Hunterstown

I traveled throught the little town of Hunterstown, PA yesterday. This little hamlet played a role in the Battle of Gettysburg. There was actually some Cavalry fighting that took place here. Now, I am not an expert on Cavalry action by any means of the imagination. In fact, the only Cavalry that I can even pretend to understand is John Buford on July 1.

But Hunterstown is more than just Cavalry action (although my goal for the next month is to understand what happened there). One of the reasons I headed over there was to check out the Great Conewago Presbyterian Church Cemetery.

Anyone who knows me that I LOVE cemeteries. I can't get enough of them. I am a firm believer that you can't get to know the history of an area without visiting the local cemetery. I actually have files in my computer just full of pictures of different cemeteries and the headstones of those who are buried in them. The older the cemetery, the more there is to learn!

At this particular one, I ran into the headstone of Major Robert Bell. Robert Bell was the commander of the 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry, Co. B. which fought on June 26, 1863 in conjunction with the 26th PA Militia. This whole action is a complicated thing to understand and, again, one of my goals for the month of July. But to see his headstone was probably the coolest thing. I didn't have much time to hang out or I would have written down just what his heastone said. That's for my next trip. There is a plague in the cemetery with the names of all the Civil War soldiers that are buried there listed. There is also one for the Revolutionary War. My next trip will be to document all of this.

When visiting Hunterstown, you must stop to visit George Armstrong Custer's monument at the corner of Hunterstown Road and the main street through the town (boy, I wish I could remember what that road is called....but then, does it matter? Its the only road in town!) General Custer is my 5th cousin, twice removed! A fact that I'm not sure I'm proud of or not. Afterall, he may have been crazy (just ask all the guys at Little Bighorn). But, he did well at Gettysburg, so I'm sort of proud of him.

The tiny town of Hunterstown is so far off the beaten path, but it played a role in what we, here in Gettysburg, are commemorating this week...so it needs to be remembered along with the main battle itself.