The American Civil War - Chronologically

July 12, 1863 Second Battle of Hagerstown Hagerstown, MD XI Corps commander Gen. Oliver O. Howard:  Gen. George Armstrong Custer and his Michigan cavalry brigade * almost nowhere does this battle get its own designation, but it does get a faded Civil War Trails marker in downtown Hagerstown, so that's good enough for me. This second urban battle seems distinct from what's going on at Williamsport or Falling Waters. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6534 Second Battle of Hagerstown Custer Captures the Town — Gettysburg Campaign — Six days had passed since the Federals had failed in their first attempt to seize Hagerstown as they pursued Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army retreating to Virginia after the Battle of Gettysburg . On Sunday morning, July 12, 1863, a decisive event occurred - the Union army determined to secure its northern flank. The mission to capture Hagerstown was assigned to Gen. George Armstrong Custer and his Michigan cavalry brigade. Custer's Wolveri...

July 10, 1863 Battle of Funkstown (AKA the Second Battle of Funkstown) Funkstown, MD John Buford's Cavalry Division and one infantry brigade (Col. Thomas C. Devin’s dismounted Union cavalry brigade, then Col. Lewis A. Grant’s First Vermont Brigade of infantry) VS. JEB Stuart's cavalry and his one infantry brigade too ( Preston Chew’s  horse artillery  and the 34th Virginia Battalion’s dismounted cavalry;  Gen. George T. Anderson’s Confederate brigade ) * The "first" Battle of Funkstown was a much smaller engagement on July 7th. * The Feds trying to catch up with the Rebels' retreating rear-guard; blocked by Stuart's occupation of the town.  * Allegedly the first time opposing infantries faced each other since the Battle of Gettysburg . OK.  * Also, "Stuart's first defensive battle since reentering Maryland." OK. (I like "firsts," but these are getting ridiculous!) * Ends with a Union withdrawal; Stuart buys Lee more time to escape. But ...

July 8, 1863 The Battle of Boonsboro North of Boonsboro, along the National Road in Washington County, MD  (first resistance at Beaver Creek Bridge, 4.5 miles North of town) US Alfred Pleasonton: Kilpatrick and Buford's cavalry ordered to protect the South Mountain passes for Meade, similar to the Rebel position before Antietam .   VS. J.E.B. Stuart (with 5 cavalry brigades advancing towards the ford at Williamsport) * Stuart aggressively trying to protect Lee's retreat from Gettysburg  * Biggest and Most Sustained Cavalry Battle in MD during the campaign  * Too muddy for horses so they had to "dismount and slug it out like infantry" * Stuart withdraws when the Union infantry arrives, and fights another delaying battle at Funkstown two days later * "The Battle of Boonsboro" is definitively its own thing as part of the Gettysburg retreat, but there was also action here as part of the Antietam campaign, though that business is often thrown in with the ramblin...

July 6, 1863 The Battle of Hagerstown -  AKA The Battle of Williamsport, or Falling Waters (Again), but really those are three different things, and all conflated with the retreat after Gettysburg . This is sometimes called "the First" Battle of Hagerstown, and that actually makes some sense. Neither Wikipedia nor even the American Battlefield Trust will deign to give this important battle its own page :(   Hagerstown, MD (Washington County)  Meade (Brig. Gen Judson Kilpatrick [why is he sometimes listed as Hugh Kilpatrick? Same guy?]; Capt. Ulric Dahlgren*; 18th PA Cavalry)  vs Lee (Col. John Chambliss's 9th VA Cavalry come in south of town, while the 10th formed a barricade in the streets; Capt. Frank Bond; Hammond Dorsey @ Public Square;  NC Cavalry under Gen Beverly Robertson; JEB Stuart shows up late) * Intense urban warfare, in a rainstorm: flipped the wagons for barricades at the intersection of what is now/still Baltimore and South Potomac Stre...