Brandy Station: Restoring the Field that Made the Union Cavalry

Illustration of a cavalry charge during the Battle of Brandy Station by Edwin Forbes, 1864.

Library of Congress

Recipient: American Battlefield Trust
Amount: $175,000

On a sunbaked hill in Virginia in June 1863, nearly 19,000 mounted soldiers clashed in the largest one-day cavalry battle in the history of the United States. Precipitated by the Confederate victory at Chancellorsville a little over a month before, the Battle of Brandy Station was the opening event in General Robert E. Lee’s Gettysburg Campaign. Seizing the momentum from Chancellorsville, Gen. J.E.B. Stuart led Confederate cavalry across the Rappahannock River in a bid to screen Lee’s march into the Shenandoah Valley. Early in the morning of June 9, a Union cavalry column under the command of Gen. Alfred Pleasonton surprised Confederate pickets, who roused sleeping troops with gunfire. Many of the Confederate cavalry that galloped through the early morning fog to defend against the Union advance did not even take the time to saddle their horses. After fourteen hours of grueling battle, Pleasonton ordered his men to retreat. Despite the narrow Union defeat, both sides acknowledged the transformation of the Union cavalry into a formidable force. In the words of Stuart’s chief aide, “Brandy Station made the Federal Cavalry.”

With the support of a 2022 Battlefield Restoration Grant, the American Battlefield Protection Program’s newest grant program, the American Battlefield Trust will develop a comprehensive report on the landscape features of the Brandy Station Battlefield, including the archeological remains of fighting and historic buildings that witnessed the battle. The report will also explore lesser-known stories, such as the experiences of enslaved and freed African Americans as the battle came to Elkwood Downs plantation. The American Battlefield Trust hopes that the report’s findings will lead to the continued preservation of these resources and narratives ahead of the battlefield’s incorporation into Virginia’s new Culpeper Battlefields State Park.

Battlefield Restoration Grants support projects that restore “day-of-battle” conditions at nationally significant American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War battlefields and associated historic sites. The awards are made possible by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which reinvests revenue from offshore oil and natural gas leasing to help strengthen conservation and recreation opportunities across the nation. These grants empower preservation partners to inspire wonder, understanding and empathy at the places that witnessed some of our nation’s most challenging events. In addition, the ABPP administers three other grants: Battlefield Land Acquisition, Preservation Planning, and Battlefield Interpretation grants. This financial assistance encourages and sustains community-driven stewardship of historic resources in Tribal, state, and local communities.