Confederate horsemen numbering 9500 under the command of Gen. J.E.B. Stuart were concentrated around Brandy Station in preparation of the upcoming raid into Pennsylvania - which would culminate at Gettysburg. The Federal army, being aware of the . . . — — Map (db m4364) HM
Following his stunning victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee formulated a plan to invade the North. In preparation for his army's secret withdrawal from Fredericksburg, Lee ordered his cavalry into Culpeper County . . . — — Map (db m91461) HM
John Strode, a prominent Revolutionary War gun manufacturer, built his manor house, Fleetwood, in the late 1700s. Strode was a friend of President Thomas Jefferson, who often stayed here when traveling between Monticello and Washington, D.C. The . . . — — Map (db m97488) HM
On the evening of June 8, 1863, Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and his headquarters staff camped on the northern edge of Fleetwood Hill. Early the next morning, heavy gunfire from the direction of Beverly's Ford (three miles to your left rear), . . . — — Map (db m97490) HM
The 1863 campaigns for Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, and Mine Run exacted an immense toll upon the Army of the Potomac. Union Gen. George G. Meade deemed it vital to rest his command. War Department officials also used this . . . — — Map (db m97493) HM
Driven from Fleetwood Hill, the Union cavalry pulled back toward the Rappahannock River and halted just beyond cannon range. Observing that the sullen Federals refused to depart, Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart consolidated his defensive line around . . . — — Map (db m97494) HM
Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart realized that his headquarters here was overrun and that Gen. William E. Jones's Brigade was fighting to survive. Stuart ordered Gen. Wade Hampton's Brigade to fall back from the St. James Church line and recapture . . . — — Map (db m97495) HM
Col. H. Judson Kilpatrick formed his brigade on an open plateau to the southeast of Fleetwood Hill, 900 yards from here. He soon received orders to support Lt. Col. Percy Wyndham's Brigade, now fiercely engaged with Gen. William E. Jones's Brigade . . . — — Map (db m97499) HM
Union Lt. Col. Percy Wyndham advanced his command from Brandy Station and centered his attack on this spot. To your right, the 1st New Jersey Cavalry ascended the slope. The 1st Maryland Cavalry occupied the center, and to your left, circling around . . . — — Map (db m97501) HM
After crossing at Kelley's Ford, Col. Duffie's division on their way to Stevensburg, were met by a small Confederate force just east of Stevensburg, on Hansboro Ridge. Duffie's huge force easily pushed through the Confederates who were badly . . . — — Map (db m103532) HM
The commanding view from Fleetwood Hill rendered this “Famous Plateau” an ideal observation post during the war. Today the view looks much as it did in the 1860s.
1. STONY MOUNTAIN
The headwaters of the Rapidan River flow from . . . — — Map (db m131546) HM
Greatest cavalry battle of the Civil War • Fought June 9, 1863 • Gen. J.E.B. Stuart defeated Gen. A. Pleasonton Confederates engaged 10,200. Federals 10,900 Casualties, Confederates, 485, Federals 866 This is Fleetwood Hill The crucial position . . . — — Map (db m154490) HM
The commanding view from Fleetwood Hill rendered this “Famous Plateau” an ideal observation post during the war. Today the view looks much as it did in the 1860s.
1. COLE’S HILL
During the winter of 1864, Federal Second Corps . . . — — Map (db m154527) HM
Across the field on the knoll stood Union army commander Gen. George G. Meade's headquarters—the heart of the Army of the Potomac during the winter of 1863-1864. Appointed to the position just 19 days after the Battle of Brandy Station, Meade . . . — — Map (db m238526) HM
The ridge ahead of Fleetwood Hill; headquarters of Confederate cavalry commander Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart on the eve of the June 9, 1863 battle of Brandy Station. Confederate horsemen did not expect to fight that day, but instead begin a movement . . . — — Map (db m238937) HM
The wing under Union Brig. David Gregg crossed Kelly's Ford at 6:00 A.M., discovering the direct route to link up with the wing that crossed at Beverly Ford blocked. But scouts
discovered the Confederates had neglected to guard the road leading to . . . — — Map (db m239190) HM
Here on 9 June 1863, the largest cavalry battle in North America occurred when 9,500 troopers fought 8,000 cavalrymen under Union Brig. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton. This daylong battle, the opening engagement of the Gettysburg campaign, erupted when the . . . — — Map (db m2574) HM
On January 25, 1863, Union general Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker replaced Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside as the fifth commander of the demoralized eastern armies in less than two years. On taking charge of the Army of the Potomac, Hooker implemented . . . — — Map (db m154485) HM
On March 17, 1863, Union Gen. William W. Averell led 2,100 horsemen to the northern bank of the Rappahannock River at Kelly's Ford, four miles in front of you, under orders to "rout or destroy" Confederate Gen. Fitzhugh Lee and his cavalry command . . . — — Map (db m154487) HM
Two miles south is the grave of Betty Washington Lewis, the younger sister of George Washington. She was born in Westmoreland County in 1733 and married Fielding Lewis in May 1750, becoming his second wife. Her husband purchased land in 1752 and . . . — — Map (db m4429) HM
George C. Hupp, Sergeant in K Company,
8th Illinois Cavalry, was wounded at Brandy
Station Battlefield on June 9, 1863. In his
Memory Great-Great-Great Grandson William J.
Hupp, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, happily made a
leadership . . . — — Map (db m154528) WM
Graffiti House
has been registered as a
Virginia
Historic Landmark
pursuant to the authority vested in the
Virginia Board of Historic Resources
Graffiti House
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic . . . — — Map (db m170747) HM
The Battle of Brandy Station actually occurred in several locations, miles apart. A mile in front of you is Hansborough Ridge. Late in the morning of June 9, 1863, a division of the Union Cavalry under Col. Alfred Duffie approached the ridge from . . . — — Map (db m103534) HM
(south face)
In memory of Major John Pelham. Born Sept. 7, 1838 in Calhoun Co. Ala. Mortally wounded March 17, 1863 near Kelley’s Ford, Va.
(east face)
Base stone from Kelly’s Ford battlefield near spot where Pelham fell.
. . . — — Map (db m154526) HM
William Henry Fitzhugh Payne (1830-1904) of Fauquier County, VA formed the famed "Black Horse Cavalry" (later called the 4th VA) as a militia company in June, 1859. Payne joined the Confederacy at the war's outset as a citizen soldier and earned . . . — — Map (db m238462) HM
Serving the public as a crossing of Mountain Run on the Carolina Road (Raleigh to Philadelphia) from Colonial days until 1900, when a single lane, three span, steel truss bridge was constructed, just west of the dam. This bridge was replaced in the . . . — — Map (db m103529) HM
On this plain Lee reviewed his cavalry, June 8, 1863. The next day the cavalry battle of Brandy Station was fought. On June 10, Ewell's Corps, from its camp near here, began the march to Pennsylvania. — — Map (db m4428) HM
On the night of December 1, 1863, following its unsuccessful advance against Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Mine Run Campaign, a cold and tired Army of the Potomac withdrew across the Rapidan River and returned to . . . — — Map (db m4370) HM
War has many faces and the residents of Culpeper County saw them all. Brandy Station played an important role in the Battle of Brandy Station on June 9, 1863, though the Union and Confederate armies never clashed in the streets of the little town. A . . . — — Map (db m4427) HM
The 1863-1864 winter encampment proved a busy time for the Army of the Potomac. "There was something fascinating about our winter city of 100,000 men," a staff officer recalled. "Many pleasant recollections cluster around the old camp at Brandy . . . — — Map (db m190831) HM
Both Union and Confederate armies used horse artillery to assist cavalry. When firing erupted at Beverly Ford on the morning of June 9, 1863, Major Robert F. Beckham's battalion of Confederate horse artillery (16 guns and some 500 men) was encamped . . . — — Map (db m4415) HM
The Federal forces of Brig. Gen. John Buford, Brig. Gen. David Gregg, and Col. Thomas Devin (whose command held the area around St. James Church) had almost encircled the Confederates, though none of the Union commanders had planned it so. Unknown . . . — — Map (db m4418) HM
After Col. Wyndham's assaults, Col. Judson Kilpatrick's Federal brigade crossed the Orange and Alexandria Railroad and stormed Fleetwood Hill from the southeast. The fight for Fleetwood Hill - a classic cavalry battle fought on horseback - became a . . . — — Map (db m4421) HM
Here the old Carolina Road crosses the southern part of Fleetwood Hill, some of the highest ground in the area. On the slope ahead of you Maj. Gen. James Ewell Brown (J.E.B.) Stuart, commander of Robert E. Lee's cavalry, pitched his headquarters . . . — — Map (db m4424) HM
Several hundred yards behind you, in the copse of trees, is the site of the St. James Church. Union soldiers tore down the small brick structure for materials to make their quarters during the winter of 1863-1864, when the Army of the Potomac . . . — — Map (db m154488) HM
On June 9, 1863, the Civil War visited the river fords, farmer's fields and rolling hills near Brandy Station. During the intense daylong fighting that swirled all around the little town, Confederate and Union horsemen clashed in the largest cavalry . . . — — Map (db m156293) HM
Failing to break through Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's Confederates at St. James Church, Brig. Gen. John Buford swung his force north and west to turn the Confederate left flank. Confederate Brig. Gen. William Henry Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee, son of Robert . . . — — Map (db m167004) HM
By 7 a.m. on June 9, Brig. Gen. John Buford had his Union troops in position. Brig. Gen. Adelbert Ames' Federal brigade of infantry straddled the Beverly Ford Road. To Ames' left (where the airport is now) was the 1st Cavalry Division, commanded by . . . — — Map (db m202996) HM
Rivers and river crossings played an important role in many Civil War battles, including the Battle of Brandy Station. A mile northwest of this spot is the site of Beverly Ford, where the cavalry of both the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and . . . — — Map (db m203006) HM
June 9, 1863 - 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm This map prepared from the first hand account of Col. Butler, other historians, and the personal account of the family, who in the early 1950s cleared, leveled and ditched this bottom for cultivation, . . . — — Map (db m103533) HM
