Battle of Brandy Station

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Federal officers at their Brandy Station winter camp having dinner.

Date	June 9, 1863
Location	Culpeper County
Result	Union victory

Combatants

United States of America

Confederate States of America

Commanders

Alfred Pleasonton

J.E.B. Stuart

Strength

11,000

9,500

Casualties

907 (69 killed, 352 wounded, 486 missing/captured)

523

Gettysburg Campaign
Brandy Station – Winchester II – Aldie – Middleburg – Upperville – Sporting Hill – Hanover – Gettysburg – Carlisle – Hunterstown – Fairfield – Williamsport – Boonsboro – Manassas Gap

The Battle of Brandy Station was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War. It was fought at the beginning of the Gettysburg campaign by the Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton against Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry on June 9, 1863.

Pleasonton launched a surprise dawn attack on Stuart’s cavalry at Brandy Station. After an all-day fight in which fortunes changed repeatedly, the Federals retired without discovering Robert E. Lee's infantry camped near Culpeper. This battle marked the apogee of the Confederate cavalry in the East. From this point in the war, the Federal cavalry gained strength and confidence.

1 Background
2 Battle
3 Aftermath
4 See also
5 References
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Background

The victorious Confederate Army of Northern Virginia streamed into Culpeper County, Virginia, after its victory at Chancellorsville. Under the leadership of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the troops seemed invincible and massed around Culpeper preparing to carry the war north into Pennsylvania. These men had defeated armies twice their size at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, but the constant enemies of hunger and poor equipment were showing their effects. Lee was determined to strike north to capture horses, equipment, and food for his men. By June 5, two infantry corps under Lt. Gens. James Longstreet and Richard S. Ewell were camped in and around Culpeper. Six miles north of town, holding the line of the Rappahannock River, Stuart bivouacked his cavalry troopers, screening the Confederate Army against surprise by the enemy.

Most of the Southern cavalry was camped near Brandy Station. Stuart, the "dashing cavalier", requested a full field review of his troops by Gen. Lee. His request granted, on June 8 nearly 9,000 mounted troopers passed Lee's reviewing stand, first at a walk, then in full gallop as sabers glistened in the sun and 22 batteries of horse artillery roared in simulated battle. Today this review field remains much as it was in 1863, except that the Virginia Police Station occupies part of it.

A dense fog hung over the Rappahannock on the morning of June 9. Unknown to the Confederates, 11,000 Union men, including 8,000 cavalrymen, had massed their forces on the other side. Misinterpreting the screening action of Stuart's cavalry, Union Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton thought he was attacking a rebel raiding party of unknown strength. Pleasonton's attack plan called for a two-pronged thrust at the enemy. One half of his men would cross the river at Beverly's Ford, two miles north of Brandy Station, and the other half would cross at Kelly's Ford, four miles downstream. Caught in these pincers, the Southern cavalry would be surprised, outnumbered, and beaten.

[edit] Battle

Early in the morning, Stuart heard ragged gunfire from the river. Soon his troopers reached his Fleetwood Heights headquarters with the news that Union cavalrymen had forced a crossing at Beverly's Ford and charged up the narrow road toward St. James Church and Gee House Hill. Just as Stuart heard that the enemy had been checked at St. James, he received the startling news that Union troops were riding in on his rear. The vanguard, then visible, was approaching Fleetwood from the Stevensburg Road, having crossed at Kelly's Ford and reached Stevensburg via La Grange.

One lone artillery piece was left atop Fleetwood Hill, and only a token force to guard Stuart's headquarters. As this single gun fired the few shells available, the Union horsemen halted their advance. Racing against time, Confederate cavalry rushed back from the St. James battle line to meet this new threat.

Never before had the Union cavalry shown such strength and skill in combat. Stuart's headquarters were overrun, and the rear lines at St. James were threatened.

Help arrived as Maj. Gen. W.H.F. (Rooney) Lee's cavalry rode in from Little Fork Church (seven miles from Brandy) and saved the day for Stuart. After 12 hours of raging battle, Union troops retreated to the north side of the river.

[edit] Aftermath

Union casualties were 907 (69 killed, 352 wounded, and 486 missing, primarily captured); Confederate losses totaled 523.<ref>Eicher, p. 493.</ref> Some 20,500 men were engaged in this, the greatest cavalry battle to take place during the war.<ref>Kennedy, pp. 202-05. Of the 20,500, approximately 3,000 were Union infantrymen. The Battle of Trevilian Station in 1864 was the largest all-cavalry battle of the war.</ref> Among the casualties was Robert E. Lee's son, Rooney, who was seriously wounded in the thigh. He was sent to Hickory Hill, an estate near Hanover Court House, where he was captured on June 26.

For the first time in the Civil War, Union cavalry matched the Confederate horsemen in skill and determination. And Stuart's humiliation at being surprised in battle, the very thing cavalry is supposed to ensure does not happen, would presage other embarrassments ahead for him in the Gettysburg campaign.

[edit] See also

Brandy Station Foundation

[edit] References

Eicher, David J., The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War, Simon & Schuster, 2001, ISBN 0-684-84944-5.
Kennedy, Frances H., Ed., The Civil War Battlefield Guide, 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998, ISBN 0-395-74012-6.
National Park Service battle description