Many will watch the reenactment of the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. But before that battle took place, there was one even closer to home.

Gettysburg might have been the battle, but Harrisburg was the target.

As a vital transportation and supply center, the Confederates wanted this capital prize.

"It would have been a great embarrassment to the Lincoln administration," said Lawrence Keener-Farley of the Camp Curtin Historical Society. "It would hurt the morale in the north and it might have impressed the Europeans enough to give the Confederacy aid, if not outright recognition."

The Confederate advance came from General Albert Jenkins. With 1,500 men, he took Mechanicsburg, then advanced to Camp Hill. His headquarters stands today at the Rupp House on Trindle Road.

On Monday, June 29 in 1863, as Jenkins scouted Federal positions and defenses, his men skirmished with Union troops at Oyster Point in Camp Hill - close to Market and 32nd streets in Camp Hill today.

That fight was the closest the Confederate army came to Harrisburg. Even though the city could easily be taken, Jenkins' commander, General Ewell, was recalled to Gettysburg by Robert E. Lee.

As Jenkins waited for Ewell, Union troops skirmished for several hours at the Battle of Sporting Hill. The small engagement cost 20 lives on each side.

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