Union Headquarters monuments > Cavalry Corps > 3rd Division
The monument to the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Division of the Cavalry Corps is south of Gettysburg on South Confederate Avenue. (Bushman Hill & Slyder Farm tour map)
Monument to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps
From the monument
Army of the Potomac
Cavalry Corps Third Division
First Brigade
Brig. Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth
Col. Nathaniel R Richmond
5th New York 18th Pennsylvania
1st Vermont 1st (10 Cos.) West Virginia Cavalry
June 30. Arrived at Hanover about noon and was attacked by Major Gen. Stuart’s Cavalry and Horse Artillery which first encountered the 18th Penna. in the rear of the column. Later the Brigade was engaged and Major Gen. Stuart having been repulsed from the town retired with the loss of a battleflag and over 70 men.
July 1 & 2. Not engaged.
July 3. Moved to the left to attack the Confederate right and rear arriving about 1 P. M. and engaged with Confederate skirmishers being supported at 3 P. M. by the Reserve Cavalry Brigade on the left. At 5.30 P. M. the 18th Pa. 1st Vt. and 1st West Virginia charged the Confederate left through the woods and among stone fences held by superior forces of Infantry and Artillery but were repulsed with heavy loss including Brig. Gen. Farnsworth killed.
Casualties Killed 3 Officers 18 Men Wounded 6 Officers 28 Men Captured or Missing 1 Officer 42 Men Total 98
Brigadier General Elon Farnsworth
Brigadier General Elon Farnsworth commanded the brigade until he was killed leading the charge on July 3. Farnsworth was from Michigan. At the start of the war he became a lieutenant in the 8th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry Regiment commanded by his uncle, who had been a U.S. congressman. Elon was promoted to captain in December of 1861 and served as quartermaster in the 4th Corps and on the staff pf General Pleasonton. On June 28, 1863, Pleasonton gave Farnsworth command of the brigade. He was nominated for promotion to brigadier general but was killed five days later and his nomination was never confirmed.
Location of the monument
The monument is south of Gettysburg on the south side of South Confederate Avenue, which is one way eastbound at this point. (39°47’08.2″N 77°14’56.4″W) It is about a third of a mile past the Auto tour stop 7 pulloff.