The Battle of Hanover (June 30, 1863)

 On June 30, the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg, three brigades of cavalry under the famed General J.E.B. Stuart clashed with a division of Union counterparts under General Judson Kilpatrick at the town of Hanover, Pennsylvania. This was one of many cavalry clashes on the way to the fateful battle of Gettysburg, but is worth some study for two reasons.

1.      First, this battle came about as Stuart, separated from the main body of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, tried to reconnect his three cavalry brigades. The Federals at Hanover stood in his way of getting to Gettysburg, where he thought he might find Lee. If he had plowed through Kilpatrick’s rear guard or been fortunate enough to arrive there after the Federals were gone, he would have gotten to Gettysburg at least on July 1, seriously altering the course of events.

2.     Secondly, it was the first battle where George Armstrong Custer, one of the most famous cavalrymen in US history, held field command. He had so far spent most of the war as a capable staff officer. This was his first serious test.

 

Stuart’s Third Ride

Jeb Stuart

General Jeb Stuart was one of the top heroes of the Confederacy. Twice in 1862 he had ridden a complete circuit around the Union Army of the Potomac, creating chaos in its rear and swallowing up wagons of supplies for the constantly undersupplied Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. In the Battle of Chancellorsville, in May of 1863, he had taken over the wounded Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s Corps and led it to victory. However, the dashing cavalier’s pride was wounded when the Federal Cavalry caught him off guard at Brandy Station. Though victorious in the war’s largest cavalry fight, he was not used to being on the end of a surprise. He had previously dished out such surprises himself. Now he was tasked with screening the Army of Northern Virginia as it embarked on its second invasion of the North. He had so far engaged the Federals in several pitched battles at Aldie (June 17), Middleburg (June 18-19), and Upperville (June 21). These were mostly tactical draws, but the Federal cavalry, once a hapless and disorganized antagonist, had definitely improved and was giving him a hard time.[1]

On the rainy night of June 23, Henry B. McClellan, Jeb Stuart’s Chief of Staff, received a message passed through Lieutenant General James Longstreet by the army’s commander Robert E. Lee. Awakening the general, McClellan handed him the order. Lee wanted Stuart to operate beyond the right flank of the advancing Confederate army. Lee favored open-ended orders which deferred to his subordinates’ judgment. This was no exception. The letter gave Stuart permission to commit a raid for supplies if General Joseph Hooker, commander of the Army of the Potomac, continued to move his army slowly. If Stuart did this, it was expected that he could have communication with Jubal Early’s division from Richard Ewell’s I Corps. If such a venture appeared too risky, Stuart was to head back and reunite with the main Confederate body. His pride still wounded by the surprise attack at Brandy Station, and also chopping at the bit to perform another grand feat, Stuart of course planned for another grand raid.[2]

Stuart had three brigades for the task. General Wade Hampton, the prominent scion of a very wealthy planter family in South Carolina, commanded several regiments of North and South Carolinians as well as an assortment of unattached legions. General Fitzhugh Lee, the nephew of Virignia’s favored son Robert E. Lee, naturally led a brigade of fellow Virginians. Speaking of Lee, Marse Robert’s second son William H.F. Lee was also the commander of a cavalry brigade. However he was out with a wound from Brandy Station so Colonel John R. Chambliss, Jr. stepped up to command in his place. His men included the 2^nd North Carolina Cavalry and more Virginia regiments. Here is the order of battle for Stuart’s cavalry.

 

(Top) Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee (Bottom) John Chambliss

Major-General Jeb Stuart

            Brigadier-General Wade Hampton

                        1^st North Carolina: Colonel John Black

                        1^st South Carolina: Major T.J. Lipscomb

                        2^nd South Carolina: Colonel Pierce Young

                        Cobb’s Georgia Legion: Colonel Joseph F. Waring

                        Jeff Davis’s Mississippi Legion: Lieutenant-Colonel Jefferson C. Phillips

                        Phillips’ Georgia Legion

            Brigadier-General Fitzhugh Lee

                        1^st Maryland Battalion: Major Harry Gilmor

                        1^st Virginia: Major William A. Morgan

                        2^nd Virginia: Colonel Thomas T. Munford

                        3^rd Virginia: Colonel Thomas H. Owen

                        4^th Virginia: Colonel Williams C. Wickham

                        5^th Virginia: Colonel Thomas L. Rosser

            Colonel John R. Chambliss

                        2^nd North Carolina: Lieutenant-Colonel William H.F. Payne

                        9^th Virginia: Colonel Richard L.T. Beale

                        10^th Virginia: Colonel James L. Davis

                        13^th Virginia: Captain Benjamin F. Winfield

 

On June 24 Stuart moved his three brigades north toward the town of Haymarket. Immediately his operation went awry. He ran into Major-General Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps of the Federal Army. Hancock’s artillerists fired at the horsemen and the Confederate cavalry had no intention of proceeding along their planned path. Per Robert E. Lee’s instructions, Stuart could now either backtrack and abandon his ride into the Federal rear or take an even wider detour. Unwilling to abandon another chance at glory, and perhaps still wanting to erase the sting of Brandy Station, he chose the latter option. He sent a messenger to Lee to inform him of Hancock’s position. With knowledge of a Union corps’ position, the cavalry that remained with the main army would have been able to track the enemy’s movements and ensure that the infantry did not stumble blindly into an unwanted battle. For some reason the messenger failed to reach his destination. Now Stuart, taking a wider arc, was too far from Lee’s army to communicate with it. Worse, tens of thousands of Federals marched between them.[3]

Stuart’s ride at first looked promising. His horsemen made several successful raids, the crowning achievement the capture of over 100 wagons at Rockville, Maryland. However, days passed without any communication with Lee. Tired, deep behind enemy lines, and encumbered by the wagon train, they began to feel isolated and in danger. One pitched battle with either the Federal cavalry, recently proven to have become a formidable antagonist, or one of the infantry corps could result in Stuart’s doom. On June 30, Stuart’s cavalry crossed into Pennsylvania, still not knowing where Lee’s army was.[4]

Stuart planned to reunite with his superior soon.  Despite his desperation, his men marched at an unhurried pace. There were three reasons for this. One was that many of the men and horses could use a reduced pace of campaigning after weeks of raiding and skirmishes. Second was that Stuart clung to the supply wagons taken at Rockville a couple days before. He was loathe to separate from such bountiful prizes. Writing after the war, William Blackford, Stuart’s engineer, claimed that the vehicles “began to interfere with our movements, and if General Stuart could only have known what we do now it would have been burned.” Thirdly, the Federals had yet to mount a determined pursuit, with only 300 troopers form the 2^nd Massachusetts Cavalry anywhere near him.

They reached a literal fork in the road. In a great what if of history, Stuart chose to take the road to Hanover rather than Gettysburg. If he had taken the latter option, he would have linked up with Heth at Gettysburg with only General John Buford’s Federal cavalry to oppose him. This would have drastically changed the face of the Battle of Gettysburg, perhaps giving Lee a more advantageous command of the heights surrounding the cross roads town. This of course is obvious in hindsight. The road through Hanover also led to Gettysburg on a shorter route and there was no reason why Stuart, unaware of what lay ahead, would have not taken it. Chambliss sent parts of his command forward to look for fresher horses to use and to see if any Federals were about. The men had many reasons to avoid a fight at this point, mainly that they were exhausted. Days later one soldier grumbled in a letter home, “Both men and horses being worn out, all of us regarded the prospect of a fight with no little regret and anxiety.”[5]

 

Kill-Cavalry’s Division

 

The man who Stuart would square off with at Hanover was General Judson Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick commanded the Third Division of the recently reorganized and improved Federal Cavalry Corps. He was among the war’s more controversial officers. He was brave and daring, but also loose with his men’s lives. His reckless management of his forces throughout the war and resulting high casualties gave him the nickname “Kill-Cavalry.” Around the time Stuart crossed into Pennsylvania, he was working to gather together his division of two brigades under Elon J. Farnsworth and George Armstrong Custer.[6]

Farnsworth, 27 years old in just one month, had fought in his uncle’s 8^th Illinois Cavalry regiment and then became a staff officer. One staff he landed on belonged to General Alfred Pleasonton, commander of the Army of the Potomac’s cavalry. He evidently impressed Pleasonton because on June 29 he was suddenly promoted from captain up to brigadier-general (quite the leap in rank).[7] Farnsworth’s brigade was more experienced than Custer’s. Three of his regiments had signed up back in 1861. The exception was the 18^th Pennsylvania. It had formed the previous summer, but had so far only in engaged in light confrontations.[8]

One regimental commander under Farnsworth who would play a large role at the Battle of Hanover was Major John Hammond of the 5^th New York. John Hammond was a scion of the prominent Hammond family in Crown Point, New York (they ran the iron works there). He raised his own company of cavalry and joined the 5^th New York, eventually rising to overall command of the regiment. He was very popular and respected amongst his men, with the regimental history praising him for his “thorough” but not “severe” discipline, quick-thinking tactical skills and “indomitable will.”[9]

The commander of the Michigan Brigade is much more well known to history. The ambitious and still quite young George Armstrong Custer had long desired a field command. It had taken him over two years of war for him to get his chance. He had served with distinction on the personal staffs of both Generals George B. McClellan and Phil B. Kearney, yet his outspoken Democrat views had put him at odds with Michigan’s Republican Governor Austin Blair. Blair frequently blocked his requests for a proper command. The young warrior finally got his break when he participated at the recent Battles of Brandy Station and Aldie. General Pleasanton was so impressed that he gave him control of the Michigan Brigade. This included the 1^st, 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th Michigan Cavalry regiments. This brigade had only just been put together and was quite the mix. The 1^st Michigan had battle-hardened veterans who participated heavily in the Second Bull Run campaign. The 5^th Michigan had been stuck on garrison duty around Washington D.C. (it was led by future Republican governor, senator, and secretary of war Russell Alger). The 6^th and 7^th Michigan had just been mustered into service.[10]

Custer assumed command in the midst of the Gettysburg campaign, just days before the battle that lent the operation its name. The 5^th and 6^th Michigan was detached at Littlestown, so Custer for the moment only oversaw the 1^st and 7^th. He immediately made an impression due to his appearance. He wore a hussar-style jacket with plenty of gold lace, a dark blue sailor’s shirt, silver stars on his collar, a scarlet cloth wrapped around his neck, and a slouch hat. Completing the get-up was his long blonde hair, which ended in ringlets, and large drooping mustache. Edward Longacre, who specializes in studying the cavalrymen of the Virginia theatre of war, theorizes that his outlandish attire and incredible amount of hair was meant to conceal his youthful age. After all, most if not all of his subordinate officers were older than him, some by a good many years.[11]

This is the Union order of battle:

 

Cavalry Corps, Third Division: Brigadier-General Judson Kilpatrick

            First Brigade: Brigadier-General Elon J. Farnsworth (left photo)

                        5^th New York Cavalry: Major John Hammond

                        18^th Pennsylvania Cavalry: Lieutenant-Colonel William P. Brinton

                        1^st Vermont Cavalry: Colonel Addison W. Preston

                        1^st West Virginia Cavalry: Colonel Nathaniel P. Richmond

            Second Brigade: Brigadier-General George A. Custer (right photo)

                        1^st Michigan Cavalry: Colonel Charles H. Town

                        5^th Michigan Cavalry: Colonel Russell A. Alger

                        6^th Michigan Cavalry: Colonel George Gray

                        7^th Michigan Cavalry: Colonel William D. Mann

            Attached Horse Artillery

                        2^nd United State, Battery M: Lieutenant Alexander C.M. Pennington, Jr.

                        4^th United States, Battery E: Lieutenant Samuel S. Elder

 

Kilpatrick had to get all these regiments together as the Union Army, now under the command of Major-General George Gordon Meade, was heading in the direction of Gettysburg. Custer, still in Maryland, was ordered to advance into Pennsylvania via the Emmitsburg Road and link up with Farnsworth’s brigade. Custer’s brigade itself would have to link up. He personally headed the 1^st and 7^th Michigan and Lieutenant Pennington’s Battery M. Colonel Russell Alger would guide his own 5^th Michigan as well as the 6^th under Colonel George Gray. They were currently around Littlestown to the west of Hanover. The Third Division’s entry into Pennsylvania provided a boost in morale. They were not accustomed to campaigning in friendly territory, where the citizens greeted them with smiles, cheers, and food and drink.[12]

Such a welcome reception awaited them at Hanover. The citizens in Hanover were enthusiastic at the arrival of the first of Kilpatrick’s horsemen, consisting of the 1^st and 7^th Michigan. Confederate cavalry had recently entered other towns in the region. They seized food and animals, along with other useful property, and compensated civilians with the never valuable paper currency of the Confederacy. The people of Hanover had not suffered such pillaging, but they were nevertheless relieved to be visited by their own soldiers rather than Stuart’s raiders. The grateful Hanoverians showered the riders with flowers, buttermilk, and cigars.[13]

By 10 AM Kilpatrick’s division, save for the 18^th Pennsylvania and the detached 5^th and 6^th Michigan, had entered or passed through the town. The 5^th New York took a break on Main Street to rest while the wagon train under the rear guard of the 18^th Pennsylvania came up. Some in this regiment fanned out south of Hanover to look out for Confederate cavalry, but did not expect to find any. Though Kilpatrick’s division had been tasked with intercepting Stuart, they did not expect to run into him on this day. One of the Pennsylvanians wrote decades later, “…It was not thought we were in such close proximity to him as we in fact were on this 30^th of June.” As it turned out, both forces were in for a surprise, much like the two greater armies at the approaching Battle of Gettysburg. [14]

 

An Encounter Battle

One interesting thing about the Battle of Hanover is that, like the imminent Battle of Gettysburg, it was an encounter battle. An encounter battle is when two forces unexpectedly run into each other and have no choice but to fight an unplanned engagement. Actually, such engagements in the Civil War were fairly common among skirmishes and smaller battles, where detached infantry units and/or cavalry forces were likely to bump into each other. Gettysburg was a rare example of two entire armies stumbling into each other.

Stuart’s brigades on June 30 were arranged thus. Fitzhugh Lee was to the west near Littlestown. Chambliss headed the advance, while Hampton’s men guarded the wagon train.  Lee learned that Kilpatrick’s cavalry was in Hanover. He sent a courier with a message to warn Stuart that he was marching right into a Federal division. Enemy horsemen discovered the courier en route and captured him. As a result Stuart continued straight into an unwanted battle.[15] The first fighting of the day occurred between a Pennsylvanian battalion (less than a dozen men) under Captain Thaddeus Freeland and a larger force from the 13^th Virginia Cavalry. The two groups surprised each by a blacksmith shop on a hill. After a moment of awkward silence, Freeland’s men whipped out their breech-loading rifles, fired a few volleys, and fled, scoring one kill.[16]

One 40-man contingent from the 18^th Pennsylvania, under Lieutenant Henry C. Potter, responded to a civilian complaint that “The rebs have taken my horses and cows!” They saw horsemen to their east. Some wore blue coats so Potter assumed that it was Freeland and his detachment. Potter rode closer with plans to reprimand the captain for misbehavior. Then he saw that there were about 60 of them, too many to be Freeland’s group. These Confederate riders (probably from the 13^th Virginia) were the advance guard of Chambliss’ brigade. The opposing columns took parallel roads that would link up ahead. The Confederates got there first and stopped while Potter’s men resolutely kept up their marching pace. As he got closer, the leading Confederate officer called on him to surrender. Potter responded by signaling a charge. The men drew their revolvers and unleashed lead. This move came so quickly that they surprised and scattered the Confederates, enabling them to pass through towards Hanover. The Confederates quickly collected themselves and gave chase.  Potter led them into the rear guard. Facing dismounted Pennsylvanians protected by fences, the pursuers broke off and waited for the rest of the southern cavalry to arrive.[17]

Chambliss brought up the rest of his brigade, planning to break through the Pennsylvanians into Hanover. Colonel Richard Beale of the 9^th Virginia Cavalry deduced that “the enemy’s troops must have been raw levies, as the side of the pike was strewn with splendid pistols dropped by them as they ran.” Beale personally partook in the spoils, selecting two of the firearms for himself. Based on this initial encounter, the Confederates assumed that these Federal rear guards were the only force around, and that the town was as good as theirs.[18] Stuart learned of the unfolding fight. With reports of one easily panicked regiment in the way, Stuart sent one of his staff officers to press Chambliss to “push on and occupy the town,” but not to chase the Federals too much. He simply wanted to get his brigades through Hanover and to where he estimated the Army of Northern Virginia to be. As it turned out, they were in for a rude surprise.[19]

Chambliss’ Confederates advanced, the 2^nd North Carolina taking the lead, and opened up with their artillery while their horsemen charged. They were positioned so that they would smash right into the center of the 18^th Pennsylvania column from the east. The Pennsylvanians tried to put up a fight against the North Carolinians, but were overwhelmed. 25 men under Lieutenant T. P. Shields were the only ones to put up a good fight. Since the rest of the regiment had given way, however, Shields and his men were cut off. Many managed to escape, but Shields and a few others ended up as prisoners. The Pennsylvanians fled for the streets and yards of Hanover. In the town the 5^th New York had heard one of the Confederate cannons fire. It was the only one they heard and assumed, amidst the festive mood of the Hanoverians, it was a “friendly salute for our troops” by local militia cannon. One New York trooper recalled, “In about two minutes came another boom, and this time a shell came screeching up the street, and in a few minutes the pot and kettle brigade came dashing through our ranks, yelling that the whole rebel army was right after them.” The retreating troopers mixed with the wagon-clogged streets to create a confusing scenario. The women and children, who had been giving out gifts and treats to the soldiers, ran about in sudden terror. The 1^st West Virginia and 1^st Vermont, hearing the commotion, turned about and headed to reinforce.[20]

It took time for most of the troopers in town to collect their senses. This was not true for New York Privates Augustus Forsyth and Henry Spaulding. They were guarding a wagon full of medical supplies when the shooting broke out. Spaulding seized the reins of the wagon and drove off while Forsyth fended off Rebel horsemen with his revolver.[21] Outside of the unfolding melee, Chambliss deployed his artillery on either side of the Westminster Road, leading into town from the southwest. They commenced a bombardment which added to the confusion and angered the civilians. The Hanover Citizen declared the shelling “an act wholly unworthy of a civilized people and contrary to the usage of civilized warfare.”[22]

 

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/hanover-first-phase-fighting-june-30-1863

Charges and Counter-Charges

 Miles to the north, Kilpatrick heard the firing and realized what was happening back in Hanover. With only one flagbearer at his side, he turned and forced his horse to run at top speed. Back in the town itself, Major Charles Capeheart of the 1^st West Virginia Cavalry tried to rally the men. “Remember, boys, we are on the free soil of old Pennsylvania…We will drive the rebels off her soil!” The 5^th New York impatiently waited for the Pennsylvanians, followed closely by the 2^nd North Carolina, to get off the streets so they could make their own attack and stem Chambliss’ charge. When the Pennsylvanians finally cleared out, the New Yorkers, under Major Hammond’s “accustomed coolness,” counter-charged and drove the Carolinians back to the edge of town. Various Pennsylvanians and West Virginians joined in. The advancing horsemen leapt over the dead bodies from the earlier fighting. Ladies in town bravely stood in their doorways, cheering on the troopers with cheers and handkerchiefs. The troopers ran into a much larger enemy force, 500 men of the 9^th Virginia. The Virginians poured a “severe fire” on them and stopped their momentum. The Confederates now regrouped, positioning around a tannery.[23]

Elon Farnsworth, who like Kilpatrick had already ridden far out of town, personally arrived and rallied the men for a second push. He pulled out his saber, gave a great shout, and led his reinvigorated brigade forward. This charge was more successful than the first and the Confederates reeled. The 2^nd North Carolina fell into disorder as its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel William Payne, went down. A bullet took down Payne’s horse as it was running. The unfortunate colonel flew off his mount, headfirst into an open vat of dye in the tannery yard. The two opposing sides found themselves mixed up, with violent results. Small groups of Federals and Confederates shot and wrestled each other in the streets and yards. Civilians could actually see men kill and maim each other right outside their windows. Private Thomas Burke of the 5^th New York saw a wounded fellow from his regiment locked in a fight with the color bearer of the 13^th Virginia. Burke sped his horse to the scene, shot the flag bearer dead, and captured the flag himself, along with two other Virginians. Adjutant Gall of Hammond’s staff also participated in the fight and died when a bullet sliced into his left eye.[24]

Stuart found the intensifying fight to be an unpleasant surprise. Desperate to get back to Lee, he had hoped that Chambliss would break through the supposedly light resistance at Hanover. Instead Chambliss’ men were running out of town. Fitzhugh Lee’s brigade could not come at the moment as it was locked in a confrontation with Colonel Gray’s 6^th Michigan near Littlestown. The 5^th Michigan under Colonel Alger was already well on its way to Hanover and was not there to support its sister regiment. The Confederate artillery spotted the Federal troopers in column and struck them with shell shot, killing and wounding some horses and men. Lee’s brigade of course outnumbered Gray’s one regiment, as much as 4 to 1, but the colonel put up a good fight, so far ignorant of the odds. First his men pushed back Lee’s skirmishers. Then they ran into the rest of the enemy and realized their situation. Lee’s horse artillery was situated to bombard his right flank, and his riders were all lined up and ready to charge. Gray realized he would lose his entire command if he did not disengage. The sacrificial lion came in the form of Major Peter A. Weber, placed in charge of companies B and F. Assisted by local civilians bearing their personal firearms, Weber fought off three attacks while the rest of the regiment escaped to link up with the 5^th Michigan. Weber lost many of his men, but kept much of Lee’s brigade from getting to Hanover.[25]

Hampton was also slow in coming to Chambliss’ aid, his horsemen stretched over 8 miles to guard the captured wagon train. His soldiers could only ride up piecemeal and they would not get there until midafternoon. Thanks to the Michiganders’ stubborn performance at Littlestown and the situation with the wagons, Stuart grew nervous. The cavalier rushed to rescue the situation. The 2^nd North Carolina was in full retreat. Stuart, riding with William Blackford and a few others, tried to rally them, but failed thanks to the “hot skirmish fire” emanating from Hanover’s buildings. According to Blackford, some of the shooters were Hanoverian citizens, eager at the chance to pitch in with their blue-clad boys and defend their homes.[26]

Stuart’s small party occupied a field by Westminster Road, on which Farnsworth’s brigade advanced at him from the town. Stuart and his party pulled out their pistols and fired at the Federal riders. Farnsworth’s men passed by, cutting off the Confederate general’s ability to use the road as an escape route. He headed for a stream with steep banks (15 feet high according to one veteran). Stuart, on his bay mare Virginia, and Blackford, on Magic, rode by a hedge. Stuart, “with a merry laugh,” told Blackford to rally the men and then vaulted with Virginia over the hedge. It turned out that up to 30 Federal troopers were on the other side. Stuart and Blackford hastened away with the enemy riders in hot pursuit. The two Confederate officers steered their steeds towards the deep and quite wide ditch and stream. At the last moment Stuart and Blackford’s horses leapt and cleared the gully. Blackford remembered looking over at Stuart mid-leap and seeing “this beautiful animal away up in mid-air over the chasm and Stuart’s fine figure sitting erect and firm in the saddle.” The rest of the Confederates with them either copied this feat or fell into the water. The pursuing troopers dared not attempt to emulate the famed cavalier’s feat and screeched their horses to a halt. So sudden was their stop that some men nearly flew off their horses. Those Confederates unlucky enough to fall into the stream were able to climb up the opposite side and escape. Stuart’s cavaliers characteristically viewed this moment with amusement. “The ludicrousness of the situation, notwithstanding the peril, was the source of much merriment at the expense of these unfortunate ones.”[27]

William Blackford had another close call. He was trying to calm down Magic when a Federal sergeant came “bending low on his horse’s neck with his sabre ‘encarte’ ready to run me through.” Blackford thrust his left spur into Magic and got him going, but not before the saber inflicted a wound between his left arm and side. Once he had gotten to safety, Blackford turned and shook his fist at the Federals in anger. Chambliss’ Virginians and North Carolinians regrouped and were pleased to see Stuart still in command, and smiling as well. In the chaos they heard that he had been surrounded and captured.[28]

Farnsworth, seeing the entirety of Chambliss’ men in front of him, withdrew his men to Hanover to erect barricades in the streets and alleys. As the opposing cavalrymen separated, the affair turned into an artillery duel. Countermarching Union batteries finally arrived and deployed north of town. The Confederate artillery caused the greater share of terror, their shells also hitting the streets and buildings of town. One shell broke through the balcony door of a home. Thankfully for the family inside, the shell did not explode, but it did tear through drawers, the second story floor, and the parlor room before embedding in one of the house’s brick walls.[29]

 

Custer Gets to Lead

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/hanover-second-phase-fighting-june-30-1863

 Both sides took advantage of the comparative lull in the cavalry fighting. On the Confederate side Chambliss’ brigade regrouped and Lee finally arrived. Stuart took advantage of the hills and farms south of the town. Chambliss took a position south of town, with his regiments on the left and center of the line. Stuart sent Lee to his support. Hampton also finally arrived, though much of his brigade remained with the wagon train. The wagons were parked and its guards had orders to burn them if the Federals attacked and broke through Stuart’s lines. Stuart sent Hampton’s available men to form the right flank, facing the town from the west. Hampton sent some of his best shots forward as skirmishers. On the Federal side Kilpatrick wore down his horse to get to Hanover, arriving after 11:00 AM. He went to the Central Hotel and interrogated a string of prisoners. Among them was Payne, his face now heavily colored from his spill into the dye. Payne talked up Stuart’s numbers, claiming that 12,000 horsemen were getting ready to flood the Federals. Kilpatrick evidently fell for this lie as he harried the higher-ups with calls for quick reinforcements.[30]

The sound of the battle had reached the ears of Custer’s Michiganders. Custer, chopping at the bit to prove himself as a battlefield officer, had turned his men about and arrived to find the town full of makeshift barricades, from which Farnsworth’s men sparred with Chambliss’ brigade. Avoiding this mess, Custer guided his two available regiments west. They lined up in view of Fitzhugh Lee’s brigade and its artillery. To counter Lee and Chambliss’ artillery, Custer placed Pennington’s battery alongside Elder’s on Bunker Hill, a height north of town. The 1^st Michigan served as the battery’s support with the 1^st Vermont from Farnsworth’s brigade supporting Elder. A battalion from the 7^th under Lieutenant-Colonel Litchfield advanced as skirmishers. Three companies from the regiment moved into Hanover to help Farnsworth man the makeshift barricades on the streets.[31] To Custer’s joy the 5^th and 6^th Michigan arrived from Littlestown. This was actually the first time they had seen each other. Veteran James Kidd (a captain during the battle) recalled his introduction to Custer:

 

James H. Kidd

It was here that the brigade first saw Custer. As the men of the Sixth, armed with their Spencer rifles, were deploying forward across the railroad into a wheatfield beyond, I heard a voice new to me, directly in rear of the portion of the line where I was, giving directions for the movement, in clear, resonant tones, and in a calm, confident manner, at once resolute and reassuring. Looking back to see whence it came, my eyes were instantly riveted upon a figure only a few feet distant, whose appearance amazed if it did not for the moment amuse me. It was he who was giving the orders. At first, I thought he might be a staff officer, conveying the commands of his chief. But it was at once apparent that he was giving orders, not delivering them, and that he was in command of the line.

 

Custer sent Alger to a position at the edge of town. He ordered Gray to dismount his 600 men and form up on his left to challenge Chambliss. The 6^th advanced over the railroad tracks leading into town. Their target was a ridge.[32]

The Michiganders wielded seven-shot Spencer rifles. These repeating rifles enabled them to put up a heavy fire against Chambliss’ left flank and drove it back towards the southern heights. They were now very close to Fitzhugh Lee’s horse artillery. Gray adopted a stealthy approach. He had his men get down on their hands and knees and crawl through high grass. Once they reached the foot of the ridge, they rose up and delivered a surprise fire at the battery. Mounted Confederates scurried away. About 15 ended up as prisoners. Thanks to the Spencers the Federals still had plenty of shots left and they used them on the artillerists themselves. The guns went silent. Lee saw the crisis unfolding and hurried forward his men. They arrived before the 6^th Michigan could advance further and take the guns. The two sides exchanged shots, Gray refusing to lose his foothold on the ridge and the Confederates keen to knock him and his men off.[33]

To the east Chambliss launched his own surprise attack. He went around the left flank of the 6^th Michigan and struck the 5^th within the town. Bolstered by a returning reconnaissance team from another regiment, Colonel Russell Alger ordered a counterattack that drove Chambliss back, “killing and capturing quite a number.” For the men in this regiment, who had spent most of their service sitting around Washington, this was a pleasing first battle, with only light casualties among their number. “Here we saw our first dead rebs, and were highly elated over our first victory.”[34]

 

Dave Gallon's portrayal of Custer at Hanover. Note the Spencer Rifles.

Two Days’ Delay

Custer’s brigade made no further progress. Fighting died as the sun set. Hanover’s citizens had escaped Confederate occupation, but now, as they left their hiding places, they saw a more horrifying sight. Dead horses and men littered their yards. Sometimes they came across wounded men and helped carry them to the hospital. The Forney brothers, two boys who had been farming when the fighting broke out around them, found a severely wounded sergeant of the 2^nd North Carolina on their front porch. This sergeant, Samuel Reddick, was slowly “struggling with death” due to a chest wound. They brought him inside and tended to him, but his life was slowly leaving him. He handed his Bible to the Forneys’ sister, begging her to send it home to his own sister. She had given him this Bible and he had promised to bring it over when the war ended. But “it has ended for me now.”[35]

Stuart had no desire to fight any further. If his cavalry remained locked with Kilpatrick’s, one of the Union infantry corps could show up in his rear. His strategy was to wait for nightfall in hopes that he could pull out and find another route. He did so, taking his men south in search of another way to link up with Robert E. Lee. Surprisingly the aggressive Kilpatrick, perhaps still believing Payne’s inflated numbers, did not pursue Stuart or even try to maintain contact. He instead rested his men, satisfied that the Federals had scored another victory over Stuart.[36] Kilpatrick was ebullient in the conclusion of his battle report. “My loss is trifling. I have gone into camp at Hanover. My command will be in readiness to move again at daylight to-morrow morning. We have plenty of forage, the men are in good spirits, and we don’t fear Stuart’s whole cavalry.[37]

Casualties are somewhat hard to determine. Many battle reports were either lost or simply not written up. In the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion there are none from Custer’s Michigan Brigade or the Confederate side. Farnsworth’s brigade listed the following losses.

 

5^th New York: 4 killed, 25 wounded, 10 missing

18^th Pennsylvania: 4 killed, 27 wounded, 50 missing

1^st Vermont: 1 wounded, 16 missing

1^st West Virginia: 2 killed, 2 wounded, 3 missing

 

Farnsworth lost 144 men overall. The missing were probably among the 400 prisoners in Stuart’s convoy. According to the Hanover Historical Society (I could only access this information via Wikipedia unfortunately), the Federals lost 215 overall. Confederate losses are even harder to nail down. In the aftermath of the battle the Federals counted about 25 dead Confederates within Hanover itself and captured about 75. This source is the 5^th New York’s regimental history. The Historical Society claims 117 overall. This would leave only 17 casualties in killed and wounded outside the town, for both Farnsworth’s charge and Custer’s involvement. Obviously many Confederates were killed and wounded outside the town as well. The regimental history likely exaggerated the numbers of dead in town, or perhaps numbers determined by the Hanover Historical Society undersold Stuart’s losses.[38]

Stuart’s cavalry continued to search for Lee’s army. Their night march, following a lengthy battle, was terrible. They were running low on feed and water for their mules, and also dealt with the “unmitigated annoyance” of about 400 Federal prisoners who further tasked their resources. They reached the town of Dover expecting to find Jubal Early’s division, but it was not there.  They then looked northwest to Carlisle where there were supposed to be rations to alleviate their hunger. They instead found entrenched Union militia. Stuart’s artillery shelled the town and burned the barracks, but pressed no further. Finally a courier from Lee came telling him to get to Gettysburg. Stuart’s horsemen went on a hard ride of 30 miles.[39]

Kilpatrick would also arrive late at Gettysburg. Having failed to keep any eyes on Stuart, he led his horsemen on a wandering search for where he supposed the enemy to be. Finally orders came for Kilpatrick and his two brigades to go to Gettysburg. This led to one brief skirmish on July 2 outside Hunterstown, where Stuart was passing through. The 6^th Michigan caught up with Wade Hampton’s rear guard and surprised it. One trooper, James C. Parsons, actually got into a personal gun duel with Hampton himself, his Spencer against a revolver. When Parsons ran out of ammunition, he raised his hand to signal that he had to reload. Hampton graciously gave him time to do so. Hampton did not suffer for his chivalry. When Parsons raised his reloaded weapon, the cavalier fired first and sent a ball into the trooper’s wrist. The wounded Parsons scurried into the woods. Just then a mounted Union officer came at Hampton from behind with a saber. He whacked the general on the back of the head with the flat of his weapon. Thanks to his hat and thick mane of hair, Hampton was hurt but not seriously injured and sent the horseman fleeing with a loud growl. Custer arrived on the scene and rashly led a charge of 50 men (about all he had available on the spot), despite his ability to call up reinforcements. The Michiganders rode towards Hampton’s men with fierce yelling and then fell prey to dismounted skirmishers. The horsemen retreated and Hampton held off Custer with the aid of two artillery pieces from Ewell’s corps and they arrived at the main battlefield late that afternoon. Though beaten in this encounter, Custer’s Michigan brigade would gain prestige on the third day of Gettysburg’s battle. While Pickett’s Charge struck the Union center at Cemetery Ridge, Custer and other Union cavalrymen defeated Stuart in a field to the east. The Michigan Brigade played a large role in this victory. Elon Farnsworth, situated by the Round Tops on the Union’s southern left flank too would make his mark on the battle. He unfortunately headed Kilpatrick’s ill-advised assault against well defended Confederates in the battle’s waning moments, and himself was killed.[40]

The Battle of Hanover, like most cavalry engagements, was a light battle, though both sides had at least a few thousand men on hand. The battle deserves recognition for destroying any chance Stuart had of linking up with Lee in a timely manner. Furthermore, if he had gone through Hanover, he would have led his men to Gettysburg. Depending on exactly when he got there he would have linked up with General Richard Ewell’s 2^nd Corps north of the town or he would have run into General John Buford’s Federal cavalry. In the latter scenario he would have been able to alert Lee. Then Lee could have either avoided a battle there or perhaps sped things up and seized the critical heights there. Of course there are countless ways things could have gone. An alternate Battle of Gettysburg would see the Army of Northern Virginia in a more favorable position, or Meade would have backed off and tried to coax Lee south to the battleground he actually wanted at Pipe Creek.

What did happen was that Stuart spent two more critical days wandering around the Pennsylvania countryside. The absence of Stuart meant that the main Confederate force marched blindly into a grand battle at Gettysburg. The Union got and seized the initiative, fortifying the heights south of town. This forced the Confederates to stretch their numerically inferior force around the defenders’ fishhook position and then, with Lee unwilling to disengage, make a series of assaults that almost but never succeeded in scoring another victory for the Army of Northern Virginia. The Battle of Hanover was one of many factors that contributed to Lee’s first and perhaps only severe tactical defeat.

 

The Hanover Monument

Sources

 Akers, Monte. Year of Desperate Struggle: Jeb Stuart and His Cavalry, from Gettysburg to Yellow Tavern, 1863-1864. Oxford: Casemate Publishers, 2015.

Avery, James Henry. Under Custer’s Command: The Civil War Journal of James Henry Avery. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2006.

Beale, Richard L. T. History of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry, in the War Between the States. Richmond: B.F. Johnson Publishing Company, 1899.

Beaudry, Louis Napoleon. Historic Records of the Fifth New York Cavalry. Albany: S.R. Gray, 1865.

Blackford, William W. War Years with Jeb Stuart. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1945.

Editors of Time-Life Books, Gettysburg: The Confederate High Tide, (Time Life Books, 1985), 27-28, 72-73.

“Hanover – First Phase of Fighting – June 30, 1863.” https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/hanover-first-phase-fighting-june-30-1863

“Hanover – Second Phase of Fighting – June 30, 1863.” https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/hanover-second-phase-fighting-june-30-1863

Kidd, James H. Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer’s Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Civil War. Ionia, Michigan: Sentinel Printing Company, 1908.

            https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29608/29608-h/29608-h.htm#CHAPTER_XI

Longacre, Edward G. The Cavalry at Gettysburg: A Tactical Study of Mounted Operations during the Civil War’s Pivotal Campaign, 9 June – 14 July 1863. Associated University Presses, Inc., 1986.

-                            -  Custer and His Wolverines: The Michigan Cavalry Brigade 1861-1865. Conshohocken:                        Combined Publishing, 1997.

-                            - Gentleman and Solider: A Biography of Wade Hampton III. Lincoln: University of Nebraska                Press, 2009.

McClellan, Henry B. I Rode with Jeb Stuart: The Life and Campaigns of Major General J.E.B. Stuart. New York Da Capo Press, 1994 edition.

Publication Committee of the Regimental Association. History of the Eighteenth Regiment of Cavalry Pennsylvania Volunteers. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford co., 1909.

Sears, Stephen. Gettysburg. Mariner Books, 2004 edition.

Warner, Ezra. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1964.

Wittenberg, Eric J. Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg. New York: Savas Beatie, 2006.

---

[1] Editors of Time-Life Books, Gettysburg: The Confederate High Tide, (Time Life Books, 1985), 27-28.

[2] Henry B. McClellan, I Rode with Jeb Stuart: The Life and Campaigns of Major General J.E.B. Stuart, (New York Da Capo Press, 1994 edition), 321-322.

[3] McClellan, I Rode with Jeb Stuart, 321-322.

[4] Editors of Time-Life Books, Gettysburg: The Confederate High Tide, 72-73; Sears, Gettysburg, 132.

[5] Akers, Year of Desperate Struggle: Jeb Stuart and His Cavalry, from Gettysburg to Yellow Tavern, 1863-1864, (Oxford: Casemate Publishers, 2015), 36; Blackford, War Years, 225; Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 67.

[6] Sears, Gettysburg, 33.

[7] Ezra Warner, Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, (Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1964), 148-149.

[8] Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 70.

[9] Eric J. Wittenberg, Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg. New York, (Savas Beatie, 2006), 85; Louis Napoleon Beaudry, Historic Records of the Fifth New York Cavalry, (Albany: S.R. Gray, 1865), 230.

[10] Edward Longacre, Custer and His Wolverines: The Michigan Cavalry Brigade 1861-1865, (Conshohocken: Combined Publishing, 1997), 128

[11] Longacre, Custer and His Wolverines, 131; James H. Kidd, Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer’s Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Civil War, (Ionia, Michigan: Sentinel Printing Company, 1908)

[12] Edward Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg: A Tactical Study of Mounted Operations during the Civil War’s Pivotal Campaign, 9 June – 14 July 1863, (Associated University Presses, Inc., 1986), 172.

[13] Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg, 173.

[14] Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg, 173; OR XXVII, 986, 1008; Publication Committee of the Regimental Association, History of the Eighteenth Regiment of Cavalry Pennsylvania Volunteers, (Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford co., 1909), 77.

[15] Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 68.

[16] Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 80-81.

[17] Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg, 174-175; Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 81-82.

[18] Richard L.T. Beale, History of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry, in the War Between the States, (Richmond: B.F. Johnson Publishing Company, 1899), 82.

[19] Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 86-88.

[20] OR XXVII, 1005, 1008-1009,1011; Beaudry, Fifth New York Cavalry, 64; Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 83; Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg, 175-176.

[21] Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 85.

[22] Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 86.

[23] OR XXVII, 1005, 1008-1009, 1011; Beaudry, Fifth New York, 64-65; Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg, 175; Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 84, 89-92.

[24] OR XXVII, 1005, 1008-1009, 1011; Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg, 175-176; Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 92-95; Beaudry, Fifth New York, 65-66.

[25] Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg, 175-176; Longacre, Custer and His Wolverines, 134; Akers, Year of Desperate Struggle, 38; Kidd, Personal Recollections; Longacre, Gentleman and Soldier, 144.

[26] Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 91-92; Blackford, War Years, 225-226.

[27] McClellan, I Rode with Jeb Stuart, 328; Blackford, War Years, 226-227.

[28] Blackford, War Years, 227; Akers, Akers, Year of Desperate Struggle, 38-39; Beale, Ninth Virginia Cavalry, 83.

[29] Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 98-101.

[30] Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg, 176-177; Akers, Year of Desperate Struggle, 39; McClellan, I Rode with Jeb Stuart, 329; Longacre, Gentleman and Soldier, 144; “Hanover – Second Phase of Fighting – June 30, 1863.” https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/hanover-second-phase-fighting-june-30-1863

[31] Longacre, Custer and His Wolverines, 133, 135; “Hanover – Second Phase of Fighting – June 30, 1863.” https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/hanover-second-phase-fighting-june-30-1863

[32] Longacre, Custer and His Wolverines, 135-137; Kidd, Personal Recollections.

[33] Longacre, Custer and His Wolverines, 137.

[34] Longacre, Custer and His Wolverines, 137-138; James Henry Avery, Under Custer’s Command: The Civil War Journal of James Henry Avery, (Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2006), 31-32.

[35] Wittenberg, Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride, 110.

[36] Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg, 178.

[37] OR XXVII, 987.

[38] OR XXVII, 1005, 1009, 1011-1012; Beaudry, Fifth New York, 65.

[39] Akers, Year of Desperate Struggle, 39-40; Blackford, War Years, 228, Sears, Gettysburg, 153.

[40] Longacre, Cavalry at Gettysburg, 178, 178-179; Longacre, Custer and His Wolverines, 140; Longacre, Gentleman and Soldier, 147-150.