As the sun rose on July 5, 1863, the quiet streets of Smithsburg awakened to the rumble of Union cavalry under General Judson Kilpatrick. Fresh from capturing Confederate wagons and more than 1,300 prisoners at Monterey Pass, Kilpatrick’s men set ablaze the captured wagons on the town’s outskirts before taking up position on the three mills that command the approaches into town. This skirmish, marking its 162nd anniversary this year, became a critical stand in the retreat from Gettysburg and a testament to Smithsburg’s place on the Civil War map.
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By afternoon, Confederate cavalry led by Major General J.E.B. Stuart crested the hills northeast of Smithsburg, intent on severing Kilpatrick from General Robert E. Lee’s retreating wagon train. At 4:00 p.m., Union artillery thundered to life, and for nearly an hour “spirited action” rang out across fields still green with summer growth. Unable to break the Union defenses anchored at the mills, Stuart reluctantly ordered a withdrawal, leaving Smithsburg to its defenders.
Situated just 15 miles from the Antietam battlefield at Sharpsburg and roughly 25 miles south of Gettysburg, Smithsburg’s hills and roads became a strategic waypoint in the larger Gettysburg Campaign. That evening, Kilpatrick fell back to Boonsboro while Stuart moved northeast to Leitersburg, each side regrouping after the clash that had momentarily halted Lee’s retreating columns.
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Today, the historical marker on West Water Street stands as a reminder of that July afternoon. Locals and visitors alike trace the paths of cavalry troopers whose horses once pawed these same grounds and reflect on how a small town’s mills played a pivotal role at the end of one of the war’s biggest engagements. As Smithsburg observes the 162nd anniversary of the battle this year, residents gather not only to honor the past but to preserve its lessons for future generations.
Article by multiple contributors, based upon information from the Battle of Smithsburg historical marker
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