During the Battle of Brandy Station, the Union wing under Brig. David Gregg crossed Kelly's Ford at 6:00 A.M. and found the direct route to join the wing that had crossed at Beverly Ford blocked, but scouts discovered that Confederates had left unguarded the road to Brandy Station, where Gregg arrived about 10:30 A.M. At headquarters on Fleetwood Hill, Maj. Henry B. McClellan sent couriers to warn Confederate cavalry commander Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart of the new threat to his rear, while his only fighting force was Lt. John Carter's artillery crew with a howitzer and an ammunition chest nearly empty. To bluff the approaching Union force, McClellan ordered the lone cannon onto Fleetwood Hill and had it open a deliberate fire on Gregg. Stuart, two miles away directing fighting at St. James Church, at first doubted reports that Union troops were in Brandy Station, but the sound of cannon fire from the village convinced him and he began sending troops to Fleetwood Hill, starting with the 12th Virginia Cavalry. McClellan's ruse caused Gregg's men to hesitate, unlimber two guns, and return fire before sending the 1st New Jersey Cavalry forward.
