Skirmish of Sporting Hill
Encyclopedia
The Skirmish of Sporting Hill was a relatively small skirmish during the Gettysburg Campaign
of the American Civil War
, taking place on June 30, 1863, at various locations in present day Camp Hill
, East Pennsboro Township
and Hampden Township
in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
. It is known as the northernmost engagement of Robert E. Lee
's Army of Northern Virginia
during the Civil War.
Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell
had led two full divisions
and a cavalry brigade through Maryland
into central Pennsylvania in late June 1863, with the intention of seizing the state capital of Harrisburg
. However, he had been significantly delayed in crossing the rain-swollen Potomac River
, which allowed time for the Union to respond. Pausing another day at Chambersburg
, Ewell finally marched northwards through the Cumberland Valley
towards Harrisburg.
In response, Union
Maj. Gen.
Darius N. Couch
, commanding the Department of the Susquehanna
, dispatched troops to the present day borough
of Camp Hill, located in the Cumberland Valley
approximately 2 miles west of Harrisburg. Laborers hired by Couch quickly erected earthworks and fortifications along the western portion of Bridgeport
, adjacent to Camp Hill. The two largest of these became known as "Fort Couch" and "Fort Washington."
, a brigade
under the command of Brig. Gen. Albert G. Jenkins
, raided nearby Mechanicsburg
on June 28. That same evening, receiving the unexpected news that the Federal Army of the Potomac
was rapidly advancing through Maryland
, Gen. Robert E. Lee was forced to consolidate his Army of Northern Virginia
towards Gettysburg
to counter this new threat. As a result, Ewell began to withdraw, and would never realize the objective of taking Harrisburg.
However, Jenkins briefly skirmished with the 22nd and 37th New York Militia at Sporting Hill on the west side of Camp Hill on June 29, 1863. The Confederates used the barn of the McCormick House as cover while engaging the Union soldiers positioned along the Carlisle Pike. The Confederates attempted to cross the Carlisle Pike and outflank the Union soldiers but the Union soldiers saw their maneuvering and stymied their efforts. The Confederate soldiers began artillery fire upon the Union position with shot and shell around 5 p.m. Just then, Lieutenant Perkins of the Federal Army arrived with two cannon and began firing upon the McCormick barn. The Federals' very first shot at the barn smashed through the upper wooden structure and sent approximately 50 Confederate soldiers running outside to their horses. The Confederates withdrew in the direction of Carlisle
to rejoin Ewell's infantry
for the march southward towards Heidlersburg and Gettysburg.
historical marker, denoting the skirmish, exists at the intersection of 31st Street and Market Streets in Camp Hill. The wooden part of the McCormick barn, where the Confederate soldiers were positioned, was destroyed by a tornado in 1976 (date uncertain) but the barn's limestone foundation still remains. Both the McCormick barn foundation and the McCormick House itself are still standing as they were preserved by real estate developer Tom Gaughen, who built the nearby Brambles apartment complex.
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, taking place on June 30, 1863, at various locations in present day Camp Hill
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Camp Hill is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 2 miles southwest of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,636 at the 2000 census...
, East Pennsboro Township
East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania
East Pennsboro Township is a township in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,254 at the 2000 census. In 1990 the township had a population of 16,588. East Pennsboro is the second largest municipality in Cumberland County. The township is located along the...
and Hampden Township
Hampden Township, Pennsylvania
Hampden Township is the largest municipality in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 24,135 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 235,406.-History:...
. It is known as the northernmost engagement of Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
during the Civil War.
Background
ConfederateConfederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell
Richard S. Ewell
Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E...
had led two full divisions
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
and a cavalry brigade through Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
into central Pennsylvania in late June 1863, with the intention of seizing the state capital of Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
. However, he had been significantly delayed in crossing the rain-swollen Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
, which allowed time for the Union to respond. Pausing another day at Chambersburg
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County...
, Ewell finally marched northwards through the Cumberland Valley
Cumberland Valley
The Cumberland Valley is a constituent valley of the Great Appalachian Valley and a North American agricultural region within the Atlantic Seaboard watershed in Pennsylvania and Maryland....
towards Harrisburg.
In response, Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Darius N. Couch
Darius N. Couch
Darius Nash Couch was an American soldier, businessman, and naturalist. He served as a career U.S. Army officer during the Mexican-American War, the Second Seminole War, and as a general officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.During the Civil War, Couch fought notably in the...
, commanding the Department of the Susquehanna
Department of the Susquehanna
The Department of the Susquehanna was a military department created by the United States War Department during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War...
, dispatched troops to the present day borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Camp Hill, located in the Cumberland Valley
Cumberland Valley
The Cumberland Valley is a constituent valley of the Great Appalachian Valley and a North American agricultural region within the Atlantic Seaboard watershed in Pennsylvania and Maryland....
approximately 2 miles west of Harrisburg. Laborers hired by Couch quickly erected earthworks and fortifications along the western portion of Bridgeport
Lemoyne, Pennsylvania
Lemoyne is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Lemoyne was incorporated as a borough on May 23, 1905. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 3,995. It was formerly named Bridgeport. Lemoyne lies across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's capital...
, adjacent to Camp Hill. The two largest of these became known as "Fort Couch" and "Fort Washington."
Skirmish
Ewell's cavalryCavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, a brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
under the command of Brig. Gen. Albert G. Jenkins
Albert G. Jenkins
Albert Gallatin Jenkins was an attorney, planter, representative to the United States Congress and First Confederate Congress, and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War...
, raided nearby Mechanicsburg
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Mechanicsburg is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, USA, eight miles west of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Mechanicsburg was settled in 1806 and incorporated as a borough on April 12, 1828...
on June 28. That same evening, receiving the unexpected news that the Federal Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
was rapidly advancing through Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Gen. Robert E. Lee was forced to consolidate his Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
towards Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
to counter this new threat. As a result, Ewell began to withdraw, and would never realize the objective of taking Harrisburg.
However, Jenkins briefly skirmished with the 22nd and 37th New York Militia at Sporting Hill on the west side of Camp Hill on June 29, 1863. The Confederates used the barn of the McCormick House as cover while engaging the Union soldiers positioned along the Carlisle Pike. The Confederates attempted to cross the Carlisle Pike and outflank the Union soldiers but the Union soldiers saw their maneuvering and stymied their efforts. The Confederate soldiers began artillery fire upon the Union position with shot and shell around 5 p.m. Just then, Lieutenant Perkins of the Federal Army arrived with two cannon and began firing upon the McCormick barn. The Federals' very first shot at the barn smashed through the upper wooden structure and sent approximately 50 Confederate soldiers running outside to their horses. The Confederates withdrew in the direction of Carlisle
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
to rejoin Ewell's infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
for the march southward towards Heidlersburg and Gettysburg.
Aftermath
At least 16 Confederates from the 16th and 36th Virginia Cavalry were killed during the fighting and an additional 20 to 30 were wounded. Union losses were listed at 11 men wounded.Preservation Efforts
Some of the battlefield was lost to development and the construction of PA Route 581. A Pennsylvania Historical and Museum CommissionPennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage...
historical marker, denoting the skirmish, exists at the intersection of 31st Street and Market Streets in Camp Hill. The wooden part of the McCormick barn, where the Confederate soldiers were positioned, was destroyed by a tornado in 1976 (date uncertain) but the barn's limestone foundation still remains. Both the McCormick barn foundation and the McCormick House itself are still standing as they were preserved by real estate developer Tom Gaughen, who built the nearby Brambles apartment complex.