The Battle of Buckland Mills, also known as The Buckland Races or Chestnut Hill, was fought on October 19, 1863, between Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 and Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 forces in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Union cavalry led by Brig. Gen.

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 Judson Kilpatrick were caught in a Confederate ambush and defeated.

Near Buckland Mills

Buckland, Virginia

Buckland is an unincorporated village in Prince William County, Virginia. Established in 1798, Buckland was an early inland stagecoach town, situated along the Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike...

, on Broad Run, Confederate cavalry commander Maj. Gen.

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 J.E.B. Stuart

J.E.B. Stuart

James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...

, with Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's

Wade Hampton III

Wade Hampton III was a Confederate cavalry leader during the American Civil War and afterward a politician from South Carolina, serving as its 77th Governor and as a U.S...

 cavalry division, were covering Gen. Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

's retirement from his defeat at Bristoe

Battle of Bristoe Station

The Battle of Bristoe Station was fought on October 14, 1863, at Bristoe Station, Virginia, between Union forces under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren and Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill during the Bristoe Campaign of the American Civil War...

 to the Rappahannock River

Rappahannock River

The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.An important river in American...

. On October 19, they turned on Kilpatrick's pursuing Federal cavalry, while Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee

Fitzhugh Lee

Fitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish-American War.-Early life:...

's division charged the Federal flank. Kilpatrick was routed, fleeing five miles to Haymarket

Haymarket, Virginia

Haymarket is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 879 at the 2000 census, but the 2009 is 1,252. Haymarket is home to the Haymarket Senators of the Valley Baseball League...

 and Gainesville

Gainesville, Virginia

-Demographics:Gainesville is currently the third-largest CDP in Prince William County. As of the census estimate of 2009, there were 28,662 people, 10,300 households, and 8,604 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,150.2 people per square mile . There were 10,300 housing units...

. The Confederates derisively called the affair "The Buckland Races", although some Confederate commanders likened it to a fox hunt.