HistoricSiteMarkers
Civil War

Gettysburg Campaign

Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

On July 4, 1863, the Confederate Army began an orderly retreat by the Fairfield Road to the Potomac. They began crossing the river on the night of July 13, after a delay caused by high water.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

After three days of savage fighting at Gettysburg, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia gave up the field and began withdrawing on July 4, 1863, taking the Fairfield Road toward the mountain passes and the Potomac. The retreat was a grueling ordeal, and swollen river waters trapped the army on the northern bank for days before it could finally cross on the night of July 13. Those anxious days offered the Union a chance to destroy Lee's battered force before it escaped south.

Why it matters

The Confederate escape across the Potomac ended the last major Southern invasion of the North and left Lee's army bloodied but intact to fight on for nearly two more years.

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Related people

  • · Robert E. Lee

Related events

  • · Gettysburg Campaign
  • · Retreat from Gettysburg

Themes & tags

Civil WarLandmark

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