Post by Diane Merkel on Jul 9, 2006 16:27:29 GMT -6
History lost forever: Felty barn, site of Gettysburg Custer battle, razed for home development
Excerpt:
To read the article: www.ydr.com/newsfull/ci_4004444
Excerpt:
Like most battles, exactly what happened at Hunterstown is surrounded with controversy. This much is certain: Twenty-three year old George Armstrong Custer led a seemingly suicidal charge of a few dozen men down the Hunterstown Road against an enemy who was behind cover and outnumbered him.
Hemmed in by the fences on either side of the road, the troopers could only charge four abreast, a perfect target for the Rebels lined up at the Gilbert farm on the ridge to the south.
Some historians see at Hunterstown the reckless bravery that would eventually get Custer killed at the Little Big Horn.
But ranger-historian Harman sees the battle a little differently. It was here that Custer really earned his general's spurs.
It was the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Union forces were worried about an attack on the right flank at Culp's Hill. The cavalry had been ordered to scout the area north of the hill in search of Confederate troops.
Rebel cavalry commanded by Gen. Wade Hampton had been spotted at Hunterstown, moving south, and it was Custer's job to find out what lay behind them.
Harman says Custer planned a careful trap.
He hid men in the barn and in the fields across the road. Behind the barn, out of sight of the Rebels, Union artillery unlimbered and got ready for the bloody work ahead.
Custer understood the impetuosity of cavalrymen; Harman says he knew if he attacked, the Rebel horsemen wouldn't be able to resist the challenge and would chase him back down the Hunterstown Road into an ambush.
He was right.
To read the article: www.ydr.com/newsfull/ci_4004444
