June 9, 1863---The Battle of Brandy Station

JUNE 9, 1863:   

The Battle of Brandy Station (The Battle of Fleetwood Hill).  The largest cavalry engagement on the North American continent set 11,000 Union cavalrymen against 9,500 Confederate cavalrymen under J.E.B. Stuart. Jeb’s men were fresh off two Grand Reviews (June 6 and 7) the first held for civilians and the second for command staff, including Robert E. Lee.  Stuart was criticized by the Southern Press for the two shows, which “served nothing…but to exhaust the horses.”  The battle began at 4:30 AM, when General John Buford U.S.A.’s cavalry crossed the Rappahannock River in a dense fog and fell upon the Confederate pickets. The sound of firing alerted the Confederate camp, and men rode out in various states of dress and undress and some bareback on their horses to attack the Union line. Confederate cannoneers opened fire, causing heavy Union casualties, but the Yankees managed to get inside of the cannons’ firing range. After a sharp exchange, in which Rooney Lee (Robert E. Lee’s son) was wounded, the Confederates, who had held their position, were pushed back by the arrival of Union reinforcements. At the same time, other Union units attempted to flank the Confederates, and the Confederates correspondingly counterflanked. The battle became a ten-hour melee of screaming horses and screaming men.

Although the Union broke off the engagement, leaving Jeb Stuart in control of the field, Brandy Station is considered a Union victory. Jeb Stuart was completely taken by surprise by the Union assault and failed to overcome it; nor did he pursue the Yankees as they withdrew. Jeb Stuart’s aura of invincibility was shattered: According to Major Henry B. McClellan, Stuart's adjutant, the battle, “made the Federal cavalry. Up to that time confessedly inferior to the Southern horsemen, they gained on this day that confidence in themselves and in their commanders which enable them to contest so fiercely the subsequent battle-fields ...”

Union casualties at Brandy Station were 907 (primarily captured); Confederate casualties were 523 total.