Stuart Turns North

Late in the morning of 12 June 1862, Confederate Brig. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart and 1,200 cavalrymen reached this intersection on a mission to gather intelligence about Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac. Here Stuart's column turned sharply northeast, in the general direction of Ashland. Having put some distance between his force and the Federal army around Mechanicsville, Stuart could move directly toward the upper end of the county. He maneuvered along these roads with confidence, since many of the men in his command, who guided the expedition, were Hanover County natives.