Battle of Williamsport

Battle of the American Civil War

"Battle of Falling Waters" redirects here. For the 1861 Maryland battle, see Battle of Hoke's Run.

Battle of Williamsport

Part of the American Civil War

The pursuit of Gen. Lee's rebel army by Edwin Forbes
| Date| July 6–16, 1863

|

Location|

Washington County, Maryland

39°38′N 77°43′W﻿ / ﻿39.633°N 77.717°W﻿ / 39.633; -77.717
Result|  Inconclusive
Belligerents
United States (Union)|  CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George G. Meade|  Robert E. Lee
Units involved
Army of the Potomac|  Army of Northern Virginia
Strength
Divisions|  Divisions
Casualties and losses
1,760

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Gettysburg campaign

* Franklin's Crossing
* Brandy Station
* 2nd Winchester
* Aldie
* Middleburg
* Upperville
* Fairfax Court House
* Corbit's Charge
* Hanover
* Sporting Hill
* Carlisle
* Gettysburg
* Retreat from Gettysburg
* Fairfield
* Monterey
* Williamsport
* Boonsboro
* Funkstown
* Manassas Gap

The Battle of Williamsport, also known as the Battle of Hagerstown or Falling Waters, took place from July 6 to July 16, 1863, in Washington County, Maryland, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. It is not to be confused with the fighting at Hoke's Run which was also known as the Battle of Falling Waters.

Gettysburg Campaign (July 5–14, 1863)

Confederate

Union

During the night of July 4–July 5, Gen. Robert E. Lee's battered Confederate army began its retreat from Gettysburg, moving southwest on the Fairfield Road toward Hagerstown and Williamsport, screened by Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry. The Union infantry followed cautiously the next day, converging on Middletown, Maryland.

By July 7, Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden stopped Brig. Gen. John Buford's Union cavalry from occupying Williamsport and destroying Confederate trains. On July 6, Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry division drove two Confederate cavalry brigades through Hagerstown before being forced to retire by the arrival of the rest of Stuart's command. Lee's infantry reached the rain-swollen Potomac River but could not cross, the pontoon bridge having been destroyed by a cavalry raid.

On July 11, Lee entrenched in a line protecting the river crossings at Williamsport and waited for Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac to advance. On July 12, Meade reached the vicinity and probed the Confederate line. On July 13, skirmishing was heavy along the lines as Meade positioned his forces for an attack. In the meantime, the river fell enough to allow the construction of a new bridge, and Lee's army began crossing the river after dark on the 13th.

On the morning of July 14, Kilpatrick's and Buford's cavalry divisions approached from the north and east respectively. Before allowing Buford to gain a position on the flank and rear, Kilpatrick attacked the rearguard division of Maj. Gen. Henry Heth, taking more than 500 prisoners. Confederate Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew was mortally wounded in the fight.

On July 16, Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry approached Shepherdstown where the brigades of Brig. Gens. Fitzhugh Lee and John R. Chambliss, supported by Col. Milton J. Ferguson's brigade, held the Potomac River fords against the Union infantry. Fitzhugh Lee and Chambliss attacked Gregg, who held out against several attacks and sorties, fighting sporadically until nightfall, when he withdrew.

## Preservation[edit]

The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have preserved 3.5 acres of the battlefield at Williamsport through mid-2023.[1]

## Gallery[edit]

* Battlefield core and study areas by the ABPP.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Falling Waters Battlefield". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

* National Park Service battle description

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Maryland in the American Civil War

Battles|

* Maryland Campaign
* Antietam
* Boonsboro
* Crampton's Gap
* Folck's Mill
* Funkstown
* Hancock
* Monocacy
* South Mountain
* Williamsport

Events|

* Baltimore Riot of 1861
* Ex parte Merryman
* Special Order 191
* Maryland Constitution of 1864

Miscellaneous|

* "Maryland, My Maryland"

Museums|

* Baltimore Civil War Museum
* National Museum of Civil War Medicine
* President Street Station
* Surratt House Museum
* USS Constellation

People|

* Union regiments
* Confederate regiments
* Soldiers and civilians

Places|

* Antietam Battlefield
* Burnside's Bridge
* Fort Marshall
* Fort McHenry
* Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area
* Loudon Park Cemetery
* Monocacy Battlefield
* Point Lookout State Park

* v
* t
* e

Gettysburg Campaign

Engagements|

* Brandy Station
* Second Winchester
* Aldie
* Middleburg
* Upperville
* Sporting Hill
* Hanover
* Carlisle
* Hunterstown
* Fairfield

| Gettysburg|

* 1st day
* 2nd day
* Little Round Top
* 3rd day
* Pickett's Charge
* Artillery barrage
* Cavalry battles

|

Retreat|

* Monterey Pass
* Williamsport
* Boonsboro
* Funkstown
* Manassas Gap

Confederate commanders|

* Robert E. Lee
* E. Porter Alexander
* Richard H. Anderson
* Jubal A. Early
* Richard S. Ewell
* Henry Heth
* A.P. Hill
* John B. Hood
* Allegheny Johnson
* James Longstreet
* Lafayette McLaws
* W. Dorsey Pender
* J. Johnston Pettigrew
* George E. Pickett
* Robert E. Rodes
* J.E.B. Stuart
* Isaac R. Trimble
* Lewis Armistead

Union commanders|

* Joseph Hooker/George G. Meade
* John Buford
* Joshua L. Chamberlain
* George A. Custer
* Abner Doubleday
* John Gibbon
* George S. Greene
* Winfield S. Hancock
* Oliver Otis Howard
* Henry J. Hunt
* Alfred Pleasonton
* John F. Reynolds
* John Sedgwick
* Daniel E. Sickles
* Henry W. Slocum
* George Sykes
* Gouverneur K. Warren

Army of the Potomac
(order of battle)|

* I Corps
* II Corps
* III Corps
* V Corps
* VI Corps
* XI Corps
* XII Corps
* Iron Brigade
* 1st Minnesota
* 20th Maine
* Medal of Honor recipients

Army of N. Virginia
(order of battle)|

* First Corps
* Second Corps
* Third Corps
* Cavalry Corps

Campaign geography|

* Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
* Departments:
* Monongahela
* Susquehanna
* Virginia
* West Virginia
* Maryland
* Pennsylvania
* Gettysburg Battlefield
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* timeline

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