Cavalry Engagement

Union Brig. Gen. George Custer and Confederate Brig. Gen. Thomas Rosser, classmates and close friends at West Point, led their cavalry divisions against one another several times during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Custer bested Rosser at Tom's Brook on 9 Oct. and again at Cedar Creek on 19 Oct. On the night of 20 Dec., Custer’s division camped here at Lacey Spring while on its way to Staunton. Rosser, by then a major general, launched a surprise attack early the next morning. Following a sharp skirmish, Custer withdrew to the north. In 1873 Custer, commanding the 7th U.S. Cavalry, and Rosser, a railroad engineer, renewed their friendship in the Dakota Territory.