Middletown

Middletown. Union Army Traffic. , After Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's stunning victory at Chancellorsville in May 1863, he led the Army of Northern Virginia west to the Shenandoah Valley, then north through central Maryland and across the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania. Union Gen. George G. Meade, who replaced Gen. Joseph Hooker on June 28, led the Army of the Potomac in pursuit. The armies collided at Gettysburg on July 1, starting a battle that neither general planned to fight there. Three days later, the defeated Confederates retreated, crossing the Potomac River into Virginia on July 14., As Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia through Maryland toward Pennsylvania, the Army of the Potomac marched in pursuit. The Federals deployed three wings to block any Confederate thrusts toward Washington or Baltimore. The left wing, three corps under Gen. John F. Reynolds, held the Middletown Valley and the mountain passes to your left from June 25-27. III Corps guarded Crampton's Gap while I and XI Corps defended Fox's and Turner's Gaps. On Saturday night, June 27, valley farmers and villagers brought pies, cakes, and milk to the camps. The next morning, while church bells rang in Burkittsville, Jefferson, and Middletown, Reynolds and his men marched toward the Pennsylvania state line., After the Battle of Gettysburg, the Federals returned here in pursuit of the Confederates retreating to Virginia. Union Gen. John Buford led his cavalrymen through these streets on July 7. Commanding Gen. George G. Meade and V and XI Corps marched through Middletown to Turner's Gap. Bringing up the rear, a seemingly endless train of wagons rumbled through town bearing provisions. Middletown's residents must have welcomed the silence that followed as the last wagon rolled way west on the National Road.