A cavalry engagement during the Gettysburg Campaign in which Union forces under Kilpatrick clashed with Confederate troopers screening Lee's northward march.
Key Facts
- Date
- June 17, 1863
- Location
- Loudoun County, Virginia
- Duration
- Approximately four hours
- Campaign
- Gettysburg Campaign, American Civil War
- Confederate commander
- Col. Thomas T. Munford
- Union commander
- Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
As Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate infantry advanced north through the Shenandoah Valley, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry was tasked with screening the movement behind the Blue Ridge Mountains. Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. David McMurtrie Gregg's division moved forward to pierce this screen and locate the Confederate forces.
On June 17, 1863, the advance brigade of Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick encountered Col. Thomas T. Munford's Confederate cavalry near the village of Aldie in Loudoun County, Virginia. Both sides conducted repeated mounted assaults by regiments and squadrons over roughly four hours of sustained fighting. Kilpatrick received reinforcements during the afternoon engagement.
After receiving Union reinforcements, Confederate Col. Munford ultimately withdrew his troopers toward Middleburg. The battle was part of a broader series of cavalry clashes aimed at maintaining or breaking the Confederate screening operation along the Blue Ridge as Lee's army continued its march northward toward Pennsylvania.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick, Brig. Gen. David McMurtrie Gregg.
Side B
1 belligerent
Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, Col. Thomas T. Munford.