This early summer tour will explore some of the most hard-fought cavalry actions of the American Civil War as we visit four cavalry battlefields in Virginia – three in Culpeper County and one in Louisa County. 

After an overview on Thursday evening at our base hotel in Culpeper, we will begin our tour on Friday morning at Kelly’s Ford. The March 17, 1863 Battle of Kelly's Ford marked one of the earliest large scale clashes between the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac and J. E. B. Stuart's vaunted cavaliers. With a division of veteran cavalry, Brig. Gen. William W. Averell's horsemen splashed across the Rappahannock River early on St. Patrick's Day. They spent the day tangling with the Virginia troopers of Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's brigade in a hard-fought clash that led to the death of Maj. John Pelham, Stuart's chief of horse artillery, who unwisely joined a saber charge by some of Fitz Lee's troopers and paid for his decision with his life. At the end of a long day of fighting, Averell withdrew, leaving the battlefield in Stuart's hands. The Battle of Kelly's Ford is notable as one of the first times that the Federal cavalry went boot-to-boot with Stuart’s vaunted cavaliers.

Kelly's Ford also factors into the Battle of Brandy Station, the largest cavalry battle fought on the North American continent which we will visit next. On June 9, 1863, 12,000 Yankee troopers crossed the Rappahannock at Beverly's and Kelly's Fords and caught Stuart's cavalry by surprise. What ensued was a fourteen hour engagement that featured mounted saber charges and countercharges as well as heavily contested dismounted fighting. We will visit the main battlefield and Buford's Knoll, the ruins of St. James Church which was the scene of hand-to-hand fighting, Fleetwood Hill, Yew Ridge, and Stevensburg. We will also see the site of the Grand Review of Stuart's cavalry that occurred the day before the great battle at Brandy Station.

On Saturday, we will travel to Louisa County for a tour of the Trevilian Station battlefield.  Fought on June 11-12, 1864, Trevilian Station was the largest all-cavalry battle of the Civil War. Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton, commanding 6,000 Confederate cavalry, soundly
defeated Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's 9,300 Federal troopers in two long, brutal days of fighting. Although most of the fighting at Trevilian Station occurred dismounted, there were significant mounted charges. We will tour the first and second day's battlefields, and
we will end with a visit to Oakwood Cemetery in nearby Louisa. We will also hear about the battlefield preservation efforts of the Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation.

On Sunday morning, we will visit the famed "Graffiti House", where we will hear about the preservation effort that has accomplished so much at Brandy Station, and then we will visit sites in the town of Culpeper including Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill's childhood home and the train station, which was the site of a small but nasty cavalry engagement that occurred on September 13, 1863 when Judson Kilpatrick's Federal cavalry division made a dash on Confederate supply trains. We will conclude with a visit to the Culpeper National Cemetery where Union battle dead from both Brandy Station and Trevilian Station lie in rest.

We hope you’ll join eminent Civil War cavalry author and historian, Eric J. Wittenberg, for this intensive and rarely presented tour of these significant cavalry actions of 1863 and 1864.

About Our Tour Leader

Eric J. Wittenberg is a leading authority on cavalry in the Civil War’s Eastern Theater. He is the author of many books including Glory Enough for All: Sheridan’s Second Raid and the Battle of Trevilian Station, and The Union Cavalry Comes of Age: Hartwood Church to Brandy Station.

Program Schedule

Thursday, June 19

8:00 PM-8:45 PM           Overview – at Best Western Culpeper Inn, Culpeper, Virginia

Friday, June 20

8:00 AM                        Depart by Bus for tour of Kelly’s Ford and Brandy Station

12:00  N                          Lunch

5:00 PM                          Arrive back at Best Western Culpeper Inn

Saturday, June 21

8:00 AM                        Depart by Bus for tour of Trevilian Station

12:00 N                           Lunch

5:00 PM                          Arrive back at Best Western Culpeper Inn

Sunday, June 22

8:15 AM                        Depart by Bus for tour of sites in Culpeper

12:00 N                           Arrive back at Best Western Culpeper Inn

Registration Fees (Lodging not Included):          $ 395         Under Age 23:  $ 95

You can reserve a space on this tour by making a $50 Deposit per Person.

If You Must Cancel we will refund 100% of your fees paid. However, to receive a 100% refund, you must allow 30 days from the date of our receipt of your notice of cancellation

What is Included in your Registration Fee:

·        the services of an expert historian chosen for his knowledge and experience

·        transportation to sites as indicated

·        Friday & Saturday lunches

·        refreshments and snacks during the tour

·        map package

Base Location & Lodging: Our program will be based at the Best Western Culpeper Inn, 791 Madison Road, Culpeper, Virginia where we have reserved a block of rooms at the special rate of $89 + tax per night. To reserve a room under our block, call 540-825-1253 and identify yourself as a registrant for the CWEA tour.