At the urging of "Brother Dennis", I'm going to share this letter with you. It's from D.S. Freeman to my Grandpa (Daniel Imboden) about his grandpa (my gg grandpa),J.D.Imboden, who commanded a cavalry brigade at Gettysburg. Dennis thought that you all would find it interesting. Here it is:

21st,October,1944

Major Daniel Carrington Imboden,
Director, Military Training Division,
Northern Security District,
Seattle 1,Washington.

Dear Major Imboden:
My warmest thanks to you for your gracious letter of October 12th. You bear a most distinguished Confederate name. I always wished that General Imboden could have commanded troops of a firmer discipline. As a Brigadier under Stuart, with such men as those of the 1st and the 4th Virginia Cavalry, he would have made an eve greater name for himself than that which he had passed on to posterity.

Again, my warmest thanks.
Gratefully yours,
D.S. Freeman

by
Eric Wittenberg

On July 5, 1863, Brig. Gen. John Buford and his staff set out for Boonsboro, Maryland, where Judson Kilpatrick’s command was camped. The two generals met to plan their advance on a 17 mile long Confederate wagon train of wounded in Williamsport, Maryland, where the wagons were trapped by the rising waters of the Potomac River. The two generals agreed that Buford’s division would pitch into the Confederate forces guarding the wagon trains on the banks of the swollen river.

On the 6th, Buford’s Division advanced on the river crossing town of Williamsport. A Confederate defensive force, scraped together of a brigade of cavalrymen and the waggoners, was commanded by Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden, a forty year old lawyer from the Shenandoah Valley primarily noted for his partisan activities. The town had become one large field hospital for the stream of Confederate battle casualties, but the Union pursuit soon forced Imboden to battle in its defense. He wrote, “Our situation was frightful. We had probably ten thousand animals and nearly all of the wagons of Gen. Lee’s army under our charge, and all the wounded, to the number of several thousand, that could be brought from Gettysburg.”

That morning Imboden learned that Buford’s and Kilpatrick’s divisions were closing in. Recognizing that he had a difficult task, the Confederate genera armed as many of the wounded as were able to fight and arrayed his troops on the high ground surrounding the town. Imboden had a number of batteries of horse artillery with him, so his force had firepower to oppose the strong Union force bearing down on him. At about 1:30 p.m., Kilpatrick’s men attacked.

It was about 5:30, before Buford’s division, then located near St. James College, four miles from Williamsport, encountered one of Imboden’s advanced detachments. As Buford’s command advanced, it came under both artillery and small arms fire. The Confederate gunners briefly compelled Buford to fall back until Calef’s battery could be brought up. Calef unlimbered and engaged the Confederate artillerists in a counter-battery duel, which was won by the Confederates. Calef’s men were briefly driven from their guns, thus leaving them vulnerable to capture. In response, Buford ordered Gamble’s brigade to support Calef, and a sharp fight broke out along the Boonsboro Road, where Gamble’s troopers attempted to outflank the enemy defenses in an effort to get between the Confederates and the river. Gamble dismounted his command and ordered it forward. Federal carbine fire drove the Confederates all the way back to Imboden’s main line of defense at Williamsport, a distance of several miles. In this attack, Maj. William J. Medill, the diminutive but pugnacious second in command of the 8th Illinois, remarked to regimental commander Maj. John Beveridge “A field officer should command the battalion, and if you have no objection, I will go.” Medill grabbed a carbine, caught up to the advancing skirmish line, and joined in the attack. When the Illinois men were halfway across the field, Medill ordered a volley and raised his own carbine to fire a shot when he was severely wounded. The brave, popular little major was taken to Frederick, he died several days later.

Gamble’s men held their positions until dark, frustrated by their inability to get to the Confederate wagon train they could see just behind Imboden’s line. Lt. John Blue, a wounded officer of Grumble Jones’s brigade, who was waiting to cross the Potomac at Williamsport, noted, “The lines of blue could be plainly seen on the high grounds not far away. General Imboden’s command, reinforced by several hundred teamsters, seemed to be patiently awaiting the attack.” But Gamble’s carbines took a heavy toll among the Confederate defenders. Maj. Harry Gilmor of the 2nd Maryland Cavalry commanded the Southern troops in the northern sector of Gamble’s attack. Realizing that his position was vulnerable to Buford’s artillery fire, Gilmor sent back to Imboden for reinforcements, but Imboden had none to spare. Ordering his troopers and convalescents into line of battle, the dashing Gilmor led a small force of 180 Confederates towards a large building occupied by Gamble’s troopers. The Yankees were driven out by this attack, but Gilmor’s command suffered 34 casualties.

Harry Gilmor had scarcely taken possession of the building when Calef’s artillery opened on him, followed by a dismounted assault. Gilmor’s men repulsed this attack, and another, then counterattacked in an effort to reach Calef’s guns atop the nearby ridge. Gilmor was knocked senseless by the concussion of a shell fired by one of the guns and fell into Federal hands, although he later escaped.

Gilmor was soon reinforced by Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s Cavalry Brigade, who, along with the brigade of Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton, brought up the rear of Imboden’s wagon train, as well as Confederate foot soldiers and artillery which arrived to stem the blue tide. The 54th North Carolina Infantry, part of the Army of Northern Virginia’s rear guard, took on Gamble’s men, suffering fairly heavy casualties in the fighting. Outgunning Buford’s artillery, the Gray cannoneers continued to get the better of the exchange.

By the time Devin’s brigade arrived, Gamble was already heavily engaged, as was part of Merritt’s brigade. The Confederates tried to outflank Merritt’s position with a brigade of infantry, which, according to Buford’s report, “was most admirably foiled by General Merritt.” While no direct attacks were made on Merritt’s front, the Confederates there “were so obstinate that General Merritt could not dislodge them without too much sacrifice.” The 6th Pennsylvania held the center of Merritt’s line, supported by the Regular battery of Capt. William K. Graham. There Rush’s Lancers held their position for four hours under heavy fire knowing that “[m]ore than one determined charge of the rebels would have broken our line but for the timely use of canister by Graham’s guns.” Devin was ordered to mass in the woods to the rear of the Union position and await further orders. At 7 p.m., he was sent to relieve Gamble’s men on the left front, with instructions to disengage and fall back to the woods after dark. Meanwhile, Imboden received word from Fitz Lee that if he could hang on for another half hour, Lee’s strong brigade would come to his aid. Resolved to hold his ground, Imboden gamely resisted until Lee’s troopers reached the field. Thanks to those reinforcments, the Confederates began pushing back the Union forces.

Devin held the woods until morning, allowing the rest of Buford’s command to withdraw. Devin’s troopers then conducted a fighting retreat, covering the main line with skirmishers as they retired. Devin had heavily picketed the roads in his rear, since members of the 6th New York had detected approaching Confederate infantry and artillery seeking to cut off the Union troopers. Around midnight, the Confederates advanced skirmishers and encountered Devin’s picket lines. After a brief firefight, the Rebels withdrew. Devin took some casualties in this clash, mostly from the 17th Pennsylvania, which was covering the retreat.

Around 7 p.m., the vanguard of Kilpatrick’s division came down the Hagerstown Road, deployed, and opened fire. Hearing this, Buford sent word to Kilpatrick “to connect with my right for mutual support. The connection was made, Buford reported, “but was of no consequence to either one of us.” The regimental historian of the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, of Kilpatrick’s division, noted,

…the whole train would have [been burned] had it not been for the rebel infantry and cavalry, which now came up, and furiously attacked, in flank and rear…Long and desperately did [Kilpatrick’s troopers] contend with the overwhelming forces opposed to them— in fact, too long, for they were at one time completely enveloped…As it was, however, they successfully extricated themselves from their perilous position, [and] recrossed the Antietam in safety…

Unfortunately, Fitz Lee’s brigade arrived about the same time, and supported by strong and effective artillery fire, succeeded in driving off Kilpatrick’s division. Buford noted, “Just before dark, Kilpatrick’s troops gave way, passing to my rear by the right, and were closely followed by the enemy.” The firing ended at about 8 p.m., which probably was a good thing for the Federals. The regimental historian of the 6th Pennsylvania believed, “Had the daylight lasted another hour, we would have suffered the most disastrous defeat.”

Exasperated, the Federals drew off. After removing his wounded, Buford retired to a position along the Sharpsburg and Hagerstown Turnpike, where he threw out strong picket lines. Properly protected, his division bivouacked for the night, cold, wet and tired. The torrential rains continued to fall, and they wallowed in a sea of mud. The regimental historian of the 6th New York observed, “The men passed a wearisome, sleepless night, mounted, in line, or standing to horse.”

July 6th had not been a good day for Buford. Frustrated by his inability to capture the great prize that awaited at the ford at Williamsport, he had tried to drive off Imboden’s scratch force and failed. A member of the 8th Illinois wrote home, “Although the rebels were too many for us, yet they lost the most men; they charged us but we beat them back; but we could not get possession of the town, and so withdrew after dark…” Imboden had done a masterful job of shifting his makeshift force to meet threats, and had repulsed both Buford and Kilpatrick in some sharp fighting. Imboden proudly wrote years later, “My whole force engaged, wagoners included, did not exceed three thousand men. The ruse practiced by showing a formidable line on the left, then withdrawing it to the right, together with our numerous artillery…led to the belief that our force was much greater….A bold charge at any time before sunset would have broken our feeble lines, and then we should all have fallen an easy prey to the Federals.” This ruse was not evident to either Buford or Kilpatrick. Buford noted in his report of the campaign, “The expedition had for its object the destruction of the enemy’s trains…This, I regret to say, was not accomplished. The enemy was too strong for me, but he was severely punished for his obstinacy. His casualties were more than quadruple mine.” It was one of Old Steadfast’s worst showings as a commander.