Battle of Fairfield

Battle of Fairfield. "A bold charge of cavalry". On July 3, 1863, a little after 2 P.M. as Southern forces met disaster at Gettysburg during "Pickett's Charge," a much smaller, but important, Confederate assault achieved victory in the fields before you., On that same day, the 6th U.S. Cavalry was sent to Fairfield to attack a vulnerable wagon train at the rear of Robert E. Lee's army. In response, Confederate Gen. William "Grumble" Jones' Brigade of Virginia cavalry was dispatched to deal with the threat., In a short, violent skirmish, the Virginians charged the Regulars and forced a chaotic retreat through the streets of Fairfield. The 6th U.S. Cavalry reported 242 casualties, and the Virginians suffered just 58 casualties. Jones boasted, "In an open country, a bold charge of cavalry will in all cases whip a line of skirmishers.", Jones' victory cleared the road toward the South Mountain pass, which would prove valuable the next day when the retreating Army of Northern Virginia passed through Fairfield, as planned, toward the important mountain pass., (sidebar) , Remembering the Fairfield Fight , The survivors of the 6th U.S. placed a marker in front of the Marshall House in 1909. Around the same time, the War Department installed a marker to Jones' Brigade farther to the south. In 1983, a marker was placed here of the Hugh Culbertson Farm to indicate its use as a temporary field hospital after the battle., (caption) Corporal Francis Pierce (left) of the 6th U.S. Cavalry, and an image (right) that either shows David or Michael Bowman of the 7th Virginia Cavalry. Their regiments directly faced each other at Fairfield. - Courtesy Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War images, Library of Congress