Riders in the East

Action at East Cavalry Field : Stuart meets Gregg & Custer

Round Top, Devil's Den, Culp's Hill, the Wheatfield -- all these places are on the average tourist's "must see" list. But three miles east of Gettysburg lies a less visited, but crucial battle site. Called East Cavalry Field, this site lies just north of Route 116, then called the Hanover Road, and along Low Dutch Road. This site offers views of the town and the mountains to the west and monuments that tell the tale of the clash of men and horses on July 3, 1863.  I walk along the road often, trying to picture thousands of men and horses here; it is a scene hard to visualize in the peace and serenity of a central Pennsylvania farm.
Here there were troops from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, New York, Maine and New Jersey with their artillery meeting troops from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. This was a chess board with many movements. J.E.B. Stuart's troops were to reach Baltimore Street and attack the Federal position from the rear. David Gregg's Union troops knew that they had to block and delay that movement. As the Confederates advanced, the artillery opened fire on them, and horses and men began to fall.

This is a complex story, and more than I could understand in a single visit. I walked back past the road the the monument to the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry. This regiment consisted of 394 men, commanded by Edward Jones. This monument describes their action.


"July 2nd 1863. Reached the field at noon from Hanover. Engaged dismounted a Confederate Brigade of Infantry on Brinkerhoff's Ridge from 6 to 10 p.m. July 3rd engaged mounted and dismounted with the Confederate Cavalry Division on this field from 2 p.m. until evening portions of the Regiment. Advancing in a mounted charge and driving the enemy beyond the Rummel Farm Buildings." 

      Cavalry troops were armed with a carbine and pistol. They fought both mounted and dismounted.
In the story of these almost 400 men, you see the chaos of the cavalry battle. Walking back to this monument, which marks their position on the day of the July 3 battle, you can look to the northwest and imagine hundreds of mounted Confederates advancing toward them. Among the Third PA Cavalry troops was William Miller, who was resolute in pushing back the Confederate advances. Miller is quoted as saying,

"Shell and shrapnel met the advancing Confederates and tore through their ranks. Closing the gaps as though nothing had happened, on they came. As they drew nearer, canister was substituted by our artillerymen for shell, and horse after horse staggered and fell. Still they came on." 

 Then the Michigan cavalry led by George Armstrong Custer also pressed on, and Miller helped to reform the Pennsylvania troops. Miller further states, 

"It was like the falling of timber, so sudden and violent that many of the horses were turned end over end and crushed their riders beneath them. The clashing of sabers, the firing of pistols, the demands for surrender and the cries of the combatants now filled the air." 
 The best map of the conflict clearly shows the Confederate and Union troop positions. However, the many markers on the field are also helpful.
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg/maps/eastcavalryfieldmap.html

 If you go, keep in mind that there are two parts to the road through East Cavalry Field. The first entrance is a left turn from Rout 116 after you see the sign for East Cavalry Field. The position of the Third PA Cavalry is best accessed from Low Dutch Road, about 3 miles east of Gettysburg on Route 116 Hanover Road. From 116, turn left onto Low Dutch Road, then left again onto the East Cavalry Field road.