Buckland Races

Buckland Races. An Inglorious Skedaddle. For Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and his Confederate cavalry, the 1863 campaigns brought fewer victories against the improving cavalry corps of the Union Army of the Potomac, that is, until October 19, 1863. , Here on Chestnut Hill the wily Confederate had set a trap for Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s Union cavalry division. Using Gen. Wade Hampton’s cavalry division as bait, Stuart had lured one of Kilpatrick’s brigades here by retreating from Buckland Mill (5 miles east of here) along the Warrenton Turnpike (present-day Route 15/29). The jaw of the trap was Confederate Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry division moving north toward Buckland Mill from east of here to cut off Kilpatrick’s line of retreat. , By 3:30 that afternoon, Stuart’s gray clad troopers were coiled to strike on Chestnut Hill as Kilpatrick’s unwitting Federals approached, when suddenly cannon fire erupted from the east. Lee’s Confederates had struck the Union rear guard at Buckland. At that moment Stuart’s three brigades swooped down on the Federals with a rebel yell, turning an organized retreat into an inglorious skedaddle. Hootin’ and hollerin’ all the way, Stuart’s Rebel horsemen chased the fleeing Yankees back to Buckland in an action that resembled a spirited steeplechase rather than a military operation. , Fortunately for Kilpatrick, his other supporting brigade was commanded by Gen. George Custer. Sensing the Rebel trap before it had been set, Custer delayed his advance to Chestnut Hill. By lingering in the vicinity of Buckland, he thwarted Fitz Lee’s attempt to cut off Kilpatrick long enough for most of the Federals to escape. , Although Stuart had to content himself with 250 Yankee prisoners instead of two entire brigades, the “Buckland Races” did yield a treasure of amusing yarns for future campfires. , This was the last action of the Bristoe Station Campaign.