Cavalryman of the Lost Cause: A Biography of J. E. B. StuartCavalryman of the Lost Cause is the first major biography in decades of the famous Confederate general J. E. B. Stuart. Based on research in manuscript collections, personal memoirs and reminiscences, and regimental histories, this comprehensive volume reflects outstanding Civil War scholarship. James Ewell Brown Stuart was the premier cavalry commander of the Confederacy. He gained a reputation for daring early in the war when he rode around the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign, providing valuable intelligence to General Robert E. Lee at the expense of Union commander George B. McClellan. Stuart has long been controversial because of his performance in the critical Gettysburg Campaign, where he was out of touch with Lee for several days; this left Lee uncertain about the size and movement of the Union army, information that would prove decisive when the battle began. In an engagement with the cavalry of Union general Philip Sheridan in spring 1864, Stuart was killed. He was only thirty-one. Jeffry D. Wert provides new details about Stuart's childhood and youth, and he draws on letters between Stuart and his wife, Flora, to show us the man as he was: eager for glory, daring sometimes to the point of recklessness, but a devoted and loving husband and father. Stuart has long been regarded as the finest Confederate cavalryman and one of the best this country has ever produced. Wert shows how Stuart's friendship with Stonewall Jackson and his relationship with Lee were crucial; at the same time Stuart's relationships with his subordinates were complicated and sometimes troubled. Cavalryman of the Lost Cause is a riveting biography of a towering figure of the Civil War, a fascinating and colorful work by one of our finest Civil War historians. |
Contents
Son of Virginia | 1 |
West Point and Texas | 12 |
I Go with Virginia | 24 |
Copyright | |
18 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Cavalryman of the Lost Cause: A Biography of J. E. B. Stuart Jeffry D. Wert No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
1st Virginia 2nd Virginia army's attack batteries battle Blackford Borcke Brandy Station brigade Campaign cannon cavalry cavalrymen Civil Cobb's Legion Colonel command Confederate Cooke corps Court House Dear Diary division enemy Family Papers Federals fighting Fitz Lee's Flora Ford Fredericksburg Gallagher Garnett Gettysburg Gettysburg Campaign Hampton headquarters Hill horsemen Ibid infantry J. E. B. Stuart James Longstreet Jeb Stuart John Jones July June Krick Lee's Lieutenants Letters Maryland McClellan Memoirs miles Mosby mounted Munford night North Carolina October ordered Pelham Pennsylvania Potomac Price Papers ranks Rappahannock rear Rebels regiments Richmond Riding with Stuart River Road Robert Robert E Robertson rode Rooney Lee Rosser scouts September soldier Southern Spotsylvania staff officer Stonewall Jackson Stuart Collection Stuart Papers Stuart wrote Sword of Lincoln Thomas Thomas Munford troopers troops Union army Union cavalry USAMHI Virginia Virginia Cavalry Wade Hampton wagons Wert West William Yankees