Trevilian Station | Day One Fighting | June 11, 1864

Confederate Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton’s division clashed with Brig. Gen. Alfred Torbert’s and Brig. Gen. David McMurtrie Gregg’s divisions on the Fredericksburg Road. Vicious dismounted fighting raged while Hampton waited for Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s troopers to provide support. The Michigan brigade under Brig. Gen. George Custer slipped between Hampton and Lee and managed to capture Hampton’s wagon train full of supplies. Lee’s Virginia brigades quickly caught up and Custer found himself surrounded, fired upon from all sides in what has been called "Custer's First Last Stand." Only Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's arrival with reinforcements saved the Michigan troopers from destruction. By nightfall on June 11, Union troops held Trevilian Station.

Following the relative success of the first day's fighting, General Sheridan's troops spent the morning of June 12 tearing up railroad tracks before advancing on the Confederates. However, Hampton's cavalry had spent the night establishing a strong position, with an angled line anchored on the railroad embankment. Sheridan ordered several assaults against this line over the course of the day, but each one was driven back. Ultimately, Sheridan was forced to abandon his attempt to break the Confederate line. He withdrew his army that night, having failed to achieve his goals of permanently disrupting supply lines and linking up with additional forces near Charlottesville, Virginia.