Civil War Heritage of Emmitsburg

To educate, to interpret and to preserve

“The first large body that passed near the College was the 6th Michigan Cavalry. They jogged along, four abreast, many of the weary riders leaning forward, sound asleep on the necks of their horses. Many of us sat on the fences along the road watching and listening to their sayings." Dr. Thomas C. Moore, Mount Saint Mary's, 1863

 

Photograph of the Tollhouse on Tollgate Hill

Welcome | The C.W.H.E. | Areas of Interest | Timeline of Events | Information   Interpretation   Community Links   Touring Emmitsburg

Custer’s Brigade at the Tollgate

This is a private residence, no visitor services available

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tollhouse as it appears today near the intersection of South Seton Avenue and the Old Emmitsburg Road

During the afternoon of June 27th, a part of General George Armstrong Custer’s Brigade of Michigan Cavalry was encamped just south of Emmitsburg on the old tollgate, before heading toward Hanover on the following Monday. George Custer was only 24 years old when he was promoted to Brigadier General in Frederick. He had replaced General Joseph T. Copeland as commander. General Custer had scouted the Emmitsburg area and hired a local resident by the name of Jim McCullough to guide Custer around the Emmitsburg area.

An article originally published in the Emmitsburg Chronicle on August 31, 1951, stated that “On Saturday the 27th day of June, two regiments of Michigan cavalry camped a mile south of Emmitsburg on the Tollgate held the advance of Kilpatrick's division. They were armed with the deadly Spencer repeating carbines and looked like they could fight. They stayed until Monday, when the division arrived and they all marched to Hanover, Pa. They were guided by Jim McCullough, an Emmitsburg soldier boy, who was counted as one of the best scouts in the army.”

Dr. Thomas C. Moore of Mount Saint Mary’s later recalled: “The first large body that passed near the College was the 6th Michigan Cavalry. They jogged along, four abreast, many of the weary riders leaning forward, sound asleep on the necks of their horses. Many of us sat on the fences along the road watching and listening to their sayings. We naturally looked upon the men as sheep led to the slaughter, and we were not a little surprised when we overheard two of them closing a bargain on horseback with the remark: 'Well, I will settle with you for this after the battle. Will that suit you?' The other party readily assented. The whole period of life is treated as a certainty, even by men going into battle.”

General Custer’s men had made their camps on the grounds of the St. Joseph’s House. Joseph Brawner, the field manager had the cutting machine ready to cut down the clover that covered the fields to store in the barn loft. He would carry out the task of cutting down the clover in the meadows that surrounded St. Joseph’s. As the 5th Michigan Cavalry made their quarters for the night, they let their horses graze in the fields. Once sunrise came on Sunday morning of June 28th, the fields were barren and nothing was left of the clover. William O. North of the 5th Michigan Cavalry gave the Sisters of Charity a memo that stated: “Joseph Brawner was entitled to pay, for 16,000 pounds of hay being the amount consumed and destroyed by the 5th Michigan Cavalry while quartered on the grounds of the Saint Joseph’s House on the night of June 27, 1863.