Battle of Hanover


The Winebrenner House wayside marker is along Frederick Street on the southwest side of Hanover, Pennsylvania about 400 yards from its Center Square. (see map below)

The Winebrenner House wayside marker at Hanover, Pennsylvania

Text from the marker:

The Winebrenner House

“We had better go down stairs; we are in danger here,” Mrs. Henry Winebrenner said to her daughter, Martha, after seeing the flash and hearing the roar from Confederate artillery.

– The Evening Herald, January 25, 1904

Confederate artillery Opens Fire

In 1863 this house on Frederick Street was located near the edge of town. The area around you was mostly open field at that time. By about 10:00 a.m. June 30, 1863, the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment halted on Frederick Street. Much of the regiment positioned behind you. Other units extended the line through the Center Square of Hanover and beyond.

When the first shots were fired, about one-half mile to the right, the rear guard of General Kilpatrick’s Union Cavalry Division galloped into this area. In pursuit, the charging 13th Virginia and part of the 2nd North Carolina Cavalry Regiments then struck the rear of the Pennsylvania column. The other portion of the 2nd North Carolina rode through the Forney fields, once located in front of you, and assaulted the right flank of the 18th Pennsylvania Calvary Regiment.

Now that the regiment was split in two, much of the Pennsylvania column was routed. Some cavalrymen retreated up Frederick Street towards the Center Square while others scattered down side streets and into the adjacent fields.

Captions from the photos on the left (top to bottom):

The door located on the balcony near where both the mother and her daughter had been standing.

After the artillery shell had penetrated the second floor it emerged in a first floor room where the rest of the Winebrenner family were gathered. It then struck a brick wall and failed to explode. Mr. Winebrenner then threw it outside in the yard.

Chest of drawers in a second floor room of the Henry Winebrenner House, damaged by a Confederate shell.

The Winebrenner House wayside marker at Hanover, Pennsylvania

Location of the marker

The Winebrenner House wayside marker is on the south side of Frederick Street (Pennsylvania Route 194) at its intersection with Stoner Avenue. (39°47’53.6″N 76°59’12.0″W)