Union Left Flank

— Gettysburg Campaign —

Late in June 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac pursued Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia as it invaded the North for the second time. The Federal left flank under Gen. John F. Reynolds occupied the Middletown Valley, June 25-27, holding South Mountain passes against a possible Confederate advance. In Burkittsville, III Corps guarded Crampton's Gap, I and XI Corps defended Fox's and Turner's Gaps respectively. On Saturday night, June 27, valley farmers and villagers brought pies, cakes, and milk to the camps. The next morning, while church bells rang in Burkittsville, Jefferson, and Middletown, Reynolds and his men marched away to Frederick to take the roads that led to Gettysburg.

After the battle, most of the Union army returned to the valley in pursuit of the Confederates retreating to Virginia, and Gen. John Buford led his Federal cavalry through Middletown on July 7. The I and IV Corps entered the valley through the Hamburg Pass, while V and XI Corps, accompanied by commanding Gen. George G. Meade, marched by here on the National Road. The rest of the army moved on to Jefferson, Burkittsville, and Crampton's Gap by July 10. Union soldiers washed their clothing and leather equipment in the refreshing waters of Catoctin Creek. During the next week, supply wagons carried provisions to the army while it confronted Lee across the Potomac River.

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