In June 1864, shortly after the bloody battle at Cold Harbor, Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan and his cavalry moved westward to disrupt the Virginia Central Railroad and unite with Maj. Gen. David Hunter’s army, then operating in the Shenandoah Valley. Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton and Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee engaged Sheridan in intense fighting here on 11 June. The Confederates established a strong position on the Gordonsville Road that night, and the Federals failed to dislodge them during repeated attacks on 12 June. Sheridan then retreated eastward. This was the largest all-cavalry battle of the war.