Originally aired on March 28, 1997 - In part 135 of our Civil War series, Virginia Tech history professor James Robertson says that the March 17, 1863 battle at Kelly’s Ford was the first victory for Union calvary and a harbinger of things to come for the South.
#135 – Kelly’s Ford
Union cavalry were no match for Confederate horsemen in the first half of the Civil War. Southerners by nature and environment were more accustomed to horseback activity. For the most part, Federal mounted units performed scouting duties and screened army movements.
That changed in the spring of 1863, when Northern cavalry were consolidated into one corps and given the green light to take the offensive. Among the first commanders to accept the challenge was William W. Averell, a New Yorker who had graduated in 1855 from West Point. One of Averell’s closest friends at the Academy was Fitzhugh Lee, nephew of Robert E. Lee.
Now Averell led a mounted Union division and Fitz Lee commanded one of Jeb Stuart’s Confederate brigades. Yet bantering between the two old schoolmates continued. Fitz Lee had made pestering Union cavalry a fine art. By early 1863, he was taunting Averell by asking when the Yankee cavalry were going to amount to anything. In a recent message, Lee invited his old friend to come across the Rappahannock River for a visit, and to bring some coffee with him.
In mid-March, Averell accepted the invitation. The Union general led a long column of horsemen down to the Rappahannock at Kelly’s Ford. Averell pushed aside the Confederate guards and went galloping across the country in search of Fitz Lee and his men. Averell quickly found his quarry. Lee appeared with 800 troopers to confront Averell’s 2,100 cavalry.
The fight was spirited and picturesque. From the beginning to end, the action was fought on horseback. Charging lines collided head-on at full speed; dust and gun smoke partially obliterated hundreds of mounted men shouting and shooting and slashing with gleaming sabers. One side would attack and be repulsed. The other side would regroup and make an assault, only to be thrown back.
Averell was straightening his lines for another chare when he fell victim to rumors. Captured Confederates told him that Jeb Stuart was on the field – which was true except that Stuart had come by himself, without reinforcements. Other reports had Southern infantry on the way in strength – which was not true. Averell decided that discretion was the better part of valor.
He issued the necessary orders; the Union cavalry broke off the fight and trotted back to the north side of the Rappahannock. Federals were proud of themselves. They had held their own in the action, which was a first for Union cavalry in the Civil War. That they had outnumbered their opponents by almost 3:1 odds was not a factor.
Averell was especially pleased at the battle. Before riding back to his lines, he left a present for Fitz Lee. An accompanying note said: “Dear Fitz, here’s your coffee. Here’s your visit. How do you like it?”
The March 17 cavalry fight at Kelly’s Ford produced 200 casualties. One of the Confederate losses was the young but daring artillerist, Major John Pelham. He was in the neighborhood on other business; but when “The Gallant Pelham” (as General Lee called him) heard about the fight, he hastened to the action and was happily leading a charge when a shell burst killed him. The Alabamian exemplified the romantic, swords-and-roses atmosphere that enveloped much of the first half of the war.
At Kelly’s Ford, the Union side gained the upper hand in an engagement where their commander lacked the instinct to fight to the finish. Averell was like a boxer content to win on points when he might have scored a knockout. Be that as it may, what is important about this action was that a Union force had entered Confederate territory and had fought well after it got there. That alone indicated that times were changing – and to the detriment of the beleaguered South.