July 12-14, 1863 - Second Battle of Hagerstown; Battle of Falling Waters

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 Wolverines rode into town from the east, scattering and capturing stunned Confederates, seizing almost 100 prisoners, and setting free nearly 40 Federal soldiers, missing after the fighting of July 6. Local citizens sympathetic to the Union cause has been sheltering these men.

After the victorious Custer led his column through town, doffing his hat to handkerchief-waving ladies, XI Corps commander Gen. Oliver O. Howard climbed into a church steeple and for the first time viewed the extensive Confederate fortifications located west and south of town. Difficult days remained ahead.

"[Hagerstown was] a hornet's nest of sharpshooters armed with telescopic rifles, who could pick a man's ear off half a mile away. The bullets from their guns had a peculiar sound, something like the buzz of a bumble bee, and the troopers' horses would stop, prick up their ears and gaze in the direction whence the hum of those invisible messengers could be heard."

- Capt. James Kidd, Custer's Michigan Cavalry Brigade.

Tuesday, July 14: "Sunday (July 12) was a day of intense anxiety. The Yankees came and took possession of the town. The Rebels had all gone. Yesterday all the streets were crowded with horse and no one could go near the door as the street was used as a stable. ... It is reported that the Rebels have crossed the river but we know nothing. Oh this dreadful suspense. ... I fear we've seen the very last of the Rebels."

- Louise Kealhofer diary

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July 14, 1863

Battle of Falling Waters

Washington County, Maryland

Meade and the Army of the Potomac (Gen. John Buford's Union cavalry and Kilpatrick) pursuing 

vs

Lee's Army of Northern Virginia (Maj. Gen. Henry Heth [lost more than 500 prisoners] and Confederate Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew [mortally wounded]) after Gettysburg.

AKA The Second Battle of Falling Waters, The Battle of Williamsport, The Battle of Hagerstown, That other Battle of Falling Waters

(This is kind of in the middle of the "The Battle of Williamsport" which is a 10-day retreat after Gettysburg). 

I also like when this is called "Falling Waters" and that somehow differentiates it from the earlier battle of virtually the same name and in the same general spot. Then again, this is why we are supposed to call that other one "Hoke's Run." 

  

Lee makes it back to Virginia, and the slaughter drags on pointlessly for another couple years. 

This one was a doozy to visit. You can see the beginnings of what is planned to be a small parking area, but right now there's nothing - not even a shoulder on the road. I had to park in this man's driveway - despite his overt threats to prosecute me. 

This pic really illustrates the madness of visiting this site. You can see the driveway I had to park on leading up to a private home. And you can see by where the grass was cut that I had to trespass across his lawn to get to this tiny parcel of preserved land. I'm at a bend in Falling Waters Road. The battle took place over the ridge where the home is, and the Potomac River was behind me here. 

And the battle raged between here and the river, but that farmer doesn't want to sell his land for preservation purposes. 

Tell us how you really feel. 
Oh, how I wished this guy would have come out while I was taking pictures. 

Here's the spot on the other side of the river where they managed to get the Pontoon Bridge in when the river went down. Now, West Virginia, it's marked "Confederate Retreat" on the map, but I couldn't find anything there other than an RV park. 

The pursuit of Gen. Lee's rebel army, July 10, 1863 By Edwin Forbes - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3g02916.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons: Licensing., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16368571

See also:

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/falling-waters