Brandy Station Battlefield - Buford's Knoll - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

During the Civil War, following successes at the battles at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville in Virginia, Confederate Gen. R. E. Lee moved his infantry to Culpeper in early June 1863 in preparation for an offense into Pennsylvania. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry were stationed north of town at Brandy Station to hold the line at the Rappahannock River and screen the moves of the Confederate army.

On June 9, Stuart's horse was surprised by the Union cavalry led by Gen. Alfred Pleasonton who had half his forces cross the Rappahannock at Beverly's Ford. The brigade led by Brig. Gen. John Buford spent several hours trying to get his troops across the river while the Confederates scrambled to meet the attack and delay the enemy.

Buford failed to penetrate the Confederate defenses at St. James Church and turned his forces to the enemy left flank at the Hazel River. Confederate troops under the command of Brig. Gen. Rooney Lee, son of Gen. Robert. E. Lee, stopped Buford's troops at a stone wall and held them for several hours. Rooney started to pull back to meet a new threat at Fleetwood Hill, but continued to battle the Union soldiers.

Eventually, his soldiers and horses worn out by the steep terrain, Gen. Pleasonton ordered a retreat and the Confederate army maintained control of Brandy Station, but it had come at a huge price in casualties.

Brandy Station was the largest cavalry battle of the Civil War. A CWDT marker for the Brandy Station Battlefield is at the entrance of a gravel parking area on Beverly Ford Rd. in Culpeper County for the trailhead of the Buford's Knoll Walking Trail, a one-mile walking tour through the battlefield interspersed with CWPT interpretive signs.

Companion waymark: Brandy Station Battlefield - St. James Church

References:

• Battle of Brandy Station (U.S. National Park Service)
• On-site information

Type of site: Battlefield Address: Beverly Ford Rd Rt. 677 Brandy Station, VA USA 22714 Admission Charged: No Charge Website: [Web Link] Phone Number: Not listed Driving Directions: Not listed

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