The Skirmish at Rio Hill: George Custer Chased Away by Sticks

ECW welcomes back guest author Jarred Marlowe.

Following the inconclusive Mine Run campaign towards the end of 1863, the majority of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia set up their winter encampment in Orange County, Virginia. The rest was much needed for the army after many months of fierce campaigning. A few miles away from Lee’s army, four batteries of Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s horse artillery battalion began their winter encampment near Rio Hill, a few miles northwest of Charlottesville on the Earlysville Road. These four batteries, commanded by Col. Marcellus Moorman, contained four guns each and were manned by approximately 200 soldiers.

While Lee’s army was settling down for the winter, Federal forces were doing the exact opposite. In the early part of 1864, President Abraham Lincoln, circumventing his chain of command and fueled by a desire to bring the war to a close in his election year, devised a plan to raid the Confederate capital at Richmond. Led by Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s cavalry, the raid was designed to free Union prisoners of war from Richmond’s Libby Prison. To make the raid more effective, Lincoln (with the help of Kilpatrick) also devised a cavalry diversion led by Brig. Gen. George Custer to draw troops away from Richmond by having Custer attack some of the Army of Northern Virginia’s camps in the Charlottesville region. Once Custer’s diversion happened, in theory, Kilpatrick would be unhindered in his advance towards Richmond.

In addition to distracting Robert E. Lee, Custer was given two main tasks during his mission: destroy Confederate supplies in Charlottesville and destroy the railroad bridge over the Rivanna River east of Charlottesville. Doing so would cut off any chance Lee had of quickly reinforcing Richmond, along with cutting the main supply route from the Shenandoah Valley to Richmond. On the evening of February 28, Custer moved his forces, totaling around 1,500 men, to Madison Court House, about 30 miles north of Charlottesville. At around 2:00 a.m. on February 29, Custer moved his troops south to Earlysville and was informed by a few captured Confederate soldiers that Confederate Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry forces were supposedly camped nearby in Charlottesville. With this information in hand, Custer began to plan his attack.

Meanwhile, Col. Marcellus Moorman was largely unaware that Union forces were moving on his position. He received a report shortly after noon on February 29 that Union forces were spotted in nearby Stanardsville and were heading in his direction. To verify this intelligence, Moorman sent out a picket to the Rivanna bridge on Earlysville Road to detect any threats. The picket came back and incorrectly reported that Custer’s men already controlled the bridge, when in fact Custer did not cross the river until a few hours later. After hearing this false report, Moorman quickly ordered several of his guns to start firing on Custer’s position to create a defense while the rest of the artillery could be moved to a more advantageous position on top of Rio Hill.

While preparing for his attack, Custer received reports of several trains heading into Charlottesville. Believing this to be Confederate reinforcements, he dispatched 60 men under Capt. Joseph Ash to attack the Confederates on Rio Hill from the east and south while Custer simultaneously attacked from the north and west. Custer’s forces moved down the Earlysville Road and started receiving cannon fire from the Confederates soon after crossing the bridge there. They advanced to the northern outskirts of the camp, where they arrived just after Moorman’s cannon had been moved.

As Moorman’s forces started to establish their defensive position on top of Rio Hill to face Custer, Capt. Ash’s forces arrived and started attacking the rear of the artillery. It was then that Moorman made a bold decision that would save the lives of his men. He ordered some of his men to mount the battery’s horses and form into two groups. The two groups were to ride back and forth between the firing cannon to simulate cavalry reinforcements arriving at the battle. Armed with nothing more than pistols and sticks, which they found lying on the ground, the temporary cavalrymen rode up, down, and across the hill, confounding the likes of Custer and Ash.

Startled by all of the confusion, Custer’s men slowed their advance at the north side of Moorman’s camp. Meanwhile, Ash’s men kept advancing from the east and, amidst all of the smoke from the cannons, ran into the left flank of Custer’s forces and proceeded to fire upon them. In the midst of all of the chaos and friendly fire, a Confederate caisson exploded, causing the Union forces to fully retreat off Rio Hill and back towards Stanardsville, but not before burning the bridge crossing the Rivanna north of Rio Hill to prevent pursuit. Moorman’s small force of 200 men, many armed with pistols and sticks, had caused the great Gen. Custer and his force of 1,500 to flee.

When all the smoke had settled, one Federal soldier was slightly injured and two Confederate soldiers were captured. Moorman reported that some of his gear and equipment was damaged, but not much else. The very next day, Custer would face off with, and be forced to fall back at Stanardsville by J.E.B. Stuart, bringing his mission to an end. Custer’s mission, while seemingly a failure, did draw Lee’s attention somewhat to the Charlottesville area. However, Judson Kilpatrick’s raid was a colossal failure, making any successes that Custer could have had null and void. The biggest damage here, apart from the exploded caisson, was most likely the hit to Custer’s pride.

Jarred Marlowe is a historian who currently lives in Collinsville, Virginia. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from the Virginia Military Institute and master’s degree from Johnson University. Jarred is the president of the Col. George Waller Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and a member of the Blue & Gray Education Society. 

Sources:

-Kashouty, Kane. “Historical Society Commemorates Battle of Stanardsville’s 150th.” Greene County Record. March 6, 2014.

–Rio Hill 1864 Skirmish Marker. The Historical Marker Database, retrieved 30 Jul 2024.