About eight in the morning of July 3, Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick, commander of the Federal cavalry’s third division, received orders to operate on the Federal left flank at the southern end of the battlefield. Brigadier General Elon Farnsworth’s brigade rode with him. Kilpatrick’s other brigade under Brig. Gen. George Custer remained with Brig. Gen. David Gregg’s division (at Gregg’s request), and would later battle Jeb Stuart’s troopers northeast of Gettysburg. Brigadier General Wesley Merritt’s brigade of U.S. Regulars, part of John Buford’s division, also arrived about this time. Buford and his other two brigades had already moved south into Maryland to guard the army’s wagon trains.1
Farnsworth’s men dismounted and took up positions in and around the Bushman Woods by 1:00 p.m. Lieutenant Samuel Elder’s battery unlimbered on high ground, supported by the 5th New York Cavalry. The 1st Vermont Cavalry was on the right, followed by the 1st West Virginia and the 18th Pennsylvania. Farnsworth pushed out a skirmish line composed of four dismounted companies of the 1st Vermont Cavalry with two other mounted companies in support.2
The 1st Texas infantry (part of Brig. Gen. Jerome Robertson’s Brigade, Maj. Gen. John B. Hood’s Division, Longstreet’s First Corps) watched from behind a low stone wall as the Federal horsemen gained in strength. The previous day’s bloody fighting for Houck’s Ridge had whittled down the regiment to fewer than 200 men. Their difficult orders were to hold a defensive line stretching about one-half mile. Skirmishers from the 47th Alabama were on their left. The Confederate troops in this sector were well supported by Capt. James Reilly’s and Capt. William Bachman’s batteries (Henry’s artillery battalion). Sharp skirmishing erupted when the line of the 1st Vermont Cavalry advanced.3
General Merritt’s brigade took its position to the west about the same time. Throwing eight companies of the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry forward dismounted on the skirmish line, the rest of the brigade—the 1st U.S., 2nd U. S., and 5th U.S.—remained along the D. Currens farm lane just to the right of Emmitsburg Road. Graham’s battery also added to the Federal buildup. The right side of the 1st Texas skirmish line and 9th Georgia Infantry of Brig. Gen. George “Tige” Anderson’s Brigade (Hood’s Division) on its right faced the Regular troopers. About 100 men from the 1st South Carolina Cavalry, detached from Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton’s Brigade, supported by two guns from Capt. James Hart’s horse artillery, were on the right of the Georgians. When he learned of the build-up of Federal troops, Brig. Gen. Evander Law, who was commanding in this sector, ordered other regiments of Anderson’s regiments to reinforce the sector. Law also shifted a section of artillery from Reilly’s battery behind the Georgians.4
The contingent of the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry advanced about one-half mile up Emmitsburg Road before encountering the enemy infantry. Confederate artillery fire intensified, forcing the Pennsylvanians to grind to a halt. General Merritt ordered the rest of his brigade forward. The 2nd U.S. Cavalry formed on the right of Emmitsburg Road and the 1st U. S. Cavalry formed on the left, with the 5th U.S. Cavalry in support. The 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry moved forward again, and the weight of Merritt’s brigade forced the 1st South Carolina Cavalry and Hart’s guns to fall back. The 1st U.S. Cavalry proved especially irksome for the Confederates because it flanked the enemy’s left.5
The men of the 9th Georgia regiment near the A. Currens farm watched Merritt’s line of dismounted cavalrymen extending ominously beyond their right flank, threatening Hart’s battery. The Georgians were relieved to see the 7th and 8th Georgia regiments marching at the double quick to take up positions on their right. The 1st South Carolina Cavalry on their right extended the line westward.6