J.E.B. Stuart

Confederate Army

J.E.B. Stuart was commissioned as a Captain of Cavalry in the Confederate Army on May 24, 1861, and rose quickly. His later appointments included:

Related Topics:
May 24 - 1861

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• Colonel, 1st Virginia Cavalry (July 16, 1861)
• Brigadier general, CSA (September 24, 1861)
• Major general, CSA (July 25, 1862)

Stuart's commands in the Army of Northern Virginia included:

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• Cavalry Brigade (October 22, 1861 – July 28, 1862)
• Cavalry Division (July 28, 1862 – September 9, 1863)
• Second Corps (temporarily replacing Jackson,May 3–6, 1863)
• Cavalry Corps (September 9, 1863 – May 11, 1864).

After early service in the Shenandoah Valley, Stuart led his regiment in First Bull Run and participated in the pursuit of the routed Federals. He then directed the army's outposts until given command of the cavalry brigade. He led the cavalry in the Army of Northern Virginia at

Related Topics:
Shenandoah Valley - First Bull Run

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• Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days Battles
• Second Battle of Bull Run
• Antietam
• Fredericksburg
• Chancellorsville
• Gettysburg
• Wilderness

Stuart was also a raider. Twice he slipped around McClellan's army, once in the Peninsula Campaign and once after the Battle of Antietam. While these exploits were not militarily significant, they improved Southern morale. During the Second Bull Run Campaign, he lost his signature plumed hat and cloak to pursuing Federals, but in a later raid, managed to overrun Union army commander John Pope's headquarters and not only captured his full uniform, but also intercepted orders that provided Lee with much valuable intelligence. At the end of 1862, Stuart led a raid north of the Rappahannock River, inflicting some 230 casualties while losing only 27 of his own men.

Related Topics:
McClellan - Peninsula Campaign - Union army - John Pope's - 1862 - Rappahannock River

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In May, 1863, at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Stuart was appointed by Lee to take command of the Second Corps for a few days after Stonewall Jackson had been mortally wounded and did as well commanding infantry as he did cavalry.

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Returning to the cavalry, the Gettysburg Campaign represented two low points in Stuart's career. He commanded the Southern horsemen at the Battle of Brandy Station, the largest cavalry engagement on the North American continent, on June 9, 1863. The battle was a draw and the Confederates held the field. However, falling victim to a surprise attack was an embarrassing blow to a cavalryman and the fight revealed the rising competency of the Union cavalry and foreshadowed the decline of the formerly invincible Southern mounted arm.

Related Topics:
Battle of Brandy Station - June 9 - 1863

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As Lee and Union General George G. Meade marched toward each other at Gettysburg, Lee ordered Stuart to screen the Confederate army as it moved down the Shenandoah Valley and to maintain contact with the lead element, Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps, as it advanced in the direction of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Stuart somehow interpreted these orders to once again attempt to circle the Union army and he found himself well to the east of Ewell, out of contact with the Union army and out of communications with Lee. Lee was left in serious difficulty, in enemy territory without detailed knowledge of the terrain, roads, or his opponent's strength and positions. And this lack of knowledge was the primary reason that the battle started almost by accident on July 1, 1863, before Lee could concentrate his army as he had planned. Stuart arrived late on the second day of the battle, bringing a caravan of captured Union supply wagons with him, and receiving a stinging rebuke from Lee. (It is unlikely Lee would have attacked on July 2 in the way he did if he had known the disposition of the Union forces at the Peach Orchard.) On the final day of the battle, Stuart failed to get into the enemy's rear and disrupt their line of communications, being checked by Union cavalry under Generals David McM. Gregg and George Armstrong Custer.

Related Topics:
George G. Meade - Richard S. Ewell - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - July 1 - 1863 - July 2 - David McM. Gregg - George Armstrong Custer

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During the Overland Campaign, Grant's drive on Richmond in the spring of 1864, Stuart halted Philip Sheridan's cavalry at Yellow Tavern on the outskirts of Richmond on May 11. A Union sharpshooter (at a distance of thirty feet) shot him; he died the next day in the Confederate capital. He was 31 years old, and was buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.

Related Topics:
Overland Campaign - Richmond - 1864 - Philip Sheridan - Yellow Tavern - May 11 - Hollywood Cemetery

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