Brandy Station
June 9, 1863

General Description: CWPT helped preserve 686 acres at the Brandy Station battlefield!

Civil War History:

The largest cavalry battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Brandy Station, occurred on June 9, 1863 and involved nearly 17,000 horsemen under Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and Union Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton. Amid rumors of a possible major Confederate offensive, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, commander of the Union Army of the Potomac, assigned a reconnaissance-in-force to Pleasonton's 11,000 man cavalry.

The Federal cavalry moved toward Culpeper, Virginia, not knowing that this was where most of Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army was located. Pleasonton planned to strike the enemy across the Rappahannock River on the morning of June 9. On the opposite bank, Stuart's Confederate horsemen patrolled the fords.

With the early morning mist as a screen, Brig. Gen. John Buford's division splashed across the river about 4 a.m., crossing Beverly Ford and surprising a Confederate brigade. The startled Confederates quickly regrouped and fiercely contested the ground as they withdrew towards Fleetwood Hill. Stuart, learning of the Union attacks, ordered a concentration of his scattered brigades, but Buford's troops turned the Confederate right and thundered up Fleetwood Hill, where Stuart's headquarters were located.

The oncoming 12th Virginia cavalry crashed into the Federal horsemen in a classic cavalry fight -- saber-wielding horseman galloping into pistol-firing horsemen. The Confederates finally shoved Buford's troops back, but reinforcements renewed the battle and secured Fleetwood Hill for the Federals.

A second Federal column of 2,400 cavalry under Brig. Gen. David M. Gregg reached Brandy Station and battled Confederate horsemen in a "long and spirited...contest for the hill." Eventually, the Confederates won Fleetwood Hill, pushing back both Buford and Gregg.

Pleasonton, seeing the dust clouds of a new group of approaching Confederate infantry, ordered his forces to withdraw. His losses totaled 868, while Stuart lost 515. Though the Confederates could claim the victory, the Battle of Brandy Station, remarked one Confederate, "made the Federal cavalry."

Along with this new-found confidence, Union horsemen discovered the position of the Army of Northern Virginia. The Confederates were slipping west, to the Shenandoah Valley on Lee's last great offensive, which would end a month later at Gettysburg.

Directions (from NPS): To reach the battlefield from Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville, proceed west on Rt. 3 to Stevensburg, about 17 miles west of Chancellorsville. Turn right on Rt. 663 and go 3.8 miles to Brandy Station, where the main road will become Rt. 700. Follow Rt. 700 for only 0.2 mile. Turn left on Rt. 669 and go 0.1 mile. Turn left on Rt. 762. After traveling 0.5 mile, an historical marker (A) will be on the left side of the road. Another 1.5 miles farther, turn right on Rt. 342 and pull in the visitor parking area of the Virginia State Police area office.