The Battle of Yellow Tavern was fought on May 11, 1864 between the Union cavalry (horse-mounted troops) under Gen. Philip Sheridan and the Confederate cavalry under Gen. J.E.B. Stuart. The main armies under Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Robert E. Lee were fighting further north near Spotsylvania in the Overland Campaign. Sheridan wanted to fight his own battle against Stuart, so with Grant’s permission, he led his 10,000 mounted calvary down Telegraph Road. They arrived at the Beaver Dam railroad station just as almost 400 Union prisoners were being loaded on a train. They set the prisoners free and destroyed the train station and parts of the railroad. Meanwhile Stuart was leading the Confederates down Mountain Road to where it intersected with Telegraph Road into a Y, forming Brook Road in Henrico County. This is where the two armies met and fought a fierce battle. It was called Yellow Tavern after an old abandoned tavern nearby. A thunderstorm broke out during the battle, and as Stuart was trying to rally his outnumbered troops, a Union soldier fired at him at close range, and he died the next day in Richmond. The Union Army won the victory. (Trouble viewing the YouTube video? Try Vimeo or direct link).