Battle of Buckland Mills

Other Names: Buckland Races, Chestnut Hill

Location: Fauquier County, Virginia

Campaign: Bristoe Campaign (October-November 1863)

Date: October 19, 1863

Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. J. Kilpatrick [US]; Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart [CS]

Forces Engaged: 4000 [US]; 8000 [CS]

Casualties and losses: 230 total

Result(s): Confederate victory

Brief Description:

After defeat at Bristoe Station and an aborted advance on Centreville, Stuart's cavalry shielded the withdrawal of Lee's army from the vicinity of Manassas Junction. Union cavalry under Kilpatrick pursued Stuart's cavalry along the Warrenton Turnpike but were lured into an ambush near Chestnut Hill and routed. The Federal troopers were scattered and chased five miles in an affair that came to be known as the "Buckland Races." Most of the Federal casualties were captured during the retreat. Stuart termed the rout, his last victory over cavalry, “the most complete that any cavalry suffered during this war.” Custer called the day “the most disastrous this division ever passed through.”