"Hunterstown, four-miles northeast of Gettysburg, was the scene of a relatively small but significant engagement on July 2, 1863, at the height of the Battle of Gettysburg. It has come to be known as the North Cavalry Field. Union Brigadier Generals E. Farnsworth and George A. Custer were in search of the left rear of the Confederate forces. CSA Brig. General Wade Hampton moved into place on the Hunterstown Road to block any Union efforts to maneuver behind Lee's lines. Custer and Hampton met at 4 PM and the fight continued until 11 PM thanks to Custer's plan to trap them on the road. The battle was strategically important because it prevented the Confederates from taking a position behind Union lines.

Custer's horse fell on him during the fight. The course of history was altered when Norville Churchill freed him and saw him to safety. A memorial dedicated to Custer is on the main road. www.hunterstown1863.com

A number of structures have survived and a tour of Hunterstown is like stepping into the 1860s. The Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Grass Hotel was constructed in the 1700s and served as Kilpatrick's headquarters for the duration of the battle. Custer received his orders here and the door remains battle scarred. Nearby the 17th-century Conewago Presbyterian Church functioned as a Confederate hospital during the Civil War.

Tate Farm, Barn and Blacksmith Shop have numerous claims to historic status. George Washington stopped here in 1794 on his way home from Pittsburgh to have his horse shod and in 1863 it was at the center of the battle. Oral history has it that the farm was a stop on the Underground Railroad and legends point to the fact that there was a tunnel that ran from the farm to the Grass Hotel."

By Renée S. Gordon, "The Philadelphia Sunday"