General George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer was appointed brigadier general on June 29, 1863, and assigned as commander of the Michigan brigade which he led as the Union cavalry entered Hanover on the morning of June 30, 1863. Custer's troops helped push the Confederate cavalry of J.E.B. Stuart out of Hanover and impeded his linking with Jubal Early's Confederate infantry, which was redeploying from York towards Gettysburg. This led to Stuart not arriving at Gettysburg until the late afternoon of July 2. The Battle of Hanover, then, was an early important action in the Gettysburg Campaign which favored the Union. General Custer also took a leading part in the great cavalry fight on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, where he won distinction for gallantry.