The Battle of Kelly's Ford, also known as the Battle of Kellysville, took place on March 17, 1863, in Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the cavalry operations along the Rappahannock River during the American Civil War. It was one of the early cavalry fights in Virginia that set the stage for Brandy Station and other cavalry actions of the Gettysburg Campaign that summer. Twenty-one hundred troopers of Brig. Gen. William W. Averell's Union cavalry division crossed the Rappahannock to attack the Confederate cavalry that had been harassing them that winter. Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee counterattacked with a brigade of about 800 men. After achieving a localized success, Union forces withdrew under pressure in late afternoon, without destroying Lee's cavalry. Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert Edward Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (933x1113, 780 KB) Plan shewing [sic] battle ground and cavalry fight, 17th March 1863, Kellys Ford, Va. ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... Culpeper County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: With God As Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (popular) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (April 3–April 10, 1865) Largest city New Orleans... William Woods Averell, (November 5, 1892 - February 3, 1900) United States army officer. ... Fitzhugh Lee in the Civil War Fitzhugh Lee (November 19, 1835 – April 18, 1905), nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and U.S. Army general in the Spanish-American War. ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... Culpeper County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... The Rappahannock at sunset The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia in the United States, approximately 184 mi (294 km). ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert Edward Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... The Battle of Brandy Station was the largest cavalry engagement on the North American continent. ... Meade and Lee of Gettysburg Gettysburg Campaign (through July 3); cavalry movements shown with dashed lines. ... A Brigadier General, or one-star general, is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ... William Woods Averell, (November 5, 1892 - February 3, 1900) United States army officer. ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... Some Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army (CSA) was formed in February 1861 to defend the Confederate States of America, which had itself been formed that same year when seven southern states seceded from the United States (with four more to follow). ... Fitzhugh Lee in the Civil War Fitzhugh Lee (November 19, 1835 – April 18, 1905), nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and U.S. Army general in the Spanish-American War. ...

Background

When Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside was relieved of command of the Union's Army of the Potomac (following the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862 and the fiasco of his Mud March in January 1863), his replacement, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, immediately began reorganizing and training his army, in winter quarters outside of Fredericksburg. One of his most significant actions was to combine smaller cavalry units, spread out across the army, into a single Cavalry Corps, led by Maj. Gen. George Stoneman. Up until this time, the Union cavalry had been consistently outperformed by their Confederate counterparts, commanded by Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart. Although they possessed superior equipment and had the advantage of a plentiful supply of men and federal horses, the Union cavalrymen had lacked the confidence, experience, and leadership to challenge Stuart.^[1] Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Portrait of Ambrose Burnside by Mathew Brady, ca. ... Generals Burnside, Hancock, Couch, Ferro, Patrick, Wilcox, Cochrane, Buford and others. ... --24. ... The Mud March was an abortive attempt at a winter offensive in January, 1863, by Major General Ambrose Burnside in the American Civil War. ... Portrait of Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879), known as Fighting Joe, was a career U.S. Army officer and a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. ... Location in Virginia Coordinates: Country United States State Virginia County None–Independent city Founded 1728 Incorporated 1781 Mayor Thomas Tomzak Area    - City 27. ... Portrait of George Stoneman during the Civil War George Stoneman (August 22, 1822 – September 5, 1894) was a career U.S. Army officer, a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War, and the Governor of California between 1883 and 1887. ... James Ewell Brown Stuart (February 6, 1833 – May 12, 1864) was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate Army general during the American Civil War. ...

On February 25, 1863, Confederate cavalry under Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, one of Stuart's key subordinates and a nephew of Gen. Robert E. Lee, led a force of 400 troopers in a raid near Hartwood Church in Stafford County, 9 miles northwest of Fredericksburg. The federal cavalry was ineffective in pursuing Lee and managed to lose 150 prisoners from the division of Brig. Gen. William W. Averell, ironically one of Fitz Lee's closest friends at West Point. Gen. Hooker was furious and threatened to relieve Stoneman of his command if he did not stop Confederate raids of this type.^[1] February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... For the author of Inherit the Wind and other works, see Robert Edwin Lee. ... Stafford County is a county located in the state of Virginia. ... Alternate meanings: West Point (disambiguation). ...

Scouts from Averell's 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps, detected Confederate cavalry near Culpeper Court House about three weeks later. Averell assembled a force of 3,000 cavalrymen and six artillery pieces (the 6th Battery, New York Light Artillery, under Captain Joseph W. Martin) and set off for Kelly's Ford on the Rappahannock River between Fauquier and Culpeper Counties. After various troops were detached to cover his movements and to engage the enemy's pickets at Rappahannock Station, he had 2,100 men ready for battle in three brigades, commanded by Colonel Alfred N. Duffié, Col. John B. McIntosh, and Captain Marcus Reno. Facing him was a detached Confederate brigade commanded by Fitzhugh Lee, 800 men in five regiments, with a two-gun artillery section.^[2] Location in the state of Virginia Formed 1759 Seat Warrenton Area  - Total  - Water 1,687 km² (651 mi²) 4 km² (2 mi²) 0. ... Culpeper County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... Marcus Reno Marcus Albert Reno was a career military officer in the American Civil War and in the Black Hills War against the Lakota (Sioux) and Northern Cheyenne. ...

Battle

Early on the morning of March 17, 1863, Averell's advance guard reached Kelly's Ford on the Rappahannock and found that felled trees and 60 Confederate sharpshooters opposed their crossing. Three attempts to cross were repulsed under heavy fire, delaying the Union advance by over 90 minutes. Averell's chief of staff, Major Samuel E. Chamberlain, eventually forced a crossing led by 20 men of the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry. Chamberlain was wounded in the head. Despite the minor casualties in this action, Averell proceeded cautiously, taking over two hours to cross his men over the swiftly running river.^[3] March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... The 1st Regiment, Rhode Island Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that participated in the American Civil War. ...

By 7:30 a.m., Lee, 10 miles west at Culpeper Court House, was notified of the crossing attempts. Assuming that Averell's target was Brandy Station on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, Lee sent his 800 men forward to block the Union advance. They encountered the Union cavalrymen deployed near the C.T. Wheatley house, about 2 miles northwest of Kelly's Ford. Duffié's brigade was positioned on the left in a woodlot, McIntosh's in the center, and Reno's two regiments of regulars on the right, behind a stone fence.^[2] Categories: Towns in Virginia | Culpeper County, Virginia | Stub ... The Orange and Alexandria Railroad in Virginia was strategically important during the American Civil War (1861-1865). ...

Jeb Stuart also happened to be at Culpeper Court House that day, attending a court-martial. He decided to ride out to witness the battle, taking with him his artillery chief, Major John Pelham. They arrived to find that Lee's men were not doing well, outnumbered two to one and facing a well-positioned artillery battery. For the first time in the war a Confederate cavalry regiment (the 2nd Virginia) had fled in the face of a Union charge.^[1] John Pelham (September 14, 1838 – March 17, 1863) was a brilliant young artillery officer who served with the Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart during the American Civil War. ...

Lee's men advanced with the five regiments in line abreast. The 3rd and 5th Virginia Cavalry regiments, led by sharpshooters, ran along the stone fence with the expectation they would find a gap in it somewhere. Pelham moved forward with Lee's men, and as he waved them through a gate in the fence, a shell exploded over his head, sending a tiny fragment into his brain, mortally wounding him. He died a few hours later. The Confederate advance was repulsed by carbine fire from the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry and shelling from Martin's battery.^[4]

On the Union left, Duffié disobeyed Averell's orders to hold his position and ordered a charge. The surprise attack forced Lee to withdraw his men back through the woods to a clearing just behind. Lee counterattacked the advancing Union troopers, but once again had to fall back in the face of superior numbers and artillery. A rout of the Confederate position might have been possible, but Reno did not advance in support of Duffié, maintaining his position as ordered earlier by Averell.^[5]

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Aftermath

By 5:30 p.m., Averell, citing his exhausted men and horses, "deemed it proper to withdraw." Some of his fellow officers believed that he lost his nerve, concerned about the presence of Jeb Stuart on the battlefield and, hearing the sound of railroad cars approaching, imagining the possibility of a Confederate infantry force pinning him against the river. The Union advance had covered 2 miles over more than 12 hours and resulted in 78 casualties (6 killed, 50 wounded, 22 missing). The Confederates lost 133 (11 dead, 88 wounded, 34 captured); 71 Confederate horses were killed and 12 were captured. The loss of the youthful Pelham, age 24, well respected by Robert E. Lee, Stuart, and many veterans of the Battle of Fredericksburg, was a shock. Stuart wrote after the battle, "The gallant Pelham—so noble, so true—will be mourned by the nation."^[6]

The battle was technically a Confederate victory because Averell's men failed to achieve their objective of destroying Lee's smaller force and they withdrew under pressure across the ford at dusk. However the federal cavalrymen believed they had won a moral victory because, for the first time, they had held their own against Stuart's legendary horsemen. They would proceed into the 1863 summer campaigns with increased confidence.^[7]

A second conflict would occur at Kelly's Ford during the Bristoe Campaign's Second Battle of Rappahannock Station on November 7, 1863. The Bristoe Campaign was a series of battles fought in Virginia during October and November, 1863, in the American Civil War. ... The Second Battle of Rappahannock Station, a victory for Union forces in the Bristoe Campaign of the American Civil War, took place on November 7, 1863, near the village of Rappahannock Station (now Remington, Virginia), which was on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. ... November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ...

References

• Blumberg, Arnold D., "Battle of Kelly's Ford, Virginia", Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, Heidler, David S., and Heidler, Jeanne T., eds., W. W. Norton & Company, 2000, ISBN 0-393-04758-X.
• Eicher, David J., The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War, Simon & Schuster, 2001, ISBN 0-684-84944-5.
• Salmon, John S., The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide, Stackpole Books, 2001, ISBN 0-8117-2868-4.
• National Park Service battle description

Notes

1. ^ ^a b c Salmon, pp. 165-67,
2. ^ ^a b Blumberg, p. 1111; Eicher, p. 451.
3. ^ Eicher, pp. 450-52.
4. ^ Blumberg, pp. 1111-12.
5. ^ Blumberg, p. 1112.
6. ^ Blumberg, p. 1112; Eicher, p. 452.
7. ^ Salmon, p. 167; Blumberg, p. 1112.

External links

• Detailed NPS battle description and battlefield tour
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 38.476921° -77.779880°
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