JULY 3: ‘Come On, You Wolverines!’

Jul 2

On this date in July 1863, Confederate forces under General George Pickett ready a frontal assault on the center Union line at Gettysburg while Confederate cavalry Maj. General James Ewell Brown “JEB” Stuart prepares his nearly 5,000 men to strike at the Union rear to exploit any success realized from Pickett’s charge.

Brigadier General George Custer, reinforcing Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. David M. Gregg, had a force of 1,900 Michigan cavalrymen and was assigned to defend the Union rear. The showdown occurred at East Cavalry Field, southeast of Gettysburg.

According to the American Battlefield Trust: “The two sides exchanged artillery fire and initially pushed forward dismounted skirmishers. After exchanging gunfire near the John Rummel Farm, the Southerners launched the first of two mounted assaults against the Federal position. Gregg ordered a mounted countercharge from the 7th Michigan, in which Custer rode in front of his men and shouted his immortal war cry, “Come on you Wolverines!” Custer’s spectacular charge stopped when the regiment crashed into a fence that had not been removed from the field, but they nonetheless halted the enemy’s attack.

“At about 3:00 p.m., approximately 2,000 Confederate horsemen under Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton emerged for the grand climax. With their sabers glistening in the sun, Hampton’s soldiers gathered speed and galloped toward the Yankee position. Gregg sent in only one regiment, the 1st Michigan, to stop them. Once again, the blonde-haired Custer raced in front of his men and led them forward. Witnesses described the sound of the two sides colliding as like thunder. Capt. William Miller led a squadron of the 3rd Pennsylvania into Hampton’s left flank, and the Confederates grudgingly returned to their starting point. Gregg’s Union forces held their position.”