Custer's First Last Stand

Near Trevilian Station, south of which Confederate Gen. Wade Hampton had parked his wagon train on the evening of June 10, 1864, Confederate forces under Gen. Matthew C. Butler and Col. Gilbert J. Wright advanced north at daylight the next day on the Fredericksburg Stage Road to probe for Federals. About 8 a.m., Union Gen. George A. Custer's Michigan Brigade turned west onto the Gordonsville Road from the Nunn's Creek Road at Mildred Crossing, led by Col. Russell A. Alger's 5th Michigan Cavalry. Seeing Hampton's parked wagons and horses, Alger charged and captured most of them, but his advance carried him beyond the wagon park and into Gen. Thomas L. Rosser's brigade, which was galloping south to counterattack. Rosser drove Custer's troopers and the captured wagons east into Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's division, which was approaching from Louisa Court House. Butler and Wright then turned back to join the fighting and help surround Custer's command, which spent four hours alone in a living triangle and suffered heavy losses. During the fighting, Custer's guidon bearer was mortally wounded and handed the brigade's flag to Custer, who ripped it from its staff and stuffed it into his shirt. Custer later carried a badly wounded trooper of the 5th Michigan Cavalry to safety and personally led a dismounted charge that retook one of his artillery pieces. Lee's men recovered Hampton's wagon train and horses and captured Custer's wagon train, including the headquarters wagon and all of Custer's personal effects.

Virginia · United States