Monterey Pass is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

located in Franklin County, southern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Geography

The saddle area lies near Happel's Meadow, between Monterey Peak (1,663 ft) and Clermont Crag (1627 ft), in the South Mountain Range of the northern

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...

System. It is located near Blue Ridge Summit and the historical

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...

History

Gettysburg Campaign

It was the site of the July 1863 Fight at Monterey Pass during the

Retreat from Gettysburg The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia began its Retreat from Gettysburg on July 4, 1863. Following General Robert E. Lee's failure to defeat the Union Army at the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), he ordered a retreat through Mary ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The first

military engagement A military engagement is a combat between two forces, neither larger than a division nor smaller than a company, in which each has an assignor perceived mission. An engagement begins when the attacking force initiates combat in pursuit of its missi ...

at Monterey Pass was on June 22, 1863. Captain Robert B. Moorman, commanding Company D of the 14th Virginia Cavalry was dispatched eastward from the area between

Greencastle, Pennsylvania Greencastle is a borough in Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,996 at the 2010 census. Greencastle lies within the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania. History James Patton, who came to America at ag ...

, and

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...

, to obtain horses reportedly available from local Southern sympathizers. After the company passed through

Leitersburg, Maryland Leitersburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 523 at the 2000 census. History Bell-Varner House, Huckleberry Hall, and Leitersburg Historic District are listed on the National Reg ...

, and on to Caledonia Furnace; at Monterey the company encountere
Bell's Adams County
Cavalry and the

First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, also known as the First City Troop, is a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. It is one of the oldest military units in the United States still in active service and is among the most decorat ...

, both temporarily based in Gettysburg. After a very brief skirmish, the Confederate troops withdrew toward Hagerstown, joining General

Richard S. Ewell Richard Stoddert Ewell (February 8, 1817 – January 25, 1872) 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. L ...

, who was advancing with a larger force.Emmitsburg Area Historical Society
/ref> Previous combat in the area included a June 21 engagement at Fairfield, and subsequent engagements prior to the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

included the first combat of

Adams County, Pennsylvania Adams County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,852. Its county seat is Gettysburg. The county was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County, and was named for the secon ...

, during the Civil War. (Pennsylvania militia at Fountain Dale on June 28) and at

Emmitsburg, Maryland Emmitsburg is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States, south of the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania. Founded in 1785, Emmitsburg is the home of Mount St. Mary's University. The town has two Catholic pilgrima ...

, on June 24. In addition to the July 4–5 Fight at Monterey Pass, July 4 combat in the area included the Skirmish at Fairfield Gap, Pennsylvania, and skirmishes near Emmitsburg MD (9.4 miles east)
Zora, Pennsylvania
and

Waynesboro, Pennsylvania Waynesboro is a borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on the southern border of the state. Waynesboro is in the Cumberland Valley between Hagerstown, Maryland, and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of Chambersburg, PA Micropolitan Stat ...

(6.5 miles west). As late as July 8, Union forces such as Company D, 10th New York Cavalry, were still in the area.

East Cemetery Hill
Tablet 6 of 9

References

External links