June 29 & 30, 1863 - Gettysburg Campaign: Rebel cavalry and Union Corps pass through Union Mills and Mount Airy / Union cavalry in Littlestown /Meade at Taneytown
June 29 and 30th, 1863
Cavalry Clash and Corps Movement
Mount Airy, MD
David Gen. David McM. Gregg's Cavalry Division...then Gen. John Sedgwick's whole VI corps
vs.
JEB Stuart's Cavalry
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=201590 |
"Mount Airy
Under the Barrels
— Gettysburg Campaign —
In 1839, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad extended its line through Mount Airy Cut, and a village soon developed here. During the Civil War, Co. K, 14th New Jersey Infantry, guarded the railroad and National Road at Mount Airy. Pine Grove Chapel, built in 1846 and first called Ridge Presbyterian Church, served as a barracks.
When an old slave named Abaigail carried liquor from the Ridgeville hotel to sell to the soldiers, Capt. Jacob J. Janeway, the company commander, decided to make an example of her and the first soldier he caught buying liquor. He ordered the heads broken out of two barrels and the barrels placed over the heads of the two culprits, who were then marched up and down the track at the point of a bayonet, much to the amusement of the other soldiers and the passengers on a passing train.
On June 29, 1863, elements of Union Gen. David McM. Gregg’s cavalry division rode through Mount Airy in pursuit of Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry, which was thought to threaten Baltimore and Washington as it rode east of the Union army unchecked. On the same day, Gen. John Sedgwick’s VI Corps marched by here in the direction of Westminster to form the right flank of the Pipe Creek Line at Manchester."
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June 29-30, 1863
Approaching Gettysburg
Union Mills, MD
Gen George Sykes's V Corps, etc. (& Gen. James Barnes) show up just after
vs
Gen. JEB Stuart (& Gen. Fitzhugh Lee)leaves town
"On June 29, 1863 General J. E. B. Stuart and his cavalry camped here. On June 30, 1863 General James Barnes of the 5th Corps U. S. Army spent the night on his way to Gettysburg."
Apparently they missed each other by hours...
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=2991 "At daybreak on June 30, 1863, Gen. J.E.B. Stuart arrived here from his bivouac at the Orendorff farm north of Westminster. He then gathered his brigade commanders to discuss Union Gen. Judson H. Kilpatrick's cavalry division, which was encamped seven miles north at Littlestown but had been reported marching east toward Hanover. Southern sympathizer William Shriver, whose slave-owning brother Andrew K. Shriver lived across the Littlestown Turnpike and supported the Union, invited Stuart to have breakfast with his family. William, who opposed slavery, had four sons in the Confederate army. Shriver's daughter Sally later wrote, "Our table [was] surrounded by so many shining lights—Majors, Colonels, Captains, Doctors, and to crown all, those two noble Generals [Fitzhugh] Lee and Stuart who sang 'If you want to be a bully boy, join the cavalry.'" Stuart asked sixteen-year-old T. Herbert Shriver to act as a guide on the roads to Hanover. In exchange, he said, he would sponsor him to the Virginia Military Institute (the next year, Cadet Shriver fought in the May 15 Battle of New Market). After breakfast, the Confederates set off toward Hanover. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's brigade took the Littlestown Turnpike and screened the left flank of Col. John R. Chambliss' brigade on Old Hanover Road. Gen. Wade Hampton's brigade followed Chambliss and guarded a captured Union wagon train." Henry Wirt Shriver son of Andrew K Shriver served with Company I of the 26th Pennsylvania Emergency Infantry. — Union Mills Homestead Foundation Mark Owings Shriver, a son of William Shriver, enlisted in Co. K, 1st Va. Cavalry, and later served in 1st Md. Cavalry (CSA) — Historical Society of Carroll County  "In 1863, brothers Andrew K. and William Shriver resided on either side of the Littlestown Turnpike here and likewise were divided in their loyalties, with William supporting the Confederacy and Andrew the Union. When officers at the head of Gen. J. E. B. Stuart’s Confederate cavalry command confronted Andrew Shriver here late on June 29, he staunchly proclaimed, “I can tell you I’m a Union man!” Shriver, a slaveholder, had a son in the Union army. Soon his land, including his yard, gristmill, sawmill, tannery, and orchard were filled with Confederate cavalrymen. The remainder of the column stretched for miles along the turnpike. That night, Confederate Gen. Fitzhugh Lee slept under an apple tree in the orchard behind the house. Just hours after the Confederates departed the next day, Gen. George Sykes’s footsore and fatigued Union V Corps marched into Union Mills from Frizzelburg and camped in the fields and meadows nearby along Big Pipe Creek. A lieutenant in the 4th Michigan Infantry wrote home that he “washed in a rapid stream at Union Mills,” indulging in a brief respite from the heat. When 62-year-old Gen. James Barnes needed a bed for the night, Shriver gave him the room once occupied by Washington Irving decades earlier. On the morning of July 1, V Corps marched north across the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania."  Located a short distance south of Gettysburg and on the route of advance for elements of the Army of the Potomac as it searched for the Confederate army, Littlestown was affected by events just before and after the great battle. The advance of Union Gen. H. Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry division, almost 4,000 strong, arrived here late on the evening of June 29, 1863. Kilpatrick and at least one brigade commander, Gen. George Armstrong Custer, likely lodged at the Union Hotel (Barker House) on the northwestern corner of the square. The Federals did not know it, but Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry corps was just six miles south of here at Union Mills, Maryland. The following day, the two forces collided in the streets of Hanover, Pennsylvania. The advance of the Union XII Corps camped the night of June 30 in the fields east of town, and on July 2, the VI Corps marched through. Altogether, some 30,000 Federals passed through Littlestown on their way to Gettysburg, and the 700 residents welcomed them with songs, cheers, and food. Although historians frequently mention such displays only in passing, the soldiers reported their effect on the army's morale. We shall all ever remember the enthusiasm of the loyal men and women of this little Pennsylvania town, and how with patriotic songs and cheers, they entertained us and fed us. ... The cheers and hurrahs of fair maidens and gray-haired patriots gave the contest a new meaning, the full effect of which was never fully known and felt until the smoke of battle lifted from the field of Gettysburg and hovered over the victorious Union army. About fifty young ladies had assembled at the Union Hotel and as we entered the place sweet singing greeted our ears & made glad our hearts. The "Red, White, & Blue," "Star Spangled Banner" & etc. were sung with great enthusiasm, the chorus being joined in by hundreds of weary soldiers. May the fair ladies and good people of Littlestown long live in peace, prosperity and happiness. — Pvt. Charles H. Blinn, 1st Vermont Cavalry...  Meanwhile...six miles away from Stuart, the Union Cavalry passes through Littlestown on the way to Gettysburg. Littlestown, PA June 29, 1863 Union Gen. J. Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry division
June 30, 1863 Union XII Corps July 2, 1863 VI Corps   "After a stunning victory at Chancellorsville in May 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia through Maryland into Pennsylvania, marching east to threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. The Army of the Potomac marched north from the capital, searching for Lee. On July 1-3, the armies collided at Gettysburg in one of the pivotal battles of the Civil War. Three days later, after a bloody defeat, the Confederates began retracing their steps to Virginia." "Located a short distance south of Gettysburg and on the route of advance for elements of the Army of the Potomac as it searched for the Confederate army, Littlestown was affected by events just before and after the great battle. The advance of Union Gen. H. Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry division, almost 4,000 strong, arrived here late on the evening of June 29, 1863. Kilpatrick and at least one brigade commander, Gen. George Armstrong Custer, likely lodged at the Union Hotel (Barker House) on the northwestern corner of the square. The Federals did not know it, but Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry corps was just six miles south of here at Union Mills, Maryland. The following day, the two forces collided in the streets of Hanover, Pennsylvania. The advance of the Union XII Corps camped the night of June 30 in the fields east of town, and on July 2, the VI Corps marched through. Altogether, some 30,000 Federals passed through Littlestown on their way to Gettysburg, and the 700 residents welcomed them with songs, cheers, and food. Although historians frequently mention such displays only in passing, the soldiers reported their effect on the army's morale."    "The Civil War played an important role in the history of Littlestown is just 10 miles south of Gettysburg, so it played a key role in the housing and care of soldiers during the Civil War. Many different soldiers and officers passed through Littlestown to take trains, rest before battle and recuperate afterward. Confederate and Union troops alike, stopped and passed through, especially during the advance on and battle of Gettysburg. General Alfred Pleasanton, commander of the entire Cavalry Corps of the Potomac Army, held his headquarters at the Barker House. While he was there he sent many scouts to the surrounding towns to find out what was happening in the area. Pleasanton was seen in the company of General George Armstrong Custer, famous for "Custer's Last Stand" a battle at Little Big Horn, and General Judson Kilpatrick. General Kilpatrick and his Division of Union Cavalry stayed in Littlestown for a night. He personally spent the night at the Barker House with General Custer. These were not the only Generals to spend time in Littlestown. General Daniel Sickles was brought to Littlestown in a carriage and placed on a car for home after wounding his leg in a battle at Round Top in Gettysburg. After the battle in Gettysburg, hundreds of wounded soldiers were brought to Littlestown to be placed in cars and sent home. At this time Gettysburg did not yet have the railroad, so Littlestown was a major stopping ground for the soldiers in the war to come and go on the trains. It also was on a major road and easy to get for the ambulances bringing the wounded from battle. For those unable to travel at the time the Barker Hotel provided temporary hospital facilities. The United Brethren Church was also turned into a hospital for the wounded. Local citizens provided food and supplies for the soldiers. Railroad freight cars were emptied and wounded were placed there on beds of straw until they could be safely transported. Also recorded as passing through Littlestown on the way to battle was General Sedgewick and his Sixth Army Corps of 15,000 and General Henry Warner Slocum and his Corps of 13,000. A cast iron marker, which is located on South Queen St. just south of the square, it titled "Army of the Potomac" and dated July 5, 1862. It describes the activities and movements of the various corps, brigades and divisions of the Army to a variety of locations. The Artillery Reserve is specifically noted as being dispatched to Littlestown on that day."  ... ALSO Meanwhile, around this time Meade establishes headquarters in Taneytown, MD and hopes to engage the enemy along the Pipe Creek. Alas, Lee does not oblige.   "On June 29, 1863, Union Gen. George G. Meade ordered the Army of the Potomac to Pipe Creek to counter any move toward Washington or Baltimore by Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and to engage the Confederates in battle. Meade established his headquarters here at Taneytown and over the next two days watched his exhausted and footsore soldiers march by. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles stood on the porch of the old stone tavern and reviewed his III Corps troops as they arrived on June 30. Pvt. Charles Mattocks, 17th Maine Infantry wrote, “We marched through in columns by platoon. The young damsels sang Union songs and waived handkerchiefs to us as we passed along.” After a rest, III Corps marched on to Bridgeport in the afternoon."      |
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