Battle of Upperville
Battle of Upperville | |||||||
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Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
The Battle of Upperville: Harper's Weekly, July 18, 1863. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Alfred Pleasonton Strong Vincent |
Wade Hampton Beverly Robertson | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
2 cavalry divisions 1 infantry brigade | 4 cavalry brigades | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
209 | 180 |
The Battle of Upperville took place in
Background
The
Goose Creek
Following the fighting at Middleburg on June 19, a heavy rainstorm during the night had soaked the Loudoun Valley, ending a six-week drought. In the downpour, Wade Hampton's brigade of Confederate cavalry had reinforced J.E.B. Stuart, and was deployed near Beverly Robertson's brigade along the Ashby's Gap Turnpike. John R. Chambliss's brigade moved northward and joined "Grumble" Jones near Unison, Virginia. Thomas T. Munford's brigade was still farther north, guarding access to the Snickersville Gap. John Mosby's partisan rangers scouted the Union positions and provided much needed intelligence on their movements.
Union cavalry commander Alfred Pleasonton, frustrated by Stuart's excellent usage of dismounted cavalry hiding behind stone walls, on June 20 asked for and received infantry support from Maj. Gen.
Stuart, determined to rest his weary men on the Sabbath, did not get his wish, as Federal artillery opened up on his position around 8:00 a.m. on June 21. After initially holding off Kilpatrick's cavalry, Stuart, effectively using stone walls and steep ravines and creeks, began to fall back under pressure from the Union infantry. He made a stand west of the hamlet of Rector's Crossroads along the stone bridge over Goose Creek, where for two more hours he was able to withstand repeated Federal attacks from mounted cavalry, as well as the 16th Michigan Infantry, which sent skirmishers and sharpshooters forward to pick off the Confederate gunners.
Ahead of the advancing Union soldiers, the Confederate artillerymen hooked up their guns to their teams and raced off, but a
Upperville
After furious mounted fighting, Stuart finally withdrew to take a strong defensive position in Ashby's Gap, even as Confederate infantry began crossing the Potomac River into Maryland. As cavalry skirmishing diminished in the next few days, Stuart made the fateful decision to strike east and make a circuit of the Union army as it marched toward Gettysburg.
Upperville was significant in that Stuart's successful delaying tactics prevented Pleasonton from making an accurate assessment of the location of Lee's infantry divisions, thereby depriving the Federals of much valued intelligence of their enemy's whereabouts and objectives.
Battlefield preservation
The American Battlefield Trust) and its partners have preserved 1,004 acres (4.06 km2) of the battlefield by acquisition or conservation easement as of mid-2023.[1]
Notes
- ^ "Upperville Battlefield". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
References
- National Park Service battle description
- O'Neill, Robert F. The Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville: Small But Important Riots, June 10–27, 1863. Lynchburg, VA: H.E. Howard, 1993. ISBN 1-56190-052-4.
- CWSAC Report Update