On June 9, 1863, Civil War fighting swept across the river fords, farmers' fields, and rolling hills near Brandy Station, where Confederate and Union horsemen fought the war's largest cavalry battle in intense daylong combat around the town. By nightfall, Union cavalrymen had finally shown they could match the legendary skills of their Southern opponents. Although the battle did not stop Robert E. Lee's invasion of the North that summer, it did delay the beginning of his march toward the climactic Battle of Gettysburg in early July. Culpeper County also saw extensive Civil War activity beyond Brandy Station: the Battle of Cedar Mountain took place there on August 9, 1862, Union and Confederate armies passed through many times in 1862 and 1863, and in December 1863 the Federal Army of the Potomac established winter quarters there, remaining until May 4, 1864.
