The Cavalry Buys Time
Gettysburg, United States
"The First Brigade maintained this unequal contest until the leading division of General Reynolds' corps came up to its assistance, and then most reluctantly did it give up the front."<br>Brig. Gen. John Buford, U.S.A.<br>Cavalry Corps, 1st Division<br><br>Cavalry soldiers traditionally fought on <i>horseback</i>, but by 1863 they were also fighting on <i>foot</i>. Although the infantryman's rifle-musket was more deadly at long range than the cavalryman's carbine, dismounted cavalry could effectively harass and delay foot soldiers.<br><br>Along this ridge (to your left and right), the Union cavalry of Brig. Gen. John Buford's Division held off the attacking Confederate infantry of Brig. Gen. Joseph R. Davis on the morning of July 1. When the pressure became too great, the troopers fell back to the ridge in front of you. <br><br>General Buford's cavalry slowed the attacking Confederates for two critical hours, time enough for the Union infantry to arrive on the battlefield.