Adams County Land Conservancy To Host Stuart Ride
By Deborah Fitts

HANOVER, Pa. — On July 3 mounted troopers will reenact the famous ride of Confederate cavalier Jeb Stuart to Hanover 145 years ago, this time as a benefit for the Land Conservancy of Adams County.

“This is unusual for us,” acknowledged conservancy Presi-dent Dick Mountfort. In fact, while they host an annual art auction and road rally, Civil War reenacting is a first for the veteran conservation organization.

Mountfort predicted about 200 cavalry and “at least one field piece.” Participants will come from “distant parts of the U.S.,” he said, as well as from England. “There will be a little bit of an international flavor.”

The cavalry will bivouac the night of July 2 on the grounds of the Union Mills Homestead, a historic property in Union Mills, Md., 17 miles south of Gettysburg. The following morning visitors will be invited to join in a pancake breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m.

Tickets for the all-you-can-eat breakfast, at $6 per person, will be available at the homestead. The meal will also include sausage, applesauce, coffee and juice. More information is available from the homestead at (410) 848-2288. All proceeds from the breakfast will benefit Union Mills Homestead.

The troopers will depart the homestead at 9:30 a.m. on July 3. Their route north will take them across the Pennsylvania border and the Mason-Dixon Line.

Instead of heading to downtown Hanover where Stuart engaged in battle, they will ride cross-country about nine miles to the farm of Peter and Sharon Sheppard, who Mountfort said are “ardent supporters of conservation.”

In late June 1863 Stuart completed one of his trademark rides around the Union army. But his trip to Hanover — and subsequent delay in arriving in time to assist the Confederate army at Gettysburg — played a role in the Union victory there when Robert E. Lee was left vulnerable for two days without the “eyes” of his cavalry.

The gates of the Sheppard Farm will open to the public at 11 a.m. on the 3rd. The property is located on Westminster Road near the Long Arm Reservoir. A battle reenactment is scheduled for 6 p.m. Prior to the battle, ticket-holders may walk through the picketed camps in the woods above the battlefield and adjacent to the reservoir.

Tickets for the Sheppard Farm reenactment are available from the Land Conservancy and may be purchased by calling (717) 334-2828 or by going online at LCACnet.org. All proceeds will benefit land preservation.

Admission is $10 for adults over 18, $5 for students 12 to 18, and free for children under 12. Advance ticket purchases are encouraged since tickets could be limited on the day of the event. The reenactment will be held rain or shine.

The nonprofit Land Conservancy of Adams County was founded in 1996. To date the organization has preserved 5,300 acres in the county, including some properties on the Gettysburg battlefield.