BGuthrie Photos: PA -- Retreat from Gettysburg -- Monterey Pass Battlefield Park

PA -- Retreat from Gettysburg -- Monterey Pass Battlefield Park:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. MPASS_150628_012.JPG: Welcome to the Monterey Pass Battlefield Park
2. MPASS_150628_016.JPG: Welcome to the Monterey Pass Battlefield Park
3. MPASS_150628_028.JPG: The Battle of Monterey Pass Confederate Reinforcements Arrive The Confederate defenders of Captain George Emack's company of the First Maryland Cavalry, supported by Captain Tanner's artillery detachment, were deployed in this area. As the battle continued past midnight, reinforcements began to arrive. The 4th North Carolina Cavalry deployed near the tollgate, while other companies of the 1dt Maryland Cavalry were en route from Waterloo (Rouzerville area). Around 3:30 A.M., as the Union cavalry broke through the Confederate battle line, the Confederate provost guard ordered the remaining wagons coming from Fairfield Gap to halt, sparing them from capture. In addition, the 1st North Carolina Sharpshooters were deployed along the Maria Furnace Road. Supported by the 6th Virginia Cavalry, the sharpshooters began to advance on the Union position. Amidst the confusion, the 6th Virginia Cavalry retreated and refused to come up to Monterey Pass until daylight. General Alfred Iverson's North Carolina Brigade arrived at dawn, capturing several Union prisoners. General Kilpatrick deployed his remaining force down the mountainside into Maryland, leaving Monterey Pass in Confederate hands. "I could not tell what was before me in the dense darkness, whether friend or foe… Every other sound was drowned out by a roaring waterfall on my right; then emerging from its noise, I was carried at a fearful rate close by dismounted men who were firing from behind trees along the roadside , the flashes of their guns whose speedy gleams the darkness followed." -- C.S. Cannoneer Edward Moore, Rockbridge Artillery
4. MPASS_150628_034.JPG: The Battle of Monterey Pass A Wild and Desolate Scene The 1st West Virginia Cavalry arrived and were ordered to charge the Confederate cannon on this side of the bridge. Seeing the West Virginians in their front, Confederate Captain William Tanner ordered the cannon to fire its last two shots before the gun was captured. Immediately thereafter, the West Virginians, supported by portions of Custer's brigade, began storming through the long line of wagons. In some instances, they were ordered to shoot the lead horses of the wagon train, putting a halt to their escape, while collecting their bounty and setting many Confederate wagons on fire. As the Union cavalry descended South Mountain, area citizens witnessed a Fourth of July like no other. They saw the fires from the wagons extending from Monterey Pass down South Mountain and continuing into Maryland, when the battle finally ended at Ringgold just after dawn. They were also able to see the fires extending from Leitersburg to Ringgold, as the 1st Vermont Cavalry cut its own path of destructions through the wagons that were at the head of the column, moving towards Williamsport, Maryland. "Then we turn out attention to the foremost end of the train, all the while making more noise that a "pack of wild Indians." We find it a hot place, as we have it hand-to-hand. Sabers and revolvers are used rather freely. We soon begin to take in prisoners. The road on which we were charging was a good turnpike and downgrade. I, being mounted on a good horse and being so enthused that when I got fairly underway I could not realize whether I was riding or flying. I knew I was going through the air at a terrible rate. Thus we went until we reached the foot of the mountain." -- Private Joseph A, Lesage, 1st West Virginia Cavalry "As the advance came up to the train, they received a heavy volley of musketry, which at once showed the exact position of the enemy. Onward they dashed, and a hand-to-hand combat ensued. The scene was wild and desolating. The road lay down a mountain side, wild and rugged. On either side of the road was a heavy growth of underbrush, which the enemy had taken as a fit place to conceal themselves and fire upon us." -- Major Charles Capehart, 1st West Virginia Cavalry
5. MPASS_150628_045.JPG: Brown's Spring During Lee's retreat General Judson Kilpatrick U.S.A. took 1500 prisoners and 9 mi. wagon train near here
6. MPASS_150628_088.JPG: The Battle of Monterey Pass Kilpatrick Divides His Cavalry As a squadron of the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry went into the woods, portions of the 1st and 5th Michigan cavalry began their advance. The 5th Michigan Cavalry was sent toward the right and a portion of the 1st Michigan Cavalry was ordered to dismount and continue on the turnpike. This caused captain Emack's men to slowly fall back further westward until General George Custer's Brigade gained the eastern half of Monterey Pass. At the Monterey Inn, Kilpatrick discussed area roads and where they led. Resident David Miller informed Kilpatrick of Mount Zion Road that lead into Smithburg and Leitersburg. using Charles Buhrman as a guide, Kilpatrick ordered the 1st Vermont Cavalry to head off the wagon train as it entered the Cumberland Valley. Kilpatrick also ordered a portion of the 1st Michigan Cavalry, using Hetty Zielinger and James McCullogh as guides, to head off the Confederate wagon train coming into Fairfield Gap. With plans to hit the wagon train from the rear and front, General Kilpatrick now planned to cut it in half by sending Custer's Brigade forward to Red Run. "Kilpatrick asked me which way I thought the wagon train was going, and where I supposed they would strike the river. I told him they could go by Smithburg, or Boonesboro, and cross the river at Sharpsburg, or go by Leitersburg, and Hagerstown, and cross at Williamsport." -- Charles Buhrman
7. MPASS_150628_095.JPG: The Battle of Monterey Pass The Battle Begins At this location, Confederate Captain Robert Tanner deployed one Napoleon cannon to guard the eastern Summit of South Mountain. At 9:00 p.m., the 5th Michigan Cavalry, leading the advance of union General Judson Kilpatrick's Cavalry Division, was fired upon by the Confederate cannon. Captain Tanner was supported by twenty-five cavalrymen of Captain George Emack's Company B, 1st Maryland Cavalry. After five rounds of canister had been fired, Emack's men charged the 5th Michigan Cavalry and pushed them back past where the Claremont House once stood. After this brief engagement, Captain Emack ordered his men to fall back to the Monterey Inn. Reorganizing, Kilpatrick ordered a squadron of the 18th Pennsylvania to dismount and advance on Tanner's artillery position. As the artillerists were repositioning the cannon, the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry came out of the woods and captured the empty limber. Seeing that he might be out flanked, Captain withdrew his force from the Monterey Inn (Monterey Lane and Charmian Road intersection) and redeployed them along the banks of Red Run, near the road where the Confederate wagon train was moving on. "After passing the Claremont, the rebels fired three or four shots with grape and canister, and then pulled up their battery and retreated. I don't think they killed any of Kilpatrick's men with the battery, as they fired too soon and the grape and canister went over our men's heads; but it made some of our men retreat, and caused a great deal of confusion." -- Charles Buhrman
8. MPASS_150628_110.JPG: Fairfield Gap from near the Clermont House, 1890
9. MPASS_150628_113.JPG: The Monterey Inn as it appeared during the 1880s. The Monterey Inn was destroyed by fire early in the morning of July 2, 1942.
10. MPASS_150628_139.JPG: Before The Battle Of Gettysburg Events Along The Emmitsburg & Waynesboro Turnpike On June 22, 1863, a skirmish erupted at Monterey Pass when Company D of the 4th Virginia Cavalry attacked portions of Union cavalry under the command of Captain Robert Bell, Captain Samuel Randall, and several members of the Gettysburg Home Guard. The Confederate skirmishers scoured the woods on foot along the Emmitsburg and Waynesboro Turnpike, forging the militia to retreat towards Fairfield, using the Maria Furnace Road, where the chase ended at dusk. On June 28, a skirmish occurred at Fountaindale, where a 25-man detail of Cole's Maryland Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant William Horner, coming from the direction of Monterey Pass, came in contact with a Confederate foraging party under Lieutenant J.H. Chamberlayne, near Jacks Mountain Road. Chamberlayne was collecting supplies and horses when he saw Horner's men and ordered six men with revolvers to charge, while the other 20 unarmed men in the foraging party hurried towards Fairfield with the stolen goods. After being chased by Union soldiers, most of Chamberlayne's men were captured and taken to Emmitsburg, Maryland. On June 29, Union General John Buford's Cavalry Division left Middletown, Maryland for Pennsylvania. At Monterey Pass, he observed Confederate troops marching in the distance at Greencastle. After a patriotic welcome by local residents, Buford's cavalry moved towards Fountaindale and bivouacked for a few hours before moving towards Fairfield. "An old man stood beside the road at Monterey Springs, with his hat off and tears streaming down his face. As the column passed, the men cheered him heartily." -- First Lieutenant Newel Cheney, 9th New York Cavalry, Buford's Cavalry Division
11. MPASS_150628_145.JPG: The Battle Of Monterey Pass Citizens' Stories and Kilpatrick's Advance On the afternoon of July 4, Union General Judson Kilpatrick left Emmitsburg with three brigades of cavalry, supported by three batteries of rifled artillery. Kilpatrick was ordered to locate and attack a Confederate wagon train that was moving over South Mountain. At Monterey Pass, Confederate soldiers captured Jacob Baer, David Miller, and other civilians at the Monterey Inn. Baer managed to get a message for help to Susan Lookabaugh. She walked past the Confederate pickets and came across James Embley and asked him for help. Near Fountaindale, local farmer Charles H. Buhrman received the message about the capture of several local men who were being held at the Monterey Inn. Buhrman mounted his horse and went to find help. Buhrman found the advance of the Union cavalry near and reported what he had learned directly to General Kilpatrick and General George A. Custer. As Buhrman rode with General Kilpatrick, they came across Hetty Zielinger, who told him that the confederates had placed a cannon commanding the mountain summit from the east. It was about sunset when the Union cavalry was at the base of the mountain. As weather conditions worsened, Kilpatrick's Cavalry ascended the mountain. Kilpatrick noted that to his right was a rugged mountain peak, to his left was a steep ravine, and to his front was a road too narrow to deploy his artillery.
12. MPASS_150628_157.JPG: 10,000 Soldiers Fight at Monterey Pass During a fierce thunderstorm on the evening of July 4, 1863, a nine-mile-long wagon train of supplies, livestock and wounded soldiers made its way from Fairfield through Monterey Pass. This was the advance of the Confederate retreat column from Gettysburg. That same night Union Cavalry met a local 12-year-old girl, Hetty Zeilinger, walking on the road to her home near Monterey Pass. Hetty warned them that Confederates with artillery were blocking the pass. The brave girl offered to guide the troopers through the pass, around the Confederate forces. One of the soldiers lifted her into his saddle. On they rode, leading a column of Union Cavalry through the darkness and rain, seeking to harass the Confederate's rear and flanks as they withdrew back toward the Potomac. Approximately 10,000 soldiers fought around Monterey Pass. The battle lasted more than six hours, as they struggled in some of the most bewildering combat of the war. In the lightning, gunfire, and confusion, many of the terrified teams of horses and mules bolted down the side of the mountain, crushing the occupants of the wagons. More than 1,500 Confederates were taken prisoner. Next to Gettysburg, Monterey was the largest Civil War action fought in Pennsylvania. This illustration of the Confederates retreating toward the Potomac through Monterey Pass was most likely drawn by Alfred Rudolph Waud, a British-American newspaper artist that was very popular during the Civil War era. It was relatively common for sketches made quickly on the battlefield to be touched up or re-drawn by other artists so that they may be suitable for publishing in weekly newspapers of the era, including Frank Leslie's Illustrated News and Harper's Weekly.
13. MPASS_150628_163.JPG: The Battle of Monterey Pass The Wolverines Fight Union General George A. Custer's cavalry brigade advanced here, along the banks of red run, deploying along both sides of the road. The 5th Michigan Cavalry deployed to the right, while the 7th, 6th and portions of the 1st Michigan Cavalry deployed to the left. As fighting raged in the middle of the night, the battlefield became disorganized due to the weather conditions. Hand-to-hand combat took place and was extremely fierce at times. To make matters worse, a herd of cattle had broken away from the Confederate wagon train along the Maria Furnace Road, forcing Custer's battle line to stall. General Kilpatrick, headquartered at the Monterey Inn, ordered artillery to support Custer near the present-day golf course. Captain Alexander Pennington deployed two rifled cannon and began to shell the Confederate battle line. Kilpatrick also ordered the 1st West Virginia Cavalry, and a portion of the 1st Ohio Cavalry to support the Wolverines. Once Colonel Russell Alger realized that the wooden bridge than spanned red Run was intact, he sent two companies of the 5th Michigan Cavalry over the bridge, where they filed off to the left. This allowed the 1st West Virginia Cavalry to charge and break through the confederate battle line. "It was too dark to distinguish objects at any distance. The darkness was intense and in a few moments we plunged into a dense thicket… One had to be guided by sound and not by sight… had it not been for the noise and the flashing of the enemy's fire we should have wondered [sic] away in the darkness and been lost." -- Captain James Kidd, 6th Michigan Cavalry
14. MPASS_150628_180.JPG: In remembrance of the kindness of David Miller, for thirty five years the proprietor of Clermont. This tablet has been placed by his neighbors. AD 1900.
Wikipedia Description: Monterey Pass
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monterey Pass is a mountain pass near Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, and the Mason-Dixon Line. The saddle area lies near Happel's Meadow between Monterey Peak (1,663 ft) and Clermont Crag (1627 ft). It was the site of the July 1863 Fight at Monterey Pass during the Retreat from Gettysburg.

Gettysburg Campaign

The first military engagement at Monterey Pass was on June 22, 1863. Captain Robert B. Moorman, commanding Company D of the 14th Virginia Cavalry was dispatched eastward from the area between Greencastle, Pennsylvania, and Hagerstown, Maryland, to obtain horses reportedly available from local Southern sympathizers. After the company passed through Leitersburg, Maryland, and on to Caledonia Furnace; at Monterey the company encountered Bell's Adams County Cavalry and the First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, both temporarily based in Gettysburg. After a very brief skirmish, the Confederate troops withdrew toward Hagerstown, joining General Richard S. Ewell, who was advancing with a larger force.

Previous combat in the area included a June 21 engagement at Fairfield, and subsequent engagements prior to the Battle of Gettysburg included the first combat of Adams County, Pennsylvania, during the Civil War. (Pennsylvania militia at Fountain Dale on June 28) and at Emmitsburg, Maryland, on June 24.

In addition to the July 4–5 Fight at Monterey Pass, July 4 combat in the area included the Skirmish at Fairfield Gap, Pennsylvania, and skirmishes near Emmitsburg MD (9.4 miles east), Zora, Pennsylvania, and Waynesboro, Pennsylvania (6.5 miles west). As late as July 8, Union forces such as Company D, 10th New York Cavalry, were still in the area.
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