Stuart has moved his forty-five hundred troopers…
May 1864 CE
Stuart has moved his forty-five hundred troopers to get between Sheridan and Richmond.
The two forces meet at noon on May 11 at Yellow Tavern, an abandoned inn located six miles (ten kilometers) north of Richmond.
Not only does the Union outnumber the Confederates by three divisions to two brigades, it has superior firepower—all are armed with rapid-firing Spencer carbines.
The Confederate troopers tenaciously resist from the low ridgeline bordering the road to Richmond, fighting for over three hours.
A counter-charge by the 1st Virginia Cavalry pushes the advancing Union troopers back from the hilltop as Stuart, mounted on horseback, shouts encouragement.
As the 5th Michigan Cavalry streams in retreat past Stuart, a dismounted Union private, forty-eight-year-old John A. Huff, a former sharpshooter, turns and shoots Stuart with his .44-caliber pistol, from a distance of ten to thirty yards.
The fighting keeps up for an hour after Stuart is wounded, Major General Fitzhugh Lee taking temporary command.
Stuart will die in Richmond the following day.
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