in command by Maj. Gen. Jubal Early. On May 27, Union cavalry established a bridgehead over Dabney's Ford on the south side of the Pamunkey River. Brig. Gen. George A. Custer's Michigan cavalry brigade scattered the mounted Confederate pickets guarding the ford and an engineer regiment constructed a pontoon bridge. Custer's men fought a brisk engagement north of Salem Church against Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, the 1st Maryland under Col. Bradley T. Johnson and the brigade of North Carolinians under Col. John A. Baker. The Confederates withdrew under the pressure of superior numbers. The rest of Torbert's division then crossed the river, followed by Gregg's cavalry division and a division of Union infantry. Lee knew that his best defensive position against Grant would be the low ridge on the southern bank of Totopotomoy Creek, but he was not certain of Grant's specific plans; if Grant was not intending to cross the Pamunkey in force at Hanovertown, the Union army could outflank him and head directly to Richmond. Lee ordered cavalry under Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton to make a reconnaissance in force, break through the Union cavalry screen, and find the Union infantry. Opposing forces Wade Hampton, who was one of the two leading candidates to succeed the late Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart in command of the Cavalry Corps, brought with him his Laurel Brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Rosser. The other leading candidate, Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, accompanied Brig. Gen. Williams C. Wickham's brigade. The rest of Hampton's task force consisted of a brigade under Brig. Gen. John R. Chambliss and elements of Col. John A. Baker's brigade (both from Maj. Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee's division), a new brigade under Brig. Gen. Matthew C. Butler (the newly formed and inexperienced 4th and 5th South Carolina cavalry regiments, commanded temporarily by Col. B. Huger Rutledge, and the 20th Georgia Battalion under Lt. Col. John M. Millen), and several sections of horse artillery. The Union cavalry force headed directly for Hampton's was the 2nd Division under Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg, which consisted of two brigades under Brig. Gen. Henry E. Davies, Jr., and Col. J. Irvin Gregg (David's cousin). Reinforcements would arrive later in the battle from the division of Brig. Gen. Alfred T.A. Torbert: the brigades of Brig. Gens. George A. Custer and Wesley Merritt, and a regiment from the brigade of Col. Thomas C.