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2500 cavalrymen under General John Buford are holding the town. Buford has pushed his advance scouts and videttes several miles west and north of town The cavalry has already performed its primary function, reconnaissance, and reported the positions of various rebel units about to converge - Gettysburg. General Buford has sent back to the advance elements of the Federal infantry, requesting support. Buford's intentions are to hold the crossroads, allowing the various commands in the Union army to converge on Gettysburg from compass points stretching from the east to the southwest. Should the rebels gain control of the highway intersection they would have succeeded in injecting their army into the midst of the Federal forces. This would offer the rebels the possibility of striking out in various directions and defeating the various Federal units in piecemeal fashion. In this manner the Confederates might be able to overcome the numerical advantage the Federal army enjoys.
As previously stated, the initial duty of Buford's cavalry was to scout out and develop the position of the opposing armyy But General John Buford was a fine professional, not averse to a fight. West Point educated, Buford had served on the Frontier previous to the civil war. He had shown himself to be a fine fighting commnander. His cavalry had become a powerful weapon in his hands. Cavalry operates under several handicaps when opposing infantry in a toe-to-toe fight. These problems were not about to deter a warrior such as John Buford. He dismounts his troopers and Sends them forward to a series of ridges several miles west and north of the town. Buford's men win slowly, grudgingly fall back towards Gettysburg, in the face of overwhelming Confederate strength. But as they withdraw, the Yankee horse soldiers are accomplishing their mission, buying precious minutes and hours, allowing the foot soldiers of the Union army to continue trudging north and west to the battlefield.
Between 9:30 and 10:00, the Confederates have pushed the Federals back to McPherson's Ridge. As they begin their assault here, intending to brush aside the Yankee horse soldiers, the leading elements of the Union infantry arrive, the I Corps. The battle now begins in earnest with the embrace of the infantry. The focal point of this action is The McPherson family barn, still on the field today. Many battle related buildings exist today due to the efforts of the Park Service.
As we enter early afternoon, July 1, both armies win extend their lines to the south and north along McPherson's Ridge.
