Battle of Brandy Station • Tour the Battlefield • Historical & Wayside Markers • The Armies
The forces engaged in the Battle of Brandy Station on June 9, 1863, included almost all of the cavalry from both armies.
The Confederates had Stuart’s Cavalry Division, 9,500 men in five brigades along with horse artillery. Pleasonton had three divisions of cavalry with horse artillery plus a composite infantry brigade totaling about 3,000, a total of 11,000 men.
Brandy Station was not a pure cavalry battle since two composite brigades of Federal infantry were on the field. The 1864 Battle of Tevillian station is often mentioned as being the largest Civil War battle that was purely cavalry. But the numbers of cavalry engaged at Brandy Station were larger and the Federal infantry’s role was relatively minor, so Brandy station can fairly make the claim for being the largest cavalry battle of the war.
Organization of the Confederate Army at the Battle of Brandy Station
The elements of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia that took part in the Battle of Brandy Station on June 9, 1863 included nearly all of its cavalry: five brigades, along with horse artillery. Five regiments were detached at Stevensville or on picket duty along the river, but this left about 9,500 men in camps around Brandy Station, shielding Lee’s infantry around Culpeper. Lee’s First and Second Corps were concentrated at Culpeper, within marching distance of the battlefield. But Lee hoped to keep that concentration a secret from Hooker – that was Stuart’s main mission – so Lee held them back from the battle.
Cavalry Division commanded by Brigadier General James E.B. Stuart
| Hampton’s Brigade | Brigadier General Wade Hampton III | |
| 1st North Carolina Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Laurence S. Baker | |
| 1st South Carolina Cavalry Regiment | Colonel John L. Black | |
| 2nd South Carolina Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Matthew C. Butler (w) Lieutenant Colonel Frank Hampton (k) Major Thomas J. Lipscomb |
detached at Stevensburg |
| Cobb’s (Georgia) Legion Cavalry | Colonel Pierce M. B. Young (w*) | (*remained in command) |
| Philips’ (Georgia) Legion Cavalry | Lieutenant Colonel William W. Rich | detached on picket duty |
| Jeff Davis (Mississippi) Legion Cavalry | Lieutenant Colonel Joseph F. Waring | |
| F. Lee’s Brigade | Colonel Thomas T. Munford | |
| 1st Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Colonel James H. Drake | |
| 2nd Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel James W. Watts | |
| 3rd Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Thomas H. Owen | |
| 4th Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Williams C. Wickham | detached at Stevensburg |
| 5th Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Thomas L. Rosser | detached on picket duty |
| W.H.F. Lee’s Brigade | Brigadier General William H.F. Lee (w) Colonel James Lucius Davis Colonel John R. Chambliss, Jr. |
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| 2nd North Carolina Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Solomon Williams (k) Lieutenant Colonel William H. F. C. Payne |
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| 9th Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Richard L. T. Beale | |
| 10th Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Colonel James Lucius Davis (^) Major Joseph Rosser |
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| 13th Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Colonel John R. Chambliss, Jr. (^) Major Joseph E. Davis |
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| 15th Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Major C.R. Collins | detached on picket duty |
| Jones’ Brigade | Brigadier General William E. Jones | |
| 6th Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Julien Harrison (w) Major Cabel E. Flournoy |
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| 7th Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Marshall | |
| 11th Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Lunsford L. Lomax | |
| 12th Virginia Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Asher W. Harman (w*) | (*remained in command) |
| 35th Virginia Cavalry Battalion | Lieutenant Colonel Elijah V. White (w) | |
| Robertson’s Brigade | Brigadier General Beverly H. Robertson | |
| 4th North Carolina Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Dennis D. Ferebee | |
| 5th North Carolina Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Peter G. Evans | |
| Horse Artillery | Major Robert F. Beckham | |
| Ashby (Virginia) Horse Artillery | Captain Roger P. Chew | |
| Lynchburg (Virginia) Beuregard Artillery | Captain Marcellus N. Moorman | |
| Stuart (Virginia) Horse Artillery | Captain James Breathed | |
| 2nd Stuart (Virginia) Horse Artillery | Captain William M. McGregor | |
| Washington (South Carolina) Artillery | Captain James F. Hart | |
Organization of the Federal Army of the Potomac at Brandy Station
The elements of the Federal Army of the Potomac that took part in the Battle of Brandy Station on June 9, 1863 included three divisions of cavalry and two composite brigades of infantry, a total of about 11,000 men. Other elements of the army were nearby but were not intended to be included on what was intended to be a large cavalry raid. The regiments of the two infantry brigades were chosen for their quality and temporarily detached from their parent organizations just for the raid.
Cavalry Corps commanded by Brigadier General Alfred Pleasonton
Right Wing commanded by Brigadier General John Buford
1st Cavalry Division |
Brigadier General John Buford |
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| 1st Brigade | Colonel Benjamin F. Davis (k) Major William S. McClure |
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| 8th Illinios Cavalry Regiment | Captain Alpheus Clark (mw) Captain George A. Forsyth (w) |
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| 3rd Indiana Cavalry Battalion | Major William S. McClure (^) Major Charles Lemmon |
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| 8th New York Cavalry Regiment | Major Edmund M. Pope | |
| 9th New York Cavalry (5 companies) | Major William B. Martin (w) Captain Conway W. Ayres |
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| 3rd West Virginia Cavalry, Companies A & C | Captain Seymour B. Conger | |
| 2nd Brigade | Colonel Thomas C. Devin | |
| 6th New York Cavalry Regiment | Major William E. Beardsley | |
| 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Josiah H. Kellogg | |
| Reserve Brigade | Major Charles J. Whiting | |
| 1st United States Cavalry Regiment | Captain Richard S. C. Lord | |
| 2nd United States Cavalry Regiment | Captain Wesley Merritt | |
| 5th United States Cavalry Regiment | Captain James E. Harrison | |
| 6th United States Cavalry Regiment | Captain George C. Cram | |
| 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment | Major Robert Morris, Jr. (c) Major Henry C. Wheelan |
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| Composite Infantry Brigade | Brigadier General Adelbert Ames | |
| 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Mudge | from 12th Corps |
| 33rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment | Colonel Adin B. Underwood | from 11th Corps |
| 86th New York Infantry Regiment | Major Jacob H. Lansing | from 3rd Corps |
| 124th New York Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Francis M. Cummins | from 3rd Corps |
| 3rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Martin Flood | from 12th Corps |
| Horse Artillery | Captain James M. Robertson | |
| 1st United States Artillery, Battery K | Captain William M. Graham | attached to the 2nd Brigade |
| 2nd United States Artillery, Batteries B & L | Lieutenant Edward Heaton | attached to the 1st Brigade |
| 4th United States Artillery, Battery E | Lieutenant Samuel S. Elder | attached to the Reserve Brigade |
Left Wing commanded by Brigadier General David McM. Gregg
2nd Cavalry Division |
Colonel Alfred N. Duffié |
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| 1st Brigade | Colonel Louis P. Di Cesnola | |
| 1st Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Greely S. Curtis | |
| 6th Ohio Cavalry Regiment | Major William Stedman | |
| 1st Rhode Island Cavalry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel John L. Thompson | |
| 2nd Brigade | Colonel John I. Gregg | |
| 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Edward S. Jones | |
| 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel William E. Doster | |
| 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment | Captain John K. Robison | In reserve, without saddles |
| 2nd United States Artillery, Battery M | Lieutenant Alexander C. M. Pennington | |
3rd Cavalry Division |
Brigadier General David McM. Gregg |
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| 1st Brigade | Colonel Judson Kilpatrick | |
| 2nd New York Cavalry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Henry E. Davies, Jr. | |
| 10th New York Cavalry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel William Irvine (c) Major Matthew H. Avery |
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| 1st Maine Cavalry Regiment | Colonel Calvin S. Douty | |
| Orton’s District of Columbia Cavalry Company | Captain William H. Orton | |
| 2nd Brigade | Colonel Percy Wyndham (w) Colonel John P. Taylor |
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| 1st Maryland Cavalry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel James M. Deems | |
| 1st New Jersey Cavalry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Virgil Brodrick (k) Major John H. Shelmire (k) Major Myron H. Beaumont |
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| 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment | Colonel John P. Taylor (^) Lieutenant Colonel David Gardner |
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| New York Light Artillery, 6th Battery | Captain Joseph W. Martin | |
| Composite Infantry Brigade | Brigadier General David A. Russel | |
| 6th Maine Infantry Regiment | Colonel Hiram Burnham | from 6th Corps |
| 5th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment | Colonel Edward E. Cross | from 2nd Corps |
| 56th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Colonel John William Hofmann | from 1st Corps |
| 81st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | attached to 5th New Hampshire | from 2nd Corps |
| 119th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Major Henry P. Truefitt, Jr. | from 6th Corps |
| 2nd Wisconsin Infantry, 2 companies | attached to 7th Wisconsin | from 1st Corps |
| 7th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment | Colonel William Robinson | from 1st Corps |
| 3rd United States Artillery, Battery C | Lieutenant William D. Fuller | |