Kilpatrick, the division commander, had graduated from West Point in 1861. He had earned the unflattering nickname “Kill-Cavalry” by driving his men and especially his horses with reckless abandon. He had begun his military career with the 5th New York Infantry (Duryee’s Zouaves) and was wounded on May 9, 1861, at Big Bethel, Va.–the first Regular officer to be wounded in the Civil War. With a commander as restless and aggressive as Kilpatrick, the 3rd would undoubtedly be a fighting division.

Subscribe Today

• Did you enjoy our article?
• Read more in America's Civil War magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!!!
 

J.E.B. Stuart was already a proven cavalry commander, the “eyes and ears” of Lee’s army. Like Kilpatrick, he was a graduate of West Point. After the Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River and stepped onto Northern soil, Lee left decisions about routes and raiding largely to Stuart’s discretion, although he did state in two separate dispatches that Stuart was to “feel the right of Ewell’s troops” and “collect all the supplies you can for the use of the army.” Stuart used his discretion and decided to ride around the Federal army, a plan similar to his famous “Ride Around McClellan” during the Peninsula campaign the year before.

Stuart began his march from Salem, Va., located on the Manassas Gap Railroad eight miles west of Thoroughfare Gap, at 1 a.m. on June 24. With him were three brigades, commanded by Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton, Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh (”Fitz”) Lee and Colonel John Chambliss, along with six pieces of artillery. Chambliss was in temporary command of Brig. Gen. W.H.F. (”Rooney”) Lee’s brigade because Lee had received a serious wound at Brandy Station. Problems arose almost immediately for Stuart. The Federal army was spread out from Harpers Ferry to the mouth of the Monocacy River, and from Middletown, Md., to Frederick, Md. John Mosby, the legendary partisan ranger, had reported to Stuart that the Union Army “was inactive and at ease in their camps.” But how accurate Mosby’s information may or may not have been was academic now. The whole Union army was on the move, making it almost impossible for Stuart’s own movements to go undetected. Stuart almost ran smack into Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps of the Army of the Potomac near Haymarket. Stuart lobbed a few artillery shells toward Hancock’s men, who returned the favor. That encounter prompted Stuart to turn his forces southeast toward Bristoe Station and proceed to Wolf Run Shoals on June 26.

On the 27th, Stuart’s troopers proceeded north through Fairfax Court House, Dranesville and on to Rowser’s Ford, where they crossed the Potomac River less than 20 miles west of Washington. By 3 a.m. on the 28th, the entire Army of Northern Virginia, save two brigades of cavalry under Brig. Gens. Beverly Robertson and William Jones, had crossed the Potomac. Although he had crossed the river first, Stuart was nevertheless far behind schedule. But he was not idle. He ordered his troopers to destroy a portion of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, rendering it useless for a while. Hampton’s men also cut several miles of telegraph lines running into the Union capital.

At Rockville, Md., a mere 13 miles northwest of the Federal capital, detachments from Hampton’s and Chambliss’ brigades came across a huge, eight-mile-long Union wagon train. After a wild chase, Chambliss’ men captured 125 wagons, 900 mules and 400 prisoners. The wagons were loaded with oats, whiskey, bacon, hams and sugar. Damaged wagons, along with supplies that could not be carried, were burned. Stuart now had a multitude of problems. He had been on the road for more than 72 hours, but he had only been on Maryland soil a few hours. He had no idea where Lee was, and he was unsure of Ewell’s location. Now he was also encumbered by a long and slow-moving wagon train.

Stuart and his men marched all night. On the morning of the 29th, they crossed the tracks of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, stopping long enough to tear up a stretch of track and cut some telegraph wires. At Westminster, they had a small skirmish with two companies of the 1st Delaware Cavalry but quickly drove off the heavily outnumbered Federals. The Confederate cavalrymen spent the night at Union Mills, less than 10 miles from the Maryland­ Pennsylvania line. It was at Westminister that Stuart first learned that the entire Union Army was on the move toward Frederick.

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to