On June 30, 1863, the Battle of Hanover delayed Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and a 17-mile long column of supplies from getting to Gettysburg. Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. Elon Farnsworth (who died three days later at Gettysburg) arrived to stand in his way. Brig. Gen. George Custer also joined the fray, delaying Stuart’s arrival at Gettysburg until the afternoon of July 2, to the consternation of Gen. Robert E. Lee.
French troops, including Canadians, and their Indian allies, marched on Fort Necessity on July 3, 1754, to attack British and Virginian colonials led by Lt. Col. George Washington. Several volleys of musket fire ensued during a confrontation outside the fort, and the colonials retreated. Washington and the British regulars stood their ground, but were outnumbered, and also retreated to the fort. Uncertain when reinforcements might arrive, Washington surrendered the fort and returned to Virginia, leaving the fort to the French, who burned it.
Chambersburg was raided by Confederates three times during the Civil War. The first raid was led by Gen. J.E.B. Stuart on Oct. 10, 1862. The town was occupied from June 24-26, 1863 during the Gettysburg Campaign, and burned to the ground on the orders of Brig. Gen. John McCausland on July 30, 1864, when it refused to pay a ransom of $100,000 in gold or $500,000 in U.S. dollars.
On June 27, 1863, Confederates raided Hanover Junction, cut telegraph wires & burned bridges. President Abraham Lincoln passed through Hanover Junction on Nov. 18-19, 1863, as he traveled to and from Gettysburg for the dedication of the Soldier’s National Cemetery and to deliver the Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19, 1863. His funeral train also passed through Hanover Junction on April 21, 1865, a week after he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.
French troops from Fort Duquesne (later Fort Pitt in Pittsburgh) and their native American allies clashed with British forces on Oct. 12, 1758, at the Battle of Fort Ligonier. Though the French and Indian assault on the just-completed fort was beaten back, British and colonial troops did not yield despite significant casualties, and the French withdrew.