Headquarters: Army of Northern Virginia

Stuart Letter to His Cousin

2009-02-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

This letter comes from: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/civwarlett-browse?id=A8007

Fort Leavenworth K.S.
Jany 28th 1857.

My Dear Cousin;

I take the liberty of addressing a word to you from this far off region. I have been Stationed in Kansas for the last 2 years and owing to the Army's participation in the Kansas difficulties have had a fine opportunity to become well acquainted with its resources, and local advantages; that opportunity I have not failed to improve. And I am now entirely convinced from personal knowledge, that with a little capital, and attention I could in a short time make a handsome fortune, by investments in real estate. You can form no idea [ to] what prices that species of property will command at the opening of navigation. The rise is already evincing itself, and the tenacity with which the holders hold on to their property is the best evidence of its worth. But I did not mean to argue the propriety of what I am going to propose, which is to borrow from or through you ($2000.) Two thousand Dollars with interest at 6 per cent per annum for the period of two years or, if preferred, for a longer period. I feel perfectly sure of realizing a handsome profit in six months even a draft on Corcoran & Riggs Washington or any current Northern Bank will suit. I sincerely trust that you will accede to my proposition by sending me this amount at your earliest convenience for here time is emphatically money.

I moreover tender to you my services and best energies to invest for you whatever amount you may think proper to entrust to me, in what I believe to be the most profitable real estate in the Country. During the Summer months I will be absent on an Indian Campaign but expect to return early in the fall.

My kindest remembrances & love to your family in which Flora heartily joins, for I have made her acquainted with you.

An early answer is particularly requested.

Yours Affectionately

J.E.B. Stuart

P.S. I will of course complete all my investments early in the Spring. JEB

Hon A H H Stuart

JEB Stuart March 4, 1862

2009-02-14T07:42:00.001-08:00

This letter is compliments of ErinGoBragh. I've posted her fabulous website in the post below. She was done all Stuart scholars a wonderful service by posting so many of Stuart's letters on this website.

I chose this letter because it made me laugh.

Centreville Mar 4th / 62

My Dear, Dear Wife –

I received two letters from you last night; Withers impudence undertaking to give you advice, takes me all aback and his enlightening you on the subject of the movements of this army is truly astonishing. I hope you will if an opportunity offers assure him that your husband is not unmindful of your welfare & will take care to see that you are provided without the officious intermeddling of any such squirt as he must be, though I have never had the slightest acquaintance with him. Tell him, should you need advice, he is not the man you would go to for it.

As soon as the spring weather sets in, and you can leave Maria, I wish you to go to Campbell C.H. a sweet retired place, which we have some relations who will love you dearly & you will be safe. Your Cousin Bush was taken prisoner at Charleston the other day by the Yankees. They are in possession of the place.

Above all, don’t say anything to those disagreeable Withers & others about where you are going, tell them I will take care of you. Withers was an outrageous Union man at first, & somehow I think he & I can never pull together. I am sorry for Brien & miss him much, I hope to have him soon with us again.

I wrote to you about my sad disappointment about your coming down, & sent you in the same letter a draft for $200. which will be your monthly allowance as long as I am a Brigadier. I want you as soon as you can to buy me watch fob, chain strong & pretty with a pencil head seal & S (old English) deep cut, like the one stolen at Wise. Also just such a pencil as P.W.H. lost for me. I will refund you the money – come now and dont take so long to get it send me the chain by Brien or Powers or Fitz Lee, for I need it much. My guard breaks. For my sentiments in this crisis & for lofty patriotic resolve see my last letter. Those who stick by their wives now under the the pretense of devotion to them wont do. Be not deceived wifey, those who stay at home now are forgetful of their highest duty to their wives and children and in fact to themselves & obey the single impulse of present ease, present security. I care not how they whitewash themselves with such family considerations. Now dearie sleep on that, and think how much better to have your husband in his grave, after a career true to every duty and every responsibility, to you his country & God, than in inglorious existence a living shame to you & his children. Ought I not be supported & encouraged by you in such a course. As for my love for you Dearie, I wish I had you here to squeeze you as much as I love you.

Kisses & love to ours – Those dear ones – how dearly I would like to see them. Put your trust in God & He will bring it to pass.

Ever Ever Ever
Yours
J.E.B.S.

This ring was made from a root on the battlefield where my cavalry charged.

JEB Stuart Letters

2009-02-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

My wonderful friend, erinGoBrogh, has a terrific website filled with Stuart's letters from his school years up to his death. Her website is: http//6whitehorses.com/cw/jebs/jebs.htm. I urge everyone to check out this wonderful website the all the letters she has made available. Great job!!!

The first letter I am going to post is one that Stuart wrote to his parents during his years at Emory and Henry College. There is no date, so Stuart could be anywhere between 15 and 17.

Wednesday Night.

I received your letter today, was so glad to hear from you. I stood on my Sacred History Examination today but if I have passed it is by the nape of the neck. I was fooling with a boy before dinner and he accidentally hit me on the nose and made it bleed, I lost nearly a half-an-hour by this, and the consequence was that I was so hurried that I had to pass over a good many questions I might have said something about. I won’t grumble any more about poor fare. My finger has healed up at last but is still stiff, and my hand is well. It seems to me I get sick, or something gets the matter with me every year, just as the Examination of the most important of my studies commence. You know last year I had the mumps just as my Latin came off. I don’t know why it is, but it seems to me I have the afflictions of Job, and a good share besides. I brought my Bible up to my desk yesterday I’ll see if it will do me any good. I gained some on my columns last week, but not enough to do any good. I received your letter Saturday, thanks for the 25c. Please don’t ask me any more to do better than I have done, for it makes me feel like a sheep-killing-dog. I might have made the course in 3 years, but these fool demerits bothered me so I couldn’t think of much else besides.

I’ve written a long letter but its full of grumbling from one end to the other please excuse all you can and don’t pay any attention to the rest. Love to Sister and all others.

Once more
Your Loving Son
J.E.B.Stuart

James Power Smith

2009-02-11T14:57:00.000-08:00

I found this jewel at http://www.fredericksburgpc.org/documents/CaptainJamesPowerSmith.pdf

STONEWALL JACKSON’S AIDE DE CAMP

Captain James Power Smith
In the spring of 1861, James Power Smith was a theological student at Virginia’s Hampden-Sydney College. He enlisted in the Rockbridge Artillery, a Confederate battery comprised of college and seminary students. The battery fought at the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) where Smith received his baptism of fire. It was there that General Barney Bee saw Jackson’s men holding steady while other Confederates were giving ground, and made the historic comment, “There stands Jackson like a stone wall!” From then on the name “Stonewall” Jackson became a legend in the South.

On September 7, 1862, Smith rode into Frederick,Maryland, to visit the Presbyterian Church where his father had preached when James was a boy. When he left the church, he discovered that his horse had been stolen. Then he received another surprise. He was told to report to General Thomas J. Jackson, the war’s most famous commander. He thought someone was playing a trick on him, but he went. The general had met Smith three years earlier at a wedding, and surprised the young corporal by inviting him to be the aide-de-camp on his staff.

Smith hustled to get a new uniform and a horse, and on September 20 he returned to the Army of Northern Virginia. The next day he met General Lee, who gave him a fresh peach. Later Smith traveled with Jackson from Winchester to Lee’s headquarters in Fredericksburg. On the way they passed the refugees fleeing from Fredericksburg before the battle, including many huddled in Salem Church.

On Sunday morning, November 30, 1862, Jackson and Smith rode into deserted Fredericksburg. They sat in their saddles at the eastern corner of the Presbyterian Church, and surveyed the scene of the coming battle. Smith asked if he could ride down to the river to water his horse, and “Old Jack” warned him that he would probably be shot by the Yankees on the other side of the river. But he did ride down to water his horse, and when he returned, Jackson was still in the same place. After the war, Smith identified the spot where Jackson planned strategy for the Battle of Fredericksburg, and in 1924 a marker was imbedded in the brick wall by the Presbyterian Church, commemorating it.

That night they stayed in the home of the French family—the family that gave the French Memorial Chapel and for whom the education building is named. Jackson led evening prayers, using the big family bible,and kneeling to pray with the family. Then Smith and Jackson established their headquarters south of town near Guiney’s Station.

On the morning of December 11, 1862, General Burnside’s Union guns began the bombardment of Fredericksburg. Smith spent most of the day carrying messages between the Southern commanders. Early next morning he rode with Jackson to the present Lee’s Hill, where Lee and Jackson conferred and observed the battle. They watched the Yankees “coming handsomely” across the river. However, by the end of the day the whole landscape was covered with the bodies of many men in union blue.

During the battle, a part of the Confederate line was the spot south of town commanded with one cannon by the “The Gallant Pelham.” Finally, General Lee had to send word to Pelham to pull back. Who took the message from Lee to Pelham? It was James Power Smith.

Smith also reported that a “fine handsome blooded mare” was shot out from under him that day, and many of his former comrades in the Rockbridge Artillery were killed. That night, Jackson and Smith were at Moss Neck Manor, south of town. Jackson said, “If the men sleep on the ground, I will too.” (This was in December.) They had two overcoats and two blankets. They each put on an overcoat. They put one blanket under them, one over them, and they huddled together to keep from freezing that night.

The next day they moved into Moss Neck manor, the home of the Corbins. On Christmas Day Jackson entertained General Lee, General J. E. B. Stuart and Sandie Pendleton at the manor with turkeys, oysters, a ham, cake, a bottle of wine, biscuits, and pickles. And who obtained all those fixings for the dinner? James Power Smith.

Jackson was appalled by the suffering in Fredericksburg, and led the officers and men in his command in raising $30,000 for their relief—a lot of money for that time.

On April 23, 1863, Smith was present at the baptism of Jackson’s daughter, Julia. Tucker Lacy conducted the service.

On April 29, 1863, hundreds of Federal soldiers crossed the Rappahannock River under the cover of heavy fog in the attack which led to the crucial battle of Chancellorsville. When he received the news, General Jackson sent Smith to inform General Lee of the attack. The next night Smith was sent on an errand by Lee. When he returned, Lee was sleeping at the foot of a tree and covered with his army cloak. He pulled Smith under his cloak and asked him to give his report. Smith then made his own bed, and “with my head in my saddle, near my horse’s feet, I was soon wrapped in the heavy slumber of a weary soldier.”

Smith then became the only eye-witness to a great moment in American history: “Sometime after midnight I was awakened by the chill of the early morning hours, and turning over, caught a glimpse of a little flame on the slope above me, and sitting up to see what it meant, I saw, bending over a scant fire of twigs, two men seated on old cracker boxes and warming their hands over a little fire. I had to rub my eyes and collect my wits to recognize the figures of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Who can tell the story of that quiet council of war between two
sleeping armies.”

As a result of Smith’s report of this scene, the event was immortalized. The famous “Cracker Barrel Conference” not only depicted the South’s two best known generals planning Jackson’s famous flank march that led to their greatest victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, it was also the last time that the two great men ever saw each other alive. The image of the two men sitting on the cracker boxes by the fire isnow the logo which symbolizes the famous battle at the Chancellorsville Military Park, and elsewhere.

At 8 P.M. that night Smith gathered his couriers to find Jackson, and about a mile west of Chancellorsville was told that Jackson was just ahead. He rode a hundred yards further on, and heard shouting. He was told that Jackson had been wounded, and others around him killed by the fire of their own men. Smith spurred his horse forward.

On arriving at the scene he was told that “He (Jackson) was struck by three balls at the same time. One went through the palm of his right hand; a second passed through the wrist of the left arm and out of the hand; the third one was more severe. It passed through the left arm halfway from the shoulder to the elbow. The large bone of the upper arm was splintered to the elbow joint, and the wound bled freely.”

Jackson’s horse bolted, and he reeled from his saddle, but he was caught and placed gently on the ground. General A. P. Hill had come to his aid as Smith rode up. Smith cut Jackson’s sleeve open from the wrist to the shoulder, and used his handkerchief to stem the flow of blood. Couriers were sent to find a doctor and an ambulance.

Smith was one of the four litter-bearers who started to move Jackson to a safer place on a stretcher. But one of the bearers was shot, and he fell. The fire became heavier, so the litter was placed in the middle of the road, and Smith shielded Jackson’s body with his own. When the firing slackened, Smith helped Jackson up, put his arms around him, and started to drag him to safety. More litter bearers arrived. Again they started to carry him to safety. Another bearer fell, dropping his corner of the litter. This time Jackson fell and hit the ground, causing him great pain. Finally they reached comparative safety and Jackson was placed in an ambulance.

In a tent near the Wilderness Store, Jackson’s left arm was amputated near the shoulder, and a ball was taken from his right hand. Smith held the light for the operation, and “all night long it was mine to watch the sufferer and keep him warmly wrapped and undisturbed in his sleep.” All the other staff officers had to return to their duties, so only Smith remained and continued to talk with Jackson. Though he had been hit three times, fallen from a litter once, was dragged for a distance by Smith, endured a miserable ride in an army ambulance, went through shock, and then had his arm amputated, he still was very alert.

In the afternoon a courier arrived from Lee’s headquarters, and Smith gave his message to Jackson. Lee said, “Could I have directed events, I should have chosen for the good of the country to be disabled in your stead…”

Early on May 4, Jackson was placed in an army ambulance for the twenty-five mile trip to Guiney’s Station, where he would be safer. In the ambulance with Jackson were Chaplain Tucker Lacy, Smith and Doctor Hunter McGuire. McGuire, whose statue stands in front of the state Capitol and who had a Richmond hospital named after him, was a Presbyterian, too. Saddened Virginians watched the ambulance pass by. Smith remained at Guiney’s Station with Tucker Lacy and Doctor McGuire. Smith kept watch with Jackson during the night of May 5th. At dawn he called for the doctor, who recognized the early symptoms of pneumonia. While the doctor was dressing Jackson’s wounds, Anna Jackson and their daughter Julia arrived. Anna sang spiritual songs for him. He told her that he wanted to be buried in Lexington, and that he always wanted to die on Sunday.

On Sunday, May 10, 1862, Lieutenant General Thomas J. Jackson “crossed over the river to rest under the shade of the trees.” Just two weeks after the Jacksons had gone to church together and had their daughter baptized, Anna was a widow. The Confederacy was filled with grief. Smith rode in the railway car to Richmond with the Jackson family and the general’s body. General Longstreet headed the pallbearers who carried the casket up the steps of the Capitol, where over 2,000 people came to show their respects. After the burial in Lexington, Smith accompanied Anna Jackson and little Julia to their home in North Carolina.

On June 13, Smith returned to report to Lee before the battle of Gettysburg. At Lee’s request, Smith remained with him that night, and he was with the general when the battle began on July 1. Lee sent him with a message to General Ewell, and he was with Ewell when the request arrived from General Jubal Early to advance up the slope to capture Cemetery Ridge. Ewell told Smith to take the request to General Lee. He found Lee and Longstreet and conveyed the request.

After the war, Smith returned to Union Seminary, was ordained as a Presbyterian minister, and on May 24, 1869, he was called to be the minister of the Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg,
where he served for 23 years. He shared in dedicating the Jackson Monument in Richmond and the Memorial Hall in Lexington. He dedicated the place on the Lacy farm at “Ellwood” where Tucker Lacy had buried Jackson’s arm, and also indicated the place by the brick wall in front of the Presbyterian Church where Jackson had stood to “plan the Battle of Fredericksburg.”

In 1871 he married Agnes, the daughter of Tucker Lacy’s younger brother, Major Horace J. Lacy, who lived at “Chatham” (called the “Lacy House” during the war – when it was the Federal headquarters, and then a hospital.) He wrote extensively about his war experiences including “The Religious Character of Stonewall Jackson,” “Jackson at Chancellorsville,” and “Lee at Gettysburg.”

James Power Smith returned to Gettysburg in 1917 to pronounce the invocation at the dedication of the Virginia State Monument at Seminary Ridge. He died in 1923 at 86, and was the last surviving member of Stonewall Jackson’s staff.

Sandie Pendleton

2009-02-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

Confederate (CSA)
Colonel Alexander Swift Pendleton
"Sandie"
(1840 - 1864)
Home State: Virginia
Command Billet: Staff
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: Jackson's Command

Before the Antietam Campaign:
Rank history:
Lt., July 19, 1861;
Aide-de-Camp (A D C), Feb. 1862;
Assistant Adjutant-General (AAG), April 19, 1862;
Capt.and AAG., June 18, 1862;
Major, Dec. 4, 1862

Alexander (Sandie) Swift Pendleton was born near Alexandria, Virginia on September 28, 1840. He was the only son of William Nelson Pendleton. The Pendleton family moved to Lexington, Virginia in October 1853, where William became rector at Grace Episcopal Church. Sandie Pendleton graduated from Washington College (now Washington & Lee University) in 1857, and subsequently enrolled at the University of Virginia, where he was pursuing a Master of Arts degree when the Civil War began in April 1861. He received a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in Provisional Army of Virginia and reported to Harper's Ferry on June 14, 1861. Within weeks, he was asked by General Stonewall Jackson to join his staff as an ordnance officer --- Jackson had known Pendleton from their days together in Lexington, where Jackson was a Professor at the Virginia Military Institute. Pendleton subsequently served as Jackson's Assistant Adjutant General (Second Corps), and the relationship between Pendleton and Jackson was a close one-- it was said that Jackson "loved him like a son."

In the Antietam Campaign:
Capt Pendleton was AAG on Gen Jackson's staff. At one point during the battle, he describes the scene - "Such a storm of balls I never conceived it possible for men to live through. Shot and shell shrieking and crashing, canister and bullets whistling and hissing most fiend-like through the air until you could almost see them. In that mile's ride I never expected to come back alive." {quoted on the NPS Antietam site)

The remainder of the War:
He served on General "Stonewall" Jackson's staff until the Generals death at Chancellorsville in May 1863, and subsequently as adjutant-general to General Jubal A. Early and General Richard S. Ewell. He was killed at Fisher's Hill, Virginia, 22 September, 1864.

References, Sources, and other notes:
The authoritive biography is - Bean, W. G. Stonewall's Man: Sandie Pendleton, University of North Carolina Press, 1959.

More on the Web:
See a brief bio and collection of papers at VMI - the source of the picture and much of the text above, and a memorial site (with a picture of Pendleton's gravesite) on the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery in Lexington.

Birth Date: 9/28/1840
Place of Birth: Alexandria, VA
College: Washington College (VA), UVa
Death Date: 9/22/1864
Death Place: Fisher's Hill, VA
Burial Place: Stonewall Jackson Cemetery, Lexington, VA

Joseph G. Morrison

2009-02-11T14:46:00.000-08:00

In my novel, Joe Morrison plays a very important role. While researching his life, I found this article on the internet. I hope you enjoy learning more about Jackson's brother-in-law and aide-de-camp.

J.G. Morrison
Confederate (CSV)
Lieutenant J.G. Morrison (CSV)

Joseph Graham Morrison (1842 - 1906)Home State: North Carolina Command Billet: Aide-de-camp Branch of Service: Staff Unit: Jackson's Command.

Before the Antietam Campaign:
He was named for his maternal grandfather, Revolutionary War figure and later General Joseph Graham. As the Civil War began he was a student at the Virginia Military Academy (Class of 1865), but he left school and was commissioned Lieutenant and ADC on his brother-in-law Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson’s staff in June 1862. Jackson had married Morrison's sister Mary Anna in 1857.

Cedar Mountain in August …
"... was his first experience on the battlefield. His bearing was fearless and chivalric. He was riding one of the General’s horses, which, shot in the jaw, was rearing and plunging, sprinkling both his rider and himself with blood. It was suggested to the General that he had better call that youth in or his career would be a short one, but he replied that his example would not be lost upon the troops and he would learn more discretion after a battle or two. He would not permit him to be recalled. Morrison escaped that day but after the General’s death he was badly wounded twice and came out of the army with the loss of a foot."(from Douglas 1)

In the Antietam Campaign: He was aide-de-camp (ADC) to General Jackson on the Maryland Campaign.

The remainder of the War: Lieutenant Morrison was with General Jackson when he was mortally wounded by his own troops at Chancellorsville in May 1863. After Chancellorsville, in July 1863, rather than transfer to General Ewell with the rest of Jackson’s staff, he joined General Ramseur.

In September 1863 he transferred to the 57th North Carolina Infantry as Adjutant. By 1865 he was Captain of Company F, and lost a foot shortly after at Petersburg, while away from his regiment visiting General Hoke.

After the War: Also suffering from tuberculosis, Joseph spent the four years following the War in California recuperating. In 1869 he came home to North Carolina where he was a planter and ran the Mariposa Cotton Mills. He returned to claim the family home on his father’s death in 1889, and himself passed at Charlotte on 11 April 1906.

References, Sources, and other notes:Special thanks to Bill Torrens, who pointed me to Krick2 and the Douglas anecdote used here.

More on the Web:See more about the Morrison family and their famous relations on the 'behind AotW' blog.

Birth Date: 01/06/1842
Place of Birth: Lincoln County, NC
Death Date: 04/11/1906
Death Place: Charlotte, NC
Burial Place: Machpelah Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Lincoln Co
Notes
1 Douglas, Henry Kyd, I Rode With Stonewall, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1940, pp. 127-128 [AotW citation 600]
2 Krick, Robert E.L., Staff Officers in Gray; A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003, pg. 226 [AotW citation 601]
© 1996 - 2009 by Brian Downey and AotW Members

The Funeral of Stonewall Jackson - The Lexington Gazette, May 20, 1863

2008-10-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

All that was mortal of our great and good chief, Lieut. Gen. T.J. Jackson was consigned to the tomb on Friday last.

The body having reached Lexington by the Packet boat on Thursday afternoon, accompanied by his personal staff, Maj. A.S. Pendleton, Surgeon H. McGuire, Lieut. Morrison, and Lieut. Smith, by his Excellency Gov. Letcher, and a delegation of the citizens of Lynchburg, it was received by the Corps of Cadets and escorted to the Institute, and deposited in his late Lecture Room, which had been appropriately draped in mourning.

There was the table used by the late Professor--the same chair in which he sat--the cases with the Philosophical apparatus he had used--all told of his quiet and unobtrusive labors in his Professional life--and placed just as he left them, when he received the order of the Governor of Virginia to march the Corps of Cadets to Richmond, on the 21st of April 1861. He left the Va. Military Institute in command of the Cadets. He has been brought back to sleep among us--a world renowned Christian Hero.

The procession moved from the Institute on Friday morning at 10 A.M. The Funeral escort was commanded by Maj. S. Ship, Commandant of Cadets, a former pupil of Gen. Jackson and a gallant officer who had served with him in his Valley Campaign, as Major of the 21st Va. Regt.
The Escort was composed as follows:
1. Cadet Battalion
2. Battery of Artillery of 4 pieces, the same battery he had for ten years commanded as Instructor of Artillery and which had also served with him at 1st Manassas, in [the] Stonewall Brigade.
3. A company of the original Stonewall Brigade, composed of members of different companies of the Brigade, and commanded by Capt. A. Hamilton, bearing the flag of the "Liberty Hall Volunteers."
4. A company of convalescent officers and soldiers of the army.
5. A Squadron of cavalry was all that was needed to complete the escort prescribed by the Army Regulations. This squadron opportunely made its appearance before the procession moved from the church. The Squadron was a part of Sweeny's battalion of Jenkin's command, and many of its members were from the General's native North-western Virginia.
6. The Clergy.
7. The Body enveloped in the Confederate Flag and covered with flowers, was borne on a caisson of the Cadet Battery, draped in mourning.The pall bearers were as follows:Wm. White ; Professor J.L. Campbell--representing the Elders of the Lexington Presbyterian Church.Wm. C. Lewis; Col. S. McD. Reid--County Magistrates.Prof. J.J. White; Prof. C.J. Harris--Washington College.S. McD. Moore; John W. Fuller--Franklin Society.George W. Adams; Robt. I. White--Town Council.Judge J. W. Brockenbrough; Joseph G. Steel--Confederate District CourtDr. H.H. McGuire; Capt. F.W. Henderson--C.S. Army.Rev. W. McElwee; John Hamilton--Bible Society of Rockbridge
8. The Family and Personal Staff of the deceased.
9. The Governor of Va., Confederate States Senator Henry of Tenn. The Sergeant-at-Arms of C.S. Senate, and a member of the City of Richmond Council.
10. Faculty and Officers of Va. Mil. Institute.
11. Elders and Deacons of Lexington Presbyterian Church of which church Gen. Jackson was a Deacon.
12. Professors and Students of Washington College.
13. Franklin Society.
14. Citizens.

Article Regarding Auction of Flora's handmade Battle Flag

2008-10-29T13:58:00.001-07:00

“My darling One--My battlefield flag, the beautiful one you made fell from the tent-front the other day into the fire,” said Jeb Stuart, Confederate Civil War General, in a note to his wife Flora. “It has proudly waved over many battlefields and if ever I need a motive for braving danger and trials I found it by looking upon that symbol placed in my hands by my cherished wife,” Stuart added.

The same red-wool bunting flag, showing the Confederate “Southern Cross” with its 13 stars and burn marks was retuned to Stuart’s wife in 1862. Most likely, it was the same flag at Stuart’s side during his battles. Little could Flora know, in two years, her husband, one of the most famous and colorful cavaliers in the Army of Northern Virginia, would also be snuffed out.

The flags soldiers carried in battle were fragile. Some were silk, others wool. Subjected to sun, rain, snow, bullets and bayonets, they were lovingly birthed from wedding dresses and Sunday best garments. Soldiers died for them. Prized trophies, flags were the most sought after objects on the battlefield. Waving proudly in front of regiments, at wars end all that remained of some flags were shreds of cloth nailed to a staff. Faced with ultimate surrender, hundreds were buried, burned and otherwise destroyed by Johnny Rebs themselves. Still others were cut up into dozens of tiny pieces. Each surviving warrior would carry one home as a souvenir.

After Gen. Jeb Stuart’s death, a number of items were found in his pockets: a letter to his wife, a poem about the death of a child, a copy of the New Testament, a handkerchief, a lock of his daughter’s hair, a commendation congratulating the infantry he commanded, and a thin round pin cushion embroidered with a Confederate flag. When Gen. Robert E. Lee learned Stuart was dying at the age of 31, he said in a shaken voice, “I can scarcely think about him without weeping.”

Because of the fighting, a disruption in railroad service and a rainstorm, Stuart’s wife was late in reaching her husband’s bedside. After a 10 hour journey, she entered the house where he lay. A certain quiet all around her revealed the inevitable. Words were unnecessary. Flora went and sat alone in a candlelit room beside her dead husband. Stuart’s funeral was held at St. James Church in Richmond, Va. Battles were raging nearby so his troops were absent. Because of the fighting, there was no military escort. As the choir sang, Flora sat in the front of the church weeping. Afterwards, a hearse drawn by four white horses escorted Stuart to Hollywood Cemetery. For the rest of her life, Flora wore black to mourn Stuart’s death and displayed the bullet-riddled, burnt battle flag on her wall. She died on May 10, 1923.

On Dec. 1 and 2, Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, Dallas, Texas, featured a selection of items belonging to Gen. Jeb Stuart in its Civil War History auction. Among them was the flag discussed. Here are some current values for Stuart’s personal belongings.

Gen Jeb Stuart Portrait and Autograph; matted and framed; 10 inches by 15 inches; $3,884.

Gold Mechanical Pencil and Cuff Links; $19,120.

Field Compass and Lock of Hair; hair removed by wife on night of his death; $44,813.

West Point Class Ring; gold with green stone; given to Stuart by his parents when he graduated in 1854; $113,525.

Gold Pocket Watch; key-wind; 52mm pocket watch; inscribed with his initials; case by E. Maurice and Co., movement by John Cragg of London; $131,450.

Personal Battle Flag; most recognized banner of the Confederacy; 13-star design; $956,000.

****

It is while I read articles like this I wish I were rich enough to buy some of these items.

Link: http://www.liveauctiontalk.com/free_article_detail.php?article_id=710

Civil War Minute - The Death of J.E.B. Stuart

2008-10-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

I am posting a link to a youtube video about the death of Jeb Stuart. The narrative is from Private McCormack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkK4qXkWqGM

Lee's Reflections on the Death of Stuart

2008-10-28T15:26:00.001-07:00

These reflections come from Rob Lee's book on his father.

Captain W. Gordon McCabe writes me:"I was sitting on my horse very near to General Lee, who was talking to my colonel, William Johnson Pegram, when a courier galloped upwith the despatch announcing that Stuart had been mortally wounded and was dying. General Lee was evidently greatly affected, and saidslowly, as he folded up the despatch, 'General Stuart has been mortallywounded: a most valuable and able officer.' Then, after a moment, he added in a voice of deep feeling 'HE NEVER BROUGHT ME A PIECE OF FALSE INFORMATION'--turned and looked away.

What praise dearer to asoldier's heart could fall from the lips of the commanding generaltouching his Chief of Cavalry! These simple words of Lee constitute,I think, the fittest inscription for the monument that is soon to be erected to the memory of the great cavalry leader of the 'Army of Northern Virginia.'

"In a letter from my father to my mother, dated Spottsylvania CourtHouse, May 16th, he says:"...As I write I am expecting the sound of the guns every moment. I grieve over the loss of our gallant officers and men, and miss their aid and sympathy. A more zealous, ardent, brave, and devoted soldiert han Stuart the Confederacy cannot have. Praise be to God for having sustained us so far. I have thought of you very often in these eventful days. God bless and preserve you.

"General Lee, in his order announcing the death of Stuart, thus speaks of him:"...Among the gallant soldiers who have fallen in this war, General Stuart was second to none in valour, in zeal, and in unflinching devotion to his country. His achievements form a conspicuous part of the history of this army, with which his name and services will beforever associated. To military capacity of a high order and to thenoble virtues of the soldier he added the brighter graces of a purelife, guided and sustained by the Christian's faith and hope. The mysterious hand of an all-wise God has removed him from the scene of his usefulness and fame. His grateful countrymen will mourn his loss and cherish his memory. To his comrades in arms he has left the proud recollections of his deeds and the inspiring influence of his example."

General Lee Talks About Traveller and His Other Mounts

2008-10-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

If I were an artist like you I would draw a true picture of Traveller--representing his fine proportions, muscular figure, deep chest andshort back, strong haunches, flat legs, small head, broad forehead,delicate ears, quick eye, small feet, and black mane and tail. Sucha picture would inspire a poet, whose genius could then depict hisworth and describe his endurance of toil, hunger, thirst, heat, cold,and the dangers and sufferings through which he passed. He could dilate upon his sagacity and affection, and his invariable responseto every wish of his rider. He might even imagine his thoughts, throughthe long night marches and days of battle through which he has passed. But I am no artist; I can only say he is a Confederate gray. I purchased him in the mountains of Virginia in the autumn of 1861, and he has been my patient follower ever since--to Georgia, the Carolinas,and back to Virginia. He carried me through the Seven Days battlea round Richmond, the second Manassas, at Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg,the last day at Chancellorsville, to Pennsylvania, at Gettysburg, and back to the Rappahannock.

From the commencement of the campaign in 1864 at Orange, till its close around Petersburg, the saddle was scarcely off his back, as he passed through the fire of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbour, and across the James River. He was almost in daily requisition in the winter of 1864-65 on the long line of defenses from Chickahominy, north of Richmond, to Hatcher's Run, south of the Appomattox.

In the campaign of 1865, he bore me from Petersburg to the final days at Appomattox Court House. You must know the comfort he is to me in my present retirement. He is well supplied with equipments. Two sets have been sent to him from England, one from the ladies of Baltimore, and one was made for him in Richmond; but I think his favourite is the American saddle from St. Louis.

Of all his companions in toil, 'Richmond,' 'Brown Roan,' 'Ajax,' and quiet 'Lucy Long,' he is the only one that retained his vigour. The first two expired under their onerous burden, and the last two failed. You can, I am sure, from what I have said, paint his portrait."

Robert E. Lee's Letter to Anna Jackson

2008-10-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

I found this letter on line and thought I would share it. It concerns Joseph Morrison, Anna's younger brother, who was with Jackson when he was wounded. I believe the wound is the one that would cause the amputation of Joe's foot.

Petersburg 8 Sept 64

Mrs T. J. Jackson

I have recd your letter of the 2nd ulto: in reference to your brother Capt J. G. Morrison. It will give me great pleasure to aid him in obtaining any position he desires, but at present it is difficult to say upon what kind of duty he will be capable of entering. I am glad to say that he is doing well from his last wound, but it will be some time I think before he is able to perform field duty of any kind. I should think it better for him when recovered to obtain Bureau duty, or duty within his State, at least until he finds by experience what labour & exposure he can undergo. I was much distressed at the reception of his last wound, which though very serious I trust will not inflict upon him permanent disability. His youth & temperament will in time overcome everything. He is now a Captain in the line. A very honourable position, & from which but for his late wound, his merits would soon have advanced him.

Wishing you & yours every blessing, I am with great respect most truly yours

R E Lee

General Orders Twenty Eight

2008-10-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

Yikes! October is nearly over, and I have done very little blogging this month. Not because I don't want to, but working, school, and writing papers for my masters has swallowed up a great portion of my time.

Now, I do have to admit, I would rather be studying the life of Jackson or Stuart than delving into the mind of Osama bin Laden or Lawrence of Arabia, but unfortunately, my degree is not in American History. Too bad!

I have also finished the eleventh draft (at least) of my novel. I have a very special person reading it now. If all goes well and she doesn't point out a major flaw, then, hopefully the manuscript will begin its quest for an agent. I have a new query letter to entice agents into representing me.

When people ask me about my novel and what I hope to accomplish with it, I think they find my answer disappointing. I don't think I've written the next Da Vinci Code or anything like that. My subject matter (an alternative history about the Civil War) is too limiting, I think. It's a book for a profitable market, but, that market is very small. But that's okay with me.

So, what do I hope to accomplish? Well, I think I can best describe that by telling you about my reaction to the mini-series, Lonesome Dove. I first saw it on T.V. way back in the 1980's and purchased the videos. I haven't seen it for a while, so I was at the library and saw the DVD's. I checked it out. I only have one more episode to watch and, you know what, I'm sad. I love these characters, and I don't want the story to end. Have you ever read a book like that? You start to panic when you near the end of the book because you know the story is coming to an end? Lord of the Rings is like that for me. When I finished Return of the King, I was sad. No more adventures for Merry and Pippin, Aragorn, or Sam and Frodo. That's what I really want to accomplish. To create characters that a reader can't get enough of. To have the reader sigh a little sigh of regret when they close the back cover. Have I done that? I don't know. I do know when I finished the first draft and there was no more story to tell, I felt like I had lost my best friends for a day or two.

So, in the future, I will try to make time for some more blogging! I miss reading and writing about the menof the Army of Northern Virginia. Now, it's back to Osama bin Laden.

JEB Stuart's Letter to Flora Upon Learning of the Death of His Daughter

2008-10-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

Four days later, word reached Stuart that La Pet was gone. Stuart was at Waterloo Bridge, near Warrenton, Virginia

My Dear, Dear Wife,

The affliction fell at last and its intelligence reached me this morning. I was sometime expecting it and yet it grieves me more, the more I think of it. When I remember her sweet voice, her gentle ways and strong affection for her Pa, and then think she is gone, my heart is ready to burst. I want to see you so much and to know what her last words were. She is better off, I know, but it is a hard blow to us. She is up in Heaven where she will still pray for her Pa and look down upon him in the day of battle. Oh, if I could see her again. No child can ever have such a hold on my affection as she had. She was not of earth however. If you could get to Culpepper Court House or Brandy Station I might be able to see you for a short while but do not go to too much trouble.

I have been in battle every day since I heard of Flora's sickness and that was November 2nd. She died November 3rd and I heard of it November 6th. I have been harassing and checking a heavey force believed to be McClellan's and it will today no doubt reached Warrenton.

Rosser is in command of Lee's Brigade and is my right hand man now. Wickham behaved most gallantly and received a wound which compelled him to visit hom.

God has shielded me thus far from bodily harm, but I feel perfect resignation to go at his bidding and join my little Flora.

I cannot write more.

Your loving husband,
J.E.B. Stuart

Letter from JEB Stuart to Flora Concerning the Illness of Daughter Flora

2008-10-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

Last week, I published Stuart's letter to his cousin regarding his grief at the loss of his daughter. I thought I would publish the letters he wrote when he first found out that Flora was ill and then Flora had died. The first was written November 2, 1862, while Stuart was in Upperville, Virginia. There is much in the letter that reveals the personality of Stuart... Like I said, it was when I read this book of letters that I came to love Stuart.

My Darling Wife:

Your last letter received was dated October 16th. Then all was well and I was lithe and merry. On the 9th I moved to this flank to take charge of the very delicate operations entrusted to Lee's Brigade in Loudoun County, since which time we have been fighting all the time and yesterday and the day before were brilliantly successful against Pleasanton and Bayard.

Today, attacked by a heavy force of Infantry and Artillery, we have kept them all day advancing three miles and fought from position to position till dark.

It is McClellan's advance and there is no rest for me. Dr Brewer's (Stuart's brother in-law) first dispatch came yesterday and I answered it at once. The second came today, saying my darling Pet's case was doubtful, and urges me in your name to come. I received it on the field of battle. I was at a loss to decide that it was my duty to you and to Flora to remain. I am entrusted with the conduct of affairs and the issue of which will affect you, her, and the mothers and children of our country much more seriously than we can believe. I wonder if Dr. Brewer really thinks with you that I ought to leave my post under existing circumstances.

If my darling daughter's case if hopeless there are ten chances to one that I would get to Lynchburg too late. If she be convalscent why should my presence be necessary? She was sick nine days before I knew it.

My darling, let us trust in the Good God, who has blessed us so much, to spare our child to us, but if it should please Him to take her from us let us bear it with Christian fortitude and resignation. It is said that woman is better at bearing misfortune than man--I hope you will exemplify it. At all events, remember that Flora was not of this world, she belonged to another, and will be better off by far in her heavenly habitation. My staff are well.

Your devoted husband,
J.E.B. Stuart

General Orders Twenty-Seven

2008-10-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went to an antique bookstore in a small village not far from where I live and stepped into Aladdin's cave. Wow! The books! The prices! If I had alot of money, I could have walked out of there with an armload of books, and it took all my self-control only to buy three. I found Fitzhugh Lee's biography on his uncle for $1.50. That's right! $1.50. It wasn't a first edition or anything, but still.

I bought a biography on Stonewall Jackson that I had checked out from the library. It was only $4.50. There were books on battles, on Hunt's raid through Ohio, and other goodies. I will have to make a return trip.

Besides books, the other thing I would love to be able to purchase are the wonderful paintings of Civil War scenes that I have seen, mostly at shops in Gettysburg. I dream of filling my house with them. I own calendar prints that I have framed. Mostly all of Stonewall Jackson. My favorite it Kuntsler's "Let Us Cross Over the River." But, the talent these artists have absolutely amazes me.

Anyway, I thought I would just share my good fortune at finding those extraordinary treasures. I do plan to make a return trip though. LOL!

Jeb Stuart Writes About the Death of His Daughter

2008-10-05T07:34:00.001-07:00

Those who have read the blog from the beginning know that I bought a book of Jeb Stuart's letter. I printed a rather funny one written to his father about a fight he had at West Point. This letter, about the death of Little Flora, or LaPet as Stuart called her, is another letter that grabbed my heart. He is writing to his cousin, Nannie Price and the things he says to her reveals much about Stuart and his relationship with his wife, Flora.

Camp Boteler
September 11th, 1863

My Dearest Nannie,

Your charming letter, though long expected gave me much happiness, and I tender you my grateful acknowledgements with the entreaty to do so again. I have been upon the point of answering it several times but I did not feel inclined to submit to the interruptions in such pleasant converse to which I am every day subject, I have waited consequently for this midnight hour to talk when none is near. Ah, if I could with soft music steal to that window and pour the strains, which like the Irishman's fiddle I have in men if I could only get utterance, "I would a tale unfold, etc." If you knew how much and how often my thoughts wander back to "Dundee" and go tripping with you through the garden, here clipping a tea rose bud, there a giant of bottles, there a sprig of arbor-vitae, while you add with that bewitching look a leaf of geranium. Ah, Nannie, don't you recognize the picture? I wish it were once more reality, but the time seems far in the dim future when I have business in Fredericksburg.

Wade Hampton and Fitz Lee are Major Generals Commanding Divisions in my Calvary Corps, but I am not yet Lieutenant General. I command the Corps as a Major General. General Ewell had a review of his entire Corps. I never saw the like of ladies on horseback. How I wished you had been there, and yet I am too selfish to desire so many eyes to behold you. You don't know how proud it makes me feel to hear you say you thought of me often during my long and eventful absence. I am much gratified that the trifles I sent you pleased you. The mantle I brought at a Miller's in Hagerstown Maryland (a Secesh Milliner at that, and I think it was the work of her own hands. I immediately thought how sweet and becoming it would look on Cousin Nannie. You must wear it these cool evenings, and not wait till I come, it might be too long. Did Cousin Lizzie ever get the package Dr. Fontaine sent by Major Ball?

Have no apprehensions, Nannie, of my losing the affection I feel for "Dundee" and its precious inmates. I can never feel otherwise, than I do toward you, and your welfare and happiness, Nannie, are matters of chief concern to me. I will leave nothing undone to promote them. Bless your precious little "self," I wish I could have an old fashion talk with you. You would soon be convinced that there is no change, and how undisputed is the sway you hold over my heart.

Flora is still in Lynchburg and rather indisposed. She was hoping that in passing through she would get to see you. I think Major Langhorne said he could not take the doctor's family.

I have been thinking much of late of my parting with you and my all at "Dundee" a little over a year ago.

When farewells were said and tears had been shed--do you remember how Little Flora ran out after me, climbed up by my stirrup, clung around my neck with her dear little arms, with tearful kisses till forced away. Ah, Nannie, can I ever forget that picture! that parting! that embrace! Can you wonder at the tears that filled my eyes as I write. The thought flashed through my mind at that moment, "we may not meet again." It is now vividly remembered and the gloomy apprehension rose and kindled tears in my eyes. I was just starting on the campaign against Pope and I knew that my life hung by a thread ready to be severed by any one of the thousands of death's missiles which sweep the battle plain. All this flashed through my mind for there are moments which are like a century. I though of the widow (there she stood before me) and the fatherless little sylph in my arms, and breathed a prayer that He who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, would deal tenderly with mine. Ah! little did I think that I was to be spared and she taken!

I feel it is all gain to her but my grief admonishes me that earth has lost its chief attraction, and while it does not make me reckless, I go forth at the summons of duy of danger with that cheerful resignation which the cold world calls rashness.

Excuse me, Nannie dear, for obtruding my grief upon you. You feel so near to me. I talk to you as if communing with myself. I dare not write to Flora as I have written you. I have to restrain my grief, my feelings, my language on the subject and she little dreams what agony in the lone bivouac and even on the march those choking memories have caused me.

Enough of this. Give my best love to all at "Dundee." Write as often as possible and remember how precious your letters are to me. Give my love to Cousin Corneal and other friends. I saw young Starke a few days ago looking very happy. Who made him so? Tell me Nannie, who are your beaux now? I am interested in everything that concerns you.

Give my love to Mrs. General Wickham. I send you something to remind you of an absent friends.

Yours, xxxx
J.E.B.S.

P.S. Did you get the copy of Moore I send by Chiswell Dabney.

General Orders Twenty Six

2008-09-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

Last night I received a passionate and detailed set of answers to the questions I asked yesterday, which alerted me to the fact that I wasn't as precise as I had thought I had been. The questions were rhetorical. They represent, what I believe, the wrong "impressions" (using Dowdy's word) that exist in the war's historiography regarding Stuart. For any confusion, I apologize.

But do take time to read eringobragh's answers in the comment section under General Orders 25. We only differ on one small point. Thank you for your answers and reading this blog.

General Orders Twenty-Five

2008-09-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

Questions abound for me about Jeb Stuart. As I have said before, the Stuart I find in recent biographies and literature is far different than the Stuart I have discovered by reading primary sources, his letters, and biographies written by his staff. I realize that I'm just starting the long research process, and my questions will be answered as I plow through the huge pile of research on my desk.

In Lee Takes Command, Clifford Dowdy writes the following regarding A.P. Hill's actions at the Battle of Mechanicsville. "Lee's admirers have view him (Lee) as the complete soldier and have tended to put the blame (for the failure of the Seven Days Battle to destroy the Army of the Potomac) on Jackson and A.P. Hill. In turn, Jackson's admirers have tended to blame Lee and A.P. Hill. As no legend grew around Powell Hill between the charges of the Lee and Jackson camps, the impression has been allowed to stand that the "impulsive Hill" attacked single-handed the Federal stronghold where Lee wished to avoid battle." (page 190)

I think this quote applies to Stuart. Certain impressions abound in the war's, Lee's and Stuart's historiographies that has been repeated and cemented in biographies, magazines, books, and films. They have become the "truth" by which Stuart, in my opinion, has been unfairly portrayed.

Here are just a few of the questions that I have:

1) Is the portrayal of Stuart as the vain-glorious, ego-centric man-child, who was more concerned with flirting and dancing than doing his duty, the correct one?
2) Some historians accuse Stuart's decision to ride around McClellan's army as vanity run wild. These same historians then claim that this decision is the primary reason Lee's plans did not come to fruition since it alerted McClellan of the threat to his supplies and communications.
3) Was the grand review on the plains of Brandy Station proof that Stuart's vanity ruled the cavalry? In fact, he was so vain, that he held a second review.
4) Were these reviews responsible for the "surprise" at Brandy Station?
5) Did Stuart honestly believe he lost the Battle of Brandy Station aka the Battle of Fleetwood Hill?
6) Was Stuart so stung by the criticism in the Richmond papers regarding Brandy Station that he disobeyed his orders during the Gettysburg campaign and left Lee "blind?"
7) What is the truth of Stuart's "playboy" persona?
8) Was Stuart unfaithful to Flora?

Now I may be wrong. My continued research may very well lead me to the conclusion that the current portrayal of Stuart is the correct one. But I don't think so. To tell you the truth, I don't recognize the Stuart I read about as the Stuart I have come to know. I believe the "impression" of the playboy, vain man-child ruled by his ego, more interested in flirting and dancing than performing his duty and responsible for the defeat at Gettysburg has not only been allowed to stand but is constantly reinforced. It is my hope that anything I write about Stuart in the future (if it is good enough to be published) will reveal the true Stuart -- the cavalry leader that both Lee and Jackson loved and trusted.

General Orders Twenty-Four

2008-09-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

There was an argument at work once, and people were taking sides. Everyone had an opinion, and everyone's opinion was the right one. When my boss was asked which side he was taking, he said, "I don't have a dog in the fight." That pretty much stopped the argument dead in its track. None of us really had a dog in the fight. We just had a bunch of opinions.

Not all, but too many historians, have a dog in the fight when it comes to the Civil War. It only takes ten or so pages into the first chapter (and sometimes not even that long) before the dog has been identified. Now, I don't really have a problem with that as long as the author admits that he wants his dog to win, and, therefore, he isn't exactly neutral. I do mind when the author insists he is neutral when he isn't.

In Lee Takes Command, Clifford Dowdey doesn't have a dog and, admittedly, he is a Lee man. He is fair and unbiased in writing about the Seven Days Battle. He doesn't destroy Jackson to protect Lee, nor does he blame Lee for Jackson's performance. He gives detailed analysis that explains Jackson's performance. It is a problem most of us have dealt with. After a month of continual marching and fighting, Jackson had hit the wall. He was past exhausted and even the most simple of commands were almost impossible to carry out. If you have never been that tired, then good for you. But if you have, then you know what handicap Jackson operated under.

Dowdey is very blunt about the abuse that A.P. Hill has received for his actions on the first day of battle. Dowdey explains that in the Jackson/Lee fight during the years, Little Powell has been unfairly scapegoated. He gives a reasonable explanation to why Hill went before he had heard from Jackson.

Of course, for me, books like this rise and fall on Stuart and here I have a problem with Dowdey. Not a big problem... but Dowdey is inconsistent in his dealings with Stuart and his ride around McClellan and whether or not this ride forced McClellan to abandon his White House base in order to set up a new base along the James River. Like I said not a big problem, but I would like to see some more consistency.

Dowdey wins huge accolades for understanding cause and effect. Sometimes, when I read historical accounts, I get the sense that things are happening in a vacuum. Dowdey is consistent in showing that A happened to cause B to cause C to cause D. This way, the reader gets a complete picture of the battles along the Chickahominy that begin with Johnston's retreat from Centreville.

If you have not read Dowdey's book, I highly recommend it.

General Orders Twenty-Three

2008-09-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

Ike blew through Cincinnati with 75 mph winds downing trees and sending roofs flying. My power was off for 47-1/2 hours. Needless to say, I lost any sense of humor about 7 hours in. After that, I wanted my power on and on now. Reading by flashlight, I finished Woodworth's Davis and Lee at War, started Clifford Dowdey's Lee Takes Command. At the same time, I started Furgurson's Not War But Murder about Cold Harbor.

It is distressing to read Woodworth's and Dowdey's books. For someone who roots for the Army of Northern Virginia, it is maddening to read about the retreat of Joe Johnston from Centreville to Yorktown. The waste of supplies! So needed by the Confederacy. Then at the end of the war, Beauregard's machinations that denied Lee needed troops as he retreated before Grant's massive army in 1864. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! It brings to mind the same frustration I experienced reading Woodworth's Jefferson Davis and His Generals about the western theater. To read about men, who put their pride and ambition before everything... the opportunities these selfish and self-centered generals wasted because they wanted Braxton Bragg's job. I wanted to jump in the pages and slap some sense into them.

I'm mid-way through Woodworth's Nothing But Victory, an account of The Army of the Tennessee. To watch Halleck do what he could to disrupt Grant's career births the same frustration and disgust.

Forget the cause or the nation or the army... what was important to the likes of Johnston, Halleck, the Bishop Polk, Longstreet, Hardee, and D.H. Hill was their own vanity. When Stuart is blasted for his vanity, I just marvel. He, in no way, compares to these men, They were the very definition of vain-glory and ego and self-centeredness.

The Battle of Dranesville - Conclusion

2008-09-10T13:56:00.001-07:00

I will end my discussion on the Battle of Dranesville by saying that I think Thomason is wrong in contributing the defeat at Dranesville as a result of carelessness on the part of Stuart. My analysis is that Stuart's error was in placing trust in men who were not worthy of such. As J.B. Jones writes, Stuart was led into a trap. He had no reason to distrust the men who told him about the supply of forage in the small city. He had no reason to believe they would notify the enemy that he was coming. Adding to this scenario was the fact that his pickets, after being attacked by the on-coming Federal force, did not report this fact to Stuart. They failed in their main responsibility.

Now, about the "coincidence" of both Stuart and Federal forces descending on Dranesville on the same day at the same time for the same reason. Well, as NCIS Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs would say, "there is no such thing as coincidence." It is too much to assume. If Jones is right, and Stuart, in his official report, suggests he was betrayed, then for me this is the more compelling reason than simple carelessness on Stuart's part. Furthermore, McCall writes in his order to Ord that he was in contact with persons unknown who gave him the position and strength of the Confederate pickets. Ord himself writes in his official report that he knew the strength and position of the Confederate pickets. Both Ord and McCall say that they were going to Dranesville for forage.

Underpining this conclusion is Stuart's report, Jones' account, Ord's and McCall's official reports, and the simple fact that I have a hard time believing that both armies headed to Dranesville at the same time to perform the same act. What I believe happened was that Stuart was sent to Dranesville for forage on the word of the men recently released by General Winder. They, in turn, notified McCall that he was coming. The Federals responded and drove in the cavalry pickets, who chose not to notify Stuart of the large Federal force in Dranesville. When Stuart appears to take possession of the roads, he is surprised to find a large Federal force at Dranesville.

General Orders Twenty-Two

2008-09-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for the long delay in posting, but I have had quite a week. Everything I touched fell apart, so I spent the week putting out fires.

I have to admit that it was discouraging week. A new biography on Stuart will be available at the end of this month, and I purchased a DVD lecture by Tom Perry, a noted Stuart expert. I thought to myself, does the Civil War community need another biography on Jeb Stuart. What else is left to be said.

I've mentioned this before, but I asked one of my history professors about this very thing. If the "definitive" volume has been written, should I even attempt to research and write another. He said yes! He was emphatic and said that I would bring my own understanding of the subject and that understanding was just as important as any other book written.

I thought he was being kind... but this weekend, at the library, I picked up the latest biography on Princess Diana. I am a Diana fan. I have read all the books about her (probably own most). So, I have to admit that I expected to find the same stories recounted. But no. This is probably the best book written about Diana, even though I would recommend more if the author wasn't so snarky and mean. I guess when you sit high above your subject and can look down your judgemental nose at her and despise her for her flaws (which we all have but the author) well, let's just say it gets old. But the author had an inside seat, and I've learned a great deal. This is exciting because I didn't think there was anything left to say about the Princess.

So what does that mean. That I am presently researching a biography on Jeb Stuart with aim of publishing my own understanding on Lee's Young Major General. I do see him differently then the Stuart I have come to know in magazines or in recent biographies. So, I do have something to offer to the historiography.

This is not a bold statement or even an arrogant one. I just have something to say about Stuart, so I plan to say it.

General Orders Twenty-One

2008-09-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

As I begin the second volume of my great American novel (yes, I have one of them), I had to turn a scholarly eye toward the war out west. I know the battles and the men who fought, but besides Margaret Mitchell's description of the Johnston's long retreat to Atlanta, I really hadn't read about the battles west of the Alleghenies, quite content to stay with Lee, Jackson, and Stuart.

Fortunate for me, I picked up a book by Steven Woodworth. He has written extensively about the war in the west and the Army of the Tennessee. Professor Woodworth is an extraordinary author whose books are well research and entertainingly written. He focuses not only on the battles but on the personalities involved. His books are outstanding. I have read President Davis and His Generals, Six Armies in Tennessee, and Nothing But Victory. I am reading Davis and Lee at War. If you are looking for books on this particular subject, then I highly recommend this author and his books. You will not be disappointed.

The Battle of Dranesville - Part Seven

2008-08-31T06:16:00.001-07:00

The following is an article about the battle from Harper's Weekly, dated January 11, 1862.

By mid-December 1861, nearly 5 months of relative quiet had passed in northern Virginia since the Union defeat at First Bull Run in July. Except for the Federal disaster at Ball's Bluff in October, no significant engagement had occurred between the opposing armies. The Federals, under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, a superb organizer, drilled daily in their camps on the Virginia Hills opposite Washington, D.C. 25 miles to the west at Centreville, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Confederates also trained.

With the approach of winter, both McClellan and Johnston wrestled with logistical problems. Food and rations for the men and forage for the thousands of horses and mules were a constant need. 5 days before Christmas, both armies sent foraging parties for hay. Both sides selected the same area-the lush farmland west of Dranesville, a town about midway between Alexandria and Leesburg on the Leesburg Turnpike.

At daylight on December 20, the Confederates foraging party, composed of virtually every wagon in Johnston's army rolled out of Centreville, 16 miles south of Dranesville. Brig. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, with 150 cavalryman, 4 infantry regiments, and an artillery battery, accompanied the wagons as an escort. Almost simultaneously Brig. Gen. E.O.C. Ord left Camp Pierpont with 5 Pennsylvania infantry regiments, a battery of four cannon, and a squadron of cavalry. Ord had been ordered to capture Southern marauders and confiscate forage from loyal Confederates. Having only 12 miles to cover, the Federals entered Dranesville first, about noon. Scattering a few Confederate horsemen, the Union troops occupied the town. An hour later the 1st Pennsylvania Reserve Rifles spotted Stuart's approaching force to the south. Lt. Col. Thomas L. Kane, commander of the Rifles, knew the terrain and quickly moved his regiment to a hill near the intersection of the Leesburg Pike and the Georgetown road. Kane deployed his soldiers while informing Ord of the oncoming Confederates. Stuart's approaching troopers soon exchanged fire with the Pennsylvanians.

Ord and Stuart, both uncertain about the situation, hurried their trailing regiments forward. The Union brigadier deployed 3 regiments on the right of Kane, south of the turnpike, keeping the 10th Pennsylvania and the cavalry squadron north of the road. The Federal battery unlimbered beside the 10th, soon sending its shells toward the deploying Southerners. Stuart meanwhile, aligned his 4 regiments in the woodlands opposite the 4 Pennsylvania regiments. His artillery unit halted behind the infantry and replied to Ord's gunners.

The infantry action began when the 9th Pennsylvania accidentally stumbled into the 1st Kentucky, who had already mistakenly exchanged volleys with the 6th South Carolina. Stuart then attacked with the 11th Virginia and 10th Alabama. The Confederates cleared the woods and drove toward Kane's soldiers, many of whom occupied a 2-story brick house. A 30-minute fire fight ensued, with the Confederates, suffering more. Stuart then shifted the 11th Virginia to the right, but the regiment passed across the front of a concealed company of the 10th Pennsylvania, whose slicing volley staggered the Virginians, sending them back into the woods.

Stuart, with his attack repulsed and certain the wagons were safe, ordered a withdrawal about 3 o'clock. Masked by the smoke and woods, the Confederates extricated themselves without additional loss. Stuart 194 casualties; Ord lost only 68. The next day both commanders returned to their camps.

The Battle of Dranesville - Part Six

2008-08-30T05:25:00.000-07:00

Here is General Ord's report of the battle, which is reprinted from the Official Records.

CAMP PEIRPOPOINT, VA., December 21, 1861.
Capt. H. J. BIDDLE, Assistant Adjutant-General, McCall's Division.

SIR: I have to report that, in obedience to the inclosed order, I at 6 a.m. yesterday started towards Dickey's and Henderson's, about 3 miles this side of Dranesville, on the Leesburg pike, with my brigade, the First Rifles, Lieutenant-Colonel Kane; Easton's battery, and two squadrons of cavalry. I likewise heard that it was probable there was a respectable picket of cavalry at Dranesville, and that the picket supposed by you to be near the river behind Dickey's had left. I then determined to send three companies of the Tenth and 20 cavalry with the foraging party to Gunnell's, between the pike and the river, and with the remainder of the force proceed to Dranesville, satisfied that, though I might be exceeding the letter of my instructions, should I find the enemy and pick up a few you would not object. This I did, though Colonel McCalmout, hearing that there was a large force on our left, remained with his part of a regiment, and that detained the two regiments behind him. I had sent for them, but was obliged to enter Dranesville with my artillery and cavalry and a small advance guard only on the road, the First Rifles and Colonel Jackson's regiment flanking this column in the woods on the right and left. The cavalry picket in town fled and scattered and remained in small squads watching.

While waiting in Dranesville for the regiments in the rear to come up, I posted my artillery and cavalry and Jackson's regiment of infantry and a couple of companies of the First Rifles so as to cover the approaches, and sent for Colonel Kane's regiment to occupy the road in our then rear, my front being towards Centreville. This I did because from the occasional appearance of a few mounted men on a slope behind some woods in a hollow to my left and front, and a broad mass of smoke in that neighborhood, I felt pretty sure there was a force there preparing some mischief. As soon as Colonel McCalmont came up with his regiment (the Tenth), followed by Lieutenant-Colonel Penrose (the Sixth), and Colonel Taggart with the Twelfth, and while preparing to resist any attack and to cover my foraging party, I learned that the enemy in force had approached on the south side of the Leesburg pike with field pieces and infantry, and had driven in my pickets, wounding 2 men. Thinking they would attack on both sides of the turnpike as I returned eastward, I ordered (to meet this expected attack) Colonel McCalmont's regiment on the left or river side of the road in the woods, left in front, and if the enemy showed himself on that side to bring his regiment forward into line; Colonel Jackson's regiment (of which and its gallant colonel I cannot speak in too high terms) I ordered to flank the road in the same way on the right of the road in the woods, and do the same if the enemy showed on that side. Between these flanking regiments I ordered the Kane Rifles to meet the enemy behind us in the road, the cavalry to follow, and the artillery I took with me to post them and answer the enemy's artillery, which had opened fire on our then right (the south), directing the rear guard to cover the column of the Sixth and and Twelfth Regiments of Infantry in the road from cavalry.

The artillery went at a run past the station I selected for them, capsizing one of their pieces. I brought them back, told the captain where to post his guns, and then went to remove the cavalry, then exposed in the road swept by the enemy, whose attack was from a thickly-wooded hill on our right flank (the south). Their force I saw was a very bold one, very well posted, and the artillery was only about 500 yards off, with a large force of infantry on both its flanks and in front, covered and surrounded by woods and thickets. Moving east with the cavalry, which was of no use here, I came to a place in the road covered towards the enemy by a high bluff' and dense thicket, which thicket I intended to occupy with infantry. Here I left the cavalry surrounded by dense forests, wherein they could neither fight nor be hurt. The accompanying sketch will show the ground.

As I had at first thought the enemy would attack on both sides the road and moved my infantry to meet such an attack, and as their attack was confined to the right, it became necessary for me to change my front. As neither McCalmont nor Jackson had had time to come into line under first orders when I discovered this, and were moving by the flank, and as before I placed the artillery and cavalry I had seen the Rifles closely engaging the enemy by a flank movement, covering themselves by some houses and fences, my right in meeting the attack thus became the village of Dranesville, my left the gorge and woods occupied by my cavalry on the Leesburg pike.

After securing the cavalry, I found by carefully observing the enemy's fire and battery that their guns were in a road which could be enfiladed. I ordered Captain Easton to right the capsized gun and bring it to the spot from which this road could be raked, removed two other guns to this spot, gave the gunners the distance and elevation, observed the result, and finding after a round or two that the enemy's fire slackened and the gunners were raking the road beautifully without being discomposed by the enemy's fire, I told them "to keep at that," and determined to push the infantry forward. I found them (except the Kane Rifles, the Ninth (Jackson's), and the Tenth (McCal-mont's), Regiments, which were, as above stated), in the ditches, under fences, and covering themselves as best they could. I started them forward, Kane at the head of his regiment leading. His and Jackson's regiments required no urging. McCalmont's regiment was kept in excellent order by its colonel--than whom a better officer is not found in my brigade--and acted as a reserve. I put them in the woods, pushed and exhorted them up the hill, having directed the battery to cease firing, and proceeding with my infantry with the bayonet. About this time, between 3 and 4 o'clock (the action began at 2.30), General McCall, I was informed, arrived on the field. As I was very busy urging the men forward, and they required all my attention to keep them to their work, I did not at once report, but when we reached the ground occupied by the enemy's battery I reported to him. He was so kind as to direct me to continue the pursuit in the same order and to continue my dispositions, which I did. The enemy were pursued fully half a mile farther, but they had left the neighborhood in great haste, leaving their arms, a portion of their dead and wounded, clothing, 10 horses, and a quantity of artillery equipments, with 2 caissons and a limber, scattered along the road towards Centreville and in the woods on both sides.

I beg to mention the coolness and courage of my aides, Captain Painter, assistant quartermaster; First Lieut. S. B. Smith, Tenth Regi-merit Pennsylvania Reserve Corps; First Lieut. S.S. Seward, New York Artillery, and Second Lieut. A. B. Sharpe. They not only carried orders promptly, but in instances requiring it exacted obedience. They deserve a more exalted rank than that they now hold.

The medical officers (especially the brigade surgeon, Dr. Lowman) were prompt and cool, leaving none unattended. The enemy, left 2I of their most desperately wounded on the field, who were taken up, carried to houses, and their wounds dressed by our surgeons; but they will nearly all die. Their dead left on the field is variously estimated from 50 to 75.

Our artillery did terrible havoc, exploding one ammunition wagon, and some of their men whom we brought in say the slaughter was terrible. Several dead lay around the exploded caisson, 3 of whose blackened corpses were headless. The prisoners further state that Colonel Taylor was doubtless killed. Two of their officers were left on the ground, and how many were carried off it is difficult to say. After the affair we built our bivouac fires in Dranesville.

Thus, sir, we, on returning to camp, had marched 24 miles, beaten the enemy, loaded our wagons with forage, bringing in (12 miles) our killed (7) and wounded (60), among whom are 4 captains. Some of our wounded had to be brought the whole distance on stretchers, while I am informed the Pennsylvania ambulances for this division are lying empty at Washington. Lists of killed and wounded and reports of regimental commanders are herewith inclosed.

It is impossible to remember all who were conspicuous, especially as the fighting occurred in thickets and was scattered over much ground. Captain Easton was very efficient and his battery well served.

The wounded officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Kane and Captain Niles, of the Kane Rifles; Captain Bradbury, of the Sixth, and Captains Dick and Galway, of the Ninth, Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps, were conspicuous, leading their men when wounded. Others there were, as you can well imagine, equally brave, but it would be inviduous to attempt to select them.

The prisoners report that the brigade engaged against us was composed of the Kentucky Rifles, an Alabama, a South Carolina, and a Virginia regiment, with a 6-gun battery, all under the command of General Stuart.

I must not forget the prompt manner in which General Reynolds came up from Difficult Creek, some 4 miles off, as soon as he heard the cannonading. He arrived too late, it is true, to take part in the affair, but the certainty that he would come with his brigade insured a victory, and stimulated our men to earn it.

With respect, sir, your obedient servant,E. O. C. ORD, Brigadier-General Volunteers.

So, both McCall and Ord "heard" that pickets were near. What is not written is that they had advanced warning that Stuart was coming, which Jones implies in his diary. The only evidence to support Jones' claim is the timing of both forces coming to Dranesville on the same day, at the same time, to do the same thing, and Stuart's suspicions that he had been betrayed.

Next I will produce an article written about the Battle from Harper's Ferry. I will also investigate what other Stuart biographers say about the battle as well.

The Battle of Dranesville - Part Five

2008-08-30T05:17:00.001-07:00

Here is a reprint of General Ord's orders received on December 19th. They are reprinted from the Original Record.

HEADQUARTERS MCCALL'S DIVISION,Camp Pierpoint, Va., December 19, 1861.
Brig. Gen. E. O. C. ORD, Commanding Third Brigade.

GENERAL: You will please move in command of your brigade at 6 a.m. to-morrow, on the Leesburg pike, in the direction of Dranesville. The First Rifles, Pennsylvania Reserves, Lieutenant-Colonel Kane, have been ordered to form right in front on the pike near Commodore Jones' house and await your arrival, when the commanding officer will report to you for further orders. Captain Easton's battery has been directed to form on the left of the Rifles. The captain will report to you for orders. Two squadrons of cavalry will also be placed under your command. The senior officer will report to you this evening for orders. Sherman, the guide, will likewise report to you for duty.

The object of this expedition is twofold: In the first place, to drive back the enemy's pickets, which have recently advanced within 4 or 5 miles of our lines (leaving a force of about 70 cavalry at Henderson's), and carried off two good Union men, and threatened others; and, secondly, to procure a supply of forage.

It has to-day been reported to me that there is a force of about 100 cavalry lying between Dranesville and the river. This force might be captured or routed by sending a regiment of infantry up the pike beyond their position, to strike their rear by a flank movement to the right, while your disposable cavalry, after picketing the cross-roads near Dickey's, might move near the river, and attack them in front or on the left. Should you not arrive at Dickey's in time to make this movement and leave the ground on you return before nightfall, it must not be undertaken, as I do not wish any part of your command to remain out over night.

The forage will be procured at Gunnell's or at some other rank secessionist's in the neighborhood of Dickey's. Direct your quartermaster to confine the selection of forage to corn and hay. Captain Hall will have charge of the wagon train. The regiment intended to move forward from Dickey's (if you think proper, Jackson's) might ride in the wagons as far as Dickey's, and then be fresh for the forward movement..

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,GEO. A. McCALL, Brigadier-General General, Commanding-Division.

Now coincidences do happen in life. Yet, I find it suspect that both the Union army and Stuart are ordered to Dranesville, at the same time, to collect forage. Now, it could happen, and that possibility must be noted.

But, to me, it strengthens the entries made in J.B. Jones' diary. Stuart was betrayed by Union sympathizers recently released from custody by General Winder.

McCall was in contact with someone (unnamed and implied) who gave him the position and strength of Confederate pickets. These seem to be the same pickets that, once driven in, did not report the presence of Union troops to Stuart.

Now, let's look at General Ord's report of the battle.

The Battle of Dranesville - Part Four

2008-08-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

Here is Stuart's official report of the battle.

HEADQUARTERS OUTPOSTS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, December 23, 1861.

Maj. THOMAS A. PITT, Assistant Adjutant-General.

MAJOR: I have the honor to report that on the 20th instant I was placed in command of four regiments of infantry, 150 cavalry, and a battery of four pieces of artillery, viz, Eleventh Virginia Volunteers, Col. S. Garland, jr.; Sixth South Carolina Volunteers, Lieutenant Colonel Secrest; Tenth Alabama Volunteers, Col. J. H. Forney, and First Kentucky Volunteers, Col. Thomas H. Taylor, making an aggregate force of 1,600 infantry; Sumter Flying Artillery (four pieces), Capt. A. S. Catts; One hundred [men of the First] North Carolina Cavalry, Major Gordon, and fifty [men of the] Second Virginia Cavalry, Captain Pitzer, for the purpose of covering an expedition of all the wagons of our army that could be spared (after hay) to the left of Dranesville.

I proceeded at once by the nearest route at daylight towards Dranesville, and the accompanying sketch will show the route as well as the relative situation of other objects of interest in what I am about to narrate.

Knowing the situation of the enemy's advance posts, I sent the cavalry forward far in advance of the infantry, to take possession of the two turnpikes to the right of Dranesville, leading directly to the enemy's advanced posts, so as to prevent any communication of our movements reaching them, and with the main body I followed on to take a position with two regiments and a section of artillery on each turnpike, also to the right of Dranesville, and close enough to their intersection to form a continuous line.

Such a position I knew I could hold against almost any odds, but as my cavalry came in sight of the turnpike, Captain Pitzer discovered the enemy at the point (A) on the ridge and sent me word immediately. I galloped forward at once, and, reconnoitering for myself, found that portion of the enemy was in possession of the ridge, and I could hear distinctly artillery carriages passing up the Georgetown turnpike in considerable numbers, and presently saw the cannons mounted on limber-boxes passing up towards Dranesville, about 200 yards from the intersection (A). I knew, too, that the enemy's infantry were in advance, and I at once suspected that he was either marching upon Leesburg or had received intelligence through a spy of our intended forage expedition and was marching upon it. In either case our wagons would have fallen an easy prey to him, and I saw at once that my only way to save them was to make a vigorous attack upon his rear and left flank and to compel him to desist from such a purpose.

I sent back for the infantry to hurry forward, and sent Captain Pitzer with his detachment of cavalry to gain the roads towards Leesburg, give notice to our wagons to return at once to camp, and keep between them and the enemy, threatening his front and flank; and I will state here, parenthetically, that this duty was performed by Captain Pitzer and his gallant little detachment in the most creditable manner; all our wagons reaching camp safely.

In the mean time the enemy's skirmishers took possession of the dense pine in our front, and as our infantry was met by my messenger three-fourths of a mile back, it was some time coming up. Colonel Garland's regiment, leading, was directed to deploy two companies on each side of the road to clear the ground of the enemy's skirmishers. One of these companies, having mistaken its direction, went too far to the right, and Colonel Garland had to replace it with another. The pines were cleared at doublequick, and the battery was ordered in position at (B), and fired very effectively during the whole of the engagement to the front.

The infantry were placed in position as follows: Garland's regiment on the right of the road, a little in advance of the artillery; Secrest's (South Carolina) on the left of the road. Forney's regiment, arriving later, replaced Garland's, which moved by the flank to the right, and the First Kentucky, Colonel Taylor, at first intended as a reserve, was ordered to take position on the left of the Sixth South Carolina.

As our infantry was well secured from the enemy's view, their artillery fire, which opened about fifteen minutes after ours began, had little effect upon the infantry, but played with telling effect along the road, as from its position (C) and the straightness of the road in our rear it raked the latter with shell and round shot completely. Their caissons and limbers were behind in a brick house completely protected from our shot, while our limbers and caissons were necessarily crowded and exposed. There was no outlet to right or left for a mile back by which the artillery could change its position. When our forces took their position the fire of the artillery caused great commotion in the enemy's lines and a part evidently took to their heels.

The right wing was ordered forward, and the Tenth Alabama rushed with a shout in a shower of bullets, under the gallant lead of their colonel (Forney) and Lieutenant-Colonel Martin, the latter falling in the charge. A part of this regiment crossed the road and took position along a fence, from which the enemy felt the trueness of their aim at short range. The colonel was here severely wounded and had to retire. In his absence the command devolved upon Major Woodward.

The Eleventh Virginia, holding position on the right of the Tenth Alabama, were not so much exposed to the fire of the enemy, and consequently suffered less. The Sixth South Carolina gradually gained ground also to the front, and being, together with the Tenth Alabama, exposed to the fire of the enemy's sharpshooters from a two-story brick house, suffered most. My orders to Colonel Taylor, First Kentucky, were given through Colonel Forney, and I soon knew by the commotion on my left that it was in place. The thicket where the Sixth South Carolina and First Kentucky operated was so dense that it was impossible to see either [their] exact position or their progress in the fight, and I regret to say that the First Kentucky and the Sixth South Carolina mistook each other for the enemy, and a few casualties occurred in consequence, but with that exception the whole force acted with admirable unison, and advanced upon the enemy with the steadiness of veterans, driving him several times from his position with heavy loss. When the action had lasted about two hours I found that the enemy, being already in force larger than my own, was recovering from his disorder and receiving heavy re-enforcements. I could not, with my small numbers, being beyond the reach of re-enforcements, force his position without fearful sacrifice, and seeing that his artillery, superior to ours in numbers and position only, was pouring a very destructive fire into Cutts' battery, I decided to withdraw the latter at once, preparatory to retiring from the field, judging, too, that I had given our wagons ample time to get out of reach of the enemy.

The battery suffered greatly. Its position was necessarily such that it could fire only to the front, and the caissons and limbers had no cover whatever from such a fire. Three or four cannoneers had been shot at their posts and several wounded, and every shot of the enemy was dealing destruction on either man, limber, or horse.

The conduct of the brave, true, and heroic Cutts attracted my admiration frequently during the action--now acting No. 1, and now as gunner, and still directing and disposing the whole with perfect self-command and a devotion to his duty that was, I believe, scarcely ever equaled. He executed my orders to withdraw his battery under a ricochet fire of great accuracy.

One piece I found it necessary to detail some infantry (Eleventh Virginia) to assist in conducting to the rear, which was done by them under great personal exposure.

Having secured the artillery, I sent orders to the four regimental commanders to disengage themselves from the enemy and retire slowly and in perfect order to the railroad, where a stand would be made. This delicate duty was performed admirably, and our troops marched back leisurely,' bringing with them all the wounded that could be found.

The men gathered up their blankets as they passed the points where they had been deposited before the fight. I regret to say, however, that one of the regiments reached the road this side of their blankets and knapsacks, thus missing them entirely; a circumstance which the enemy will construe into precipitate flight. The enemy was evidently too much crippled to follow in pursuit, and after a short halt at the railroad I proceeded to Fryingpan Church, where the wounded were cared for.

Early next morning, with the two fresh regiments furnished me (the Ninth Georgia and Eighteenth Virginia), and a detachment of cavalry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Baker, I proceeded towards the scene of action of the previous day, the cavalry being sent in advance. Learning that the enemy had evacuated Dranesville and had left some of our wounded there, I pushed on to that place to recover them and to take care of the dead. I found our dead on the field, and proceeded at once to remove them all to Centreville for interment. The wounded (about 10) were left by the enemy at a house at Dranesville, who intended to send for them the next day. They had been cared for with the utmost devotion by several of the ladies of the place. They were also removed to Centreville, except two, who were not able to survive the removal, who at their own desire and at the surgeon's advice were left in charge of the ladies.

As to the strength of the enemy, if the concurrent statements of the citizens residing on his route of march can be credited, he had fifteen regiments of infantry., several batteries, and seven companies of cavalry. The latter had started in the direction of our wagons just before the action began, but were then recalled.

Our wounded, who were for the time prisoners, say that the enemy's loss was acknowledged by them to be very heavy, and among the officers killed or mortally wounded was Colonel Kane, of Utah notoriety; and citizens living below declared that they carried off twenty wagon loads of killed and wounded, besides many dead before them on their horses, and that as soon as their dead and wounded were removed they left the field precipitately, leaving behind much of the material which we left on the field, but which we recovered next day.

I cannot speak in too high terms of Colonel Forney, that gallant son of Alabama, whose conspicuous bravery, leading his men in a galling fire, was the admiration of all; nor of his lieutenant colonel (Martin), who, with the battle-cry of forward on his lips, fell, bravely encouraging his men. Nor can I do more than simple justice to the officers and men of that regiment, who seemed determined to follow their colonel wherever he would lead.

Colonel Garland and Major Langhorne, of the Eleventh Virginia, behaved with great coolness under fire, and the men of that regiment, though deprived by locality from sharing as much of the danger of the engagement as the Tenth Alabama Regiment, yet acquitted themselves to my entire satisfaction.

The Sixth South Carolina and First Kentucky were, I regret to say, too much screened from my view to afford me the privilege of bearing witness, by personal observation, of individual prowess, but that the Sixth South Carolina, under the fearless Secrest, did its whole duty, let the list of killed and wounded and her battle flag, bathed in blood, with its staff shivered in the hand of the bearer, be silent but eloquent witnesses. Their major (Woodward) was painfully wounded, but bore himself heroically notwithstanding; while the telling report I could distinctly hear from the left assured me that the First Kentucky, under the gallant Taylor, the intrepid Major Crossland, and daring Desha, was all right.

Our battery's loss in killed and wounded was great, and the men deserve great credit for their devotion to their pieces under such perilous circumstances.

The detachment of North Carolina cavalry, under Major Gordon, was of great service in watching the approaches to our flanks, though the ground was extremely unfavorable for cavalry.

The attention of the general commanding is respectfully called to the detailed reports of commanders of regiments and corps, and to the special mention made by them of individual prowess.

Colonel Taylor became separated from his regiment in passing from its left to its right and found himself beyond the enemy's lines, but by great coolness and presence of mind he extricated himself and joined his regiment that night.

My thanks are due to my adjutant-general, Captain Brien; my aide, Chiswell Dabney, jr.; Lieutenants Throckmorton and Johnson, of the Fairfax Cavalry, and Lieutenant Jackson (aide to General Jones), volunteers for the occasion, for valuable services on the field. Lieutenant Throckmorton accompanied Captain Pitzer and was conspicuously useful during the day, and Lieutenant Johnson was of great service to me.

Corporal Henry Hagan, of [the] First Virginia Cavalry, was of great service in showing the First Kentucky its position in line, and proved himself on this as on every other occasion worthy of a commission.

Redmond Burke, Chief Bugler Steele, Privates Lewis, Barnes, Harris, Barton, Landstreet, Routh, Brigman, Thompson, and Carroll, of my escort, deserve my thanks for their promptness and accuracy in conveying orders and instructions.

Had we effected the safety of our wagons---constituting the greater part of the available means of transportation of this army---with great loss to ourselves, without inflicting much on the enemy, alone would have been a triumph of which the brave men of the four regiments under my command could be proud; but when it is considered what overwhelming odds were against us, notwithstanding which we saved the transportation, inflicted upon the enemy a loss severer than our own, rendering him unequal to the task of pursuit, retired in perfect order, and bringing with us nearly all our wounded, we may rightly call it a glorious success.

The list of killed has been materially increased by deaths which have occurred since the battle, as the number found dead on the field was only 27.

I have the honor to be, major, respectfully, your obedient servant,J. E. B. STUART, Brigadier-General, Commanding.

Source: "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion."

The interesting note is that Stuart contributes the large amount of Union troops at Dranesville either as an advance to Leesburg or that spies had alerted the Federals that Stuart was coming. This cooresponds with what Jones writes in his diary. Jones identifies the "spies" whereas Stuart only suspects.

Battle of Dranesville - Part Three

2008-08-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

In Richmond, J.B. Jones worked as a clerk in the War Department. He was put in charge of issuing passports to any citizen desiring to pass between North and South. He believes the system is being abused. He makes many entries correlating how Confederate troop dispositions are mentioned in Northern papers soon after certain "citizens" were granted their passes.

On December 4, 1861, he records in his diary... "We are now tasting the bitter fruits of a too indulgent treatment of our enemies. (This would be the issuing of passports to applicants who desire to return to the North) Yesterday General Stuart's cavalry and the 6th Regiment S.C. volunteers met with a bloody disaster at Dranesville. It appears that several of the traitors arrested and sent hither by General Johnston were subsequently discharged by General Winder, under the instruction of Mr. Benjamin, and sent to the homes, in the vicinity of Dranesville, at the expense of the government. These men, with revenge rankling in their breasts, reported to General Stuart that a large amount of forage might be obtained in the vicinity of Dranesville, and that but a few companies of the enemy were in the neighborhood. The general believed these men to be loyal, since they seemed to have the confidence of the War Department, resolved to get forage; and for that purposed started some 80 wagons early in the morning, escorted by several regiments of infantry and 1000 cavalry, hoping to capture any forces of the enemy in the vicinity. Meantime in Dranesville, traitors had returned to their homes the preceding evening, and sent off intelligence to the headquarters of the enemy of the purpose of General Stuart to send out in the direction, early the next day, a foraging party consisting of so many wagons, and small forces of infantry, artillery, and cavalry.

The enemy hastened away to Dranesville an overwhelming force, and ambuscaded the road, where it entered the woods, with artillery and men of all arms. Their line was the shape of a horseshoe and completely concealed from view.

General Stuart had not entered far into the jaws of the trip, before some of his trusty scouts reported the presence of the enemy. Believing it to be only the pickets of a few companies previously reported, the general advanced still farther; but at the same time ordering the wagons to retire. He was soon undeceived by a simultaneous and concentric fire of artillery and musketry, which brought down many of his men. Nevertheless, he charged through the lines in one or two places, and brought his guns to bear with the effect of such portions of the enemy's line as were not wholly protected by the inequalities of the ground and the dense growth of the woods. He quickly ascertained, however, that he was contending against vastly superior numbers, and drew off his forces in good order, protecting his wagons. The enemy did not pursue for Stuart had rather more men than the informers reported to the enemy. But we lost 200 men, while the enemy sustained but little injury; their killed and wounded not exceeding 30.

This is the first serious wound inflicted on the country by Mr. Benjamin's policy.

December 5 - The account of Dranesville massacre was furnished me by an officer by an officer of the 6th S.C. Regiment, which suffered severely. The newspaper accounts of the occurrence, upon which, perhaps, the history of this war will be founded, give a different version of the matter. And hence, although not so designed at first, this diary will furnish more authentic data of many of th events of the war that the grave histories that will be written...

December 6 - It is rumored today, I know not on what authority, that the President mentioned the matter of the Dranesville disaster to the Secretary of War, and intimated that it was attributed to the machinations of the Union men discharged from prison here. It is said Mr. Benjamin denied it -- denied that any such men had been discharged by General Winder, or had been concerned in the affair at all. Of course the President had no alternative but to credit the solemn assertions of his confidential adviser. But my books, and the register of the prisons, would show that the Dranesville prisoners sent hither by General Joseph E. Johnston were discharged by General Winder, and that their expenses homes were paid by the government; and officers of unimpeachable veracity were ready to testify that General Stuart was misled by these very men.

My first concern with Jones' accounts are the dates. Looking at the Official Records only one battle at Dranesville is listed, but it takes place much later than Jones' entries suggest. But, Jones is speaking of the fight Stuart was engaged in.

Jones introduces an element that was not mentioned by Thomason in his seminal work about Stuart. Whereas Thomason contributes Stuart's loss to mistakes Stuart committed, Jones says the fault lies with 1) the collusion between Secretary Benjamin and General Winder's policy of granting passports to known spies/traitors. 2) These traitors deliberately misled Stuart in hopes of ambushing his troops. 3) It almost worked but Stuart's skill allowed him to withdraw the majority of his troops and wagons but not before he was bloodied.

The only thing as a historian that I will have to confirm is that Stuart did not make two forages to Dranesville. The date discrepancy in Jones' diary needs to be resolved. With the limited literature and records I have so far gathered on Stuart, it would seem that Jones' diary date is wrong. More research would have to be done on this.

If Jones is correct, then Thomason's conclusions become more suspect. It is the job of the historian to analyze and assess... but reading Thomason's biography, I find a tendancy on Thomason's part to brand Stuart as a commander who allows his vanity to affect his judgement. Since Thomason did not leave a bibliography or footnotes in his work, instead telling the reader that "I have not wanted to clutter my pages with footnotes and reference numbers... I will be happy to furnish specific sources to any person who is sufficiently interested to write me about any given point." Since Mr. Thomason is dead, I am unable to do this. Without his sources, it is hard to verify the claims he makes.

Next, we will look at the official records of the battle from both Stuart and his Northern opponent.

Battle of Dranesville - Part Two

2008-08-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

Stuart wrote to General D.H. Hill about the battle. Stuart says he wrote in haste… so the paragraph that follows is succinct.

“Dranesville, Virginia
December 21, 1861

General:

We had a hard-fought battle here yesterday. I had four pieces and four regiments, say 1,200 strong. The enemy had from five to ten regiments, six or seven pieces of artillery. They say 3,100. Finding heavy reinforcements arriving, I withdrew my command in perfect order from the field, carrying off nearly all wounded. The enemy’s loss was over 50 killed; our killed 27. They evacuated at dark. I return to Centreville today.

In haste.

J.E.B. Stuart,
Brigadier-General”

He also writes Flora on the 23rd and relates what happened.

“My Dear Darling,

I haven been so intensely occupied in the saddle and on my report since the battle that it has been literally impossible for me to write to you until now. I rec’d the bank acct’s last night and enclose one set signed, have them cashed, the money placed in your dear little pocket; as you are my better half, I send you the better half of a month’s pay (20 days).

On the 20th I was placed in command of 4 Inf’y Regt’s, 1 Battery & some cavalry to protect an expedition after forage over next to Dranesville. I marched over and found the enemy had that day advanced a large force to that point and in order to prevent our wagons falling his hands, I had to attack him vigorously attracting his attention to me until the wagons could escape. This I did, saving all the wagons & came very near whipping the enemy, so near that they left the placed soon after I did, & left several of our wounded having so many of their own that they couldn’t carry them off. I found after a fight of two hours that, I could not force the position, on account of their great superiority of numbers -- & being myself beyond the reach of reinforcements, I determined to withdraw my troops from the field, which was done in perfect order, the men marching leisurely & without confusion, and the enemy being too much crippled to pursue us. The loss on our side was severe 43 killed or since dead, 143 wounded and 8 missing. But strange to say the citizens of the place declare that the enemy’s loss was heavier than ours, that 20 wagon loads of killed and wounded were carried off by them, it seems almost incredible yet vouched for by the people of Dranesville, of which I took peaceable possession next day, bringing off our wounded and killed, to Centreville. The people declared that we engaged 15 Regt’s, several batteries, & 7 Co’s of cavalry. Whether this force was large or not, we can’t tell, but that it was 4 times larger than mine (1600) there could be no doubt. Our side therefore came out first best—I am perfectly satisfied that my conduct was right, and I have the satisfaction to know that it meets the approval of General Johnston, & all others who know the facts, and my reputation has not doubt been the gainer. I was never in greater personal danger & men & horses fell around me like ten-pins, but thanks to God to whom I looked for protection, neither myself nor my horse was touched.

There is a good deal of envy in this army among Ransom, Robertson, & al – but I assure you I let it trouble me precious little. I have had several Brigade drills to show them how I could handle a Brigade of Cavalry, & it went off splendidly, all hands seemed delighted. All the Generals were out to witness them, & expressed themselves highly gratified.

If you telegraph me the morning you start, I will have the conveyance for you. All hands are preparing for winter quarters.

Kisses to the dear ones and kind regards to all hands – write me often – write me long ----

Tell all our friends the correct version of the battle as they will get it mixed up in the paper.

Kisses, Dear ones. Ever yours

J.E.B. Stuart.”

Much has been written about Stuart’s vanity and this weakness will ultimately be responsible for Lee’s loss at Gettysburg. In fact, all that remains about Stuart in modern history is the vainglorious egotist…I think this is wrong. Even when I read this letter where he talks about his reputation and his assurances that his conduct was right, I don’t see a vainglorious egotist.

Am I blind? Can I not see the obvious? Maybe… but my introduction to Stuart came from reading his personal album and many of his letters written from the time he was a young teenager to his death. In them, I see a young man (and he was young – barely 31 when he died) who wanted to be valued and appreciated. He was the youngest son and somewhat lost in a big family.

But Stuart had the love of both Lee and Jackson and these two men trusted him implicitly. If Stuart was the shallow and dangerous egotist that seems to be the modern portrayal… then I don’t think he would have commanded Lee’s or Jackson’s trust and respect. Nor would he have been given the command and responsibility that they freely gave him.

His advancement to the head of the ANV’s cavalry was opposed. Obviously, word of this opposition got back to him. His reaction to such criticism was to be the best he could be. His insecurity is apparent in the lines he writes to the woman who knows him and understands him. What safer place to reveal them.

I like Jeb Stuart. I like the young man in this letter very much.

Next, I will publish excepts from the diary of J.B. Jones, a clerk in the War Department. What he has to say about the battle is very illuminating.

The Battle of Dranesville

2008-08-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

This week, we are going to look at the Battle of Dranesville, which Stuart fought on December 20, 1861. From Jeb Stuart, by John W. Thomason, Jr., one of the most popular biography’s on Stuart, comes our first account of the battle.

“General Stuart was placed in command of a detachment of four regiments of infantry, 1600 muskets, and 150 cavalry – say, two squadrons, and a battery. His mission was to cover a wagon train, sent up from Centreville to collect forage, reported to be abundantly gathered on the farms west of Dranesville, which is a village on the Leesburg-Washington Pike, 20 miles west of the Capitol, and five miles south of the Potomac at Rowser’s Ford. The same morning, it happened that there marched from the Federal lines west of Arlington a blue column, Ord’s brigade of McCall’s division, and a Pennsylvania rifle regiment, 3950 strong, with two more of McCall’s brigades in support. Their mission was to drive off Confederate patrols, who had been reported around Dranesville, and to gather in the same forage.

The Federals, their advance not burdened with a wagon train, reached Dranesville first, and chased off the Confederate pickets found in the place. These gentlemen-at-arms retired only as far as they had to, and hung around the skirts of the blue columns, not thinking to send back any message to Stuart, who came on serenely. Short of the town, he directed his wagons to the west, and kept on to Dranesville, intending to take position there to cover the foragers from the side of the enemy. Later in the war, he would have examined the region carefully before he passed his wagons from the rear; now he was learning.

His cavalry found Dranesville full of Yankees, provoked by the stubborn gray pickets into battle formation, and already stretching out an arm toward the wagons, which had been seen west of the town. Stuart had to attack at once, to save his foragers. His cavalry detachment rode to the left, to round up and draw off the wagons, and his four regiments were deployed and sent forward, into a zone of effective fire from the United States regular battery with Ord. There followed two hours of fighting, in which the raw Confederate regiments became intermingled, fired into each other, and otherwise did most of the things that green troops do in their first action. Ord stood fast in the village and volleyed mightily. The wagons were collected and escorted back to safety and Stuart drew off his infantry in fair order, the artillery covering its retirement. One regiment left its knapsacks and blankets on the field where it had deployed for action, and these were the Federal trophies of the fight for they remained in position until the Confederates were gone.

An infantry captain wrote a letter about the affair, it which he described Stuart, the last man in the retirement, riding out alone, his saddle draped with a harness cut by him from the fallen horses of his battery, for harness was scarce in the Confederacy. He retired five miles, halted, and sent for reinforcements. That night, Johnston ordered up to him two infantry regiments and some more cavalry, and he marched angrily back to Dranesville in the morning. The enemy had departed, leaving the Confederate dead on the field, and some of the wounded. Stuart’s losses was 194 killed, wounded, and missing, and Ord’s, 68."

Since I am preparing my own biography on Stuart, I am reading my hands on everything I can find on Stuart. My notes on the battle as written by Thomason leaves me with the following impressions.

1) That the battle happened because Stuart made a large mistake. He did not reconnoitered the area. This is an amateur mistake that Stuart would not repeat in later years.
2) He orders up reinforcements because he is angry.
3) The failure of the pickets who had been driven from the city by Ord did not notify Stuart that Union soldiers occupied the city. While Thomason does fault these pickets for failing to perform their duty, the blame seems to lie with Stuart for not reconnoitering the area.

If my entire knowledge of Stuart came from reading this biography, I would conclude that Stuart made an amateur mistake that resulted from lack of experience and that this amateur mistake was more costly than the pickets’ failure to notify him of Ord’s presence in the city. I would also conclude that Stuart angrily (or recklessly) ordered up reinforcements and returned to Dranesville. It’s the adverb angrily that does the most harm. How does Thomason know Stuart is angry? And why does Thomason choose that adverb, which to me, paints Stuart in a negative light? Of course I don’t know the answer. The text doesn’t tell me why.

With these questions in mind, I will read other accounts from McClellan, Blackford, and the Official Record. I also have Stuart’s letter on the battle. I will print that next so we can see how Stuart viewed the battle.

Major General J.E.B. Stuart by Captain William P. Snow - Conclusion

2008-08-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

“But while in the Shenandoah valley the achievements of General Jackson aroused towards him a generous feeling of gratitude for danger averted and prosperity preserved, it is doubtful whether east of the Blue Ridge the twenty-nine years of General Stuart, added to that indefatigable energy which teaches him, after he has ridden fifty miles during the day, to regard it as his highest happiness to ride a dozen more miles at night ‘to tread but one measure’ in a Virginian country house, do not incline the scale, especially if the balance be adjusted by fair hands, in favor of the younger general. There have many English officers, particularly in the East Indian service, whose endurance in the saddle has been regarded as unequalled; but I doubt whether any Englishman ever exhibited such superiority to bodily fatigue as is almost nightly evinced by the gay cavalier who knows every hospitable roof within a dozen miles of his headquarters (and what roof is not hospitable?) and, accompanied by his banjo player, visits them by turns, night after night, returning usually to his hard-earned rest long after the midnight hour has flown.

With the earliest dawn of morning, the first voice, calling gaily for breakfast, is that of the midnight merrymaker, who rises the picture of health, good humor, and strength. I may be noticed en passant that to the circumstance that he has never touched tobacco in any form, or any wine, or other liquor, General Stuart attributes much of his health and vigor. Certainly so jovial and merry a company as is assembled at General Stuart’s headquarters I has never been my fortune to see here.”

Another account speaks of Stuart as being of a “free, sociable, agreeable, and lively turn of mind,” and as “a gentleman of high-toned accomplishments, and rare genius;” “of more than ordinary size, very handsome, fair complexion, with bright beaming eyes, quick perception and deep expression.” He had with him, on his staff, “several odd and fantastic characters. His cook was a Frenchman from on of the Café houses in Paris, a ventriloquist and comical genius; the principal business man in his office was a Prussian, a man of distinction, education and wit; and in the musical department he had Sweeny, Jr., son of old Joe.”

In the month of April, 1863, General Stuart was in command of the forces, respectively under Fitz Lee, and W. H. F. Lee, that successfully resisted the enemy’s attempt to establish himself on the south side of the Rappahannock. On the 29th he reported to General Lee the movements of Hooker’s army, and this enabled the Confederates to prepare for the coming battle.

Stuart did all he could to impede the enemy, and was ably seconded by the Lees. He crossed the Rapidan, hung upon Hooker’s flanks, attacked his right at the Wilderness tavern, then marched by Todd’s tavern to Spottsylvania Court-house, to put himself in communication with the main army. In the movement of Jackson to the Wilderness, he was effectually covered by Fitz Lee’s cavalry, commanded by General Stuart in person.

At dark, finding nothing else for him, as a cavalry leader, to do, he proposed to Jackson that the road to Ely’s ford, in the rear of the enemy, should be seized. Jackson approving, he went forward to this task, and had gained the heights when a messenger came with news of both Jackson and A. P. Hill being wounded, and urging him to come back and take command. He did so, and next morning vigorously pushed forward the corps now under his orders. The result is known; and we need only add to what we have before said, that he was very highly complimented in General Lee’s official report, for “the energy, promptness, distinguished capacity, and vigor, added to his own personal example of coolness, and daring displayed.”

In the grand movement of the Confederate army towards Pennsylvania, that followed upon the battle of Chancellorsville, General Stuart concentrated his forces at Culpepper, on the 8th of June, and next day was attacked by the enemy’s cavalry and some infantry, at Brandy station. General Fitz Hugh Lee commanded the Confederates, and General Buford and Gregg the Federals. The battle commenced at 5 a.m., and lasted till 3 p. m., both parties fighting almost entirely with sabers. The result was claimed as a victory on both sides, but the enemy had to recross the Rappahannock, and leave several prisoners, with some artillery, and colors in the hands of Stuart’s command.

Of the march to Pennsylvania, and the succeeding campaign with the battle of Gettysburg, we have already given an account. General Stuart had his full share of that peril and adventure for which his temperament was so well adapted. As an eye witness well observes, “He roamed over the country almost at his own discretion, and always giving a good account of himself, turning up at the right moment, and never getting himself into any serious trouble.”

The subsequent operations of General Stuart were now mostly those connected with the main army, as related in our sketch of General Lee. The flank movement of the Confederates, in October, gave Stuart ample work to perform; and, in December another raid was successfully undertaken upon the Orange and Alexandria railroad.

In the month of January, 1864, General Stuart was again at work on the Potomac, about Leesburg, and the Point of Ricks, and with occasional visits to Richmond and his family, thus fully occupied his time.

On the 28th of February, he was encamped at Orange Court-house, and sent to Richmond a highly complimentary report of Colonel Mosby’s daring exploit near Drainesville; and, in the early part of March occurred the affair already mentioned, between the Federals under General Custer, and the Confederate cavalry near Rio Mills.

The spring campaign then followed; the battle of the Wilderness had been fought, and, at last, the day came when the bold cavalry chief—the dashing raider—the kind and genial companion, as well as the skilful soldier—General Stuart—would be no more.

General Sheridan, of the Federal cavalry, had made a bold dash around Lee’s flank, towards Richmond, and a portion of his command, under Generals Custer and Merrill, arrived at Ashland station, on the 10th of May, just before Stuart with his force reached there after them. The next day they were followed to a place called Yellow-tavern, where an engagement took place. Here, in a desperate charge, at the head of a column, the gallant Stuart fell, terribly wounded. He was immediately taken to Richmond, and every effort made to save his life, but in vain. On the 11th he died, and the following account of his last moments, as related by those around him, may be interesting;

“About noon President Davis visited his bedside and spent some time with the dying chief. In reply to the question put by the President, “General, how do you feel?” he replied, “Easy, but willing to die, if God and my country think I have fulfilled my destiny, and done my duty.”

“During the day, occasional delirium attacked him, and, in his moments of mental wandering, his faculties were busy with the past. His campaigns on the Peninsula, his raid into Pennsylvania, his doings on the Rapidan, and his several engagements, were subjects that quickly chased themselves through his brain. Fresh orders were given as if still on the battlefield and in junctions to his couriers to “make haste.” Then he would wander to his wife and children, one of whom, his eldest, had died a year previous, while fighting on the Rappahannock, and in relation to whom he had said, when receiving a telegram that the girl was dying, “I must leave my child in the hands of God; my country needs me here; I cannot come.” Then his mind would again carry him on to the battlefield; and so it continued throughout the day. Occasionally his intellect was clear, and he was then calm and resigned, though at times suffering the most acute agony. He would even, with his own hand, apply the ice that was intended to relieve the pain of his wound.

“As the last moments approached, the dying man, with a mind perfectly clear and possessed, then made a disposition of his effects. To Mrs. Lily Lee, he directed that the golden spurs be given as a dying memento of his love and esteem for her husband. To his staff officers he gave his horses; and other mementoes he disposed of in a similar manner. To his young son, he left his sword. He then turned to the Reverend Dr. Peterkin, of the Episcopal church, of which he was a strict member, and asked him to sing the hymn commencing;

Rock of ages cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee.

“In this he joined with all the strength of voice his failing powers permitted. He then prayed with the minister and friends around him; and, with the worked, ‘I am going fast now, I am resigned; God’s will be done,’ yielded his fleeting spirit to Him who gave it.”

“The funeral of this much lamented and brave general took place on the 13th, at five o’clock, from St. James’s church, corner of Marshall and Fifth streets.

“At the appointed hour the cortege appeared in front of the church, and the metallic coffin, containing the remains of the noble soldier, whose now silent voice had so often startled the enemy with his stirring battlecry, was carried down the centre isle and placed before the alter. Wreaths, and a cross of evergreen, interwoven with delicate lilies of the valley, laurel and other flowers of purest white, decked the coffin.

“The pallbearers were General Bragg, Major-general McCown, General Chilton, Brigadier-general Lawton, Commodore Forrest, Captain Lee, of the Navy, and General George W. Randolph, formerly Secretary of War.

“The scene was sad and impressive. President Davis sat near the front, with a look of grief upon his careworn face; his cabinet officers were gathered around, while on either side were the senators and representatives of the Confederate Congress. Scattered through the church were a number of generals and other officers of rank, among the former, General Ransom, commanding the department of Richmond. Hundreds of sad faces witnessed the scene; but the brave Fitz Lee and other war-wearied and war-worn men, whom the dead Stuart had so often led were the red battle was fiercest, and who would have given their lives for his, were away in the fight, doubtless striking with a double courage as they thought of their fallen general.

“The short service was read by Rev. Dr. Peterkin, a funeral anthem sung, and the remains were carried out and placed in the hearse, which proceeded to Hollywood Cemetery, followed by a long train of carriages.

“No military escort accompanied the procession, but the hero was laid in his last resting-place on the hillside, while the earth trembled with the roar of artillery and the noise of the deadly strife of armies—the one bent upon desecrating and devastating his native land, and the other, proudly and defiantly standing in the path and invoking the blessing of Heaven upon their cause, to fight in better cheer for the memory of such as Stonewall Jackson and J. E. B. Stuart.”

Major General J.E.B. Stuart by Captain William P. Snow - Part Three

2008-08-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

At the time “Stonewall” Jackson was marching towards Pope’s army, General Stuart arrived on a tour of inspection. He took command of the cavalry, and proceeded to reconnoitre, rendering most important service. After the battle of Cedar Run, during the short truce which followed for burying the dead, many officers of both armies met and conversed upon the field. Stuart was among them, and it was then that the following interesting incident occurred, as related by an eye witness:

“On a fallen gum-tree—the slain stretched around them—sat the officers of the parley. Upon one side the Confederate cavalry leader, Stuart, and General Early; upon the other Generals Hartsuff and Roberts. Stuart was lithe, gray-eyed, and tall; of an intense countenance, nervous, impulsive manner; and clad in gray, with a soft black hat. He wore, curiously enough, United States buttons, and his sword, which he exhibited, was made in Philadelphia. Early was a quiet, severe North Carolinian, who wore a home-spun civil suit, with a brigadier’s star on his shoulder-bar. General Hartsuff was burly and good-humored; Roberts silent and sage, with white beard and distrustful eye. The former had been a classmate of the cavalry man, and he said, ‘Stuart, old boy, how d ye do?’ “God bless my soul, Hartsuff,’ replied the other ‘it warms my heart to see you!’ and they took a turn together, arm in arm.”

Shortly afterwards, Stuart, at the head of his cavalry, made another of those bold dashes, which so characterized him. General Pope then had his headquarters at Catlett’s station, and, on a sudden, one night in the midst of a storm, Stuart got in the enemy’s rear, and rushed upon Pope’s quarters. That general escaped just in time, but with the loss of his coat and hat, besides many important documents, plans, maps, estimates and returns of forces. In addition, there was much clothing found, including new full-dress suits for General Pope and his staff, also a quantity of private baggage, wine, liquors, etc. Some of the Union rifles had been stationed near the headquarters, but they were quickly dispersed, and when Stuart’s daring horsemen found that General Pope had escaped, they were so vexed that, instantly dividing into small parties, they galloped down every road with the hope of overtaking him, but in vain.

In the succeeding movement of the Confederate army, General Stuart was constantly engaged with a perfect net-work of scouting parties, and a cordon of pickets between Pope and Jackson. At Bristoe station he attacked a train of the enemy, and afterwards dashed upon Manassas, capturing a battery of New York artillery, and destroying an immense quantity of stores deposited there. He then galloped on to meet, and, if need be, assist Longstreet at Thoroughfare gap, capturing a party of Federals on the way, and engaging the Federal cavalry. Hearing the sound of a battle at or near Stone bridge, on August 29th, he hastily returned, and gallantly shared in the engagement going on; as also in the great fight of the next day. But hardly had the smoke of that second Bull Run victory to the South died away, then Stuart was off with his cavalry into Maryland—swimming fords—dashing through woods and fields—fighting where they could find an enemy—peaceably moving where there was a friend or non-combatant. The invasion of that State, and the events that occurred have already been told; but the following incident may be related.

On the retreat, a few of Stuart’s cavalry were, on the morning of September 12th, at Frederick ready to depart. Some recruits had joined the bold legion under Stuart’s command, and these were bidding tender adieus to some loved friends, when up rode a few squadrons of Federal cavalry, commanded by a Dutch major, with immense moustache. Halting before the city hall, he exclaimed, “Vere is de Got tam repels? Vere ish de Got fur-tam Stuart—vere is he mit his cavalrie? Let me shee him, unt I show him some tings!”

A lady present, told him that a few of Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry had just left. “Goot! Young woomans,” said Meinheer, and immediately started in pursuit, saying, “Ve show de repels some tings.” The major and his command had fairly got into the main street, when a company of Confederate cavalry met them, and both parties rushed together in strife. The upshot was, that the major’s command was routed, and he himself, shortly afterwards, pulled out of a cottage with a table-cloth bound round a slight wound in his head, and sent to the Confederate rear as a prisoner.

The retreat of the Confederate army into Virginia kept Stuart’s force ever actively employed, and when other troops rested he found work elsewhere. After a sharp affair at Sheperdstown with the Federal cavalry, he again started, on October 10th, upon another daring raid. While the North were congratulating themselves that all the “rebels” had been driven away, General Stuart, with a force of some 1,300 troopers, under Hampton, W. H. F. Lee, and Jones, suddenly appeared before Chambersburg, in Pennsylvania, “took possession of the town, captured and destroyed much public property, mounted themselves anew on good horses, passed around the entire Federal army, and safely returned to their own camp, in Virginia, to recount their triumphs, without loss, or more than a few wounds received in skirmishes.”*

Two or three skirmishes and minor engagements followed, between Stuart’s cavalry and the enemy’s under Pleasanton and others, but we must pass them over with this mere allusion to them. Nothing that could be said in a brief space would do full justice to these rapid and remarkable exploits of Stuart, Hampton, the two Lees, and the brave officers and men under their command.

At the battle of Fredericksburg, in the following December, Stuart was on the right of Jackson’s corps, and directed the batteries, fighting them with unyielding obstinacy, himself being everywhere in the thickest of the fight—“the target of artillery and sharpshooters alike.” His horse-artillery—including Captain Henry’s, and the lamented heroic Pelham’s—made sad havoc with Franklin’s left flank; and “well did Stuart redeem him grim dispatch—that he was ‘going to crowd them with artillery.’ The ceremony was too rough for them to stand, and when the voice of the general, in the darkness, ordered the last advance, the combat had terminated in the silence of the foe.”

The battle of Fredericksburg was wholly concluded on December 15th, 1862, and immediately afterwards, away went Stuart and his men again, dashing about the country wherever an enemy was found. The scare occasioned in the North at this time, by his bold raids, is well remembered; but the following summary of that was done will be enough description. Starting suddenly to the northward, around the Federal army, he alarmed the whole district between Manassas and Washington by his rapid and successive attacks, and the captures he made. A large force, in parties, was sent in vain to catch him; but he was too sharp and keen for his pursuers. His object was to gain information of the position and movements of the enemy, and the results were considered very important. The only thing to be regretted was the loss of Captain John W. Bullock, of the Fifth cavalry, one of the best and bravest officers in the service. He was wounded at Dumfries, while in command of the sharpshooters and gallantly charging a regiment of Federal infantry. While his friends were bearing him from the field he was again hit in two places and mortally wounded.

After scattering the enemy at Dumfries, General Stuart went on to the Occoquan; but word having been sent out of his approach, he found all the fords guarded. He determined, however, to cross at Selectmens’s ford, in the face of the enemy. The advance was lead by Colonel T. L. Rosser, of the Firth cavalry, who dashed into the stream, followed by Colonel Drake, of the First, and some fifteen or twenty men. The enemy had dismounted, and were drawn up in line of battle. Colonel Rosser, placing himself at the head of the few men near him, lead the charge up in the face of heavy fire, by file, over a narrow and rocky ford. The Federals broke and were pursued, several being captured. General Stuart said he regarded this as the most gallant thing done by the cavalry since the war commenced. Colonel Rosser afterwards charged into their camp and captured nine sutler wagons, loaded with the best of liquor, clothing, boots, and luxuries of various kinds, and burned their tents and army stores.

General Stuart then went towards Aldie, accomplishing many of his characteristic feats. At Aldie, Colonel Rosser was sent on a scout into the valley of Virginia to ascertain the state of things there. Taking with him only fifteen men, he succeeded in going around the most of Milroy’s army, and passed nearly ninety miles in front of General Jones. Although the country was full of bands trying to capture him, Colonel Rosser eluded them all, and after remaining inside of the enemy’s lines as long as he pleased, started to return. At the Shenandoah he encountered the pickets of the enemy posted to catch him, but by a peculiar stratagem he captured them all, passed by their army at night, and returned safely to camp, bringing along with him all the Federal sentinels on the route.

This hurried sketch of what was done, would be incomplete if we did not mention that at one place he captured a telegraph station, and set the wires to work to deceive the enemy. The following letter from him refers to it.

Headquarters, Jan. 6, 1863.
Dr. W. S. Morris, President Southern Telegraph Company, Richmond

Sir—I have the honor to send, through the courtesy of Major John Pelham, my chief of artillery, an instrument captured at Burke’s station, Ohio and Alexandria railroad, during my late expedition. I beg that you will accept it as a token of regard appropriate to your position. We surprised the operator, and my operator, Shepperd, took his place. I sat in the office some time while Shepperd read the wild alarms flashing over the wires about our operations, and ascertained the steps taken and the means at hand of resisting me, and then shaped my course accordingly.

Very respectfully you obedient servant,
J. E. B. STUART
Major-general of Cavalry

Later in the month of January, a detachment of Stuart’s cavalry drove in the Federal pickets at Chantilly, but Colonel Wyndham afterwards routed them, and took prisoner, among others, the Rev. Mr. Landstreet, chaplain to General Stuart’s force. But we must now again pass on. In the history of the war, yet to be written by some impartial pen, many pages will have to be filled with exploits of the cavalry on both sides, and it needs a volume by itself to give, in any sort of detail, those performed by Stuart and his companions. Speaking of the Southern Generals, an able writer says, “Each has his warm admirers, gained by such opportunities of intercourse as have brought individuals within the said general’s orbit. Each has attached to him the prestige of entire absence of failure. Il n’y a rien qui reussit autaut que le success.

Major General J.E.B. Stuart by Captain William P. Snow - Part Two

2008-08-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

Here is part two of the chapter on Stuart from Snow's book, Lee and His Generals.

Fairfax Court-house was occupied by Colonel Stuart the next day, and shortly afterwards he received a letter from Colonel McCunn, of the Federal army, on the subject of Colonel Cameron’s body, left on the battlefield. This letter spoke in appealing terms on behalf of Cameron’s wife and family, and alluded to Stuart’s “kindness of heart, and high soldierly qualities;” but, of course, he could do no other than refer it to his commanding general, though he sent back a courteous reply.

A few weeks later, September 11th, Colonel Stuart successfully attacked and routed a party of Federals at Lewinsville, some six or seven miles from Washington. The affair was of no great importance, but it was the means of his being promoted to a brigadier-generalship, and this gave him more opportunity for the performance of several daring exploits. They are, however, so varied and numerous throughout his truly brilliant career, that we can only refer to minor ones, and give a little more space to those of most importance.

In the month of December, there was a fight between General Stuart’s forces and the Federal troops at Dranesville, Va., in which the Confederates were defeated. Then followed a period of mere skirmishing, occasionally, between the detached parties of both armies; and finally, in March, the Confederate forces moved southward to meet McClellan on the Peninsula. The evacuation of Yorktown took place in the beginning of May, 1862, and the battle of Williamsburg occurred on the 4th. Here, as we have seen, General Stuart commanded the cavalry rear guard, and proved of great service in the after movements of the army on its way to Richmond.

But the affair which, more than anything else, first made his name so famous, was the bold reconnaissance conducted by him, through and around McClellan’s army, in the middle part of June. This exploit borders so much upon the romantic, in its dash and gallant character, that it is almost impossible to compress it into a few lines of sober truth. It was one of those achievements that make men’s blood warm up, even at the mere recital of it, more especially so to those who were participators in the stirring scene. With a force of 1,200 cavalry, and a section of the Stuart horse-artillery—having Colonel Fitz Lee, Colonel W. H. Fitzhugh Lee, Colonel W. T. Martin, and Lieutenant J. Brethed accompany him in command—he first quietly rendezvoused beyond the Chickahominy, near Kilby’s station on the Northern railroad, and then, without any one else knowing where they were bound, moved along the left of that road, scouts on the right, videttes in advance, guards in the rear, and every precaution against surprise, or allowing the enemy to conceive their intention.

Twenty-two miles of ground from Richmond did the bold raiders cover that day, and then silently bivouacked in the woods, near the South Anna bridge. A few hours’ rest, and again, at sunrise, without flag or bugle-sound, they remounted, and turning sharply to the southeast, dashed along the roads towards Old Church. This was held by the enemy; but Colonel Fitz Lee quickly made a detour, got behind their force, and induced them, under a false idea of numbers, to move rapidly away.

Cleared from this, on went the horsemen to Howe’s store, hastily captured some Federals stationed there, pushed forward to the Tolopotamy, crossed it without delay, and then, with Lieutenant Robins in the advance, skirted fields, leaped fences and ditches, rushed through woods, and suddenly came upon a party of the enemy’s dragoons, reinforced, near Old Church.

Instantly sabers were drawn; two squadrons went ahead at a gallop; a hand-to-hand conflict ensued; the Federals were quickly routed, though at a cost to the Confederates of the brave Captain Latune,--and away went Stuart and his men as briskly as ever. Then went forward Colonel Fitz Lee, burning to have a brush with the enemy, now again collected near the home of his family.

The country people cheered him on; they gave him information: “Hurry on, boys; hurry on; they’re only a mile ahead,” said one. “Four of them are prisoners here in the house,” said another—a young girl with a gun in her hand. “Go in, boy; go into them,” said a third; and thus it was the whole way.

At the White House, Lee’s squadron charged the foe; he dashed into their camp, took possession of horses, arms, stores of every kind which they burnt, captured prisoners, looked around for more, then halted for the rest of the band to join them.

Now came the limits of their raid. Turn they must, and turn they did, but, not back by the way they came. No; they would try to pierce the enemy’s lines, swim the Chickahominy, if need be, and so make the complete circuit back to their own camp. Briefly, Stuart mentioned this to his officers. Cheerfully they agreed; and then, once more, at a gallop along the road, now towards Tunstall station, did the daring horsemen go. Did they heed the danger? Did a man hesitate or complain? No; in good truth, not so. The gallant Stuart led them on; it was enough! Sublime in unshaken trust and confidence, the brave rank and file, not once nor for a moment faltered, though a huge army of well-trained soldiers and skilful officers, under McClellan himself, was before them! Seemingly straight into the very jaws of the enemy, this heroic band dashed forward.

But now the foe has become alarmed; still greater caution is needed; Colonel Martin is placed to guard the rear, but, instead of being attacked, a small outpost party voluntarily surrendered to him. On and on, however, Stuart and his followers urge their way.

Tunstall’s station is reached; telegraph wires cut; the depot secured; five companies of cavalry escorting wagon trains, fly, and leave the stores; an infantry guard is captured; destruction of the railroad is begun, when lo! A heavy train of cars with troops aboard, comes thundering down from the Federal army! It is attacked, but the obstructions on the track are insufficient. Some loss, the troops in that train receive, and away it rushed to the Pamunkey depot. Night now comes on; the burning stores illume the country around; the work is done; and once more Stuart and his brave command gallop forward. Moonlight helps them; but after a time they halt to close up their column. Then again at midnight the march is resumed.

Day dawns: the Chickahominy is reached; the stream is found unfordable; axes are used, trees felled; a foot bridge improvised under Lieutenant Redmond Burke’s skilful hands; a friendly voice from some stranger gives good information; an old bridge is mended and cavalry, artillery, horses and men cross rapidly, and then, another dash along the Charles City road, and a mile or two more brings them near their main encampment.

Faint, famished, worn out, utterly exhausted, the enemy now in full pursuit, the gallant band arrives within the Confederate lines, and draw rein, almost for the first time, except as mentioned, for more than sixty hours.

We may now only add that for this daring achievement Stuart was promoted to be a major-general of cavalry, and none of his officers or main failed to receive reward. The damage to the enemy was great, and perhaps more through the circumstance itself, than on account of stores and property destroyed.

A few days afterwards, General Stuart rode from camp into town, and paying his respects to the authorities in a quiet way, at the executive mansion, when, as it became known to the large crowd of strollers in the Capitol square, that he was near by, the building was immediately surrounded by an enthusiastic multitude vociferating for Stuart. The gallant general in a few minutes made his appearance upon the portico and acknowledged the compliment paid him in a few remarks full of spirit and good cheer.

Among other things he said he had been to the Chickahominy to visit some of his old friends of the United States army, but they, very uncivilly, turned their backs upon him. Seeing a manifest desire on the part of the people to make for him an ovation, the general then mounted his charger and galloped off amid the shouts of the crowd, which, by this time, had increased to more than a thousand persons.

The preceding illustration of one of Stuart’s exploits will serve in a measure for the whole. After the same fashion did he and his men traverse the whole region of the principal battlefields of Virginia, except the Shenandoah Valley, and , could we find space, many a stirring incident might be related.

Major General J.E.B. Stuart by Captain William P. Snow - Part One

2008-08-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting chapter from Lee and His Generals, by Captain William P. Snow. It was published in 1867 and offers some descriptions of Stuart.

At the battle of Williamsburg, in 1862, while the enemy was advancing on the redoubts from the Yorktown Road, a horseman dashed through the streets and rode up to the headquarters of General Johnston to report. He appeared much fatigued and overworked and would have served admirably for a picture of Dick Turpin, when chased by officers on the road to York. His horse was a splendid black, with heavy reins and bit, cavalry saddle, and holsters: foam stood in a lather upon him, and he was mud-splashed from head to hoof. The rider, himself, bore no insignia of command. He word a common black felt hat, turned down in front, and up behind; a heavy black overcoat, tightly buttoned; elegant riding-boots covering the thigh; a handsome saber, carelessly slung by his side, and a heavy pair of Mexican spurs, that jingled and rattled on the pavement as he dismounted. This was all that could be noticed at a distance. A nearer view, however, showed a thick-set, full-faced, ruddy-complexioned man, with close-cut hair, and apparently some thirty years old. His eyes were bright, beaming, and, when lighted up, piercing, and full of deep expression. A stranger, unaccustomed to the war, would at first have taken him to be a daring chief of some wild predatory band; and yet, a moment more, would cause a change of opinion, especially on hearing him speak and noticing the high-toned, gentlemanly bearing he displayed.

As the horseman communicated with General Johnston and mentioned something, both smiled. Presently, it was known that he had been chased by “old Emory” of the Fifth United States Dragoons, whose light artillery could be heard blazing away, south of town. In a moment more, he rode back again to the fight.

This horseman, whom we have thus described was Jeb Stuart, then commanding the cavalry rear-guard of the Confederate forces at Williamsburg. Born in 1833, in Patrick County, Virginia, he very early displayed evidence of a quick and active turn of mind. His father, the late Archibald Stuart, former member of Congress, gave him a good academic education and got him entered at West Point Academy in 1850.

Stuart graduated on the 30th of June, 1854, and on the next day received his appointment as brevet second lieutenant of the regiment of mounted rifles. On the 3d March, 1855, he was transferred, with full rank, to the First Regular Cavalry, then having for its colonel, the late General Sumner, of the Union army, and for lieutenant-colonel, the present General J. E. Johnston, of the Confederate service. In July of the same year, he was made regimental quartermaster; and, the following December, received his appointment as first-lieutenant.

His regiment having been ordered to the wilds of Texas. He soon had an opportunity for indulging the bent of his inclination in riding and fighting with the boldest and fiercest among all the brave spirits that were there. Could we find space to narrate them, many stirring pictures might be given of his roving, dashing, adventurous life in that region, warring with the Indians and bounding over the mighty plains. But we must pass over such scenes and confine ourselves to a simple outline of his spirited career. One incident, alone, has to be related of this period. On the 29th of July, 1857, Colonel Sumner encountered a force of three hundred Indians of the Cheyenne tribe. They were strongly posted on the Solomon fork of the Kansas river, and after a sharp struggle, they were defeated and put to flight in great disorder. In this engagement Lieutenant Stuart was wounded, we believe, very severely.

Two years afterwards, Lieutenant Stuart was acting as aid to Colonel R. E. Lee, in the John Brown affair at Harper’s Ferry, an account of which we have already given; and when the present war broke out, he resigned his commission on May 14, 1861, and offered his sword to his native State. He immediately raised a company of cavalry, was soon afterwards elected colonel, and the acted as brigadier-general. At this time, he had a family, and many ties of kindred that might have influenced him, in the course he took. His wife was a daughter of Philip St. George Cooke, then colonel of the Second Dragoons (since a general) in the U. S. A., who was also a Virginian by birth, and a brother of the late J. R. Cooke, of Richmond. His mother, too, was alive in his native State; and several other associations bound him to her fortunes.

Colonel Stuart was first stationed at Harper’s Ferry, in command of the cavalry attached to Jackson’s army, and his well-known bravery made him already conspicuous. It is said of him, at this time, by one who was competent to judge: “Stuart is characterized by untiring energy, clear judgment, and extraordinary powers of moulding and infusing his own brave spirit into the hearts of his men.” General Johnston, who had assumed command of the army, also spoke of him as “the Indefatigable Stuart;” and truly, this appellation seems deserved. While in the vicinity of the upper Potomac, he was on the alert, watching the enemy, riding from place to place with his men, and giving information to the general. From Point of Rocks to beyond Williamsport, he was constantly to and fro on duty; and, on the 15th of July, reported the advance of General Patterson. That general’s movements he now incessantly watched “with lynx-eyed vigilance;” and, on one occasion surprised a whole company, who were so much startled by his sudden command to throw down their arms, that they instantly submitted.

When General Johnston marched to unite with Beauregard at Manassas, Colonel Stuart, with his cavalry, covered the movement most effectually. Posting a cordon of pickets from Smithfield along by Summit Point and Rippon to the Shenandoah, he completely concealed the change of base, and thus enabled the army to wend its way without molestation.

In the battle of Bull Run, at the commencement, Stuart’s cavalry, some 300 men, guarded the level ground extending along the stream from near Mitchell’s ford to the Stone bridge, ready for employment as might be required, and during the day his impetuous spirit was permitted to have full vent. A dashing charge was made by him upon a regiment of Fire Zouaves, scattering them and riding them down against all opposition; and readers all acquainted with the history of this battle, may remember how his daring horsemen startled the Federals in front of them, as they came, like a whirlwind, rushing forward. But, it was still more so in the disastrous panic that ensued among the Federal troops on the termination of the battle. Like the Black Hunstmen of the German forests in other times, or the wild horsemen of the Wolga, Stuart, with his men, dashed after the terror-stricken enemy. Over the Stone bridge-- across the fords-- up the road-- in and out of the woods where a passage could be found; on, on, slaughtering and cutting down, till they arrived near Centreville, did the Confederate cavalry pursue their way. But the rout was soon over. The foe had gone; hundreds of prisoners had been taken; many more human beings had been killed, and the victory was completely won.

In the official report of Beauregard, he thus mentions Stuart: “Colonel J. E. B. Stuart likewise deserves mention for his enterprise and ability as a cavalry commander. Through his judicious reconnaissance of the country on our left flank, he acquired information, both of topographical features, and the positions of the enemy, of the utmost importance in the subsequent and closing movements of the day on that flank, and his services in the pursuit were highly effective.”

Minutiae of Soldier Life In the Army of Northern Virginia - Conclusion

2008-08-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

Here is the conclusion of Carlton McCarthy's article on life in the Army of Northern Virginia.

The wagon trains were devoted entirely to the transportation of ammunition and commissary and quartermaster's store, which had not been issued. Rations which had become company property, and the baggage of the men, when they had any, were carried by the men themselves. If, as was sometimes the case, three days' rations were issued at one time and the troops ordered to cook them, and be prepared to march, they did cook them, and eat them if possible, so as to avoid the labor of carrying them. It was not such an undertaking either, to eat three days' rations in one, as frequently none had been issued for more than a day, and when issued were cut down one half.

The infantry found out that bayonets were not of much use, and did not hesitate to throw them, with the scabbard, away.

The artillerymen, who started out with heavy sabres hanging to their belts, stuck them up in the mud as they marched, and left them for the ordnance officers to pick up and turn over to the cavalry.

The cavalrymen found sabres very tiresome when swung to the belt, and adopted the plan of fastening them to the saddle on the left side with the hilt in front and in reach of the hand. Finally sabres got very scarce even among the cavalrymen, who relied more and more on their short rifles.

No soldiers ever marched with less to encumber them, and none marched faster or held out longer.

The courage and devotion of the men rose equal to every hardship and privation, and the very intensity of their sufferings became a source of merriment. Instead of growling and deserting, they laughed at their own bare feet, ragged clothe, and pinched faces; and weak, hungry, cold, wet, worried with vermin and itch, dirty with no hope of reward or rest, marched cheerfully to meet the well-fed and warmly clad hosts of the enemy.

Minutiae of Soldier Life in The Army of Northern Virginia - Part Four

2008-08-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

Carlton McCarthy continues with his description of life in the Army of Northern Virginia.

The camp chest soon vanished. The brigadiers and major generals, even, found them too troublesome, and so they were left entirely to the quartermasters and commissaries. One skillet and a couple of frying pans, a bag for flour or meal, another bag for salt, sugar, and coffee, divided by a knot tied between served the purpose as well. The skillet passed from mess to mess. Each mess generally owned a frying pan, but often one served a company. The oil-cloth was found to be as good as the wooden tray for making up the dough. The water bucket held its own to the last!

Tents were rarely seen. All the poetry about the "tented field' died. Two men slept together, each having a blanket and an oil-cloth; one oil-cloth went next to the ground. The two laid on this, covered themselves with two blankets, protected from the rain with the second oil-cloth on top, and slept very comfortably through rain, snow or hail, as it might be.

Very little money was seen in camp. The men did not expect, did not care for, or often get any pay, and they were not willing to deprive the old folks at home their little supply, so they learned to do without any money.

When rations got short and were getting shorter, it became necessary to dismiss the darkey servants. Some, however, became company servants, instead of private institutions, and held out faithfully to the end, cooking the rations away in the rear, and at the risk of life carrying them to the line of battle to their "young mahsters."

Reduced to the minimum, the private soldier consisted of one man, one hat, one jacket, one shirt, one pair of pants, one pair of drawers, one pair of shoes, and one pair of socks. His baggage was one blanket, and one haversack. The haversack generally contained smoking tobacco and a pipe, and a small piece of soap, with temporary additions of apple, persimmons, blackberries, and such other commodities as he could pick up on the march.

The company property consisted of two or three skillets and frying pans, which were sometimes carried in the wagon, but oftener in the hands of the soldiers. The infantry men generally preferred to stick the handle of the frying pan in the barrel of the musket, and so carry it.

Minutiae of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia - Part Three

2008-08-01T13:56:00.001-07:00

Here is the next installment of Private Carlton McCarthy's account of life in the ranks of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Very little washing was done, as a matter of course. Clothes once given up were parted with forever. There were good reasons for this: cold water would not cleanse them or destroy the vermin, and hot water was not always to be had. One blanket to each man was found to be sufficient for the severest weather. This was carried generally by rolling it lengthwise, with the rubber cloth outside, tying the ends of the roll together, and throwing the loop thus made over the left shoulder with the ends fastened together hanging under the right arm.

The haversack held its own to the last, and was found practical and useful. It very seldom, however, carried rations, but was used to carry all the articles generally carried in the knapsack; of course the stock was small. Somehow or other, many men managed to do without the haversack, and carried absolutely nothing but what they wore and had in their pockets.

The infantry threw away their heavy cap boxes and cartridge boxes, and carried their caps and cartridges in their pockets. Canteens were very useful at times, but they were not as a general thing discarded. They were not much used to carry water, but were found useful when the men were driven to the necessity of foraging; for conveying buttermilk, cider, sorghum, etc., to camp. A good strong tin cup was found better than a canteen, as it was easier to fill at a well or spring, and was serviceable as a boiler for making coffee when the column halted for the night.

Revolvers were found to be about as useless and heavy lumber as a private could carry, and early in the war were sent home to be used by the women and children in protecting themselves from insult and violence at the hands of the ruffians who prowled about the country shirking duty.

Strong cotton was adopted in place of flannel and merino, for two reasons; first, because it was easier to wash; and second, because the vermin did not propagate so rapidly in cotton as in wool. Common white cotton shirts and drawers proved the best that could be used by the private soldier.

Gloves to any but a mounted man were found useless, worse than useless. With the gloves on, it was impossible to handle an axe, buckle harness, load a musket, or handle a rammer at the piece. Wearing them was found to be simply a habit, and so, on the principle that the less luggage the less labor, they were discarded.

Minutiae of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia - Part Two

2008-07-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Let's continue with Private Carlton McCarthy's account of life in the Army of Northern Virginia.

It is amusing to think of the follies of the early part of the war, as illustrated by the outfits of the volunteers. They were so heavily clad, and so burdened with all manners of things, that a march was torture, and the wagon trains were so immense in proportion to the number of troops, that it would have been impossible to guard them in an enemy's country. Subordinate officers thought themselves entitled to transportation for trunks, mattresses, and folding bedsteads, and the privates were ridiculous in their demands.

Thus much by way of introduction. The change came rapidly, and stayed not until the transformation was complete. Nor was this change attributable alone to the orders of the general officers. The men soon learned the inconvenience and danger of so much luggage, and, as they be came more experienced, they vied with each other in reducing themselves to light-marching trim.

Experience soon demonstrated that boots were not agreeable on a long march. They were heavy and irksome, and when the heels were won a little one-sided, the wearer would find his ankle twisted nearly out of joint by every unevenness of the road. When thoroughly wet, it was a laborious undertaking to get the off; and worse to get them on in time to answer the morning roll-call. And so, good, strong brogues, or brogans, with broad bottoms and big, fat heels, succeeded the boots, and were found more more comfortable and agreeable, easier on and off, and altogether the more sensible.

A short-waisted and single-breasted jacket usurped the place of the longtailed coat, and became universal. The enemy noticed this peculiarity, and called the Confederates gray jackets which name was immediately transferred to those lively creatures which were the constant admirers and inseparable companions of the Boys in Gray and Blue.

Caps were destined to hold out longer than some other uncomfortable things, but they finally yielded to the demands of comfort and common sense, and a good soft felt hat was worn instead. A man who has never been a soldier does not know, nor indeed can know, the amount of comfort there is in a good soft hat in camp, and how utterly useless is a "soldier hat" as they are generally made. Why the Prussians with all their experience, wear they heavy, unyielding helmets, and the French their little caps, is a mystery to a Confederate who has enjoyed the comfort of an old slouch.

Overcoats an inexperienced man would think an absolute necessity for men exposed to the rigors of a northern Virginia winter, but they grew scarcer and scarcer; they were found to be a great inconvenience. The men came to the conclusion that the trouble of carrying them on hot days outweighed the comfort of having them when the cold day arrived. Besides they found that life in the open air hardened them to such an extent that changes in the temperatures were not felt to any degree. Some clung to the overcoats to the last, but the majority got tired of lugging them around and either discarded them altogether, or trusted to capturing one about the time it would needed. Nearly every overcoat in the army in the later years was one of Uncle Sam's captured from his boys.

The knapsack vanished early in the struggle. It was inconvenient to "change" the underwear too often, and the disposition not to change grew, as the knapsack was found to gall the back and soldiers, and weary the man before half the march was accomplished. The better way was to dress out and out, and wear the outfit until the enemy's knapsacks, or the folks at home supplied a change. Certainly it did not pay to carry around clear clothes while waiting for the time to use them.

Minutia of Soldier Life in The Army of Northern Virginia - Part One

2008-07-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Private Carlton McCarthy of the Richmond Howitzers writes in detail what it was like to be a soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia.

The volunteer of 1861 made extensive preparations for the field. Boots, he though, were an absolute necessity, and the heavier the soles and longer the tops the better. His pants were stuffed inside the top of his boots, of course. A double-breasted coat, heavily wadded, with two rows of big brass buttons and a long skirt, was considered comfortable. A small stiff cap, with a narrow brim, took the place of the comfortable "felt," or the shining and towering tile worn in civil life.

Then over all was a huge overcoat, long and heavy, with a cape reaching nearly to the waist. on his back he strapped a knapsack containing a full stock of underwear, soap, towels, comb, brush, looking-glass, tooth-brush, paper and envelopes, pens, ink, pencils, blacking, pipes, twine string, and cotton strips for wounds and other emergencies, needles and thread, but tones, knife, fork, and spoon, and many other things as each man's idea of what he was to encounter varied. On the outside of the knapsack, solidly folded, were two great blankets and a rubber or oil-cloth. This knapsack, etc. weighed from 15 to 25 pounds, sometimes more. All seemed to think it was impossible to have on too heavy clothes, or to have too many conveniences, and each had an idea that to be a good soldier he must be provided against every emergency.

In addition to the knapsack, each man had a haversack, more or less costly, some of cloth and some of fine morocco, and stored with provisions always, as though he expected any moment to receive orders to march across the Great Desert, and supply his own wants on the way. A canteen was considered indispensable, and at the outset it was thought prudent to keep it full of water. Many, expecting terrific hand-to-hand encounters, carried revolvers, and even bowie knives. Merino shirts (and flannel) were thought to be the right thing, but experience demonstrated the contrary. Gloves were also thought to be very necessary and good things to have in winter time, the favorite style being buck gauntlets with long cuffs.

In addition to each man's private luggage, each mess, generally composed of from five to ten men, drawn together by similar tastes and associations, had its outfit, consisting of a large camp chest containing skillet, frying pan, coffee boiler, bucket for lard, coffee box, salt box, meal box, your box, knives, forks, spoons, plates, cups, etc., etc., These chests were so large that 8 to 10 filled up an army wagon, and were so heavy that two strong men had all they could do to get one of them into the wagon. In addition to the chest, each mess owned an axe, water bucket, and bread tray. Then the tents of each company, and little sheet iron stoves and stoves pipes, and the trucks and valises of the company officers, made an immense pile of stuff, so that each company had a small wagon train of its own.

All thought money to be absolutely necessary, and for a while rations were disdained and the mess supplied with the best that could be bought with the mess fund. Quite a large number had a "boy" along to do the cooking and washing. Think of it! A Confederate soldier with a body servant all his own, to bring him a drink of water, black his boots, dust his clothes, cook his corn bread and bacon, and put wood on his fire. Never was there fonder admiration than these darkies displayed for their masters. Their chief delight and glory was to praise the courage and good looks of "Mahse Tom," and prophesy great things about his future. Many a ringing laugh and shout of fun originated in the queer remarks, shining countenances, and glistening teeth of this now forever departed character.

General Imboden's Report of General Lee after Pickett's Charge

2008-07-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

When night closed the struggle, Lee's army was repulsed. We all knew that the day had gone against us, but the full extent of the disaster was only known in high quarters. The carnage of the day was generally understood to have been frightful, yet our army was not in retreat, and it was surmised in the camp that with tomorrow's dawn would come a renewal of the struggle. All felt and appreciated the momentous consequences to the cause of Southern independence of final defeat or victory on that great field.

It was a warm summer's night; there were few campfires and the weary soldiers were lying in groups on the luxuriant grass of the beautiful meadows, discussing the events of the day, speculating on the morrow, or watching that our horses did not straggle off while browsing. About 11 o'clock a horseman came to summon me to General Lee. I promptly mounted and, accompanied by Lieutenant George W. McPhail, an aide on my staff, and guided by the courier who brought the message, rode bout two miles toward Gettysburg to where half a dozen small tents were pointed out, a little way from the roadside to our left, as General Lee's headquarters for the night. On inquiry I found that he was not there, but had gone to the headquarters of General A.P. Hill, about a half a mile nearer to Gettysburg. When we reached the place indicated, a single flickering candle, visible from the road through the open front of the common wall tent, exposed to view Generals Lee and Hill seated on camp stools with a map spread upon their knees. Dismounting, I approached on foot. After exchanging the ordinary salutation, General Lee directed me to go back to his headquarters and wait for him. I did so, but he did not make his appearance until about 1 o'clock, when he came riding alone, at a slow walk, and evidently wrapped in profound thought.

When he arrived there was not even a sentinel on duty at his tent, and no one of his staff was awake. The moon was high in the clear sky and the silent scene was unusually vivid. As he approached and saw us lying on the grass under a tree, he spoke, reined in his jaded horse, and essayed to dismount. The effort to do so betrayed so much physical exhaustion that I hurriedly rose and stepped forward to assist him, but before I reached his side he had succeeded in alighting and threw his arm across the saddle to rest, and fixing his eyes upon the ground leaned in silence and almost motionless upon his equally weary horse, -- the two forming a striking and never-to-be-forgotten group. The moon shone full upon his massive features and revealed an expression of sadness that I have never before seen upon his face. Awed by his appearance, I waited for him to speak until the silence became embarrassing, when, to break it and change the silent current of his thoughts, I ventured to remark, in a sympathetic tone, and in allusion to his great fatigue: "General this day has been a hard day on you."

He looked up and replied mournfully: "Yes, it has been a sad day to us;" and immediately relapsed into his thoughtful mood and attitude.

Being uwilling again to intrude upon his reflections, I said no more. After perhaps a minute or two, he suddenly straightened up to his full height, and turning to me with more animation and excitement of manner than I had even seen in him before, for he was a man of wonderful equanimity, he said in a voice tremulous with emotion: "I never saw troops behave more magnificently than Pickett's division of Virginians did today in that grand charge upon the enemy. And if they had been supported as they were to have been -- but, for some reason not yet fully explained to me, were not, -- we would have held the position and the day would have been ours." After a moment's pause, he added in a loud voice, in a tone almost of agony, "Too bad! Too bad! OH! TOO BAD!"

I shall never forget his language, his manner, and his appearance of mental suffering. In a few moments all emotion was suppressed, and he spoke feelingly of several of his fallen and trusted officers; among others Brigadier Generals Armistead, Garnett, and Kemper of Picket's division.

Lee Reviews the Third Corps in Summer 1863

2008-07-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

Lee's youngest son, Captain Robert E. Lee, Jr., writes about Lee's review of A.P. Hill's Third Corps in August, 1863. I enjoyed the story and hope you do to.

During this period of rest, so unusual to the Army of Northern Virginia, several reviews were held before the commanding general. I remember being present when that of the Third Army Corps, General A.P. Hill commanding, took place. Some of us young cavalrymen, then stationed near the Rappahannock, rode over to Orange Court House to see this grant military pageant. From all parts of the army, officers and men, who could get leave came to look on, and from all the surrounding country the people, old and young, ladies and children, came in every pattern of vehicle and on horse back, to see twenty thousand of that "incomparable infantry" of the Army of Northern Virginia pass in review before their great commander.

The General was mounted on Traveller, looking very proud of his master, who had on sash and sword, which he very rarely wore, a pair-of new cavalry gauntlets, and, I think, a new hat. At any rate, he looked unusually fine, and sat his horse like a perfect picture of grace and power. The infantry was drawn up in column by divisions, with their great muskets all glittering in the sun, their battle-flags standing straight out before the breeze, and their bands playing, awaiting the inspection of the General, before they broke into column by companies and marched past him in review.

When all was ready, General Hill and staff rode up to General Lee, and the two generals, with their respective staffs, galloped around front and rear of each of the three divisions standing motionless on the plain. As the cavalcade reached the head of each division, its commanding officer joined in and followed as far as the new division, so that there was a continual infusion of fresh groups into the original one all along the lines.

Traveller started with a long lope, and never changed his stride. His rider sat erect and calm, not noticing anything but the gray lines of men whom he knew so well. The pace was very fast, as there were nine good miles to go, and the escort began to become less and less, dropping out one by one from different causes as Traveller raced along without a check.

When the General drew up, after this nine-mile gallop, under the standard at the reviewing stand, flushed with the exercise as well as with pride in his brave men, he raised his hat and saluted. Then arose a shout of applause and admiration from the entire assemblage, the memory of which to this day moistens the eye of every old soldier.

Henry Kyd Douglas Relates a Comic Scene

2008-07-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a rather funny account by Henry Kyd Douglas that reveals the relationship between Jackson and Stuart. It comes from Douglas’ autobiography, I Rode With Stonewall.

One night, after the middle of it, General Stuart came riding into our Headquarters accompanied by his artillery pet, Captain John Pelham, the “boy Major,” as he was afterwards called, or the “the gallant Pelham,” as General Lee named him at Fredericksburg… Everyone had gone to rest. Stuart went directly to General Jackson’s tent; Pelham came into mine. The General was asleep and the cavalry chief threw himself down by his side, taking off nothing but his saber. As the night became chilly, so did he, and unconsciously he began to take possession of blankets and got between the sheets. There he discovered himself in the early morn in the full panoply of war, and he got out of it. After a while, when a lot of us were standing by a blazing log-fire before the General’s tent, he came out for us ablutions.

“Good morning, General Jackson,” said Stuart, “how are you?”

Old Jack passed his hands through his thin and uncombed hair and then in tones as nearly comic as he could muster, he said, “General Stuart, I’m always glad to see you here. You might select better hours sometimes, but I’m always glad to have you. But, General” – as he stooped and rubbed himself along the legs – “you must not get into my bed with your boots and spurs on and ride me around like a cavalry horse all night!”

Personal Recollections of General Lee by General Pendleton

2008-07-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

This account by General William Pendleton (father of Jackson's adjutant Sandie Pendleton) is from the Battle of Fredericksburg. General Pendleton attended West Point but resigned from the army to pursue the ministry. When the war broke out, he was the rector of Grace Church in Lexington, Virginia. At the time of Fredericksburg, he was the Chief of Artillery in the Army of Northern Virginia.

From the prominent points in our line almost the entire scene could be taken in by the eye. And at one of these, the most commanding, where we had a few powerful guns, General Lee remained much of the day, observing the field; only too indifferent, as was his wont, to danger from the large, numerous, and well-aimed missles hurled especially thither from the enemy's heavy batteries across the Rappahannock. Seldom, in all the wars of the world, has a spectacle been presented like that which, from this central elevation, we looked upon. More than 100,000 blue-coated men in the open plain, with every military appliance, in battle order, and moving in their respective subdivisions to attack our line. Although our numbers were certainly not half those of the enemy, there was misgiving, probably, in no officer or man as to the result.

Events in one quarter of the field, as it lay before us, attracted peculiar interest, and gave occasion to one of those characteristics remarks of General Lee which told at once of his capacity for enjoying the excitements of action, and of the good feeling and strong principle that kept it under control. A large force advanced rapidly to charge our right. Stonewall Jackson was there, and that he would promptly hurl them back little doubt was entertained. Still no such assault can be witnessed without earnest interest, if not concern. Nor was the shock arrived on our side without loss. There fell the heroic General Gregg, of the gallant and now vengeance-suffering State of South Carolina. Presently, however, as was anticipated, the spirited charge was reversed, and the blue figures by thousands were seen recrossing, "double quick," with faces to the rear, the space they had traversed, and hundreds of gray pursuers hastening their speed. while younger spectators near us gave expression of their feelings by shouts, clapping of hands, &c., the gratified yet considerate andamiable commander turned to myself, and with beaming countenance said, "It is well war is so terrible, or we should get too fond of it."

Not long after that an incident occurred, which made us shudder for our beloved chief. One of the large guns on that eminence, having to be plied continuously against another portion of the enemy's line, which was advancing to charge the part of our defenses held by the good and gallant Georgian, General Tom Cobb, and being, like much hastily-cast Sotuhern ordinance, of insufficient tenacity, finally burst with prodigious violence. None, wonderfully and happily, was struck by its fragments. And, remarkably, those who stood nearest, of whom the individual relating to you was one, within a little over arm's length, although considerably jarred by the shock, proved to be really in less danger than others further off. General Lee was standing perhaps fifty feet in the rear, and a large piece of the cannon, weighing, we estimated, about a third of a ton, fell just beyond him. He thus very narrowly escaped death. Like himself, however, he only looked upon the mass calmly for a moment, and then, without a syllable expressive of surprise or concern, continued the business occupying him at the time.

Who Could Not Conquer With Such Troops as These? - Part Two

2008-07-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

Below is the conclusion to Dabney's article.

On the morning of the 26th, he (Jackson) turned eastward, and passing through the Bull Run Mountains, at Thoroughfare Gap, proceeded to Bristoe Station, on the Orange Railroad, by another equally arduous march. At Gainesville, he was joined by Stuart, with his cavalry, who now assumed the duty of guarding his right flank and watching the main army of Pope about Warrenton. As the Confederates approached Bristoe Station, about sunset, the roar of a railroad train proceeding eastward was heard and dispositions were made to arrest it by placing the brigade of Hays, under Colonel Forno, across the track. The first train broke through the obstructions placed before it and escaped. Two others which followed it were captured but were found to contain nothing.

The corps of Jackson had now marched fifty miles in two days. The whole army of Pope was interposed between it and its friends. They had no supplies whatever, save those which the might capture from the enemy. But they were between the enemy and his capital and were cheered by the hope of inflicting a vital blow upon him before he escaped. This movement would be pronounced wrong if judged by a formal and common-place application of the maxims of the military art. But it is the very prerogative of true genius to know how to modify the application of those rules according to circumstances. It might have been objected that such a division of the Confederate Army into two parts; subjected to the risk of being beaten in detail; that while the Federal commander detained and amused one by a detachment, he would turn upon the other with the chief weight of his forces and crush it into fragments. Had Pope been a Jackson this danger would have been real; but because Pope was but Pope and General Lee had a Jackson to execute the bold conception and a Stuart to mask his movements during its progress, the risk was too small to forbid the attempt. The promptitude of General Stuart in seizing the only signal station whence the line of march could possibly be perceived and the secrecy and rapidity of General Jackson in pursuing it. with the energy of his action when he had reached his goal, ensured the success of the movement.

Who Could Not Conquer With Such Troops as These? - Part One

2008-07-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

After the victories on the Peninsula, Jackson started toward the Valley on August 7. On August 9, he reached Cedar Mountain, south of Culpepper, and there ran into a Federal force under General Banks. Banks attacked, won some initial success, and was then thrown back and overwhelmed by superior numbers. Finding the whole of Pope's army in front of him, on the Rapidan line, Jackson fell back toward Gordonsville. After some maneuvering for position, Lee decided to send Jackson around Pope's army, and it is one phase of this great swinging movement that the Reverend Robert Dabney, Jackson's adjutant, describes in his book Life and Campaigns of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson.

While the enemy was thus deluded with the belief that the race up the Rappahannock was ended, and that he now had nothing more to do than to hold its northern bank at this place, General Jackson was preparing, under the instruction of the Commander-in-Chief, for the most adventurous and brilliant of his exploits. This was no less than to separate himself from the support of the remainder of the army, pass around Pope to the west and place his corps between him and Washington City, at Manassas Junction. To effect this, the Rappahannock must be passed on the upper part of its course, and now two forced marches made through the western quarters of the county of Fauquier, which lie between the Blue Ridge and the subsidiary range of the Bull Run Mountains. Having made a hasty and imperfect issue of rations, Jackson disembarassed himself of all his trains, save the ambulances and the carriages for the ammunition, and left Jefferson early on the morning of August 25th. Marching first westward, he crossed the two branches of the Rappahannock, passed the hamlet of Orlean, and paused at night, after a march of twenty-five miles, near Salem, a village upon the Manassas Gap Railroad. His troops had been constantly marching and fighting since the 20th; many of them had no rations, and subsisted upon the green corn gathered along the route; yet their indomitable enthusiasm and devotion knew no flagging. As the weary column approached the end of the day's march, they found Jackson, who had ridden forward, dismounted, and standing upon a great stone by the road-side.

His sun-burned cap was lifted from the brow, and he was gazing toward the west, where the splendid August sun was bout to kiss the distant crest of the Blue Ridge, which stretched far away, bathed in azure and gold; and his blue eyes, beaming with martial pride, returned the rays of the evening with almost equal brightness. His men burst forth into their accustomed cheers, forgetting all their fatigue at his inspiring presence to the enemy. They at once repressed their applause; and passed the word down the column to their comrades: "No cheering boys; the General requests it." But as they passed him, their eyes and gestures, eloquent with suppressed affection, silently declared what their lips were forbidden to utter. Jackson turned to his staff, his face beaming with delight, and said: "Who could not conquer, with such troops as these?"

Colonel Wolseley Visits Stonewall Jackson

2008-07-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

Fresh from campaigns in the Crimea, India, and China, Colonel Garnet Wolseley--later Lord Wolseley--was ordered to Canada as quartermaster general in December 1861. In August of the next year, he applied for leave of absence and, without the approval of his superiors, made his way into the Confederate States and visited scenes of recent battles, and the headquarters of Lee and Jackson. Already favorable to the Confederate cause, his enthusiasm was confirmed by what he saw. His account of his month's visit to Confederate Headquarters which appeared anonymously in Blackwood's Magazine, aroused widespread interest in Britain and America.

Here is his the portion of the article that deals with his visit to Jackson's headquarters.

We drove to Bunker's Hill, six miles nearer Martinsburg, as which place Stonewall Jackson, now of world wide celebrity, had his headquarters. With him we spent a most pleasant hour, and were agreeably surprised to find him very affable, having been led to expect that he was silent and almost morose. Dressed in his grey uniform, he looks the hero that he is; and his thin compressed lips and calm glance, which meets yours unflinchingly, give evidence of that firmness and decision of character for which he is so famous. He has a broad open forehead, from which the hair is well brushed back; a shapely nose, straight, and rather long; thin colorless cheeks, with only a very small allowance of whisker; a cleanly shaven upper lip and chin; and a pair of fine greyish-blue eyes, rather sunken, with overhanging brows, which intensify the keeness of his gaze, but without imparting any fierceness to it. Such are the general characteristics of his face; and I have only to add, that a smile seems always lurking about his mouth when he speaks; and that, though his voice partakes slightly of that harshness which Europeans unjustly attribute to all Americans, there is much unmistakable cordiality in his manner; and to us he talked most affectionately of England, and of his brief but enjoyable sojourn there.

The religious element seems strongly developed in him; and though his conversation is perfectly free from all puritanical cant, it is evident that he is a person who never loses sight of the fact that there is an omnipresent Deity ever presiding over the minutest occurrences of life, as well as over the most important.

Altogether, as one of his soldiers said to me in talking of him, "he is a glorious fellow!" and, after I left him, I felt that I had at last solved the mystery of the Stonewall Brigade, and discovered why it was that it had accomplished such almost miraculous feats. With such a leader men would go anywhere, and face any amount of difficulties; and for myself, I believe that, inspired by the presence of such a man, I should be perfectly insensible to fatigue, and reckon upon success as a moral certainty.

Whilst General Lee is regard in the light of infallible Jove, a man to be reverenced, Jackson is loved and adored with all that childlike and trustful affection which the ancients are said to have lavished upon the particular deity presiding over their affairs. The feeling of the soldiers for General Lee resembles that which Wellington's troops entertained for him -- namely, a fixed and unshakable faith in all he did, and a calm confidence of victory when serving under him. But Jackson, like Napoleon, is idolized with that intense fervor which, consisting of mingled personal attachment and devoted loyalty, causes them to meet death for his sake, and bless him when dying.

Jackson Describe the Battle of First Manassas

2008-07-12T05:44:00.001-07:00

In a letter to his wife, Anna, Jackson describes the battle.

Manassas, July 23, 1861

My Precious Pet,

Yesterday we fought a great battle and gained a great victory, for which all the glory is due to God alone. Although under a heavy fire for several continuous hours, I received only one wound, the breaking of the longest finger of my left hand; but the doctor says the finger can be saved. It was broken about midway between the hand and knuckle, the ball passing on the side next the fore finger. Had it struck the centre, I should have lost the finger. My horse was wounded, but not killed. Your coat got an ugly wound near the hip, but my servant, who is very handy, has so far repaired it that it doesn't show very much. My preservation was entirely due, as was the glorious victory, to our God, to whom be all honor, praise and glory. The battle was the hardest that I have been in, but not near so hot in its fire. I commanded the centre more particularly, though one of my regiment extended to the right for some distance. There were other commanders on my right and left. Whilst great credit is due to other parts of our gallant army, God made my brigade more instrumental than any other in repulsing the main attack. This is for your information only -- say nothing about it. Let others speak praise, not myself.

President Davis' Reply to Lee's Resignation

2008-07-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I posted Lee's resignation letter. Today, I post Davis' reply.

Richmond, Virginia, August 11, 1863

General R.E. Lee,
Commanding Army of Northern Virginia

Yours of 8th instant has been received. I am glad that you concur so entirely with me as to the want of our country in this trying hour, and am happy to add that after the first depression consequent upon our disaster in the west, indications have appeared that our people will exhibit that fortitude which we agree in believing is alone needful to secure ultimate success.

It well became Sidney Johnston, when overwhelmed by a senseless clamor, to admit the rule that success is the test of merit; and yet there has been nothing which I have found to require a greater effort of patience than to bear the criticisms of the ignorant, who pronounce everything a failure which does not equal their expectations or desires, and can see no good result which is not in the line of their own imaginings. I admit the propriety of your conclusions, than an officer who loses the confidence of his troops should have his position changed, whatever may be his ability, but when I read the sentence I was not at all prepared for the application you were about to make. Expressions of discontent in the public journals furnish but little evidence of the sentiment of the army. I wish it were otherwise, even though all the abuse of myself should be accepted as the results of honest observation. I say I wish I could feel that the public journals were not generally partisan or venal.

Were you capable of stooping to it, you could easily surround yourself with those who would fill the press with your laudations, and seek to exalt you for what you had not done, rather than detract from the achievements which will make you and your army the subject of history and object of the world's admiration for generations to come.

I am truly sorry to know that you still feel the effects of the illness you suffered last spring and can readily understand the embarrassments you experience in using the eyes of others, having been so much accustomed to make your own reconnaissances. Practice, will, however, do much to relieve the embarrassment, and the minute knowledge of the country which you have acquired will render you less dependent for topographical information.

But suppose, my dear friend, that I were to admit, with all their implications, the points which you present, where am I to find that new commander who is to possess the greater ability which you believe to be required? I do not doubt the readiness with which you would give way to one who could accomplish all that you have wished, and you will do me the justice to believe that if Providence would kindly offer such a person for our use, I would not hesitate to avail of his services.

My sight is not sufficiently penetrating to discover such hidden merit, if it exists, and I have but used to you the language of sober earnestness when I have pressed upon you the propriety of avoiding all unnecessary exposure to danger, because I felt our country could not bear to lose you. To ask me to substitute you by some one in my judgment more fit to command, or who would possess more of the confidence of the army, or of the reflecting men of country, is to demand an impossibility.

It only remains for me to hope that you will take all possible care of yourself, that your health and strength may be entirely restored, and that the Lord will preserve you for the important duties devolved upon you in the struggle of our suffering country for the independence which we have engaged in war to maintain.

As ever, very respectfully and truly, yours
Jefferson Davis

General Lee's Letter of Resignation

2008-07-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

After the failed July 3rd charge, Lee met his returning veterans and exclaimed, "it is all my fault." On August 8, he sent President Jefferson Davis his offer to resign.

Camp Orange, August 8, 1863

His Excellency Jefferson Davis,
President of the Confederate States

Mr. President,

Your letters of July 28 and August 2 have been received, and I have waited for a leisure hour to reply, but I fear that will never come. I am extremely obliged to you for the attention given to the wants of this army, and the efforts made to supply them. Our absentees are returning, and I hope the earnest and beautiful appeal may stir up the virtue of the whole people; and that they may see their duty and perform it. Nothing is wanted but their fortitude should equal their bravery to insure the success of our cause. We must expect reverses, even defeats. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies and to prevent our falling into greater disasters. Our people have only to be true and united, to bear manfully the misfortunes incident to war, and all will come right in the end.

I know how prone we are to censure and how ready to blame others for the non-fulfillment of our expectations. This is unbecoming in a generous people, and I grieve to see its expression. The general remedy for the want of success in a military commander is his removal. This is natural, and in many instances, proper. For, no matter what may be the ability of the officer, if he loses the confidence of his troops disaster must sooner or later ensue.

I have been prompted by these reflections more than once since my return from Pennsylvania to propose to Your Excellency the propriety of selecting another commander for this army. I have seen and heard of expression of discontent in the public journals at the result of the expedition. I do not know how far this feeling exends in the army. My brother officers have been too kind to report it, and so far the troops have been too generous to exhibit it. It is fair, however, to suppose that it it does exist, and success is so necessary to us that nothing should be risked to secure it. I therefore, in all sincerity, request Your Excellency to take measures to supply my place. I do this with the more earnestness because no one is more aware than myself of my inability for the duties of my position. I cannot even accomplish what I myself desire. How can I fulfill the expectations of others? In addition I sensibly feel the growing failure of my bodily strength. I have not yet recovered from the attack I experienced the past spring. I am becoming more and more incapable of exertion, and am thus prevented from making the personal examinations and giving the personal supervision to the operations of the field which I feel to be necessary. I am so dull that in making use of the eyes of others I am frequently misled. Everything, therefore, points to the advantages to be derived from a new commander, and I the more anxiously urge the matter upon Your Excellency from my belief that a younger and abler man than myself can readily be attained. I know that he will have as gallant and brave an army as ever existed to second his efforts, and it would be the happiest day of my life to see at its head a worthy leader -- one that would accomplish more than I could perform and all that I have wished. I hope Your Excellency will attribute my request to the true reason, the desire to serve my country, and to do all in my power to insure the success of her righteous cause.

I have no complaints to make of any one but myself. I have received nothing but kindness from those above me, and the most considerate attention from my comrades and companions in arms. To Your Excellency I am specially indebted for uniform kindness and consideration. You have done everything in your power to aid me in the work committed to my charge, without omitting anything to promote the general welfare. I pray that your efforts may at length be crowned with success, and that you may long live to enjoy the thanks of grateful people.

With sentiments of great esteem, I am, very respectfully and truly, yours,

R.E. Lee,
General

Stuart in the Gettysburg Campaign

2008-07-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

On the anniversary of the 3rd day at Gettysburg, I offer another article by Mosby in his brilliant defense of the much maligned Stuart during that campaign.

(Source: Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. 38, pages 197-210)
[From Richmond, Va., Times-Dispatch, January 30,1910.]

STUART IN THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN.
___________
A Defense of the Cavalry Commander.
___________
By Col. JOHN S. MOSBY.
___________

Below is printed Colonel John S. Mosby's answer to Colonel T. M. R. Talcott's criticism of his work on "Stuart's Cavalry in the Gettysburg Campaign." Colonel Talcott's article appeared in this column several weeks ago and consisted largely of direct citations from the "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion," showing General Lee's plan of campaign and elucidating his orders to his subordinates. Since Colonel Mosby's article was received Rev. Randolph McKim, D. D., of Washington, D. C., late aid to General Edward Johnson, delivered an address on the same subject before R. E. Lee Camp, No. 1, Confederate Veterans, in which he vigorously defended General Lee. We hope soon to print this address.-Editor's note.

Three letters have lately appeared in the Times-Dispatch from Colonel T. M. R. Talcott, in which he attempts to answer my objections to General Lee's two reports of the Gettysburg campaign in my book, "Stuart's Cavalry in the Gettysburg Campaign," which was published nearly two years ago. The ground of my objection is the injustice they do to the commander of the cavalry.

As his name is not mentioned in any of the official reports of the campaign, I do not know what were Colonel Talcott's relations with the army at that time, or what opportunity he had for observing its operations. He does not even profess to have discovered any new evidences to support the old and exploded charge against Stuart of disobedience of orders, and all the documentary evidence he produces is quoted or referred to in my book. It is true that he publishes a letter to himself from Colonel Walter H. Taylor, Assistant Adjutant-General to General Lee, but as Taylor is already a discredited witness, his testimony is entitled to little weight in this controversy.

The statements in his letter to Colonel Talcott are contradicted by a letter from General Lee to Stuart, dated 5 P. M., June 23, 1863. A copy of this letter appears in General Lee's letter-book in Colonel Taylor's handwriting. Colonel Taylor says Stuart "was admonished all the while to keep in touch with our main army and to keep General Lee informed as to the movements of the enemy."

Colonel Taylor depends on his imagination for his facts. I defy him to point out one word in General Lee's letter to Stuart about keeping "in touch with the main army," or keeping General Lee "informed of the movements of the enemy."

"It was in reference to this oblivion which has come over General Lee's staff officers that I said the Homeric legend of the Lotus-Eaters, who lost their memory, is no longer a romance, but a reality.

LEE'S ORDERS OF JUNE 22.

On June 22d, General Lee had written Stuart to leave two brigades of cavalry with him, and to cross into Maryland with three brigades, "and take position on General Ewell's right, place yourself in communication with him, guard his flank, keep him informed of the enemy's movements, and collect all the supplies you can for the use of the army. One column of General Ewell's army will probably move towards the Susquehanna by the Emmittsburg route, another by Chambersburg." This letter is in Colonel Charles Marshall's handwriting. General Lee was then in the Shenandoah Valley with the corps of Longstreet and A. P. Hill; Ewell was about Hagerstown, Md., and had been ordered to the Susquehanna.

According to Colonel Taylor, General Lee issued an absurd order requiring Stuart to cross the Potomac and put himself on Ewell's right flank on his march to the Susquehanna, and at the same time keep in touch with the other two corps; and in addition to watch and report to him the movements of Hooker's army on the Potomac. If Stuart could have performed all those things he would have surpassed anything in the enchanting tales of the Arabian Nights.

Colonel Taylor does not say what General Lee expected to do with the two brigades of cavalry he kept with him in Virginia.

The letter of June 22d was sent to Longstreet, to be forwarded if he thought Stuart "can be spared from my (his) front." Longstreet did forward the instructions, and, referring to General Lee, said: "He speaks of your leaving via Hopewell Gap [the Bull Run Mountain] and passing by the rear of the enemy." At the same time Longstreet, who was at Millwood, wrote to General Lee, "Yours of 4 o'clock this afternoon received. I have forwarded your letter to General Stuart with the suggestion that he pass by the enemy's rear if he thinks he may get through." This was notice to Lee of the route Stuart would go. So the cavalry movement around Hooker's rear had the approval in advance of both General Lee and General Longstreet.
Hooker was then in Fairfax; General Lee was in his front. General Lee could not have expected Stuart to pass around Hooker's rear to cross the Potomac, and at the same time keep in touch with the main army and in communication with him unless he had a machine that could fly over Hooker's head and navigate the air. Yet his report complains that "by the route he pursued the Federal Army was interposed between his command and our main body--preventing any communication with him until he arrived at Carlisle."

REPORT IS CONFUSING.

Nobody would suspect from reading his first report that General Lee kept two cavalry brigades with him to watch the enemy, or that he ever authorized Stuart to cross the river in rear of the enemy; or that Ewell had gone into Pennsylvania a week in advance of the main army.

The first report is dated July 31, 1863, and was immediately published in the newspapers. It is the origin of all the criticisms of Stuart. It says: "In the meantime a part of General Ewell's corps had entered Maryland and the rest was about to follow.* * * * General Stuart was left to guard the passes of the mountains and observe the movements of the enemy, whom he was instructed to harass and impede as much as possible should he attempt to cross the Potomac.

"In that event General Stuart was directed to move into Maryland, crossing the Potomac east or west of the Blue Ridge, as in his judgment should be best, and take position on the right of our column as it advanced."

The statement that Stuart was authorized to cross the Potomac east or west of the Ridge is true; but it is not the whole truth, for, taken in connection with the complaint of Hooker's army being interposed between Stuart and our army, persons who read the report naturally inferred it meant that Stuart had authority to cross at some of the fords east of Harper's Ferry, but in front of Hooker's army. The report did not say a word about Ewell's corps having been detached and sent on several days in advance to the Susquehanna, and that Stuart was ordered to join Ewell. It speaks only of Ewell being in Maryland.

On the contrary, and one reading the report would conclude that the corps of Longstreet, Ewell and A. P. Hill united at Hagerstown, in Maryland, and that Stuart was ordered to put himself "on the right of our column as it advanced" into Pennsylvania. Now, as Ewell was at Hagerstown when he received General Lee's order of the 22d to move to the Susquehanna, and as he crossed the State line that day while Stuart was still in Fauquier County, Virginia, it could hardly have been expected that Stuart would overtake Ewell before he reached the Susquehanna, or that General Lee would rely on Stuart to watch and report Hooker's movements on the Potomac, especially as he had kept two brigades of cavalry with him.

Yet Colonel Taylor says that General Lee expected Stuart to perform that miracle.

GENERAL LEE'S FINAL INSTRUCTIONS.

Again, General Lee's final instructions to Stuart were written from Berryville at 5 P. M., June 23d. As I have said, they were copied by Colonel Taylor in General Lee's letter-book. They were substantially a repetition of those sent through Longstreet the day before, but more explicit about crossing the Potomac. They gave Stuart the alternative of coming over the Ridge the next day, crossing the Potomac at Shepherdstown and then moving on over the South Mountain to Fredericktown; or he could pass around Hooker's rear, "doing them all the damage you can, and cross the river east of the mountain. In either case, after crossing the river, you must move on and feel the right of Ewell's troops, collecting information, provisions, etc."

Clearly, when General Lee told Stuart that if he crossed at Shepherdstown he must move on over to Frederickstown, he did not mean for Stuart to stop there, but merely to indicate the best route to join Ewell, as he had written Stuart that one of Ewell's columns would move to the Susquehanna by Emmittsburg. In this second letter he said: "The movements of Ewell's corps are as stated in my former letter" (22d). On that day he had written Ewell from Berryville:* * * * "Mine of to-day authorizing you to move towards the Susquehanna, I hope has reached you.* * *

I also directed General Stuart, should the enemy have so far retired from his front as to permit of the departure of a portion of the cavalry, to march with three brigades across the Potomac and place himself on your right and communicate with you, keep you advised of the movements of the enemy and assist in collecting supplies for the army." There is not a word in the instructions to Stuart, although the report says so, about his being left to guard the passes of the mountain or harass and impede the enemy, "should he attempt to cross the Potomac"; for the plain reason that he was expected to cross in advance of the enemy and move on into Pennsylvania with Ewell.

STUART'S ALTERNATIVES.

Nobody can reconcile the statements about the cavalry in General Lee's two reports with his orders to both Ewell and Stuart on June 22d, and his letter of 5 P. M., June 23d, to Stuart, which is, as I have said, in Colonel Taylor's handwriting. No discretion was given to Stuart to remain with the army in Virginia or join Ewell in Pennsylvania; but discretion was given him to go by Shepherdstown, or cross in Hooker's rear at Seneca. No matter which route he went he would be equally out of sight of the enemy and out of communication with General Lee. Stuart would have been where General Lee put him. In his last letter to Stuart General Lee speaks of the movements of troops in the Valley the next day.

If General Lee had anticipated that it would break up Stuart's plan of passing to the Potomac not around Hooker's rear, through Fairfax, but through the middle of Hooker's army, cutting it in two and destroying his transportation, he would have delayed the movement in the Valley, as there was no necessity for it that day. A. P. Hill was at Charlestown, about nine miles from Shepherdstown; he should have stood still to give Stuart time to cross the river.

Stuart would then have been so far ahead that Pleasanton's cavalry could never have overtaken him. From the day General Lee crossed the Rappahannock Hooker had always moved so as to keep in touch with Lee, and between Lee and Washington.

It could not be expected that after the whole Southern Army had crossed the Potomac, Hooker would halt in Virginia and uncover Washington.

HOOKER'S PROMPT MOVEMENT.

On the 24th A. P. Hill's corps moved from Charlestown to the Potomac, in sight of the signal station on Maryland Heights. The news was telegraphed to Hooker, and he set his army in motion for the Potomac the next day. Stuart found Hooker's army marching on the roads which he had expected to travel, hence he had to change his route and make a detour through Fairfax around Hooker's rear. Instead of crossing the river on the evening of the 25th, he did not get over until the night of the 27th. Pleasanton's Cavalry Corps had been kept behind as the rear guard of the army, and crossed the Potomac some miles above on the same night. It was kept behind and neutralized by Stuart being in their rear, and gave no trouble to Genera Lee.
Colonel Talcott quotes from my book what is said about the premature movements in the Shenandoah Valley, making the Gettysburg campaign the Iliad of the South, and claims that this is an admission that the disaster was due to the absence of the cavalry.

His conclusions are illogical--a non sequitur --no such meaning can be given to any language. No matter where Stuart crossed the Potomac--east or west of the Ridge--he would not have been with General Lee or anywhere near Gettysburg, but away off on the Susquehanna. I never said it was the cause of the loss of the battle, but of the failure of the campaign as originally planned.

HILL'S RESPONSIBILITY.

It was this movement of A. P. Hill on the 24th from Charlestown that disclosed our plan to the enemy and caused it to miscarry. There never would have been a battle at Gettysburg if Stuart had crossed the Potomac on the evening of the 25th, as he had expected. With his transportation destroyed, the canal on the Potomac, which had become his line of supply, broken, and all communications cut between Washington and the North, Hooker's attention would have been drawn from Lee to the Capital, and Stuart would have marched leisurely on to the Susquehanna. Longstreet was at Millwood on the 24th, and marched out of view of the signal station by Bunker Hill and Martinsburg to Williamsport. As he had to march about three times the distance that A. P. Hill had to march from Charlestown to cross at Shepherdstown, Hill might have waited a day and then he, Longstreet and Stuart would all have crossed the Potomac on the same day and would have left Hooker behind in Virginia.

Of course, General Lee did not anticipate that Hooker would follow so promptly and defeat the operation that was originally planned. Still Stuart did cross in the enemy's rear.

Colonel Talcott says it was necessary for the two corps to move on the 24th to support Ewell. But Ewell's, Early's and Rodes's reports show just the reverse. A few militia met them at two or three places, but scattered without firing a shot. When Early got to York he sent Gordon to secure the bridge across the Susquehanna, but the militia set fire to the bridge and ran over the river. Hooker had detached no forces to follow Ewell. General Lee held him in Virginia, while Ewell foraged in Pennsylvania. Jenkins' cavalry was skirmishing with some militia in the suburbs of Harrisburg when Ewell, who was at Carlisle, recalled him.

STUART'S CONDUCT ON JUNE 25TH.

Colonel Talcott also says that when, on the 25th, Stuart found out that he could not pass through Hooker's army he ought to have turned back, gone over the Blue Ridge and crossed the river at Shepherdstown. But it was easier then to go on than to turn back. He simply obeyed General Lee's order, kept on and passed around Hooker's rear. He could not possibly have reached Shepherdstown before the night of the 27th, which was the time he crossed at Seneca. General Lee had then been two days at Chambersburg.

If Stuart had gone back to Shepherdstown he would have rested for a night, and then have moved on through some pass in the South Mountain to join Early at York. He would have reached there about the time Early was leaving to join Ewell.

Stuart's crossing at Seneca, so near Washington, cutting the canal, intercepting communications and capturing supply trains seriously impeded the operations of the Northern army. Meade's attention was directed from Lee; he sent two-thirds of his cavalry and three army corps off to the east to intercept Stuart, save Baltimore, and open his communications, which Stuart had cut. But the fruit of these operations was lost by A. P. Hill's and Heth's Quixotic adventures in going off without orders to Gettysburg.

Yet nobody would suspect from reading General Lee's two reports, or what his staff officers have written, that A. P. Hill and Heth broke up his plan of campaign. And here I will notice a statement in Colonel Taylor's book-- "Four Years With Lee"--that does great injustice to his chief. He says that at Cashtown, on the morning of July 1st, Lee stopped and had a talk with A. P. Hill before he started to Gettysburg. If true, it makes General Lee responsible for the blunder of that movement. Fortunately for General Lee's reputation, this statement is contradicted by the report of General Pendleton, who rode that day with General Lee.

On the morning of July 1st his headquarters were at Greenwood, about ten miles west of Cashtown. From there he wrote Imboden that his headquarters for the next few days would be at Cashtown. It must have been long after noon when General Lee reached Cashtown, as Pendleton says he did not stop there, but rode rapidly forward to the sound of the guns. He reached the field, about eight miles off, near the close of the fight. Heth's report says he left Cashtown about 5 o'clock in the morning.

HILL AND HETH KNEW CONDITIONS.

Colonel Talcott also says that Hill and Heth did not know that the enemy held Gettysburg. If he will read their reports he will see that they say they knew it; and A. P. Hill says that on the day before he sent a courier to General Lee informing him of it. I admit that Colonel Talcott, in making this statement about ignorance of the enemy, follows General Lee's first report, which is contradicted by his second report. The first report says that "finding ourselves unexpectedly confronted by the Federal army it became a matter of difficulty to withdraw through the mountains with our large trains." The fine Italian hand of a lawyer is manifest here. Both Hill and Heth say they knew the enemy held Gettysburg; if so, the meeting could not have been unexpected. Nor does the report explain why General Lee could not save his trains without a battle, when he saved them with small loss after losing a battle.

Nor does this report explain why Ewell, with Rodes' and Early's Divisions, was marching away from Gettysburg on the morning of July 1st, if the army had been ordered, as it says, to concentrate at Gettysburg. Colonel Taylor's book says the order was for the concentration at Cashtown. He contradicts the first report, which says Gettysburg. It is clear the absence of three brigades of cavalry with Stuart had nothing to do with bringing on or losing the battle. Ewell and Early had at least 2,000 cavalry with them, and General Lee had kept two brigades of cavalry with him. Nobody can show that General Lee did, or omitted to do, anything on account of his ignorance of the situation of the Northern army. As General Lee says that he had not intended to fight a battle unless attacked, it made no difference to him if the enemy were at Gettysburg, if they were not interrupting him; all he had to do was to be ready when they came. Lee's whole army would have been concentrated at Cashtown, or in supporting distance, that evening if Hill and Heth had not gone off on an excursion and dispersed it. It is not credible that General Lee should have stayed two days in Maryland, on the Potomac, and in the shadow of South Mountain, with Hooker's army on the other side and in the gaps, with their signal stations on the peaks, without discovering their presence. Such bucolic simplicity is inconsistent with the character of the Confederate commander. Every private in his army knew where Hooker was.

GENERAL LEE READS REPORT.

No doubt he left when he was sure that Hooker's army was over the river. Nor could he have been surprised to hear it was at Gettysburg, unless he expected Hooker to stand still. At Williamsport he wrote Mr. Davis that he thought he could throw Hooker's army over the river; and yet his report says he was surprised when he heard he had done it. For this reason I expressed the opinion that he must have signed without reading the report. Colonel Taylor says he read it. I am sorry to hear it.

It is strange that the biographers and staff officers who have charged the Gettysburg disaster to General Lee's ignorance of the enemy's movements have ignored the letter from General Lee at Chambersburg to Ewell at Carlisle, dated 7:30 A. M., June 28, 1863, which refutes all they say, and proves that General Lee knew perfectly well where Hooker was. This letter is published in my book, on page 117.

General Lee's report says: "It was expected that as soon as the Federal army should cross the Potomac, General Stuart would give notice of its movements, and nothing having been heard from him since our entrance into Maryland, it was inferred that the enemy had not yet left Virginia.

"Orders were therefore issued to move on to Harrisburg. * * * The advance against Harrisburg was arrested by intelligence received from a scout [spy] on the night of the 28th to the effect that the army of General Hooker had crossed the Potomac and was approaching the South Mountain." If General Lee had thought that Hooker was still in Virginia he would have marched directly to Washington and Baltimore. At least he ought to have done it.

ALL KNEW HOOKER'S MOVEMENTS.

I have proved in my book that the spy was only a ghost that somebody saw, and that no order was issued to move on to Harrisburg. Ewell was then over thirty miles north, at Carlisle; he had been a week in Pennsylvania and had detached Early's Division to go east to the Susquehanna; Jenkins' Cavalry was about Harrisburg; General Lee, with Hill and Longstreet, had crossed the Potomac several days before. Now I say that any private or teamster would have told General Lee that Hooker would not stay in Virginia when he was in Pennsylvania.. That was something that any man of ordinary sense would have known without being told.

According to Colonel Marshall, General Lee was thrown almost into a panic when he heard the news that Hooker was over the river and was following him.

"As I can't believe it, I said in my book, and I repeat, that in my opinion, when General Lee signed a paper containing such an absurdity he had never read it. If he had thought, when he crossed the Potomac, that Hooker's army was still in Virginia, then instead of marching north he would have turned east. The Chambersburg letter shows that General Lee knew that Hooker was still keeping between him and Washington. It told Ewell that he had written him "last night" (27th) that Hooker had crossed the Potomac and was moving towards South Mountain, and that he had directed Ewell to move back to Chambersburg; but if he had not already progressed on that road he wanted him to move east of the mountain in the direction of Cashtown or Gettysburg. So on the night of the 27th General Lee wrote Ewell what his report says he had first heard from a spy on the night of the 28th. Neither Colonel Talcott nor Colonel Taylor tries to explain this letter or make it consistent with the statement of the report.

DATE OF LETTER ESTABLISHED.

I anticipated in my book (pages 117-121) that some one would insist that the date was a mistake, and should have been the 29th. But, if the letter in the Records should have been dated the 29th, then "last night's" letter would have been dated the 28th. Now, Early says that he received at York a copy of this letter on the evening of the 29th, and he started early the next morning, expecting to join Ewell west of the mountain. It is about seventy miles, via Carlisle, from Chambersburg to York.

The letter could not possibly have reached Early on the 29th if it had left Chambersburg later than the 27th. Again, Edward Johnson's division left Carlisle on the morning of the 29th on the Chambersburg pike, and before the second order arrived for Ewell to move east of the mountain, and Ewell's trains were passing through Chambersburg at midnight on the 29th, which shows that they must have left Carlisle probably on the evening of the 28th.

Again, Ewell says he arrived at Carlisle on the 27th, and was starting for Harrisburg on the 29th, but the movement was arrested by an order from General Lee to return. It is clear that Johnson left Carlisle and Early left York in obedience to the first order (27th).

But Ewell remained at Carlisle with Rodes' division, after receiving the second order, to give Jenkins time to return from Harrisburg and to unite with Early, marching west, at Heidlersburg. If the letter in the Records had been written on the 29th, then neither letter could have reached Ewell before he got to Harrisburg. His march north was arrested by the first letter. Of course all presumptions are in favor of the correctness of the date of the letter published in the Records. The burden of proof is on those who impeach it. But Ewell's, Early's and Johnson's reports verify the latter in every particular.

It would have been far better for General Lee's military reputation if he had written his own report of events of the campaign just as they occurred, instead of having an active lawyer to write a brief for him; this

"Had been an act of purer fame,
Than gathers round Marengo's name."

I am aware that in Virginia there is a sentiment that tolerates only one side of a question that concerns General Lee.

LEE'S LAST ORDER TO MOSBY.

After General Stuart was killed, in May, 1864, 1 reported directly to General Lee. The following is the last order I ever received from him:

Headquarters, March 27, 1865.
"Rec'd 8-20.
"Col. J. S. Mosby,
"Care Major Boyle, Gordonsville:
"Collect your command and watch the country from front of Gordonsville to Blue Ridge, and also Valley. Your command is now all in that section, and the General will rely on you to watch and protect the country. If any of your command is in the Northern Neck, call it to you.
"W. H. Taylor,
"Assistant Adjutant-General."

It was forwarded from Gordonsville by courier to me in Loudoun.

A few days afterwards we heard from Appomattox. My battalion was then on the line of the Potomac, where the war had begun. For General Lee I have always had a deep affection, but, to my mind, the fashionable cult that exalts him above mortality and makes him incapable of error is as irrational as the mystic faith of the Hindu in Buddha.

And now, in conclusion, I will say that some may think that Stuart needed no defense; and will apply to my effort to rescue his memory from undeserved blame the words of Milton on a monument to Shakespeake--

"Dear Son of Memory, great heir of fame,
What needs't thou such weak witness of thy name."

John S. Mosby.
Washington, D. C., January, 1910.

Longstreet And Stuart

2008-07-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

I offer another article by John Mosby on the role of Stuart at Gettysburg. This article, printed in the Southern Historical Society Papers, answers Longstreet's charges that Stuart disobeyed his orders.

(Source: Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. 23, pages 205-229)
[From the Richmond (Va.) Times, Feb 2, 1896.]

LONGSTREET AND STUART.
__________

Highly Interesting Review by Colonel John S. Mosby.
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CAUSE OF THE LOSS OF GETTYSBURG.
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Many of Longstreet's Statements in His Book Combated by Colonel
Mosby--The Want of Cavalry Had Nothing to Do
with the Result of the Battle.
__________

General Longstreet, having acted a great part as a soldier, now appears as the historian of the war. His book will soon be buried in the dust of oblivion, but, fortunately for him, his fame does not rest upon what he has written, but what he has done. No doubt he has had to endure much, as he says, for the sake of his opinions, as every man must who goes in advance of his age, and he has had strong provocation to speak with bitterness of some of his contemporaries, if he spoke of them at all. But his better angel would have told him that much that he has written about his brothers-in-arms would injure his own reputation more than theirs, and that if he had suffered injustice in defending the right, he had the consolation of knowing that:

"Only those are crowned and sainted,
Who with grief have been acquainted."

He will not be able to persuade anyone but himself that he was ever the rival of General Lee and Stonewall Jackson, or that Jackson's fame is factitious and due to his being a Virginian. It is not because he was a Virginian that his monument stands on the bank of the "father of waters," and that a great people beyond the sea gave his statue, in bronze, to the State that will cherish his fame as a possession forever.

THE CAVALRY.

I only propose, however, to review that portion of his book that relates to the management of the cavalry in the Gettysburg campaign. He says that on June 19th, "under the impression that the cavalry was to operate with the first corps (Longstreet's) in the general plan, the commander (Stuart) was ordered to follow its withdrawal west of the Blue Ridge and cross the Potomac on its right at Shepherdstown and make his ride towards Baltimore. He claimed that General Lee had given him authority to cross east of the Blue Ridge. The point at which the cavalry force should cross the river was not determined between the Confederate commander and his chief of cavalry, there being doubt whether the crossing could be made at Point of Rocks between the Union army and Blue Ridge, or between that army and Washington city. That question was left open, and I was ordered to choose between the points named at the moment that my command took up its line of march. So our plans, adopted after deep study, were suddenly given over to gratify the youthful cavalryman's wish for a romantic ride." General Longstreet does not pretend to have any written record or evidence to, support his assertion; on the contrary, the record shows that at that time no such plan could have been entertained, or even discussed.

He writes history on the a priori principle of the ancient philosophers, who never went outside of their own consciousness to enquire about facts. It is an exercise of imagination, not of memory; if he runs up against a fact then, like a battery or a line of battle that got in his way--so much the worse for the fact. Not that I would insinuate that he has consciously been guilty of invention; but seeing, as he supposes, in the light of events, that certain things ought to have been done, he persuades himself that they were done. At the above date (June 19th) General Lee had not determined on sending any of his army north of the Potomac, except Ewell's Corps that was in the advance. Only Rodes' and Johnson's Divisions, with Jenkins' Cavalry, had then crossed the river. A. P. Hill's Corps, that had been left at Fredericksburg, had not then reached the Shenandoah Valley. General Lee, with Longstreet's Corps, was about Berryville; Stuart, with the cavalry, was east of the Blue Ridge, guarding the approaches to the gaps; Longstreet on the west, was supporting him. Longstreet was facing east; Hooker in his front, was, of course, facing west.

GENERAL LEE'S PLANS.

Now, on June 19th, the day that Longstreet says that all their plans of invasion were matured, and Stuart was ordered to follow his corps and cross the Potomac at Shepherdstown, General Lee wrote to Ewell, who, with two of his divisions, was about Hagerstown, Md., Early not having then crossed the river. General Lee says: "I very much regret that you have not the benefit of your whole corps, for with that north of the Potomac you would accomplish as much unmolested as the whole army could perform with General Hooker in its front. * * * If your advance causes Hooker to cross the Potomac, or separate his army in any way, Longstreet can follow you." So on June 19th it was uncertain whether Longstreet would cross the river or not. On the 22d Hill arrived near Charlestown. Ewell was then ordered to enter Pennsylvania with his whole corps; Jenkins' Cavalry was with him. That day (22d) in a letter to Ewell, General Lee says: "If you are ready to move you can do so. I think your best course will be toward the Susquehanna, taking the routes by Emmettsburg, Chambersburg, and McConnellsburg. It will depend upon the quantity of supplies obtained in that country whether the rest of the army can follow. If Harrisburg comes within your means, capture it." So on the morning of June 22d it had not been settled that Longstreet and Hill should follow Ewell.

Later in the day (3:30 P. M.) he again writes Ewell: "I also directed General Stuart, should the enemy have so far retired from his front as to permit of the departure of a portion of the cavalry, to march with three brigades across the Potomac, and place himself on your right, and in communication with you, &c. I also directed Imboden, if opportunity offered, to cross the Potomac, and perform the same offices on your left." Ewell marched with two divisions down the Cumberland Valley to Chambersburg: thence to Carlisle, where he halted. Early was detached and sent east through the Cashtown pass in the South mountain, to York.

WHAT THE LETTERS SHOW.

These letters of General Lee's show that Stuart could not have been ordered to march on Longstreet's flank, because (1) Ewell was then in Pennsylvania and Longstreet in Virginia, and (2) Longstreet and Hill had received no orders to march. The next day General Lee wrote to Mr. Davis: "Reports of movements of the enemy cast of the Blue Ridge cause me to believe that he is preparing to cross the Potomac. A pontoon bridge is said to be laid at Harper's Ferry; his army corps, that he has advanced to Leesburg and the foot of the mountains, appear to be withdrawing. Their attempt to penetrate the mountains has been successfully repelled by General Stuart with the cavalry. General Ewell's corps is in motion toward the Susquehanna. General A.P. Hill is moving toward the Potomac; his leading division will reach Shepherdstown to-day. I have withdrawn Longstreet west of the Shenandoah, and if nothing prevents he will follow to-morrow." General Lee was then satisfied of Hooker's purpose to cross the Potomac. During the time that Stuart was defending the gaps on account of the presence of Longstreet's corps, Stuart was, to some extent, brought under his authority; for convenience, and to preserve concert of action, all of his correspondence with General Lee passed through Longstreet. In this way Lee and Longstreet were both kept informed of the movements of the enemy. On the day that Ewell left Hagerstown (22d), General Lee sent unsealed through Longstreet the following letter of instructions:

"Headquarters, June 22, 1863.
"Major-General J. E. B. Stuart, Commanding Cavalry, &c.:

"General,--I have just received your note of 7:45 this morning to General Longstreet. I judge the efforts of the enemy yesterday were to arrest our progress and ascertain our whereabouts. I fear he will steal a march on us, and get across the Potomac before we are aware. If you find that he is moving northward, and that two brigades can guard the Blue Ridge and take care of your rear, you can move the other three into Maryland, and take position on Ewell's right, place yourself in communication with him, guard his flank, and keep him informed of the enemy's movements, and collect all the supplies you can for the use of the army. One column of General Ewell's army will probably move towards the Susquehanna by the Emmettsburg route, another by Chambersburg."

Stuart is here given discretion as to the route he should go; but the orders to leave Longstreet and go to Ewell are peremptory. Stuart's headquarters were then at Rector's Cross Roads, about twelve miles east of the Ridge. These letters demonstrate how erroneous are the statements of Generals Longstreet and Heth, and of Long, in the romance he published and called the Memoirs of General Lee, that Stuart was ordered to march on the flank of the column with which General Lee was present. He couldn't be on Ewell's flank on the Susquehanna and Longstreet's flank on the Potomac at the same time. Neither would Longstreet have ordered Stuart to remain with him, knowing that General Lee had ordered him to Ewell. All of Stuart's critics have ignored the fact that General Lee ordered Stuart to leave him and go to Ewell. General Longstreet wrote as follows to General Lee :

"June 22, 1863--7:30 P. M.
"General R. E. Lee, Commanding, &c.:

"General,--Yours of 4 o'clock this afternoon is received. I have forwarded your letter to General Stuart, with the suggestion that he pass by the enemy's rear if he thinks he may get through. We have nothing of the enemy to-day.

"Most respectfully,
"James Longstreet,
"Lieutenant-General, Commanding."

LONGSTREET TO STUART.

In the correspondence during this period between Lee, Longstreet, and Stuart this is the first intimation about taking the route in the rear of the enemy, and it seems that General Longstreet suggested it. This is his letter to Stuart:

"Millwood, June 22, 1863-7 P. M.
"Major-General. J. E. B. Stuart, Commanding Cavalry.-

"General,--General Lee has enclosed to me this letter for you, to be forwarded to you, provided you can be spared from my front, and provided I think that you can move across the Potomac without disclosing our plans. He speaks of your leaving via Hopewell Gap, and passing by the rear of the enemy. If you can get through by that route, I think that you will be less likely to indicate what our plans are than if you should cross by passing to our rear. I forward the letter of instructions with these suggestions. Please advise me of the condition of affairs before you leave and order General Hampton, whom I suppose you will leave here in command, to report to me at Millwood, either by letter or in person, as may be the most agreeable to him.

"Most respectfully,
"James Longstreet,
"Lieutenant-General."

N.B. I think that your passage of the Potomac by our rear (Shepherdstown), at the present moment, will in a measure disclose our plans. You had better not leave us, therefore, unless you can take the proposed route in rear of the enemy."

In his book General Longstreet says: "The extent of authority with me, therefore, was to decide whether the crossing should be made at the Point of Rocks, or around Hopewell Gap, east of the Union Army." The Point of Rocks is nowhere mentioned in the correspondence, and General Longstreet's own letter is proof that it was not considered as a place for Stuart's crossing. He tells Stuart that it is better to go by the rear of the enemy than by "our rear." Now at that time Longstreet and Hill were in the valley fronting east; the Point of Rocks is twelve miles east of the Blue Ridge; their rear way, then, of course, toward the west. In crossing at Point of Rocks Stuart would not have been in rear of either army, but in front of both. If, on the contrary, Stuart had come over the Blue Ridge and crossed the Potomac at Shepherdstown, he would have passed in our rear. General Longstreet says: "In the postscript three points are indicated: First, the move along my rear to the crossing at Point of Rocks." As Longstreet was west of the Blue Ridge facing east, and Stuart was east of the Ridge, it is hard to see how he would pass Longstreet's rear in moving to the Point of Rocks. The Point of Rocks is not mentioned in the letter. "Second, my preferred march on my flank to the Shepherdstown crossing." There is no such preference shown in the letter; just the reverse, as Longstreet urges Stuart not to cross in "our rear," which would have been at Shepherdstown. "Third, the route indicated by General Lee." But in his letter of the 22d, to Stuart, General Lee indicated no route--he merely ordered Stuart (if General Longstreet could spare him from his front) to join Ewell. Of course he couldn't join Ewell--stay with Longstreet, as they were seventy-five miles apart, and the distance widening. He further says: "Especially did he (Stuart) know that my orders were that he should ride on the right of my column, as originally designed, to the Shepherdstown crossing." Stuart didn't know anything of the kind--neither did General Longstreet. The record is against him. The very letter that Longstreet forwarded to Stuart from General Lee told him to leave Longstreet and go to Ewell.

LEE'S FINAL INSTRUCTION.

But General Lee's final instructions to Stuart, dated June 23d, 5 P. M., shows what choice of routes was given to Stuart. General Lee says: "If General Hooker's army remains inactive, you can leave two brigades to watch him. and withdraw with the three others; but should he not appear to be moving northward, I think you had better withdraw this side of the mountain to-morrow night, cross at Shepherdstown next day, and move over to Fredericktown. You will, however, be able to judge whether you can pass around their army without hindrance, doing them all the damage you can, and cross the river east of the mountains. In either case, after crossing the river, you must move on, and feel the right of Ewell's troops, collecting information, provisions," &C. * * * * The movements of Ewell's Corps are as stated in my former letter. Hill's first division will reach the Potomac to-day (23d), and Longstreet will follow to-morrow." This letter proves that the choice of routes lay between Shepherdstown, and west of the Blue Ridge, or crossing the river in rear of the enemy to the east. It also shows that Stuart was not to march on the flank of the column with General Lee even if he crossed at Shepherdstown, but to move on through Boonsboro Gap, and put himself on Ewell's right. Stuart took the shortest and most direct route to join Early's Division that was then marching east toward York. General Longstreet gives himself away when he says: "The first corps was to draw back from the Blue Ridge, and cross the Potomac at Williamsport, to be followed by the cavalry, which was to cross at Shepherdstown, and ride severely towards Baltimore, to force the enemy to eastern concentration." Now Stuart did ride "severely toward Baltimore," and near to the gates of the city. But if he had gone the other way, and crossed at Shepherdstown, and then ridden through Boonsboro Gap to Baltimore, he would have been as far from Longstreet's flank as he was by the route he took in rear of Hooker. He did not, as he says, order Stuart to put Hampton in command of the two brigades that were left behind, for he had no such authority; neither is it true that Robertson was assigned to this command "without orders to report," at his headquarters.

SHOULD READ.

Stuart's instructions to Robertson, which, through abundant caution, he repeated to Jones, and all the correspondence to which I have referred, has been published. It may be that he hasn't read it. If he has not, then he ought to stop writing, and go to reading history. The instructions to Robertson says: * * * * "you will instruct General Jones, from time to time, as the movements progress or events may require, and report anything of importance to Lieutenant-General Longstreet, with whose position you will communicate by relays through Charlestown. I send instructions for General Jones, which please read." Jones was one of the best outpost officers in the army. Stuart's main reliance was on him. His brigade was at that time much nearer the Potomac than Robertson's. Jones in accordance with Stuart's order places the Twelfth Virginia Cavalry at Charlestown. Longstreet was responsible for the use made of these two brigades, as they were under his orders. It would have been much easier to send a courier back for them from Hagerstown, if the cavalry was needed, than from Chambersburg. He knew that Hooker's army had crossed the river, and was holding the South Mountain passes when he was at Hagerstown. So his spy only told General Lee what he already knew. It could not have been a surprise to hear at Chambersburg that the Northern army was moving north. There was nothing else for it to do. If when General Lee was at Hagerstown he had supposed that Hooker was still south of the Potomac he would not have moved north, but due east, toward Baltimore and Washington. There is not the slightest evidence to show that in this campaign any injury resulted to the army from want of cavalry. Our communications were never interrupted. General Longstreet speaks of Stuart's movement toward Ewell's right flank as a raid. As I have shown, it was nothing of the kind, but a part of a combined movement of the whole army. The criticisms of Stuart are all predicated on the idea that Gettysburg was General Lee's objective point; and as Stuart was absent from the first day's battle he must, therefore, have been in default. But General Lee was not present in the battle; he arrived just at the close. On this assumption a plausible theory was invented that the battle was precipitated for want of cavalry. In Belford's Magazine (October and November, 1891), in an article on Gettysburg, based on a study of the records, I demonstrated the error; and showed that General Lee never intended to go to Gettysburg, but that Cashtown was his expected point of concentration. General Heth, General Longstreet, Long and others, had represented Gettysburg to be the strategic point on which General Lee was maneuvering. They forgot that we had held and then abandoned it. Of course, when the base was knocked from under it, the theory fell.

WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE.

General Longstreet now says that Cashtown was the place where General Lee ordered the concentration. He did not say so in the Century. He fails to show the genesis of the battle, and who was responsible for the defeat of General Lee's plans. I will first say that in my opinion General Longstreet was not. Hill, with Heth's and Pender's Divisions, was at Cashtown on the evening of June 30th. General Lee, with Longstreet, was still some distance west of the mountain. Every division of his army--infantry, cavalry, and artillery--was on the march, and converging on Cashtown on the morning of July 1st. They could all have reached there by night, or in supporting distance. On the evening before (30th), Hill and Heth heard that a body of the enemy had just occupied Gettysburg. Early on the morning of July 1st, Hill, with Heth's and Pender's Divisions, started down without orders to attack them. Before reaching Gettysburg they met Buford's Cavalry on the pike. Buford held them in check until Reynolds, who had camped some six miles off with two corps, hearing the firing, came to his support. Heth first put two brigades into the fight that were soon knocked to pieces; Archer and most of his brigade were captured. Heth says: "Archer and Davis were now directed to. advance, the object being to feel the enemy and to determine in what force the enemy were--whether or not he was massing his forces on Gettysburg. Heavy columns of the enemy were soon encountered. General Davis was unable to hold the position he had gained. The enemy concentrated on his front and flanks in overwhelming force. The 'enemy had now been felt, and found to be in heavy force.'" Hill states substantially the same thing. He put in Heth's other two brigades, and then Pender's Division. He would have been badly beaten, but Ewell, on the march to Cashtown, received a note from Hill, and hearing the firing, came to his rescue. Hill and Heth called the fight, which lasted from about 8 o'clock A.M. to 4 P.M., and in which over 20,000 men were engaged on a side, and five or six thousand killed and wounded on each side, a reconnaissance. If this was a reconnaissance, then what is a battle? General Lee had not ordered any reconnaissance, and there was no necessity for it. was west of the mountain when he heard the firing, and did not understand its significance.

IT WAS A RAID.

The object of a reconnaissance is to get information, not to fight. Only sufficient force is applied to compel an enemy to develop his strength and display his position. The attacking force then. retires. After two of Heth's Brigades had been shattered and heavy columns of the enemy deployed in his front, he knew the enemy was in force, and ought to have retired, and gone back to Cashtown. The trouble was, Hill had found out too much. It is plain that this expedition was not a reconnaissance, but a raid. A high military authority says: "When once the object of a reconnaissance has been gained, a retreat must be sounded even in the middle of a combat." General Lee was in a state of duress when he arrived on the field at the close of the fight. He was compelled to order up the remainder of the army and deliver battle on ground he had not chosen, or fall back to Cashtown, leaving his dead and wounded on the field, and giving the enemy the prestige of victory. It is clear that the want of cavalry had nothing to do either with precipitating the battle or losing it. Stuart was absent on the day it began for the same reason that General Lee was.

This has been written more in sorrow than in anger. It is no pleasure to me to expose the mistakes of others; my motive is to defend the dead, and that arm of the service to which I belonged. It is a sacred duty I owe to the memory of a friend,

"To whom the shadows of far years extend."

Jno. S. Mosby.
San Francisco, Cal., January 23, 1896.

Stuart and Gettysburg

2008-07-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

As a Stuart fan, the anniversary of Gettysburg is hard to take. The old chestnut that Stuart was out "joy-riding" around the Yankees, disobeying Lee's order, seeking personal glory, and causing the Army of Northern Virginia to lose the battle are on full display.

I have already posted a 9 part paper (I think it is 9 parts) on this topic. What I want to post now is one of John Mosby's articles in the Southern Historical Society Papers. Mosby's spirited defense of Stuart should be must reading for all scholars, historians, or enthusiasts who continue to advance the argument that Stuart was derelict in his duties. So should Stuart's orders as recorded in the Original Records.

(Source: Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. 23, pages 238-247)

STUART AND GETTYSBURG.
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Col. John S. Mosby's Defense of the Great Cavalry Leader.
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San Francisco, Cal., January 28, 1896.

To the Editor of the Dispatch:

I have just read in the Post the report of Colonel Charles Marshall's speech at the celebration of the anniversary of General Lee's birthday. It is the argument of an astute advocate and sophist, and utterly destitute of judicial candor. I shall briefly notice and answer the charge he makes that General Stuart, the Chief of Cavalry, violated General Lee's order in the Gettysburg campaign. Fortunately, in this case, the truth does not lie at the bottom of a well:

1. General Lee expressly says in his report that he gave Stuart authority to cross the Potomac in the rear of the enemy, which is the route he took. Colonel Marshall was a staff-officer of General Lee's, and, of course, knew this fact; yet he did not mention it.

2. He states that Stuart was ordered to place himself on Ewell's right flank, and did not do it. Any one reading the speech would infer that at the date of the instruction Ewell was with General Lee in the Shenandoah Valley, and that Stuart was in default in this respect. He ignores the important fact that Ewell was then several days' march in advance of General Lee, in Pennsylvania. Of course, Stuart could not be at the same time with General Lee in Virginia and with Ewell in Pennsylvania. He says that Stuart's instructions were to cover the Confederate right as the enemy moved northward. No such instructions were given, but just the reverse. At 5 P. M. June 23d, General Lee wrote to Stuart, who was then east of the Blue Ridge, in Loudoun county:

"If General Hooker's army remains inactive, you can leave two brigades to watch him, and withdraw with the three others; but should he not appear to be moving northward I think you had better withdraw this side of the mountain to-morrow night, cross at Shepherdstown next day (25th), and move over to Frederickstown. You will, however, be able to judge whether you can pass around their army without hindrance, doing them all the damage you can, and cross the river east of the mountains. In either case, after crossing the river you must move on and feel the right of Ewell's troops, collecting information, provisions," etc.

At that time Longstreet's Corps was the rear guard of the army, and Lee's instructions to Stuart were sent through him. On the day before Longstreet had forwarded a similar letter from General Lee, and urged Stuart to go to Ewell by the route around the rear of the enemy. So far from Stuart having been ordered to wait until the enemy moved northward, he was told to go immediately, if they were not moving northward. At that time Hooker was waiting quietly on General Lee; all of his movements had been subordinate to Lee's. He had moved in a circle pari passu with Lee from the Rappahannock to the Potomac so as to cover Washington. When Lee crossed the river, of course Hooker would cross and maintain the same relative position. General Lee knew that it was physically impossible for Stuart to pass the enemy's rear and keep up communication with him; he knew that it would be equally impossible if he crossed the river west of the Blue Ridge at Shepherdstown, and then (in accordance with his orders) moved on over the South Mountain and joined the right of Ewell's column. How could Stuart be on the Susquehanna and at the same time watch and report Hooker's movements on the Potomac?

MARCHED DAY AND NIGHT.

On June 22d General Lee had written Stuart, "One column of Ewell's army (under Early) will probably move toward the Susquehanna by the Emmetsburg route--another by Chambersburg." So it was immaterial so far as giving information of Hooker's movements was concerned whether Stuart crossed the Potomac east or west of the Ridge. In either event after crossing he was required to go out of sight of Hooker, and to sever communication with General Lee. Stuart took the most direct route to join the right of Ewell's column, marching continuously day and night to do so. When he reached York he found that Early had been ordered back to Cashtown, the appointed rendezvous of the army. About all this Colonel Marshall says nothing.

3. Colonel Marshall leaves the impression on the reader that Stuart took the whole cavalry corps with him. He knew that Stuart left two brigades of cavalry with Longstreet.

4. Colonel Marshall says that General Lee, at Chambersburg, not having heard from Stuart since he left Virginia, thought that Hooker was still south of the Potomac, until on the night of the 28th he learned through a spy that Hooker was moving northward. This is equivalent to saying that General Lee had lost his head, for no rational being could have supposed that Hooker would remain on the south bank of the Potomac while the Confederates were foraging in Pennsylvania. He might as well have disbanded his army. When General Lee passed Hagerstown on the 26th he knew that the bulk of Hooker's army was north of the river and holding the South Mountain passes. If Hooker had still been in Virginia there would have been nothing to prevent General Lee from marching direct to Baltimore and Washington. If General Lee had supposed (as Colonel Marshall says he did) that the way was open to capture those cities, he would have marched east, and not north to Chambersburg. General Lee never committed any such military blunder. The spy, therefore, only told General Lee what he knew before.

On the morning of June 28th, at Frederick, Hooker was superseded by Meade. His army remained there that day. Instead of threatening General Lee's communications, as Colonel Marshall says, Meade withdrew the two corps that were holding the mountain passes when General Lee passed through Maryland, and moved his army the next day to the east so as to cover Washington and Baltimore. There was never any interruption of Lee's communications.

5. Colonel Marshall says that General Lee took his army to Gettysburg simply to keep Meade east of the mountain and prevent a threatened movement against his communications. This statement is contradicted by the record. General Lee attached no such importance to his communications--if he had any. The road was open to the Potomac, but it was not a line of supply; his army lived off the country, and took with it all the ammunition it expected to use. On June 25th, after crossing the river, he wrote Mr. Davis: "I have not sufficient troops to maintain my communications, and therefore have to abandon them."

According to Colonel Marshall he broke up his whole campaign trying to save them. The fact was they were not even threatened, and General Lee knew it. There was continued passing between the army and the river.

6. I deny that General Lee ever ordered his army to Gettysburg, as Colonel Marshall says, or had any intention of going there before the battle began. In an article published in Belford's Magazine (October and November, 1891) I demonstrated this fact from the records. Colonel Marshall ought to study them before he makes another speech.

GENERAL HETH QUOTED.

On the morning of June 29th General Lee ordered a concentration of the army at Cashtown, a village at the eastern base of the mountain, Hill's Corps was in advance; he reached Cashtown June 30th. That night Hill and Heth heard that there was a force of the enemy at Gettysburg; early the next morning Hill, without orders, with Heth's and Pender's Divisions, started down the Gettysburg pike. General Lee was then west of the mountain with Longstreet. Buford's Cavalry was holding Gettysburg as an outpost. Heth was in advance, and soon ran against Buford. There was a pretty stiff fight with the cavalry until Reynolds, who was camped some six miles back, came to his support. Heth says:

"Archer and Davis were now directed to advance, the object being to feel the enemy; to make a forced reconnoissance, and determine in what force the enemy were--whether or not he was moving his forces on Gettysburg. Heavy columns of the enemy were soon encountered."

Davis's and Archer's Brigades were soon smashed, and Archer, with a good many of his men, made prisoners. "The enemy," says General Heth, "had now been felt and found to be in heavy force. The division was now formed in line of battle," etc.

The object of a reconnaissance is to get information; after getting the information the attacking force retires. It seems that General Heth ought now to have been satisfied that the enemy was in force, and should have returned to Cashtown--i.e., if he only went to make a reconnaissance. Hill now put in Pender's and Heth's divisions, and says they drove the enemy until they came upon the First and Eleventh corps that Reynolds had brought up. He says that he went to Gettysburg "to find out what was in my front." He had now found it. Hill would have been driven back to Cashtown if Ewell had not come to his support. With Rodes's and Early's divisions, he had camped the night before a few miles north of Gettysburg, and had started to Cashtown when he received a note from Hill telling him he was moving to Gettysburg. The battle had then begun. Ewell, not understanding Hill's object in going to Gettysburg, bearing the sound of battle, and no doubt supposing the army was assembling there, turned the head of his column and marched toward Gettysburg. He came up just in time to save Hill.

AT FULL SPEED.

General Lee was still west of the mountain when he heard the firing. He did not understand it, and rode forward at full speed to the battle. He arrived on the field just at the close. The battle had been brought on without his knowledge, and without his orders, and lasted from early in the morning until 4 o'clock in the evening. It is clear that Hill took the two divisions to Gettysburg just for an adventure. When General Lee arrived on the field he found about half of his army there. He had been so compromised that he was compelled to accept battle on those conditions, and ordered up the rest of his forces. That morning every division of his army was on the march, and converging on Cashtown. That night the whole army--infantry, cavalry, and artillery--would have been concentrated at Cashtown, or in supporting distance, if this rash movement on Gettysburg had not precipitated a battle. A British officer--Colonel Freemantle-- was present as a spectator, and spent the night of July 1st at General Longstreet's headquarters. In his diary he says:

"I have the best reason for supposing that the fight came off prematurely, and that neither Lee nor Longstreet intended that it should have begun that day. I also think that their plans were deranged by the events of the 1st."

The record shows who is responsible for the loss of the campaign, and that it was not Stuart. There were no orders to make a reconnoissance on July 1st, and no necessity for making one.

The success of the first day, due to the accident of Ewell's arrival on the field when he was not expected, was a misfortune to the Southern army. It would have been far better if Ewell had let Hill and Heth be beaten. They had put the Confederates in the condition of a fish that has swallowed a bait with a hook to it.

John S. Mosby.

General Orders Twenty

2008-06-27T05:37:00.000-07:00

Upon arriving back in the States after two years overseas earning a master's degree (pending thesis) in history (Middle East), I was happily reunited with all the books on Jeb Stuart that I had ordered in preparation for my biography on the good and gallant cavalry leader.

This announcement that I was commencing on Stuart's biography was greeted by the same question: Does the world really need another biography on Stuart? I asked one of my professors that question. His answer was encouraging. Yes it does. Why? Because new eyes means a fresh perspective and a new analysis on the life of the South's Beau Saber.

Now, many may disagree with me (but historians are not supposed to care if people disagree with them), but I think two Stuarts exist in the war's literature. Those biographies written by those who knew and fought with him present a different Stuart than those later biographers, who seem to present rather a shallow man, vain, easily offended, seeking glory, unfaithful to his wife, etc. A caricature really. A stereotype that has passed through the historiography until the real Stuart has been lost and only the vain, shallow, glory-hound remains.

So, I am after the real Stuart. Now, that is not to say that all those who have written about Stuart were not after the real Stuart too, but the modus operandi of history has changed in recent years. No longer are we to have heroes. Now, historians are to deconstruct their "subject" and expose the dark underbelly of the man, so we will know that he was less than those who wrote glowingly about him. (Meaning those who knew and fought with him) Those who penned early biographies are revealed to be the ones with the agenda: to cover-up, to protect, to distort. It is later historians who have come with the light of truth to expose and reveal.

In his book, Wearing of the Gray, John Esten Cooke, staff officer and cousin-in-law to Stuart, writes this warning... "The august muse of history will make her partial and passionate, or fair and dignified, summary of the events of the late war; will discuss the causas resum with learned philosophy; and mete out in rounded periods what she thinks the due amount of glory and shame to the actors, in gray and blue. But meanwhile the real personages disappear, and the colours fade, figures become historical personages, not men. And events, too, "suffer change." They are fused in the mass; generalization replaces the particular incident as it does the impressive trait; - the terrible dust of "official documents" obscures personages, characters and events... the real men, with faults and virtues, grand traits and foibles, become mere lay figures to hang uniforms upon."

My introduction to Stuart was in the movie Gettysburg, where he is taken to task by Lee for "joy-riding" around the Yankees. As I read biographies about Jackson (mostly) and the battles Jackson fought (mostly), a different Stuart emerged. One that both Lee and Jackson trusted implicitly. One, who would be the last person to go "joy-riding" around the Yankees because his pride was hurt. In the historiography, I found both portraits of Stuart, but the vain cavalier was the pre-dominant one. I could not reconcile the two. I became convinced that the caricature of Stuart had won out in history. I want to correct this with a biography that will reveal the man in both virtue and fault. That is why I want to write this biography. I know it is a grand plan... but it is the plan that I have, so I will pursue it.

It is not something that I will finish within a year, or even within a decade. I have much work to do. But, I have taken the first tentative steps in discovering Stuart. I can't wait to find out more.

Address Delivered at the Unveiling of the Statue of General J.E.B Stuart - Conclusion

2008-06-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

The Stuart Horse Artillery

Attached to the cavalry corps was one of the bravest and most efficient organizations that any army ever possessed. The Stuart Horse Artillery, from a single company commanded by the Gallant Pelham, grew into several battalions under Beckham, Breathed, Hart, McGregor, Chew, and Thompson, whose distinguished services are worthy of the most brilliant pages of our history. Would that time permitted me to render to the officers and men of those splendid horse-batteries the tribute they so well deserve!

The honor of firing the first gun of Fort Sumter is no longer in doubt. The proud distinction of firing the last gun at Appomattox is claimed by many, but the command that fired the most shot and shell, first, last and all the time, is perhaps, without doubt, the ever-glorious and gallant Stuart Horse Artillery.

Welcome, also, my comrades of Mosby's Battalion! In close affiliation with Stuart, nurtured and encouraged by him, valued and praised by him beyond measure, was the Forty-third Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, under the brave, skillful, and distinguished commander, Colonel John S. Mosby. Their heroic deeds form part of the glory achieved by the army, and we link their names with the cavalry corps in loving fellowship and everlasting honor.

And now, my Comrades, our task is done. This day, so long expected, has come at last to bless our vision and rejoice our hearts. Again Stuart rides with his great Commander who himself wrote the epitaph of his Chief of Cavalry. In official orders announcing his death to the army, May 20, 1864, General Lee said: Among the gallant soldiers who have fallen in this war General Stuart was second to none in valor, in zeal, and in unflinching devotion to his country. His achievements form a conspicuous part of the history of this army, with which his name and services will be forever associated. To military capacity of a high order and to the nobler virtues of the soldier he added the brighter graces of a pure life, guided and sustained by the Christian's faith and hope. The mysterious hand of an all-wise God has removed him from the scene of his usefulness and fame.

And he added these words, carved upon this monument and graven in our hearts: His grateful countrymen will mourn his loss and cherish his memory. To his comrades in arms he has left the proud recollection of his deeds and the inspiring influence of his example.

Once more Stuart rides with Lee, and again, I see him, as on the plains of Brandy, the phantom horsemen pass him in review -- their survivors, on the eve of life's last battle, exclaiming now as then, "Te morituri salutamus!"

Some of Stuart's pupils in the art of war have grown wiser, they think, than their master, and some have made bold to write themselves down as critics after the event. General Lee once wrote that even a poor general as he himself could see what might have been done after the battle was over. It has been truly said that the general who never made a mistake never fought a battle.

But now, waving all controversy and comparison, Stuart stands upon the record inscribed upon this monument. The testimony of two witnesses is true: the witnesses are Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.

To the city of Richmond as its faithful guardian we commit this monument, in whose care and keeping it will henceforth stand, in token of a people's gratitude and in perpetual memory of his heroic name.

STUART

"I've called his name, a statue stern and vast,

It rests enthroned upon the mighty past,

Fit plinth for him whose image in the mind

Looms up as that of one by God designed.

Fit plinth, in sooth! the mighty past for him,

Whose simple name is Glory's synonym.

E'en Fancy's self in her enchanted sleep

Can dream no future which may cease to keep

His name in guard, like sentinel, and cry

From Time's great bastions: "It shall never die!"

Address Delivered at the Unveiling of the Statue of General J.E.B. Stuart - Part 5

2008-06-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

Time does not permit, nor will your patience allow, even a brief outline of Stuart's further service in the last year of his life. Twice more on the field of Brandy Station he encountered the enemy's cavalry, and each time he drove him back across the Rappahannock. And in the Bristoe campaign he scattered the command and well-nigh ruined the reputation of General Kilpatrick at the "Buckland races." The Mine Run campaign with its intense cold and suffering soon followed, and after Meade's retreat from Mine Run with an army more than double that of General Lee, we settled down in winter quarters at Orange, awaiting the final struggle in northern Virginia.

The official records give no sign of the tremendous effort put forth by Stuart to overcome the disparity of force then existing and daily increasing between Stuart and Sheridan. With less than half his cavalry mounted, General Stuart moved against the twelve thousand cavalry of Sheridan, and in the Wilderness, at Todd's Tavern, and Spottsylvania Court House he neutralized the vast body of cavalry attending Grant's army.

On Monday, May 9, 1864, Sheridan with 10,000 well mounted and equipped cavalry and several batteries of artillery, flanking our extreme right at Spottsylvania Court House, marched rapidly south to capture and destroy the city of Richmond. Promptly Stuart moved with two brigades of Fitz Lee's division, Wickham and Lomax, leaving orders for Gordon with his North Carolina brigade to follow fast. A severe fight with Sheridan's rearguard took place that evening, and next day we pressed the rapidly moving enemy until Stuart succeeded in placing his two brigades in close contact with Sheridan's immense force, and boldly gave him battle at Yellow Tavern.

For several hours Sheridan's whole column was checked. Gordon's brigade had attacked his rear many miles distant on the Mountain road, and so was separated from Stuart in the hour of his greatest need. Toward evening, after much fighting, with nearly our whole force dismounted, Sheridan, confident in the overwhelming numbers of his mounted troops, threw his heavy regiments, squadron after squadron, in a mounted charge upon our exposed left flank and broke through our artillery with resistless force.

Capturing three of our guns, the head of the enemy's column became engaged with our dismounted men and were suddenly checked in their advance. They had passed by General Stuart, who had emptied his pistol at them and was sitting quietly on his horse as they hastened back by him on their return. Man after man fired upon him without hitting him, until nearly the last one of them dashed past, and putting his pistol close up to his side fired the fatal bullet and hastened away. The General was taken from his horse by Captain Gus Dorsey, of Maryland, Company K, First Virginia Cavalry, Stuart's old regiment, and then reviving a little from the shock, he was placed on the horse of Private Fred L. Pitts of that company, and led to an ambulance in the rear of the line. In this connection the names of Corporal Robert Bruce and Private Charles Wheatley are mentioned by Captain Dorsey as having rendered gallant service in removing the General to the ambulance, thus saving him from capture by the enemy. Thus safely brought off the field by the assistance of some of his staff, among them Major A.R. Venable, his gallant and devoted Inspector-General, he reached Richmond by way of Mechanicsville about eleven o'clock that night. He died there on the evening of May 12, 1864. Death never claimed a nobler victim.

Thus fell the matchless leader of the Veteran Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia.

We come not now to mourn his loss. This had been one long lamentation throughout the years which have crowded out the recollection of his brave deeds. But we, his brothers-in-arms, partakers of his glory, assemble here in loving fellowship to commemorate his services in this enduring and fitting monument.

The sculptor, Moynihan, has shared with us the inspiration of Stuart's career, and has fashioned both horse and rider with the spirit that animated his great soul. Idealized, it may be, to a degree that speaks eloquently of the superb horseman, the alert active, dashing leader of brave men, it is at the same time a likeness of the man just as he was when General Sedgwick, his old commander, in rude appraisement, exclaimed: "Stuart is the best cavalry officer ever foaled in North America!"

The military student of Great Britain and the Continent is never weary of studying the campaigns of Stuart. One of them has recently written: To Stuart belongs the credit of having brought to perfection a use of the cavalry arm which had been foreshadowed by the dragoons of Marlborough's epoch, but which has not been seen during the intervening great wars of Europe, nor has it ever yet been imitated.

In the bold combination of fire and shock at the right moment, Stuart's cavalry stands pre-eminent among the nations of the world. What loftier tribute can be paid to the heroes of our corps, living and dead, whose proudest boast, in either the triumphs of life or in the agonies of death, is Stuart's great name! Drilled and disciplined by him, they learned the severe lessons of outpost duty, sleepless vigilance, patient endurance and skill in battle, until they became the steady reliance of General Lee in all his campaigns -- the eyes and ears of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Day after day the bravest and best were slain in battle. Innumerable skirmishes diminished our numbers as sorely as the losses of our infantry in many pitched battles, until our weary men with starving horses could scarce disguise the fact that we were fighting against hope.

The late Colonel Henderson, of the British Army, the brilliant author of "The Life of Stonewall Jackson," has left this tribute to the veteran cavalry of both armies: It may, however, be unhesitatingly admitted that no cavalry of the nineteenth century, except the American, could have achieved the same results... And it may be just as unhesitatingly declared that the horseman of the American war is the model of the efficient cavalryman.

Address Delivered at the Unveiling of the Statue of General J.E.B. Stuart - Part 4

2008-06-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

GETTYSBURG

The campaign of Gettysburg commenced with a series of cavalry fights in Loudoun and Faquier. For five days Stuart was a constantly engaged with Pleasanton's whole corps, who, supported by the infantry, assumed the offensive and displayed an energy and audacity which would otherwise never have been exhibited. The resulting losses were severe, and when we commenced the long march to the enemy's rear, threatening Washington City, our men and horses were already worn and jaded.

The fact that it took Stuart one day longer than he expected to fight his way to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, arriving on the field of Gettysburg on the second day of the battle, has been used to account for the failure of the Army of Northern Virginia to keep up its unbroken score of victories.

To say that the battle would have been won if Stuart had arrived a day earlier is to tribute to him greater than his most ardent admirers could claim. General Lee believed that if Stonewall Jackson had been there the victory would have been assured. But Stuart was blameless for his march to Carlisle as Jackson was for his absence in another and better world. The charge that Stuart's march from the Potomac to the Susquehanna was not warranted by his orders or by the best military judgment at the time, has been completely refuted by the masterly pens of Colonel John S. Mosby and Major H.B. McClellan, based on the official records.

General Lee's letters to Stuart on the 22nd and 23rd of June, 1863, establish the fact that General Lee authorized Stuart to use his discretion as to crossing the Potomac by the way of the enemy's rear, and General Longstreet, who communicated to him those instructions, distinctly advised General Stuart to choose that route. Two brigades of cavalry were left on the Blue Ridge to watch Hooker's army, while Stuart with his other three brigades moved on through Maryland. A cavalry fight at Hanover took place on June 30th with Kilpatrick's division. It caused a wide detour, in the course of which we cross the trail of Early's division. General Early heard our guns at Hanover and rightly conjectured that they were Stuart's Horse Artillery. Strangely and unhappily he failed to communicate with Stuart or leave any intimation that he was on the march for Cashtown.

Napoleon's guns at Waterloo were heard by Grouchy on the road to Wavre, and if he had crossed over to the Emperor's assistance the story of Waterloo would have been differently told. But no sound of Ewell's battle on the 1st of July at Gettysburg reached Stuart's ears as he pressed on to Carlisle, where he expected to find the right wing of General Lee's army. Therefore if happened that the cavalry attacked Carlisle, and there, near midnight, by the glare of the burning Barracks, Stuart read the dispatch announcing the victory of Ewell and Hill over the Federal forces. Instantly the attack on Carlisle was abandoned, and by a hard night march we pressed south to Gettysburg, arriving just as Ewell was beginning his assault upon Culp's Hill on the evening of the second day's battle.

It is needless to tell you of the severe cavalry fight on July 3rd between Stuart and Gregg on our extreme left--a position which we held as the battle closed, and which was of critical value if the charge of Pickett and Pettigrew had resulted as General Lee expected.

To those who know General Stuart's character as we knew it, the bare suggestion that he was capable of of disobeying any order of General Lee, either in letter or in spirit, is not only incredible, but absolutely untrue. General Lee himself, in his official report, makes not the slightest intimation of such a monstrous impossibility.

Colonel Mosby, in righteous indignation, has exclaimed: How could Stuart join Ewell on the Susquehanna, guard the gaps of the Blue Ridge in Virginia, watch and impede Hooker's crossing of the Potomac; and then place himself on the right of our column, as it advanced into Pennsylvania, unless he was inspired with ubiquity? Even Hercules could not perform all of his twelve labors at the same time.

The last word has not yet been said about Gettysburg. It will be discussed long after Waterloo has been forgotten, but history will not permit the fame of Stuart to be tarnished by the false claim that he disobeyed any order ever received by him from General Lee.

His conduct in reaching the battlefield as soon as he did is as praiseworthy of his invaluable service on the retreat to the Potomac. Of this service the author of the "Crisis of the Confederacy," a trained military critic, says: That Lee brought his forces out of this dilemma, not only without serious loss but with an air of reluctantly relinquishing the theatre, was due to the skill of his dispositions and to the admirable coordination of the movements of his lieutenants; but the march was only possible, thanks to the bold and skillful handling of his cavalry by Stuart, who excelled himself in these dark days of misfortune.

And the same excellent authority says: Stuart's indefatigable horsemen could be counted on to render valuable help in delaying the enemy's advance and guarding the left which was the exposed flank, if the enemy should venture to attack. All day on July 8th, while the cavalry was fighting, the Confederate army rested after the feat of marching which had brought it from Gettysburg to the Potomac.

Bear in mind that in this retreat Stuart was suffering from the loss of many of his best officers, and among the severely wounded was the gallant Hampton, whose services for many days were lost to the cavalry.

Address Delivered at the Unveiling of the Statue of General J.E.B. Stuart - Part 3

2008-06-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

FREDERICKSBURG

What a splendid panorama was unfolded to your steady gaze as the fog lifted above the snowy canopy of that rolling plain, disclosing in vast array the long blue lines of battle. On the right near Hamilton's crossing, Stuart attacked the enemy, and with impetuous dash he led his horse artillery, under the gallant Pelham, into the jaws of death, hammered the flank of Meade's grand division, and with two guns, far to the front, opposed a multitude of batteries, breaking their lines and aiding most materially the victory won by Jackson and his indomitable veterans.

CHANCELLORSVILLE

Chancellorsville followed with the first breath of spring, and in its wonderful story is found the climax of Stuart's glorious career.

History and Art are fond of portraying the last meeting of Lee and Jackson. To those immortal names the great heart of the South instinctively adds, by common and universal consent, the name of Stuart as worthy to ride with them down the ages. In that last meeting the hand of Stuart clasped the hand of Jackson in a long farewell as Stuart moved in front to clear the way for the last great triumph and tragedy of Jackson's life. And when Lee's "right arm" was stricken helpless by that fearful accident, and Jackson lay bleeding on the fatal field, who of all that host could dare to grasp and wield the fallen chieftain's sword? Night had closed in upon the halting lines, and confusion worse confounded threatened to turn back the tide of victory. With the wounding of General A.P. Hill, and the noble self-denial of General Rodes, the command of Jackson's corps devolved upon General Stuart -- the most trying responsibility that was ever forced upon any officer in any battle of the war.

"Send for General Stuart," said Jackson, and with this last order ever uttered by him on the field of his great glory, he added the noble sentence inscribed upon this monument: Tell General Stuart to act upon his own judgment and do what he thinks best -- I have implicit confidence in him.

With that message ringing in his ears, and inspired with superhuman energy, the young cavalryman spent the dark hours of that eventful night in ceaseless activity, restoring order out of chaos; and when the day dawned every man was in his place, the line well drawn, and with a spirit as indomitable as Jackson's own, he hurled his troops in fresh onset upon the bristling ranks of the astonished foe. Crowning Hazel Grove with massed artillery, he swept away Hooker's last refuge, joined his right wing to the advancing troops under the eyes of General Lee, and burst over the plateau of Chancellorsville with shouts of victory louder than the roar of battle.

You, his old troopers, who knew and loved him so well, need no other reason for your faith and pride in him than the fact that the names of Lee, Jackson, and Stuart are indissolubly linked together in the proud record which history has inscribed for him in the temple of fame.

A distinguished officer of the artillery of Longstreet's corps (General Porter Alexander) has placed on record this tribute to Stuart, as true as it is generous, when he wrote: Altogether, I do not think there was a more brilliant thing done in the war than Stuart's extricating that command from the extremely critical position in which he found it, as promptly and boldly as he did. We knew that Hooker had at least 80,000 infantry at hand... The hard marching and the night fighting had thinned our ranks to less than 20,000. But Stuart never seemed to hesitate or doubt for one moment... He decided to attack at daybreak, and, unlike many planned attacks that I have seen, this one came off promptly on time, and it never stopped to draw its breath until it had crashed through everything, and our forces stood united around Chancellor's burning house.

And General Alexander adds: I always thought it an injustice to Stuart and a loss to the army that he was not from that moment continued in command of Jackson's corps. He had the right to it. I believe he had all of Jackson's genius and dash and originality... Stuart possessed the rare quality of being always equal to himself at his very best.

FLEETWOOD OR BRANDY STATION

I have said that Chancellorsville was the climax of Stuart's glory. It convinced the army of Stuart's power to handle large bodies of infantry and artillery in action, under desperate circumstances and against desperate odds.

We come now to the battle of Fleetwood, as he called it, but better known by his men as Brandy Station, June 9, 1863, in which we see him as the victor of the greatest cavalry battle of the nineteenth century.

General Pleasanton's twenty-four regiments of cavalry were supported by ten regiments of Federal infantry, while only fifteen regiments of Stuart's command was actually engaged in the battle, unsupported by any infantry whatever. Pleasanton's plan of battle was admirable. Under the gallant Gregg one division was thrown directly in the rear of our line at Fleetwood Hill, while Buford with two divisions of his cavalry and one brigade of infantry assaulted our whole front at St. James Church. By all the laws of war and chances of battle, Stuart should have been crushed and utterly destroyed. But by a rapid change of front to rear Stuart hastened to Fleetwood with regiment after regiment of Jones' and Hampton's brigades, and by a succession of most gallant and desperate charges wrested victory from the jaws of defeat and drove Gregg and Kilpatrick from the vantage ground of Fleetwood Hill.

No more brilliant spectacle was ever witnessed than the brave Hampton leading his gallant Carolinians, as with flashing sabers they plunged into the masses of Gregg's troopers and scattered them far and wide. Nor will the saber ever play a more glorious part in battle than did that day the shining blades of the Virginians under Harman, Elijah White, Lindsay Lomax, and Flournoy, and of the North Carolinians under Lawrence Baker, the South Carolinians under Black, the Georgians under Young, and the Mississippians under Waring. I mention these glorious names not because they excelled in valor the steady work of W.H.F. Lee's brigade and the Seventh Virginia Cavalry and others, who held back the two division of Buford, but because it was vouchsafed to them to show the world that the saber is, after all, the weapon for grand cavalry battle.

For partisan warfare, or Indian and cowboy skirmishes, let the pistol and carbine hold undisputed sway; but for the fields on which thousands of cavalry strive for mastery in the shock of great battle, may the sabers of Stuart, of Forrest, and of Hampton ever lead the charging squadrons to victory or death.

Address Delivered at the Unveiling of the Statue of General J.E.B. Stuart - Part Two

2008-06-17T15:49:00.001-07:00

To his old comrades here, and to most of those who were in other arms of the service, it is a thrice-told tale to recount his mighty deeds, his prowess in battle, his sleepless vigilance, his unerring judgment in strategy and attack, his faith in our cause, and his devotion to duty. But it is right, on this historic occasion, when his memory rises for the coronation of the hour, to take brief note of the achievements of this great commander of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Identified with that army from its first skirmish to the day of his death, he knew no other duty nor any loftier ambition than to serve the cause of freedom and the welfare of his country.

With all his soul he loved his country. No patriot in all the tide of time ever worshiped at the pure shrine of Liberty with nobler devotion than he. As we were bringing him mortally wounded off the field at Yellow Tavern, he exclaimed with intense feeling to some who were retreating by him. "Go back, my men, go back! and do your duty as I have done mine, and our country will be free."

Bear with me, then, while I hasten through the thrilling record of his wonderful and brilliant career.

From the day when, with a small force, he captured an entire company of the enemy's infantry near the Potomac, to the hour of that fatal charge in which he received his death wound, there was not a moment of his life which lacked the inspiration of his high ambition or the tireless energy of his zealous soul.

Pressing forward his handful of cavalry, through byways and difficult paths, he passed from rear to front of Johnston's column on the march from the Valley to first Manassas, eager to be in at the death of McDowell's army. There, at the crucial moment, he led a mounted charge into the midst of the Federal infantry, breaking their lines and precipitating the disorder which soon became a panic and a rout more complete that any ever afterward seen on the field of battle. Of this movement General Early, in his official report, says: Stuart did as much toward saving the battle of First Manassas as any subordinate who participated in it.

From Manassas to the Peninsula, now as a brigade commander, he served General Johnston with such indefatigable skill as to merit that great General's heartiest acknowledgement, and wrung from him, afterward, when separated, the deep lament, "How can I eat or sleep in any peace without you on the outpost!"

The crossing of sabers at Williamsburg was the beginning of the long list of cavalry battles in which Stuart's genius for war shone so conspicuously bright, and in which he taught his troopers the lessons from which the cavalry of Europe now seek their inspiration and education.

The engagements along the Chickahominy made manifest the superiority of Stuart's cavalry over McClellan's, and here, for the first time, a feat then unparalleled in war was accomplished, which it is doubtful whether any other man than Stuart would have dared to attempt. The first raid around McClellan's army, not only made him famous as a cavalry leader, but blazed the way for that grand strategy of General Lee which brought Jackson from the Valley and overwhelmed McClellan in the Seven Days' battle.

The march of General Stuart in June, 1862, with 1200 men and two guns under Lieutenant Breathed of the Stuart Horse Artillery, making the entire circuit of McClellan's army, with the loss of one officer, the gallant Captain William Latane, of the Essex Troop, was an achievement not only unique in war, but the information thus obtained was the moving cause of the defeat of McClellan's entire campaign.

Speedily assembling his command in July of that year, when his well-won commission as major-general was conferred upon him, he hastened to the assistance of Jackson in the campaign against Pope, and again in the rear of the enemy he captured Manassas and played havoc with supplies and communications of Pope's army.

An English military critic has recently recorded this opinion: Without the help which Stuart was able to give, the flank march around Pope's army by Jackson's corps and the concentration of the two Confederate wings on the battlefield of Manassas, would not have been possible. -- "Crisis of the Confederacy," page 392.

Then crossing the Potomac, Stuart occupied the rich pastures of Maryland and protected the cantonments of General Lee as his army rested at Frederick, recuperating its strength for the fierce encounter at Sharpsburg. Here he took position on the left of Jackson's corps and held off the masses which threatened to envelop and destroy our exposed left wing, thus rendering possible the bloody repulse inflicted upon McClellan's preponderant forces.

Returning to Virginia, he conceived and executed a second expedition around McClellan's host, via Chambersburg and the enemy's rear, recrossing the Potomac into Virginia after inflicting great losses, capturing prisoners, horses, and transportation, and putting to flight all McClellan's dreams of conquest. So great, indeed, was the effect of the movement that President Lincoln induldged his sarcastic humor at the expense of McClellan, laughing to scorn the alleged brokendown condition of his cavalry, and placing on record the President's own testimony to the fact that Stuart's cavalry had "outmarched and outfought" its opponents, and was still ready for battle. The fact, so plain to Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Stanton, after the Chambersburg raid, caused the loss of McClellan's offical head, and Burnside supplanted him.

The long march to Fredericksburg soon followed, and great credit must be awarded to Stuart for the masterly handling of his small forces in protecting the exposed flank of the army as it marched eastward to interpose between Richmond and the heavy advancing columns of Burnside. Day after day our cavalry met the enemy's in severe and incessant combat, while the army pursued the even tenor of its way, undisturbed by the distant thunder of our guns and the shock of charging squadrons.

So was it ever with us, my comrades, and our brethern of the infantry and artillery. While the Army of Northern Virginia slept in peace, Stuart on the outpost made their rest secure. If the men composing Stuart's Cavalry Corps were not worthy of the best troops of any army, then it is vain to seek for soldiers in any part of the world.

Brother Cavalrymen! I salute you, survivors of a body of horsemen worthy of King Arthur, Richard Coeur de Leon, Godfrey de Bouillon, Prince Rupert and his Cavaliers, Cromwell and his troopers, or the greatest of all cavalrymen, Robert E. Lee.

Address Delivered at the Unveiling of the Statue of General J.E.B. Stuart at Richmond, Virginia - Part One

2008-06-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

On May 30, 1907, the equestrian statue honoring Jeb Stuart was unveiled in Richmond. The dedication address was given by Theodore Stanford Garnett, who served on Stuart's staff as an aide-de-camp. Fifty thousand people were in attendance.

Comrades of the Veteran Cavalry Association of the Army of Northern Virginia, United Confederate Veterans, Fellow citizens of Richmond, Ladies and Gentlemen:

In response to a call as inspiring as the bugles of Stuart on the field of battle, I am here to attempt the impossible task which has been assigned to me by my old comrades.

Forty-three years, to this same flowery month of May, have passed away since the cannon of his country pealed Stuart's funeral knell, and that same period has elapsed since the city of Richmond registered its high resolve to place a monument here to his undying name.

To the honor of this city, and in proof of her gratitude for his sacrifice of live in her behalf, the city of Richmond, General Randolph, after announcing to the Council the death of General Stuart, submitted the following resolution:

Whereas, the people of Richmond, in common with their fellow-citizens of the Confederate States, have to deplore in the death of Major General J.E.B. Stuart, not only the loss of one of the first military characters of the age, but also of a citizen whose eminent patriotism and pure life gave the best guarantee that his military capacity would never be otherwise employed than in the cause of freedom and for the welfare of his country; and

Whereas, they not only recognize their great misfortune , in common with the rest of their countryman, but bearing in mind that he yielded up his heroic spirit in the immediate defense of their city, and the successful effort to purchase their safety by the sacrifice of his own life, they are profoundly moved with sentiments of gratitude for his great services and of benevolent feeling for his glorious memory, and are desirous to express and to record their sense of peculiar obligation in a permanent and emphatic manner; therefore be it

Resolved, that the Council of the city of Richmond, in behalf of the citizens therefore, tender to the family of General Stuart the deepest and most heartfelt condolence, and earnestly request that remains of their great benefactor may be permitted to rest under the eye and guardianship of the people of Richmond, and they may be allowed to commemorate by a suitable monument their gratitude and his services.

A further resolution was adopted appointing a committee of three, Messrs. Randolph, Denton, and Hill, to report a design for a suitable monument and inscription at some future meeting of the body.

War. with its relentless fury, swept onward over every foot of Virginia soil. The enemy, in ever-increasing hosts, encompassed you about and sat down over against this devoted city -- the Capital of the Confederacy -- and within a twelve-month the bitter fate that had been averted from you by Stuart and his troopers, swiftly and suddenly descended upon you.

The days of our years of destruction and reconstruction have been many and full of sorrow, but today we behold a resurrection and ascension as marvelous as it is glorious. Your city is not only rebuilt, but it has expanded beyond imagination. Where we now stand was then open country. The triumphant march of progress has opened up this magnificent Monument Avenue, crowned as it is by the imposing statute of General Lee and the memorial to Jefferson Davis. Into this goodly company we come now to place the heroic statute of a man who, take him for all in all. We ne'er shall look upon his like again.

JAMES EWELL BROWN STUART was born in Patrick Country, Virginia, on the 6th day of February, 1833.

He was the youngest son of Archibald Stuart and Elizabeth, his wife; and whether or not our democratic simplicity attaches any significance to his alleged descent from the royal line of Scotland's kings, we who knew this true son of Virginia make bold to declare that no prince of the blood ever did more honor to an illustrious ancestry. Strong in mind and body, educated in the three cardinal virtues of Virginia youth, he grew up to manhood a splendid specimen of the hardy young mountaineer, and fresh from the meadows and pinnacles of the Dan, he took his place among the boys at West Point; and there learned the science that teacheth the hands to war and the fingers to fight. Noted in this famous school as the most daring and skillful horseman among his fellows, he sought and obtained active duty as a lieutenant in the Second U.S. Cavalry, then engaged in an arduous expedition against the Indians of the Southwest.

In close encounter with this suitable enemy he received a severe wound -- the only injury he ever suffered until his fatal wounding in the last battle. Soon recovering, he was sent to the plains of Kansas, where his command vainly strove to keep the peace between the warring factions of Northern and Southern settlers -- the first mutterings of the storm which soon broke upon our country in the whirlwind of civil war.

In October, 1859, as aide-de-camp to Colonel Robert E. Lee at Harper's Ferry, he bore the summons to John Brown to surrender himself and his fanatic followers to the authority of the United States and to Virginia, whose peace and dignity they had criminally violated. With grim humor old Ossawattomie Brown told the young man how easily he could have taken his life, as he felt tempted to do, when Lieutenant Stuart approached the engine-house door and demanded his surrender.

Such, in brief, was his preparation for the great career on which he entered in 1861.

Jackson is a Roundhead

2008-06-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

The following is an excerpt from Captain Charles Minor Blackford's diary. On July 13, 1862, Captain Blackford meets Stonewall Jackson and records his thoughts about the famous general. Included is a description of Jackson and a wonderful story about Jackson's run-in with a farmer that gives the reader a perfect study of ole Stonewall.

I reached camp yesterday, which I found about three miles from Richmond. My company has been up to Jackson's headquarters for a some special duty. I was told he sent to the regiment for a Captain who knew something about the country about Fredericksburg and his company. My company was selected as I was a native of that place. I am comfortably camped on the Mechanicsville Pike about a hundred yards from Jackson's headquarters. I am writing from Mr. Peach R. Grattan's where I came this morning to meet William. (William Blackford was Charles' oldest brother and served on Jeb Stuart's staff as engineer. He also authored War Year with Jeb Stuart) This is Mr. Wyndham Robertson's house now occupied by the Grattans.

My men received me with open arms yesterday and seemed to be so glad to see me back that it touched me greatly. I wish I could in some way recruit the ranks somewhat. It is very hard to keep a cavalry company from a town. All the other companies in the regiment have the advantage of mine in the matter of securing horses. I have as many thus far as many other companies but I know that from this time on it will be hard to keep the ranks full.

All I hear are stories about Stonewall Jackson. There are lots of jokes, too, one of which I heard just now:

As he was crossing the Blue Ridge en route to Richmond, two Irishmen were sitting by the roadside talking during a rest period. When one said to the other:

"I wish all the Yankees was in Hell!"

"And faith," said the other, "and I don't wish anything of the the sort."

"The divvel you don't, and why don't you?"

"Because Old Jack would have us standing picket at the gate before night and in there before morning -- and it's too hot where we is to suit me!"

I am told by one of the staff that in Monday's fight at Port Republic, in the Valley, Jackson was on the opposite side of the river when the enemy's battery commenced playing on the bridge. He rode up to it and said to the commander. "Fire into those woods over there and not at the bridge." As Jackson was in a blue coat, they took him for a Federal officer and obeyed. Upon which he calmly rode over the bridge and at once brought one of his batteries to bear upon the deluded Federal who was still shelling the harmless woods and drove him from his position.

Jackson excites great enthusiasm everywhere, second only to Lee. The regiment is ordered to Gordonsville. I am glad I will not have to march up there with it.

We will move from here tonight or early tomorrow, I think, for I am sure General Jackson got orders or arranged to move tonight when in town. I was invited by Colonel A.S. (Sandie) Pendleton, his adjutant, to go with General Jackson and his staff into town this morning. I was proud to be of such a distinguished party although a very small atom of it. We went first to the Governor's mansion and there, I suppose by appointment, we met General Lee. The two generals and Governor Letcher came out on the front steps and told the generals good-bye. The two then rode around to Jefferson Davis' house where some other generals met them and I suppose they had a council of war -- certainly a lunch. While they were lunching and conferring I rode around to Cousin Mary G. Watkins' and got a very nice lunch which she kindly prepared for me in an hour, the period for which we were dismissed at the President's house. Any kind of hospitality is a strain now when bacon is seventy-five and fresh meat fifty cents a pound, potatoes sixteen dollars a bushel and other things in proportion.

When the lunch was over, I went back to the President's house where I found the staff officers assembling in front. We still had to wait awhile, but soon the different generals, Longstreet and others, came out, but the particular two were kept to the last and then Lee, Jackson and President Davis came out together, a very distinguished trio, and stood talking on the steps. Lee was elegantly dressed in full uniform, sword and sash, spotless boots, beautiful spurs and by far the most magnificent man I ever saw. The highest type of the Cavalier class to which by blood and rearing he belongs. Jackson, on the other hand, was a typical Roundhead. He was poorly dressed, that is, he looked so, though his clothes were made of good material. His cap was very indifferent and pulled down over one eye, much stained by weather and without insignia. His coat was closely buttoned up to his chin and had upon the collar the stars and wreath of a general. His shoulders were stopped and one shoulder was lower than the other, and his coat showed signs of much exposure to the weather.

He had a plain swordbelt without sash and a sword in no respect different from that of other infantry officers that I could see. His face, in repose, is not handsome or agreeable, and he would be passed by anyone without a second look, though anyone could see determination and will in his face by the most casual glance -- much I would say to fear but not to love. I, of course, speak only from a casual observation and from no acquaintance, but that of a line officer who, in the course of his military duties, has been introduced to the commanding general. A means of observation and acquaintanceship that might be likened to that of a glowworm with the moon.

Davis looks like a statesman. His face is pale and thin but very intellectual, and he had graceful manner and easy bearing. He was dressed in a black suit and left a pleasing impression on anyone looking at him.

After the distinguished gentlemen had talked a few minutes on the steps, they shook hands very cordially in telling each other good-bye, but our observant eyes satisfied us that both Lee and Davis bade Jackson farewell in a manner that indicated they would not see him again for a while, -- or in other words that he had been ordered to move. The opinion was confirmed by the manner in which his rejoined his staff. He got on his old sorrel horse, which his courier was holding for him, and without saying a word to anyone , in a deep brown and abstracted study, started to gallop towards the Mechanicsville Pike, which we soon reached. His orders, published to his corps, very strictly enjoined the preservation of the crops along which the army and its trains moved and forbade all officers and men from riding out into the fields on each side of the road. This day, Jackson was especially anxious to get back to his quarters. Unfortunately for his speed, the pike was filled with long wagon trains, one set coming in, the other going out. It was impossible to make the time under these circumstance and still obey orders. He had not spoken a word since we had gotten underway. He first dodged in and out among the wagons, but his progress was slow, much slower than his needs demanded. He obviously remembered his orders, but determined to violate them.

He told his adjutant to have the cavalcade fall into single file and thereupon dashed into an extensive field of oats, overripe for the harvest, on the left of the pike. Several hundred yards ahead of the place he thusly violated the sacred oat field, there was a very nice brick house sitting back some distance, in a grove of oaks with a lane leading down to the pike. On a porch, a round and fat little gentleman was sitting smoking his pipe, his bald head and red face in his shirtsleeves with an eye on his morning "Examiner" and the other on his field of oats. When he saw the cavalcade ride out of the road, he threw down his paper, rushed down the stops and flew down the land and before we reached the place where the lane and pike united, he was standing like a lion in the pathway. He was puffing and blowing, wiping the perspiration off his forehead and so bursting with rage that all power of articulation seemed for a moment suspended.

The General saw him and for the first time in his career seemed inclined to retreat, but our irate friend had regained his speech and made his attack as Jackson drew rein before him.

"What in hell are you riding over my oats for?" The little mans shouted. "Don't you know it's against orders?"

The General looked confused, fumbled with his bridle rein and was as much abashed as any schoolboy ever caught in a watermelon patch. Before, with his slow speech, he could ever get a word out of explanation, our volcanic friend had another eruption.

"Damnit! Don't you know it's against orders? I intend to have every damned one of you arrested! What's your name anyhow?"

"My name is Jackson," said the General, half as if, for the occasion, he wished it was something else.

"Jackson! Jackson!" in a voice of great contempt. "Jackson, I intend to report every one of you and have you every one arrested. Yes, I'd report you if were old Stonewall himself instead of a set of damned quartermasters and commissaries riding through my oats! Yes, I'll report you to Stonewall Jackson myself, that's what I'll do!"

"They call me that name sometimes," said the General in the same subdued, half-alarmed tone.

"What name?"

"Stonewall."

"You don't mean to say you are Stonewall Jackson, do you?"

"Yes, sir, I am."

I can give no adequate description of the sudden change. His anger was gone in an instant and in its place came an admiring look that was adoring. His color vanished, his lips parted and tears stood in his eyes. His emotions stilled his tongue an instant, then his speech returned with all the vigor of his vernacular and he shouted as he waved his big bandana around his head:

"Hurrah for Stonewall Jackson! By God, General, please do me the honor to ride all over my damned old oats!"

He would not let the General pass until we had all taken a glass of cold buttermilk with him. He pressed the General to take every variety of strong drink, but buttermilk was all he would accept. So great was our friend's admiration for old Stonewall that even refusing to take something stronger did not lower him in his estimation as I think it might have done if the refusal came from a lesser light. He made no apology for his oaths, on the contrary emphasized his admiration, as he had his anger, with a choice selection.

The interview over, we hurried on to headquarters and, very soon after, I was informed that we were to go up to Gordonsville tomorrow. I shall watch Jackson closely while I am with him and put down what I see and what I think of him. He is , of course, a great military genius and has made such an impression on the men that "Old Jack" is at once a rallying cry and a term of endearment. The army is full of of stories about him and everybody, citizens and soldiers, is tyring to get a glimpse of him. Whenever he is recognized by the soldiers he is cheered. Of course in many brigades which have not served under him he is unknown and tries to go about unrecognized. I have no chance to learn anything about him socially and will have none. Even if I had, I doubt from what his staff tells me, whether I would be any wiser or know him any better by the opportunities for observation I have otherwise. He seems to have no social life. He divides his time between military duties, prayer, sleep, and solitary thought. He holds converse with few.

General Orders Eighteen

2008-06-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

Victor Davis Hanson is a splendid historian. I have read his political commentaries for the last four years. Recently, he wrote about the role of the historian and, more specifically, the guidelines a historian should follow when writing their books. In the article, he gives the following three points:

1) All source materials should be presented in an analytical rather than a prejudicial manner.

One would think this should always be the case, but it is not. One of the seminars I took in the quest for my master’s degree was on historiography. The professor’s primary objective was too teach us budding historians just how manipulative scholars can be and usually are. The use of a half a quote here, or of one source over another there, or the overuse of a source period can skew the “story.”

This class made a real impact on me. As I start my own career as a Civil War historian, it is important that I present the material not to shore up or to destroy, but to reveal to the best of my ability, what happened during the event I am writing about.

2) Draw together a lot of sources and provide engaging narration.

On the second part of the point, just let me say, Amen! During the last two years, I have been forced to read articles from academic journals that made me want to gouge out my eyes. I know that academia has its own style, but please… why can’t the author invest some time in trying to present his material in an engaging manner. Does the author get points for being boring or pedantic?

On the first part, it is important to realize that most sources are eyewitness accounts told years after the event. Human memory is unreliable at best, and most authors have “agendas.” Not all agendas are bad, but an agenda still skews the story. So, I get a little nervous when one source is touted as the final or only authority. I find this happens in the historiography more than it should.

3) Speak in terms of a philosophy beyond just the particular history or period or era.

This one is probably the hardest for me to define. What is my philosophy in writing about these times? What is it that draws me to the men of the Army of Northern Virginia? What could I possibly add to the discourse? Since I have read Hanson’s article, I realize I don’t have a firm handle on my philosophy. I know I want to write on topics that will contribute to the understanding of the war, but just what that contribution is, well, I seem to have some more thinking to do.

As I take the first steps in researching my very first topic and writing my very first "history", I will keep these guidelines in mind, while at the same time, making sure that whatever I produce will add positively to the discourse and historiography.

Dr. Hunter McGuire

2008-06-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a brief biography I found on Dr. Hunter McGuire on the USCivilWar.Net website. The information was compiled by Jenny Goellnitz.

Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire, M.D., CSA

(1835-1900)

John W. Schildt in his biography of Hunter McGuire summed up the doctor as such: "When people needed to talk, he listened. Those who knew him said Dr. Hunter McGuire made you feel that you were the most important person in the world." Another quote that describes the Winchester physican is "Make not patients of your friends -but friends of your patients." Such a man was Hunter Holmes McGuire, a native of Winchester, Virginia in the Northern end of the Shenandoah Valley.

Born on October 11, 1835, by age 22 he was already a professor and full doctor. An impressive man, tall -- almost 6'4" -- thin, and handsome with black hair and blue eyes, Dr. McGuire was a believer in State's Rights and Virginia and thus embarked on a career as a Confederate Medical Officer in 1861.

At first, he signed up to fight as a private in the Winchester Rifles (Co. F of the 2nd Virginia which fought in the Stonewall Brigade), but McGuire was too valuable to serve as a foot soldier when the Confederacy needed trained doctors. McGuire served under many different commanders; among them were Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Richard Ewell, and Jubal Early. It is, however, as Jackson's surgeon that Dr. McGuire is remembered. McGuire would later say: "The noblest heritage I shall hand down to my children is the fact that Stonewall Jackson condescended to hold me and treat me as his friend."

McGuire served in all the major battles of the Army of Northern Virginia as the medical director of the famed Second Corps. In May of 1863, Jackson was wounded in the arm by friendly fire at the battle of Chancellorsville. After a week long battle with pneumonia, Jackson died of the pneumonia. A picture of McGuire taken in mid-May shows him looking gaunt and exhausted, both indicative of the tireless efforts he put forth in an attempt to save his friend and patient. In fact, Dr. McGuire attempted to give his patient and friend round the clock care.

McGuire saw many tragedies in his career as a medical officer for the dying Confederacy. His good friend and commander Jackson died. His tent-mate Sandie Pendelton was mortally wounded in the Valley in 1864. McGuire's own brother Hugh was mortally wounded in 1865. His beloved home the Shenandoah Valley was in flames. And McGuire himself was captured at Waynesboro on March 2nd. Paroled by General Sheridan for his policy of not keeping Union Surgeons, McGuire was with the Army of Northern Virginia and tasted the bitter defeat of surrender at Appomattox Court House.

After the war, McGuire went to Richmond where he built a hospital of his own and had a career that was varied and productive, and often included helping one who had worn the gray during the Civil War. Especially at first, but later as well, he would work without pay. He forever remained a staunch supporter of Jackson's reputation and image, writing several biographical sketches and giving speeches about his former commander.

McGuire served also as a professor after the War, was president of numerous medical organizations and societys including the American Medical Assocaiation. In addition, he married and fathered 10 children, some of whom followed in his footsteps in pursuing medical careers. He died of complications of a cerberal embolism on September 19, 1900. He is buried amongst many Confederate notables in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery. A statue stands on the Virginia State House grounds to the Winchester physican.

Hunter McGuire was a truly gifted individual. He was a deft surgeon, a highly gifted and competent doctor, a superb teacher, an outstanding orator, a brilliant administrator, and a prolific writer and author. One person remembered the physican in consulting with his patients was "like a husband pondering the problems of the sick wife; the father looking down on the afflicted child."

His contributions to Virginia, the Confederacy, the United States, and medicine as a whole can not be overlooked. For more information read: "Doctor in Gray" by John Schildt, "Hunter McGuire: Stonewall's Surgeon" by Maurice Shaw, or "Stonewall Jackson" by James Robertson.

Tribute to Dr. McGuire that appeared in the Sept. 19, 1900 Richmond News:

None more striking has been known to this generation of Virginians. Few men have seen in these parts whose opinions, professional or other, carried as much weight. It may be doubted whether anybody has lived in Virginia since Lee and Jackson died who was loved by more people. In character, he was all that men mean by "strong", "decided", "vigorous" or any similar term.

Nevertheless, he was strikingly simple, straight-forward and unaffected, modest, even to reserve; yet throughout his life, a warrior waging sternest battle for reality and truth, of whom a friend could get real help when counsel was needed, because he had not the coward's gift for tempering opinions to suit the changing expression of his auditor's eye. A brave and true man, in whose sincerity and strength great Jackson could entirely confide; whose force General Lee upon occasion markedly acknowledged.

Inscription on Hunter McGuire's Monument in Richmond:

Hunter Holmes McGuire, M.D., L.L.D. President of the American Medical and of the American Surgical Associations; Founder of the University College of Medicine Medical Director, Jackson's Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. An Eminent Civil and Military Surgeon and Beloved Physician. An Able Teacher and Vigorous Writer; A Useful Citizen and Broad Humanitarian, Gifted in Mind and Generous in Heart, This Monument is Erected by his Many Friends.

Stuart's First Ride Around McClellan - Part Two

2008-05-29T01:16:00.000-07:00

In part two of the article, written for Century Magazine by a participant of Stuart's ride around McClellan, the raid comes to a successful conclusion.

STUART'S RIDE AROUND McCLELLAN

By W.T. Robins, Colonel, C.S.A.

The road now being clear, we marched on briskly, and arriving we charged down upon it with a yell. We could see the enemy scattered about the building and lounging around before we charged them. The greater part scattered for cover, and were pursued by our people. I pushed straight for the station-house, where I found the captain of the company of infantry, with thirteen of his men, standing in front of the building, but with no arms in their hands. Only one of them seemed disposed to show fight. He ran to the platform where the muskets were stacked, and, seizing one of them, began to load. Before he could ram his cartridge home, a sweep of the saber, in close proximity to his head, made him throw down his gun, and, jumping into a ditch, he dodged under the bridge over the railroad and made his escape. I had no time to pursue him; but, turning to look after the others, met the captain, who, sword in hand, advanced and surrendered himself and his company as prisoners of war. I then proceeded to obstruct the railroad.

To do this effectually, I caused a tree to be cut down which was standing on the side of the road. It fell across the railroad. In addition to this, I placed across the tracks an oak-sill about a foot square and fourteen feet long. I had barely time to do this before a train from the direction of Richmond came thundering down. At this time General Stuart, with the main body, arrived at the station. The engine driver of the coming train, probably seeing the obstructions on the track and a large force of cavalry there, suspected danger, and, being a plucky fellow, put on all steam, and came rushing down. The engine, striking the obstructions, knocked them out of the way and pressed on without accident. General Stuart had dismounted a number of his men, and posted them on a high bank overlooking a cut in the road, just below the station, through which the train was about to pass. They threw in a close and effective fire upon the passing train, loaded with troops. Many of these were killed and wounded.

It was now the second night since leaving camp, and haversacks with which we started from camp had long since been emptied. The march had been so rapid that there was little opportunity of foraging for man or beast. Except a little bread and meat, brought out to the column by the country people as we passed along, we had had nothing since daybreak, The men were weary and hungry, and the horses almost exhausted by the long fast and severe exercise. As soon as a proper disposition had been made of the prisoners and of the captured horses and mules, the column moved on. Down through New Kent County, to a place called New Baltimore, we marched as rapidly as our condition would permit. I was still in the command of the advance-guard, marching some distance ahead of the column, and had orders to halt at this point, and await the coming up of the main body. Fortunately, an enterprising Yankee had established a store here, to catch the trade of all persons passing from McClellan's army to his base of supplies at the White House. He had crackers, cheese, canned fruits, sardines, and many other dainties dear to the cavalryman; and in the brief hour spent with him, we, of the advance, were made new men. I fear little was left to cheer and to invigorate those in the rear. The main body arriving, "forward" was the order-straight down through New Kent to Sycamore Ford on the Chickahominy.

A beautiful full moon lighted our way and cast weird shadows across our path. Expecting each moment to meet the enemy, every bush in the distance looked like a sentinel, and every jagged tree bending over the road like a vidette. Marching all night, we arrived at the ford between daybreak and sunrise; and here our real troubles began. To our chagrin, we found the stream swollen by recent rains almost out of its banks, and running like a torrent. No man or horse could get over without swimming, and it happened that the entrance to the ford on our side was below the point at which we had to come out on the other side. Therefore, we had to swim against the current. Owing to the mud, it was not practicable for any number of horses to approach the river at any point except by the road leading to the ford.

We therefore tried it there for two long hours. The 9th Cavalry made the trial. After repeated efforts to swim the horses over we give up, for we had crossed over only seventy-five men and horses in two hours. While we were trying to reach the opposite bank Stuart came up, and, finding the crossing at this point impracticable, rode off to find another farther down the river. At a point about one mile below, known as Forge Bridge, he succeeded in throwing across one branch of the river a bridge strong enough to bear the artillery, and upon which the men, having been dismounted, could walk. Here the approach on our side was higher up stream than the point at which we would come out on the other side. So the horses were formed into a column of fours, pushed into the water, and, swimming down stream, they easily landed on the other side. After a few horses had been crossed in this manner we found no difficulty, the others following on quite readily.

The column was now upon an island formed by the two branches of the Chickahominy, and to reach the mainland it was necessary to cross the other branch of that river. This was, however, accomplished, but with some difficulty. The ford at this crossing was at that time very deep, and the river out of its banks and overflowing the flats to the depth of about two feet for at least a half-mile. At this place the limber of a caisson stuck fast in the mud, and we left it.

On leaving the river, General Stuart directed me to take charge of the rear-guard, and, when all had crossed, to burn the bridge. In accordance with these orders, I directed the men to collect piles of fence rails, heap them on the bridge, and set them afire. By my orders the horses had been led some distance back from the river into the brush, where they were concealed from view. The men were lounging about on the ground when the bridge fell in. I was seated under a tree on the bank of the river, and at the moment that the hissing of the burning timbers of the bridge let me know that it had fallen into the water, a rifle-shot rang out from the other side, and the whistling bullet cut off a small limb over my head, which fell into my lap. The shot was probably fired by some scout who had been following us, but who was afraid to fire until the bridge was gone. With a thankful heart for his bad aim, I, at once, withdrew the men and pushed on after the column. When I came to the ford, I found it necessary to swim the horses a short distance, it having been deepened by the crossing of such a large body of horse. Soon the column was in sight, and the march across Charles City County to the James River was made as vigorously as the jaded horses were able to stand. The men, though weary and hungry; were in fine spirits, and jubilant over the successful crossing of the Chickahominy. About sunset we neared the James, at the plantation of Colonel Wilcox. Here we rested for about two hours, having marched into a field of clover, where the horses ate their all. In the twilight, fires were lighted to cook the rations just brought in by our foragers.

We were now twenty-five miles from Richmond, on the "James River Road." Had the enemy been aware of our position, it would have been easy for him to throw a force between us and Richmond, and so cut us off. But the Federal General was not well served by his scouts, nor did his cavalry furnish him with accurate information of our movements. Relying upon the mistakes of the enemy, Stuart resolved to march straight on into Richmond by the River road on which we now lay. To accomplish this with the greater safety, it was necessary for him to march at once. Accordingly, I was ordered to take the advance guard and move out. As soon as the cravings of hunger were appeased, sleep took possession of us. Although in the saddle and in motion, and aware that the safety of the expedition depended on great vigilance in case the enemy should be encountered, it was hard to keep awake. I was constantly falling asleep, and awaking with a start when almost off my horse. This was the condition of every man in the column. Not one had closed his eyes in sleep for forty-eight hours.

The full moon lighted us on our way as we passed along the River road, and frequently the windings of this road brought us near to and in sight of the James River, where lay the enemy's fleet. In the gray twilight of the dawn of Sunday, we passed the "Double Gates," "Strawberry Plains," and "Tighlman's gate" in succession. at "Tighlman's" we could see the masts of the Fleet, not far off. Happily for us, the banks were high, and I imagine they had no lookout in the rigging, and we passed by unobserved. The sight of the enemy's fleet had aroused us somewhat, when "Who goes there!" rang out on the stillness of the early morning. The challenger proved to be a vidette of the 10th Virginia Cavalry, commanded by Colonel J. Lucius Davis, who was picketing that road. Soon I was shaking hands with Colonel Davis and receiving his congratulations. Then we crossed the stream by the jug factory, up toward "New Market" heights, by the drill-house, and about a mile beyond we called halt for a little rest and food. From this point the several regiments were dismissed to their respective camps.

We lost one man killed and a few wounded, and no prisoners. The most important result was the confidence the men had gained in themselves and in their leaders. The country rang out with praises of the men who had raided entirely around General McClellan's powerful army, bringing prisoners and plunder from under his very nose. The Southern papers were filled with accounts of the expedition, none accurate, and most of them marvelous.

Stuart's First Ride Around McClellan - Part One

2008-05-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

This eyewitness account of Stuart's first ride around McClellan was printed in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. The original can be found in Volume II starting on page 271.

STUART'S RIDE AROUND McCLELLAN

By W.T. Robins, Colonel, C.S.A.

THE battle of “Seven Pines,” or “Fair Oaks,” had been fought with no result. The temporary success of the Confederates early in the engagement, had been more than counter balanced by the reverses they sustained on the second day, and the two armies lay passively watching each other in front of Richmond. At this time the cavalry of Lee's army was commanded by General J. E. B. Stuart, and this restless officer conceived the idea of flanking the right wing of the Federal army near Ashland, and moving around to the rear, to cross the Chickahominy River at a place called Sycamore Ford, in New Kent County, march over to the James River, and return to the Confederate lines near Deep Bottom, in Henrico County. In carrying out this plan, Stuart would completely encircle the army of General McClellan. At the time of this movement, the writer was adjutant of the 9th Virginia cavalry.

When the orders were issued from headquarters directing the several commands destined to form the expedition to prepare three days' rations, and the ordnance officers to issue sixty rounds of ammunition to each man, I remember the surmises and conjectures as to our destination. The officers and men were in high spirits in anticipation of a fight, and when the bugles rang out " “Boots and Saddles,” every man was ready. The men left behind in camp were bewailing their luck, and those forming the detail for the expedition were elated at the prospect of some excitement. “Good-bye, boys; we are going to help old Jack drive the Yanks into the Potomac,”[1] I heard one of them shout to those left behind.

On the afternoon of June 12th we went out to the Brooke turnpike, preparatory to the march. The cavalry column was the 9th Virginia, commanded by Colonel W. H. F. Lee, the 1st Virginia, led by Colonel Fitz Lee, and the Jeff Davis Legion, under Colonel W. H. F. Martin. A section of the Stuart Horse Artillery, commanded by Captain Pelham, accompanied the expedition. The whole numbered twelve hundred men. They passed in bivouac in the vicinity of Ashland, and orders were issued enforcing strict silence and forbidding the use of fires, as the success of the expedition would depend upon secrecy and celerity.

On the following morning, at the break of dawn, the troopers were mounted and the march was begun without a bugle blast, and the column headed direct for Hanover Court House, distant about two hours' ride. Here we had the first sight of the enemy. A scouting party of the 5th U.S. Cavalry was in the village, but speedily decamped when our troops were ascertained to be Confederates. One prisoner was taken after a hot chase across country. We now moved rapidly to Hawes's Shop, where a Federal picket was surprised and captured without firing a shot. Hardly had the prisoners been disarmed and turned over to the provost guard when the Confederate advance was driven in upon the main body by a squadron of Federal cavalry, sent out from Old Church to ascertain by reconnaissance whether the report of a Confederate advance was true or false.

General Stuart at once ordered Colonel W. H. F. Lee, commanding the regiment leading the column, to throw forward a squadron to meet the enemy. Colonel Lee directed Captain Swann, chief of the leading squadron of his regiment, to charge with the saber. Swann moved off at a trot, and, turning a corner of the road, saw the enemy's squadron about two hundred yards in front of him. The order to charge was given, and the men dashed forward in fine style. The onset was so sudden that the Federal cavalry broke and scattered in confusion. The latter had a start of barely two hundred yards, but the Confederate yell that broke upon the air lent them wings, and only a few fell into our hands. The rest made their escape after a chase of a mile and a half.
Now the road became very narrow, and the brush on either side was a place so favorable for an ambuscade that Captain Swann deemed it prudent to draw rein and sound the bugle to recall his men. Stuart, who had been marching steadily with main body of the Confederate column, soon arrived at the front, and the advance guard, which I had all along commanded, was directed to move forward again. I at once dismounted the men, and pushed forward up a hill in my front. Just beyond the hill, I ran into a force of Federal cavalry drawn up in column of fours, ready to charge. Just as my advance-guard was about to run into him, I heard their commanding officer give the order to charge. I fell back and immediately noticed General Stuart in the presence of the enemy.

Captain Latane, commanding a squadron of the 9th Virginia, was directed to move forward and clear the road. He moved up the hill at a trot, and when in sight of the enemy in the road gave the command to charge, and with a yell the men rushed forward. At the top of the hill, simultaneously with Latane's order to charge, a company of Federal cavalry, deployed as skirmishers in the woods on the right of the road, were stampeded, and rushed back into the woods to make good their retreat to their friends. The head of Latane's squadron, then just fairly up the hill, was in the line of their retreat and was separated from the rest of the squadron, cut off by the rush of the Federals, and borne along with them up the road toward the enemy.

I was riding at the side of Latane, and just at the time when the Federal company rushed back into the road Captain Latane fell from his horse, shot dead. Though rush of the Federals separated myself and six of the leading files of the squadron from our friends, and we were borne along by the flying Federals. Although the Federal cavalry both in front and rear were in full retreat, our situation was perilous in the extreme. Soon we were pushed by foes in our rear into the ranks of those in our front, and a series of hand-to-hand combats ensued. To shoot or to cut us down was the aim of every Federal as he neared us, but we did what we could to defend ourselves. Every one of my comrades was shot or cut down, and I alone escaped unhurt. `After having been borne along by the retreating enemy for perhaps a quarter of a mile, I leaped my horse over the fence into the field and so got away.

Now came the rush of the Confederate column, sweeping the road clear. At this point my regiment was relieved by the 1st Virginia, and Colonel Lee continued the pursuit. The Federals did not attempt to make a stand until they reached Old Church. Here their officers called a halt, and made an attempt to rally to defend their camp. Fitz Lee soon swept them out, and burned their camp. They made no other attempt to stand, and we heard no more of them as an organized body, but many prisoners were taken as me passed along. We had surprised them, taken them in detail, and far outnumbered them at all points. The Federal forces, as we afterward learned, were commanded by General Philip St. George Cooke, father-in-law to General Stuart, to whom the latter sent a polite message. The casualties in this skirmish were slight-one man killed on each side, and about fifteen or twenty wounded on the Confederate side, mostly saber-cuts.

We halted for a short time at Old Church, and the people of the neighborhood, hearing of our arrival, came out to greet us and wish us Godspeed. They did not come empty-handed, but brought whatever they could snatch up on the spur of the moment, rightly supposing that anything to allay hunger or thirst would be acceptable to us. Some of the ladies brought bouquets, and presented them to the officers as they marched along. One of these was given to General Stuart, who, always gallant, vowed to preserve it and take it into Richmond. He kept his promise.

We were soon far in rear of McClellan's army, which lay directly between us and Richmond. It was thought probable that the Federal cavalry was concentrating in our rear to cut off our retreat. We kept straight on, by Smith's store, through New Kent County to Tunstall's station, on the York River Railroad. I had been in charge of the Confederate advance-guard up to the time when Colonel Fitz Lee came to the front, with the 1st Virginia relieved the 9th of that duty. Well down in New Kent County, General Stuart sent for me again to the front. Hurrying on, I soon reached the head of the column where I found the general, and was directed by him to take thirty men as an advance-guard, and to precede the column by about half a mile. Further, I was directed to halt at the road running from the mills to the White House long enough to cut the telegraph wire on that road; thence to proceed to Tunstall's station on the York River Railroad, at which place, the prisoners had informed the general, a company of Federal infantry was posted. At Tunstall's station I was directed to charge the infantry, disperse or capture them, cut the telegraph, and obstruct the railroad.

Here was our point of danger. Once across the railroad, we were comparatively safe. But in possession of the railroad, with its rolling-stock, the enemy could easily throw troops along its line to any given point. However, no timely information had been furnished to the Federal general. We moved with such celerity that we carried with us the first news of our arrival. Pushing forward at a trot, and picking up straggling prisoners every few hundred yards, the advance-guard at length reached the telegraph road. At this point we overtook an ordnance wagon, heavily loaded with canteens and Colt's revolvers. The horses had stalled in a mud-hole, and the driver, cutting them out from the wagon, made his escape. The sergeant in charge stood his ground and was captured.

Here was a prize indeed, as in those days we ware poorly armed. In order to save time, a man furnished with an ax was sent to cut the telegraph wire, while the rest of the party was engaged in rifling the wagon. While these operations were in progress a body of Federal cavalry, suddenly turning a bend in the road, made their appearance. As soon as the Federal officer in command saw us he called a halt, and, standing still in the road, seemed at a loss to know what to do. His men drew their sabers, as if about to charge, but they did not come on. By this time the telegraph had been out and the wagon disposed of. Our men were hastily mounted and formed into column of fours, with drawn sabers, ready for any emergency. There we stood, eying each other, about two hundred yards apart, until the head of the main Confederate column came in sight. The Federals retreated down the road leading to the White. House. One man of the Federal party was sent back along the road to Tunstall's station, now only about half a mile off. I supposed, of course, that this messenger was sent to warn the Federal troops at Tunstall's of our approach. I was, however, afterward informed that he galloped through Tunstall's but never stopped, and when some one called to him, "What's to pay?" he dashed along, calling out, at the top of his voice, "Hell's to pay!"

Footnotes:
[1] Stuart's raiders left camp ostensibly to go to Northern Virginia

Cavalry Tactics

2008-05-23T00:42:00.000-07:00

General Orders, No. 26 Cavalry Tactics

Headquarters Cavalry Division
Army Northern Virginia
July 30th, 1863

The major-general commanding has endeavored in vain, by oral injunctions, to correct the defects in the mode of fighting pursued by this division, but they have been so steadily on the increase that he is compelled to make their correction the subject of General Orders.

In preparation for action, skirmishers should always be quickly deployed, either mounted or dismounted, according to the nature of the ground; the cavalry column formed into distinct squadrons and regiments, with distinct intervals, which are indispensable; those squadrons in rear of the one engaged taking special care that any confusion which may occur in front shall not extend to them, and, above all, not permitting any retreat of those engaged to break their front, but remain firm and unbroken until ordered into action.

If a squadron engaged becomes broken, and compelled by overwhelming force to retire, its members will take care not to run through the ranks of those in the rear, but will move to the nearest rallying point without confusion, or precipitancy, or noise.

The column in advancing to the charge will move steadily up at a walk, taking the trot when about 200 yards from the enemy, the trot being slow and steady in front, each squadron keeping its formation distinct and well closed. The charge will be delivered against the enemy by squadrons, the gallop being taken when within 50 yards of the enemy’s front, and the gait increased instead of diminished as the enemy is neared, so as to give the greatest possible force to the shock against the enemy’s column, the rider sitting firmly in saddle, with his saber wide awake for the thrust. Too much importance cannot be given to the shock of the charge, the furious impact of horse against horse, for in that will consist the success of the charge. The enemy once broken, must be followed vigorously, the officers taking care not to allow the pursuit to lag on account of the accumulation of prisoners and plunder. Plundering in battle is strictly prohibited. The prevalent, a habit counseled by fear, of charging as soon as within a quarter of a mile of the foe, up to the range of pistolshot, and there halting to deliver fire, is highly injudicious and entirely destructive of success. The pistol should never be used in a charge, excepting when the enemy is beyond an impassible barrier near at hand, or by a man unhorsed in combat, in which latter case especially it may be made a most effective weapon.

Whenever practicable, an attack should be made on either or both flanks simultaneously with the front attack, but the latter should not be too much weakened for this purpose. All troops are tender about their flanks; and oftentimes, when a real flank attack is impracticable, a mere feint or demonstration pushed boldly toward the flank and rear will strike dismay into the enemy’s ranks. An attack of cavalry should be sudden, bold, and vigorous; to falter is to fail. The cavalry which arrives noiselessly but steadily near the enemy, and then, with one loud yell, leaps upon him without a note of warning, and giving him no time to form or consider anything but the immediate means of flight, pushing him vigorously every step with all the confidence of victory achieved, is true cavalry; while a body of men equally brave and patriotic, who halt at every picket and reconnoiter until the precious surprise is over, is not cavalry.

While rashness is a crime, boldness is not incompatible with caution, nay, is often the quintessence of prudence.

The position which the cavalry officers generally take in battle is a subject requiring immediate correction. Though highly creditable to their gallantry, it is highly derogatory to their discretion, and at direct variance with their duty. The following will be hereafter adhered to strictly:

A brigade, regiment, or squadron advancing in line of battle, will have the commander in front sufficiently far to supervise and control its movements; but in columns of squadrons, platoons, fours, or twos, the brigade commander must be in a position sufficiently central to keep his brigade well in hand, and make communications to his colonels easy and intelligible.

The regimental commander will preserve such a location in his column as shall be sufficiently central to control and supervise its movements and check any wavering by prompt support; to order his squadron commanders successively to the charge, and superintend their rallying and return to action. These duties will absorb all his energies and time, and will require the active assistance of the lieutenant-colonel, major, and regimental staff.

The squadron commander will lead his squadron, keeping it together, preserving in his own person coolness and self-possession, but the quickness of an eagle. He will be assisted by the second captain and lieutenants, all striving by precept and example to insure success, remembering that in victory alone is safety and honor. The squadron commander who hesitates to lead his men whenever ordered by his colonel, is a disgrace to his commission; and men who fail or falter in a charge led by their squadron chief, will not be lost sight of in the annals of infamy and disgrace.

Should the charge be repulsed, the skirmishers on the flanks will, instead of retiring with the column, direct a concentrated fire on the advancing column of the enemy, endeavoring to hold it in check till fresh troops move up.

The ambulance corps alone will be allowed to remove the wounded, and all will bear in mind that our first duty to our wounded is to win the victory.

Should any check or confusion occur, the utmost silence will be observed in the ranks, in order that the commands of officers may be distinctly heard and quickly executed. The commands given will be few and to the point.

The major-general commanding appeals not only to the officers but to the men of his division to observe the rules he has laid down for their guidance.

That individuality of action which so strongly, characterizes the conduct of our troops in battle, if unguided or misdirected, can but produce confusion. But let the same idea control the mind of every man, let them apply these general principles to the incidents of battle as they arise, and success is certain.

By command of Major General J.E.B. Stuart:

H.B. McClellan
Major and
Assistant Adjutant-General

General Orders Seventeen

2008-05-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

This story circulated among Stonewall Jackson’s men after his death: Two angels came to carry Stonewall back to Heaven with them. They searched all through his camp but couldn’t find him. They went to the prayer meeting, to the hospital, every place they thought he might be, all to no avail. They finally returned to Heaven to find Stonewall had executed a splendid flanking movement and gotten to Heaven before them.

The Death of General J.E.B. Stuart

2008-05-18T01:31:00.001-07:00

After concluding the series commemorating both Jackson and Stuart’s deaths, I came upon this eyewitness account from the Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, which is based on the Century war series published November 1884 to November 1887 in Century Magazine. This account was written by a private of the Sixth Virginia Cavalry, CSA, and comes from Volume 4, page 194.

On the morning of the fight at Yellow Tavern, May 12th, 1864, I was acting as one of Stuart's couriers. At the beginning of it, I was stationed in front of the tavern, under one of a row of trees that lined the way close by. To my left, about four hundred yards off, the enemy could be easily seen emerging from a piece of woods and forming for battle. A short distance to my right, I saw an irregular line of Confederates. Pretty soon from the enemy came lively volleys whistling through the trees and starting the dust in the road.

In a few minutes, I saw two horsemen approach from the Confederate side. As they drew near I recognized General Stuart and Colonel Walter Hullihen. They halted near by in the road, and Stuart, taking out his field-glass, deliberately watched the maneuvers of the enemy, though balls were whizzing past him. Presently, regardless of the increasing fire, which was now accompanied with shouts, Stuart put his glass away, and taking out paper and pencil wrote an order. Handing it to Colonel Hullihen, he told him to take it to General Lomax. That officer replied by pointing to me and suggesting that I should carry it. Stuart assented, and I rode off in search of General Lomax.

The firing continued to increase, and many squadrons were in sight. The enemy, awake to their superior numbers, seemed about to make a general advance, while our men were availing themselves of the character of the ground to repel their attack. After going a few rods to the rear, my horse, excited by the firing, , suddenly stopped and refused to budge. After several vain attempts with the spur and the fiat side of my sword to start him, I at last struck him with all my strength right between the ears. This "downed" him, but he soon rose and ran off at the top of his speed. I soon came to where General Lomax was, and coming into collision with his horse gained his immediate attention. After reading the note he told me to go back and tell General Stuart that the order had been delivered. In a few moments I rejoined him sitting on his horse, close behind a line of dismounted men, who were firing at the advancing Federals. The disparity of numbers between the opposing forces was very great, to judge from appearances. Our men seemed aware of their inferior strength, but were not dismayed. The enemy confidently pressed forward with exultant shouts, delivering tremendous volleys. The Confederates returned their fire with yells of defiance.

Stuart, with pistol in hand, shot over the heads of the troops, while with words of cheer he encouraged them. He kept saying: “Steady, men, Steady. Give it to them." Presently, he reeled in his saddle. His head was bowed and his hat fell off. He turned and said as I drew nearer: “Go and tell General Lee and Dr. Fontaine to come here.”

I wheeled at once and went as fast as I could to do his bidding. Coming to the part of the line where General Lomax was, I told him Stuart was hurt and that he wanted General Fitz Lee. He pointed to the left and told me to hurry. Soon I found General Lee and delivered the message. He was riding a light gray, if I remember, and instantly upon receipt of the news went like an arrow down the line. When I returned, Stuart had been taken from his horse and was being carried by his men off the field. I saw him put in an ambulance and I followed it close behind. He lay without speaking as it went along, but kept shaking his head with an expression of the deepest disappointment.

He died the next day, May 12th.

Reprinted from the "Southern Bivouac" for September, 1884.

A Letter Home by Jeb Stuart

2008-05-13T02:41:00.000-07:00

I read this letter, written by Stuart during his West Point days, and laughed until tears came to my eyes. So I thought I would share it with all of you. To me this letter reveals much about Stuart's character, sense of humor, and his very charming ways. I hope you enjoy it also.

U.S. Military Academy
West Point, New York
December 23rd, 1853

Dear Pa,

I received your welcome letter today, and hasten to express my appreciation of your promptitude by an interesting account of a calamity that has recently befallen me. I am now in the hospital, the result of another black eye. As I have no desire to conceal anything from you even though it be disreputable to myself I will give you a full statement of the facts connected with the fight. I have often told you that I had no fears of difficulties resulting from private differences but that the prominence of my official position (Captain of a Company) would, in the numerous unpleasant duties incumbent upon me to perform as such, render me constantly liable to collisions and difficulties with my associates who may be of an uncompromising disposition and an inclination to demur at every act of a superior that does not conform to their gratification and ease however such act may accord with the duties enjoined upon the officer.

I have determined from the outset to do my duty to the letter, and such I have done, as has been more than once attested by the authorities. I have fully calculated upon the above difficulties, and have regarded them as some of the necessary misfortunes of my office, and whenever they arose I determined to “acquiesce in the necessity” which would lead to a personal encounter. Knowing the penalty of the offence I have consequently always regarded my stay here as precarious. But I am digressing.

The other evening at parade, it being unusually cold for dress parade, the Corps were evidently verging on insubordination. Of course this was none of my business, as my post was several paces in front of the line with my back to it except so far as I was the subject to the orders which the officer (Army) in charge might give in the case. In dismissing the parade, that officer gave orders to us cadet officers that in case of any “loud shouting” after dismissal from the ranks he would require us to report the offender. Accordingly due notice was given to the men that if they shouted they would be reported; notwithstanding this, there was shouting, and acting in obedience to the above order, I was standing outside the barracks looking on the only person whom I could identify in the act [which] was a strapping big Mississippian [Sanders], a private in my company, who just as he entered the door gave one tremendous yell.

Of course I reported him, for whenever I have received a positive order, however I may question its propriety, to report for any particular offense I have done it regardless of the consequences. When the report was published on the following evening, Sanders considered himself very much outraged; and though we had previously been good friends as far as I knew, I suppose he considered this sufficient ground to declare war. Accordingly after supper a classmate of his came to me and said he had been requested by Sanders to say in effect that I had on the previous evening treated him in a manner which required satisfaction and that it would gratify him if at any time I would repair with him to Kosciusko’s Garden (a romantic spot by the way, which I have often visited in a very different capacity). I told him I would do so as desired, and would send a friend to him next morning to appoint the time.

As soon as circumstances admitted I went to Rogers, acquainted him with the facts and desired him as my friend to see Sanders’ friend in the morning and tell him to meet us at the above place immediately after breakfast. All the preliminaries being arranged, the hour arrived and off we stalked towards the scene of action, Rogers and I leading the way and Sanders and his friend a few paces behind. We had no fears of being caught for it was a colder morning than you ever felt in Virginia and it was too early for officers to frequent such a secluded spot.

Arriving there we lost no time in getting to work. Being just about half his size and strength I calculated upon getting whipped and so determined to take it coolly. So great was our disparity in size that Rogers wanted me to insist upon taking a club, which I persisted in refusing. I told him it was a matter of little consequence whether I whipped or was whipped, and I would not have the appearance of seeking an advantage for the sake of a victory.

At first to my great surprise I was whipping him fast and the seconds say that as long as I had any strength left I had decidedly the best of the fight, but being a shorter, lighter man than Sanders he outwinded me and although I warded off nearly every blow at first my arms soon became perfectly powerless from exertion. Then he left me have a few left-handed licks (for he was a left-handed man), but he too was so much exhausted that he could not strike any longer. It was then proposed by him that we rest awhile, to which I assented. On coming to the contest again we were both pretty badly bruised—my eye had completely closed up and my arms were weak as water. Finding myself completely “hors de combat,” as “discretion is the better part of valor,” I acknowledged myself whipped. This ended the fight.

Upon Rogers’ suggestion I came immediately here, and reported to the surgeon, and have been ever since. The doctor laughed, and not long after Sanders came. He did not remain but was excused by the doctor from recitation. The affair will not reach the authorities through the surgeon for surgeons regard such things as professional secrets. My eye being so much more swollen than Sanders is accounted for from the fact that my flesh puffs up like a bladder from the slightest bruise which is not the case with his. As regards public opinion in the Corps it is said to be in my favor, but the majority condemn my consenting to fight him even-handed.

Thus you have a detailed account of the whole transaction which I hope will be the last of the kind. But I have not told you the best part of the joke. Tomorrow being Christmas Eve, Mrs. Lee [Mary Custis Lee] gives a large party to which I am invited but this black eye forces me to send a regret as a substitute. I assure you never to me was disappointment more bitter than the present, especially as “Christmas comes but once a year,” but such is the fortune of war, so I must content myself with a Christmas gift to Miss Mary Lee [Robert E. Lee’s oldest daughter].

I will not report to duty till next week for although I am in other respects perfectly well I consider it improper for me to be parading around with a bandaged eye for the remark and idle curiosity of all.

I received Cousin Fontaine’s letter which contained all the desired information. He reports rather unfavorably. Please present in my name my profound acknowledgement for the favor. Can Charles Lee be anything like his brother? Regards to Ed Parker and other friends. I sent you last Monday a speech of mine which I suppose ere this you have received. I consider the subject a difficult one and you will see from my manner of treating it that I was far from being its master. Please attend to the Visitorship. Though I doubt the expediency of John’s course in his circumstance, I think the business of farming suits him far better than medicine. Please write soon. Colonel Fontaine’s is the only letter I have received since my last letter. If you see Mr. Lee a short time previous to writing it will always be gratifying to his relatives here to hear from him through us.

I remain yours affectionately,
J.E.B. Stuart

The Death of Jeb Stuart

2008-05-12T02:21:00.000-07:00

This narrative comes from Douglas Freeman Southall's volumes R.E. Lee.

In the midst of the battle, when the whole army had been wrestling with the blue thousands that had streamed over the parapets, a messenger had arrived with news of Stuart's movements to head off Sheridan's raid before it reached Richmond. Spurring their worn mounts, the anxious Southern troopers had intercepted the Federals at Yellow Tavern, seven miles north of Richmond and had given battle there. Stuart himself, as always, had been in the fullest of the fight, and, just as the Unionists had turned off to try to force a way into Richmond by some less-contested route, he had been shot through the body by a dismounted blue cavalryman. That had been on the afternoon of the 11th. The wounded Stuart had been borne into Richmond, and, when the dispatch was sent Lee, was believed to be dying.

Stuart dying! The "eyes of the army" about to be destroyed. It was the worst calamity that had befallen the South since that May day, just a year previously, when "Stonewall" had breathed his last. Lee was surrounded by a number of young officers when he finished reading the dispatch, and he had to steel himself as he announced the news. "General Stuart," he said, as he folded up the paper, "has been mortally wounded: a most valuable and able officer." He paused a moment and then he added in a shaken voice, "He never brought me a piece of false information." Later in the night, while the battle had still been frenzied, another message brought the dreaded word: With the cheerful composure that had marked all his acts, Stuart had died after 8 P.M.that evening. Lee put his hands over his face to conceal his emotion, as he heard that his great lieutenant was dead, dead in the crisis of his beloved army's life, dead at the age of thirty-one and before the fullness of his powers had been realized. As quickly as he could, Lee retired to his tent to master his grief, and when one of Stuart's staff officers entered, a little later, to tell him of Stuart's last minutes, Lee could only say, "I can scarcely think of him without weeping!" To Mrs. Lee he wrote, "A more zealous, ardent, brave and devoted soldier than Stuart the Confederacy cannot have."

Here is Lee’s announcement of Stuart’s death taken from the Official Records.

General Orders No. 44
Headquarters, Army of Northern Virginia
May 20, 1864

The commanding general announces to be the army with heartfelt sorrow the death of Major General J.E.B. Stuart, late commander of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. Among the gallant soldiers who have fallen in the war, General Stuart was second to none in valor,in zeal, and in unfaltering devotion to his country. His achievements form a conspicuous part of the history of this army, with which his name and serve will be forever associated. To military capacity of a higher order and all the nobler virtues of the soldier he added the brigher graces of a pure life, grounded and sustained bythe Christian’s faith and hope. The mysterious hand of an Allwise God has removed him from the scene of his usefulness and fame. His grateful countrymen will mourn his loss and cherish his memory. To his comrades in arms he has left the proud recollections of his deeds, and the inspiring influence of his example.

R.E. Lee
General.

This concludes the series covering Jackson's and Stuart's woundings and deaths.

The Death of Major General J.E.B. Stuart

2008-05-10T22:50:00.000-07:00

The following is an account of Stuart’s death and funeral from the Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. VII. Richmond, Virginia, February, 1879. No. 2. There are some very flagrant errors within the text. I have left the text intact, but put the correct information in parenthesis.

The circumstances attending the wounding and death of the "Flower of Cavaliers" ought to be put in permanent form for the use of the future historian, for no history of the Army of Northern Virginia would be complete which did not give large space to the chivalric deeds of this great soldier.

Among our most precious memories of those stirring times are those which cluster around the person and character of Stuart. We remember him as he led an infantry charge on the outpost in the autumn of 1861-- as he appeared at his headquarters on his red blanket on Munson's hill, with a kindly word and a cordial grasp for even the private soldier -- as all through the campaigns which followed he appeared at the head of his column or in the heat of battle always gay, quick and daring -- and especially do we love to recall him amid the sweets of social intercourse or sitting a deeply interested listener in the meetings of our Chaplains' Association at Orange Courthouse. We were present when he took leave of his devoted wife at the opening of the campaign of 1864, saw him several times amid those bloody scenes in the Wilderness, and wept with the whole army when the sad news came that the great cavalryman had fallen -- that the "Chevalier Bayard" of the Confederacy had yielded up his noble life in defending our capital from imminent danger.

We would be glad to have from some competent hand a sketch of that last campaign of Stuart's, and a detailed account of the circumstances immediately connected with his fall. Meantime we give below the very interesting account of his last moments, which appeared at the time of his death in the Richmond Examiner:

No incident of mortality, since the fall of the great Jackson, has occasioned more painful regret than this. Major General J.E.B. Stuart, the model of Virginian cavaliers and dashing chieftain, whose name was a terror to the enemy, and familiar as a household word in two continents, is dead - - struck down by a bullet from the foe, and the whole Confederacy mourns him. He breathed out his gallant spirit resignedly, and in the full possession of all his remarkable faculties of mind and body, at twenty two minutes to eight o'clock Thursday night, at the residence of Dr. Brewer, a relative, (Dr. Brewer was his brother-in-law) on Grace street, in the presence of Drs. Brewer, Garnett, Gibson, and Fontaine, of the General's staff, Rev. Messrs. Peterkin and Keller and a circle of sorrow stricken comrades and friends. We learn from the physicians in attendance upon the General that his condition during the day was very changeable, with occasional delirium and other unmistakable symptoms of speedy dissolution. In the moments of delirium the General's mind wandered and, like the immortal Jackson (whose spirit, we trust, his has joined), in the lapse of reason his faculties were busied with the details of his command. He reviewed, in broken sentences, all his glorious campaigns around McClellan's rear on the Peninsula beyond the Potomac, and upon the Rapidan, quoting from his orders and issuing new ones to his couriers, with a last injunction to "make haste."

About noon, Thursday, President Davis visited his bedside, and spent some fifteen minutes in the dying chamber of his favorite chieftain. The President, taking his hand, said, "General, how do you feel?" He replied, "Easy, but willing to die, if God and my country think I have fulfilled my destiny and done my duty." As evening approached the General's delirium increased, and his mind again wandered to the battlefields over which he had fought, then off to wife and children, and off again to the front. A telegraphic message had been sent for his wife, who was in the country, with the injunction to make all haste, as the General was dangerously wounded. Some thoughtless but unauthorized person, thinking probably to spare his wife pain, altered the dispatch to "slightly wounded," and it was thus she received it, and did not make that haste which she otherwise would have done to reach his side.

As the evening wore on, the paroxysms of pain increased, and mortification set in rapidly. Though suffering the greatest agony at times, the General was calm, and applied to the wound with his own hand the ice intended to relieve the pain. During the evening he asked Dr. Brewer how long he thought he could live, and whether it was possible for him to survive through the night. The Doctor, knowing he did not desire to be buoyed by false hopes, told him frankly that death, that last enemy, was rapidly approaching. The General nodded and said, "I am resigned if it be God's will; but I would like to see my wife. But God's will be done." Several times he roused up and asked if she had come.

To the Doctor, who sat holding his wrist and counting the fleeting, weakening pulse, he remarked, "Doctor, I suppose I am going fast now. It will soon be over. But God's will be done. I hope I have fulfilled my destiny to my country and my duty to God."

At half past seven o'clock it was evident to the physicians that death was setting its clammy seal upon the brave, open brow of the General, and told him so; asked if he had any last messages to give. The General, with a mind perfectly clear and possessed, then made dispositions of his staff and personal effects. To Mrs. General R.E. Lee he directed that his golden spurs be given as a dying memento of his love and esteem of her husband. (Correction: The spurs were sent to Mrs. Lilly Lee of Shepherdstown) To his staff officers he gave his horses. So particular was he in small things, even in the dying hour, that he emphatically exhibited and illustrated the ruling passion strong in death. To one of his staff, who was a heavy built man, he said, "You had better take the larger horse; he will carry you better." Other mementoes he disposed of in a similar manner. To his young son he left his glorious sword.

His worldly matters closed, the eternal interest of his soul engaged his mind. Turning to the Rev. Mr. Peterkin, of the Episcopal Church, and of which he was an exemplary member, he asked him to sing the hymn commencing --

"Rock of ages cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee,"

he joining in with all the voice his strength would permit. He then joined in prayer with the ministers. To the Doctor he again said, "I am going fast now; I am resigned; God's will done."

Thus died General J.E.B. Stuart.

His wife reached the house of death and mourning about ten o'clock on Thursday night, one hour and a half after dissolution, and was of course plunged into the greatest grief by the announcement that death had intervened between the announcement of the wounding of the General and her arrival.

The funeral services, preliminary to the consignment to the grave of the remains of General Stuart, were conducted yesterday after noon in Saint James' Episcopal Church, corner of Marshall and Fifth streets -- Rev. Dr. Peterkin, rector. The cortege reached the church about five o'clock, without music or military escort, the Public Guard being absent on duty. The church was already crowded with citizens. The metallic case containing the corpse was borne into the church and up in the centre aisle to the altar the organ pealing a solemn funeral dirge and anthem by the choir.

Among the pall bearers we noticed Brigadier General John H. Winder, General George W. Randolph, General Joseph R. Anderson, Brigadier General Lawton and Commodore Forrest.

Among the congregation appeared President Davis, General Bragg, General Ransom, and other civic and military officials in Richmond. A portion of the funeral services according to the Episcopal church was read by Rev. Dr. Peterkin, assisted by other ministers, concluding with singing and prayer.

The body was then borne forth to the hearse in waiting, decorated with black plumes and drawn by four white horses. The organ pealed its slow, solemn music as the body was borne to the entrance, and whilst the cortege was forming -- the congregation standing by with heads uncovered. Several carriages in the line were occupied by the members of the deceased General's staff and relatives. From the church the cortege moved to Hollywood Cemetery, where the remains were deposited in a vault, the concluding portion of the affecting service read by Rev. Dr. Minnigerode, of Saint Paul's Church, and all that was mortal of the dead hero was shut in from the gaze of men.

Doctor Brewer, the brother in law of General Stuart, has furnished us with some particulars obtained from the General's own lips of the manner in which he came by his wound. He had formed a line of skirmishers near the Yellow Tavern, when, seeing a brigade preparing to charge on his left, General Stuart, with his staff and a few men, dashed down the line to form troops to repel the charge. About this time the Yankees came thundering down upon the General and his small escort. Twelve shots were fired at the General at short range, the Yankees evidently recognizing his well known person. The General wheeled upon them with the natural bravery which had always characterized him, and discharged six shots from his revolver at his assailants. The last of the twelve shots fired at him struck the General in the left side of the stomach. He did not fall, knowing he would be captured if he did, and nerving himself in his seat, wheeled his horse's head and rode for the protection of his lines. Before he reached them his wound overcame him, and he fell, or was helped from his saddle by one of his ever faithful troopers, and carried to a place of security. Subsequently, he was brought to Richmond in an ambulance. The immediate cause of death was mortification of the stomach, induced by the flow of blood from the kidneys and intestines into the cavity of the stomach.

General Stuart was about thirty five years of age. (Correction: He was thirty-one years old) He leaves a widow and two children. His oldest offspring, a sprightly boy, died a year ago while he was battling for his country on the Rappahannock. (Correction: It was his daughter, Flora, who had died in November, 1862) When telegraphed that his child was dying, he sent the reply, "I must leave my child in the hands of God; my country needs me here; I cannot come."

Thus has passed away, amid the exciting scenes of this revolution, one of the bravest and most dashing cavaliers that the "Old Dominion" has ever given birth to. Long will her sons recount the story of his achievements and mourn his untimely departure.

Lee's Reaction to the Death of Stonewall Jackson

2008-05-10T04:02:00.000-07:00

The following narrative comes from Douglas Freeman Southall's R.E. Lee. Southall's volumes are invaluable to the Lee literature and, in fact, serves as the seminal and definitive work on Lee's life. I have a problem with the volumes though. Southall puts his opinion in Lee's voice, therefore making it appear as if Lee is voicing these concerns, ideas, etc. Unfortunately, these opinions have worked their way into the current Civil War historiography as Lee's opinion and, therefore, as fact. As discerning historians, scholars, or even enthusiasts, it is our responsibility to separate the author's opinion from fact.

"One of Jackson's chaplains, Reverend B. T. Lacy, came to headquarters during the morning of the 7th on his way to find Doctor S. B. Morrison, Early's chief surgeon, whom Doctor McGuire desired in consultation. Jackson was worse, Mr. Lacy said. He had done very well on the 6th except for slight nausea, but at dawn Doctor McGuire had found unmistakable symptoms of pneumonia. There was fear, for the first time, that his illness might be fatal. Lee would not admit the possibility of such an outcome. His own faith in God was so complete that he did not believe Heaven would deprive the South of a man whose services were essential to victory. He said to Lacy: "Give [Jackson] my affectionate regards, and tell him to make haste and get well, and come back to me as soon as he can. He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right."

What would become of the army if Jackson died? Where, among all his lieutenants, could Lee look for another man to execute with swift certainty the flank marches he so much employed in his strategy? Longstreet was a fine fighter, once the issue was drawn, but Longstreet was slow and contentious, always arguing for his own plan, even to the last minute, whereas Jackson, after advancing his own proposals, would execute Lee's orders as readily as if they were his own. In the Army of Northern Virginia, he had no peer. For him to die would be in very truth for Lee to lose his "right arm."

That evening Jackson was reported better. The pneumonia did not seem to be filling the lung. But the next morning, Friday, May 8, as Lee went about the routine duties of the day, gloom settled again. Jackson was weaker, the pneumonia was advancing, he was in mild delirium at intervals, babbling orders and, with his old concern for the welfare of his men, repeatedly calling, "Tell Major Hawks to send forward provisions for the troops." Despite these ominous symptoms, Lee would not give him up. Jackson could not die, he kept telling himself! He was unable to go to Jackson, both because he could not trust his emotions and because there was no one in whose hands he would feel safe in leaving the army. He had even been compelled to ask the President to come to headquarters for the discussion of important military questions, inasmuch as he felt that his own presence there was essential. There was one thing, only one, that he could do for Jackson. That was to pray for him. On Saturday night, as the doctors shook their heads and expressed the fear that the outlook was hopeless, Lee went down spiritually to the brook Jabbok and, like Jacob, wrestled with the angel. Never in his life had he prayed with so much agony of spirit. While the army slept and Jackson in his stupor fought his battles over, Lee on his knees implored Heaven to grant to his country the mercy of the deliverance of Jackson from death.

When the troops began to gather for worship during the forenoon of the next day — a beautiful Sabbath that the commanding general had recommended as a day of thanksgiving for the victory — Lee was still unconvinced that Jackson would be taken. Eagerly he met the chaplain who came from Guiney's at Jackson's request to preach at headquarters. The face of the clergyman told his story: The doctors ahead given Jackson up and did not believe he could survive, except by a miracle. He was in virtual coma, breathing very badly, and muttering still of his warring. "A. P. Hill," he was saying, "prepare for action." And again: "I must find out whether there is high ground between Chancellorsville and the river . . . push up the columns, hasten the columns. . . ." Even in the face of this, Lee refused to believe it could happen. "Surely, General Jackson must recover," he said, in a shaken voice. "God will not take him from us, now that we need him so much. Surely he will be spared to us, in answer to the many prayers which are offered for him!"

The minister preached to a large company of officers and to a multitude of men who had escaped the fangs of death in the Wilderness, but it is doubtful if Lee heard much that the earnest and eloquent Mr. Lacy had to say. His mind was at Guiney's, with Jackson, and so were his prayers. When the service was over, Lee spoke again to the chaplain: "When you return, I trust you will find him better. When a suitable occasion offers, give him my love, and tell him that I wrestled in prayer for him last night, as I never prayed, I believe, for myself." And he had to turn abruptly away to conceal his emotion."

But it was not to be so. At 3:15, on a beautiful spring day, Jackson’s delirium stopped. With a smile, he said, “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.” And then he closed his eyes, and died.