The cart is empty.

Your cart contains
{{shoppingcart.totalQuantity}} Item(s)
Subtotal: {{shoppingcart.subtotal}} {{shoppingcart.total}}
View Cart - Checkout

Home Brows My Account Checkout Photo Gallery Search Help

Battle of Brandy Station

Battle of Brandy Station

The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill

Was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest ever to take place on American soil. It was fought on June 9th, 1863, around Brandy Station, Virginia at the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign by the Union cavalry under Maj.Gen. Alfred Pleasonton against Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s Confederate cavalry.

After an all day fight in which fortunes changed repeatedly, the Federals retired without discovering Gen. Robert E. Lee’s infantry camped near Culpeper. This battle marked the end of the Confederate cavalry’s dominance in the East.

From this point in the war the Federal cavalry gained strength and confidence. The Battle saw nine thousand Union cavalrymen and three thousand Union infantry clash with ten thousand Confederate horsemen. The fighting lasted for roughly twelve hours and covered dozens of square miles.

Unknown to the Confederates, 12,000 Union men had massed on the other side of the Rappahannock River.

Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, commanding the Cavalry Corps of the Army of The Potomac, had organized his combined armed forces into two wings, under Brig. Gen. John Buford and David McMurtrie Gregg, augmented by infantry brigades from the V Corps.

Buford’s wing, accompanied by Pleasonton, consisted of hus own 1st Cavalry Division, a reserve brigade led by Maj. Charles J. Whiting, and an infantry brigade of 3,000 men under Brig. Gen. Adelbert Ames.

Gregg’s wing was the 2nd Cavalry Division, led by Col. Alfred N. Duffie, the 3rd Cavalry Division led by Gregg, and an infantry brigade under Brig. Gen. David A. Russell.

The commander of the Army of the Potomac, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, interpreted the enemy’s cavalry presence around Culpeper to be indicative of preparations for a raid of his army’s supply lines. In reaction to this, he ordered Pleasonton’s force on a “spoiling raid”, to “disperse and destroy” the Confederates.

Pleasonton’s attack plan called for a two-pronged thrust at the enemy. Buford’s wing would cross the river at Beverly’s Ford, two miles northeast of Brandy Station, at the same time, Gregg would cross at Kelly’s Ford, six miles downstream to the southeast.

Pleasonton anticipated that the Southern cavalry would be caught in a double envelopment, surprised, outnumbered, and beaten.

He was, however, unaware of the precise disposition of the enemy and he incorrectly assumed that his force was substantially larger than the Confederates he faced.

The increased accuracy and range of rifled firearms and artillery had brought an end to battle cavalry as used by Frederick the great, Napoleon and as recently as in the wars of the Crimea and Italy. Cavalry had learned to fight mounted and dismounted, in effect becoming dragoons.

Cavalry, normally did not now participate in battles, operating instead in front of and on the edges of armies.

They could be scouts, raiders, escorts for wagon trains and mounted generals.

The glory years of the horse soldier were almost over. In less than a hundred years they would be replaced by aircraft, motorized and mechanized units.

When a cavalry regiment dismounted, one trooper out of every four held the reins of his own horse and three of his comrades.

A typical cavalry charge against cavalry was a relatively rare occurrence, usually with one side or the other breaking and bolting before contact. If hand to hand combat ensued, the fighting was confusing, vicious and protracted. If one side committed reserve squadrons to the fray, they often carried the day.

Page 1 of 2  -  1 2  Show All
Sort by:

Specify a quantity for any of the products listed on this page, then click 'Add to Cart' to add them to your shopping cart. If the quantity field is not visible for a product, you must click on the 'More Details' button and select the options or fill out the fields that require your input.

Qty
 
SKU
Description
Price
CSBS-001
Released December 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
CSBS-008A
Released June 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
CSBS-008B
Released June 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
CSBS-009A
Released July 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
CSBS-009B
Released July 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
CSBS-010A
Released November 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
CSBS-010B
Released November 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
CSBS-014
Released July 2023!
In Stock
$49.00
CSBS-0141516D
Released July 2023!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$135.00
CSBS-015
Released July 2023!
In Stock
$49.00
CSBS-016
Released July 2023!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$49.00
CSBS-017
Released July 2023!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$49.00
CSBS-018
Released October 2023
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$49.00
CSBS-019
Released October 2023
In Stock
$49.00
CSBS-020
Released October 2023
In Stock
$49.00
CSBS-021
Released October 2023
In Stock
$49.00
CSBS-022
Released January 2024!
In Stock
$49.00
CSBS-023
Released January 2024!
In Stock
$49.00
CSBS-024
Released January 2024!
In Stock
$49.00
CSBS-025
Released January 2024!
In Stock
$49.00
CSBS-181920D
Released October 2023
In Stock
$135.00
CSBS-222324D
Released January 2024!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$135.00
HBS-001A
Released July 2023!
In Stock
$89.00
HBS-001B
Released July 2023!
In Stock
$89.00
HBS-002A
Released July 2023!
In Stock
$89.00
HBS-002B
Released July 2023!
In Stock
$89.00
HBS-003
Released July 2023!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$49.00
USBS-001
Released December 2024!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$108.00
USBS-002
Released September 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
USBS-003
Released December 2024!
In Stock
$118.00
USBS-004
Released October 2024!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$118.00
USBS-005
New, available February 2025! Pre-order now!
Status: Preorder
$108.00
USBS-006
Released April 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
USBS-007
Released January 2025!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$118.00
USBS-007M
Released January 2025!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$118.00
USBS-008
Released August 2024!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$108.00
USBS-010
Released July 2024!
Temporarily Out of Stock, Preorder Now
$108.00
USBS-011
Realeased June 2024!
Status: Released, Available For Order
$108.00
USBS-012
Released May 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
USBS-020
Released November 2024!
In Stock
$108.00
USBS-023
Released January 2025!
In Stock
$108.00
USBS-024
New, available February 2025! Pre-order now!
Status: Preorder
$108.00
USBS-030
Released October 2024!
Status: Released, Available For Order
$49.00
USBS-031
Released October 2024!
Status: Released, Available For Order
$49.00
USBS-032
Released October 2024!
Status: Released, Available For Order
$49.00
Page 1 of 2  -  1 2  Show All