Battle of Trevilian Station

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)