The Battle of Trevilian Station (also called Trevilians) was a battle in Union General Ulysses Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
To draw off the Confederate cavalry and open the door for a general movement to the James River, Major General Philip Sheridan mounted a large-scale cavalry raid into Louisa County, threatening to cut the Virginia Central Railroad. On June 11, Sheridan with Brigadier General David M. Gregg 's and Alfred T.A. Torbert 's divisions attacked Major Generals Fitzhugh Lee's and Wade Hampton's cavalry divisions at Trevilian Station . Sheridan drove a wedge between the Confederate divisions, throwing them into confusion. On the 12th, fortunes were reversed. Hampton and Lee dismounted their troopers and drew a defensive line across the railroad and the road to Gordonsville. From this advantageous position, they beat back several determined dismounted assaults. Sheridan withdrew after destroying about six miles of the Virginia Central Railroad. Confederate victory at Trevilian prevented Sheridan from reaching Charlottesville and cooperating with Maj. Gen. David Hunter's army in the Shenandoah Valley. This was one of the bloodiest cavalry battles of the war.
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