One of the most dramatic components of the Battle of Gettysburg, the large clash of Union and Confederate cavalry units on the third and final day, has often been overshadowed by Pickett’s Charge and the defense of Little Round Top. Yet the fight between thousands of horsemen led by two charismatic leaders, Confederate J.E.B. Stuart and George Armstrong Custer of the Union, may have played a decisive role in the battle.
A farm belonging to a local family named Rummel suddenly became the site of a cavalry skirmish as Union cavalrymen, off their horses and fighting dismounted, began to exchange fire with Confederate counterparts. And then the Union commander on the scene, General David Gregg, ordered Custer to attack on horseback.
Placing himself at the head of a Michigan cavalry regiment, Custer raised his saber and screamed, “Come on, you wolverines!” And he charged.
What had been a standoff and then a skirmish quickly escalated into one of the biggest cavalry battles of the entire war. Custer’s men charged, were beaten back, and charged again. The scene turned into a gigantic melee of men shooting at close quarters with pistols and slashing with sabers.
In the end, Custer and the federal cavalry had held off Stuart’s advance. By nightfall Stuart’s men were still positioned on the ridge from which they had first spotted the Union cavalry. And after dark Stuart withdrew his men and returned to the west side of Gettysburg to report to Lee.