Tag: Pennsylvania

This minor skirmish in the Gettysburg Campaign is often overlooked, but was no less dramatic for the citizens of this small town who endured hours of artillery fire.

The Battle of Carlisle was fought on July 1, 1863 between Union militia forces commanded by Maj. Gen. William F. “Baldy” Smith and Confederate cavalry commanded by Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart in Carlisle, Pennsylvania during the American Civil War. This inconclusive skirmish, part of the Gettysburg Campaign, resulted in approximately 21 total casualties and the destruction of Carlisle Barracks. The next day, Stuart reunited with General Robert E. Lee’s army at Gettysburg, too late to have a significant impact on that battle.

In June 1863, after a dramatic victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee made the fateful decision to move north with his Army of Northern Virginia and invade Pennsylvania. The Union Army of the Potomac was slow to respond, and Confederate forces met little resistance as they fanned out across southern Pennsylvania. Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, however, became trapped east of the Union army, and Stuart’s exhausted troopers fought several skirmishes to cut their way back to Lee’s army.

This often-overlooked clash near Harrisburg was the northernmost engagement of the Gettysburg Campaign.

The Skirmish at Sporting Hill was fought on June 30, 1863 between Union forces commanded by Maj. Gen. Darius N. Couch and Confederate cavalry commanded by Brig. Gen. Albert G. Jenkins outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania during the American Civil War. Though small, this inconclusive skirmish represented the northernmost armed engagement of the Gettysburg Campaign and resulted in approximately 52 total casualties.

In June 1863, after a dramatic victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee made the fateful decision to move north with his Army of Northern Virginia and invade Pennsylvania. The Union Army of the Potomac was slow to respond, and Confederate forces met little resistance as they fanned out across southern Pennsylvania raiding towns, sending escaped slaves south, and paying for supplies in worthless Confederate currency. Advanced units of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s Second Corps neared the Susquehanna River by June 28th.

This small but consequential skirmish may have saved Harrisburg from capture by Lee’s Confederates during the Civil War.

The Skirmish at Wrightsville was fought on June 28, 1863 between Union forces commanded by Maj. Granville O. Haller and Confederate forces commanded by Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon in Wrightsville, York County, Pennsylvania during the American Civil War. It was tactically a Confederate victory, however, the hastily assembled force of Pennsylvania militia successfully burned the bridge over the Susquehanna River, preventing the Confederates from surrounding Harrisburg.

In June 1863, after a dramatic victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee made the fateful decision to move north with his Army of Northern Virginia and invade Pennsylvania. The Union Army of the Potomac was slow to respond, and Confederate forces met little resistance as they fanned out across southern Pennsylvania raiding towns, sending escaped slaves south, and paying for supplies in worthless Confederate currency. Advanced units of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s Second Corps neared the Susquehanna River by June 28th.

After capturing York, Pennsylvania, Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon moved northeast to seize the Susquehanna River bridge in Wrightsville, a borough of 1,360. Standing between his 2,113 Confederates and the bridge were approximately 1,461 untrained Pennsylvania militia, organized into the 27th, 20th, and 26th regiments, including 53 free blacks who volunteered to fight.