Battle of Yellow Tavern

Henrico County · dedicated 1994 · Rte. 1, just north of I-295 bridge

On 11 May 1864, Confederate cavalry commanded by Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart chose ground just east of here to engage Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, who was advancing on Richmond by way of Mountain Road. Outnumbered three to one, Stuart's troopers stubbornly resisted until vigorous attacks spearheaded by Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer's Michigan brigade broke their line. As the Confederate cavalry retired east toward Telegraph Road, Sheridan's men broke through and continued toward Richmond on Brook Road (present-day U.S. Route 1). The battle received its name from Yellow Tavern, an inn located on Brook Road just south of the battlefield.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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