March 17, 1863 - Battle of Kelly's Ford
March 17, 1863
Battle of Kelly's Ford
Brandy Station, Virginia, in Culpeper County
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=154487 https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=154485 |
Battle of Kelly's Ford:
The Chancellorsville Campaign
&
Union Cavalry Comes of Age
On January 25, 1863, Union general Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker replaced Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside as the fifth commander of the demoralized eastern armies in less than two years. On taking charge of the Army of the Potomac, Hooker implemented organizational reforms to ensure that his soldiers stayed healthy, warm, and busy. Morale improved quickly, as did the army's offensive spirit.
The dramatic reorganization of the cavalry was one of Hooker's initial priorities and signal accomplishments. Before Hooker assumed command, small squadrons of horsemen were scattered among the infantry, carelessly armed and consistently outmatched by their Confederate counterparts.
Hooker reassembled his mounted forces into the single cavalry corps under one commander, Gen. George Stoneman, and equipped the majority of the troopers with carbines - short rifles that were easy to load and fire on horseback. With the Army of the Potomac recovering its fighting spirit, Hooker planned a new campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia.
The Rappahannock River, situated to your left, separated the two forces. Although the Federals outnumbered the Confederates by more than two to one, the river was a formidable equalizer. The Union army had lost 12,000 men on its southern banks following a disastrous crossing at Fredericksburg in December. Angered by a Southern cavalry raid at Hartwood Church in February, Hooker ordered his mounted command to test the defenses at the river fords above Fredericksburg. This probe resulted first in the Battle of Kelly's ford, a step toward the decisive showdown at Chancellorsville.
"My plans are perfect... May God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none."
- Gen. Joe Hooker, USA
"We must make this campaign an exceedingly active one... A defensive campaign can only be made successful by taking the aggressive at the proper time."
- Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA
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On March 17, 1863, Union Gen. William W. Averell led 2,100 horsemen to the northern bank of the Rappahannock River at Kelly's Ford, four miles in front of you, under orders to "rout or destroy" Confederate Gen. Fitzhugh Lee and his cavalry command in their camps at Culpeper Court House.
Pounding through the hail of flying lead, Averell's men advanced about a mile toward his objective before Lee counterattacked near Wheatley's Ford. Dismounted Union troopers hurled back the gray cavalry from behind a stone wall and mortally wounded artillerist John Pelham, one of the Confederacy's most beloved heroes, before re-mounting and chasing the Virginians into the fields in front of you. Here the two lines crashed together several times in a savage melee.
In a swirling brawl punctuated by pistol shots, saber clashes, and cries of "To the death!" the Federals forced their opponents back across Carter's Run, the small stream about 1,200 yards in front of you. With artillery fire arching overhead, Lee desperately rallied his shaken men where you now stand. At this point, after eight hours of hard fighting, Averell chose to withdraw. Although the New Yorker had failed to "rout or destroy" his foe, the Battle of Kelly's Ford proved that the reorganized and refitted Union cavalry was now a combat force to be reckoned with.
"I wish you would put up your sword, leave my state, and go home. You ride a good horse, I ride a better. If you won't go home, returned my visit, and bring me a sack of coffee."
- Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, letter to Gen. William W. Averell after the action at Hartwood Church
"Here's your coffee. Here's your visit. How did you like it? How's that horse?"
- Gen. William W. Averell, letter to Gen. Fitzhugh Lee after the Battle of Kelly's Ford
Erected 2013 by Virginia Civil War Trails and Civil War Trust.
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A couple for Maj. John Pelham. The second, located at the Graffiti House to be discussed during Brandy Station, is from the United Daughters of the Confederacy, so take it with a grain of salt. The pictures of the first aren't very good, but Pelham wasn't a very good American so...
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=23619
Where Pelham Fell
Four miles southeast, at Kelly’s Ford, Major John Pelham, commanding Stuart’s Horse Artillery, was mortally wounded, March 17, 1863.
Erected 1927 by Conservation & Development Commission. (Marker Number F-10.)
In memory of Major John Pelham.
Born Sept. 7, 1838 in Calhoun Co. Ala. Mortally wounded March 17, 1863 near Kelley’s Ford, Va.
Base stone from Kelly’s Ford battlefield near spot where Pelham fell.
(west face)
Like Marshal Ney, one of the bravest of the brave.
(north face)
Erected by Geo. E. and his wife Lenora J. Douglas, 1926.
Erected 1926 by George E. and Lenora J. Douglas, through the Pelham Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), Birmingham Alabama.
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