Overview
After the Union victory at Gettysburg, General George G. Meade and the Army of the Potomac followed General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia as it retreated into Virginia. Meade failed to block Lee’s escape after fighting at Williamsport, Boonsboro, and Manassas Gap.
In September, Lee weakened his army by sending General James Longstreet’s 1st Corps to Chattanooga to reinforce General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee. Meade renewed his pursuit, but Union officials soon ordered his 11th Corps and 12th Corps to Tennessee after the Confederate victory at Chickamauga. Lee then crossed the Rappahannock River and sought to attack Meade’s right flank.
Union and Confederate forces engaged each other near Auburn in the First Battle of Auburn on October 13, 1863, and the Second Battle of Auburn on the morning of October 14. These engagements led to the Confederate defeat at Bristoe Station on the 14th. Afterward, Lee ended his offensive and withdrew toward the Rappahannock River. Meade then reversed course and pursued him. General J.E.B. Stuart shielded Lee’s retreat with Confederate cavalry. Near Buckland Mills, Stuart drew General Judson Kilpatrick’s Union cavalry into a trap near Broad Run.
General George A. Custer’s Brigade pushed Stuart’s forces across a stone bridge while the Confederates pretended to retreat. Custer later halted his tired men, which separated them from Kilpatrick and General Henry Davies. General Fitzhugh Lee then attacked from the south, while Stuart turned and attacked from the front. The Union cavalry broke and fled. Confederates captured nearly 250 Federals, along with eight supply wagons and ambulances.
Essential Facts
- Also Known As: Buckland Races, Battle of Chestnut Hill.
- Date: October 19, 1863.
- Location: Fauquier County, Virginia.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Judson Kilpatrick, George A. Custer, and Henry Davies.
- CSA Commanders: J.E.B. Stuart and Fitzhugh Lee.
- Who Won: The Confederate States won the Battle of Buckland Mills.
- Campaign: Bristoe Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, July–December, 1863.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: Stuart’s men captured nearly 250 Union troops.
- Forces Engaged: Judson Kilpatrick’s cavalry.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: Unknown.
- Forces Engaged: J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Significance
The Battle of Buckland Mills is important to American History because it temporarily slowed the Union pursuit of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. General J.E.B. Stuart and General Fitzhugh Lee used a false retreat, a flank attack, and coordinated timing to defeat General Judson Kilpatrick’s Union cavalry, which broke and fled. The victory helped protect Lee’s withdrawal after the Confederate defeat at Bristoe Station.
History
Lee Escapes After Gettysburg
Following the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), Major General George G. Meade and the Army of the Potomac cautiously pursued General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia as it retreated into Virginia. Despite encounters at the Battle of Williamsport (July 6–16, 1863), the Battle of Boonsboro (July 8, 1863), and the Battle of Manassas Gap (July 23, 1863), Meade could not prevent Lee’s escape and called off the chase.
Lee’s Army Depleted
In September, Confederate officials pressured Lee into sending Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s 1st Corps to Chattanooga to reinforce Lieutenant General Braxton’s Bragg’s Army of Tennessee, which was being battered by Major General William Rosecrans and the Army of the Cumberland. When Meade learned that Lee had weakened his army, he renewed his pursuit. In mid-September, Meade sent two columns forward to engage the remnants of Lee’s army, encamped along the Rapidan River.
Meade’s Army Depleted
The tables quickly turned, however, when Washington officials ordered Meade’s 11th and 12th Corps to Tennessee after the Confederate victory at the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19–20, 1863). With the size of Meade’s army also depleted, Lee responded by crossing the Rappahannock River in early October and by launching an offensive aimed at Meade’s right flank. Meade countered by beginning a withdrawal to secure his supply depot at Centerville.
Confederate Defeat at Bristoe Station
On the morning of October 14, 1863, near Bristoe Station, Confederate Lieutenant General A. P. Hill’s corps was in pursuit of Major General George Sykes’s 5th Corps, which was serving as the rearguard of Meade’s army. When Hill caught sight of Sykes’s corps early in the afternoon, he ordered an attack that resulted in a costly Confederate defeat. The loss at the Battle of Bristoe Station prompted Lee to call off his short-lived offensive. Lee fell back to the Rappahannock River, destroying the Orange & Alexandria Railroad on the way.
October 19, 1863 — Ambush at Buckland Mills
With Lee in retreat, Meade reversed his course and, once again, became the pursuer. On October 19, 1863, Confederate cavalryman General J. E. B. Stuart, who was shielding Lee’s withdrawal, lured Brigadier-General Judson Kilpatrick’s Union cavalry into an ambush near Buckland Mills on a small stream named Broad Run.
Confederate Trap
Led by Brigadier-General George A. Custer’s brigade, Kilpatrick’s horsemen rode east on the Warrenton Pike early in the morning and pushed Stuart’s troopers across the stone bridge spanning Broad Creek, as the Confederates feigned a retreat. Kilpatrick arrived on the scene later and continued the pursuit, placing Brigadier General Henry Davies in the lead. Despite being instructed to follow Davies’s advance, Custer ordered his weary men to rest and to take a meal. As Custer’s men ate, Kilpatrick and Davies continued to move forward, thus separating the two forces.
Custer Escapes
While Davies and Kilpatrick were pursuing Stuart, General Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry brilliantly executed a flanking maneuver to the Union right. As Custer’s men mounted to continue following Kilpatrick, Lee’s troopers struck from the south. Outnumbered and in danger of being trapped with the creek to their back, Custer’s men broke for the bridge. After a spirited fight, Custer got his men back across the creek, leaving Davies and Kilpatrick isolated with Stuart at their front and Lee at their rear.
The Buckland Races
As planned, the sound of Lee’s engagement was Stuart’s signal to turn and fight. Taking full advantage of his numerical superiority, Stuart mounted a full-scale assault. When the surprised Union forces discovered that Stuart’s men had surrounded them, they panicked. Stuart reported that “the enemy broke and the rout was soon complete.” In the ensuing bedlam, which the Confederates later referred to as the “Buckland Races,”
Aftermath
The Confederate victory at the Battle of Buckland Mills saw Stuart’s men capture nearly 250 Federals and eight supply wagons and ambulances. On the next day, Stuart’s cavalry rejoined Lee’s main army.
Adding insult to injury, Stuart later wrote the following song lampooning the humbled Union forces.
The Buckland Races
A song by J. E. B. Stuart
Come listen to me, ladies,
A story I’ll relate.
Which happened in the eastern part
Of the Old Dominion State
Away down at New Baltimore,
On a day of Autumn bright.
The Yankee braggadocio
Was whipped clear out of sight.
CHORUS: Hurrah for Kil!
Who ran with such a will!
He distanced every nag that day
In the race at Buckland Mill.
It was the “Buckland races,”
Far famed through old Fauqu’er,
With Stuart before their faces,
Fitz Lee came in their rear;
And such another stampede
Has never yet been seen.
Poor Kil led off at top speed,
And many a Wolverine.
CHORUS: Hurrah for Kil!
Who ran with such a will!
He distanced every nag that day
In the race at Buckland Mill.
Old Michigan saw sights that day
Which “Harpers” will never know,
When the Southern boys went on their way
And thrashed Kilpatrick so.
Past Buckland sped they, great and small,
Some drowned them in Broad Run.
We never yet made such a haul,
And never had such fun.
CHORUS: Hurrah for Kil!
Who ran with such a will!
He distanced every nag that day
In the race at Buckland Mill.
Come, ladies all, a hearty cheer,
Give three times three hurrah
For Southern lads, who never fear
To meet the foe in war.
A heart as true as any blade,
Is carried in each hand.
They’ll never forget the darling maid
They met at old Buckland.
CHORUS: Hurrah for Kil!
Who ran with such a will!
He distanced every nag that day
In the race at Buckland Mill.
Timeline
- 1863, July 1-3 — Union forces won the Battle of Gettysburg.
- 1863, July 6-16 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive Battle of Williamsport.
- 1863, July 8 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive Battle of Boonsboro.
- 1863, July 23 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive Battle of Manassas Gap.
- 1863, September — Confederate officials pressured Robert E. Lee to send James Longstreet’s 1st Corps to Chattanooga.
- 1863, September
- George G. Meade renewed his pursuit after he learned that Lee had weakened his army.
- Meade sent two columns toward the remnants of Lee’s army along the Rapidan River.
- 1863, September 19–20 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Chickamauga.
- 1863, October 13 — Union and Confederate forces fought the inconclusive First Battle of Auburn.
- 1863, October 14
- Union and Confederate forces fought to a strategic draw at the Second Battle of Auburn.
- Union forces won the Battle of Bristoe Station.
- 1863, October 19
- J.E.B. Stuart lured Judson Kilpatrick’s Union cavalry into an ambush near Buckland Mills.
- George A. Custer’s brigade pushed Stuart’s men across the stone bridge over Broad Run.
- Custer halted his tired men while Kilpatrick and Henry Davies continued forward.
- Fitzhugh Lee attacked the Union right flank from the south.
- Stuart turned and attacked the Union front.
- The Union cavalry broke in confusion during the action known as the “Buckland Races.”
- 1863, October 20 — Stuart’s cavalry rejoined Lee’s main army.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Buckland Mills (1863) — The Battle of Buckland Mills was fought in Fauquier County, Virginia, on October 19, 1863, during the Bristoe Campaign. General J.E.B. Stuart lured General Judson Kilpatrick’s Union cavalry into a trap near Broad Run. General George A. Custer’s brigade became separated from Kilpatrick and General Henry Davies. General Fitzhugh Lee attacked the Union right flank, while Stuart attacked from the front. The Confederates won the battle and later mocked the Union retreat, calling it the “Buckland Races.”
Alignment
The Battle of Buckland Mills is part of the following AP US History sections:
