On a hot July 1st, the rolling hillsides and farmland of our country were disrupted by the marching footsteps of an invading army. Citizens peered out of their homes to view the ragged ranks of a foe bent on bringing war to the region’s people, destruction of the U.S. Army, and capture of the Nation’s capital. The year was 1863, the place was Pennsylvania, and the foe was the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia (ironically composed of former American citizens). The rebel army sought to gather supplies throughout the fertile crops of the region, growing in strength and then destroying the Union Army of the Potomac and capturing the U.S. Capital in Washington D.C. This force was determined to bring the war to a close, and by doing so it would ensure that the United States would be no more and that the institution of slavery would continue.
The Nation founded in 1776 was now in danger of self-destruction in 1863. The epicenter of this collision would be an unassuming little town. The Confederates hope to capture the village due to its many road junctions, then forage from the countryside. They embarked on July 1st with that specific purpose and assumed they would meet little, to no, resistance.
They were wrong. Unbeknownst to the marching rebels, there stood upon the outskirts of this town a small group of men clad in blue determined to prevent this invading army from going any further. These men were from all across the country, from Pennsylvania to New York, Illinois to Indiana, West Virginia, and U.S. Army regular troops composed of men from all states in the Union. These were the troopers of General John Buford’s First Division of Union Cavalry. Buford was a native of Kentucky and he realized that if he and his men did not delay the invading army then the rebels would occupy the high ground beyond the town. This would force the Union Army to attack a heavily fortified enemy and could result in a bloody defeat that would cripple the National war effort. Buford felt he had only one choice, take his meager force and try to delay the Confederates long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
