The Battle of Trevilian Station was the largest all-cavalry battle of the Civil War. In June 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant ordered Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan to make a raid along the Virginia Central Railroad, destroy the road at the crucial junction town of Gordonsville, and then march to Charlottesville, destroy the supply depot there, and rendezvous with the army of Maj. Gen. David Hunter. The combined force would then march east, where it would join the Army of the Potomac at Petersburg.
Sheridan marched on June 7, taking two divisions of cavalry and four batteries of horse artillery, about 9,000 men. Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton, leading two divisions of Confederate cavalry pursued the next day, and by utilizing shorter, interior routes of march, Hampton, along with the division of Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, got across Sheridan's route of march at Trevilian Station, a stop on the Virginia Central six miles west of Louisa and six miles southeast of Gordonsville, on June 10.
The battle, ranging over 7,000 acres, raged for two days.
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan [US]; Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton [CS]
Forces Engaged: Divisions
Estimated Casualties: 630 total
Description: On June 24, Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton’s cavalry attempted to cut off Sheridan’s cavalry returning from their raid to Trevilian Station. Sheridan fought a delaying action to protect a long supply train under his protection, then rejoined the Union army at Bermuda Hundred.
Saint Mary’s Church
This ended Grant’s Overland Campaign and Union forces withdrew to regroup and resupply before the upcoming Richmond-Petersburg Campaign. In the meantime Sherman had initiated his attempts to attack, surround and capture Atlanta. He and Joe Johnson were now beginning their cat and mouse game of seeing who could trap who! General Johnson was relieved by John Bell Hood during this time and Sherman changed some of his plans because of that but continued his overall strategy. The map on the following page indicates the location of the many battle sites in the Atlanta Campaign.
