Page 7 - Gettysburg weekend book

their location. Stuart was also ordered to collect as much in sup-
plies as possible along the way. Stuart’s cavalry was surprised by
Union cavalry at Brandy Station and defeated and afterwards
found Union forces blocking any attempt to contact Lee. By June
25 Stuart had lost all communication with the rest of the Confed-
erate army, leaving Lee to operate blindly deep in enemy territo-
ry.
Lee’s movement was not discovered for several days. Union
commanding general Joseph Hooker then began to move his
85,000-man army north in pursuit. Hooker’s movements were,
however, constricted by Lincoln’s orders to ensure that the Union
army always placed itself between Lee’s army and Washington.
On June 24, the first elements of the Confederate army crossed
into Pennsylvania and entered Chambersburg. Turning east, Con-
federates under Jubal Early moved through Gettysburg while the
main force of Ewell’s Second Corps seized Carlisle and then
headed for a major supply depot at Fort Curtin outside of Harris-
burg. Meanwhile, unknown to Lee, J.E.B Stuart’s Calvary had
driven as far east as York, PA, amassing a wagon train of sup-
plies.
On June 28, Lincoln replaced Hooker with Gen. George Meade,
Meade quickly ordered a consolidation of all Union forces
around Pipe Creek which is a natural tangle of hills and ridges
that rise from 100 ft. to 200 ft. providing a very strong natural
defense. Running east-west along northern Maryland, this would
place the Union army across all the major routes leading from the
Chambersburg-Gettysburg area and would enable the Union ar-
my to engage Lee’s army, protect Baltimore & Washington and
prevent Lee from moving toward Philadelphia. Meade also dis-
patched his cavalry units, tasking them to locate the Confederate
Army, report back to Meade and hold them until reinforcements
arrived or as lng as possible.