The Union cavalry had spent the first two years of the war trying to equal Southern horsemen. Inferior leadership, lack of proper training, and improper use of the mounted services' capabilities hindered the Yankee soldiers from the very beginning. Then in the spring and summer of 1863 a new breed of leadership emerged, along with the change in tactics, and the U.S. cavalrymen slowly began to exert their superiority in both numbers of troops and equipment.

After some sharp-mounted actions in Virginia during June 1863, the cavalry found itself leading the Army of the Potomac north to Pennsylvania while chasing Lee's army. On the last day of June and the second day of July, the forces of Generals Judson Kilpatrick and James Ewell Brown Stuart met at Hanover and Hunterstown. After an initial surprise and rout of some troops, the Union cavalry held the town of Hanover and forced Stuart to detour even farther away from the Army of Northern Virginia and the opening stages of the fighting at Gettysburg. Two days later the same opponents met at Hunterstown and fought to a draw. This time J.E.B. Stuart maintained possession of the town. Kilpatrick received orders to withdraw. The actions at Hanover and Hunterstown proved to be a considerable boost to the morale and reputation of Kilpatrick's Division, the newest in the Cavalry corps, Army of the Potomac.

"Civil War buffs will find it excellent, packed with depth and insight."

Midwest Book Review