Davis Daniel T. - Out flew the sabres: the Battle of Brandy Station, June 9, 1863

The Emerging Civil War Series:

The Aftermath of Battle: The Burial of the Civil War Dead

by Meg Thompson

Bloody Autumn: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864

by Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt

Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale: The Battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 18-20, 1863

by William Lee White

Calamity in Carolina: The Battles of Averasboro and Bentonville, March 1865

by Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt

Dawn of Victory: Breakthrough at Petersburg, March 25-April 2, 1865

by Edward S. Alexander

Fight Like the Devil: The First Day at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863

by Chris Mackowski and Daniel T. Davis

Grants Last Battle: The Story Behind the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

by Chris Mackowski

Hell Itself: The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-7, 1864

by Chris Mackowski

Hurricane from the Heavens: The Battle of Cold Harbor, May 26-June 5, 1864

by Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt

The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson: The Mortal Wounding of the Confederacys Greatest Icon

by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White

No Turning Back: A Guide to the 1864 Overland Campaign

by Robert M. Dunkerly, Donald C. Pfanz, and David R. Ruth

Out Flew the Sabres: The Battle of Brandy Station, June 9, 1863

by Eric J. Wittenberg and Daniel T. Davis

A Season of Slaughter: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 8-21, 1864

by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White

Simply Murder: The Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862

by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White

Strike Them a Blow: Battle Along the North Anna River, May 21-25, 1863

by Chris Mackowski

That Furious Struggle: Chancellorsville and the High Tide of the Confederacy, May 1-5, 1863

by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White

To the Bitter End: Appomattox, Bennett Place, and the Surrenders of the Confederacy

by Robert M. Dunkerly

A Want of Vigilance: The Bristoe Station Campaign, October 9-19, 1863

by Bill Backus and Rob Orrison

2016 by Eric J. Wittenberg and Daniel T. Davis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

First edition, first printing

ISBN-13: 978-1-61121-256-3

eISBN: 978-1-61121-257-0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015029216

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DAN: For my dad, Tommy Davis, and my brother, Matt, who remain my companions to Brandy Station and other Civil War battlefields

ERIC: For Clark B. Bud Hall, without whose ceaseless efforts to save the Brandy Station battlefield, it would have been destroyed years ago

Table of Contents

by Kristopher D. White

by Daniel T. Davis

by Eric J. Wittenberg

by Mike Block

by Daniel T. Davis

by O. James Lighthizer

The road near St. James Church (Tour Stop 4) (cm)

List of Maps

Maps by Hal Jespersen

Acknowledgments

We would like to graciously thank Theodore P. Savas and Sarah Keeney of Savas Beatie Publishing and Chris Mackowski, the editor of the Emerging Civil War Series. Once again, they have helped bring a manuscript full circle to fruition. Hal Jespersen worked with us to build a superb set of maps. We thank our colleagues, the wonderful authors at Emerging Civil Warin particular Kris White, who took time away from his schedule to write an excellent foreword that properly framed the battle within the overall context of the Gettysburg campaign. Rob Orrison also contributed some fantastic pictures. Mike Block, vice president of the Friends of the Cedar Mountain Battlefield, contributed an excellent appendix on the Army of the Potomacs 1863-64 Winter Encampment in Culpeper. Jim Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Trust, wrote an afterword detailing the preservation efforts at Brandy Station. Thanks to the monumental efforts of the Trust, future generations will be able to visiting and walking the battlefield.

DAN: I owe a debt of gratitude to Ted and Chris but especially to Eric Wittenberg for bringing me onto this project. Having the opportunity to work with someone of Erics stature and expertise was both humbling and a wonderful learning experience. My beautiful wife, Katy, continues to be a source of inspiration. To my parents, Tommy and Kathy, along with my brother, Matt, and his wife, Candice, for their continued support. Also to my mother-in-law, Cathy Bowen, and my sister and brother-in-law, Becca and Andy. I also owe a thanks to the rest of my family, friends and battlefield companions: Kristin Simmler, Mike Swartz, and Mia Nam. Lastly, I am especially grateful for my late father-in-law, Tom Bowen. Tom always put others first, whether they were family, friends, or the people he met on his many mission trips. He is missed by those who love him, but we take comfort knowing he is watching over us still.

Bufords Knoll (Tour Stop 5) (cm)

ERIC: Thank you to Dan Davis for wanting to do this project with me. Dan is a fine historian in his own right, and it was a pleasure to work with him on this book. Thank you to Bud Hall for being the best teacher a student could ever want. I am, as always, endlessly grateful to my wonderful wife, Susan Skilken Wittenberg, without whom none of this could ever occur. Finally, I am grateful to Chris and Ted for their fine work with the Emerging Civil War Series.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mike Block (mb); Daniel T. Davis (dd); Library of Congress (loc); Chris Mackowski (cm); U. S. Army History and Education Center (usahaec); University of South Carolina (usc); Virginia Historical Society (vhs); Williams College (wc); Eric J. Wittenberg (ew)

For the Emerging Civil War Series

Touring the Battlefield

The battle of Brandy Station and the events related to it cover a wide expanse across Culpeper County. Directions to each stop follow at the end of each chapter.

While much of the driving tour route is along secondary roads, you will have to use major highways such as Route 15/29 and Route 3. Traffic can be heavy along these roads; please exercise caution at all times.

Additionally, there is property along the route that may not be owned by a preservation organization. Please be mindful of all posted signs and respect the ownerss rights.