- Battle of Carlisle
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict = Battle of Carlisle
colour_scheme = background:#ffcccc;
partof = theAmerican Civil War
date =July 1 ,1863
place =Carlisle, Pennsylvania
result = Inconclusive (Confederate withdrawal)
combatant1 =United States of America
combatant2 =Confederate States of America
commander1 = William F. Smith
commander2 =J.E.B. Stuart
strength1 = Pennsylvania and New York state militia nowrap|(approx. 1,000 men)
strength2 = Cavalry division of three brigades
casualties1 = 20
casualties2 = minimalThe Battle of Carlisle was a relatively small, but strategically important skirmish during the
Gettysburg Campaign of theAmerican Civil War , taking place during the evening ofJuly 1 ,1863 , inCarlisle, Pennsylvania . It coincided with the opening of theBattle of Gettysburg , and was part of the reason why Confederatecavalry under Maj. Gen.J.E.B. Stuart did not arrive at that battle until well into the second day of fighting. His failure to rejoin theArmy of Northern Virginia earlier was a source of annoyance and concern to Gen.Robert E. Lee , who missed the "eyes and ears" of his army as he engaged theArmy of the Potomac .Stuart, on a lengthy roundabout ride to locate Lee's army, briefly engaged Union
militia under Maj. Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith at Carlisle, and then set fire to the famedCarlisle Barracks military outpost before withdrawing towards Gettysburg.Background
The borough of Carlisle, located in the
Cumberland Valley not far from the state capital of Harrisburg, had been occupied by Confederate troops of Lt. Gen.Richard S. Ewell 's Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia a few days earlier. OnJune 27 ,1863 , Ewell stopped at Carlisle en route to Harrisburg and requisitioned supplies, forage, and food from the populace. Ewell, as well as some of his officers, had been stationed at the Carlisle Barracks prior to the Civil War when they were still members of theUnited States Army . He paused in Carlisle while sending his cavalry under Brig. Gen.Albert G. Jenkins towards theSusquehanna River and Harrisburg. After resting much of hisinfantry overnight, Ewell moved northward in his quest to seize the state capital.After the Confederates left in response to an order from Lee to concentrate near Gettysburg, Carlisle had been reoccupied by Baldy Smith and a small contingent of
New York andPennsylvania militia from theDepartment of the Susquehanna , dispatched by the department commander, Maj. Gen.Darius N. Couch . The 32nd and 33rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia, Landis's Philadelphia militia artillery battery, and a company of the 1st New York Cavalry formed Smith's force.Stuart's raid
During the early evening of
July 1 , Stuart led two brigades of cavalry, at the end of their raid intoMaryland andPennsylvania , to Carlisle to look for supplies and to attempt to ascertain the whereabouts of Ewell's troops. A third brigade, under Wade Hampton, remained behind in York County to guard a train of 125 captured Federal supply wagons. Instead of finding Ewell, Stuart encountered Smith's militiamen. Despite having a large numerical advantage, Stuart's troopers were too exhausted from a month of campaigning to attack the town outright, and Stuart initially feared that the enemy troops were veterans from theArmy of the Potomac .After learning that Smith's men were only militia, Stuart sent Maj. Gen.
Fitzhugh Lee into Carlisle with a white flag, telling Smith to either evacuate the town or clear out the women and children. Smith replied that he had already done the latter, and refused to surrender. Stuart's horse artillery under Captain James Breathed then began bombarding the town. After shelling Carlisle for several hours, Stuart received word that fighting had broken out to the southwest at Gettysburg between the main armies. Unable to take the town by force, Stuart disengaged, having ordered his troops to set on fire the Carlisle Barracks, a lumberyard, and the town's gas works. Stuart's troops started moving towards the fighting at Gettysburg about 1:00 am on July 2, 1863.Casualties for both sides were minimal, with eight Confederate casualties, and one Federal killed and a dozen wounded. Besides the Barracks, a lumber yard and the local gas works were destroyed. However, Stuart's delay at Carlisle impacted his ability to rendezvous with Lee's main army.
References
* Boatner III, Lt. Col. Mark M., "The Civil War Dictionary", Van Rees Press, New York, 1959, ISBN 0-679-73392-2.
External links
* [http://www.fmtrustonline.com/print/history.asp The Shelling of Carlisle]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1118323 Confederate Occupation of Carlisle, Pennsylvania]
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