Bristoe Station Campaign- The Battle of Buckland Mills

On October 15th the entire Union Army was entrenched at Centreville. Lee ordered his cavalry to demonstrate around Centreville harassing Meade while he retreated south along the Orange and Alexandria Railroad destroying track as he went from Manassas to the Rappahannock River. On the 18th Meade started in pursuit with the Cavalry Corps in the lead. Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick’s division was at the head of the column riding down the Warrenton Turnpike to Buckland and Broad Run. One of Kilpatrick’s brigades led by Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer outflanked the Rebels and gained control of the bridge over Broad Run and Stuart retreated. Kilpatrick seeing Stuart falling back towards Warrenton sent Brigadier General Henry Davies Brigade charging down the road after them without realizing he was riding straight into a trap. Major General Fitzhugh Lee’s division was camped south near Auburn. While Stuart lured Kilpatrick toward Warrenton, Lee rode across country to reoccupy Buckland and the bridge over Broad Run cutting off the Federals. But as Lee neared Buckland he found Custer’s Brigade still there. Custer had refused to chase after Stuart until his men had eaten breakfast. Custer knew he would have to hold the bridge over Broad Run as long as possible since it was Kilpatrick’s only path of retreat. When Davies men heard the firing in their rear. Davies left the 2nd NY in place and headed back toward Buckland with the rest of his force. The firing at Buckland was the signal for Stuart to launch his counterattack. See maps of the battle below.

The 2nd NY temporarily delayed Stuart but were soon pushed aside. Custer held out at the bridge as long as he could but short of ammunition he had to abandon it while Davies’ men were still about a mile away. Davies sent the majority of his men north toward Thoroughfare Gap. The remainder crossed Broad Run north of the bridge. The Confederates chased Custer’s men all the way back to the head of the Federal infantry at Gainesville. The flight caused the battle to be later nicknamed “the Buckland Races”. The Rebels lost around 50 men while the Federals had nearly 200 casualties. Several Federal wagons were captured including Custer’s personal wagon containing love letters to his future wife Libbie. The stolen letters were subsequently published in Richmond newspapers to embarrass Custer.

The rout of the Union cavalry changed little. Lee retreated south of the Rappahannock River. He kept a small salient on the Fauquier County side of the river manned by part of Major General Jubal Early’s division. By the end of October Federal engineers had repaired the Orange and Alexandria Railroad to Warrenton Junction and the two armies would face off across the river.