Currently, the Civil War Preservation Trust is attempting to buy a 26-acre parcel on the southeast slope of "Fleetwood Hill" the most important and pivotal location on the battlefield. I'm all for this project, but I'm somewhat disturbed at this article, which is a part of the fund-raising site:
The Battle of Brandy Station: June 9, 1863: "The Beginning of the End of the War"
By Clark "Bud" Hall
http://www.civilwar.org/fleetwoodhill08/article_budhall.html
and the full presentation is here in a ".pdf" format:
http://www.civilwar.org/fleetwoodhill08/BattleofBrandyStation_BudHall.pdf
I agree with Mr. Hall that Stuart and his cavalry were surprised. I agree that early on they were losing the fight with the ever-increasing Union numbers and the appearance of Gregg's division in the Confederate rear/flank. I agree that the Union cavalry fought better in this engagement, than they had previously. But how could anyone draw a conclusion that this was a real or moral victory for the Union forces? The Confederate forces were surprised and outnumbered, 7,000 Confederates to 10,000 Federal Cavalry. The Union force gained the rear of the Confederate force with a full division of their cavalry (Gregg). In spite of these and other advantages, they lost three times the number of men, 500 Confederate and 1,400 Union casualties and were driven back across the Rappahannock river. I'd like to hear some comments from others as to the accuracy of this article and its claims. Is this the type of altered or misstated history that is necessary to obtain funds for Civil War preservation? By the way, the author is a New Englander. I hope as a "Texan", I wouldn't write with such sectional bias, an article claiming victory for the Confederates at Gettysburg.
Jim