Civil War Replica Musket
Civil War Musket
Wood & Steel Frontier Rifle Designed After The Original Rifle, Fires Roll Caps
This Civil War Musket replica has been designed after the original rifle of its era. Measures approximately 37 inches long. Each is constructed with a solid one-piece wood stock, painted steel barrel and die-cast parts. Will fire caps. Full orange tip attached as required by Federal Law. Ages 5+

CIVIL WAR
BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION JUNE 9, 1863


  The victorious Confederate Army of Northern Virginia streamed into Culpeper County after its victory at Fredericksburg. Under the leadership of General Robert E. Lee, the troops seemed invincible and massed around Culpeper preparing to carry the war north into Pennsylvania. These half-starved men had defeated armies twice their size at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, but the constant enemies of hunger and poor equipment were showing their effects. Lee was determined to strike north to capture horses, equipment, and food for his men.  

Brandy Station, Virginia, June 9, 1863: The Largest Cavalry Battle of the Civil War
Major General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker. Relieving the disgraced and outmatched Burnside, Hooker reorganized his troops, establishing regular drills, procuring adequate rations

By June 5, two infantry corps under CSA General Longstreet and Ewell were camped in and around Culpeper. Six miles north of town, holding the line of the Rappahannock River, General J.E.B. Stuart bivouacked his cavalry troopers, screening the Confederate Army against surprise by the enemy.Federal officers at their Brandy Station winter camp having dinner

Most of the Southern cavalry was camped near Brandy Station. Stuart, the "dashing cavalier", requested a full field review of his troops by General Lee. His request granted, on June 8 nearly 9,000 mounted troopers passed Lee's reviewing stand, first at a walk, then in full gallop as sabers glistened in the sun and 22 batteries of horse artillery roared in simulated battle. Today this review field remains much as it was in 1863, except that the Virginia Police Station occupies part of it.

A dense fog hung over the Rappahannock on the morning of June 9. Unknown to the Confederates, 10,000 Union horsemen had massed their forces on the other side. Misinterpreting the screening action of Stuart's cavalry, Union General Pleasanton thought he was attacking a rebel raiding party of unknown strength. Pleasanton's attack plan called for a two-prong thrust at the enemy. One half of his men would cross the river at Beverly's Ford, two miles below Brandy Station, and the other half would cross at Kelly's Ford, four miles downstream. Caught in these pincers, the Southern cavalry would be surprised, outnumbered, and beaten.

Early in the morning, Stuart heard ragged gunfire from the river. Soon his troopers reached his Fleetwood Heights headquarters with the news that Union cavalrymen had forced a crossing at Beverly's Ford and charged up the narrow road toward St. James Church and Gee House Hill. Just as Stuart heard that the enemy had been checked at St. James, he received the startling news that Union troops were riding in on his rear. The vanguard, then visible, was approaching Fleetwood from the Stevensburg Road, having crossed at Kelly's Ford and reached Stevensburg via La Grange.

One lone artillery piece was left atop Fleetwood Hill, and only a token force to guard Stuart's headquarters. As this single gun fired the few shells available, the Union horsemen halted their advance. Racing against time, Confederate cavalry rushed back from the St. James battle line to meet this new threat.

Never before had the Union cavalry shown such strength and skill in combat. Stuart's headquarters was overrun, and the rear lines at St. James were threatened.

Help arrived as Gen. W.H.F. (Rooney) Lee's cavalry rode in from Little Fork Church (seven miles from Brandy) and saved the day for Stuart. After 12 hours of raging battle, Union troops retreated to the north side of the river.

Some 19,000 mounted men were engaged in this, the greatest cavalry battle ever to take place in the western hemisphere. For the first time in the Civil War, Union cavalry matched the Confederate horsemen in skill and determination.


Cavalryman of the Lost Cause: A Biography of J. E. B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown Stuart was the premier cavalry commander of the Confederacy. He gained a reputation for daring early in the war when he rode around the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign, providing valuable intelligence to General Robert E. Lee at the expense of Union commander George B. McClellan





From Manassas to Appomattox: General James Longstreet
According to some, he was partially to blame for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg; according to others, if Lee had followed Longstreet's advice, they would have won that battle. He has been called stubborn and vain; and he has been lauded as one of the greatest tacticians of the Civil War

Fighting with Jeb Stuart: Major James Breathed and the Confederate Horse Artillery
Biography of this important Southern officer, a brave and virtuous warrior who embodied all the qualities that made the Confederate Army one of the finest in history. Major Breathed was involved in eighty-six battles, engagements and skirmishes.





Civil War Revolver Pistol
Civil War Model 1851 Naval Pistol with Engraved Silver Tone / Gold Tone Finish and Wooden Grips - Replica of Revolver Used by Both USA / Union and CSA / Confederate Forces

Officers and a woman at the Virginia headquarters of the First Brigade in Brandy Station, Virginia, 1864
Union camp Brandy Station

Brandy Station Scouts
Brandy Station Scouts
Standing, left to right: James Doughty, James Cammack?, unknown, Henry W. Dodd, unknown, unknown.
Seated: John Irving, Lt. Robert Klein, 3d Indiana Cavalry, Dan Cole. On ground: Dan Plue, Lt. Klein's son,
W. J. Lee , unknown, [ ] Wood, Sanford Magee, John W. Langdon


Brandy Station Horse Artillery
Brandy Station Horse Artillery

Gettysburg Soldier playset
Gettysburg Playset
12 to 26 piece soldier play sets.  Ages 6 and Up
More on Brandy Station
Civil War Exhibits
Virginia Battle Map 1863
Civil War Summary
Women in the War
Civil War Cooking
Documents of the Civil War
General Robert E. Lee
General Ulysses S. Grant
Civil War Store
Civil War soldier toys 102 pieces
Civil War Soldier 102 Piece Playset
  • 25 Union and 25 Confederate Soldier Figures, 18 Horses, 10 Cannon
  • 2 Covered Wagons, 2 Tents, 2 Canoes, 2 Flags, 16 Fences
  • Size: Figures Stand up to 2-1/8 inches tall
  • Scale: 1/32nd, Wagons and Horses slightly smaller

American Civil War Book Titles

The Mutiny at Brandy Station: The Last Battle of the Hooker Brigade
The character and actions of men who served the United States Army of the Potomac in 1864. Follows key players through the reorganization, the courts martial, and into the Wilderness using direct quotes from their diaries, memoirs, and reports as well as original transcripts of the trials

Jeb Stuart: The Last Cavalier
Biography of the dashing Confederate general is history at its best: fascinating, colorful, provocative. Includes portraits of Stuart's early life, training at West Point, the fateful decision to side with the South and action-packed battle scenes. 7 maps. 8 pages of photos.

Jeb Stuart and the Confederate Defeat at Gettysburg
Warren C. Robinson reassesses the historical record to come to a clearer view of Stuart's orders for the crucial battle (as well as what was expected of him), of his actual performance, and of the impact his late arrival had on the outcome of the campaign.

Shades of Blue and Gray: An Introductory Military History of the Civil War
The Civil War with an emphasis on contemporary advances in military technology and their effects on behavior in the field. Ulysses Grant was speaking nearly literally when he wrote, "the iron gauntlet must be used more than the silken glove to destroy the Confederacy"

Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia
Profiles some 2,300 staff officers in Robert E. Lee's famous Army of Northern Virginia. A typical entry includes the officer's full name, the date and place of his birth and death, details of his education and occupation, and a synopsis of his military record. Two appendixes provide a list of more than 3,000 staff officers who served in other armies of the Confederacy and complete rosters of known staff officers of each general

Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi
Confederate troops surrendered Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 a crucial port and rail depot for the South was lost

Vicksburg Expedition Guide
Annimated movie that details Grants Mississippi campaign which concluded with the seige of Vicksburg. A great background on the importance of this site in the entire war, as well as battles leading up to the Vicksburgh seige.

Balls Bluff: A Small Battle and Its Long Shadow
Confederate troops scored what was probably the most complete victory by either side in the Civil War at a place calle Ball's Bluff, thirty-five miles west of Washington, DC, on the Virginia bank of the Potomac River. Union soldiers were driven in a panic off the high bluff into the river, where many of them drowned
Civil War Documentary DVD Titles

Gettysburg: Three Days of Destiny
Presented by the Gettysburg Anniversary Committee and filmed at the massive 140th Gettysburg Battle Reenactment. The dramatic story unfolds through both Union and Confederate commanders dispatches, diaries and after-battle reports, with some of the biggest and most exciting Civil War battle sequences ever filmed

Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields
Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor

Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.


Source:
Library of Congress
National Park Service
Department of the Interior




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