Battle of Middleburg
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Middleburg took place from June 17 to June 19, 1863, in Loudoun County, Virginia
, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign
of the American Civil War
.
Confederate
Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart
, screening Robert E. Lee
's invasion route, sparred with Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton
's Union
cavalry. On June 17, Col. Alfred N. Duffié
's isolated 1st Rhode Island Cavalry Regiment
was attacked by the brigade
s of Thomas T. Munford
and Beverly Robertson
. The 1st Rhode Island was routed, taking about 250 casualties. On June 19, J. Irvin Gregg's brigade advanced, driving Stuart's cavalry one mile beyond the town. Both sides were reinforced, and mounted and dismounted skirmishing continued. Stuart was gradually levered out of his position but fell back to a second ridge, still covering the approaches to the Blue Ridge
gap.
and scattered his brigades throughout the Loudoun Valley
to watch for enemy activity. Early in the morning, Col. Duffié, a French-born officer, had taken the 280 men of the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry
westward from the Army of the Potomac
's camp near Centreville
. Pleasonton had ordered him to camp at Middleburg that evening and then to proceed the next day toward Noland's Ferry, extending his march to the west as far as Snickersville
. Duffié crossed the Bull Run Mountains
at Thoroughfare Gap
at 9:30 a.m., easily pushing aside pickets from John R. Chambliss
's brigade
. Confederate commanders could not believe that a small Union regiment
would dare to travel so deep into enemy territory without an escort, so Chambliss did not aggressively attack, fearing that the column was the advance element of a much larger enemy force. Duffié continued on his isolated march, turning to the north by 11:00 a.m. and heading for Middleburg as ordered.
Arriving there about 4:00 p.m., Duffié drove in the few Confederate pickets deployed there and disrupted Stuart's evening of socializing with local ladies. Stuart and his staff quickly retreated to Rector's Crossroads, the location of his closest brigade. He ordered Beverly Robertson
to move immediately to Middleburg to crush the Union cavalry. Duffié barricaded the streets of Middleburg, dismounted half of his regiment behind stonewalls, and sent for help from Judson Kilpatrick's brigade near Aldie
. At 7:00 p.m., Stuart's attack routed the vastly outnumbered Rhode Islanders. Many of Duffié's men were captured the next morning as Chambliss cut off their escape route. The Paris
ian colonel finally returned to Centreville with only 4 officers and 27 men. A few stragglers eventually rejoined the shattered remnants of the regiment. Duffié would never again serve with the Army of the Potomac, although he did command cavalry in other Union armies. The Union casualties on July 17 were reported as 250.
, Stuart remained on the defensive, wanting to spoil any Federal attempts to force the passes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Pleasonton tentatively sent probes towards Ashby's
and Snicker's Gaps. On June 18, David McM. Gregg ran into Confederate pickets around Middleburg, and Stuart quickly fell back to a commanding ridge west of town. Fearing a trap, a cautious Pleasonton ordered Gregg to withdraw to Aldie.
The next day, Gregg again moved against Middleburg, sending the brigade of his first cousin, Col. J. Irvin Gregg, at the Rebels while John Buford
's division swung north towards Pot House (New Lisbon). After a flanking march, Buford eventually occupied the ground around Pot House, pushing back two regiments of William "Grumble" Jones's brigade in a mild skirmish.
After a hard fight to clear reinforced pickets from Middleburg, Colonel Gregg was so impressed by the Confederate position on the high ground beyond the town that he asked for support before attacking. Kilpatrick sent two regiments to help extend the Federal line, and Gregg slowly advanced. The temperature hovered around 98ºF throughout the afternoon, sapping men and horses of energy. A series of Union charges finally forced Stuart's horse artillery to withdraw, and then his cavalry. Several Confederate counterattacks failed to regain control of the ridge.
Late in the day, Buford sent the U.S. Reserve Brigade back from Pot House, and the 2nd and 6th U.S. Cavalry regiments seized a hotly contested hill south of the tiny village of Millville as darkness fell. Stuart was forced to abandon his position, falling back along the turnpike to stonewalls beyond a ravine along a stream known as Kirk's Branch. A still cautious Pleasonton refused to follow up his success and ordered his men to rest and send out pickets.
Union losses in the June 19 fight were reported as 16 killed, 46 wounded, and 37 missing. Stuart lost perhaps 40 men, including his chief of staff and friend, Heros von Borcke
from Prussia, who was badly wounded by a bullet in his neck.
Loudoun County, Virginia
Loudoun County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county is estimated to be home to 312,311 people, an 84 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 169,599. That increase makes the county the fourth...
, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
of the 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...
.
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...
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...
, screening Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's invasion route, sparred with Maj. Gen. 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...
's 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...
cavalry. On June 17, Col. Alfred N. Duffié
Alfred N. Duffié
Alfred Napoléon Alexander Duffié was a French-American soldier and diplomat who served in the Crimean War and the American Civil War.-Early life and career:Duffié was born in Paris...
's isolated 1st Rhode Island Cavalry Regiment
1st Rhode Island Cavalry Regiment
The 1st Regiment, Rhode Island Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that participated in the American Civil War. They were badly routed at the Battle of Middleburg, a blemish on an otherwise competent combat record.-History:...
was attacked by the brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s of Thomas T. Munford
Thomas T. Munford
Thomas Taylor Munford was an American farmer and Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
and Beverly Robertson
Beverly Robertson
Beverly Holcombe Robertson was a cavalry officer in the United States Army on the Western frontier and a Confederate general during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
. The 1st Rhode Island was routed, taking about 250 casualties. On June 19, J. Irvin Gregg's brigade advanced, driving Stuart's cavalry one mile beyond the town. Both sides were reinforced, and mounted and dismounted skirmishing continued. Stuart was gradually levered out of his position but fell back to a second ridge, still covering the approaches to the Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
gap.
Skirmish of June 17
Stuart established his headquarters at MiddleburgMiddleburg, Virginia
Middleburg is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States with a population of approximately 976 as of July 2010.-History:The town was established in 1787 by American Revolutionary War Lieutenant Colonel and Virginia statesman, Levin Powell. He purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 per...
and scattered his brigades throughout the Loudoun Valley
Loudoun Valley
The Loudoun Valley is a small, but historically significant valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in Loudoun County in northwestern Virginia in the United States.-Geography:...
to watch for enemy activity. Early in the morning, Col. Duffié, a French-born officer, had taken the 280 men of the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry
1st Rhode Island Cavalry Regiment
The 1st Regiment, Rhode Island Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that participated in the American Civil War. They were badly routed at the Battle of Middleburg, a blemish on an otherwise competent combat record.-History:...
westward from the 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...
's camp near Centreville
Centreville, Virginia
Centreville is an unincorporated community in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a Census Designated Place , the community population was 71,135 as of the 2010 census and is approximately west of Washington, DC.-Colonial Period:Beginning in the 1760s,...
. Pleasonton had ordered him to camp at Middleburg that evening and then to proceed the next day toward Noland's Ferry, extending his march to the west as far as Snickersville
Bluemont, Virginia
Bluemont is an unincorporated village in Loudoun County, Virginia located at the base of Snickers Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountain. At 680 feet , it is the highest community in Loudoun County...
. Duffié crossed the Bull Run Mountains
Bull Run Mountains
The Bull Run Mountains are a mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia in the United States. Located approximately east of the main chain, across the Loudoun Valley...
at Thoroughfare Gap
Thoroughfare Gap
Thoroughfare Gap is an album by American singer-songwriter Stephen Stills, released in 1978. This CD is now available as a three album set on 2 CDs with Stills & Illegal Stills.- Side 1 :#"You Can't Dance Alone" – 4:14#"Thoroughfare Gap" – 3:31...
at 9:30 a.m., easily pushing aside pickets from John R. Chambliss
John R. Chambliss
John Randolph Chambliss, Jr. was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army and then, during the American Civil War, in the Confederate States Army. A brigadier general of cavalry, Chambliss was killed in action during the Second Battle of Deep Bottom.-Early life:Chambliss was...
's brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
. Confederate commanders could not believe that a small Union regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
would dare to travel so deep into enemy territory without an escort, so Chambliss did not aggressively attack, fearing that the column was the advance element of a much larger enemy force. Duffié continued on his isolated march, turning to the north by 11:00 a.m. and heading for Middleburg as ordered.
Arriving there about 4:00 p.m., Duffié drove in the few Confederate pickets deployed there and disrupted Stuart's evening of socializing with local ladies. Stuart and his staff quickly retreated to Rector's Crossroads, the location of his closest brigade. He ordered Beverly Robertson
Beverly Robertson
Beverly Holcombe Robertson was a cavalry officer in the United States Army on the Western frontier and a Confederate general during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
to move immediately to Middleburg to crush the Union cavalry. Duffié barricaded the streets of Middleburg, dismounted half of his regiment behind stonewalls, and sent for help from Judson Kilpatrick's brigade near Aldie
Aldie, Virginia
Aldie is an unincorporated village located on the John Mosby Highway between Gilbert's Corner and Middleburg in Loudoun County, Virginia. It is located in a gap between the Catoctin Mountain and Bull Run Mountain, through which the Little River flows...
. At 7:00 p.m., Stuart's attack routed the vastly outnumbered Rhode Islanders. Many of Duffié's men were captured the next morning as Chambliss cut off their escape route. The Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian colonel finally returned to Centreville with only 4 officers and 27 men. A few stragglers eventually rejoined the shattered remnants of the regiment. Duffié would never again serve with the Army of the Potomac, although he did command cavalry in other Union armies. The Union casualties on July 17 were reported as 250.
Fight on June 19
After the Battle of AldieBattle of Aldie
The Battle of Aldie took place on June 17, 1863, in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry screened Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate infantry as it marched north in the Shenandoah Valley behind the sheltering Blue...
, Stuart remained on the defensive, wanting to spoil any Federal attempts to force the passes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Pleasonton tentatively sent probes towards Ashby's
Ashby's Gap
Ashby Gap, more commonly known as Ashby's Gap is a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the border of Clarke County, Loudoun County and Fauquier County in Virginia. The gap is traversed by U.S. Route 50...
and Snicker's Gaps. On June 18, David McM. Gregg ran into Confederate pickets around Middleburg, and Stuart quickly fell back to a commanding ridge west of town. Fearing a trap, a cautious Pleasonton ordered Gregg to withdraw to Aldie.
The next day, Gregg again moved against Middleburg, sending the brigade of his first cousin, Col. J. Irvin Gregg, at the Rebels while John Buford
John Buford
John Buford, Jr. was a Union cavalry officer during the American Civil War, with a prominent role at the start of the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early years:...
's division swung north towards Pot House (New Lisbon). After a flanking march, Buford eventually occupied the ground around Pot House, pushing back two regiments of William "Grumble" Jones's brigade in a mild skirmish.
After a hard fight to clear reinforced pickets from Middleburg, Colonel Gregg was so impressed by the Confederate position on the high ground beyond the town that he asked for support before attacking. Kilpatrick sent two regiments to help extend the Federal line, and Gregg slowly advanced. The temperature hovered around 98ºF throughout the afternoon, sapping men and horses of energy. A series of Union charges finally forced Stuart's horse artillery to withdraw, and then his cavalry. Several Confederate counterattacks failed to regain control of the ridge.
Late in the day, Buford sent the U.S. Reserve Brigade back from Pot House, and the 2nd and 6th U.S. Cavalry regiments seized a hotly contested hill south of the tiny village of Millville as darkness fell. Stuart was forced to abandon his position, falling back along the turnpike to stonewalls beyond a ravine along a stream known as Kirk's Branch. A still cautious Pleasonton refused to follow up his success and ordered his men to rest and send out pickets.
Union losses in the June 19 fight were reported as 16 killed, 46 wounded, and 37 missing. Stuart lost perhaps 40 men, including his chief of staff and friend, Heros von Borcke
Heros von Borcke
Johann August Heinrich Heros von Borcke was a German American cavalry officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and in the Prussian Army during the Austro-Prussian War.-Biography:...
from Prussia, who was badly wounded by a bullet in his neck.