The men of the 5th New York had paused along Frederick Street and were resting when they heard shots. Major John Hammond immediately ordered the local citizens to clear the streets. Chambliss’ brigade of gray-clad horsemen entered the town from the south. Led by Lt. Col. William H. Payne, who was temporarily in command of the 2nd North Carolina, the Confederates attacked the 18th Pennsylvania in flank and rear, cutting the regiment in two.

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Hanover was in mass confusion. Stuart’s men had pushed the rear of the 18th Pennsylvania into town, causing the regiment to become mixed with runaway wagons, ambulances and panicky citizens. Soldiers and civilians alike were running into alleys and side streets. The Confederate forces now had control of Hanover.

The majority of the Union cavalry was on its way out of town, nearing New Baltimore, about a mile above Hanover. Farnsworth was unsure about what was taking place, but he quickly ordered the 1st West Virginia and 1st Vermont back toward Hanover, in the direction of the shooting. Hearing that Stuart was in Hanover, Kilpatrick rode at breakneck speed back to town. When he arrived, his horse collapsed and died.

Meanwhile, Major Hammond and the 5th New York made a spirited countercharge against Payne’s 2nd North Carolina, temporarily stopping their drive. In the charge, Adjutant Alexander Gall of the 5th New York was shot in the left eye; the ball passed completely through his head and killed him instantly. Farnsworth arrived and found Hammond’s men dueling with the Rebels. With the general in the lead, the troopers proceeded to drive the advancing Southerners toward Littlestown Pike near Buttstown. The Federals had regained control of the town.

During all the confusion, Stuart remained personally involved in the battle. The fighting became severe near the Forney farm between Littlestown Pike and Westminster Road. Sending in units to assist Chambliss whenever possible, Stuart suddenly realized that he was directly in front of the charging blue cavalry. Finding himself trapped, he headed his horse directly toward his artillery line near Westminster Road. While riding away from Federal pursuers, Stuart and his adjutant, Captain William W. Blackford, had to jump across a 15-foot-wide gully to escape.

Colonel Payne did not fare quite so well. Payne, who had commanded the famed “Black Horse Cavalry” earlier in the war, found himself caught up in the melee near the Winebrenner tannery. He was captured by Abram Folger of Company H, 5th New York Cavalry, in a most unusual way. “While charging at the edge of town and getting separated from our regiment, I was made prisoner by Colonel Payne and was being taken to the rear on the main road,” Folger recalled. “Just outside the town was situated a tannery, the vats of which were not covered and very close to the street. I was walking along beside the colonel’s orderly, and as we came near these tannery vats, I saw a carbine lying on the ground. When I came up to it, I quickly took it, and seeing it was loaded I fired and killed Payne’s horse, which in its death struggle fell over towards the vats, throwing Payne head first into one of them completely under the tanning liquid. Seeing the colonel was safe enough for the moment, I turned my attention to the orderly, who…was about to jump his horse over the fence to the right and escape that way if he could, but not being able to do so, concluded he had better surrender….I took him in and disarmed him, and made him help to get the colonel out of the tanning liquid. His gray uniform with its velvet facing and white gauntlet gloves, his face and hair had all been completely stained, so that he presented a most laughable sight.”

After the capture of their commander, the 2nd North Carolina retreated. But resistance by the 9th and 10th Virginia was strong enough to drive Farnsworth’s men back toward Hanover. Stuart now faced multiple problems. Hampton, encumbered with 125 captured wagons, would not arrive until the middle of the afternoon, and Fitz Lee was busy with the 5th and 6th Michigan of Custer’s brigade. Stuart did manage to get four cannons emplaced on an elevated field south of town. A two-hour artillery duel followed as Lieutenant Alexander Pennington’s 2nd and Lieutenant Samuel Elder’s 4th U.S. Artillery opened up from a rise known locally as Bunker Hill. There was some damage to the town; no civilians were injured, although a number of Union troopers were.

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