During the Gettysburg Campaign, Richard Ewell's Corps swept toward the stategically important Susquehanna River. Ewell's columns included a veteran division under Jubal Early, whose objectives included the capture and ransom of towns and the destruction of railroad bridges and the Hanover Junction rail-yard. Early also planned to seize the bridge which spanned the Susquehanna between Early's Division to cross into prosperous Lancaster County and move against the capital in Harrisburg from its relatively undefended rear.
