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Mount Pleasant Township near Lake Heritage in Adams County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Second Brigade

Third Division - Cavalry Corps

— Army of the Potomac —

 
 
Second Brigade Tablet image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, April 12, 2008
1. Second Brigade Tablet
Inscription.
Army of the Potomac
Cavalry Corps Third Division
Second Brigade

Brig. Gen. George A. Custer
1st. 5th. 6th. 7th (10 cos.) Michigan Cavalry

June 30 Skirmished with Major Gen. Stuart's Cavalry at Hanover supported Battery M 2d U.S.

July 1 Not engaged.

July 2 Engaged with Brig. Gen. Hampton's Brigade of Major Gen. Stuart's Cavalry at Hunterstown and with the aid of Battery M 2d U.S. forced it from the field. The 7th Michigan dismounted as skirmishers.

July 3 Marched to Two Taverns arriving at daylight and at 8 a.m. moved to the right under orders to report to Brig. Gen. D. McM. Gregg. Took position north of the Hanover Road and west of the Low Dutch Road. Second Division coming up and connecting on the left. Soon after noon was ordered to join the Division on the extreme left but about 2 p.m. Maj. Gen. Stuart's Division and Brig. Gen. Jenkin's Brigade of Cavalry having been discovered on the right and front Brig. Gen. Custer under orders from Brig. Gen. D. McM. Gregg turned back his Brigade and with the First Brigade Second Division was immediately engaged with the Confederate forces which were repulsed and forced from the field. Late in the day moved to the extreme left and rejoined the division.

Casualties Killed 1 officer 31 men. Wounded 13 officers, 134 men. Captured or
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missing 73 men. Total 257.
 
Erected 1912 by Gettysburg National Military Park Commission.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is June 30, 1863.
 
Location. 39° 49.598′ N, 77° 9.909′ W. Marker is near Lake Heritage, Pennsylvania, in Adams County. It is in Mount Pleasant Township. Marker is on Cavalry Field Road (Gregg Avenue), on the right when traveling east. Located in the East Cavalry Battlefield section of the Gettysburg National Military Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Gettysburg PA 17325, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Come on You Wolverines (a few steps from this marker); Co. A Purnell Legion (within shouting distance of this marker); Michigan Cavalry Brigade (within shouting distance of this marker); Second Division (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Brook Rawle Memorial Flagpole (about 600 feet away); Gregg Cavalry Shaft (about 600 feet away); First Brigade (about 600 feet away); Third Pennsylvania Cavalry (about 800 feet away); 1st Regiment Maryland Cavalry (approx. 0.2 miles away); First New Jersey Cavalry (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lake Heritage.
 
Also see . . .
1. George Armstrong Custer.
Second Brigade Marker on East Cavalry Field image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 6, 2010
2. Second Brigade Marker on East Cavalry Field
The Michigan Cavalry Brigade monument can be seen behind the marker.
Famous or infamous for his "last stand" facing the Souix Indians in 1876. However, Custer had quite a remarkable Civil War service record. (Submitted on July 20, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.) 

2. George Armstrong Custer. George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Custer was called to serve with the Union Army. (Submitted on November 29, 2015, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.) 
 
Second Brigade Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, September 23, 2015
3. Second Brigade Marker
Second Brigade Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, September 23, 2015
4. Second Brigade Marker
Interpretive Marker next to Custer's Brigade Tablet image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, April 12, 2008
5. Interpretive Marker next to Custer's Brigade Tablet
The interpretive marker stands beside Custer's (Second) Brigade, Third Division, Cavalry Corps tablet. In the background is a park service road sign for "Custer Avenue," an unpaved path to the Michigan Cavalry monument.
Second Brigade Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, September 23, 2015
6. Second Brigade Marker
Brig. General George A. Custer (1839-1876)<br>Commander 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, circa 1865
7. Brig. General George A. Custer (1839-1876)
Commander 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division
Custer's Brigade Position - Morning of July 3 image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, April 12, 2008
8. Custer's Brigade Position - Morning of July 3
Looking east from near the 1st Maine Cavalry monument at the South entrance to the East Cavalry Battlefield. Between daylight and 8 a.m. Custer's brigade moved into position near the intersection of Low Dutch Road and Hanover Road. The regiments were posted in an "L" shaped arrangement in the northwest corner of the intersection. Today the actual intersection is near the historical location, but residences stand in the former battle positions.
Contested Ground image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, April 12, 2008
9. Contested Ground
Looking from the base of the Michigan Brigade monument to the northwest. The East Cavalry Avenue cuts through a tree line in the distant center. That tree line is approximately the location of a wartime fence line, probably a mix of field stone and rail, at which the 7th Michigan Cavalry confronted the Confederates of Fitzhugh Lee's Brigade. Later the 1st Michigan charged into the foreground (near the location of the monument). These series of charges and counter charges were perhaps the closest to a "Napoleonic" cavalry clash during the Civil War. The entire episode was later romanticized in the Errol Flynn movie "They Died with Their Boots On."
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 19, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,201 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on July 19, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.   2. submitted on November 26, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.   3, 4. submitted on November 29, 2015, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.   5. submitted on July 13, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.   6, 7. submitted on November 29, 2015, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.   8, 9. submitted on July 20, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.

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Mar. 28, 2024