Fort Couch
Lemoyne, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Remains of breastworks built in June 1863 to oppose an expected attack on Harrisburg by Confederate troops. Site then known as Hummel's Heights. Fort was named for General Couch, Commander, Eastern Pennsylvania Military Department.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In June 1863, as Robert E. Lee's army drove north toward the Susquehanna in the campaign that ended at Gettysburg, panicked authorities threw up earthworks on Hummel's Heights to shield the state capital at Harrisburg. Named for General Darius Couch, commander of the Department of the Susquehanna, these breastworks were part of a hasty defensive line manned by militia and emergency troops. The expected Confederate assault on Harrisburg never fell, as Lee recalled his forces to concentrate at Gettysburg.
Why it matters
The works mark the northernmost reach of the Confederate threat in 1863 and the civilian scramble to defend a Northern capital during the war's high tide.
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Related people
- · General Darius Couch
Related events
- · Gettysburg Campaign
- · Defense of Harrisburg
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Fort Couch
Lemoyne, PA · est. 1947
In the tense summer of 1863, as Robert E. Lee's army pushed north, defenders threw up earthen breastworks here to guard the approaches to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's capital and a vital rail and supply hub. On June 29, Confederate scouts probed toward these works but pulled back, and days later the campaign's decisive fighting erupted at Gettysburg instead. These humble earthworks mark the farthest reach of the Southern advance on the Susquehanna.
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