M.A. Kleen

From June 17 to 19, 1863, Union and Confederate cavalry clashed inconclusively at the battles of Middleburg and Aldie. On June 21st, Union cavalry made another attempt to break through Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry screen and discover Robert E. Lee’s movements in the Shenandoah Valley. This time, a brigade of infantry commanded by Col. Strong Vincent joined Maj. Gen. Pleasonton’s mounted troopers. J.E.B. Stuart effectively executed a fighting withdrawal, using the terrain to his advantage. Some of the heaviest fighting occurred west of Rector’s Crossroads along Ashby’s Gap Turnpike (today U.S. Route 50) at a stone bridge over Goose Creek, where a two-hour long artillery duel ended with Union Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s brigade making a dramatic charge across the bridge. Confederate forces lost 41 killed, 99 wounded, and 99 missing or captured in the day-long skirmish. The Union lost 6 killed, 62 wounded, and 67 missing or captured. Despite Union success in clearing Stuart’s cavalry from the Ashby’s Gap Turnpike, Lee’s infantry continued their northern advance unmolested.