HistoricSiteMarkers
Civil War

Gettysburg Campaign

Berwick Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

Part of Gen. Early's Confederate army, under Gen. J.B. Gordon, passed here June 27, 1863, to York. Early's main force followed a parallel route through Hampton and East Berlin. Both entered York the following day.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

In late June 1863, as Robert E. Lee's army spread across southern Pennsylvania, Confederate divisions under Jubal Early swept eastward toward the Susquehanna. Troops led by John B. Gordon marched past this spot on June 27 bound for York, while Early's main column moved along a parallel road through Hampton and East Berlin. Both wings converged on York the next day — the deepest penetration the Confederacy would make into the North before the armies collided days later at Gettysburg.

Why it matters

These quiet roads carried Lee's invasion to its farthest reach, marking the high tide of Confederate ambition just before the campaign turned at Gettysburg and the war's momentum shifted for good.

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Related people

  • · Jubal Early
  • · John B. Gordon

Related events

  • · Gettysburg Campaign

Themes & tags

Civil WarLandmark

Nearby & related markers

Gettysburg Campaign

Hamilton Township, PA · est. 1947

Late in June 1863, before the armies met at Gettysburg, Jubal Early's Confederates swept east toward the Susquehanna. John B. Gordon's brigade passed here on June 27 bound for York, while Early's main force took a parallel route through Hampton and East Berlin. Both columns entered York the following day, part of the deepest Confederate thrust into Pennsylvania.

Gettysburg Campaign

Reading Township, PA · est. 2008

In the last days of June 1863, as the armies converged on Gettysburg, part of Confederate General Jubal Early's division tramped past this ground on its march toward York. Passing by Mummasburg and Hunterstown on June 27, the troops returned two days later along a route just to the north, heading toward Heidlersburg. Their movements were part of the sweeping maneuvers that set the stage for the war's most consequential battle.

Abraham Lincoln

Hanover, PA · est. 1954

On November 18, 1863, a half block east of here, Abraham Lincoln paused during his journey to Gettysburg and spoke briefly to a gathered crowd from his special train. He was on his way to dedicate the National Cemetery there — the occasion for which, the next day, he would deliver the Gettysburg Address. This small trackside moment placed the wartime president, if only for a few minutes, among the ordinary townspeople of Hanover.

Battle of Hanover

Hanover, PA · est. 1954

On the morning of June 30, 1863, days before the armies collided at Gettysburg, Confederate horsemen under J.E.B. Stuart clashed with Union cavalry in the streets of Hanover. Stuart's troopers briefly seized the town before the Union counterattack drove them off, and by evening the Confederates withdrew. The running fight helped delay Stuart's raiders and kept them from rejoining Lee's army before the great battle to come.