Bob I would suspect that these troops were foragers looking for horses and what not. Most of the southern units had some ment that shook lose from the main body drifted out to get the really good pickins of the Pa. country side. These maybe the ones that were documented or had the guts to tell an officer how far the got before turning for the main show. This is of course IMHO> :Jld Juan...........Oh this is by no means a slam aganst the A.N.V. The 60 mile path through Gorgia by Sherman's men is the same thing just on a grander and sactioned scale.

Thanks for the reply Old Juan. The mileage from the towns is what I find surprising! From that point near Sterett's Gap to Carlisle to the south is about 8 miles. From the "Gap" to Gettysburg Battlefield to the south is about 38 miles and from the "gap" to Harrisburg to the southeast is about 18 miles. I can't fathom why that group of Confederates wanted to march over a 900 ft. mountain gap for foraging when there were no valuable industries or railroads in Perry County at that time (still isn't to this day), or for food when they had the whole fertile Cumberland Valley behind them. "Sigh" I think I need to find out the exact date this happened. Maybe that should shed some more light on the subject for me.