Meade Launches a New Offensive

Saturday, November 7, 1863

Under pressure from President Abraham Lincoln to pursue Confederate General Robert E. Lee Army of the Potomac commander George Meade planned a new offensive movement to strike the Confederates near Brandy Station. Early this morning the Army of the Potomac began a march to cross the Rappahannock River, with the Second Corps crossing at Kelly's Ford. General Robert E. Lee, however, declined to meet Meade near Brandy Station, and withdrew to a position on the south side of the Rapidan River. General Meade decided to relocate the Army of the Potomac for winter quarters positioned between the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers near Stevensburg.¹

References:
¹Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 304-5.

Battle of Brandy Station

Tuesday, June 9, 1863

Union Cavalry General Alfred Pleasonton encountered Confederate Cavalry led by General James Ewell Brown (J.E.B.) Stuart near Culpeper. At dawn Pleasonton launched a surprise attack on Stuart and an all-day battle ensued. This battle, known as the Battle of Brandy Station, was the largest engagement of cavalry during the Civil War. The battle terminated in the evening without the Union Cavalry determining the position of the Confederate Army.¹

References:
¹George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 262.