Battle of Trevilian Station - Aftermath

Aftermath

The results of the Battle of Trevilian Station were mixed. Union casualties were 1,007 (102 killed, 470 wounded, and 435 missing or captured). Confederate losses were reported as 612, but this includes the losses from only Hampton's Division and 831 is a better total estimate. It was the bloodiest and largest all-cavalry engagement during the war.

Sheridan maintained that the battle was a Union victory. In 1866, he wrote, "The result was constant success and the almost total annihilation of the rebel cavalry. We marched when and where we pleased; were always the attacking party, and always successful." Ulysses S. Grant's personal memoirs agreed with the sentiment and many of Sheridan's biographers accept his claim. As a diversion, it can be considered a partial success for the Union; it was not until Grant began attacking the weak forces at Petersburg that General Lee finally understood that the Union Army had maneuvered away from him and crossed the James River. However, Sheridan failed in two important objectives. He was unable to permanently disrupt the Virginia Central Railroad because within two weeks the track was repaired and supplies continued to flow to General Lee's army. The planned rendezvous between Sheridan and Hunter failed completely. Hunter was subsequently defeated at the Battle of Lynchburg (June 17–18) by Lt. Gen. Jubal Early in the Valley and was soon pushed back far into Maryland. Eric J. Wittenberg, the author of the modern definitive study of the battle, asserts that if Sheridan had successfully destroyed the railroad, Hunter might have succeeded in capturing Lynchburg because Early would have been forced to deal with Sheridan instead. He called the battle an "unmitigated disaster" for the Federal cavalry and stated that "nothing about the Battle of Trevilian Station can be considered to be a Union victory."