Battle of Orange Court House

Battle of Orange Court House. Furious Fight in Narrow Streets. In August 2, 1862, cavalrymen fought a fierce engagement here in downtown Orange. Battle raged through the streets, alleys, and across the railroad., Early that morning 5th New York and 1st Vermont troopers drove Confederate pickets away from the Rapidan River and moved toward Orange. The Union forces were looking for Gen. Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson's force and hoped to cut vital Confederate railroad lines., Capt. John Hammond of the 5th New York wrote: "Without opposition the advance entered town, whose streets they found deserted, while a stillness like that of death seemed to reign all around." Suddenly, approximately 600 Confederate troopers opened a withering fire on the Union cavalrymen. Then, the 7th Virginia charged with sabers down Main Street to your right., Confederate Maj. Thomas Marshall led a portion of the 7th Virginia up the tracks from your left toward the depot catching Capt. Hammond's company of New Yorkers in the flank. Hammond yelled, "Give them your hardware, boys." With sabers drawn, the New Yorkers hurtled forward., After hours of confused combat, the outnumbered Virginians retreated. The fighting here was a rare example of Civil War urban cavalry fighting., "The fight was furious in the narrow streets." , New York trooper, (captions) , Thomas Marshall earned promotion to lieutenant colonel. He died on November 12, 1864, in a skirmish near Winchester, Va. From A History of the Laurel Brigade, 1907, A map of the fight based on one drawn by the 7th Virginia's 1st Lt. S. Howell Brown. , 1. Union troopers enter Orange Court House. , 2. The 7th Virginia Cavalry launches an attack. , 3. Maj. Thomas Marshall of the 7th leads a flanking movement. , 4. Capt. John Hammond's New York trooper's counterattack.