USBS-303132D
John Jenkins Designs
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.
Both sides at Brandy Station were armed in a similar manner. For mounted combat, cavalrymen carried light cavalry sabers and pistols. Some Confederate cavalry carried more than one pistol, or a shotgun, and basically used what they could get a hold of.
In a melee or skirmish, there was no intrinsic superiority of pistol over a saber. Even an excellent shot found hitting a moving mounted enemy target difficult, and sabers had the advantage they did not need to be reloaded. The saber had the advantage of intimidation during a charge, with many defenders breaking when faced by a crowd of riders waving sabers, even before the charging troops reached them.
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.