Houghtelin Farmhouse

Houghtelin Farmhouse. "Here the brigade drove the enemy". br The effects of the Battle of Gettysburg were felt all across the rolling farmland of Adams County, including here on what was then the Houghtelin Farm. Cornelius Houghtelin, 66, and his wife Ann, 63, had purchased the 111-acre farm and ca. 1808 farmhouse in April 1860. The Houghtelins were lifetime supporters of abolition and had two sons who served in the Union army. In July 1863, the war came to their doorstep., About noon on July 3, dismounted Union cavalry under Gen. Wesley Merritt moved north across this ground, part of a larger cavalry advance on the Confederate right and rear. "Here the brigade drove the enemy more than a mile, routing him from strong places, stone fences, and barricades," Merritt reported. The skirmishing lasted the rest of the day. The fighting at South Cavalry Field, which also included a disastrous Union cavalry charge near Big Round Top, was one of the last major actions of the battle., That night, Merritt's men camped on the Houghtelin Farm, damaging the farm and destroying farmland, prompting Houghtelin to file a claim with the government after the war., (sidebar) , Cornelius Houghtelin was one of about a dozen civilians in the area taken prisoner by Confederates during the battle. Fearing locals might provide information concerning their strength and position, the Confederates seized civilians who wandered into the southern lines, holding them as suspected spies, and took them south when they retreated. Most were imprisoned in Virginia until the end of the war, but the elderly Houghtelin gained his release through the kindness of a Confederate officer , after Cornelius revealed himself as a fellow mason., (captions) , The 29-year-old Wesley Merritt was one of three "Boy Generals" promoted to brigadier general just days before the battle. The other two were Elon Farnsworth, who was killed while leading the disastrous cavalry charge near Big Round Top on July 3, and George Custer. Courtesy Library of Congress, Dismounted Union cavalry. Drawing by William Waud. - Courtesy Library of Congress ,