Qualla: Battle of Rio Hill https://qualla.com/battle-of-rio-hill en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:08 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/0/battle-of-rio-hill-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Rio Hill https://qualla.com/battle-of-rio-hill Battle of Rio Hill: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-rio-hill/ Photo credit Alfred Waud, Public domain. Confederate Captain Marcellus Moorman watched George Armstrong Custer's cavalry approach his camp on February 29, 1864, and made a desperate decision. His artillerymen had warning. They had time. They had not used it. With Union horsemen already in his camp, Moorman ordered his gunners to mount their battery horses, arm themselves with pistols and sticks they picked up from the ground, and pretend to be cavalry. The ruse worked. Custer's men, seeing what appeared to be substantial Confederate reinforcements, stalled. Then a caisson exploded. The Union troopers panicked, fired into each other in confusion, and broke for the bridge. The only significant Civil War engagement in Albemarle County was fought, more than anything else, with sticks.

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Image: Alfred Waud | Public domain

]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/0/battle-of-rio-hill-wp/dqb0-battle-of-rio-hill-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Rio Hill: Diversion for a Failed Raid https://qualla.com/battle-of-rio-hill/ Photo credit Alfred Waud, Public domain. In late February 1864, Union commanders devised a multi-objective raid against Richmond. Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick would lead the main effort - a failed raid that included the controversial Dahlgren Affair. The newly minted Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer, 24 ...

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Image: Alfred Waud | Public domain

]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/0/battle-of-rio-hill-wp/dqb0-battle-of-rio-hill-diversion-for-a-failed-raid.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Rio Hill: Caught at the Winter Camp https://qualla.com/battle-of-rio-hill/ Photo credit Alfred Waud, Public domain. The Confederate force in Custer's path was four batteries of J.E.B. Stuart's horse artillery battalion - 16 cannons and roughly 200 artillerymen, commanded by Captains Marcellus Moorman, Roger Preston Chew, James Breathed, and William McGregor. They were in winter quarters about ...

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Image: Alfred Waud | Public domain

]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/0/battle-of-rio-hill-wp/dqb0-battle-of-rio-hill-caught-at-the-winter-camp.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Rio Hill: Artillerymen Pretending to be Cavalry https://qualla.com/battle-of-rio-hill/ Photo credit Alfred Waud, Public domain. Moorman bought time the hard way. He ordered some guns to engage Custer's main column on Earlysville Road while others limbered up and withdrew. He deployed four cannons on a ridge south of the camp to fire into his own camp now overrun with Union troopers. A thin skirmish line, ...

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Image: Alfred Waud | Public domain

]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/0/battle-of-rio-hill-wp/dqb0-battle-of-rio-hill-artillerymen-pretending-to-be-cavalry.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Rio Hill: What Was Lost, What Was Built https://qualla.com/battle-of-rio-hill/ Photo credit Alfred Waud, Public domain. The Union troopers burned the Rio Mills bridge behind them as they retreated to delay a pursuit that, given Moorman's actual numbers, would never have come. They also burned the namesake mill. The whole engagement, from crossing to bridge-burning, lasted barely an hour. Casualtie...

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Image: Alfred Waud | Public domain

]]> Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/b/0/battle-of-rio-hill-wp/dqb0-battle-of-rio-hill-what-was-lost-what-was-built.mp3 0:06 5 full