Monterey Pass

Monterey Pass is a 1,300 feet (0.40 km) mountain pass located in Franklin County, southern Pennsylvania.

This article is about the geographic location. For the Civil War military engagement, see Fight at Monterey Pass.
Monterey Pass
aliases: Monterey,[1] Monterey Gap,[2]
Monterey Springs[2]
South Mountain, with Monterey Pass at top of photo.
Elevation~1300 ft
Traversed byOld Pennsylvania Route 16
LocationWashington Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania
RangeSouth Mountain
Coordinates39°44′09″N 77°28′28″W
Topo mapUSGS

Geography

The saddle area lies near Happel's Meadow, [3] between Monterey Peak (1,663 ft) and Clermont Crag (1627 ft), in the South Mountain Range of the northern Blue Ridge Mountains System.

It is located near Blue Ridge Summit and the historical Mason–Dixon line.

History

Gettysburg Campaign
Main article: Fight at Monterey Pass

It was the site of the July 1863 Fight at Monterey Pass during the Retreat from Gettysburg in the American Civil War.

The first military engagement at Monterey Pass was on June 22, 1863. Captain Robert B. Moorman, commanding Company D of the 14th Virginia Cavalry[4] was dispatched eastward from the area between Greencastle, Pennsylvania, and Hagerstown, Maryland, to obtain horses reportedly available from local Southern sympathizers.[5] After the company passed through Leitersburg, Maryland,[6] and on to Caledonia Furnace; at Monterey the company encountered Bell's Adams County Cavalry[1] and the First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, both temporarily based in Gettysburg. After a very brief skirmish, the Confederate troops withdrew toward Hagerstown, joining General Richard S. Ewell, who was advancing with a larger force.[7]

Previous combat in the area included a June 21 engagement at Fairfield, and subsequent engagements prior to the Battle of Gettysburg included the first combat of Adams County, Pennsylvania, during the Civil War.[8] (Pennsylvania militia[9] at Fountain Dale on June 28) and at Emmitsburg, Maryland, on June 24.

In addition to the July 4–5 Fight at Monterey Pass, July 4 combat in the area included the Skirmish at Fairfield Gap, Pennsylvania,[10] and skirmishes near Emmitsburg MD (9.4 miles east), Zora, Pennsylvania, and Waynesboro, Pennsylvania (6.5 miles west).[7] As late as July 8, Union forces such as Company D, 10th New York Cavalry, were still in the area.[2]

See also

References
  1. Nye, Wilbur Sturtevant (1988). Here come the Rebels!. Dayton OH: Press of Morningside Bookshop. pp. 243–44. ISBN 0-89029-780-0.
  2. Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Part II --Record-- of Events Vol. 41. Wilmington NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company. p. 427,458. ISBN 1-56837-342-2. July 8. – [Marched to] near Monterey Springs [Gap].
  3. "Washtwp-franklin.org: Happel's Meadow". Archived from the original on 2008-07-26. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  4. Eastern Washington Cavalry Association
  5. Library of Congress
  6. Hughes' Iron Works Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Emmitsburg Area Historical Society
  8. Heritage Tour – 2008. Lindy Bumbaugh, guide. p. 6,12.CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. Dyer, Frederick H (1994). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Wilmington NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company. p. 827.
  10. Army of the Potomac [tablet 6 of 9], on East Cemetery Hill of Gettysburg Battlefield: National Park Service
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