Greetings. I am Rick Lank, one of the organizers of a new event taking place in the fall called "Grace Under Fire: Williamsport & the Retreat from Gettysburg." We are commemorating all of the wounded, the non-combatants and the civilians involved in the Retreat from Gettysburg, specifically the episode when a wagontrain of seriously wounded CSA soldiers were taken by Wagontrain 42 miles to Williamsport, Maryland -- where they stayed for around ten days, waiting for the Potomac River to recede.
The Union Cavalry pursued them -- and they fought the so-called "Wagoners Battle" against the southern teamsters and the wounded. CSA General John D. Imboden (who led the "Wagontrain of Woe") successfully defended the wagontrain and, ironically, he defended the pro-Union town of Williamsport from any real harm.
According to many accounts, there were at least 10,000 wounded CSA men in and around Williamsport, along with some 4,000 teamsters, upwards of 20,000 non-combatants, and thousands of stolen/pilferred animals.
We are telling this story and the rich Civil War legacy of the Williamsport/Falling Waters/St. James area this fall -- and we are seeking descendents of soldiers - both North and South - who were part of that facet of the Retreat. John Buford, George A. Custer, Wade Hampton, Major Harman (southern Quartermaster), Lt. Colonel William Delony (so called Company "Q") were all there -- among thousands of others. So if you are related to a soldier, a teamster, a hospital worker or surgeon, or a cavalryman, and you know they were involved in the Retreat from Gettysburg, we would like to hear from you.
We are actively looking for accounts, stories and diaries of people (soldiers and civilians) who were part of that huge mass evacuation from July 4th through mid-July.
The event will take place on October 8th and 9th in and around Williamsport, Maryland -- a C&O Canal town near both Interstates 81 and 70 -- near Hagerstown and Antietam.
Our email is williamsportmd@history-in-the-making.org and our phone is 1-866-588-6503. The mail is PO Box 665 Williamsport Maryland 21795. We are a 501-c-3 educational non-profit.