Which Union general was killed during the South Cavalry Field fighting?

Elon J. Farnsworth was the Union general killed during the South Cavalry Field fighting at Gettysburg.

Farnsworth commanded a Union cavalry brigade positioned southwest of Big Round Top on July 3, 1863. After the Confederate infantry assault known as Pickett’s Charge failed, Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick ordered cavalry attacks against entrenched Confederate infantry from Longstreet’s command.

The terrain was badly suited to mounted action. Fences, woods, rocks, uneven ground, and heavily defended Confederate positions made the charge extremely dangerous. Farnsworth reportedly objected to the order but led his men forward. During the final phase of the attack, his small group became surrounded near Big Round Top, and he was struck by multiple bullets.

Farnsworth’s death is often discussed alongside the larger failure of the South Cavalry Field attacks. He was not John Buford, who had died months later of illness, nor David McM. Gregg or Wesley Merritt, both of whom survived the Gettysburg campaign. The action is remembered as one of the war’s most ill-considered cavalry assaults.