Overview
Following the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg from July 1–4, 1863, General Robert E. Lee ended his Second Invasion of the North and withdrew toward Virginia. On July 4, General John D. Imboden led a long Confederate wagon train carrying wounded soldiers and supplies toward crossings on the Potomac River at Williamsport and Falling Waters. Lee ordered the rest of his army to follow the next day.
Heavy rains caused the Potomac River to rise and prevented Lee’s army from crossing into Virginia. Lee responded by establishing a semicircular defensive line near Williamsport while he waited for the river to fall.
General George G. Meade learned on July 5 that Lee had left Gettysburg. Although officials in Washington urged him to pursue Lee aggressively, Meade initially sent cavalry to harass the retreating Confederates. His army had suffered heavily at Gettysburg, and he remained uncertain about Lee’s intentions. Meade later divided his army into three columns and pursued the Confederates while keeping his main force between Lee and Washington.
On July 6, General John Buford attacked Confederate forces under Imboden at Williamsport but failed to capture the Confederate supplies and wounded. That same day, General Judson Kilpatrick unsuccessfully tried to drive General J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry from Hagerstown. The Union cavalry then withdrew to Boonsboro.
Lee reached Williamsport on July 7 and found the Potomac River still too high to cross. He ordered Stuart to move against the Union cavalry at Boonsboro and prevent Federal troops from gaining control of the South Mountain passes.
On July 8, muddy conditions forced cavalrymen on both sides to dismount and fight on foot. Fighting continued throughout the afternoon until Union infantry reinforcements arrived around 7:00 p.m. Stuart then withdrew north toward Funkstown. Although neither side won a clear victory, Stuart delayed Meade’s movement toward Williamsport and gave Lee additional time to prepare his retreat into Virginia.
Essential Facts
- Date: July 8, 1863.
- Location: Boonsboro, Washington County, Maryland.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Judson Kilpatrick and John Buford.
- CSA Commanders: J.E.B. Stuart.
- Who Won: The outcome of the Battle of Boonsboro was inconclusive.
- Campaign: Gettysburg Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, July–December, 1863.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: Undetermined.
- Forces Engaged: 1st and 3rd Cavalry Divisions of the Army of the Potomac.
- Troop Strength: Undetermined.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: Undetermined.
- Forces Engaged: Four brigades of Stuart’s Cavalry Division of the Army of Northern Virginia.
- Troop Strength: Undetermined.
Significance
The Battle of Boonsboro is important to American History because it helped shape the Confederate retreat following the Battle of Gettysburg. With the flooded Potomac River preventing General Robert E. Lee’s army from crossing into Virginia, Major General J.E.B. Stuart moved against Union cavalry near Boonsboro. His forces fought throughout the afternoon before Union infantry reinforcements forced them to withdraw. Although the battle ended without a clear winner, Stuart delayed General George G. Meade’s advance toward Williamsport. This gave Lee additional time to strengthen his defensive position and prepare his army to continue its retreat into Virginia.
History
Robert E. Lee Withdraws from the Battle of Gettysburg
Following the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–4, 1863), Confederate General Robert E. Lee ended his second invasion of the North. At roughly 5:00 p.m. on July 4, Brigadier General John D. Imboden led a long train of Confederate wounded and supplies toward the Potomac River crossings at Williamsport and Falling Waters, about 50 miles to the southwest. Lee ordered the rest of the army to follow using a different route the next day.
Potomac River Impassable
The withdrawal soon came to a halt when heavy rains swelled the Potomac River, preventing the Confederate Army from crossing back into Virginia. Forced to wait until the river receded, Lee established a long, semi-circular defensive line anchored on his left by the Conococheague Creek and on his right by the Potomac River at Falling Waters.
Meade Pursues Lee
On July 5, Major General George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, learned that Lee had left Gettysburg. Despite prodding from his superiors in Washington to aggressively pursue Lee and destroy his army, Meade settled for dispatching his cavalry to harass the retreating Confederates.
Meade had reason to be cautious. The intense three-day battle had exhausted and battered his army. Unsure of the extent of the damage inflicted upon the Confederates, Meade also needed time to gather information to determine if Lee intended to withdraw to Virginia or to make another stand north of the Potomac. Finally, overriding orders to guard against a possible Confederate assault on Washington and Baltimore confounded Meade.
After reconnaissance missions determined that Lee was assuredly retreating, Meade divided his army into three columns and started a more vigorous but still cautious pursuit. Throughout the quest, Meade was careful to keep his main force between Lee and the nation’s capital.
Battle of Williamsport
On July 6, 1863, Union Brigadier General John Buford launched an ill-fated cavalry assault against Imboden at Williamsport. The Confederate general summoned enough artillery and defenders to hold off a three-hour Federal onslaught, saving the Confederate stores and wounded from being captured. On the same day, Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick’s Union cavalry division tried unsuccessfully for six hours to dislodge Major General J. E. B. Stuart’s cavalry from Hagerstown, about eight miles east of Williamsport. Following the failed Union assaults on July 6, the Federal cavalry fell back to Boonsboro, along the National Road roughly twelve miles southeast of Hagerstown and Williamsport.
Stalled Retreat
When Lee arrived at Williamsport on July 7, the river remained too high to cross, so he went to work bolstering the Confederate defensive line as the rest of his army moved southwest to join him. Lee also ordered Stuart’s cavalry to advance upon the Union cavalry at Boonsboro to prevent the Union forces from gaining control of the South Mountain passes, hindering Meade’s access to the Confederate army stranded at Williamsport.
Boonsboro
When Lee arrived at Williamsport on July 7, the river remained too high to cross, so he went to work bolstering the Confederate defensive line as the rest of his army moved southwest to join him. Lee also ordered Stuart’s cavalry to advance upon the Union cavalry at Boonsboro to prevent the Union forces from gaining control of the South Mountain passes, hindering Meade’s access to the Confederate army stranded at Williamsport.
Sloppy conditions forced the troopers on both sides to dismount and fight like infantrymen. The battle, which was the largest cavalry conflict in Maryland during the Gettysburg Campaign, raged throughout the afternoon.
At roughly 7 p.m., Federal infantry began arriving on the scene, forcing Stuart to withdraw north to Funkstown.
Although the results of the battle were inconclusive, Stuart successfully delayed Meade’s movement toward Williamsport, buying more time for Lee’s retreat to Virginia. Combined casualties at the Battle of Boonsboro totaled about 100.
Timeline
- 1863, April 30–May 6 — Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia defeated Joseph Hooker and the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
- 1863, June 3 — Confederate troop movements started as Lee gathered his army near Culpeper, Virginia, for his invasion of the North.
- 1863, June 5 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Franklin’s Crossing.
- 1863, June 9 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive Battle of Brandy Station.
- 1863, June 13–15 — The Confederates won the Second Battle of Winchester.
- 1863, June 17 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive Battle of Aldie.
- 1863, June 17–19 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive Battle of Middleburg.
- 1863, June 21 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive Battle of Upperville.
- 1863, June 27 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Fairfax Court House.
- 1863, June 20 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive Battle of Upperville.
- 1863, June 30 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Westminster, also known as Corbitt’s Charge.
- 1863, June 30 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive Battle of Hanover.
- 1863, June 30 — Union forces won the Battle of Sporting Hill.
- 1863, July 1 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive Battle of Carlisle.
- 1863, July 1–3 — Union forces won the Battle of Gettysburg.
- 1863, July 3 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Fairfield.
- 1863, July 4 — John D. Imboden led Confederate wounded soldiers and supplies toward the Potomac River crossings at Williamsport and Falling Waters.
- 1863, July 5 — George G. Meade learned that Lee had withdrawn from Gettysburg and sent cavalry to harass the retreating Confederates.
- 1863, July 6 — John Buford attacked Confederate forces at Williamsport but failed to capture their supplies and wounded soldiers.
- 1863, July 6 — Judson Kilpatrick unsuccessfully tried to drive J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry from Hagerstown.
- 1863, July 7
- Lee reached Williamsport and found the Potomac River still too high for his army to cross.
- Lee ordered Stuart to advance against Union cavalry near Boonsboro and protect access to the South Mountain passes.
- 1863, July 8
- Union and Confederate cavalry fought near Boonsboro, where muddy conditions forced many soldiers to dismount and fight on foot.
- Union infantry reinforcements arrived around 7 p.m., forcing Stuart to withdraw north toward Funkstown.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Boonsboro (1863) — The Battle of Boonsboro was fought on July 8, 1863, during the Gettysburg Campaign as Confederate forces retreated from Pennsylvania. General Robert E. Lee ordered General J.E.B. Stuart to confront Union cavalry near Boonsboro and protect access to the South Mountain passes. Muddy conditions forced cavalrymen to fight on foot throughout the afternoon. Union infantry reinforcements arrived around 7 p.m., forcing Stuart to withdraw toward Funkstown. Although inconclusive, the battle delayed General George G. Meade’s advance toward Lee’s army at Williamsport.
Alignment
The Battle of Boonsboro is part of the following AP US History sections:
Suggested Reading
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Mingus and Wittenberg, the authors of more than 40 Civil War books, present a history of the opening moves of the Gettysburg Campaign in the 2-volume study. This compelling study is one of the first to integrate the military, media, political, social, economic, and civilian perspectives with rank-and-file accounts from the soldiers of both armies as they inexorably march toward their destiny at Gettysburg. This first volume covers June 3–21, 1863, while the second, covers June 22–30, completes the march, and carries the armies to the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Meade and Lee After Gettysburg, the first of three volumes on the campaigns waged between the two adversaries from July 14 through the end of July, 1863, relies on the official records, regimental histories, letters, newspapers, and other sources to provide a day-by-day account of this fascinating high-stakes affair. The vivid prose, coupled with original maps and outstanding photographs, offers a significant contribution to Civil War literature.
