The Battle of Brandy Station marked the start of the Gettysburg Campaign

One of the most interesting facts about the Battle of Brandy Station is that the Battle of Brandy Station marked the start of the Gettysburg Campaign. The Gettysburg campaign was a military invasion of Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863 by the main Confederate army led by General Robert E. Lee. It was the Confederate Army's first full-scale invasion of a free state during the war. On July 1-3, the Union scored a resounding victory at Gettysburg, despite terrible fatalities on both sides. Lee and the majority of his force were able to flee to Virginia. It was a watershed moment in the American Civil War, with Lee gradually being pushed back into Richmond until his surrender in April 1865. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker led the Union Army of the Potomac until June 28, when he was replaced by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade.

The Battle of Brandy Station occurred just over a month after the Battle of Chancellorsville in early May 1863. Although Chancellorsville was a Confederate triumph, it left the grey army battered and accomplished little to affect Virginia's strategic situation. Recognizing the dangers posed by the Union siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, the loss of Middle Tennessee, and the desolation of Virginia's countryside, Robert E. Lee launched an invasion of the North on June 2, 1863. He hoped to obtain food and supplies for his starving forces, relieve pressure on other theaters of war, and, at worst, compel peace by annihilating the Army of the Potomac outside of Washington. By May 15, the foremost units of Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's Cavalry Division had advanced into Culpeper to screen Lee's march into the Shenandoah Valley