The Battle of Culpeper Court House was an American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 skirmish fought September 13, 1863, near Culpeper, Virginia

Culpeper, Virginia

Culpeper is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper County. Culpeper is part of the Culpeper Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Culpeper County. Both the Town of Culpeper and...

, between the cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 of the Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

 and that of the Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

. The Union victory opened up the Culpeper region to Federal control, a prelude to the subsequent Bristoe Campaign

Bristoe Campaign

The Bristoe Campaign was a series of minor battles fought in Virginia during October and November 1863, in the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, began to maneuver in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern...

.

Background

On September 12, 1863, the Army of the Potomac's 10,000-man Union cavalry corps

Cavalry Corps (ACW)

Two corps of the Union Army were called Cavalry Corps during the American Civil War. One served with the Army of the Potomac; the other served in the various armies of the West.- Overview :...

 under Maj. Gen.

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 Alfred Pleasonton

Alfred Pleasonton

Alfred Pleasonton was a United States Army officer and General of Union cavalry during the American Civil War. He commanded the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac during the Gettysburg Campaign, including the largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war, Brandy Station...

 left camp near Warrenton, Virginia

Warrenton, Virginia

Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census, and 14,634 at the 2010 estimate. It is the county seat of Fauquier County. Public schools in the town include Fauquier High School, Warrenton Middle School, Taylor Middle School and two...

, and crossed the Rappahannock River

Rappahannock River

The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.An important river in American...

, where various elements concentrated near the hamlet of Sulphur Springs. Their objective was to attack Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart

J.E.B. Stuart

James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...

's headquarters at Culpeper Court House, the seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Culpeper County

Culpeper County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 34,262 people, 12,141 households, and 9,045 families residing in the county. The population density was 90 people per square mile . There were 12,871 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...

.

Battle

At 4 a.m. the following day, Pleasonton's three divisions

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

 moved forward nearly two miles, fording the Hazel River

Hazel River

The Hazel River is a tributary of the Rappahannock River in northern Virginia in the United States. Via the Rappahannock, it is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. It rises in Shenandoah National Park and flows generally eastwardly through Rappahannock and Culpeper counties. It joins the...

 and approaching Culpeper. Advancing in three columns, the Union troopers drove off scattered Confederate pickets and skirmishers. Near the main Confederate defensive line at 1 p.m., 1st Division commander Brig. Gen.

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 H. Judson Kilpatrick ordered a mounted charge by the Michigan Brigade

Michigan Brigade

The Michigan Brigade, sometimes called the Wolverines, the Michigan Cavalry Brigade or Custer's Brigade, was a brigade of cavalry in the volunteer Union Army during the latter half of the American Civil War...

 of Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...

, which carried the Confederate position centered at the railroad depot. Custer seized more than 100 prisoners

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

, as well as three artillery

Field Artillery in the American Civil War

Field artillery in the American Civil War refers to the important artillery weapons, equipment, and practices used by the Artillery branch to support the infantry and cavalry forces in the field. It does not include siege artillery, use of artillery in fixed fortifications, or coastal or naval...

 pieces. The three columns converged at Culpeper and continued their advance, driving the Confederates towards the Rapidan River

Rapidan River

The Rapidan River, flowing through north-central Virginia in the United States, is the largest tributary of the Rappahannock River. The two rivers converge just west of the city of Fredericksburg...

 in heavy skirmishing. At nightfall, the victorious Federals encamped near Cedar Mountain, with the Confederates across Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan. Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren

Gouverneur K. Warren

Gouverneur Kemble Warren was a civil engineer and prominent general in the Union Army during the American Civil War...

's II Corps

II Corps (ACW)

There were five corps in the Union Army designated as II Corps during the American Civil War.* Army of the Cumberland, II Corps commanded by Thomas L. Crittenden , later renumbered XX Corps...

occupied Culpeper Court House, although his infantry took no part in the cavalry skirmishing. Probing actions the next two days indicated the new Confederate position across the Rapidan was too strong to carry.