Battle of Hunterstown
Part of theAmerican Civil War
Date July 2, 1863 Location Beaverdam Creek nearHunterstown, Pennsylvania 39°52′57.18″N77°09′42.42″W / 39.8825500°N 77.1617833°W /39.8825500; -77.1617833 Result Draw
Belligerents
USA (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George Armstrong Custer	Wade Hampton

TheBattle of Hunterstown was anAmerican Civil War skirmish atBeaverdam Creek nearHunterstown, Pennsylvania, on July 2, 1863, in whichWade Hampton's Confederate cavalry withdrew after engagingGeorge Armstrong Custer's andElon Farnsworth's Union cavalry.^[1]

At dawn on July 2, 1863, theUnionArmy of the Potomac deployed nearGettysburg had cavalry posted elsewhere to protect the flanks and to look for Confederate activity, particularlyMaj. Gen.J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry. Stuart arrived at Gen.Robert E. Lee's headquarters between noon and 1 p.m., and about an hour laterBrig. Gen.Wade Hampton's exhausted brigade arrived. Stuart ordered Hampton to take a position to cover the left rear of the Confederate battle lines. Hampton moved into position astride the Hunterstown Road four miles northeast ofGettysburg, blocking access for any Union forces that might try to swing around behind Lee's lines. Two brigades of Union cavalry from Brig. Gen.Judson Kilpatrick's division under Brig. Gens.George Armstrong Custer andElon J. Farnsworth were probing for the end of the Confederate left flank later the afternoon of July 2.^[2]

Custer's men collided with Hampton on the road between Hunterstown and Gettysburg. As he led a charge of Company A, 6th Michigan Cavalry, against the Confederate rear guard, Custer fell under his wounded horse and was saved by his orderly, Norvell F. Churchill.^[3] Hampton wanted to escalate the action, positioning most of his brigade along a ridge in readiness to charge Custer's position. At that stage, Elon Farnsworth arrived with his brigade. Hampton did not press his attack, and an artillery duel ensued until dark when Hampton withdrew towards Gettysburg.

The battlefield (colloq. "North Cavalry Field", which is northeast of theGettysburg Battlefield)^[4] is privately owned and includes a power plant. The village of Hunterstown has a small plaque commemorating the nearby engagement, and on July 2, 2008, a marble monument honoring Custer was unveiled and dedicated.^[5]

• Harman, Troy.Hunterstown: North Cavalry Field of Gettysburg. Hunterstown Historical Society website, accessed August 1, 2013.
• Kross, Gary.The Cavalry at Gettysburg, speech on September 14, 1995.
• Petruzzi, J. David, and Steven Stanley.The Complete Gettysburg Guide. New York: Savas Beatie, 2009.ISBN 978-1-932714-63-0.
• Wittenberg, Eric J.Protecting the Flank at Gettysburg: The Battles for Brinkerhoff's Ridge and East Cavalry Field, July 2–3, 1863. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2013.ISBN 978-1-61121-094-1.

• Hunterstown Historical Society's Hunterstown 1863 website

• Battles of the Gettysburg campaign
• Inconclusive battles of the American Civil War
• Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
• Battles of the American Civil War in Pennsylvania
• History of Adams County, Pennsylvania
• July 1863

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