| Page 5 | (Williamsport) |  |  |
Williamsport
Also known as: Hagerstown,
Falling Waters
July 6-16, 1863
Washington County, MD
Campaign:
Gettysburg Campaign (June-August 1863)
Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, USA
Gen. Robert E. Lee, CSA
Both sides had cavalry divisions, eventually backed by infantry divisions.
There were about 1,750 casualties in total.
During the night of July 4-5, Lee's battered army began its retreat from
Gettysburg, moving southwest on the Fairfield Road toward Hagerstown and
Williamsport, screened by Stuart's cavalry. The Union infantry followed
cautiously the next day, converging on Middletown, Maryland. On July 7,
Imboden's Confederate cavalry stopped Buford's Union troopers from occupying
Williamsport and destroying Confederate trains. Kilpatrick's cavalry division
drove two Confederate cavalry brigades through Hagerstown before being forced to
retire by the arrival of the rest of Stuart's command. Lee's infantry reached
the rain-swollen Potomac River but could not cross, the pontoon bridge having
been destroyed by a cavalry raid. On July 11, Lee entrenched a line, protecting
the river crossings at Williamsport and waited for Meade's army to advance. July
12, Meade reached the vicinity and probed the Confederate line. July 13,
skirmishing was heavy along the lines as Meade positioned his forces for an
attack. In the meantime, the river fell enough to allow the construction of a
new bridge, and Lee's army began crossing the river after dark on the 13th. On
the morning of the 14th, Kilpatrick's and Buford's cavalry divisions attacked
the rearguard division of Henry Heth still on the north bank, taking more than
500 prisoners. Confederate Brig. Gen. James Pettigrew was mortally wounded in
the fight. On July 16, David McM. Gregg's cavalry approached Shepherdstown where
Fitzhugh Lee's and J.R. Chambliss's brigades, supported by M.J. Ferguson's, held
the Potomac River fords against the Union infantry. Fitzhugh Lee and Chambliss
attacked Gregg, who held out against several attacks and sorties, fighting
sporadically until nightfall when he withdrew.
National Park Service
| Page 5 | (Williamsport) | | |
|
