History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 77

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372

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The fifty cent notes issued by the York Bank were counterfeited. When this was discovered all the genuine notes were called in for redemption.

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

The Sixth New York Cavalry, one of the J. Randall, and Bell's Independent Cavalry noted military organizations of the Civil from Adams County, remained in York and vicinity on scouting duty. On July 5th they brought 100 stray horses and mules into town. War, came to York Christmas day, 1861. This regiment, composed of twelve com- panies, in all 900 men, remained here until March, 1862. The men were at first quar- November 28, 1863, all the bells of York rang in honor of the Union victory, which had been recently won at Chattanooga, Tennessee. tered in the buildings of the Agricultural Society and the public school houses until barracks were erected on the public com- mon by Philip Stair.

On January 29, 1861, a number of negro slaves owned by Maryland planters passed On July 1, 1864, when General Grant was through York into Adams County, where pressing hard upon the Confederate army in they were captured by their owners. These slaves were brought back through York and taken to Maryland without opposition. During the early part of the war very few negroes came northward. A large number of them migrated to the northern states after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln in the fall of 1862.

Several important victories were gained by the army in Kentucky and West Vir- ginia in 1862. These events were cele- brated in York by all the bells in the town ringing in harmony for one hour.

A beautiful flag was floated to the breeze for the first time over the United States Hospital at York in July, 1862.

In September, 1862, the people of York had an opportunity of seeing several hun- dred Confederate prisoners pass through the town. These southern soldiers had been captured at Harper's Ferry and were taken through Baltimore and York and west to Camp Douglass near Chicago, where many Confederates were imprisoned during the war.

On Wednesday, July 1, 1863, about 400 Union prisoners, released on parole at Dover, came to York. They had been cap- tured at Westminster and Hanover by Stu- art's Confederate Cavalry and taken to Dover by Fitzhugh Lee's brigade after the fight at Hanover. These soldiers were bountifully fed by the citizens of York. On the following day they returned to their homes.

July 14, 1863, by order of the Secretary of War, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and York were designated as places of rendezvous for the drafted men of Pennsylvania.

After the battle of Gettysburg the Phila- delphia City Troop, commanded by Samuel

INVASION OF 1864.

front of Petersburg, Lee detached General Early with an army of about 17,000 men to the Shenandoah Valley for the purpose of threatening Washington. This was done in order to divert a part of the Army of the Potomac from its movement on Richmond. Early crossed the Potomac and entered Frederick, Maryland, on July 8. This raid caused considerable anxiety in southern Pennsylvania. General Lew Wallace, with an army of about 6,000 men, met Early in a hard-fought battle along the Monocacy River, near Frederick. He prevented the Confederate forces from reaching Wash- ington before the arrival of the two divisions of the Sixth Army Corps and the Nineteenth Army Corps to defend the city. In this battle the Eighty-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, serving in Rick- ett's division of the Sixth Corps, recruited from York County, took a very prominent part and lost seventy-four men in killed, wounded and captured. This event created a great deal of excitement in York. Wal- lace retreated toward Baltimore. A part of the Confederate force moved eastward for the purpose of destroying the railroad bridges north of Baltimore.

Colonel John W. Schall, of the Eighty- seventh Pennsylvania Regiment, was at York. He had been wounded at Cold Harbor, near Richmond, June 3, 1864, while in command of the First Brigade, Third Division, Sixth Army Corps. Having par- tially recovered from his wound, Colonel Schall organized five companies of Home Guards at York into a battalion and pro- ceeded to Cockeysville, arriving there on the evening of July 9, shortly after Bradley Johnston's troops had destroyed the rail- road bridges in that vicinity. His battalion was armed with rifles from the State of

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BATTLE OF HANOVER

Pennsylvania. He remained with his com- mand at Cockeysville and vicinity until Early's Confederate Corps had been driven back to the Shenandoah valley, and then returned with his emergency men to York. Before disbanding Colonel Schall's battalion acted as an escort and fired the farewell volley over the graves of Lieutenant John F. Spangler and Lieutenant Charles F. Haack, commanders of Company A and Company K, Eighty-seventh Regiment, who were killed at the battle of Monocacy.

The organization of the battalion is as follows :

Colonel John Schall, commanding.

Adjutant-Adam Reisinger, late lieuten- ant of Company B, One Hundred and Fifty- third Regiment.

Quartermaster-E. G. Smyser.

Assistant Quartermaster-David Emmett. Assistant Quartermaster-George H. by accident. It was not a battle for which Maish.

Surgeon-Dr. J. W. Kerr.

Chaplain-Rev. John H. Menges.

First Company-Captain William H. Al- federate cavalry corps, moving northward on bright.

Second Company-Captain Henry Spang- ler.

Third Company-Captain Henry Reis- inger.

Fourth Company-Captain John Hayes. Fifth Company-Captain Jacob Wiest.

After Early failed to reach Washington he retreated across the Potomac. He sent a cavalry force of 3,000 men, under General McCausland, into Pennsylvania, and on July 31, 1864, he destroyed the borough of Chambersburg, causing a loss of $3,000,000. The population of the town at that time was 3,000. When Early entered Frederick, Maryland, the day before the battle of Monocacy, he made a levy of $200,000 on Frederick, which amount was paid to avoid the destruction of that town.

August 9, 1864. The train was suddenly attacked by Confederate cavalry under Harry Gilmore, and Franklin became a prisoner. He was taken to Reisterstown and placed in a tent. As the story goes, he bribed the guard and escaped four hours after he was captured.

CHAPTER XXV

BATTLE OF HANOVER.

The First Collision-Kilpatrick Enters Hanover-Colonel Payne a Prisoner- Artillery Duel-Union Reports of the Battle-Confederate Reports-Casualties -The Leaders in the Battle-The Monu- ment.

The battle of Hanover will always be memorable in the annals of York County. There had been slight skirmishes during the invasion of 1863 in York, Cumberland and Franklin counties, between small de- tachments, before the engagement at Han- over, where on the morning of June 30, about 10,000 men on both sides were in hostile array. Like many other severe con- flicts of the Civil War, this affair occurred

plans had been made by the leaders of the opposing forces. Neither General Stuart, commanding three brigades of Lee's Con- the right of the Army of the Potomac, nor General Kilpatrick, commanding the Third Division of the Union cavalry corps, knew the exact position of the enemy, twenty-four hours before the engagement opened.

In the disposition of the troops by Gen- eral Meade at Frederick, on the morning of June 29. General Gregg in command of the Second Division of cavalry, 4,000 men, was sent through Westminster and Manchester to guard the extreme right of the Potomac army and save Washington from the raids of the enemy. Buford with the First Divi- sion, 4,000 men, was dispatched across the ridge and took position on the plains around Gettysburg on the morning of June 30. General Judson Kilpatrick two days before had been raised to the rank of brigadier general and was placed in command of the Third Division, composed of two brigades. He was assigned the important duty of moving forward through Taneytown to

General William B. Franklin, a native of York and a distinguished soldier of the Civil War, was on a train which had left Balti- more for Philadelphia on the evening of Hanover, for the purpose of reconnoitering the position, and ascertain the movements of General Early, who with a division of 9,000 men, had occupied York on the morn- ing of June 28.

Heard of

Kilpatrick.

The position of Stuart's cav- alry at this time was not defi- initely known by Meade, with

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

his headquarters at Frederick, Kilpat- Confederates. Shots were exchanged and rick moved forward to Littlestown, where one Confederate soldier was killed, at Gitt's he bivouacked for the night of June mill, about three miles southwest of the 29. Stuart, having crossed the Potomac at Rowser's Ford, about twenty miles north- west of Washington, with three brigades, had moved northward through Westmin- ster. The head of his column had encamped

town. He was the first victim of the en- gagement. About the same time, Captain Potter and his men came into contact with a Confederate scouting party about three miles west of Hanover on the Littlestown for the night of June 29, at Union Mills, road. A sharp conflict ensued but no one only seven miles south of Littlestown. The was wounded. Lieutenant T. P. Shield of Confederate scouts had learned of Kilpat- rick's presence at Littlestown, but the latter, although always on the alert for news and one of the most intrepid cavalry officers of the Civil War, had failed to discover that the Confederate cavalry was at Union Mills, when he took up the march at daybreak on June 30, from Littlestown toward Hanover.

Chambliss' brigade led the advance from Union Mills, nine miles southwest of Han- over, and a detachment of it had scoured At 8 o'clock on the morning of the country during the night, reaching a Kilpatrick June 30, General Kilpatrick, point within five miles of Hanover. Kil- Enters riding with his staff at the head patrick's division moved toward Hanover Hanover. of his column, entered Han- over. Closely following him, in the following order: Kilpatrick with his staff and body guard, a detachment from the in uniform of velvet and with flowing curls, First Ohio: Custer with the First, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Michigan Regiments ; Pennington's battery ; Farnsworth with the First Vermont, First West Virginia and Fifth New York; Elder's battery ; the ambulance wagons, horses and pack mules. The Eighteenth Pennsylvania Cav- alry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William P. Brinton, brought up the rear and was the last to leave Littlestown. This regiment had been in service only a few weeks and had never previously engaged in battle, yet it was assigned the duty of guarding and protecting the wagon train immediately in front of it.

Captain H. C. Potter, with a de- First tachment of forty men, twenty Collision. each from companies L and M of the Eighteenth Pennsylvania, was ordered to form the rear guard. He overtook Captain Freeland of the Eigh- teenth Pennsylvania with a small squad, which had been acting as a scouting party, to scour the country and see if there were any Confederates coming from the south. Freeland and his men a few miles west of Hanover, moved over to the right, where they came in contact with a small band of

the Eighteenth Pennsylvania, with twenty- five picked men guarding the flank, was surprised and captured by the Thirteenth Virginia cavalry, formerly commanded by Colonel Chambliss, who at this time had succeeded W. F. H. Lee in command of the brigade which was leading the march to- ward Hanover. This brigade was com- posed of the Second North Carolina, Ninth, Tenth and Thirteenth Virginia Regiments, in all about 1500 men.

rode the tall and handsome form of General Custer, who, at the age of twenty-three years, commanded a Michigan brigade, four regiments. These Union soldiers had been on a continuous march of nearly three weeks and were tired and worn out. Kil- patrick in company with Custer entered the residence of Jacob Wirt, on Frederick Street, and while in conversation with Rev. Dr. W. K. Zieber, pastor of Emmanuel's Reformed Church, said that his men needed food to refresh them on their march. As soon as the announcement was made to the citizens who then filled the streets and the sidewalks, they repaired to their homes and brought coffee, bread and meat to the vet- eran soldiers who received these provisions on horseback. After resting for a short time, regiment after regiment of Custer's brigade moved out the turnpike toward Abbottstown.

An hour had passed by before the Michi- gan brigade had left the borough on its way toward York. Then came General Farns- worth, surrounded by his staff, and passed through Centre Square. His regiments, too, were bountifully fed. The First Ver- mont and the First West Virginia regiments

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BATTLE OF HANOVER

had passed through the town by 10 A. M. opened, General Farnsworth was at the The Fifth New York, partly dismounted, head of his brigade near the village of New were resting in a line extending from Fred- Baltimore. He quickly ordered the First erick Street, through Centre Square and a West Virginia and the First Vermont to short distance down Abbottstown Street. fall back to the left and take position south- east of town in line of battle. They were then being fed by the patriotic citizens.

Meantime, the detachments of the Eigh- teenth Pennsylvania under Captains Potter and Freeland, had the experiences related Town. above, with the enemy west of Hanover.

Major Hammond, commanding the Driven Fifth New York, had already re- Out of formed his regiment on the Public

Common and on Abbottstown Street. With drawn sabres and a terrific yell, this regiment drove the enemy out of town.

The Confederate Attack.

The brigade of Confederates under Chambliss had ap- peared on elevated ground on both sides of the Westminster

General Farnsworth arrived at the scene of action and directed the movements of

west of Pennville. At the same time, they planted two cannon on the Samuel Keller farm, near Plum Creek, and two on the Jesse Rice farm, along the Westminster road. The Thirteenth Virginia cavalry be- gan the attack on the Eighteenth Pennsyl- vania Regiment, then passing through Pennville with its line extending from Plum Creek to the edge of Hanover. They made a stubborn resistance, but owing to the sudden attack, were driven slightly back. General Stuart, who himself was within a mile of Hanover, called Colonel W. H. Payne, commanding the Second North Car- olina Regiment, known as the "Black Horse Cavalry," to charge the rear of Farns- worth's brigade. This regiment contained nearly 500 men who had participated in many battles in Virginia. Colonel Payne, leading part of the regiment, dashed down the Westminster road and came in contact with the Eighteenth Pennsylvania at the

road, a short distance south- the Fifth New York. The North Carolina troopers had captured the ambulance wag- ons and were driving them out the Littles- town pike toward Pennville. There were hand to hand encounters on Abbottstown Street, in various parts of the town and in Centre Square, where five horses and two or three men were killed. A spirited contest took place in a field. to the rear of the Methodist Church, and on Frederick Street, a short distance west of the church, where Adjutant Gall, of the Fifth New York, was killed. This contest was contin- ued out the Littlestown road between Sam- uel H. Forney's farm and Pennville, and about two hundred yards on the Westmin- ster road. It was along this line, amid much confusion, that a hand to hand encounter took place in which the mounted men on both sides used sabres, carbines or pistols. Captain Cabel, a member of Stuart's staff and in 1906 principal of a military academy at Staunton, Virginia, was cut in the head

eastern edge of Pennville, where the West- with a sabre in front of the Forney house minster road joins the Littlestown turnpike. and remained insensible for about six

hours. Twenty-seven horses and about a Carolina troopers crossed through the fields dozen men lay dead on the road after the contest had ended.

Meantime, one battalion of the North south of the Littlestown turnpike and struck the flank of the Federal troops, com- Major White, of the Fifth New ing in to Frederick Street through the al- Colonel York, was seriously wounded Payne a near the junction of the West- Prisoner. minster and Littlestown roads, and Thomas Burke, of the Fifth New York, captured a battle flag from the enemy. Upon the retreat, Colonel Payne leys. The Eighteenth Pennsylvania had been cut in two. Part of it was to the rear in Pennville, and these men retreated across the fields toward McSherrystown. The ad- vance of the regiment dashed pell-mell up Frederick Street, through Centre Square, was slightly wounded and had a horse shot and out Abbottstown Street to the railroad, under him in front of the Winebrenner tan- nery. He concealed himself in a shed until there was a lull in the fight and then became closely followed by the enemy. For a short time the town of Hanover was in possession of the Confederates.

When the fight a prisoner of war.

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Custer Hears the Guns.

patrick was riding at the head of his column, and had passed through Abbottstown moving on the turnpike toward York. He had just received a message from General Pleasan- ton, at Taneytown, through a courier, who had passed north of Hanover, notifying him that he might soon be attacked by Stuart's cavalry. This was the first intimation Kil- patrick had of the approach of the enemy. As soon as the roar of the guns was heard, General Custer reformed his regiments of the Michigan brigade and ordered a coun- termarch toward the scene of action.

When the first gun was fired at regiments had formed in line of battle be- Hanover about 10.30 A. M., Kil- tween the Abbottstown turnpike and the York road with the First Vermont and First Virginia regiments to his front. After the arrival of Lee, Kilpatrick ordered Custer to move his brigade over to the right. The First Michigan cavalry was put in line to support Pennington's battery of horse ar- tillery, six guns, which had been stationed on Bunker Hill west of the Carlisle turn- pike. Elder's battery of six guns, also horse artillery, had been planted on Bunker Hill, east of the Carlisle pike and to the rear of the Eichelberger High School. It was nearly 2 o'clock in the afternoon when Wade Hampton arrived with the long train of 125 captured wagons. About two miles southwest of Hanover this wagon train was parked in the form of a square and heavily guarded. It was this wagon train that had caused the battle. Stuart had determined to protect it. If there was danger of re- capture he would order it burned. He moved Hampton over to the extreme right. This brigade composed of the First North Carolina, First and Second South Carolina, Cobb's Georgia Legion, Philip's Georgia Legion and a battery, in all about 2500 men, were placed in line of battle from Mount Olivet cemetery across the Baltimore turn- pike to a short distance north of the York road. He planted his battery of four guns on the Baltimore pike near the cemetery. They were supported by Cobb's Legion which had previously done gallant service in many battles.

Kilpatrick's Ride. Kilpatrick rode rapidly along the line over the turnpike till he reached the summit of the Pidgeon Hills. Here he left the pike, put his spurs to his horse, and dashed through fields of wheat and corn. The horse that carried the gallant rider to the town of Hanover died a few hours later. Kilpatrick arrived in Centre Square about the time the contest out the Westminster road had been brought to a conclusion and the enemy had been driven to their guns. He took up his headquarters in room num- ber 24 in the Central Hotel. There was now a lull in the combat, and the enemy were in position on a ridge extending from the Keller farm to the rear of Pennville across to Mount Olivet cemetery. They held an impregnable position-one difficult for a cavalry force to attack, because four guns had been planted to their front.

During the contest Fitzhugh Lee, who had moved toward Hanover Barricaded.

Fitz . Lee north of the Westminster road,

Arrives. arrived and took position about one mile west of the town in a woods and along a gentle elevation in the fields, and here planted four guns ready for action. His brigade was composed of the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Vir- ginia cavalry regiments, numbering in all about 2200 men. The borough of Hanover was then entirely in possession of the Union forces. General Farnsworth ascended to the roof of Thomas Wirt's residence, later owned by William Boadenhamer, in Centre Square, and with a field glass ascertained the position of the enemy. Meantime Gen- eral Custer with his entire brigade of four

As soon as the Confederates

Streets had been driven out of town, Baltimore, York and Freder- ick streets were barricaded by the soldiers and citizens. Store boxes, . wagons, hay ladders, fence rails, barrels, bar iron and anything that would prevent the enemy from dashing into town were placed across the streets. When the engagement first opened Confederate shells and balls had been fired over the town.

As soon as Pennington's and El-

The der's Union batteries were placed

Artillery in position an artillery duel was

Duel. opened. This was continued for nearly two hours. Some of the shells fell in town. Early in the contest a ten-pound shell struck the residence of Henry Winebrenner on Frederick Street.

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BATTLE OF HANOVER

It penetrated a door on the balcony, shat- was kept as a reserve on the Public Com- tered a bureau inside and passed through 11011. the floor to the cellar where the family had The artillery duel between the gone to a place of safety. This shell like A Lull twelve guns of Pennington's and many others fired by the Confederates did not explode. Both the shell and bureau Contest. have since been preserved as interesting mementoes of this thrilling time, by Misses Sarah and Martha Winebrenner, who were present in the cellar when the shell struck their house.

in the Elder's batteries on Bunker Hill, and the twelve guns of the Confed- erates on the ridge south of town, had ceased. There was another lull in the fight. It was now 2 o'clock in the after- 10011. Kilpatrick seated in his room at the hotel wrote a message describing the en- A Noted Conference. During the lull in the contest Lieutenant Colonel Payne, as a prisoner, was taken to the headquarters of General Kil- patrick at the Central Hotel. Both Farns- worth and Custer were present at this con- ference. After Colonel Payne had been wounded in front of the Winebrenner tan- nery at the edge of Frederick Street and his gagement, and quickly sent it to Pleasanton at Taneytown. What might follow was still a conundrum. The Union commander knew nothing of the long wagon train about three miles southwest of Hanover, parked for the purpose of being destroyed by fire, in case Kilpatrick had gained the advantage in the fight. The gallant Farnsworth had already won the victory, and Custer with a horse shot under him, he bounded a fence battle line one mile in length, was behind the guns on Bunker Hill. He was ready

into the tan-yard. While trying to escape to a building he fell into a tan-vat which for the fray.

He discolored his Confederate uniform. About this time, mounted regiments of the Confederates had repeatedly moved down the slope of the hill, feigning an at- tack and then returned to their positions. The Sixth Michigan already dismounted, marched toward the Littlestown turnpike in a battle line extending from the edge of town to Pennville, crossed the pike and crept on their hands and knees up the slope in the Forney field, and fired with their re- peating rifles upon the enemy, three hun- was helped out of this position by a sergeant of the Fifth New York. In this sad plight he appeared before General Kilpatrick and his two brigadiers. Payne knew the tired condition of his fellow soldiers who had been marching for nearly two weeks with- out rest and tried to impress General Kil- patrick that more than 12,000 men, Stuart's entire force, were stationed a short distance southwest of Hanover. He did this, as he said at his home in Washington in 1900, to dred yards away. The right of the line had prevent any further attack.

been flanked and fifteen men of this regi- ment became.prisoners of war. It then fell back and repeated the same movement to be ready for any attack of the Confederates. By this movement of Custer to the north of Hanover, Kilpatrick had opened communi- cations with the Twelfth Army Corps rest- ing at Littlestown and a short distance westward. His courier could now convey his dispatch to Taneytown.

After Custer had moved over to the right of the Union line he ordered the Sixth Michigan Regiment, armed with Spencer repeating rifles, to dismount. This regi- ment had nearly 600 men who formed in line and prepared for a charge. About 100 men took care of the horses which were ar- ranged in line northward from the front of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, upon whose steeple Kilpatrick had gone a short The attitude of Stuart during the time before to take observations and try to Lee whole afternoon, when the Union Guards troops were manouvering for ad- Wagon vantageous positions, was to pre- Train. vent a reopening of the fight and to protect the wagon train with ascertain the disposition of the Confederate troops and their number. About the same time Farnsworth ordered the Fifth New York, which had been supporting Elder's Battery, in line of battle across Centre its valuable munitions of war. As the Square and down Baltimore Street. The Twelfth Army Corps was only a short dis- First West Virginia was drawn up in line tance to the rear of Fitzhugh Lee's brigade, out Baltimore Street. The First Vermont Stuart ordered the latter to move south-

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History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 77

Author: Prowell, George R. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1372

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372