James Ewell Brown Stuart was a United States Army officer from the U. S. state of Virginia, who later became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War.
Background
James was born on February 6, 1833 on "Laurel Hill" plantation, Patrick County, Virginia, United States. He was of Scotch-Irish stock on the side of his father, Archibald Stuart, and on that of his mother, Elizabeth Letcher (Pannill), was of blood predominantly Welsh. Like his distant cousins, Archibald (1757 - 1832) and Alexander H. H. Stuart, he was descended from an earlier Archibald Stuart who settled in Pennsylvania in 1726 and moved to Virginia in 1738. His father was a member of the two Virginia constitutional conventions and served a term in the federal House of Representatives.
Education
The seventh of ten children, he received his early schooling at home and in Wytheville, Virginia, and attended Emory and Henry College, 1848-50. On July 1, 1850, he entered the United States Military Academy; he graduated No. 13 in a class of forty-six.
Career
Commissioned brevet second lieutenant in the Mounted Rifles in July 1854, he received regular commission October 31, 1854, and in December joined his command in Texas.
On March 3, 1855, he was transferred to the 16t United States Cavalry, and spent most of the subsequent six years in Kansas, where, on November 14, 1855.
Promoted first lieutenant December 20, 1855, Stuart soon disclosed definite aptitude for outpost duty.
During the summer of 1859 he came East, chiefly in the hope of selling to the war department the rights to a device he had invented for attaching the cavalry sabre to the belt (Patent No. 25, 684; October 24, 1859). While in Washington, in October, he was asked to ride in haste to "Arlington" with a sealed message for Colonel R. E. Lee, who had been superintendent of the military academy for the last two years of his cadetship.
Being accepted as Lee's aide, Stuart went with him to Harpers Ferry and there recognized "Osawatomie" (John) Brown, whom he had met in Kansas. Back on the frontier, Stuart on January 15, 1861, wrote Jefferson Davis asking that Davis procure for him "a position" in the "Army of the South. "
In March Stuart got leave for two months and, learning of the secession of Virginia, started for his native state.
En route he mailed his resignation (dated May 3, accepted May 14) from the United States Army in which, April 22, 1861, he had been promoted captain. Because of the diarchy then prevailing, he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of Virginia infantry, May 10, 1861, and captain of Confederate cavalry May 24, 1861.
At Harpers Ferry, with about 300 horsemen, soon regimented as the 16t Virginia Cavalry, he successfully screened a wide front. At First Manassas he protected the Confederate left and, with a well-timed charge, contributed to the victory of July 21.
He was made brigadier-general September 21, 1861, and, though roughly handled in an unequal engagement at Dranesville, Virginia, December 20, 1861, he organized an admirable outpost system and brought to high efficiency his cavalry, who, by the end of the year, numbered about 2, 400 officers and men.
Accompanying Joseph E. Johnston to the Peninsula, he did what seemed possible to cover the withdrawal of the army to the Chickahominy. From Lee, who had taken command June 1, 1862, he received on June 11 written orders to "make a secret movement to the rear of the enemy, now posted on the Chickahominy. "
In particular Lee wished to know whether the Federals occupied the watershed between the Chickahominy and the Totopotomoy, down which he intended to bring Jackson's Army of the Valley in a turning movement.
The next day with 1, 200 selected cavalry and a section of artillery, Stuart set out. He soon ascertained that McClellan's right did not extend across the watershed. He might then have turned back, but it was in his opinion the soundest prudence, as well as the more soldierly course, to make a complete circuit of the Federal army.
When he reported to Lee on the 15th he brought with him 165 prisoners and 260 horses and mules. This operation was a model of its kind and involved the loss of one man only. Some critics have regarded it as a mistake because it warned McClellan of what was impending; but McClellan minimized its significance and did little to strengthen his exposed flank.
During the Seven Days' campaign, when he had under his command seven mounted regiments and the equivalent of four additional battalions, Stuart kept to the left of the attacking Confederate force, struck McClellan's base as it was being abandoned and, on the night of July 1, reached the vicinity of Malvern Hill after the battle of that day.
On the 3rd, he seized Evelington Heights, which dominated the Federal camps at Harrison's Landing. Stuart's impetuosity led him to open fire with his solitary howitzer. General Franklin then moved out troops to occupy and to fortify the heights. Thus was thrown away the one chance of following up successfully the indecisive action of July 1. This, however, was not realized at the time and did not impair Stuart's reputation.
On July 25 he was made major-general and in that grade was confirmed September 27, 1862. During the preliminaries of Second Manassas, all the cavalry of the army was placed under Stuart's orders. On the morning of August 18 at Verdierville, he barely escaped capture but got personal revenge by raiding Pope's headquarters at Catlett's Station on the night of August 22. Stuart next covered Jackson's movement to Bristoe Station and to Manassas Junction, and supported him most efficiently at Groveton. In the final fighting at Manassas and during the Maryland operations Stuart's conduct repeatedly won the praise of Lee.
Following Lee's return to Virginia, Stuart on October 9, 1862, set out across the Potomac with 1, 800 men and four guns to make a raid into Pennsylvania. He reached his objective, the bridge over the Conococheague at Chambersburg, but could not destroy the iron structure and had to turn back. Riding around the Federal army, he returned to Virginia via White's Ford on the morning of October 12 and brought with him 1, 200 Federal horses.
At Fredericksburg Stuart confounded his critics and vindicated all good opinions by his admirable employment of his artillery on the Confederate right; during the winter of 1862-63 he held the line of the Rappahannock with much skill, though the lack of forage already gave warning of later disaster. He gave Lee prompt notice of Hooker's movement across the Rappahannock at the beginning of the Chancellorsville operations, and then, under Lee's orders, he kept most of his troops concentrated, in complete disregard of Stoneman's raid against Lee's communications.
He helped to find and to protect the roads of Jackson's march. After Jackson was wounded and A. P. Hill was temporarily incapacitated, Stuart was summoned to take command of the II Corps, and he handled it with skill, if perhaps without regard to losses, on May 3. The absence of even a hint that Lee considered him as Jackson's successor is indirect evidence, if negative, that Lee regarded him as indispensable at the head of the cavalry corps, which had been reorganized in brigades November 10, 1862.
The Gettysburg campaign represents the most disputable chapter in the career of Stuart. He directed on June 9 the large, indecisive action of Brandy Station; and, as the advance continued, he was frequently engaged and with larger resources than he had at any time commanded.
The general plan was that he was to hold the mountains till the Confederate infantry passed; then he was to cross the Potomac, make contact with Ewell's advanced column, and play his usual role in screening the army's movements and in collecting information and provisions.
Stuart may have been spurred by recent criticisms in the press for failing to display initiative, not less than by his adventurous nature, to seek opportunity for some brilliant exploit. He proposed that he attempt to interpose the cavalry corps between the Federal army and Washington and then perform his mission in Pennsylvania. Lee assented but under conditions that he thought would give ample guarantee of Stuart's early presence on Ewell's flank in any event. Stuart was delayed by the presence of heavy Federal columns and did not pass the Potomac until the night of June 27-28.
Inflicting such damage as he could on supply-trains and communications, he struck for Dover, Pennsylvania. Finding no Confederates there, he marched to Carlisle where, on the night of July 1, he received Lee's orders to report at Gettysburg. The next afternoon he rejoined the main army and, for the rest of the campaign, was ceaselessly active.
In his report he claimed that he had performed a larger service than he could have rendered had he remained with the main army, which, he said, had Jenkins' large brigade available for outpost duty. Lee and all his senior lieutenants had, however, been groping in the dark because of Stuart's absence, and many asserted that Stuart had deprived his chief of victory by riding off on a bootless raid. There developed a heated controversy that has been revived at intervals ever since.
The evidence probably permits of no more definite conclusion than that Lee's orders to Stuart, though somewhat vague, imposed an obligation to abandon the attempt to cross the Potomac east of Hooker's army should Stuart, in the attempt, meet with hindrance that would delay him. Stuart encountered such hindrance but impetuously determined to press on his adventure, doubtless in the belief that he could make up for the time he lost.
Never thereafter could Stuart be accused of failing to keep the commanding general informed of hostile movements. Except during the heaviest weather of winter, scouting was constant. Stuart himself preferred to live at an outpost and he perhaps found his highest excitement in lesser engagements.
Among the most interesting of these were that of June 1863, in northern Virginia, the Auburn affair of October 13-14, and the so-called "Buckland Races" of October 19, 1863. The hard riding of the battles of 1863 almost destroyed the cavalry corps of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Moreover, as the infantry was weakened, the cavalrymen often had to be called upon to dismount and to perform the same duty as infantry. Despite extravagant claims made concerning Stuart's contribution to the tactical employment of dismounted cavalry, it cannot be demonstrated that he initiated anything that had not previously been done in this respect. With the approach of spring in 1864, it was plain that the cavalry could not undertake long operations on such forage as the quartermasters could provide.
After Grant crossed the Rapidan May 4, 1864, Stuart, for a few days, by the full display of his skill was able to cover Lee's operations and to supply indispensable information concerning Federal movements.
On May 9, however, Sheridan, with 12, 000 sabres, made a wide detour and headed South from Spotsylvania for Richmond. Summoning all the men he could muster - approximately 4, 500 - Stuart demanded of the weak horses their last mile of endurance and contrived to get between Sheridan and Richmond at a place called Yellow Tavern. There, in a cruel clash, he turned off Sheridan's columns from the straight road to Richmond.
In the action, however, Stuart himself, who had never been touched by a bullet or a sabre in all his combats of the war, was wounded (May 11, 1864) at close range by a dismounted Federal cavalryman. He died the next day in Richmond.
Achievements
Personality
He was a popular cadet, and was distinguished for his quiet, wholesome religion and, paradoxically, for his "almost thankful acceptance" of every challenge to a fight, even though he was often beaten.
His tactical skill, though marked, was not startling or original and his strategic sense was not outstanding, but by the winter of 1862 his early aptitude for outpost service had developed into most extraordinary skill as an intelligence officer.
He always rode a splendid horse - and rode so hard that no animal could long survive his galloping. His gray cloak was lined with red; in the lapel of his jacket was a red flower or ribbon love-knot; his hat was cocked on one side with a star of gilt that held a peacock's plume. In his camp there was music and dancing and much jollity, but never any drinking under Stuart's eye, any swearing in his presence, or any discoverable loose living.
Stuart had the good will of men as dissimilar as Jackson and Longstreet, and most of the younger men in the cavalry corps idolized him. Lee regarded him almost as a son and remarked after the war that Stuart was his ideal of a soldier. Stuart had, however, his bitter enemies, some of them in his own corps. They accused him of selfish disregard of the feats of his subordinates, of parading himself for admiration, and of claiming credit that belonged to others.
Quotes from others about the person
Lee regarded Stuart as the "eyes of the army" and when he heard of Stuart's death said in a broken voice: "He never brought me a piece of false information".
General Joseph E. Johnston, letter to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, August 1861:
"(Stuart) is a rare man, wonderfully endowed by nature with the qualities necessary for an officer of light cavalry. . .. Calm, firm, acute, active, and enterprising, I know no one more competent than he to estimate the occurrences before him at their true value. If you add to this army a real brigade of cavalry, you can find no better brigadier-general to command it. "
James I. Robertson, Jr. , Stonewall Jackson:
'Stuart and Jackson were an unlikely pair: one outgoing, the other introverted; one flashily uniformed, the other plainly dressed; one Prince Rupert and the other Cromwell. Yet Stuart's self-confidence, penchant for action, deep love of Virginia, and total abstinence from such vices as alcohol, tobacco, and pessimism endeared him to Jackson. . .. Stuart was the only man in the Confederacy (who) could make Jackson laugh - and who dared to do so. "
Richmond Enquirer, June 12, 1863:
"If Gen. Stuart is to be the eyes and ears of the army we advise him to see more, and be seen less. Gen. Stuart has suffered no little in public estimation by the late enterprises of the enemy. "
Connections
After a whirlwind courtship, he married Flora, daughter of Colonel Philip St. George Cooke. Three children were born of this marriage, a son and a daughter surviving him.