It was the morning of June 30, 1863 -- exactly 163 years ago today -- when Union General John Buford arrived in Gettysburg with two brigades of cavalry totalling 3,000 troops.
The local citizens, crowding the sidewalks, gave them a joyous welcome. Burford established his headquarters at the Eagle Hotel, which today is a convenience store at the corner of Chambersburg and Washington Streets.
I've driven past that site many times, as I'm sure many of you have.
Meanwhile, Confederate General A. P. Hill was positioning his troops just west of Gettysburg. He sent a brigade of 2,700 North Carolinians in a scouting mission to Gettysburg on the Chambersburg Pike. Almost immediately they spotted Buford's cavalrymen on a ridgeline between them and the town. Following orders, the Southerners withdrew. Thus the stage was set for the largest, bloodiest battle of the Civil War.
Meade, now commander of the Army of the Potomac, realized that Lee's army was on the move. Although he didn't have the details about the enemy's strength or location, he clearly understood that his adversary was skillful and enterprising. On the morning of the 30th, Meade received intelligence indicating that the enemy had a strong presence just behind Cashtown. Buford's scouts had skirmished with Confederate pickets just 3 miles away. Meade concluded that Gettysburg appeared to be the site to which Lee's army was being directed. However, Meade still contemplated meeting the enemy along Pipe Creek in Maryland, though he prepared to launch an offensive movement ahead of that line if developments dictated such a move. The "Pipe Creek Line," as it came to be known, might well have become the site of the great battle instead of Gettysburg had the winds of war been different. There should be a historical marker somewhere along Pipe Creek that reads: "On this spot, July 1-3, 1863, nothing happened."
A gentle rain continued to fall through the morning of June 30. So immense was Meade's army that the roads were choked with men and materiel. His troops were suffering. Many lacked shoes after the long marches into Maryland. They were exhausted. Yet they were expected to fight. Meade issued a circular to his commanders authorizing them "to order the instant death of any soldier who fails to do his duty at this time." This was serious business.
As June, 1863, came to an end, rain continued to fall. Meade found a moment to write his wife Margaret. He closed his brief letter with these words: "Love, blessings and kisses to all. Pray for me and beseech our heavenly Father to permit me to be an instrument to save my country and advance a just cause." He was wide awake throughout the night of June 30 and into the wee hours of July 1. Should he attack Lee or not?
The next day, July 1, would determine that.