Cannons and memorials seen at the National Battlefield Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A critical factor in the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg was the absence of Robert E. Lee’s cavalry commander, General J.E.B. Stuart. (Shutterstock/Kyle J Little)

Did the Battle of Hanover Save the Union at Gettysburg?

Share this link on Facebook

Share this page on X (Twitter)

Share this link on LinkedIn

Share this page on Reddit

Email a link to this page

The clash at Hanover kept Confederate cavalry commander J.E.B. Stuart away from Robert E. Lee’s army at a critical moment in history—but there is more to the story.

Historians have made much of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart’s role—or lack thereof—in the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. Stuart failed to arrive at the battle in time to significantly assist leading Confederate general Robert E. Lee, having been delayed by another engagement 14 miles away in Hanover, Pennsylvania.

The precise impact of Stuart’s absence from Gettysburg has been hard to pin down. Many say that Stuart’s extended absence crippled Lee at a critical time, while others say the battle wouldn’t have been fought at all had Stuart been present. Both claims are reasonable, considering that the battle began after Union and Confederate scouting units accidentally ran into each other and summoned help; Lee was not looking for an engagement with the Army of the Potomac, and he showed uncharacteristic caution once the battle began. Those circumstances can be attributed to the fact that Lee was mostly ignorant of what he faced at Gettysburg, which affected his willingness to move boldly, even though the first day’s movements provided him the opportunity for a significant victory.

Lee’s battlefield audacity and bellicosity generally came from a superior knowledge of terrain and both armies’ disposition, which enabled that audacity at earlier engagements like Second Manassas and Chancellorsville. That superior knowledge partially came from fighting on his home turf in northern Virginia, which Lee knew well. But much also originated from Stuart, Lee’s talented and equally audacious cavalry commander. Stuart kept Lee informed about enemy movements and dispositions, giving the Army of Northern Virginia an advantage over its opponents. It was Stuart who identified Union General George B. McClellan’s open right flank when Richmond seemed about to fall in 1862. Stuart then rode around McClellan’s entire army, giving Lee the information necessary to launch and prosecute the Seven Days Battles, driving McClellan off the peninsula and back to the north.

Stuart’s reputation for being in the right place at the right time makes his absence at Gettysburg even more puzzling to the casual reader. Further study reveals that an initial questionable decision by Stuart led to a cascade of consequences that kept him separated from Lee for twice the time that both men envisioned. During that window, Lee blindly met the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg—and Stuart did not arrive until well after both armies were committed to the fight.

About the Battle of Hanover

Some casual historians point to the June 30, 1863 Battle of Hanover as the event that supposedly saved the Union at Gettysburg. Such an expansive claim is hard to defend. But one can say more confidently that Hanover was a critical link in the chain........

© The National Interest