, just south of Hanover. Nearly surrounded in the confused fighting, Stuart and a staff officer made their escape cross-country through the hedges bordering the country lane, at one point leaping their horses over a 15-foot wide ditch. Hearing the unmistakable sound of distant gunfire, Judson Kilpatrick raced southward towards Hanover, with his horse dying from the severe ride. The young general began to deploy his men in and around Hanover, even barricading some streets with barrels, farm wagons, dry goods boxes, and anything else that might provide cover. Shortly before noon, fighting at the Forney farm ceased as the Rebels broke off contact. Kilpatrick positioned Custer's newly arrived brigade on the farm and awaited developments.

When Fitzhugh Lee's brigade arrived, Stuart moved his and Chambliss's men into a new position on a ridge extending from the Keller Farm southwest of Hanover to Mount Olivet Cemetery southeast of town. Meantime, Kilpatrick repositioned the brigades of the newly promoted duo of Custer and Farnsworth to form a better defensive perimeter and then brought up his guns.

Leaving the captured wagons two miles south of town under heavy guard, Wade Hampton at 2 p.m. brought his brigade and Breathed’s Battery into position near the Mount Olivet Cemetery on the extreme right of Stuart’s line. An artillery duel ensued for the better part of two hours as opposing cannons hurtled shells over the town. Fragments blasted holes in several houses and narrowly missed killing Mrs. Henry Winebrenner and her daughter, who had just left their balcony when a projectile came hurtling through the upstairs.

During the artillery exchange, Custer’s dismounted 6th Michigan moved forward to within 300 yards of Chambliss and the two guns supporting his line. Flanked and losing fifteen men as prisoners, the Wolverines tried again and succeeded in securing the Littlestown-Frederick Road, opening a line of communication with the Union XII Corps. Stuart and Kilpatrick made no further aggressive moves, and both sides initiated a series of skirmishes and minor probing actions.

Protecting his captured wagons, Stuart slowly withdrew northward, still trying to locate Early or Ewell, thinking them to be towards the Susquehanna River. Arriving in Dover the morning of July 1 (while Henry Heth’s Confederate infantry collided with John Buford’s Union cavalry at Gettysburg), Stuart learned that Early had left York, heading westward as the army concentrated. Reaching Carlisle later that day hoping to find Ewell, instead Stuart found nearly 3,000 Pennsylvania and New York militia occupying the borough. After lobbing a few shells into the borough, Stuart withdrew to the south towards Gettysburg. The fighting at Hanover and the brief encounter at Carlisle slowed Stuart considerably in his attempt to rejoin the main army and locate Lee. The “eyes and ears” of the Army of Northern Virginia had failed Lee.

Losses at Hanover were relatively light in terms of casualties, but the cost in time in delaying Stuart from linking with Lee proved to be even more costly. Estimates vary as to the number of men lost at Hanover; Union losses in one source are listed as 19 killed, 73 wounded, and 123 missing (for a total of 215). The 18th Pennsylvania had suffered the most, with three men killed, 24 wounded, and 57 missing. On the Confederate side, Stuart’s losses are generally estimated as 9 dead, 50 wounded, and 58 missing for a total of 117.

The fighting in Hanover is commemorated by "The Picket," an impressive statue of a mounted cavalryman. Plaques mark the location of Custer's and Kilpatrick's headquarters, and a small number of artillery pieces are located on the town's square. In 2005, the borough erected over a dozen wayside markers at key spots along the city streets to help interpret the battle for visitors. However, much of the open area south of town, including the Forney farm where Custer advanced, has been lost to modern development, as has the once open hills immediately north of Hanover where Kilpatrick's artillery deployed.

Rummel III, George, Cavalry of the Roads to Gettysburg: Kilpatrick at Hanover and Hunterstown, White Mane Publishing Company, 2000, ISBN 1-57249-174-4.
Anthony, William, Anthony’s History of the Battle of Hanover. Hanover, Pennsylvania: Self-published, 1945.
Encounter at Hanover: Prelude to Gettysburg. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Historical Publication Committee of the Hanover Chamber of Commerce, Times and News Publishing Company, 1962.
National Park Service summary of the Battle of Hanover