Battlefield Study
Dear Cadets, Parents, or Guardians:
The MCJROTC of the combined Eastern View and Culpeper High School is planning a field trip to the historic Culpeper Battlefield Site on Wednesday, October 19, 2022. The students will travel by school buses to enjoy a guided tour through the battle site; they will park at the famous hilltop (Brandy Station). The cadets will learn US history, Survival Ropes, and Land Navigation courses using a compass, as this is all part of the MCJROTC Curriculum. We highly encourage every cadet and those in the JRTOC club and their family members to attend the historic Culpeper battlefield Site with us.
Parents or guardians interested in accompanying their cadet(s) on the field trip can follow the school to the site. The bus will be provided to cadets, students, and teachers. We will be eating Meal Ready to Eat (MREs). Please provide a packed lunch if your cadet is unable to eat MREs or desires a different lunch. This field trip is free of cost. We will be in our Camouflage uniform.
On the morning of the trip, we will be leaving school promptly at 0830 or after the company accountability formation. We will return at approximately 13:00. The CCHS cadets will ride the first-period block bus to EVHS.
American Battlefield Trust's map of the Fight for Fleetwood Hill
At the outset of the Gettysburg Campaign, Gen. Robert E. Lee sought to keep his advance hidden from the Union army. With his forces stationed at Culpeper, Virginia on the verge of turning north into the Shenandoah Valley, Lee ordered his Gen. J.E.B. Stuart to launch a diversionary cavalry raid on June 9, 1863. However, Union cavalry commander Gen. Alfred Pleasonton anticipated the raid and struck Stuart’s men in camp at Brandy Station on the day the Confederate incursion was set to begin with a two-pronged attack
While Gen. John Buford’s troopers engaged Stuart’s surprised Southerners at St. James Church and Yew Ridge, Gen. David McMurtrie Gregg’s Federal horsemen splashed across the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford. It was 11:30 A.M. before Gregg reached Brandy Station, but he was now firmly in the Confederate rear.
Gregg’s path to St. James Church was blocked by Fleetwood Hill, a broad elevation where J.E.B. Stuart had established his headquarters. Union artillery opened on Fleetwood Hill, giving a considerable shock to Stuart, whose main force was entirely committed to the battle in his front. Gregg’s preparatory barrage, however, and gave Stuart time to pull troops back to Fleetwood Hill to meet the first Union charge. Meanwhile, Confederates withdrawing from Yew Ridge were still holding Buford’s tired troopers at bay, allowing Stuart to shuffle more troops to face Gregg. The opposing lines crashed into one another again and again for almost five hours. Finally, hearing reports of incoming Confederate reinforcements, Pleasanton decided to withdraw at 5 P.M. Stu
