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Washington Township near Blue Ridge Summit in Franklin County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

The Battle of Monterey Pass

 
 
The Battle of Monterey Pass Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 19, 2022
1. The Battle of Monterey Pass Marker
Inscription.
The Battle of Monterey Pass
July 4th & 5th, 1863
During the morning hours of July 4, 1863, confederate Major General Robert E. Lee ordered the withdrawal of his Confederate army from Gettysburg. General William Jones volunteered for the task of escorting General Richard Ewell's wagon train as it traveled through the South Mountain pass of Monterey to Williamsport, Maryland. General Ewell's wagon train rumbled out of Fairfield taking a portion of Iron Springs Road and Gum Springs Road. They then traveled through Fairfield Gap, by way of Maria Furnace Road, to Monterey Pass, down the mountain to Waynesboro, and then to Leitersburg. Soon heavy rains set in, turning mountain roads into a muddy mess, and mountain streams and creeks into raging rivers.

Picketing the mountain summit was a portion of the 1st Maryland Cavalry, Company B, under Captain George Emack. Supporting him was Confederate Captain William Tanner, with one Napoleon cannon deployed near the Clermont House.

Seven miles east at Emmitsburg, Maryland, Union General Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry division was reinforced by Colonel Pennock Huey's brigade. They headed westward toward South Mountain to intercept the Confederate wagon train. At Jack's Mountain Road, a portion of the 5th Michigan Cavalry was detailed to scout
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the Confederate movements in the direction of Fairfield.

Toward evening, Charles H. Buhrman, a local farmer, learned of the Confederate retreat at Monterey Pass, as well as the capture of several citizens. He mounted his horse and rode toward Fountaindale, where he came across one of General George Custer's scouts and reported the situation on the mountaintop. It was about 9:00 pm, when the Union cavalrymen were blinded by the muzzle blast from Tanner's cannon near the Clermont House. The first shot was fired directly into the 5th Michigan Cavalry, causing much confusion. Two more shots were again fired by Tanner's detachment, and Emack's small squad charged and drove the Union cavalry back.

For the next several hours, in darkness and torrential rain, the opposing forces engaged in some of the most confusing and chaotic fighting of the Civil War. In some instances, the cannon or lightning in the sky illuminated their positions.

Captains Tanner and Emack redeployed their force near the Monterey House on both sides of the turnpike. Kilpatrick then ordered the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry to dismount and attack Emack's company. The Confederates fell back to Red Run Creek and deployed there, where other companies of the 1st Maryland Cavalry had arrived to support them.

Gaining the summit studying the network of roads, Kilpatrick ordered the
The Battle of Monterey Pass Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 19, 2022
2. The Battle of Monterey Pass Marker
1st Vermont Cavalry to Leitersburg, Maryland to attack the Confederate wagons as they entered Maryland. He also ordered a portion of the 1st Michigan Cavalry to attack Fairfield Gap, one mile northeast of Monterey Pass, where the wagons were coming in from Farfield. It was here that the Michigan soldiers were forced back by Confederate cavalry and artillery position there.

Near the Monterey House, Brevet Captain Pennington deployed a section of artillery and shelled the Confederate battle line that was positioned near modern day Monterey Park. Throughout the early morning hours of July 5th, during the thickest of the fight, General Jones ordered his couriers, staff officers and some of the wounded that could fire a gun into the fight.

By 3:00 am, fighting raged in the woods as Custer's cavalrymen fought hard against the Confederates. A portion of the 5th Michigan managed to cross the bridge spanning over Red Run and filed off to the left. The 1st West Virginia Cavalry and a portion of the 1st Ohio Cavalry were ordered to support Custer's Brigade.

Order of Battle
Union Commander: Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick

General Judson Kilpatrick, Third Division Cavalry Corps

Headquarters Guard 1st Ohio Cavalry

Colonel Nathaniel P. Richmond, First Brigade
5th New York Cavalry •
The Battle of Monterey Pass Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 19, 2022
3. The Battle of Monterey Pass Marker
18th Pennsylvania Cavalry • 1st Vermont Cavalry • 1st West Virginia Cavalry

General George A. Custer, Second Brigade
1st Michigan Cavalry • 5th Michigan Cavalry • 6th Michigan Cavalry • 7th Michigan Cavalry

General David Gregg, Second Division Cavalry Corps • Colonel Pennock Huey, Second Brigade
2nd New York Cavalry • 4th New York Cavalry • 6th Ohio Cavalry • 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry

Assigned Artillery
Battery "E", 4th U.S. Artillery • Battery "M", 2nd U.S. Artillery • Battery "C", 3rd U.S. Artillery

Confederate Commander: Major General William (Grumble) Jones

General William Jones' Brigade

6th Virginia Cavalry • 11th Virginia Cavalry

General Fitzhugh Lee's Brigade
1st Maryland Cavalry Battalion

General Beverly Robertson's Brigade
4th North Carolina Cavalry • 5th North Carolina Cavalry

General Albert Jenkins' Brigade
36th Virginia Cavalry Battalion

Infantry (Provost Guard) Colonel Isaac Avery's (Hoke's) Brigade
1st North Carolina Sharpshooters

Colonel Edward O'Neil's Brigade
Detachment, 5th Alabama Infantry

General Alfred Iverson's Brigade
5th North Carolina Infantry • 12th North Carolina Infantry • 20th North Carolina Infantry • 23rd North
The Battle of Monterey Pass Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 19, 2022
4. The Battle of Monterey Pass Marker
Carolina Infantry

Unassigned
50 Confederate stragglers under arrest

Artillery Lieutenant Colonel H. Jones' Battalion
Courtney Henrico Artillery

Major Beckham's Horse Artillery Battalion
Mooreman's Battery • Chew's Battery

The West Virginians charged the Confederate cannon, tumbling it down the embankment, and began destroying wagons as they charged down the mountainside, storming through the long line of wagons, "like a pack of wild Indians" overturning many wagons and setting fires to others. In some instances, panic stricken horses with nowhere to go fell off the mountain cliffs and into the steep ravines. The Union cavalry collected their bounty until dawn. The civilians living in Waynesboro observed the fires from the wagons extending from the top of South Mountain, stretching across the Cumberland Valley from Waterloo (Rouzeville) to Ringgold and Leitersburg, as more than nine miles of wagon train were set ablaze.

The Sharpshooters of the 1st North Carolina Battalion supported by the 6th Virginia Cavalry arrived in time to halt the wagons approaching from Fairfield Gap. The 6th Virginia cavalry fled due to the condition of the fight. Two guns from Pennington's Battery poured case shot into their ranks from their second position near the Toll House. Luckily, the sharpshooters sustained
The Battle of Monterey Pass Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 19, 2022
5. The Battle of Monterey Pass Marker
no casualties. General Alfred Iverson's North Carolina Brigade arrived at dawn, forcing General Kilpatrick to give up the fight. Just after the daybreak, Confederate General Ambrose Wright's Brigade arrived from Fairfield, missing out on the fight at Monterey Pass.

The 1st Vermont Cavalry destroyed several wagons and took many prisoners when the regiment attacked the Confederate wagon train in Leitersburg. There, half the regiment moved onward toward Hagerstown, while the other half moved onward to Ringgold, Maryland. Once Kilpatrick was at Ringgold (Ridgeville), Maryland he ordered his cavalry to halt, officially ending the Battle of Monterey Pass. The battle resulted in over 100 Confederate casualties, and over 100 Union casualties.

Realizing he was in dangerous territory, Kilpatrick ordered his cavalry to move south to Smithsburg, where later in the day he was attacked by General JEB Stuart's Cavalry crossing South Mountain at Raven Rock Pass.

After the battle, the Confederate infantry marched through Monterey Pass. General A.P. Hill's Corps marched upon the Maria Furnace Road from Fairfield, where many soldiers dubbed the area as "Mount Misery" or a complete "Quagmire." General James Longstreet's Corps matched westward reaching Monterey's Pass. General Richard Ewell's Corps was the last to march from Fairfield to Maria Furnace Road. The rear
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of his corps, General Jubal Early's Division, skirmished with portions of Union General Tomas Neill's infantry brigade and Colonel John McIntosh's cavalry brigade.

Walking Tour- 2 Hours
A. Located near here is Fairfield Gap, where the Maria Furnace Road branched off from Furnace Road. It was there that the Confederate wagon trains moved toward Monterey Pass. During the battle of Monterey Pass, Confederate cavalry fought off a flanking attempt to block the road. After the battle, two-thirds of the Confederate army marched on Maria Furnace Road.

B. The 1st North Carolina Sharpshooters and a detachment of Alabama troops stopped the wagon train here, and moved forward to Monterey Pass to assist the Confederate cavalry.

C. After the Union cavalry broke through the Confederate battle line at the tollhouse, it was here that the 1st North Carolina Sharpshooters entered the fight and came under heavy artillery fire from Pennington's battery, deployed at the Monterey Pass tollhouse. Realizing that Confederate infantry was pouring on the scene from Maria Furnace Road, Kilpatrick ordered the rest of his cavalry down the mountain to Ringgold, MD. With Monterey Pass secured, the Confederate army continued it's withdrawal from Pennsylvania.

D. This area is where the Union cavalry began getting bogged down in the fight. It was here, after midnight on July 5, 1863, that much hand to hand combat took place. Due to the terrain, the Union right flank would rest at the base of the hill in front of you. Portions of the 1st Maryland Cavalry, Company B deployed here, while the Confederates established a new battle line at the tollhouse.

E. It was here, where Colonel Russell Alger realized that the bridge spanning Red Run was still intact. He asked for reinforcements in order to make a charge on the Confederate position.

F. It was here, where Colonel Alger, supported by a portion of the 6th Michigan Cavalry, formed a hasty battle line that allowed the 1st West Virginia Cavalry and Company A of the 1st Ohio Cavalry to charge the Confederate battle line and attack the wagon train at 3:30 a.m.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is July 4, 1863.
 
Location. 39° 44.321′ N, 77° 28.715′ W. Marker is near Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, in Franklin County. It is in Washington Township. Marker is on Charmian Lane, 0.1 miles east of Buchanan Trail East (Pennsylvania Route 16), on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 14278 Charmian Ln, Waynesboro PA 17268, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. A different marker also named The Battle of Monterey Pass (a few steps from this marker); 10,000 Soldiers Fight at Monterey Pass (within shouting distance of this marker); The Retreat From Gettysburg (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named The Battle of Monterey Pass (within shouting distance of this marker); Before The Battle Of Gettysburg (within shouting distance of this marker); Brown's Spring (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named The Battle of Monterey Pass (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named The Battle of Monterey Pass (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Blue Ridge Summit.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 21, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 368 times since then and 26 times this year. Last updated on July 11, 2022, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on February 21, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.

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Mar. 28, 2024