The Department of the Susquehanna was a military department created by the United States War Department during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. The United States Department of War was the military department of the United States governments executive branch from 1789 until 1949, when it became part of the United States Department of Defense. ... Meade and Lee of Gettysburg Gettysburg Campaign (through July 3); cavalry movements shown with dashed lines. ... Combatants United States of America Union Confederate States of America Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties Killed in action: 110,000 Total dead: 360,000 Wounded: 275,200 Killed in action: 93,000 Total dead: 258,000...

On June 9, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, responding to Robert E. Lee's impending invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania, called for 100,000 volunteers from Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio to help repel the invasion, with only about 33,000 recruits answering his call. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton ordered the creation of two departments, the Departments of the Susequehanna and Monongahela, to organize these militia and defend the state of Pennsylvania. The Department of the Susquehanna consisted of all troops east of Johnstown and the Laurel Highlands, and it was initially headquartered at Chambersburg. It was placed under the command of Major General Darius N. Couch, who had formerly commanded II Corps, Army of the Potomac. June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed the Rail Splitter, Honest Abe and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. ... Robert E. Lee, 1863 Portrait by Julian Vannerson Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a career army officer and the most successful general of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  Ranked 42nd  - Total 12,417 sq. ... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Columbus Columbus (largest metropolitan area is Cleveland) Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq. ... The Secretary of War was a member of the Presidents Cabinet, beginning with George Washingtons administration. ... Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814 – December 24, 1869), was an American lawyer, politician, United States Attorney General in 1860-61 and Secretary of War through most of the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. ... The Department of the Monogahela was a military department created by the United States War Department during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... The Laurel Highlands, in Southwestern Pennsylvania in the USA, encompasses Fayette County, Somerset County and Westmoreland County. ... Chambersburg is a borough located in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Darius N. Couch Darius Nash Couch (July 23, 1822 – February 12, 1897) was a U.S. Army officer, naturalist, and a Union general in the American Civil War. ... There were five corps in the Union Army designated as II Corps (Second Corps) during the American Civil War. ... Generals Burnside, Hancock, Couch, Ferro, Patrick, Wilcox, Cochrane, Buford and others. ...

As the Confederates entered the Cumberland Valley, Couch moved his headquarters to Harrisburg. Militia from New York and New Jersey arrived in the capital to provide manpower while the newly raised Pennsylvania militia drilled at Camp Curtin. New York troops from the Department of the Susquehanna were first engaged in a skirmish with Confederate cavalry under Albert G. Jenkins at Greencastle on June 20, losing one man killed (considered the first casualty of the Gettysburg Campaign on Northern soil). The New Yorkers eventually retired to Harrisburg, allowing Jenkins to occupy Chambersburg. Some Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army (CSA) was formed in February 1861 to defend the Confederate States of America, which had itself been formed that same year when seven southern states seceded from the United States (with four more to follow). ... Cumberland Valley Township is a township located in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. ... Map Location in Pennsylvania Political Statistics Founded c. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq. ... Camp Curtin was a military training camp near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. ... Albert Gallatin Jenkins (November 10, 1830 – May 21, 1864) was an attorney, planter, representative to the United States Congress and First Confederate Congress, and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War. ... Greencastle is a borough located in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. ... Chambersburg is a borough located in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. ...

Couch ordered that no Confederate unit was to be allowed to cross the Susquehanna River. He authorized the construction of earthworks and fortifications near Lemoyne to defend Harrisburg and its river bridges. He assigned William F. "Baldy" Smith to defend the state capital. Couch designated his aide-de-camp, Major Granville O. Haller, as the sector commander to defend Adams and York counties, with regional headquarters in Gettysburg. Couch sent out three regiments of state emergency militia to Haller's assistance, with the 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia (P.V.M.) sent to Gettysburg, the 20th P.V.M. to York County, and the 27th P.V.M. to Columbia to defend the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, a vital crossing over the Susquehanna. The Susquehanna River is a river in the northeastern United States. ... Lemoyne is a borough located in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. ... William F. Baldy Smith William Farrar Smith (February 17, 1824 – February 28, 1903), was a civil engineer, a police commissioner, and Union general in the American Civil War. ... An aide-de-camp (French: camp assistant) is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state. ... Major is a military rank denoting an officer of mid-level command status. ... Granville Owen Haller (January 31, 1819 – May 2, 1897) was a noted Indian fighter and U.S. Army military officer, as well as a wealthy antebellum businessman in the Seattle, Washington, area. ... Adams County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... York County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... Gettysburg is a borough 38 miles (68 km) south by southwest of Harrisburg located in Adams County, Pennsylvania, USA, of which it is the county seatGR6. ... Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge looking east over the Susquehanna River. ...

On June 26, 1863, advancing Confederates under Jubal Early and John Brown Gordon routed Haller's militia at Gettysburg and occupied the borough. Haller retired to York, which surrendered on June 28, the largest Northern town to fall during the Civil War. Prior to the Confederate occupation, he removed his troops to Wrightsville, where in obedience to Couch's orders, Haller ordered the covered bridge burnt to prevent Confederate passage into Lancaster County. June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... The name Jubal Early may refer to: Jubal Anderson Early - a Confederate General during the American Civil War Jubal Early - a character on the Firefly television series. ... John Brown Gordon John Brown Gordon (February 6, 1832 – January 9, 1904) served as one of Robert E. Lees most trusted generals during the American Civil War. ... Nickname: the White Rose City Map Political Statistics Incorporated Borough:September 24, 1787 City:January 11, 1887 County York County Mayor John Brenner Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 13. ... Wrightsville is a borough located in York County, Pennsylvania. ... A covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof. ... Lancaster County is a county located in the south-central portion of the state of Pennsylvania in the Susquehanna Valley. ...

Elements of the department under General Smith took part in skirmishes against elements of Richard S. Ewell's corps in Cumberland County at Sporting Hill on June 30 and against J.E.B. Stuart at Carlisle on July 1. Couch dispatched Smith's men, along with many of Haller's, to help George G. Meade pursue Robert E. Lee's retreating Army of Northern Virginia. The Department of the Susquehanna remained operational following the conclusion of the campaign, although many of the militia were sent home. Richard S. Ewell Richard Stoddert Ewell (February 8, 1817 – January 25, 1872) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. ... Cumberland County is a county located in the state of Pennsylvania and is one of four counties comprising the greater Harrisburg metropolitan area. ... James Ewell Brown Stuart (February 6, 1833 – May 12, 1864) was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate Army general during the American Civil War. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders William F. Smith Jeb Stuart Strength Federal militia (app. ... George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 - November 6, 1872) was an American military officer during the American Civil War. ... Robert E. Lee, 1863 Portrait by Julian Vannerson Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a career army officer and the most successful general of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. ... The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War in the eastern theater. ...

In 1864, the Confederates again invaded Pennsylvania, as John McCausland raided and burned Chambersburg. Couch was again engaged in sending out militia to repel the enemy. The Department of the Susquehanna remained in existence until December 1, 1864, when it was merged with the Department of the Monongahela into the Department of Pennsylvania. A Brigadier-General in the Confederate Army famous for the ransom of Hagerstown, Maryland and the razing of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. ... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

References

• Boatner III, Lt. Col. Mark Mayo, The Civil War Dictionary. New York: Van Rees Press, 1959.