June 11, 1864---The Battle of Trevilian Station (Day One)

JUNE 11, 1864:            

The Battle of Trevilian Station  (Day One):   

Ulysses S. Grant, having decided to abandon his position at Cold Harbor and flank around Richmond on his way toward Petersburg, dispatches Philip Sheridan, his cavalry commander, to ride towards Charlottesville in force and cut the Virginia Central Railroad. The line is Robert E. Lee's main supply source. 

After cutting the railroad, Sheridan is then supposed to enter the Shenandoah Valley, link up with Union forces there, and lead the combined force back to Petersburg.

Sheridan duly swings north around Richmond and heads toward Charlottesville, 60 miles away.

General Wade Hampton C.S.A., is reputedly the richest man in the Confederacy and already the proud but grim possessor of three battle wounds. Lee has named him the new commander of the Confederate cavalry, succeeding General James Ewell Brown (“Jeb”) Stuart, who had been killed just exactly a month before at Yellow Tavern. 

General Wade Hampton, C.S.A.

Hampton sets out to intercept Sheridan with 10,000 cavalrymen, the exact number led by Sheridan. Although Sheridan has a two day head start, again, the Rebs make better time than the Yankees, and Hampton reaches the Trevilian area on June 10, one day ahead of the Union column.

Early on this day, Hampton engages portions of Sheridan’s forces and in stubborn fighting pushes them back up the Trevilian Station Road. While this is happening, General George A. Custer's brigade engages General Fitzhugh Lee’s men on the Louisa Court House Road, a few miles to the east. Fitzhugh Lee is forced to retreat, and Custer exploits the dangerous gap between Lee and Hampton, capturing Hampton's wagon train, 800 horses, and three caissons parked behind the Confederate lines. He takes Trevilian Station.

General Fitzhugh Lee, C.S.A.

Hampton rushes to Lee’s defense, plugs the gap, and together Hampton and Lee surround Custer’s force in what is later sardonically referred to as  'Custer's First Last Stand'. To relieve Custer's hard-pressed brigade, Sheridan must attack Hampton, who, for a time, retreats out of the battle. Sheridan’s men spend the rest of the day disabling the railroad. 

The Battle of Cold Harbor (Day Twelve):       

While Sheridan’s men are fighting at Trevilian Station, other units of The Army of The Potomac link up with The Army of The James. General Butler orders an advance, but it begins at a snail-like pace.