Stuart Letter to His Cousin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.