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Civil War

2nd US Artillery Battery B & L Heaton

Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

Army of the Potomac Cavalry Corps First Brigade Horse Artillery Batteries B and L 2nd United States Artillery Six 3 inch Rifles Lieut. Edward Heaton Commanding

The Story

This marker stands on the Gettysburg battlefield, where in July 1863 the Army of the Potomac turned back Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North in the bloodiest battle ever fought in America. It records the position of Batteries B and L of the 2nd United States Artillery — horse artillery attached to the Cavalry Corps, armed with six 3-inch ordnance rifles under Lieutenant Edward Heaton. Mobile guns like these rode with the cavalry, unlimbering quickly to support fast-moving mounted operations on the army's flanks.

Why it matters

Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War, and unit markers like this one map the exact ground where individual batteries and regiments fought and fell.

The story behind this marker

AI context

The era

By the summer of 1863 the Civil War had ground on for two brutal years, and Robert E. Lee decided to carry the fighting north out of war-torn Virginia and onto Union soil. His Army of Northern Virginia crossed into Pennsylvania, hoping a victory there might shake Northern resolve. Converging to meet him came the Army of the Potomac, the Union's principal eastern army, and the two collided at the small crossroads town of Gettysburg in the first days of July.

This quiet corner of Cumberland Township, in Adams County, sat on the fringes of a battlefield that would swallow more than 150,000 men over three days. The rolling farm country of ridges, creeks, and orchards became, almost overnight, the most fought-over ground in America.

The marker here belongs to that world of 1863 — a moment when the outcome of the whole war seemed to hang on what a few tens of thousands of soldiers could do across a handful of Pennsylvania fields.

People & events

This monument records the position of Batteries B and L of the 2nd United States Artillery — regular-army gunners of the First Brigade Horse Artillery, attached to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac. They fought their six 3-inch rifles under the command of Lieutenant Edward Heaton.

"Horse artillery" was a specialized arm: every crewman rode, rather than walking beside the guns, so the batteries could keep pace with fast-moving cavalry. That mobility let them gallop into position, unlimber, and open fire in minutes, then move again — supporting mounted troopers as they screened the army, guarded its flanks, and probed for the enemy.

The 3-inch ordnance rifle they served was among the most reliable field pieces of the war: accurate, sturdy, and long-ranged. In the hands of trained regulars like Heaton's men, a section of these guns could steady a shaky line or break up an advancing one, and their presence with the cavalry helped shape how the battle unfolded on the army's edges.

Its place in the American story

Gettysburg is remembered as the turning point of the Civil War. Lee's second invasion of the North was thrown back here, and his army never again mounted so bold an offensive; combined with the fall of Vicksburg in the West at nearly the same moment, the summer of 1863 tilted the war decisively toward the Union.

What makes the Gettysburg battlefield extraordinary is how precisely it is mapped. Veterans and commissions spent decades marking where individual regiments and batteries stood, so that today the ground itself tells the story unit by unit. A tablet like this one turns an abstract clash of armies into something you can stand beside.

It also honors a less-celebrated part of the fight. The famous charges happened along the main lines, but the artillery and cavalry working the flanks were essential to holding the whole army together — and regular-army batteries like this one carried a professional steadiness into a war fought largely by volunteers.

If you visit

Give yourself time to explore beyond the crowded central landmarks. This marker sits away from the busiest stops, in the open, rolling country where the cavalry and horse artillery operated, and reaching it rewards you with a quieter, more contemplative side of the battlefield.

Stand where the guns stood and picture the difference mobility made: not fixed fortress cannon but light rifled pieces that arrived at a gallop, fired, and moved on. Look at the sweep of the ground and the sightlines a gunner would have judged in a matter of seconds.

The monument fits naturally into a driving tour of the wider field. Pair it with the auto route that threads the battlefield's edges, and let the succession of unit tablets build, marker by marker, into the larger shape of those three July days.

Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.

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Related people

  • · Lieutenant Edward Heaton

Related events

  • · Battle of Gettysburg

Themes & tags

Civil WarMonument

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