Battle of Hanover

"The Picket," a commemorative statue in Hanover's Center Square; sculpted by Cyrus E. Dallin.

Date	June 30, 1863 (1863-06-30)
Location	Hanover, Pennsylvania
Result	Inconclusive

Belligerents

United States (Union)

CSA (Confederacy)

Commanders and leaders

Judson Kilpatrick

J.E.B. Stuart

Strength

∼ 5,000

∼ 6,000

Casualties and losses

215

117

The Battle of Hanover took place on June 30, 1863, in Hanover in southwestern York County, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.

Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry, which was riding north to get around the Union Army of the Potomac, attacked a Federal cavalry regiment, driving it through the streets of Hanover. Brig. Gen. Elon Farnsworth's brigade arrived and counterattacked, routing the Confederate vanguard and nearly capturing Stuart himself. Stuart soon counterattacked. Reinforced by Brig. Gen. George A. Custer's Michigan Brigade, Farnsworth held his ground, and a stalemate ensued. Stuart was forced to continue north and east to get around the Union cavalry, further delaying his attempt to rejoin Robert E. Lee's army, which was then concentrating at Cashtown Gap west of Gettysburg.

As Robert E. Lee moved his Army of Northern Virginia northward in June 1863 through the Shenandoah Valley towards Pennsylvania, portions of his cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart slipped eastward across the path of the Union Army of the Potomac. A series of raids in eastern Maryland netted prisoners and supplies, as well as disrupting Federal communications and telegraph lines. However, Stuart was not in position to effectively screen Lee's advance or to provide intelligence on the movements of the Federal army. As Stuart headed north in an effort to link with Lee, Union cavalry commander Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, riding towards Pennsylvania to the west of Stuart, ordered his divisions to fan out across a wide swath, keeping an eye out for Confederates.

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