March 17, 1863---The Battle of Kelly's Ford

MARCH 17, 1863:       

The Battle of Kelly’s Ford took place in Culpeper County, Virginia. Twenty-one hundred Union cavalry troopers under Brigadier General William W. Averell crossed the Rappahannock River to attack the Confederate cavalry that had been harassing them all winter long. Brigadier General Fitzhugh Lee, one of J.E.B. Stuart’s key subordinates, counterattacked with a brigade of about 800 men. Lee repeatedly had to fall back in the face of superior numbers and artillery.

Both sides claimed victory in this uneven draw. The Confederates claimed victory because they held off a larger, better-armed force and were able to withdraw at dusk in good order. Although Averell’s men failed to destroy Lee’s smaller force, the Federals believed they had won a victory because, for the first time, they had driven back Stuart’s legendary cavalry.