Despite failing to meet their main objective, the Battle of Kelly's Ford greatly improved the morale of the Federal cavalry

Both sides generally believed that Union cavalrymen were inferior to their Confederate counterparts prior to the Battle of Kelly's Ford. The phrase "There's going to be a fight! " was a favorite among northern foot soldiers as they marched by. Every time they saw horsemen on the way, they shouted, "The cavalry's coming back!" The Confederate cavalry humiliated the Army of the Potomac's cavalry units at the Battle of Hartwood Church in February 1863, adding to the general feeling that the Federals were inferior. The issue with the Union troops was their weak organization and inadequate equipment, not their lack of talent or cowardice. When Joe Hooker assumed command of the Army of the Potomac in 1863, he made a number of changes to his mounted wing, most notably the adoption of rapid-firing carbines and the establishment of a centralized command system.

The Union cavalry was finally prepared to engage in significant, protracted combat at Kelly's Ford. Up until that time in the war, the Union force on the field, which numbered over 2,000, was the greatest mounted force to be formed under a single battlefield commander. Despite failing to disperse the Confederate cavalry to their front, the hard fighting at Kelly's Ford encouraged the Federal cavalry.