Battle of Trevilian Station

Overview

The Battle of Trevilian Station was fought on June 11–12, 1864, in Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan fought against Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gens. Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee in the bloodiest and largest all-cavalry battle of the war.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Trevilian Station, fought on June 11–12, 1864, was the largest and bloodiest all-cavalry engagement of the American Civil War. It occurred within the broader context of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign, the sustained Union offensive aimed at destroying Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, numbering over 9,000 troopers, faced Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gens. Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee with roughly 6,700 men. Union casualties reached 1,512, reflecting the intensity of the fighting. The engagement underscored the growing scale and lethality of mounted operations as the Overland Campaign pressed into its later phases, with Confederate cavalry demonstrating its continued capacity to contest Union mounted raids in force.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (5)