The 1863-64 Winter Encampment

The 1863-1864 winter encampment at Brandy Station was a busy period for the Army of the Potomac, whose vast camp of 100,000 men became a winter city where military service involved far more than combat. Thousands of new recruits joined the army and learned soldiering, while veterans in the old regiments weighed whether to re-enlist for three more years or until the end of the war in exchange for a 30-day furlough, a $300 bounty, and special veteran stripes. Soldiers also grumbled over the unpopular abolition of the First and Third Corps and the transfer of their regiments into other corps. In March 1864, after becoming general-in-chief of all the Union armies, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant came to Culpeper County; although George Meade remained in command of the Army of the Potomac, Grant made his headquarters in the field with the army and directed operations until the war ended. In early May 1864, the men broke camp, and on May 4 crossed the Rapidan River and marched to the Wilderness. Before the bloody Overland Campaign ended, nearly half of those who had spent the winter at Brandy Station would be dead or wounded.

Virginia · United States