Jubal Early heard booming of Battle of Hanover’s guns
There’s good evidence that ear-witnesses could hear Battle of Gettysburg fighting in Delta, 60 miles away.
Another moment in which Civil War fighting could be heard in York County involved the Battle of Hanover on June 30, 1863.
Confederate Gen. Jeb Stuart’s long cavalry column, desperately trying to get back to Robert E. Lee’s main force, ran into a blue-clad buzzsaw in Hanover.
Meanwhile, Jubal Early’s gray infantry column had just left York that morning and was marching near Davidsburg, near Dover, about 15 miles away. He paused on his way back to Adams County to listen to the booming of cannon from the hills to the southwest. He then proceeded west, as his orders from Robert E. Lee directed.
Stuart didn’t know where Early was, and Early didn’t know Stuart’s whereabouts. That was the problem in the first place… .
If Early had known those were Stuart’s guns, he could have detached his own cavalry and infantry and possibly made contact with friendly cavalry.
And Lee could have found Stuart, and vice versa, before fighting began in Gettysburg the next day.
As it was, Lee and Stuart finally met up sometime in the afternoon on the second day of fighting.
For more on the Civil War in York County, click here.
