Confederate Headquarters Markers > Stuart’s Cavalry Division
A monument to Imboden’s Brigade is west of Gettysburg on South Reynolds Avenue. (South Reynolds Avenue tour map) A marker is also in Cashtown (about seven miles west of Gettysburg) in front of the Cashtown Inn.
The brigade normally operated as a semi-independent command in western Virginia, and Lee did not view its discipline or combat capabilities very highly. It was not on the field at Gettysburg, but was protecting supply and ammunition trains in the rear of the army.
After the battle Imboden was given the mission of escorting the 18-mile train of wounded back to Virginia. Arriving at the Potomac crossings at Williamsport, Maryland, he found the river uncrossable due to high water, and organized a successful defence which held off Union cavalry under Buford and Kilpatrick until the rest of Lee’s army arrived.
The monument’s location on South Reynolds Avenue just off Hagerstown Road is shared with two other Confederate cavalry brigades, Robertsons‘s and Jones’s, which were not at Gettysburg but played an important role in the campaign.
From the monument:
C. S. A.
Army of Northern Virginia
Stuart’s Cavalry Division
Imboden’s Brigade
18th Virginia Cavalry 62nd Virginia Infantry
Virginia Partisan Rangers
and McClanahan’s Virginia Battery
July 3. Command guarding ammunition and supply trains. Reached the field at noon and retired with the supply trains at night.
No report nor details of losses made.
Location of the monument to Imboden’s Brigade
The monument is west of Gettysburg on the west side of Reynolds Avenue just north of Fairfield Road. (39°49’38.3″N 77°15’10.3″W)
Imboden’s Brigade marker on Cashtown Road in front of the Cashtown Inn
From the marker in front of the Cashtown Inn
C. S. A.
Army of Northern Virginia
Stuart’s Cavalry Division
Imboden’s Brigade
18th Virginia Cavalry 62nd Virginia Infantry
Virginia Partisan Rangers
and McClanahan’s Virginia Battery
July 3. Command guarding ammunition and supply trains. Reached the field at noon and retired with the supply trains at night.
No report nor details of losses made.
About John Imboden
The brigade was commanded by Brigadier General John Imboden, an attorney who had served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1852 to 1857. Imboden helped form and partially funded the Staunton Light Artillery after John Brown’s raid, becoming its captain. Imboden took part in the capture of the Harpers Ferry Arsenal and commanded his battery at First Manassas (Bull Run). After the battle his battery was part of Jackson’s Army of the Valley, fighting at Cross Keyes and Port Republic. In September of 1862 Imboden left his battery and recruited a battalion of partisan rangers. He became colonel of the 62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry, also known as the 1st Regiment Virginia Partisan Rangers. Imboden was promoted to brigadier general in January of 1863, and led a raid into West Virginia in May.
Confederate Brigadier General John Imboden