The Confederate fortifications at Brook Hill were occupied forceably three times by Union cavalry during the Civil War. The initial raid during the night of May 4, 1863 by General Stoneman's troops was of relatively little consequence. On March 1, 1864 General Judson Kilpatrick with 3,500 cavalrymen seized this fort and shelled the inner defense line from here in preparation for an assault upon Richmond that failed. Finally, on May 11, 1864, 12,000 Federals commanded by General Philip Sheridan, after overpowering General J.E.B. Stuart at the Battle of Yellow Tavern two miles to the north, advanced upon these works. Confederates fiercely contested every inch of ground before being overwhelmed. Sheridan, fearing entrapment, retired to the east the next day.
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