The largest cavalry clash of the Civil War, the Battle of Brandy Station, took place as Robert E. Lee began to move his army north for the invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863. Although the battle was technically a Confederate victory, it demonstrated how much the Union cavalry had closed the gap against its Southern counterpart since the beginning of the war.
After his brilliant victory at Chancellorsville in May 1863, Lee began to plan another invasion of the North. By the end of the month, he began to draw his forces together near Culpeper for a march northward. Lee placed General J.E.B. Stuart and his formidable cavalry at Brandy Station, just east of Culpeper, to screen the rest of Lee's army as it began to head to the Blue Ridge Mountains on its way to Pennsylvania. On 5 June, Stuart staged a grand review to boost morale and show off his dashing troops. Lee could not attend, so Stuart staged another review on 8 June.
Unknown to Stuart, uninvited guests had observed his second pompous display. General Alfred Pleasanton, with some 8,000 cavalry troops and 3,000 supporting infantrymen, lurked across the Rappahannock River. On the morning of 9 June, Pleasanton struck across the river. He formed his division into two wings. General John Buford's brigade crossed Beverly Ford on the Rappahannock, while General David Gregg breached Kelly's Ford six miles downstream later that day. Buford's troops opened the battle when they struck Confederate cavalry pickets in an early morning haze on 9 June.
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