M.A. Kleen

By July 12, 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac had settled into a position opposite the Confederate trenches and fortifications around Williamsport, Maryland, but Confederate cavalry still threatened its right flank at Hagerstown. Acting on intelligence that 6,000 gray troopers occupied the town, Brig. Gen. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick’s division returned to Hagerstown, spearheaded by Brig. Gen. George A. Custer’s brigade. When Custer arrived, however, he found most of the Confederates had already withdrawn, leaving behind a skeletal force. It didn’t take long for Custer’s troopers to clear the town at a cost of only four wounded.