My wife and I were down in Virginia last week visiting family and staying in a hotel outside of Richmond Virginia.
We had some time to kill so I Googled “battlefield near me” (There are Civil War battlefields all around Virginia) and found out we were just 3 minutes away from where J.E.B Stuart was killed at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in May of 1864.
I found it on the American Battlefield Trust website in a part dedicated to lost battlefields.
There are many battlefields that have been urbanized.
When you enter a little suburban area and as you drive up a lightly sloped side street at the top of the rise is a retaining wall and above that a monument.
It was dedicated in the 1880’s by the veterans of the battle who placed the monument within yards of where Stuart fell in battle.
JEB Stuart was arguably the South’s greatest cavalry commander and at Yellow Tavern faced off with perhaps the greatest Union Cavalry commander, Philip Sheridan.
Some highlights from Wikipedia page on the battle:
“On May 9, the most powerful cavalry force ever seen in the Eastern Theater—over 10,000 troopers with 32 artillery pieces—rode to the southeast to move behind Lee's army. They had three goals: first, and most important, defeat Stuart, which Sheridan did; second, disrupt Lee's supply lines by destroying railroad tracks and supplies; third, threaten the Confederate capital in Richmond, which would distract Lee.
Stuart moved his 4,500 troopers to get between Sheridan and Richmond. The two forces met at noon on May 11 at Yellow Tavern, an abandoned inn located 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Richmond (Present day location is at the intersection of Mountain Rd, Brook Rd, and Telegraph Rd. 37.640111, -77.459593). Not only did the Union outnumber the Confederates by three divisions to two brigades, it had superior firepower—all were armed with rapid-firing Spencer carbines. The Confederate troopers tenaciously resisted from the low ridgeline bordering the road to Richmond, fighting for over three hours. A countercharge by the 1st Virginia Cavalry pushed the advancing Union troopers back from the hilltop as Stuart, mounted on horseback, shouted encouragement. As the 5th Michigan Cavalry streamed in retreat past Stuart, a dismounted Union private, 44-year-old John A. Huff, a former sharpshooter, turned and shot Stuart with his .44-caliber revolver, from a distance of 10–30 yards. Stuart died in Richmond the following day. Huff was killed at the Battle of Haw's Shop a few weeks later.
The fighting kept up for an hour after Stuart was wounded with Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee taking temporary command.”
en.wikipedia.org
We had some time to kill so I Googled “battlefield near me” (There are Civil War battlefields all around Virginia) and found out we were just 3 minutes away from where J.E.B Stuart was killed at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in May of 1864.
I found it on the American Battlefield Trust website in a part dedicated to lost battlefields.
There are many battlefields that have been urbanized.
When you enter a little suburban area and as you drive up a lightly sloped side street at the top of the rise is a retaining wall and above that a monument.
It was dedicated in the 1880’s by the veterans of the battle who placed the monument within yards of where Stuart fell in battle.
JEB Stuart was arguably the South’s greatest cavalry commander and at Yellow Tavern faced off with perhaps the greatest Union Cavalry commander, Philip Sheridan.
Some highlights from Wikipedia page on the battle:
“On May 9, the most powerful cavalry force ever seen in the Eastern Theater—over 10,000 troopers with 32 artillery pieces—rode to the southeast to move behind Lee's army. They had three goals: first, and most important, defeat Stuart, which Sheridan did; second, disrupt Lee's supply lines by destroying railroad tracks and supplies; third, threaten the Confederate capital in Richmond, which would distract Lee.
Stuart moved his 4,500 troopers to get between Sheridan and Richmond. The two forces met at noon on May 11 at Yellow Tavern, an abandoned inn located 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Richmond (Present day location is at the intersection of Mountain Rd, Brook Rd, and Telegraph Rd. 37.640111, -77.459593). Not only did the Union outnumber the Confederates by three divisions to two brigades, it had superior firepower—all were armed with rapid-firing Spencer carbines. The Confederate troopers tenaciously resisted from the low ridgeline bordering the road to Richmond, fighting for over three hours. A countercharge by the 1st Virginia Cavalry pushed the advancing Union troopers back from the hilltop as Stuart, mounted on horseback, shouted encouragement. As the 5th Michigan Cavalry streamed in retreat past Stuart, a dismounted Union private, 44-year-old John A. Huff, a former sharpshooter, turned and shot Stuart with his .44-caliber revolver, from a distance of 10–30 yards. Stuart died in Richmond the following day. Huff was killed at the Battle of Haw's Shop a few weeks later.
The fighting kept up for an hour after Stuart was wounded with Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee taking temporary command.”
