Battle at Trevilian Station
| date | 11-12 June 1864 |
|---|---|
| place | Louisa County , Virginia , United States |
| output | Confederate victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Philip Sheridan
|
Wade Hampton III.
|
| Troop strength | |
|
two cavalry divisions
|
|
| losses | |
|
1,007 dead, wounded and prisoners
|
1,071 dead, wounded and prisoners
|
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Wilderness - Spotsylvania CH - Yellow Tavern - Wilsons Wharf - Haws Shop - North Anna - Totopotomoy Creek - Old Church - Cold Harbor - Trevilian Station - Saint Marys Church
The Battle of Trevilian Station (also called the Battle of Trevilians ) took place on June 11th and 12th, 1864. She was part of General Ulysses S. Grant's overland campaign against the Northern Virginia Army of Confederate General Robert Edward Lee . It was one of the bloodiest cavalry battles of the Civil War and ended in a victory for the Northern Virginia Army.
background
In early June 1864, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant attempted to destroy General Robert E. Lee's Northern Virginia Army. Grant received political pressure from Washington, DC , as the presidential election was imminent. Grant needed a win to restore morale to his troops after the hard fighting at Spotsylvania and the defeat at Cold Harbor . He ordered the 100,000-strong Potomac Army to march south and cross the James . There it was to take the Petersburg , Virginia railroad junction , while his cavalry, under the command of Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan , was to advance north along the Virginia Central Railroad in Louisa County , Virginia. The plan had two goals: on the one hand, the Confederate cavalry was to be lured away from the Potomac Army so that it could cross over unnoticed via the James, and on the other hand, the Virginia Central railway line was to be cut off and with it the urgently needed supplies for Lee's army, who was supposed to come from the Shenandoah Valley.
On the morning of June 7th, Sheridan and his two cavalry divisions left Cold Harbor, led by Brigadier Generals Alfred TA Torbert and David McM. Gregg . They followed the North Anna and looked for a ford to attack the railway line. They marched for two days. As a result of the heat, the horses exhausted themselves very quickly, so that some even had to be shot. On June 10, Sheridan finally set up camp three miles north of Trevilians.
During the previous march, Sheridan encountered little resistance, but that changed on June 10, when individual cavalry units clashed again and again. Lee meanwhile had his two cavalry divisions under Major General Wade Hampton III. and Fitzhugh Lee also sent to the Trevilians area; Hampton was the commanding officer . The Confederates reached Trevilians the day before Sheridan, as Sheridan was marching carefully so as not to be spotted. On the morning of June 11, the two major associations faced each other.
The battle
In the morning Hampton was awakened by his aides and pointed out to the enemy. When asked what to do next, Hampton reportedly replied, "I propose to fight." Hampton immediately devised a plan to defend the railway line. He knew Sheridan's position at an intersection. From there two roads led through thick forest to the train station. One led to Trevilian Station and the other to Louisa Court House Station. Hampton planned to split his force and have them attack one street at a time towards the intersection. A division would attack Sheridan from the flank, forcing him to move to North Anna. Hampton himself wanted to attack from the Trevilians, while Lee's division was to advance over the right flank of Louisa Court House.
As the Confederates began their attack, Sheridan tried to advance both streets. Two of Torbert's brigades were moving across the street towards the Trevilians, while a third, along with one of Gregg's brigades, marched towards Louisa Court House under the command of George Armstrong Custer . They first met on the road to Trevilians. Hampton's brigades dismounted from their horses and took up a defensive position. Hampton hoped to be able to hold up the Union troops until he was reinforced on the right by Fitzhugh Lee. Due to his personal inferiority, however, he soon had to evade and was pushed back through the thicket within sight of Trevilian Station.
Lee also had problems. Shortly after riding off from Louisa Court House station, he came across two Union brigades. Because of the overwhelming power, Lee decided to move in the direction of Trevilian Station. This maneuver enabled Custer and his brigade to advance towards Trevilian Station without being noticed. This put the Confederates in an uncomfortable position as Custer was now not only behind them but also between the two Confederate divisions.
When Custer arrived at Trevilian Station, it was completely unguarded. There were only the Confederate supply cars with ammunition, food and hundreds of horses. Custer attacked the entourage in search of supplies. The Confederates fled. This resulted in a car chase, in the course of which Custer was separated from General Sheridan. Hampton ordered a brigade to come to the aid of the troops at Trevilian Station. Since Lee's troops arrived at the station at the same time, Custer was suddenly trapped from left and right of the station. Custer tried to cross the road toward Gordonsville , Virginia , taking his obstructive prey with him . In doing so, he had overlooked the fact that a battery of mounted artillery stood on a hill north of the station, which took his soldiers under fire and decimated the leading companies. At the same time, his right flank was overwhelmed by Hampton's attacking brigade. Custer was now trapped, the circle tightening with attacks and artillery fire (an experience he would later repeat at the Battle of Little Big Horn ).
Custer realized that any moment he would be overrun and his standard would be captured. When the standard bearer was hit, he took the standard from the stick and hid it in his clothes. Sheridan had heard the noise of battle from Custer's direction and suspected that Custer needed help. He attacked Hampton's weaker side via Trevilian Road with two brigades and pushed them back towards the station. He ordered the other brigade to take the road to Louisa Court House station and fall into Lee's open right flank. Hampton then dodged west and Lee east, which ended the battle. The Union troops had captured Trevilian Station. Sheridan asked Custer if he had lost his standard. Custer then presented the rescued flag under his clothes with the words; "Not by a damned sight".
On July 12th, Sheridan's forces began to destroy the tracks from Trevilian Station. Gregg's division worked its way east and Torbert headed west. Hampton's forces were eventually discovered by Custer in an entrenched position two miles west of the Trevilians. Lee had joined him in a wide arc during the night. Custer attacked but was repulsed with heavy losses. Sheridan received information that an infantry corps was marching towards the nearby Lynchburg and decided to evade, as he had suffered heavy losses and had hardly any ammunition left.
After the battle
Opinions differ as to whether the outcome of the Battle of Trevilian Station was a success for the Union. In order to distract attention from the crossing of James by the Potomac Army, the battle can be counted as a success, since General Lee only noticed Grant's intention when the Potomac Army attacked the weak defenders of Petersburg. The plan to cut the supply line over the Virginia-Central railway line was less successful. The tracks were restored within two weeks, and the planned merger between Sheridan and General Hunter did not take place, as Hunter was defeated in the Battle of Lynchburg and had to evade to Maryland before General Jubal Early .
literature
- Eric J. Wittenberg: Glory Enough for All: Sheridan's Second Raid and the Battle of Trevilian Station. Brassey's Inc. Washington, DC 2001, ISBN 1-57488-468-9