High Noon in Hanover - A Heart of Hanover Trail Stop - Hanover, PA - U.S. Civil War Sites on Waymarking.com

Cannons Blast for Two Hours
After the Confederates' initial surge and taking of the square, on June 30, 1863, the Union's swift, steady onslaught pushed the gray tide back from Broadway to where they came, down Frederick Street before you.

Gen. H. Judson Kilpatrick then repositioned the brigades of newly appointed Gens. George A. Custer and Elon J. Farnsworth to form a defensive perimeter to protect the town's vital road junctions.

A chess match between Kilpatrick and Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart played out throughout the late morning and afternoon as Kilpatrick brought ten cannons up to present-day Stock Street, Highland Avenue and Fourth Street on both sides of Carlisle Street.

To counter Union artillery power, Stuart directed six cannons into position southwest of town. These Confederate guns were positioned along the high points of a ridge extending from present-day South Hills Golf Course to Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Both sides exchanged cannon fire for up to two hours. During the shell fire, Custer's dismounted 6th Michigan Wolverines moved along the railroad tracks from present-day Pennsylvania Avenue to Forney Avenue to Good Field north of Frederick Street.

Then, turning left toward Frederick Street, Custer's men marched toward the Confederate left flank exchanging rifle fire with enemy skirmishers.

The Wolverines secured the Littlestown-Frederick Road for good. This crucial road led to the headquarters of Gen. George Gordon Meade, Commander of the Army of the Potomac, near Taneytown, Maryland.

Meanwhile, both sides continued to trade long-range cannon fire while provoking skirmishes and probing actions. Fighting subsided by mid afternoon.

Having lost the town and the junction of Westminster and Littlestown Roads, and without wanting a prolonged battle, Stuart began to disengage. Gen. Wade Hampton's brigade, Stuart's rear guard, departed after dark. They marched through the heart of York County to Carlisle, 20 miles from Gettysburg, searching in vain for Confederate infantry.

What is Artillery?
Artillery is a branch of an army that uses high-caliber guns to discharge missiles. Very few shells fired in Hanover were cannon balls — large, round projectiles. The great majority of artillery rounds fired here were rifled projectiles or shells — bullet-shaped shells much larger than bullets but smaller than cannon balls from rifled cannon.

During the afternoon artillery standoff, the experience of the Henry Winebrenner family was a somewhat unnerving one. While the family was taking shelter in the cellar, a shell fired from the southwest of Hanover tore through a balcony door on the second floor of their Frederick Street home. The projectile then smashed part of a bureau, continued through the floor and ceiling, and struck a wall on the lower level of the house. This is a photo of that shell that can be viewed at the Hanover Area Historical Museum.

A Main Street Hanover and Heart of Hanover Trails Marker

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