A Strong and Sudden Onslaught: The Cavalry Action at Hanover, Pennsylvania
The war came to Hanover, Pa., on June 30, 1863, a day earlier than it did to Gettysburg. A prosperous town of 1,600 located about 12 miles southeast of Gettysburg, Hanover saw a Southern cavalry division under JEB Stuart collide with a Union cavalry division under Hugh Judson Kilpatrick. There were charges, counter-charges, artillery exchanges and even saber-to-saber fighting in the town square. In terms of casualties, the action was relatively minor, with fewer than 340 killed, wounded or missing on both sides. But in terms of importance, the events at Hanover loom large because of how they influenced the events that followed 24 hours later at Gettysburg. This book is an update and expansion of previous books on the encounter at Hanover. The author says he has identified new areas of action on the Hanover-to-Littlestown Road that were not previously documented. Indeed, the research looks impressive; the bibliography and footnotes run to 40 pages, about 30 percent of the length of the text itself. The author summarizes the background of the Gettysburg Campaign. He explains the Army of the Potomac’s cavalry reorganization in early June 1863 and the resulting elevation of a new generation of aggressive and more competent officers. He explains how Stuart’s decision to detach his cavalry division from contact with Confederate infantry and to move to the rear of the Army of the Potomac while that army was on the move was a mistake that harmed his commander, Gen. Robert E. Lee, at Gettysburg. Stuart’s decision to move his cavalry through Hanover was based on scouting reports that Union cavalry had been in Littlestown, Pa., on June 29. Moving up from Maryland, Stuart hoped to slip east of the Union cavalry and establish communication with Richard Ewell’s infantry corps farther to the north. Kilpatrick, however, beat Stuart to Hanover, thus again demonstrating how improved Union cavalry operations had become by late June 1863. From a Confederate perspective, Stuart should have backed away from a confrontation in Hanover, but overzealous junior officers jumped into the encounter and thereby caused even further delay in Stuart’s link-up plan. Krepps provides background on the controversy surrounding Stuart’s movements, but the focus of the book is on the fight in Hanover. He gives a blow-by-blow description with numerous maps that clarify the action’s ebb and flow. This is a useful little book about an under-reported encounter. What I found particularly enjoyable was the description of what cavalry operations in general were like in 1863 and why such operations were so demanding — on both men and horses. The extensive research concerning horses impressed by Confederate cavalry from Pennsylvania farms in and around Hanover amplifies the author’s point about how such operations required a never-ending supply of fresh horses. Reviewer: Walt Albro Walt Albro is a magazine writer and editor who lives in Rockville, Md. |
Illustrated, photographs, maps, bibliography, appendices, index. 120 pp., 2008, Colecraft Industries,