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 Copyright, 1914, by Mrs. J. E. B. Stuart 
 
 ,:::^^^^Y^£. 
 
 General Stuart in 1854, from an ambrotype owned by Mrs. J. E. B. 
 Stuart, which is here reproduced for the first time. 
 
LIFE OF 
 
 J. E. B.STUART 
 
 I BY 
 
 I MARY L. WILLIAMSON 
 
 { Author of Life of Lee, Life of Jackson, and Life of Washington 
 
 EDITED AND ARRANGED FOR SCHOOL USE 
 BY 
 
 E. O. WIGGINS 
 
 English Department, Lynchburg High School, Virginia 
 
 11^' 
 
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 Atlanta RICHMOND Dallas 
 
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 * • ' (llopyright, 1914 
 
 BY 
 
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 2)GLA387532 
 
 NOV 14 1914 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Some years ago, to fill what appeared to me a need in 
 our literature for children, I made a study of the lives and 
 campaigns of General R. E. Lee and of General Stonewall 
 Jackson and prepared, for very young readers, histories 
 of those great commanders. 
 
 In performing these tasks, I became interested in the 
 combats and maneuvers of General Lee's chief of cavalry, 
 Major-General J. E. B. Stuart, who has been justly called 
 ''the eyes and ears of Lee." As the years go by, I find 
 no book in print recounting to children his wonderful 
 feats and valorous service, or explaining to them the part 
 plaj^ed in the battles of Lee and Jackson by the Stuart 
 Cavalry Corps and Horse Artillery whose exploits hold a 
 brilliant place in modern military tactics. 
 
 To make good this omission, I have prepared this little 
 life of Stuart, in the hope that it w ill not only pass on the 
 story of military deeds as captivating as any in history, 
 but warm the hearts of rising generations to lives of 
 courage and devotion. 
 
 In the later stages of my work, Miss Evelina O. Wiggins 
 has been associated, contributing various materials, ob- 
 taining three pictures and several interesting letters of 
 General Stuart's, and making available Mrs. J. E. B. 
 Stuart's criticism of the manuscript. Miss Wiggins has 
 also rendered the aid of adapting the book to the practi- 
 cal needs of the schoolroom. Her experience and posi- 
 tion as a teacher make the latter service highly valuable. 
 
 MARY LYNN WILLIAMSON 
 
 New Market, Virginia 
 
 September 1, 1914 
 
 [ 3 ] 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
 
 The publishers wish to acknowledge their obliga- 
 tions to Mrs. H. B. McClellan for permission to use 
 material from her husband's book, Life and Cam- 
 paigns of General J. E. B. Stuart; to General T. T. 
 Munford and to Judge Theodore S. Garnett for 
 information and pictures; to Mr. J. E. B. Stuart and 
 the Confederate Museum, Richmond, Va., for per- 
 mission to make photographic copies of the personal 
 rehcs of General Stuart in the Museum ; and to Mrs. 
 J. E. B. Stuart for the ambrotype and letters of 
 General Stuart which she allowed to be copied for 
 use in this book and for the invaluable aid of her 
 careful critical reading of the manuscript. 
 
 [4] 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface 3 
 
 List of Maps and Illustrations 6 
 
 List of Books 8 
 
 Introduction 9 
 
 Chapter I Youthful Days _ 13 
 
 Chapter II A Lieutenant in the United States 
 
 Cavalry 22 
 
 Chapter III A Colonel of Confederate Cavalry. 34 
 
 Chapter IV A Brigadier General: The Peninsu- 
 lar Campaign and the Chickahom- 
 
 iny Raid 44 
 
 Chapter V A Major General: Camp Life and 
 
 the Second Battle of Manassas 68 
 
 Chapter VI The Maryland Campaign 80 
 
 Chapter VII The Chambersburg Raid 94 
 
 Chapter VIII The Cavalry at Culpeper and Fred- 
 ericksburg 109 
 
 Chapter IX Chancellorsville 124 
 
 Chapter X The Battle of Brandy Station 139 
 
 Chapter XI The Gettysburg Campaign 151 
 
 Chapter XII Final CampaigTis and Death 167 
 
 ChapterXIII Some Tributes to Stuart 191 
 
 Suggestive Questions 203 
 
 The Organization of an Army 210 
 
 Word List 211 
 
 [ 5 1 
 
LIST OF 
 MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 General Stuart in 1854 Frontispiece 
 
 Ruins of Liberty Hall Academy 14 
 
 Emory and Henry College about 1850 .._. 17 
 
 J. E. B. Stuart when a Student at West Point 19 
 
 Badge of West Point Graduates 20 
 
 Carrying the Gun down the 'Mulepath'... 23 
 
 Indians of the Plains 29 
 
 Arsenal at Harper's Ferry 31 
 
 Picketed Cavalry Horse 41 
 
 Stuart's Gauntlets 44 
 
 Stuart's Cavalry Boots :.... 45 
 
 Map of the Chickahominy Raid 53 
 
 The Burial of Latane _ 55 
 
 The Chickahominy River 58 
 
 Ruins of Railroad Bridge across Pamunkey River.. 63 
 Facsimile of Page of Letter from General Stuart to 
 
 his Wife 72 
 
 Catlett's Station 74 
 
 Major Heros Von Borcke 82 
 
 Map Showing the Routes of Stuart's Cavalry in 
 Gettj^sburg Campaign and Chambersburg 
 
 Raid... :.... 95 
 
 Stuart's Sword 98 
 
 Stuart's Pistol. 99 
 
 Stuart's Carbine 99 
 
 General Stuart in 1862.. 107 
 
 [ 6 ] 
 
LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 7 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Major John Pelham 110 
 
 Confederates Destroying Railroad 119 
 
 Federals Repairing Railroad which Confederates 
 
 had Destroyed 121 
 
 A Pontoon Bridge..... : 128 
 
 General Stonewall Jackson.. 135 
 
 Map of Battle of Brandy Station 143 
 
 The Battle of Brandy Station. 145 
 
 A Federal Wagon Park 155 
 
 The Toll of War 160 
 
 The House in which St\iart died 186 
 
 Monument in Hollywood.. 196 
 
 Monument at Yellow Tavern... 198 
 
 Stuart Statue, Richmond 201 
 
LIST OF BOOKS 
 
 For Reference and Teachers' Use 
 
 H. B. McClellan: Life and Campaigns of General J. E. B. 
 
 Stuart 
 Heros Von Borcke: Memoirs of the War for Confederate 
 
 Independence 
 John S. Mosby : Campaigns of Stuart's Cavalry 
 George M. Neese: Three Years in the Confederate Horse 
 
 Artillery 
 Theodore S. Garnett: Major-Gencral J. E. B. Stuart 
 G. F. R. Henderson: Stonewall Jackson and the American 
 
 Civil War 
 Gamahel Bradford: Confederate Portraits 
 John Esten Cooke : Surry of Eagle's Nest 
 J. Wihiam Jones: Christ in the Camp, or Religion in 
 
 Lee's Army 
 Southern Historical Society Papers, — 
 
 Vol. 1, pp. 99-103; Address by Fitzhugh Lee 
 
 Vol.8, pp. 434-'56; Character Sketch by H. B. 
 McClellan 
 
 Vol. 37, pp. 210-'31; Stuart at Gettysburg by R. H. 
 McKim 
 
 See also other articles on Stuart in the Southern 
 Historical Papers. 
 
 [8 ] 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Henry of Navarre was a famous French king 
 who led his forces to a glorious victory in a 
 civil war. An English writer, Lord Macaulay, 
 wrote a stirring poem in w^hich a French soldier 
 is represented as describing this battle. Here is 
 his picture of the great, beloved king: — 
 
 "The King is come to marshal us, in all his armor drest, 
 And he has bomid a snow-white plume upon his gallant 
 
 crest. 
 He looked upon his people and a tear was in his eye, 
 He looked upon the traitors and his glance was stern and 
 
 high; 
 Right graciously he smiled on us, as rolled from wing to 
 
 wing, 
 Down all our line a deafening shout, 'God save our lord, 
 
 the King!' 
 
 " And if my standard bearer fall, — as fall full well he may, 
 For never saw I promise yet of such a bloody fray — 
 Press where you see my white plume shine amidst the 
 
 ranks of war. 
 And be your oriflamme to-day the helmet of Navarre.' 
 
 'A thousand spurs are striking deep, a thousand spears 
 in rest, 
 
 A thousand knights are pressing close behind the snow- 
 white crest; 
 
 And in they burst and on they rushed, while like a 
 guiding star. 
 
 Amidst the thickest carnage blazed the helmet of 
 Navarre." 
 
10 INTRODUCTION 
 
 These lines about the Fre'nch king of the 
 sixteenth century are often quoted in describing 
 a gallant cavalry leader of our own country. 
 As we read them, we see the Confederate general, 
 ^^Jeb" Stuart, his cavalry hat looped back on 
 one side with a long black ostrich plume which 
 his troopers always saw in the forefront of the 
 charge. His men would follow that plume 
 anywhere, at any time, and v/hen you read this 
 story of his life, you will not wonder that he 
 inspired their absolute devotion. 
 
 You have read about the lives of the peerless 
 commander. General Robert E. Lee, and his 
 great lieutenant. General StonewallJackson. In 
 these you have learned something about the 
 movem.ents of the great body of our army, the 
 infantry; but the infantr}^, even with such able 
 com.manders as Lee and Jackson, needed the 
 aid of the cavalry and the artiller^^ It is with 
 these two latter divisions of the army that we 
 deal in studying the life of General Stuart. As 
 chief of cavalry and commander of the famous 
 Stuart Horse Artillery, he served as eyes and 
 ears to the commanding generals. He kept 
 them informed about the location and move- 
 ments of the Federals, screened the location 
 of the Confederate troops, felt the way, pro- 
 tected the flank and rear when the army was on 
 
INTRODUCTION 11 
 
 the march, and made quick raids into the 
 Federal territory or around their army to 
 secure sappHes and information as well as to 
 mislead them concerning the proposed move- 
 ments of Confederate forces. A heavy re- 
 sponsibility rested on the cavalry, and General 
 Stuart and his men were engaged in many small 
 but severe battles and skirmishes in which the 
 army as a whole did not take part. 
 
"To horse, to horse! the sabers gleam. j 
 High soimcls our hiigle call, 
 Comhiiied by honoris sacred tie, 
 Our watchword, 'laivs and liberty^ 
 Fonoard to do or die.'* 
 
 — Sir VrALTER Scott 
 
 [ 12 ] 
 
LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 YOUTHFUL DAYS 
 
 1833-^54 
 
 James Ewell Brown Stuart, commonly known 
 as ^^Jeb'' Stuart from the first three initials of 
 his name, was born in Patrick comity, Virginia, 
 February 6, 1833. On each side of his family, 
 he could point to a line of ancestors w^ho had 
 seiA^ed their country well in war and peace 
 and from w^hom he inherited his high ideals of 
 duty, patriotism, and religion. 
 
 He was of Scotch descent and his ancestors 
 belonged to a clan of note in the history of 
 Scotland. From Scotland a member of this 
 clan went to Ireland. 
 
 About the year 1726, Jeb Stuart's great- 
 great-grandfather, Archibald Stuart, fled from 
 Londonderry, Ireland, to the wilds of Pennsyl- 
 vania, in order to escape religious persecution, 
 
 [ 13] 
 
14 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Eleven years later, he removed from Pennsyl- 
 vania to Augusta county, Virginia, where he 
 became a large land-holder. At Tinkling Spring 
 Church, the graves of the immigrant and his 
 wife may still be seen. 
 
 Archibald Stuart's second son, Alexander, 
 
 joined the Conti- 
 nental army and 
 fought with signal 
 bravery during the 
 whole of the War of 
 the Revolution. 
 After the war, he 
 practiced law. He 
 showed his interest 
 in education by be- 
 coming one of the 
 founders of Liberty 
 Hall, at Lexington, 
 Virginia, a school whicn afterwards became 
 Washington College and has now grown into 
 Washington and Lee University. 
 
 His youngest son who bore his name, was also 
 a lawyer ; he held positions of trust in his native 
 State, Virginia, as well as in Illinois and Missouri 
 where he held the responsible and honored 
 position of a United States judge. 
 
 Our general's father, Archibald Stuart, the 
 
 RUINS OF LIBERTY HALL ACADEMY, AT 
 LEXINGTON, VA. 
 
YOUTHFUL DAYB 15 
 
 son of Judge Stuart, after a brief military 
 career in the War of 1812, became a successful 
 lawyer. His wit and eloquence soon won him 
 distinction, and his district sent him as repre- 
 sentative to the Congress of the United States 
 where he served four years. 
 
 There is an interesting story told about 
 General Stuart's mother's grandfather, William 
 Letcher. lie had enraged the Loyalists, or 
 Tories, on the North Carolina border, by a 
 defeat that he and a little compan}^ of volun- 
 teers had inflicted on them in the War of the 
 Revolution. One da}^ in June, 1780, as Mrs. 
 Letcher was alone at home with her baby girl, 
 only six weeks old, a stranger, dressed as a 
 hunter and carrying a gun in his hand, appeared 
 at the door and asked for Letcher. While his 
 wife was explaining that he would be at home 
 in a short time, he entered and asked the man 
 to be seated. 
 
 The latter, however, raised his gun, saying: 
 ^^I demand you in the name of the king." 
 
 When Letcher tried to seize the gun, the Tory 
 fired and the patriot fell mortally wounded, in 
 the presence of his young wife and babe. 
 
 Bethenia Letcher, the tiny fatherless babe, 
 grew to womanhood and married David Pannill; 
 and her daughter, EUzabeth Letcher Pannill, 
 
16 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 married Archibald Stuart, the father of our 
 hero. 
 
 Mrs. Archibald Stuart inherited from her 
 grandfather, William Letcher, a large estate in 
 Patrick county. The place, commanding fine 
 views of the Blue Ridge mountains, was called 
 Laurel Hill, and here in a comfortable old man- 
 sion set amid a grove of oak trees, Jeb Stuart 
 was born" and spent the earlier years of his 
 bo^diood. 
 
 Mrs. Stuart was a great lover of flowers and 
 surrounding the house was a beautiful old- 
 fashioned flower garden, where Jeb, who loved 
 flowers as much as his mother did, spent many 
 happy days. He always loved this boyhood 
 home and often thought of it during the hard 
 and stirring years of war. Once near the close 
 of the w^ar, he told his brother that he would like 
 nothing better, when the long struggle was at 
 an end, than to go back to the old home and live 
 a quiet, peaceful life. 
 
 When Jeb was fourteen years old, he was sent 
 to school in Wytheville, and in 1848 he entered 
 Emor}^ and Henry College. Here, under the 
 influence of a religious revival, he joined the 
 Methodist church, but about ten years later 
 he became a member of the Episcopal church 
 of which his wife was a member. 
 
YOUTHFUL DAYS 
 
 17 
 
 Though always gay and high-spirited, Stuart 
 even as a boy possessed a deep reUgious senti- 
 ment which grew in strength as he grew in 
 years and kept his heart pure and his hands 
 clean through the many temptations that beset 
 him in the freedom and conviviality of army 
 life. A promise that he made his mother never 
 to taste strong drink was kept faithfully to his 
 
 EMORY AND HENRY COLLEGE ABOUT 1850 
 
 death, and none of his soldiers ever heard him 
 use an oath even in the heat of battle. His 
 gallantry, boldness, and continual gayety and 
 good nature, coupled with his high Christian 
 virtues, caused all who came in contact with 
 him not only to love but to respect and admire 
 him. 
 
 He left Emory and Henry College in 1850 
 and entered the United States Military Academy 
 
18 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 at West Point where he had received an ap- 
 pointment. 
 
 At this time, Colonel Robert E. Lee was 
 superintendent at West Point. Young Stuart 
 spent many pleasant hours at the home of the 
 superintendent where he was a great favorite 
 with the ladies of the family. Custis Lee, the 
 eldest son of Colonel Lee, w^as Stuart's best 
 friend while he was a student at the Academy. 
 
 An interesting incident is told about Stuart 
 while he w^as on a vacation from West Point. 
 Mr. Benjamin B. Minor of Richmond, had a 
 case to iDe tried at Williamsburg, and when he 
 arrived at the hotel it was so crowded that he 
 was put in an ^ ^omnibus" room, so called 
 because it contained three double beds. 
 
 Late in the afternoon when the stage drove 
 up, he saw three young cadets step from it and 
 he soon found that they were to share with him 
 the '^omnibus" room. 
 
 He went to bed early, but put a lamp on the 
 table by the head of his bed and got out his 
 papers to go over his case. After awhile the 
 three cadets came in laughing and singing, and 
 soon they were all three piled into one bed 
 where they continued to laugh and joke in 
 uproarious spirits. 
 
 Finally one of them said, ^^See here, fellows. 
 
YOUTHFUL DAYS 
 
 19 
 
 we have had our fun long enough and we are 
 disturbing that gentleman over there; let us 
 hush up and go to sleep." 
 
 ''No need for that, boys," said Mr. Minor, 
 ^'I have just finished." 
 
 Then as he tells us he 'pitched in^ and had a 
 good time with them. 
 
 The cadet who had shown such thoughtful- 
 ness and courtesy 
 was young Jeb 
 Stuart who as Mr. 
 JMinor discovered 
 was one of his 
 wife's cousins. He 
 was very much 
 pleased with the 
 boy and invited 
 him to come to 
 Richmond. Stuart 
 accepted the invi- 
 tation and called 
 several times at 
 the Minor home. 
 
 He explained to 
 Mr. Minor his plan for an invention which was 
 to be called "Stuart's hghtning horse-hitcher" 
 and to be used in Indian raids. He excited Mr. 
 Minor's admiration because he had such gallant 
 
 From daguerreotype in Confederate Museum, 
 Richmond, Va. 
 
 J. E. B. STUART 
 When a student at West Point 
 
20 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 and genial courtesy and professional pride. He 
 wanted even then to accomplish something use- 
 ful and important to his country and himself. 
 
 General Fitzhugh Lee, who was at West Point 
 with Stuart, and who later served under General 
 Stuart as a trusted commander, tells us that as 
 a cadet he was remarkable 
 for ^ ^strict attendance to 
 military duties, and erect, 
 soldierly bearing, an imme- 
 diate and almost thankful 
 acceptance of a challenge to 
 fight any cadet who might 
 in any way feel himself ag- 
 grieved, and a clear, metal- 
 lic, ringing voice." 
 
 Although the boys called 
 him a ^^ Bible class man" 
 and ''Beauty Stuart," it 
 was in good-natured boyish 
 teasing; where he felt it to 
 be intended differently or 
 
 BADGE OF WEST POINT 
 GRADUATES 
 
 The arms of the United States 
 Academy, suspended by a ribbon 
 
 °birS„|X5aiJ?tU'g"/. where his high standards 
 
 uate's class . i j i 
 
 of conduct seemed to be 
 sneered at, he was well able with his quick 
 temper and superb physical strength to teach 
 the offender a lesson. 
 
 As Titz' Lee tells us, Stuart was always 
 
YOUTHFUL DAYS ^1 
 
 ready to accept a challenge, but he did not 
 fight without good cause, and his father,a fair- 
 minded and intelligent man, approved of his 
 son's course in these fisticuff encounters. Be- 
 tween his father and himself there was the best 
 kind of comradeship and sympathy, and young 
 Stuart was always ready to consult his father 
 before taking any important step in life. The 
 decision as to what he should do when he 
 left West Point, however, was left to him, and 
 just after his graduation he wrote home that 
 he had decided to enter the regular army 
 instead of becoming a lawyer. 
 
 ^^Each profession has its labors and rewards," 
 he wrote, ^^and in making the selection I shall 
 rely upon Him whose judgment cannot err, 
 for it is not with the man that walketh to 
 direct his steps." 
 
 Meanwhile, by his daring and skill in horse- 
 manship, his diligence in his studies, and his 
 ability to command, he had risen rapidly from 
 the position of corporal to that of captain, and 
 then to the rank of cavalry sergeant which is 
 the highest rank in that arm of the service at 
 West Point. He graduated thirteenth in a 
 class of forty-six, and started his brief but 
 brilliant military career well equipped with 
 youth, courage, skill, and a firm reliance on 
 the love and wisdom of God. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A LIEUTENANT IN THE UNITED STATES 
 CAVALRY 
 
 1854-'G1 
 
 Most of Stuart's time from his graduation at 
 West Point until the outbreak of the War of 
 Secession was spent in military service along the 
 southern and western .borders of our country. 
 During this period, there was almost constant 
 warfare between Indians and frontier settlers. 
 Stuart had many interesting adventures in 
 helping to protect the settlers and to drive the 
 Indians back into their own territory. The 
 training that he received at this time helped 
 to develop him into a great cavalry and artillery 
 leader. 
 
 The autumn after he left West Point, Stuart 
 was commissioned second lieutenant in a regi- 
 ment of mounted riflemen on duty in western 
 Texas. He reached Fort Clark in December, 
 just in time to join an expedition against the 
 Apache Indians who had been giving the 
 settlers a great deal of trouble. The small force 
 
 [ 22 1 
 
A LIEUTENANT IN U. S. CAVALRY 
 
 23 
 
 to which he was attached pushed boldly into 
 the Indian country north of the Rio Grande. 
 It was not long before the young officer's 
 skill and determination received a severe test. 
 The trail that the expedition followed led to 
 the top of a steep . 
 and rugged ridge 
 which to the troop- 
 ers' astonishment 
 dropped abruptly 
 two thousand feet 
 to an extensive val- 
 ley. The precipice 
 formed of huge col- 
 umns of vertical 
 rock, at first seemed 
 impassable, but they 
 soon found a narrow 
 and dangerous In- 
 dian trail— the kind 
 that is called a ^m.ule- 
 path'^ — -winding to 
 the base of the 
 mighty cliff. The 
 officers and advance guard dismounted and led 
 their horses down the steep path that scarcely 
 afforded footing for a m.an and passed on to 
 choose a bivouac for the night. A little later, 
 
 
 "m^ .s 
 
 carrying the gun down the 
 'mulepath' 
 
24 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Lieutenant Stuart, with a rear guard of fifty 
 rangers detailed to assist him, reached the top 
 of the ridge, with their single piece of artil- 
 lery. Stuart worked his w^ay down the trail 
 alone, hoping that when he reached the foot 
 he would find that the major in charge of the ex- 
 pedition had left word that the gun was to be 
 abandoned as it seemed impossible to carry it 
 down the precipice. No such order awaited him, 
 however, and the young officer determined to get 
 the gun down in spite of all difficulties. He noted 
 well the dangers of the way as he regained the 
 top and, having had the mules unhitched and led 
 down b}^ some of the men, he unlimbered the 
 gun and started the captain of the rangers 
 and twenty-five men down with the limber. He 
 himself took charge of the gun and, with the 
 help of the remaining m^en, lifted it over huge 
 rocks and lowered it by lariat ropes over im- 
 passable places until it was finally brought 
 safely to the valley below. 
 
 The major had taken it for granted that 
 Stuart would leave the gun at the top of the 
 precipice and was amazed when just at supper 
 time it was brought safely into camp. Such 
 ingenuity, grit, and determination were qualities 
 which promised that the young officer would 
 develop into a skillful and reliable leader, 
 
A LIEUTENANT IN U. S. CAVALRY 25 
 
 A few days later, the command encamped 
 for the night in a narrow valley between high 
 ridges. The camp fires were burning brightly 
 and the cooks were preparing supper when a 
 sudden violent gust of wind swept through the 
 valley and scattering the fire set the whole 
 prairie into a moving flame. With such rapidity 
 did the fire sweep over the camp that the men 
 were unable to save anything except their 
 horses, and in a deplorable condition the ex- 
 pedition was forced to return to the camp in 
 Texas. 
 
 In May, 1855, Stuart was transferred to the 
 First Regiment of cavalry, with the rank of 
 second lieutenant. In July, this regiment was 
 ordered to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and in 
 September, it went on a raid, under the leader- 
 ship of Colonel E. Y. Sumner, against some 
 Indiang who had disturbed the white settlers. 
 The savages retreated to their mountain strong- 
 holds and the regiment returned to the fort 
 without fighting. 
 
 While on this expedition, Stuart learned with 
 deep distress of the death of his wise and 
 affectionate father. It had been only a few 
 weeks before that Mr. Stuart had written to 
 approve his son's marriage to Miss Flora Cooke, 
 daughter of Colonel Phihp St. George Cooke 
 
26 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 who was commandant at Fort Riley. The 
 marriage was celebrated at that place, Novem- 
 ber 14, 1855. 
 
 At this time, there was serious trouble in 
 Kansas between the two political parties that 
 were fighting to decide whether Kansas should 
 become a free or a slave state. Stuart, who 
 had been promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, 
 was stationed at Fort Leavenworth in 1856-'57. 
 Here he was involved in many skirmishes and 
 local raids. It was at this time that he en- 
 countered the outlaw ^^Ossawatomie" Brown of 
 whom we shall hear again a little later. 
 
 Stuart passed uninjured through the Kansas 
 contest, and in 1857 entered upon another 
 Indian war against the Chej^enne warriors who 
 were attacking the western settlers. In the chief 
 battle of this campaign, the Indians were 
 routed, but Lieutenant Stuart was wounded 
 while rescuing a brother officer who was at- 
 tacked by an Indian. 
 
 Here is Stuart's own account of the fight as 
 given in a letter to his wife, which she has 
 kindly allowed us to copy: 
 
 '^Yery few of the company horses were fleet 
 enough after the march, besides my own Brave 
 Dan, to keep in reach of the Indians mounted 
 on fresh ponies As long as Dan 
 
A LIEUTENANT IN U. S. CAVALRY 27 
 
 held out I was foremost, but after a chase of 
 five miles he failed and I had to mount a 
 private's horse and continue the pursuit. 
 
 ^^When I overtook the rear of the enemy 
 again, I found Lomax in imminent danger from 
 an Indian who was on foot and in the act of 
 shooting him. I rushed to the rescue, and 
 succeeded in firing at him in time, wounding 
 him in his thigh. He fired at me in return with 
 an Allen's revolver, but missed. My shots 
 were now exhausted, and I called on some men 
 approaching to rush up with their pistols and 
 kill him. They rushed up, but fired without 
 hitting. 
 
 ''About this time T observed Stanle}^ and 
 Mclntyre close by; the former said, 'Wait, 
 ril fetch him,' and dismounted from his horse 
 so as to aim deliberately, but in dismounting, 
 his pistol accidentally discharged the last load 
 he had. He began, however, to snap the empty 
 barrels at the Indian who was walking deliberate- 
 ly up to him with his revolver pointed. 
 
 "I could not stand that, but drawing my 
 saber rushed on the monster, inflicting a severe 
 wound across his head, that I think would have 
 severed any other man's, but simultaneous with 
 that he fired his last barrel within a foot of me, 
 the ball taking effect in the breast, but by the 
 
28 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 mercy of God glancing to the left and lodging 
 so far inside that it cannot be felt. T rejoice 
 to inform you that it is not regarded as at all 
 fatal or dangerous, though I may be confined 
 to my bed for weeks.'' 
 
 After this battle, all of the force pursued the 
 Indians, except a small detachment under 
 Captain Foote, which was left behind to guard 
 the wounded for whom the surgeon established 
 rough hospital quarters on the banks of a 
 beautiful, winding creek. Here Stuart spent 
 nearly a week confined to his cot, and as he 
 wrote his wife at the time, the only books that 
 he had to read during the long, weary days 
 were his Prayer Book — which was not neglected 
 — and his Army Regulations. A few pages of 
 Harper^ s Weekly that some one happened to 
 have were considered quite a treasure. 
 
 At the end of about ten days, some Pawnee 
 guides who had been attached to the expedi- 
 tion brought orders for this little detachment 
 to leave the camp where it was exposed to attacks 
 from the wandering bands of Cheyenne Indians 
 and go back to Fort Kearny a hundred miles 
 away. 
 
 Stuart was just able to sit on his horse again, 
 yet we shall see that in spite of his wound he 
 was the life and salvation of the little party. 
 
A LIEUTENANT IN U. S. CAVALRY 29 
 
 The Pawnees said they were only four days 
 distant from the fort, but the second day these 
 unreUable guides deserted and the soldiers were 
 lost in a heavy fog, without a compass. They 
 were forced to depend on a Cheyenne prisoner 
 for information. After four days' fruitless and 
 difficult marching through the forest, Stuart, 
 who believed that the guard was willfull}^ mis- 
 leading them, volunteered to go ahead with a 
 small force, find the fort, and send back help 
 for those who were still suffering too seriously 
 
 From McClure's Magazine 
 INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 
 
 from their wounds to kee}) u}) on a rapid and 
 uncertain march. 
 
 After many dangers and deep anxiety on his 
 part, taking his course by the stars when the 
 fog lifted at night and working his way through 
 it as best he could by day, he finall}^ reached 
 Fort Kearny. The Pawnees had come in three 
 days before, and scouting parties had been 
 searching for Captain Foote's command about 
 
30 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 which much anxiety was felt. Help was im- 
 mediately sent them, and as a result of Stuart's 
 indomitable will and able services, the little 
 party was rescued and brought safely to the fort. 
 
 From the autumn of 1857 until the summer of 
 1860, Stuart w^as stationed at Fort Riley. 
 During these three years, there were few skir- 
 mishes with the Indians and Stuart had leisure 
 to perfect the invention of a saber attachment 
 that he had been thinking of ever since his 
 student days at West Point. This invention 
 was bought and patented by the government in 
 October, 1859, while the inventor was on leave 
 of absence in Virginia, visiting his mother and 
 his friends. 
 
 It was on the night of the sixteenth of this 
 same October that a band of twenty men, under 
 the leadership of John Brown, seized the United 
 States arsenal at Harper's Ferry. Brown was a 
 fanatic who believed that all slaves should be 
 set free and who had taken an active part in 
 the recent disturbances in Kansas. After 
 seizing the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, he sent 
 out his followers during the night to arrest 
 certain citizens and to call to arms the slaves 
 on the surrounding plantations. About sixty 
 citizens were arrested and imprisoned in the 
 engine house, within the confines of the armory, 
 
A LIEUTENANT IN U. S. CAVALRY 
 
 31 
 
 -f^ 
 
 but the slaves, either through fear or through 
 distrust of Brown and his schemes, refused to 
 obey his summons. 
 
 The next morning as soon as news of the 
 seizure of Harper's Ferry spread over the 
 country, armed men came against Brown from 
 all directions. Before night he and his followers 
 took refuge in the engine house, but it was so 
 crowded that he 
 was obliged to 
 release all but 
 ten of his pris- 
 oners. 
 
 When the 
 news of Brown's 
 raid was tele- 
 graphed to 
 Washington, 
 Lieutenant Stu- 
 art, who was at the capital attending to the sale 
 of his patent saber attachment, was requested to 
 bear a secret order to Lieutenant-Colonel Robert 
 E. Lee, his old superintendent at West Point, 
 who was then at his home, Arlington, near 
 Washington city. Stuart learned that Colonel 
 Lee had been ordered to command the marines 
 who were being sent to suppress the insurrec- 
 tion at Harper's Ferry, and he at once offered 
 
 i 
 
 &: 
 
 ' 1 
 
 ARSENAL AT HARPER .S FERRY 
 
32 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 to act as aid-de-camp. 'Colonel, Lee, who 
 remembered Stuart well as a cadet, immediately 
 accepted his offer of service. 
 
 Upon arriving at Harper's Ferry on the night 
 of October 17, they found that John Brown and 
 his men were still in the engine house, defying 
 •the citizen soldiers who surrounded the building. 
 Colonel Lee proceeded to surround the engine 
 house with the marines; at daylight, wishing 
 to avoid bloodshed, he sent Lieutenant Stuart 
 to demand the surrender of the fanatical men, 
 promising to protect them from the fury of the 
 citizens until he could give them up to the 
 United States government. 
 
 When Lieutenant Stuart advanced to the 
 parley. Brown, who had assumed the name of 
 Smith, opened the door four or five inches only, 
 placed his body against it, and held a loaded 
 carbine in such a position that, as he stated 
 afterward, he might have ^^ wiped Stuart out 
 like a mosquito." Immediately the young 
 officer recognized in the so-called Smith the 
 identical John, or ^^Ossawatomie," Brown who 
 had caused so much trouble in Kansas. Brown 
 refused Colonel Lee's terms and demanded 
 permission to march out v/ith his men and 
 prisoners and proceed as far as the second toll- 
 gate. Here, he declared, he would free his 
 
A LIEUTENANT IN U. S. CAVALRY 33 
 
 prisoners and if Colonel Lee wished to pursue 
 he would fight to the bitter end. 
 
 Stuart said that these terms could not be 
 accepted and urged him to surrender at once. 
 When Brown refused, Stuart waved his cap, the 
 signal agreed upon, and the marines advanced, 
 battered down the doors, and engaged in a hand- 
 to-hand fight with the insurgents. Ten of 
 Brown's men were killed by the marines and all 
 the rest, including Brown himself, were wounded. 
 
 That same day. Lieutenant Stuart, under 
 Colonel Lee's orders, went to a farm about four 
 miles and a half away that Brown had rented 
 and brought back a number of pikes with which 
 Brown had intended to arm the negroes. 
 Colonel Lee was then ordered back to Washing- 
 ton and Stuart went with him. John Brown 
 and seven of his men were tried, were found 
 guilty of treason, and were hanged. 
 
 The John Brown Raid cast a great gloom over 
 the country. While many people in the North 
 regarded Brown as a martyr to the cause of 
 emancipation, the southern people were justly 
 indignant at the thought that their lives and 
 property were no longer safe from the plots of 
 the Abolition party which Brown had repre- 
 sented. The bitter feelings aroused b}^ this 
 affair culminated, in 1861, in the bloody W^ar of 
 Secession. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 A COLONEL OF CONFEDERATE 
 CAVALRY 
 
 1861 
 
 There seems to have been no doubt in the 
 mind of Lieutenant Stuart as to what he should 
 do in the event of Virginia's withdrawal from 
 the Union. As soon as he heard that the Old 
 Dominion had seceded, he forwarded to the War 
 Department his resignation as an officer in the 
 United States army, and hastening to Rich- 
 mond, he enlisted in the militia of his native 
 state. Like most other southerners, he pre- 
 ferred poverty and hardships in defense of the 
 South to all the honors and wealth which the 
 United States government could bestow. 
 
 On May 10, 1861, Stuart was commissioned as 
 lieutenant colonel of infantr^^, and was ordered 
 to report to Colonel T. J. Jackson at Harper's 
 Ferry. While he was at Harper's Ferry, Stuart 
 organized several troops of cavalry to assist the 
 infantry and he was soon transferred to this 
 branch of the service. 
 
 On May 15, General Joseph E. Johnston was 
 sent by the Confederate government to take 
 
 [ 24 1 
 
A COLONEL OF CONFEDERATE CAVALRY 35 
 
 command of all the forces at Harper's Ferry; 
 while Colonel Jackson, who had previously 
 been in command of the place, was assigned 
 charge of the Virginia regiments afterwards 
 famous as the ^ ^Stonewall Brigade." General 
 Johnston found that he was unable to hold the 
 town against the advancing Federal force; so 
 he destroyed the railway bridge and retired with 
 his guns and stores to Bunker Hill, twelve miles 
 from Winchester, where he offered battle to the 
 Federals. They declined to fight and withdrew 
 to the north bank of the Potomac river. 
 
 When the Federals under General Patterson 
 again crossed the river, General Jackson with 
 his brigade was sent forward to support the 
 cavalry under Stuart and to destroy the railway 
 engines and cars at Martinsburg. Jackson then 
 remained with his brigade near Martinsburg, 
 while his front was protected by Colonel Stuart 
 with a regiment of cavalry. 
 
 On July 1, General Patterson advanced to- 
 ward General Jackson, who went forward to 
 meet him, with only the Fifth Regiment, several 
 companies of cavalry, and one piece of artillery. 
 The Confederate general posted his men behind 
 a farm house and barn, and held back Patterson 
 so well that he threw forward an entire division 
 to overpower the small force of Jackson. The 
 
36 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 latter then fell back slowly to the main body 
 of his troops, with the trifling loss of two men 
 wounded and nine missing. 
 
 While supporting Jackson in this first battle 
 in the Shenandoah valley, known as the battle 
 of Haines' Farm or Falling Waters, Colonel 
 Stuart had a remarkable adventure. Ptiding 
 alone in advance of his men, he came suddenly 
 out of a piece of woods at a point where he 
 could see a force of Federal infantr}^ on the other 
 side of the fence. Without a moment's hesita- 
 tion, he rode boldly forward and ordered the 
 Federal soldiers to pull down the bars. 
 
 They obeyed and he immediately rode through 
 to the other side, and in peremptory tones said, 
 "Throw down your arms or you are dead men." 
 
 The raw troops were so overcome by Stuart's 
 boldness and commanding tones that they 
 obeyed at once and then marched as he directed 
 through the gap in the fence. Before they 
 recovered from their astonishment, Stuart had 
 them surrounded by his own force which had 
 come up in the meantime, thus capturing over 
 forty men — almost an entire company. 
 
 After some marching backward and forward. 
 General Johnston retired to Winchester; while 
 General Patterson moved farther south to Smith- 
 field as if he intended to attack in that direc- 
 
A COLONEL OF CONFEDERATE CAVALRY 37 
 
 tion. Stuart with his small force was now 
 compelled to watch a front of over fifty miles, 
 in order to report promptly the movements of 
 the Federals, yet he did this so efficiently that 
 later on when General Johnston was ordered 
 west, he wrote to Stuart : 
 
 ^^How can I eat, sleep, or rest in peace, without 
 you upon the outpost?^' 
 
 General Johnston now received a call for help 
 from General Beauregard who commanded a 
 Confederate army of twenty thousand men at 
 Manassas Junction. Beauregard was con- 
 fronted by a Federal army of thirt3^-five thou- 
 sand men, including nearly all of the United 
 States regulars east of the Rocky Mountains. 
 This army, commanded by General McDowell, 
 was equipped with improved firearms and had 
 fine uniforms, good tents, and everything that 
 money could buy to make good soldiers. The 
 North was very proud of this fine army and 
 fully expected it to crush Beauregard and to 
 sweep on to Richmond. 
 
 Beauregard was indeed in danger. He had a 
 smaller army and his infantry was armed, for 
 the most part, with old-fashioned smooth-bore 
 muskets, and his cavalry with sabers and shot- 
 guns. One company of cavalry was armed only 
 with the pikes of John Brown, which had 
 
38 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 been stored at Harper's Ferry. Beauregard 
 stationed his forces in line of battle along the 
 banks of Bull Run from the Stone Bridge to 
 Union Mills, a distance of eight miles. On 
 July 18, the Federals tried to force Blackburn's 
 Ford on Bull Run, but were repulsed with 
 heavy loss. Beauregard, knowing that the 
 attack would be renewed the next day, sent a 
 message to Johnston at Winchester, sixty miles 
 away. 
 
 "li you are going to help me, now is the 
 time," was Beauregard's message. 
 
 Two days before, Stuart had been transferred 
 to the cavalry, with a commission as colonel, 
 and he entered at once upon his arduous labors. 
 At first he had in his command only twenty-one 
 officers and three hundred and thirteen men, 
 raw to military discipline and poorly armed 
 with the guns they had used in hunting, but all 
 were fine horsemen and good shots. 
 
 General Johnston, leaving Stuart with a little 
 band of troopers to conceal his movements, 
 immediately commenced his march from Win- 
 chester to Manassas. So skillfully did Colonel 
 Stuart do his work that General Patterson was 
 not aware of General Johnston's departure 
 until Sunday, July 21, when the great battle 
 of Manassas was fought. Owing to a col- 
 
A COLONEL OF CONFEDERATE CAVALRY 39 
 
 lision which had blocked the railway, some 
 of the infantry did not reach Manassas until 
 near the close of the battle, but the cavalry and 
 the artillery marched all the way and arrived 
 in time to render effective service during the 
 entire battle. 
 
 It was at Manassas that General Jackson won 
 his name of ^ ^Stonewall'' because of the wonder- 
 ful stand that his brigade made, just when it 
 seemed that the Federals were about to over- 
 come the Confederates. But we are concerned 
 particularly with the movements of the cavalry 
 which rendered fine service, protecting each 
 flank of the army. Colonel Stuart, with only 
 two companies of cavalry, protected the left 
 flank from assault after assault. At one time 
 Stuart boldly charged the Federal right and 
 drove back a company of Zouaves resplendent 
 in their blue and scarlet uniforms and white 
 turbans. 
 
 General Early, who arrived on the field about 
 three o^clock in the afternoon and assisted in 
 iiolding the left flank, said, ''But for Stuart's 
 presence there, I am of the opinion that my 
 brigade would have arrived too late to be of any 
 use. Stuart did as much toward saving the 
 First Manassas as any subordinate who partici- 
 pated in it.'' 
 
40 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 General Jackson, in his report of the battle, 
 said: ^^Apprehensive lest my flanks be turned, 
 I sent orders to Colonels Stuart and Radford of 
 the cavalry to secure them. Colonel Stuart 
 and that part of his command with him deserve 
 great praise for the promptness with which they 
 moved to my left and secured my flank from the 
 enemy, and by driving them back." 
 
 Thus we see at the very crisis of the battle, 
 Stuart with only a small force aided largely in 
 gaining the great victory. When he saw the 
 Federals fleeing from all parts of the field, he 
 pursued them for twelve miles, taking many 
 prisoners and securing much booty. 
 
 After the battle of First Manassas, the main 
 armies were inactive for many months; but the 
 Confederate cavalry was kept busy in frequent 
 skirmishes with the Federal pickets and in raids 
 toward the Potomac river. Stuart took pos- 
 session of Munson's Hill, near Washington, and 
 for several weeks sent out his pickets within 
 sight of the dome of the Capitol. 
 
 In a letter from General F. E. Paxton, of the 
 Stonewall Brigade, we find this interesting 
 mention of Colonel Stuart and his life at the 
 outpost: ^^Yesterda}" I was down the road 
 about ten miles, and, from a hill in the pos- 
 session of our troops, had a good view of the 
 
A COLONEL OF CONFEDERATE CAVALRY 41 
 
 dome of the Capitol, some five or six miles 
 distant. The city was not visible, because 
 of the woods coming between. I saw the sen- 
 tinel of the enemy in the field below me, and 
 about half a mile off and not far on this side, 
 our own sentinels. They fire sometimes at 
 each other. Mrs. Stuart, wife of the colonel 
 
 a^p c/ 
 
 PICKETED CAVALRY HORSE 
 
 who has charge of our outpost, visits him oc- 
 casionally — having a room with friends a few 
 miles inside the outpost. Whilst there looking 
 at the Capitol, I saw two of his little children 
 playing as carelessly as if they were at home. 
 A dangerous place, you will think, for women 
 and children," 
 
 Mrs. Stuart, however, was a soldier's daughter 
 
42 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 and a soldier's wife, and she took advantage of 
 every opportunity to be with her husband at 
 his headquarters. During the beginning of the 
 war, before the engagements wath the Federals 
 became frequent, she was often able to be with 
 her husband or to board at some home near 
 which he was stationed. Although he was a 
 favorite with women, there was no woman 
 who, in General Stuart's eyes, could compare 
 with his wife, and he was never happier than 
 when with her and his children. When the 
 general's duties compelled him to be away 
 from her, two days seldom passed that Mrs. 
 Stuart did not hear from him by letter or 
 telegram. 
 
 On September 11, Stuart's forces encountered 
 a raiding party which was forced to retire w^ith 
 a loss of two killed and thirteen wounded, while 
 Stuart lost neither man nor horse. 
 
 During the summer, Stuart had been ordered 
 to report to General James Longstreet who 
 commanded the advance of the Confederate 
 army. 
 
 General Longstreet in a letter to President 
 Davis said of Stuart: ^^He is a rare man, 
 wonderfully endowed by nature with the quali- 
 ties necessary for an ofhcer of light cavalry. 
 Calm, firm, acute, active, and enterprising, I 
 
A COLONEL OF CONFEDERATE CAVALRY 43 
 
 know no one more competent than he to esti- 
 mate events at their true value. If you add a 
 brigade of cavalry to this army, you will find 
 no better brigadier general to command it/' 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 A BRIGADIER GENERAL: 
 
 THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN AND THE 
 
 CHICKAHOAIINY RAID 
 
 1861-'62 
 
 • 
 
 On September 24, 1861, Stuart received his 
 promotion as brigadier general. His brigade 
 included four Virginia regiments, one North 
 
 Carolina regiment, and 
 the Jeff Davis Legion 
 of Cavalry. These regi- 
 ments were composed 
 of high-spirited, brave 
 young men who could 
 ride dashingly and shoot 
 with the skill of back- 
 woodsmen, but w^ho 
 were for the most part 
 untrained in military 
 affairs. Stuart, however, was an untiring drill- 
 master and by his personal efforts he developed 
 his brigade into a command of capable and 
 devoted soldiers. 
 
 The young general was not yet twenty-nine 
 years old. He was of medium height, had 
 
 [ 44] 
 
 Stuart's gauntlets 
 
 From originals in Confederate Museum 
 Richmond, Va. 
 
A BRIGADIER GENERAL 45 
 
 winning blue eyes, long silken bronze beard 
 and mustache, and a nraisical voice. He usually 
 wore gauntlets, high cavalry boots, a broad- 
 brimmed felt hat caught up on 
 one side by a black ostrich plume, 
 and a tight-fitting cavalry coat 
 that he called his ^Tighting 
 jacket.'^ He rode as if he had 
 been born in the saddle. 
 
 Fitz Lee, who 
 served under him, 
 said: ^^His st rong 
 figure, his big brown 
 beard, his piercing, 
 laughing blue eyes, 
 
 Stuart's cavalry boots . J ^ 
 
 From originals in Confederate Museum, tho drOOpiIlg hat and 
 Richmond, Va. ill i* j i j i 
 
 black leather, the 
 'fighting jacket' as he termed it, the tall cav- 
 alry boots, formjcd one of the most jubilant 
 and striking pictures in the war." 
 
 Later on, John Esten Cooke described Stuart 
 thus: ^'Plis 'fighting jacket' shone with dazzling 
 buttons, and was covered with gold braid; his 
 hat was looped up with a golden star and 
 decorated with a black ostrich plume; his fine 
 buff gauntlets reached to the elbow; around his 
 waist was tied a splendid yellow sash and his 
 spurs were of pure gold." 
 
46 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 One who formed an opinion of him from a 
 casual glance might have thought that he was 
 merely a gay young fop, fond of handsome and 
 even showy dress. But his friends and his 
 enemies knew better. Gay and even boyish 
 as he was when off duty, loving music and good 
 cheer, his men knew that the instant the 
 bugles called him he would become the calm, 
 daring, farsighted commander, leading them to 
 glorious deeds. No leader of the southern arm}^ 
 was more feared by the Federal troops or more 
 admired by the commanders of the Federal 
 cavalry — Sheridan, Pleasant on, Buford, and 
 others — ^than Stuart whom they nicknamed 
 '^the Yellow Jacket." He seemed to fly from 
 place to place, guarding the Confederate line 
 and charging the Federals at the most un- 
 expected times and places; gayly dressed as that 
 brilliant-colored insect, he was as sharp and 
 sudden in attack. 
 
 Possessing the daring courage that is necessary 
 for a great cavalry leader, he was so wary and 
 farsighted that he won the respect of conserva- 
 tive leaders as well as the confidence of his men. 
 And in victory or defeat he was the soul of good 
 cheer. His mellow musical voice could be 
 heard above the din of battle singing, 
 
 ^'li you want to have a good time 
 Jine the cavalry." 
 
A BRIGADIER GENERAL 47 
 
 Once General Longstreet laughingly ordered 
 General Stuart to leave camp, saying he made 
 the cavalrymen's life seem so attractive that 
 all the infantrymen wanted to desert and ^^jine 
 the cavalry.'' 
 
 On December 20, 1861, while the army was 
 in winter quarters at Manassas, Stuart was 
 placed in command of about 1,500 infantry, 
 a battery of artillery, and a small body of 
 cavalr}^, for the purpose of covering the move- 
 ments of General J. E. Johnston's wagon train 
 which had been sent to procure forage for the 
 Confederate troops. It was most important 
 that this wagon train should be protected and 
 the pickets had advanced to Dranesville with 
 the cavalry following closely, when a Federal 
 force of nearly 4,000 men, supported by two 
 other brigades, attacked the pickets. The 
 pickets were driven back, and the Federal 
 artillery and infantry occupied the town, where 
 they posted themselves in a favorable position. 
 
 Stuart, when informed that the Federals held 
 the town, sent at once to recall the wagons and 
 advanced as quickly as possible with the rest 
 of his force to engage the Federals while the 
 wagons were gaining a place of safety. The 
 Federals had a much larger force of infantry 
 and had a good position for their artillery; so 
 
4Sn life of J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Stuart, after two hours of unequal combat, vras 
 forced to retire with heavy loss in killed and 
 wounded. The wagons, however, were saved 
 from capture; and the next morning when 
 Stuart returned to renew the attack, he found 
 that the Federals had retired. 
 
 In this battle of Dranesville, the Confederate 
 loss was nearly 200 and that of the Federals 
 was only 68. This was the first serious check 
 that Stuart had received, but he had displayed 
 so much prudence and skill in extricating the 
 wagons and his small force from the sudden 
 danger that he retained the entire confidence 
 of his men. 
 
 Writing about this battle to his wife, Stuart 
 said, ^The enemy's force was at least four 
 times larger than mine. Never was I in greater 
 personal danger. Horses and men fell about 
 me like tenpins, but thanks to God neither I 
 nor my horse was touched.'' 
 
 In the mieanv/hile, the Federal commander, 
 General McClellan, had been organizing his 
 forces and by March, 1862, he had under him 
 in front of Washington a large army splendidly 
 armed and equipped. General Johnston had 
 too small an army to engage the Federal hosts ; 
 and so late in March he fell back from Manassas 
 and encamped on the south side of the Rappa- 
 hannock river. 
 
A BRIGADIER GENERAL 49 
 
 General McClellan moved his large army to 
 Fortress Monroe, and it was then seen that he 
 intended to advance to Richmond by way of 
 the Peninsula, — that is, the portion of tidewater 
 Virginia lying between the James and York 
 rivers. 
 
 The brave Confederate general, Magruder, 
 stationed at Yorktown, was joined by General 
 Johnston with his whole army. They saw, how- 
 ever, that it would be impossible to hold that 
 position against McClellan, and so the Con- 
 federates gave up the town and retired toward 
 Richmond. 
 
 The cavalr}^ under Stuart skillfully guarded 
 the rear of the army and concealed its move- 
 ments from the Federals. At Williamsburg a 
 stubborn and brilliant battle was fought, in 
 which Johnston's rear guard repelled the 
 Federals. After the battle, the cavalry and the 
 Stuart Horse Artillery protected the rear of the 
 Confederate army as it withdrew toward 
 Richmond and screened the infantry as it took 
 position along the southern bank of the Chick- 
 ahominy river. 
 
 McClellan placed his army on the north bank 
 of the same river, and on May 31 and June 1, 
 he threw a large force across the river and 
 engaged the army of Johnston in the battle of 
 
50 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Seven Pines. This battle was only a partial vic- 
 tory for the Confederates, and as the river was 
 bordered by wide marshes and dense woods, 
 neither side could make use of cavalry in the 
 conflict. General Stuart, however, was actively 
 engaged in giving personal assistance to General 
 Longstreet on the field. 
 
 In his report of the battle. General Longstreet 
 said: ^^Brigadier J. E. B. Stuart, in the absence 
 of any opportunity to use his cavalry, was of 
 material service by his presence with me on the 
 field.'^ 
 
 In this battle of Seven Pines, General John- 
 ston was severely wounded and gave place to 
 General R. E. Lee, who was thus put in com- 
 mand of the army defending Richmond and of 
 all of the other Confederate forces in Virginia. 
 McClellan's magnificent army, now numbering 
 115,000 men, stretched from Meadow Bridge on 
 the right to the Williamsburg Road on the left, 
 having in front the marshes of the Chickahominy 
 as natural barriers. By entrenching his army 
 behind positions which he secured from time to 
 time, he advanced until at one point he was only 
 five miles from Richmond and could see the 
 spires of the churches and hear the bells ringing 
 for services. 
 
 General Lee had a much smaller army with 
 
A BRIGADIER GENERAL 51 
 
 which to repel this large entrenched army and 
 he withdrew to the south side of the Chicka- 
 hominy. It was very important to him to 
 learn the position and strength of the Union 
 forces, so that he might be able to attack them 
 at the weakest point. In order to gain this 
 information, he resolved to send General Stuart 
 with 1,200 cavalry to make a raid toward the 
 White House on the Pamunkey river, which 
 was the base of supplies for the Federal troops. 
 General Lee wrote to General Stuart, giving 
 definite instructions about this scouting expedi- 
 tion. 
 
 The letter said: ^^You are desired to make a 
 scout movement, to the rear of the enemy now 
 posted on the Chickahominy river, with a view 
 of gaining intelligence of his operations, com- 
 munications, etc., of driving in his foraging 
 parties, and securing such grain and cattle for 
 ourselves as you can make arrangements to 
 have driven in. 
 
 '^Another object is to destroy his wagon trains 
 said to be daily passing from the Piping-Tree 
 road to his camp on the Chickahominy. The 
 utmost vigilance on your part will be necessary 
 to prevent any surprise to yourself, and the 
 greatest caution must be practiced in keeping 
 well in your front and flanks reliable scouts to 
 give you information. 
 
52 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 *^You will return as soon as the object of your 
 expedition is accomplished, and you must bear 
 in mind while endeavoring to execute the 
 general purpose of your mission, not to hazard 
 unnecessarily your command. Be content to 
 accomplish all the good you can, without feeling 
 it necessary to obtain all that might be desired." 
 
 Such a raid demanded great daring and skill, 
 coupled with cool judgment, and General Lee 
 knew that these qualities were possessed by the 
 man to whom he entrusted this responsible and 
 dangerous undertaking. As we are to see, 
 Stuart carried out his instructions in an able 
 and brilliant manner and accomplished even 
 more than was hoped by General Lee. 
 
 In the first place, Stuart chose for the enter- 
 prise men and horses picked to stand the strain 
 of rapid movement. Colonel Fitzhugh Lee, 
 Colonel W. H. F. Lee, and Colonel W. T. Martin 
 were in command of the cavalry and Colonel 
 James Breathed commanded the one batter}^ 
 of artillery. 
 
 Early on the morning of June 12, Stuart 
 and his chosen troopers started on the famous 
 ^^Chickahominy Raid," or ^Tamunkey Ex- 
 pedition" as it is sometimes called. In order 
 to mask his real purpose, Stuart marched 
 directly northward twenty-two miles. At sun- 
 
A BRIGADIEU GENERAL 
 
 53 
 
 f^^JUNEl^!]^ / 
 
 1 Otaarts IcoaliG ■♦' 
 
 ^ ^WINSTON \'*^-' f 
 
 
 
 ^COUCT HOUSE 
 
 
 
 
 W ( // i 
 
 v/s^-^ 
 
 
 M .\ # V 
 
 
 
 i 1 
 
 YELLOW T/WEBN 
 
 *^ SALEM CH. \-j;^ 
 
 .1/^^^% 
 
 
 H *^4 |^^»^HANICSVILLE ^ 
 
 
 
 • GAINES MILL 
 NEW COLD HAOESOB 
 
 FAie OAKS StJt^^. JT 
 
 
 ^^^^fcD '-^^^'^^^^^^'^ 
 
 ♦««***w ^^i^ j^ y^"^ 
 
 ===^ JjfrALLEYVILLE 
 
 .«ZX§AWJ6£S^a/^ 
 
 ^\V^===^^ 
 
 « 
 
 frl^ SEVEN PINEiT=^=^j^3^0'^ 
 
 ^1 
 
 t 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 V- .^^>. 
 
 l^. 
 
 1 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 ,^ ^ 1^ MALVEBN HILL 
 
 r*.^^ 
 
 
 i ^r^ 
 
 
 1 
 % 
 
 J '^ 
 
 
 
 ^ HASe^ONS ^ 
 
 \.^jf^^^t) 
 
 
 f 1 **■*> ^^^^=s 
 
 ^^^=^^^/Wil\ 
 
 I.JL\P OF THE CHICKAHOMINY RAID 
 
 rise the next morning, the Httle band of horse- 
 men mounted and turned abruptly eastward 
 toward Hanover Courthouse. They found the 
 
54 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 town in possession of a body of Federal cavalry 
 that retired as the Confederate troopers ad- 
 vanced. The Confederates then passed on 
 without serious trouble as far as Totopotomy 
 Creek. Here, however, Stuart's advance guard 
 was attacked by a company of Federal troopers. 
 Finding themselves outnumbered and almost 
 surrounded, these troopers retired to the main 
 body of Federal troops commanded by Captain 
 Royall, who at once drew up his forces to 
 receive the attack. Stuart immediately^ ordered 
 a squadron to charge with sabers, in columns of 
 fours. Captain Latane, a gallant young officer, 
 who was that day commanding the squadron, 
 met Captain Royall in a hand-to-hand en- 
 counter. Roy all was seriously wounded by a 
 thrust from Latane' s saber. Latane fell dead, 
 pierced by a bullet from Royall's pistol. The 
 Federals fled in dismay, but soon rallied and 
 returned to the charge, only to be again repulsed, 
 whereupon they retired to the Union lines. 
 
 Fitz Lee learned from some of the prisoners 
 that the Federal camp was not far away and, 
 having obtained from Stuart permission to pur- 
 sue the Union troop)S, he pushed on to Old Church, 
 repelled the cavalry, and destroyed the camp. 
 
 General Stuart had now carried out the chief 
 order given by General Lee, — that is, he had 
 
56 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 ridden to the rear of McClellan's army and had 
 discovered that the Federal right wing did not 
 extend toward the railway and Hanover Court- 
 house — but it was a vexing problem how to 
 bring this valuable information to his com- 
 manding general. The route the young officer 
 had just passed was doubtless by this time 
 swarming with Federals. The best way to return 
 to Richmond would probably be to ride quickly 
 around the entire Federal army and cross the 
 Chickahominy river to the left of McClellan, 
 before troops were sent to cut him off. Without 
 halting or consulting with any of his officers, 
 Stuart decided that there was less risk in 
 following this circuitous route, especially as he 
 had with him for a guide Lieutenant James 
 Christian whose home was on the Chickahominy 
 and who said that the command could safely 
 cross a private ford on his farm. 
 
 The Federals were under the impression that 
 there was a very large force of Confederates on 
 the raid; and so they were collecting infantry 
 and cavalry at Totopotomy Bridge to cut off 
 the return of the raiders. Stuart, however, 
 passed on toward Tunstall's Station, on the 
 York River Railroad, four miles from the 
 White House which was the principal supply 
 station of the Federal army. 
 
A BRIGADIER GENERAL 57 
 
 He now proceeded to carry out the second 
 part of Lee's instructions, — namely, to destroy 
 whatever supplies he might find on the way. 
 As he passed on, numbers of wagons fell into his 
 hands. He sent two squadrons to Putney's 
 Ferry and burned two large transports and 
 numbers of wagons laden with supplies. Ap- 
 proaching Tunstall's Station, one of the supply 
 depots of the Federals, he sent forward a body 
 of picked men to cut the telegraph wires and 
 obstruct the railroad. Before they could per- 
 form the latter task, a train approached bearing 
 soldiers and supplies to McClellan's army. The 
 Confederates fired on it, but instead of stopping 
 the brave engineer stood at his post and carried 
 the train by at full speed. He was struck by a 
 shot and fell dying at his post, while the Con- 
 federates gave a cheer for his courage in risking 
 his life to save his charge from their hands. 
 
 Vast quantities of Federal stores were de- 
 stroyed by the Confederates whose men and 
 horses reveled in an unusual supply of good 
 rations and provender. It was now nearly dark 
 and Stuart's position was exceedingly dangerous. 
 Behind him were regiments of cavalry in hot 
 pursuit. Not more than four or five miles 
 distant were the entrenchments of McClellan, 
 whence in a short time troops could be sent by 
 
58 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 rail to cut off his progress to the James river. 
 Before hira was the Chickahomiiiy^ now a 
 raging torrent from the spring rains. His chief 
 guides through this maze of swamps and forest 
 roads were Private Richard Frayser and Lieu- 
 
 From a war-time photograph 
 THE CHICKAHOMINY RIVER 
 
 tenant Christian whose homes were near and 
 who knew every part of the country through 
 w^hich they w^ere passing. Stuart had the ad- 
 vantage also of knowing from his scouts just 
 where the enemv was located. 
 
A BRIGADIER GENERAL 59 
 
 Having formed his plans, swiftness and 
 boldness were his watchwords. After he had 
 destroyed the Federal supplies at Tun stall's 
 Station and burned the railroad bridge over 
 Black Creek, he set out about dark for Talleys- 
 ville, four miles distant, where he halted for 
 three hours and a half, in order to allow men 
 and horses to rest and scattered troopers to 
 come up. 
 
 Colonel John S. Mosby, later one of Stuart's 
 chief scouts, was at that time his aide. In 
 describing the raid, Mosby said that one who 
 had never taken part in such an expedition 
 could form no idea of the careless ga3"ety of the 
 men that night. When they had set out the day 
 before, they did not know where they were 
 going. Now they were aware they were riding 
 around McClellan and the boldness of the 
 movement fired their imaginations, quickened 
 their pulses, and roused their courage to any 
 deed of daring. Therefore, in the midst of 
 danger, the}^ sang and laughed and feasted; and 
 at midnight w^hen the bugle sounded ^73oots 
 and Saddles," every horseman was ready for 
 whatever might come. 
 
 At daybreak on June 14, the Confederates 
 reached the ford on Sycamore Springs, Chris- 
 tian's farm, — a ford no longer for the river 
 
60 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 swollen by the heavy rains had overflowed its 
 banks and become a raging torrent. Colonel 
 Lee and a few men swam their horses across 
 the stream and back again; but it was evident 
 that the weaker horses and the artillery could 
 not cross at that point. The Confederates then 
 cut down trees tall enough to span the stream, 
 and attempted to build a rough bridge, but the 
 trees were swept down the rapid current as 
 soon as they touched the water. 
 
 Stuart rode up and sat on his horse, calmly 
 stroking his long silken beard as he watched his 
 cavalrymen's bootless efforts. Every other 
 face betraj^ed keen anxiety. Learning there 
 was the remains of an old bridge a few miles 
 below, he moved the command thither with all 
 speed. A deserted v/arehouse was near the old 
 bridge, and a large force of men was set at work 
 to tear down the house in order to secure material 
 to rebuild the bridge. While the work was 
 going on, Stuart laughed and jested with his 
 oflTicers. 
 
 The men worked with such swiftness that 
 within three hours the bridge was ready for 
 the cavalry and artillery to pass over; and at 
 one o'clock that afternoon, the whole command 
 had crossed. During those hours of anxiety, 
 Fitz Lee, in command of the rear guard, had 
 
A BRIGADIER GENERAL 61 
 
 driven off several parties of Federal eavalry. 
 After all the Confederates gained the southern 
 shore — Fitz Lee being the last man to cross — , the 
 bridge was burned to prevent pursuit. The 
 men were exultant and happy at having crossed 
 the river, but they were by no means out of 
 danger, being thirty-five miles from Richmond 
 and still far within the lines of McClellan. 
 Stuart, who knew that every moment was 
 precious to General Lee, hastened on at sunset 
 with only one courier and his trusty guide 
 Frayser and arrived at Richmond about sunrise 
 on the morning of June 15. The men rested 
 several hours and then were led by Colonel 
 Fitz Lee safely back to their own camp where 
 they were greeted with enthusiastic cheers by 
 their comrades. 
 
 As soon as General Stuart reached Richmond, 
 he sent Frayser to inform Mrs. Stuart of his 
 safe return, while he himself rode to General 
 Lee's headquarters with his wonderful report. 
 
 He had been sent to find out the position of 
 the right wing of McClellan's army. He had 
 not only located that, but he had destroyed a 
 large amount of United States property, brought 
 off one hundred and sixty-five prisoners and 
 two hundred and sixty horses and mules. With 
 only twelve hundred men, he had ridden around 
 
62 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 the great Federal army — a distance of about 
 ninety miles in about fifty-six hours — with the 
 loss of only one man, the lamented young 
 Latane. By that dashing ride, Stuart gained 
 for himself world-wide fame and an honorable 
 place among the great cavalry leaders of all 
 time. The Chickahominy Raid was one of the 
 most brilliant cavalry achievements in history, 
 and it inspired the Confederates with fresh 
 courage and excited Federal dread of the bold 
 cavalrymen who attempted and accomplished 
 seemingly impossible things. 
 
 The information gained w^as invaluable for it 
 made it possible for General Lee to send Jackson 
 against the right flank of McClellan and to 
 defeat the Federals at Cold Harbor. 
 
 In the Seven Days' Battle around Richmond, 
 which began on June 26, Stuart at first guarded 
 the left of Jackson's march. In the battle of 
 Gaines's Mill, he found a suitable position for 
 the artillery. He sent forward two guns under 
 Pelham, a gallant young gunner from Alabama, 
 who kept up an unequal combat for hours 
 with two Federal batteries. When the Federal 
 lines had been forced at Gaines's Mill and 
 Cold Harbor, Stuart advanced three miles to 
 the left; but finding no trace of the Federals, he 
 returned that night to Cold Harbor. On June 
 
A BRIGADIER GENERAL 
 
 63 
 
 28, he proceeded toward the White House on 
 the Pamimkey river, wliich the Federals had 
 abandoned and burned. They had also set 
 fire to many valuable stores and munitions of 
 war. The iUustration on this page is from a 
 war-time photograph, showing the railroad bridge 
 across the Pamunkey river which was destroyed 
 
 From a war-time photograph 
 RUINS OF RAILROAD BRIDGE ACROSS PAMUNKEY RIVER 
 
 in order to render the road useless to the Con- 
 federates. When McClellan changed his base 
 from the White House to James river, he had two 
 trains loaded with food and am.munition run at^ 
 full speed off the embankment in the left fore- 
 ground into the river, in order to keep these stores 
 
64 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 from falling into the hands of the southern 
 troops. 
 
 An interesting account of this campaign is 
 given by Heros Von Borcke. Von Borcke was a 
 noble young Prussian officer who gave his 
 services as a volunteer to the Confederacy, just 
 as LaFayette had given his services to the 
 Colonies in the War of the Revolution; Von 
 Borcke served the South so loyally that near 
 the close of the war the Confederate Congress 
 drew up a resolution of thanks for his services 
 in just the same form that the Colonies had 
 thanked LaFayette. 
 
 Von Borcke was one of Stuart's aides and he 
 distinguished himself by his gallantry during 
 the Chickahominy raid. He tells us that when 
 the Confederates arrived at the White House 
 they found burning p^Tamids built of barrels 
 of eggs, bacon and hams, and barrels of sugar. 
 There were also boxes of oranges and lemons 
 and other luxuries. j\Iany of these luxuries 
 were rescued b}^ the Confederates, and when 
 Von Borcke reached the plantation, shortly 
 after it had been taken, he found General 
 Stuart seated under a tree drinking a big glass 
 of iced lemonade, an unusual treat for a Con- 
 federate soldier. All of Stuart's troops had such 
 a feast as was seldom enjoyed during the war. 
 
A BRIGADIER GENERAL 65 
 
 and large quantities of supplies and equipments 
 were forwarded to the Confederate quarter- 
 master at Richmond. 
 
 The Federal gunboat, Marhlehead, was still 
 in sight on the river. The soldiers at that 
 period had an almost superstitious fear of the 
 bombs thrown by the big guns of the gunboats, 
 which made an awful whizzing noise and burst 
 into many fragments. Stuart decided that he 
 would teach his troopers a lesson and show them 
 how little harm the dreaded shells did at short 
 range. He selected seventy-five men whom 
 he armed with carbines and placed under 
 com.mand of Colonel W. H. F. Lee who led 
 them down to the landing. They fired at the 
 boat and skirmishers were sent ashore from 
 the boat to meet them. A brisk skirmish fol- 
 lowed, during which Stuart brought up one gun 
 of Pelham's battery. This threw shells upon the 
 decks of the Marblehead, while the screeching 
 bombs of the big guns of the boat went over 
 the heads of Pelham's battery, far away into 
 the depths of the swamps. The skirmishers 
 hurried back to the Marblchcad, and it steamed 
 away down the river, pursued as far as possible 
 by shells from Pelham's plucky Httle howitzer. 
 
 Stuart sent General Lee the important news 
 that McClellan was seeking a base upon the 
 
66 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 James river, and then stayed the remainder of 
 the day at the White House^ where he found 
 enough undestroyed provisions to satisfy the 
 hunger of the men and horses of his command. 
 
 After severe engagements with the Confeder- 
 ates at Savage Station and Frayser's Farm, the 
 Union forces were forced to retreat, closely 
 followed by Jackson and Stuart. On the evening 
 of July 1, was fought the bloody battle of 
 Malvern Hill, after which McClellan retreated 
 by night down the James to Harrison's Landing 
 where he was protected by the gunboats. 
 
 Early on the morning of July 2, Stuart 
 started in pursuit and found the Federals in 
 position at Westover. The next day he took 
 possession of Evelington Heights, a tableland 
 overlooking McClellan's encampment and pro- 
 tecting his line of retreat. Llere Stuart expected 
 to be supported by Longstreet and Jackson, and 
 he opened fire with Pelham's howitzer. 
 
 The Federal infantry and artillery at once 
 moved forward to storm the heights. Jackson 
 and Longstreet were delayed by terrific storms, 
 and Stuart unsupported held his position until 
 two o'clock in the afternoon when his ammuni- 
 tion gave out. He then retired and joined the 
 main body of the infantry, which did not arrive 
 until after the Federals had taken possession 
 
A BRIGADIER GENERAL 67 
 
 of Evelington Heights and were fortifying it 
 strongly. 
 
 The two armies now had a breathing spell of 
 about one month. McClellan's defeated hosts 
 remained in their protected position at Har- 
 rison's Landing until the middle of August, when 
 they w(Te recalled to join General Pope at 
 Manassas. General Lee's army was withdrawn 
 nearer to Richmond which was saved from im- 
 mediate danger. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 A MAJOR GENERAL: 
 CAMP LIFE AND THE SECOND BATTLE 
 
 OF MANASSAS 
 
 1862 
 
 As a reward for his faithful and efficient 
 services in the Peninsular Campaign, Stuart 
 received his commission as major general of 
 cavalry on July 25, 1862. His forces were now 
 organized into two brigades, with Brigadier- 
 General Wade Hampton in command of the 
 first and Brigadier-General Fitzhugh Lee in 
 command of the second. During the month 
 following the defeat of McClellan, these two 
 brigades were placed by turns on picket duty on 
 the Charles City road to guard Richmond and 
 in the camp of instruction at Hanover Court- 
 house. 
 
 While conducting this camp of instruction 
 where he drilled his men in the cavalry tactics 
 that were later to win them such honor, Stuart 
 and his staff were often pleasantly entertained 
 at neighboring plantations. Mrs. Stuart with 
 her two Httle children. Flora, five years of age, 
 
 [ 68 1 
 
A MAJOR GENERAL 69 
 
 and ^^ Jimmy/' aged two^ was able to be near 
 the general once more. The time passed 
 pleasantly, enlivened by cavalry drills, visits 
 from the young officers to the ladies of the 
 vicinity, serenades and dances, and visits from 
 the ladies to the general's headquarters. 
 
 One Sunday evening as the general and most 
 of his staff were visiting at Dundee, the planta- 
 tion near which their camp was situated, a 
 stable in the yard caught fire and the visitors 
 proved themselves as good firemen as they were 
 soldiers. The young Prussian officer. Von 
 Borcke, an unusually large and heavily-built 
 man, was so energetic in his efforts, that after 
 the fire was out, the general, who was always 
 fond of a joke, insisted that he had seen the 
 young officer rush from the burning building 
 with a mule under one arm and two little pigs 
 under the other. 
 
 Stuart was soon called away from this 
 pleasant life to make an inspection of all the 
 Confederate cavalry forces. It was evident 
 that General Lee's army would soon be engaged 
 against a new Federal commander. General 
 Pope, who was concentrating a large army on 
 the Rapidan river. General Jackson, who had 
 been sent to hold General Pope in check, had 
 his headquarters at Gordonsville. 
 
70 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Major Von Borcke tells us that the cars 
 carrying the Confederate troops to Gordons- 
 ville were so crowded that General Stuart rode 
 on the tender of the engine, rather than take 
 a seat away from one of the soldiers. It was a 
 hot night in July and there was a dense smoke 
 from the engine, but it was so dark that it was 
 not until they reached Gordonsville that the 
 general discovered that both Von Borcke and 
 himself were so black with soot that their best 
 friends would not have recognized them. 
 Indeed, it took a great deal of soap and water 
 to make them presentable once more. 
 
 Stuart reached Jackson's headquarters on 
 August 10, the day after the Federal advance 
 guard had been defeated in the battle of Cedar 
 Run. At Jackson's request, Stuart took com- 
 mand of a reconnaissance to find out the posi- 
 tion and strength of the enemy. Upon hearing 
 his report, Jackson decided to remain for the 
 present on the defensive. 
 
 In the meantime. General Lee, who was 
 watching General McClellan's army still en- 
 camped at Harrison's Landing, received informa- 
 tion that the latter had been ordered to withdraw 
 his forces and join General Pope at Manassas. 
 
 Leaving a small force in front of Richmond, 
 Lee hastened to join Jackson so that they could 
 
A MAJOR GENERAL 71 
 
 engage Pope before his already large army was 
 reenforced by McClellan. The cavalry was 
 kept very busy at this time as it was necessary 
 to defend the Central Road, now the Chesa- 
 peake and Ohio, from Federal raids. 
 
 On the night of August 17, Stuart himself 
 barely escaped capture. He wrote an interesting 
 account of this adventure to his wife, and Mrs. 
 Stuart has kindly allowed us to use the letter 
 in this book. Here it is: 
 
 Rapidan Valley, August 19, 18G2. 
 
 My Dear Wife — I had a very narrow escape yesterday 
 morning. I had made arrangement for Lee's Brigade to 
 move across from Davenport's bridge to Raccoon ford 
 where I was to meet it, but Lee went by Louisa Court 
 House. His dispatch informing me of the fact did not 
 reach me, consequently I went do^vn the Plank road to 
 the place of rendezvous. 
 
 Hearing nothing of him, I stopped for the night and 
 sent Major Fitzhugh with a guide across to meet General 
 Lee. At sunrise yesterday a large body of cavalry from 
 the very direction from which Lee was expected, ap- 
 proached crossing the Plank road just below me and 
 going directly towards Raccoon ford. Cf course I^thought 
 it was Lee — as no Yankees had been seen about for a 
 month, hut as a measure of prudence I sent dowTi two 
 men to ascertain. They had not gone 100 yards before 
 they were fired on and pursued rapidly by a squadron. 
 
 I was in the yard bareheaded, my hat being in the 
 porch. I just had time to mount my horse and clear the 
 
A^~^ 
 
 -^^ 
 
 2S 
 
 
 Z^^^ ,<^-«l-G5^^ ^^l^^CSLX^ ^ .i^t_^5t_</^^ ^3^ 
 
 /^x-a-^ 
 
 
 ^;>'C->-«-'^5^_, /^-'-zs -'^^«4,-._X4_> 
 
 ^, 
 
 FACillMILE OF PAGE OF LETTER FROM GENERAL STUART TO HIS WIFE 
 
 [72] 
 
A MAJOR GENERAL 73 
 
 back fence, having no time to get my hat or anything 
 else. I lost my haversack, blanket, talma, cloak, and 
 hat, with that palmetto star — too bad, wasn't it? I am 
 all right again, however, and I am greeted, on all sides 
 with congratulations and "whereas your hat!'^ I intend 
 to make the Yankees pay for that hat. 
 
 Poor Fitzhugh was not so fortunate. He was captured 
 four miles off under similar circumstances, with his fine 
 grey. He will be exchanged in ten days, however. Von 
 Borcke and Dabney were with me (five altogether) and 
 their escape was equally miraculous. Dundee is the best 
 place for you at preseat. W.e will have hot work I 
 think to-morrow. My cavalry has an important part to 
 play. 
 
 Love to all, my two sweethearts included. 
 
 God bless you. 
 
 J. E. B. Stuart. 
 
 A few days later, as you will hear, General 
 Stuart collected payment for his lost hat from 
 General Pope himself. But before this took 
 place, the Confederate cavalry was engaged in 
 several skirmishes with the Federals. There 
 was a severe encounter at Brandy Station on 
 August 20 when sixty-five prisoners were 
 captured. The regiments which had fought 
 under Ashby, a gallant young officer who had 
 been killed in the Valley, were now added to 
 Stuart's division as Robertson's Brigade. At 
 Brandy Station, these troopers fought under 
 
74 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Stuart for the first time and he was much 
 pleased at their dash and bravery. 
 
 While Lee, who had now joined Jackson, 
 was waiting a favorable opportunity to attack 
 the Federals, Stuart begged permission to pass 
 to the rear of Pope's army and cut his line of 
 communication at Catlett's Station where there 
 was a large depot of supplies. General Lee 
 gave his consent, and on the morning of 
 August 22, General Stuart crossed the Rappa- 
 hannock at Waterloo Bridge, to make a second 
 raid to the rear of the Federal army. 
 
 By nightfall the Confederates reached Auburn 
 near Catlett's Station, where they captured 
 the Federal pickets. Just as they reached the 
 station, however, a violent storm arose; and 
 amid the wind and the rain and the darkness, it 
 seemed impossible to find their way. Fortu- 
 nately, they captured a negro who knew Stuart 
 and who offered to show them the way to Pope's 
 headquarters. They accepted his guidance and 
 soon the Confederate cavalry surprised the un- 
 suspecting enemy, attacked the camp, and 
 captured a number of officers belonging to 
 Pope's staff, as well as his horses, baggage, a 
 large sum of money, and his dispatch book which 
 contained copies of the letters he had written 
 to the government, telling the location and 
 

76 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 plans of his army. But for the fact that General 
 Pope was out on a tour of inspection, he himself 
 would have been captured. 
 
 In the meantime, two of Stuart's regiments 
 had gained another part of the camp, and an 
 attempt was made to destroy the railroad 
 bridge over Cedar Run. But on account of the 
 heavy rain it was impossible to fire it, and, in 
 the dense darkness, it was equally hard to cut 
 asunder the heavy timbers with the few axes 
 which they found. Therefore, with more than 
 three hundred prisoners and valuable spoils, 
 Stuart retired before daybreak and regained in 
 safety the Confederate lines. 
 
 Major Von Borcke gives an interesting inci- 
 dent of their return march. As the troops — 
 wet, cold, and hungry — passed through Warren- 
 ton, coffee w^as served them by a number of 
 young girls. One of the girls recognized among 
 the prisoners General Pope's quartermaster. 
 He had boasted several days before, when at 
 her father's house, that he would enter Rich- 
 mond within a month. She had promptly bet 
 him a bottle of wine that he would not be able 
 to do it, but as he was now a prisoner he would 
 be obliged to enter the city even earlier than 
 he had hoped. She, therefore, asked General 
 Stuart's permission to offer the quartermaster 
 
A MAJOR GENERAL 77 
 
 a bottle of wine from his own captured supplies. 
 The general readily granted her request, and the 
 Yankee prisoner entered good-naturedly into 
 the jest, saying that he would always be willing 
 to drink the health of so charming a person. 
 
 In retaliation for the loss of his hat and cloak, 
 General Stuart sent General Pope's uniform 
 to Richmond where for some days it hung in 
 one of the shop windows, to the delight of the 
 populace who especially disliked Pope on ac- 
 count of his bombast and cruelty. He had 
 boasted that he had come from the West where 
 his soldiers always saw the backs of their 
 enemies, and he had authorized his soldiers to 
 take whatever they wished from the citizens of 
 Virginia, whom he held responsible for damage 
 done by raiding parties of the Confederate army. 
 
 Two weeks later, General Stuart wrote his wife 
 that Parson Landstreet, a member of his staff 
 who had been captured by the Federals, brought 
 him a message from General Pope. Pope said 
 that he would send back Stuart's hat if Stuart 
 would return his coat. 
 
 ^^But," wrote Stuart, "1 have got to see my 
 hat first/^ 
 
 It was against General Pope that the second 
 Battle of Manassas was fought, August 28, 29. 
 and 30, 1862. General Stuart and his cavalry 
 
78 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 in the maneuvers preceding the battle, screened 
 the flank march of Jackson's troops to Grove- 
 town, by which movement they placed them- 
 selves between the Federal rear and Wash- 
 ington. It took two days for Jackson's ^^foot 
 cavalry^' to make this march, and so perfectly 
 did Stuart do his work that as late as August 
 28, Pope did not know to what place Jackson had 
 marched from Manassas. 
 
 In the three days' battle that followed, the 
 cavalry was ever on the flank of the army, 
 observing the Federals and guarding against 
 attacks. On the morning of August 29, after a 
 sharp skirmish, Stuart met Lee and Longstreet 
 and opened the way for them to advance to the 
 support of Jackson whose forces on the right 
 wing were engaged in unequal and critical com- 
 bat. Later on the same day, Stuart saw that the 
 Federals were massing in front of Jackson, and 
 with a small detachment of cavalry aided by 
 Pelham and his guns, he gallantly held large 
 forces in check and protected Jackson's 
 captured wagon train of supplies. On the 
 afternoon of August 30, the cavalry did most 
 effectual service, following the retreating 
 Federals and protecting the exposed Confeder- 
 ate flank against heavy cavalry attacks. During 
 the engagements, the Confederate infantry 
 
A MAJOR GENERAL 79 
 
 could not have held its position but for the 
 assistance of the cavalry under the able direc- 
 tion of Stuart. 
 
 In these battles, Pope had forces largely 
 superior in number and equipment to Lee's, 
 but Pope's losses in killed and wounded were 
 much the heavier. Finally he was forced to 
 retreat toward Washington, leaving in the 
 hands of the Confederates many prisoners as 
 well as captured artillery, arms, and a large 
 amount of stores. The North seemed panic- 
 stricken, as Washington was now directly 
 exposed to the attacks of the Confederates. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN 
 
 1862 
 
 General Lee knew, however, that he did not 
 have men enough to take by assault the strong 
 fortifications around Washington, and he, there- 
 fore, planned to cross over into Maryland 
 before the Federal army had recovered from its 
 defeat, when its commanders were least expect- 
 him. In order that he might completely mis- 
 lead them and make it appear that he was 
 beginning a general attack on Washington, he 
 ordered Stuart and his troops to advance 
 toward that city. 
 
 In their advance, they engaged in several 
 sharp skirmishes with the Federals, finally 
 driving them from Fairfax Courthouse, where, 
 amid the cheers of the inhabitants, Major Von 
 Borcke planted the beloved Confederate flag 
 on a little common in the center of the village. 
 
 The people of this section had been under 
 Federal control for several months and their 
 joy at seeing Stuart and his troops was un- 
 
 \ 80 1 
 
THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN 81 
 
 bounded. They flocked to the roadside to get a 
 glimpse of the great cavalry leader. 
 
 One lady, who had lost two sons in battle, 
 came forward as the troops passed her home 
 and asked permission to kiss the general's 
 battle flag. She held by the hand her only 
 surviving son, a lad of fifteen years, and de- 
 clared herself ready if it were needed to give 
 his life too for her country. 
 
 On September 5, General Stuart and his 
 forces crossed the Potomac. Four days later, 
 General Lee moved his entire army across the 
 river, encamped at Frederick, Maryland, and 
 sent General Jackson to capture the strongly 
 fortified Federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry. 
 
 Major Von Borcke, from vv^hose Memoirs of 
 the Confederate TVar for Independence we shall 
 borrow several interesting incidents of this 
 Maryland campaign, tells us that the crossing of 
 the cavalry at White's Ford was one of the most 
 picturesque scenes of the war. The river is 
 very wide at this point, and its steep banks, 
 rising to the height of sixty feet, are over- 
 shadowed by large trees that trail from their 
 branches a perfect network of graceful and lux- 
 uriant vines. A sandy island about midstream 
 broke the passage of the horsemen and artillery, 
 and as a column of a thousand troops passed 
 
Copyright, 1914, by E. O, Wiggins From photograph owned bv Qen. T. T. Munford 
 [82] MAJOR HEROS VON BORCKE 
 
THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN 83 
 
 over, the rays of the setting sun made the 
 water look Hke burnished gold. The hearts of 
 the soldiers crossing the river thrilled at the 
 sound of the familiar and inspiring strains of 
 '^Maryland, my Maryland/' which greeted them 
 from the northern bank. 
 
 The enthusiasm of the Maryland people at 
 Poolesville, where Stuart first stopped, was 
 boundless. Two young merchants of the village 
 suddenly resolved to enlist in the cavalry and 
 they put up all their goods at auction. The 
 soldiers with the eagerness and carelessness of 
 children cleared out both establishments in 
 less than an hour. Many other recruits were 
 made in this village, all the young men seeming 
 to feel the inspiration of General Stuart's 
 favorite song, 
 
 *'If you want to have a good time 
 Jine the cavalry." 
 
 At Urbana, a pretty little village on the road 
 to Frederick, where General Stuart with one 
 division of his forces camped for several days^ 
 a most exciting ball was held on the evening 
 of September 8. There were many charming 
 families living in the neighborhood, and General 
 Stuart and his staff decided to give a dance at an 
 old, unused academy located on a hill just 
 outside of the town. The young ladies of the 
 
84 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 neighborhood wilhngly lent their help, and 
 evening found the halls of the academy lighted 
 by tallow candles and draped with garlands of 
 roses and with battle flags borrowed from the 
 regiments of the brigades. Music was fur- 
 nished by the band of a Mississippi regiment. 
 The ball, which had opened to the rousing 
 strains of ^^Dixie," was at its height, when a 
 young orderly rushed in and to the accompani- 
 ment of distant shots reported that the Federals 
 had driven in the pickets and were attacking 
 the camp. 
 
 Wild confusion prevailed. The officers got 
 rapidly to horse and anxious mammas collected 
 their daughters. Upon reaching the scene of 
 action. General Stuart found that the danger had 
 been overestimated and the Federals were 
 already beginning to retreat. In a short while, 
 they had been driven back; and by one o'clock, 
 the staff officers had brought the young ladies 
 back to the academy and the ball had a second 
 and more auspicious opening. Dancing con- 
 tinued until df^wn, when some soldiers wounded 
 in the skirmish were brought in, and the ball 
 room was soon converted into a hospital and the 
 fair dancers into willing if inexperienced nurses. 
 
 The next day. General Fitz Lee's brigade was 
 engaged in a skirmish, and the day following 
 
THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN 85 
 
 Colonel Munford, who was commanding Robert- 
 son's Brigade, had a sharp encounter with 
 Federals at Sugar Loaf Mountain. By Sept. 11, 
 the Federal cavalry was attacking in such force 
 that General Stuart saw that it was necessary to 
 order a retreat toward Frederick. General Fitz 
 Lee commanded the advance; Colonel Munford 
 protected the rear, which as it approached 
 Urbana had a sharp skirmish with the closely- 
 following Federal cavalry. General Stuart and 
 his staff, however, did not tear themselves aw^ay 
 from their friends in this hospitable little village 
 until the Union troops were within half a mile 
 of the place and several . shells had exploded in 
 the street. From Urbana the cavalry went to 
 Frederick. Many years after the war was over, 
 Mrs. Stuart received a letter from a New York 
 physician, who at the time of the Maryland 
 campaign had just won his title and a position 
 on the staff of one of the Union hospitals in 
 Frederick. 
 
 He told aoout meeting General Stuart and 
 then said, "1 wish to bear testimony to the fact 
 that not only myself, but all the friends of the 
 Union cause in Frederick, so far as I could learn, 
 were kindly treated by both officers and private 
 soldiers. I do not remember of a single instance 
 where private property was molested, nor was 
 
86 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 any taunt, indignity, or insult offered to any 
 person. Whittier's ^Barbara Frietchie/ which 
 has attracted so much attention, — even that is 
 fiction." 
 
 At Frederick, Stuart found that General Lee 
 had already retreated across South Mountain 
 and taken a position at Sharpsburg on Antietam 
 Creek, while Jackson was investing Harper's 
 Ferry. Look at the map on page 95 and you will 
 see that southwest of Frederick rises a small 
 spur of the Blue Ridge, called Catoctin Mountain 
 on the other side of which is a broad, fertile 
 valley extending for about six miles to the base 
 of South Mountain. .On the opposite side of 
 South INIountain is Sharpsburg, and across the 
 same mountain to the south is Harper's Ferry 
 which Jackson had been ordered to capture 
 before he marched north to join Lee and Long- 
 street at Sharpsburg. 
 
 Now you can see that until Harper's Ferry 
 fell it was necessary that the cavalry should 
 hinder the advance of the Federal army under 
 McClellan until Jackson could join Lee. This 
 was especially difficult, because an order from 
 General Lee to General D. H. Hill, explaining 
 fully the commanding general's plans and the 
 location of all his forces, had fallen into the 
 hands of General McClellan and he was ad- 
 
THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN 87 
 
 vancing a tremendous army toward Sharps- 
 burg as rapidly as possible. 
 
 As General McClellan's forces advanced, 
 General Stuart retreated slowly, contesting 
 every inch of ground. His retreat across 
 Catoctin Mountain was through Braddock's 
 Gap, along the same road where eighty-seven 
 years before, the young patriot, George Wash- 
 ington, had accompanied General Braddock 
 on the fatal expedition against Fort Duquesne. 
 In this gap, Stuart had a sharp encounter with 
 the Federals. He and Major Von Borcke who 
 was commanding a gun on the height above the 
 pass, narrowly escaped being captured by 
 Federal skirmishers who, under cover of the 
 dense forest, had worked their way around 
 behind the gun. 
 
 Another sharp encounter took place on 
 Kittochtan creek at Middletown, half way 
 across the valley, where General Stuart delayed 
 the retreat of his forces so long that they barely 
 escaped capture and reached the foot of South 
 Mountain just in time to protect the two 
 principal passes, — Turner's Gap which led 
 directly through Boonsboro to Sharpsburg, and 
 Crampton's Gap which led through Pleasant 
 Valley to Harper's Ferry. 
 
 It was necessary to hold these gaps and delay 
 
88 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 the enemy until Jackson could capture Harper's 
 Ferry and unite his division with the remainder 
 of the army under General Lee. A heavy part of 
 this work fell on the cavalry and the artillery. 
 The retreat of Generals Longstreet and Hill, 
 who had held Turner's Gap until the after- 
 noon of Sept. 14, was covered by General Fitz 
 Lee's brigade which held the Federals in check 
 at every possible point. There was a sharp 
 encounter at Boonsboro, where, in charging, 
 General W. H. F. Lee was ridden down by his 
 own men and narrowly escaped capture. 
 
 At Crampton's Gap, which led through 
 Pleasant Valley to Harper's Ferry, Colonel 
 Munford gallantly checked the Federal advance 
 until the evening of Sept. 14, when the troops 
 sent to assist him broke and retreated in bad 
 order through Pleasant Valley. General Stuart 
 had been at Harper's Ferry conferring with 
 General McLaws; when they heard of the 
 engagement at Crampton's Gap, both generals 
 rode quickly forward to meet the routed and 
 panic-stricken troops which they rallied and 
 formed into line of battle. The position that 
 they held the next morning was so strong that 
 the advancing Federals hesitated to attack; 
 just as the first shots were being exchanged, the 
 news of the surrender of Harper's Ferry caused 
 
THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN 89 
 
 the attacking party to begin a hasty retreat 
 along the road that they had come. 
 
 General Stuart at once reported to General 
 Jackson, who requested him to convey the news 
 to General Lee at Sharpsburg. But even now 
 Lee was in great peril. He had with him, on the 
 evening of Sept. 14 when the gaps were stormed, 
 only about 20,000 men; and McClellan's army 
 of more than 87,000 was advancing rapidly to 
 attack him. Lee had now either to recross the 
 Potomac or to fight a battle north of that river. 
 
 He decided to make a stand, and on the night 
 of Sept. 14, drew his army across Antietam 
 creek and took a strong position on a range of 
 hills east of the Hagerstown turnpike. Here 
 he waited for Jackson who, by a forced march, 
 came up in time to take position on the left 
 wing on the morning of September 16. Even 
 when reenforced by Jackson, Lee had a much 
 smaller force than McClellan. 
 
 On the evening of Sept. 16, McClellan at- 
 tacked Jackson's wing at the left of Lee's army, 
 but was repulsed. At early dawn the next day, 
 the attack was renewed and the combat raged 
 all day. When night ended the bloody contest, 
 the Confederates not only held their position, 
 but had advanced their lines on a part of the 
 field. During the entire battle, Stuart with 
 
90 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 his horse artillery and a small cavalry escort 
 had guarded the open hilly space between Jack- 
 son's left and the Potomac river. 
 
 General Jackson in his report of this battle 
 said: ^This officer (General Stuart) rendered 
 valuable service throughout the day. His 
 bold use of artillery secured for us an important 
 position which, had the enemy possessed, might 
 have commanded our left." 
 
 The next day, Lee waited for McClellan to 
 attack, but no movement came from the hostile 
 camp. Finding out through Stuart's scouts 
 that large bodies of fresh troops were being sent 
 to McClellan, Lee withdrew that night to the 
 south side of the Potomac, and by eleven o'clock 
 the next morning, he was again ready to give 
 battle should the Federals pursue. He had 
 brought off nearly everything of value, leaving 
 behind only several disabled cannon and some 
 of his wounded. 
 
 While Fitz Lee's and Munford's troops were 
 left to protect the retreat of the army, Stuart 
 with a small force had gone up the Potomac 
 to Williamsport, hoping to divert the attention 
 of the Federals from the main body of the army 
 and so enable it to cross the river unhindered. 
 This movement was successful, for large Federal 
 forces were sent against him, yet he maintained 
 
THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN 91 
 
 his position without reenforcements until the 
 night of September 20, when he recrossed the Po- 
 tomac in safety. 
 
 During this short campaign, several interesting 
 incidents occurred. On one occasion, when the 
 Federals were advancing toward Williamsport, a 
 young lady of the town obtained permission to 
 fire a cannon that was about to be discharged. 
 After this, the soldiers always called that 
 cannon ^^the girl of Williamsport." 
 
 Another time. Major Von Borcke tells us that 
 he accompanied the general on one of his 
 favorite, yet dangerous reconnoitering expedi- 
 tions outside of the Confederate lines. They 
 tried to keep themselves concealed by the 
 dense undergrowth, but they must have been 
 observed by the pickets, for in a short while 
 Major Von Borcke heard the ^^httle clicking 
 sound that a saber scabbard often makes in 
 knocking against a tree," and, looking quickly 
 around, he saw a long line of Federal cavalry. 
 A few whispered words to the general were 
 enough; he and his aide put spurs to their 
 horses and once more justified their reputations 
 as expert horsemen, for they were soon hidden 
 by the friendly trees, while their pursuers were 
 firing wildly in vain search for the escaped prey. 
 
 There were no serious engagements for the 
 
92 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 next few weeks and General Lee's army enjoyed 
 a well deserved rest. The cavalry watched the 
 movements of the Federals and protected the 
 camps from alarms. The cavalry headquarters 
 were delightfully situated near Charlestown on 
 the plantation of Mr. A. S. Dandridge. Because 
 of its beautiful grove of huge oak trees, this 
 plantation was called The Bower. A comfort- 
 able old brick mansion crowned the summit of a 
 sloping hill on the sides of which the tents of 
 the camp were located under oak trees. At 
 the foot of the hill wound the sparkling little 
 Opequan river. Here provisions were plentiful 
 once more, and the soldiers enjoyed fishing and 
 hunting the small game, — squirrels, rabbits, and 
 partridges, — that abounded in the nearby woods. 
 
 General Stuart had attached to his staff a 
 remarkable young banjo player, Bob Sweeny, 
 who, with the assistance of two fiddlers and 
 Stuart's mulatto servant Bob who rattled the 
 bones unusually well, furnished music around 
 the camp fire for the men and served also on 
 serenades and at dances given to the officers at 
 the hospitable Dandridge mansion. 
 
 General Stuart was very fond of dancing, and 
 when some of the young officers of his staff were 
 occasionally too tired and sleepy to want to join 
 in the fun, he would have them awakened and 
 
THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN 93 
 
 ordered to attend. Yet they complained that 
 when they did come the general would always 
 get the prettiest girl for his own partner. 
 
 But in spite of his joyous, fun-loving disposi- 
 tion, General Stuart was always ready when 
 duty called him. In his book, Christ in the 
 Camp, the Rev. J. Wilham Jones says, ^^Stuart 
 was an humble and earnest Christian who 
 took Christ as his personal Saviour, lived a 
 stainless life, and died a triumphant death." 
 
 He tells us that General Stuart often came 
 to get his advice in planning services for the 
 soldiers. Once when General Stuart wanted 
 Dr. Jones to recommend a chaplain for the cav- 
 alry outposts, the general said, ^^I do not want a 
 man who is not able to endure hardness as a 
 good soldier. The man who can not endure the 
 hardships and privations of our rough riding 
 and hard service and be in place when needed 
 would be of no earthly use to us and is not 
 wanted at my headquarters." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE CHAMBERSBURG RAID 
 
 1862 
 
 On October 8, after a final dance and serenade 
 to the ladies at The Bower, Stuart started 
 out to join the forces that he had ordered to 
 assemble at Darkesville, from which point he 
 was to lead them on the famous '^Chambersburg 
 Raid.'^ 
 
 The purpose of this raid, which had been 
 ordered by General Lee, was to march into 
 Pennsylvania and Maryland and to secure 
 information concerning the location of Mc- 
 Clellan's army, and also to secure provisions and 
 horses for the Confederate forces. 
 
 Not a soldier of the 1,800 picked cavalrymen 
 from the brigades of Hampton, Fitz Lee, and 
 Robertson or the gunners under Pelham, knew 
 whither they were going or for what purpose. 
 Most of them, however, had been with Stuart 
 on his Chickahominy Raid, and all were content 
 to follow wherever he led. 
 
 In his address to his men at the beginning of 
 
 [ 94 1 
 
THE CHAMBERSBURG RAID 
 
 95 
 
 the expedition, Stuart said that the enterprise on 
 which they were about to start demanded cool- 
 
 MAP SHOWING THE ROUTES OF STUART S CAVALRY IN GETTYSBURG 
 CAMPAIGN AND CHAMBERSBURG RAID 
 
96 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 ness, decision, and bravery, implicit obedience 
 and the strictest order and sobriety in the camp 
 and on the bivouac, but that with the hearty 
 cooperation of his officers and men he had no 
 doubt of a success which would reflect credit on 
 them in the highest degree. 
 
 The men in fine spirits reached the Potomac 
 after dark. The next morning, they crossed the 
 river at McCoy's Ford, west of McClellan's 
 army which was posted north of the Potomac 
 between Shepherdstown and Harper's Ferry. A 
 heavy fog hung over the river valley and hid 
 them from the Federal infantry which had just 
 passed by. 
 
 A signal station on Fairview Heights was 
 taken by twenty men detailed for the purpose 
 and then the column passed on toward Mercers- 
 burg. By this time, the Federal pickets were 
 aware of the raid; but as there was no large force 
 of cavalry at hand, its progress was unchecked. 
 On and on the little band of horsemen rode 
 until at nightfall they reached Chambersburg in 
 Pennsylvania. As Maryland was regarded as a 
 southern State, nothing belonging to its citizens 
 had been disturbed; but when Pennsylvania 
 was reached, soldiers detached from the com- 
 mands for that purpose, seized all suitable 
 horses, giving each owner a receipt, so that he 
 
TTTi: (ITAiMBF.USBURC; RAID 97 
 
 could call upon the United States government 
 for payment, — thus forcing the administration 
 at Washington either to help equip the Con- 
 federate army or to make its own citizens suffer. 
 Stuart, with his usual gallantry, gave orders that 
 the men should not take the horses of ladies 
 whom they might meet along the highwa3^ 
 
 As the command approached Chambersburg 
 on the night of October 10, a cold drizzling rain 
 set in. Two pieces of artillery were posted so as 
 to comm^and the town, and Lieutenant Thomas 
 Lee with nine men was sent into the town to 
 demand its surrender. No resistance was made 
 and the troops were at once marched into the 
 town and drawn up on the public square. 
 Strict discipline was observed and only Federal 
 propert}^ was used or destroyed. 
 
 During the night, tlie rain came down in 
 torrents on the wear}^, hungry Confederates. 
 Surrounded by increasing dangers, Stuart with 
 his staff neither rested nor slept. By that time, 
 cavalry and infantry were on his track and 
 every ford of the Potomac was strong!}^ guarded. 
 At any time, the heavy rains might cause the 
 river to rise and cut off retreat. His only hope 
 was to move boldly and swiftly to a crossing 
 before the water could descend from the moun- 
 tains and flood the streams. Stuart decided, 
 
TJFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 however, not to return the way he had come, as 
 large forces of Federal cavalry, like hornets, 
 would be awaiting him there. He resolved to 
 make another ride around McClellan's army 
 and to cross at White's Ford some distance to 
 
 ?the east, so close to the Federals that 
 they would not be looking for him 
 there. The very boldness of the 
 plan was its best guarantee of suc- 
 cess and the next morning the gen- 
 eral started his men on their danger- 
 ous march around the enemy 
 
 Colonel A. K. McClure of the 
 Philadelphia Times, then a colonel 
 in the Federal army and a resident 
 of Chambersburg, gives the follow- 
 ing account of Stuart as he was 
 preparing to leave Chambersburg: 
 ^^ General Stuart sat on his horse in 
 the center of the town, surrounded 
 by his staff, and his command was 
 coming in from the country in large 
 From Original in Con- sQuads, Icadlug thclr old horses and 
 
 federate Museum, -■■ ■' *=" 
 
 Richmond, Va. ^j jjng the ucw oucs wlilch they had 
 found in the stables hereabout. General Stuart 
 is of medium stature, has a keen eye, and wore 
 immense sandy whiskers and mustache. His de- 
 meanor to our people is that of a humane 
 
 Stuart's sword 
 
THE CHAMBERSBURO RAID 
 
 90 
 
 soldier. In several instances his soldiers began 
 to take i)roperty from stores, but they were 
 arrested by Stuart's provost guard.' 
 
 This evidence as to the discipline of Stuart's 
 men comes from a Federal officer, and shows 
 fully the control that the general exercised over 
 his command. 
 
 The wounded in the Chambersburg hospital 
 were paroled, the telegraph wires were cut, and 
 the ordnance storehouse was blown up by brave 
 Captain M. C. Butler of South Carolina, who 
 now commanded 
 the rear guard. He 
 notified the people 
 near the ordnance 
 storehouse that he 
 was about to set fire to it and then applied a slow 
 fuse. There was a loud explosion and then the 
 flames burst forth. Satisfied that his work was 
 
 STUART S PISTOL 
 
 From Originalin Confederate 
 Museum, Richmond, Va. 
 
 ST Dart's carbine 
 
 From Original in Confederate Museum, Richmond, Va. 
 
 well done. Colonel Butler and his escort set out 
 at a trot to rejoin the command. 
 
100 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 On the outskirts of the. town, there came 
 galloping up from the rear a young soldier in 
 gray, riding a big black horse. He wore no hat 
 and one boot was gone. He was covered with 
 mud and was soaking wet, for he had come into 
 town with the rear guard about midnight in 
 the darkness and pouring rain. The command 
 had halted for a few hours in a quiet side street 
 and had set out at break of day as the advance 
 guard. 
 
 The young soldier's foot had been hurt, so he 
 dismounted and pulled off his boot, in order to 
 ease the pain. He then concluded to lie down for 
 a while and perhaps take a nap, for he was very 
 tired. Tying the bridle rein to his foot, he lay 
 down in the pouring rain and went to sleep. 
 When he awoke, it was broad daylight and he 
 was all alone. In the darkness of the cloudy 
 dawn, his comrades had left him sleeping. His 
 big black horse was still tied to his foot, but his 
 hat, his haversack, and one of his boots were 
 gone. Rising quickly, he mounted his horse 
 and was trying to decide which way to go when 
 an old lady raised a window near by and called 
 out, ^^Sonny, your folks have gone that way." 
 With a lighter heart he thanked her, and set 
 off at a gallop along the Gettysburg road to 
 which she had pointed. As he sped along, the 
 
THE CHAMBERSBURC; RAID 101 
 
 people called out, ^^Go it, Johnny! Goodby, 
 Johnny! Pliirry, Johnny!" All seemed to be 
 in a good humor over the speedy departure of 
 the Confederates. It was not many minutes 
 before he reached the rear of Butler's detach- 
 ment, and was safe. 
 
 Soon after the break of day, the advance 
 column under General Fitz Lee started towards 
 Gettysburg, but at Cashtown the column turned 
 south toward Emmitsburg in Mar3dand. When 
 Stuart arrived at the latter place, the people 
 received him with great joy and the young 
 ladies of the town threw flowers at the troops. 
 But in spite of this hearty welcome, the Con- 
 federates could not linger, for they learned that a 
 party of Federals in search of them, had passed 
 only a short time before. 
 
 Going in a steady trot without halting, Stuart 
 passed on to the woods of Frederick, and 
 captured a courier wath a dispatch from the 
 commander of the party sent out to find him. 
 From this dispatch, he learned the arrangements 
 which had been made to capture him, and 
 learned also that the Federals did not know just 
 where he was. 
 
 In the meantime, the Federal cavalry was 
 hurrying to overtake him, but Stuart, aware of 
 his extreme danger, aimed straight for the 
 
102 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Potomac. His tired men and horses marched all 
 night, and by dawn on October 13, they reached 
 Hyattstown where a few wagons were captured. 
 On the march, Stuart had learned that a division 
 of five thousand men was guarding the fords in 
 front of him. Knowing that delay would in- 
 crease his peril, he hastened on in the direction 
 of Poolesville where a body of Federal cavalry 
 was located. 
 
 When within two miles of that town, guided 
 by Captain White who was familiar with the 
 region, he turned abruptly through some woods 
 which concealed his movements and gained the 
 road leading to the river about two miles dis- 
 tant. Hardly had the Confederates entered this 
 road when the advance squadron met the head 
 of the Federal column coming from Poolesville. 
 General Stuart, who was at the head of the 
 squadron, ordered a charge and drove the Feder- 
 als back upon the main body half a mile away. 
 Thinking that Stuart was aiming to cross the 
 strongly-guarded ford at the mouth of the 
 Monocacy river, the Federals, instead of seizing 
 this favorable opportunity to make an advance 
 and crush the Confederate cavalry, waited for 
 their infantry to come up. 
 
 In the meanwhile. General Fitz Lee's sharp- 
 shooters leaped from their horses and went 
 
THE CHAMBERSBURO RAID 103 
 
 forward while one of Pclham's guns was brought 
 up. Under cover of its fire and screened from 
 view by the ridge upon which it was placed, 
 General Lee's command moved on by a farm 
 road to White's Ford. 
 
 AYhen General Lee reached White's Ford, he 
 found a force of tv/o hundred Federal infantry 
 so strongly posted on the steep bank over- 
 looking the ford that a crossing seemed im- 
 possible. Infantry in front and cavalry in the 
 rear! Would it be possible to escape from the 
 snare by which they were surrounded? Nothing 
 but boldness and swiftness could save them. 
 General Lee sent a courier to General Stuart 
 who was on the Poolesville road with Pelham's 
 guns and the skirmishers keeping back Federal 
 troopers until the rear guard should come up. 
 
 '^I do not believe that the ford can be crossed/' 
 said General Lee. 
 
 Stuart replied, ^^I am occupied in the rear, but 
 the ford must be crossed at all hazards." 
 
 General Lee, therefore, prepared to attack the 
 Federal infantry in its strong position on the 
 bluff One part of his force was to assail it in 
 front and on the left flank, while a strong body 
 of cavalry endeavored to cross and hold the 
 ford. Lee hoped to be able to get one gun placed 
 on the opposite bank and then to fire on the 
 Federal rear. 
 
104 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 While making his hurried preparations, it 
 occurred to General Lee to try a game of ^^bluff ." 
 Under flag of truce, he sent a note to the Federal 
 commander, saying that General Stuart's whole 
 command was in his front and needless blood- 
 shed would be avoided if he would surrender. 
 Fifteen minutes was allowed him to consider 
 this demand. 
 
 After fifteen minutes' anxious waiting and no 
 reply, General Fitz Lee opened with his artillery 
 and was preparing to advance his horsemen, 
 when it was seen that the Federals, with flags 
 flying and band playing, • were retreating in 
 perfect order down the river. 
 
 A wild cheer broke from the Confederates 
 as some of their men rushed across the ford to 
 place a piece of artillery at the top of the steep 
 bank on the Virginia side of the Potomac. 
 Another gun was hurried forward and placed so 
 as to sweep the tow-path and the approaches 
 to the ford, while the long line of cavalrymen 
 and captured horses passed rapidly across to 
 safety. Once more Stuart had slipped through 
 the hands of his enemy. 
 
 In the meanwhile, Pelham held the Federals 
 in check until all but the rear guard under 
 Colonel Butler had passed. Then he began to 
 withdraw, making his last stand on the Maryland 
 
THE CHAMBEKSBURG RAID 105 
 
 side of the ford, where he fired up and down the 
 river at the Federal cavahy now advancing in 
 both directions. But the rear guard was still far 
 behind. Major McClellan tells us that Gen- 
 eral Stuart had sent back four couriers to hurry 
 up Colonel Butler; still he did not come. In 
 this dilemma, Captain Blackford volunteered 
 to find him. 
 
 Stuart paused a moment and then extending 
 his hand said, ^^All right! and if we do not meet 
 again, good-by, old fellow." 
 
 Blackford galloped off and found Butler with 
 his own regiment and the North Carolina 
 detachment and one gun, engaged in delaying 
 the advance of the enemy in the Poolesville 
 road. Blackford rode rapidly toward him and 
 shouted, ^'General Stuart says, 'Withdraw at a 
 gallop, or you will be cut off.' " 
 
 ''But," rephed Butler, with great coolness, 
 "I don't think I can bring off that gun. The 
 horses can't move it." 
 
 "Leave the gun and save your men!" replied 
 Blackford. 
 
 "Well, we'll see what can be done," said 
 Butler, and then he ordered the drivers to 
 make one more effort. That time they were 
 successful. The weary horses pulled the wheels 
 out of the mudhole and the gun went rattling 
 
106 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 down the road, followed by the tardy but 
 gallant rear guard. The Federal cavalry and 
 artillery were following and infantry was ap- 
 proaching in two directions; but the rear guard 
 slipped through the net, dashed rapidly across 
 the ford, and soon was safe in Virginia. 
 
 The joy of the men and their commander at 
 the success of their expedition was unbounded. 
 The Federals were near enough to hear the 
 Confederate cheers that greeted General Stuart 
 as he rode along his lines on the Virginia side. 
 
 In the official report of the expedition, Stuart 
 claimed no personal credit, but closed the 
 report by saying, ^ ^Believing that the hand of 
 God was clearly manifested in the deliverance 
 of my command from danger and the crowning 
 success attending it, I ascribe to him the praise, 
 the honor, and the glory." 
 
 The march of the Confederate cavalry from 
 Chambersburg is one of the most remarkable 
 in history. In thirty-six hours, the Confeder- 
 ates rode ninety miles, going completely around 
 the Union army. They carried off hundreds of 
 horses, and recrossed the Potomac in the pres- 
 ence of vastly superior forces of the Federals. 
 Only one man was wounded and two stragglers 
 were captured. 
 
 General Stuart himself, however, suffered a 
 
GENERAL STUART IN 18G2 [10"/ 
 
 Prom an original negative by Cooke, the only negative from life that is extant 
 
IDS LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 heavy personal loss, for his servant Bob who 
 rattled the bones so well, got separated from the 
 column, with two of the general's favorite 
 horses, Skylark and Lady Margaret. He 
 wrote his wife that he hoped that they had 
 fallen into the hands of the good secessionists at 
 Emmitsburg, for he could not bear to think of 
 the Federals having his favorite horses. 
 
 The horses of the Federal cavalry had been so 
 worn out in pursuit of the wily Stuart that 
 remounts were necessary before the cavalry 
 could again advance into Virginia. The whole 
 North was astonished and indignant that Stuart 
 had again ridden completely around the Union 
 army and had again made his escape. 
 
 To the South, Stuart was a peerless hero and 
 he was welcomed with great acclamation. A 
 lady of Baltimore, as a token of her apprecia- 
 tion of his gallantry, sent him a pair of gold 
 spurs. He was very proud of these and in his 
 intimate letters after this, he sometimes signed 
 himself, "K. G. S.", or ^Ivnight of the Golden 
 Spurs/' 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE CAVALRY AT CULPEPER AND 
 FREDERICKSBURG 
 
 1862-'63 
 
 The brief space of two days was all the time 
 given to the m'en and horses of Stuart's com- 
 mand to rest and enjoy hfe at The Bower, 
 before they were again called out to active 
 service. General IMcClcllan had sent two large 
 forces of infantry and cavalry across the river 
 to find out whether General Lee's army was 
 still in the Valley or whether it had moved east 
 of the Blue Ridge mountains. After several 
 skirmishes with Stuart's cavalry, these troops 
 retired, convinced that Lee was still in the 
 Valley. 
 
 On October 26, McClellan crossed the 
 Potomac and the weather continuing fine, he 
 advanced his entire army to begin an autumn 
 campaign against Lee. A week later, his forces 
 began to advance toward Washington, a little 
 village northwest of Culpeper and near the 
 headwaters of the Rappahannock. This posi- 
 tion was desirable because it would give an easy 
 
 [ 109 ] 
 
no 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 route toward Richmond. General Lee, how- 
 ever, sent Longstreet at once with some of the 
 
 cavalry to head 
 off the Federals at 
 Culpeper, while 
 Jackson was to re- 
 main in the Valley 
 and threaten their 
 rear. 
 
 in the mean- 
 time, Stuart bade 
 a final farewell to 
 his pleasant camp 
 quarters and his 
 friends at the Dan- 
 dridge mansion. 
 His force fell slowly 
 back toward Cul- 
 peper, contesting 
 every inch of 
 ground against the overwhelming numbers 
 of the Federal cavalry. Sharp encounters took 
 place at Union, Middleburg, and Upperville, 
 in which the artillery under Pelham did wonder- 
 fully daring and effective work. In these en- 
 counters, the Federals lost nearly tw^ce as many 
 men as did the Confederates, but it was im- 
 possible for Stuart^s small forces to hold any 
 
 MAJOR JOHN PELHAM 
 
CAXALKY AT CUT.PKPKl^ 111 
 
 permanent ground against the greatly superior 
 numbers now marching against him. 
 
 At Ashby's Gap, General Stuart cam^e near 
 being cut off from his own forces. He had 
 commanded Colonel Rosser to hold this gap 
 while he, accompanied by a few members of his 
 staff, rode across the mountain for a conference 
 with General Jackson. When Stuart returned 
 the next day, after a hard ride over a little-used 
 mountain trail, what was his surprise on reach- 
 ing a point just above what had been his own 
 camp, to find the place literally swarming with 
 blue-coats. 
 
 Rosser "had found it necessary to withdraw 
 before the superior numbers of the Federals and 
 his couriers v/ho went to inform Stuart of this 
 fact had missed the general who had returned 
 by a short cut across the mountain. He and 
 his men were indeed in a serious predicament, 
 and had they not found a mountaineer, who 
 knew the trails on the other side of the moun- 
 tain, there is no telling when or where General 
 Stuart would have joined his command. He 
 was guided safely to Barber's Cross Roads where 
 his forces had retreated and he made the simple 
 and faithful mountaineer happy with a fifty- 
 dollar note. 
 
 On November 10, there was an engagement 
 
112 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 at Barber's Cross Roads, -and the Confederate 
 cavalry was forced to retreat through Orleans 
 and across the Rappahannock at Waterloo 
 Bridge. That night Stuart received the news 
 of the death of his dear little daughter, Flora. 
 For some time he had known of her serious 
 illness, and the doctor had written that he must 
 come home if he wished to see her, but he knew 
 that his country needed him to hold the Federal 
 cavalry in check. 
 
 When the second urgent call reached him on 
 the field of battle near Union, he wrote Mrs. 
 Stuart: ^'I was at no loss to decide that it was 
 my duty to you and to Flora to rernain here. 
 I am entrusted with the conduct of affairs, the 
 issue of which will affect you, her, and the 
 mothers and children of our whole country much 
 miore seriously than we can believe. 
 
 ^^If my darling's case is hopeless, there are ten 
 chances to one that I will get to Lynchburg too 
 late; if she is convalescent, why should my 
 presence be necessary? She was sick nine days 
 before I knew it. Let us trust in the good God 
 who has blessed us so much, that He will 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." 
 
 Major Von Borcke, who opened the telegram 
 
CAVALRY AT CULPEPER 113 
 
 telling of the child's death, says that when the 
 general read it he was completely overcome, but 
 that he bore his loss most bravely, especially 
 when Mrs. Stuart came to visit him a few days 
 later at Culpeper. 
 
 He never forgot his ^ ^little darling" and often 
 talked of her to Von Borcke, who says very 
 prettily: ^Tight blue flowers recalled her eyes to 
 him; in the glancing sunbeams he caught the 
 golden tinge of her hair, and whenever he saw 
 a child with such eyes and hair he could not 
 help tenderly embracing it. He thought of her 
 on his deathbed, and drawing me to him he 
 whispered, ^My dear friend, I shall soon be with 
 my little Flora again.'" 
 
 Yet such a father could put aside his own 
 feelings when he felt that his country needed 
 him. ' Duty to God and his country were his 
 watchwords, and this high and unselfish sense of 
 duty and patriotism was the foundation of his 
 greatness both as a man and a soldier. 
 
 The cavalry fell back from Waterloo Bridge to 
 join Longstreet at Culpeper, but every day it 
 was engaged in sharp skirmishes with the 
 Federal cavalry. In one of these engagements, 
 General Stuart had an amusing experience that 
 narrowly escaped being a serious one. JNIajor 
 Von Borcke tells us that while his cavalry was 
 
114 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 being forced back under a very heavy fire, 
 Stuart in endeavoring to make it hold its 
 position, uselessly but according to his custom, 
 exposed his own person on horseback by riding 
 out of the wood into an open field where he and 
 his aide were excellent targets for their enemies. 
 Von Borcke remonstrated, but the general, who 
 could not bear to have the day go against him, 
 curtly said to his young aide, ^^If it is too hot 
 for you, you can retire." 
 
 Of course. Von Borcke remained in his position 
 at the general's side, but he did shelter himself 
 from the rain of bullets, behind a convenient 
 tree. From this position, a few moments later 
 he saw Stuart raise his hand quickly to his 
 beloved mustache, one half of which had been 
 neatly cut away by a whistling bullet. 
 
 As a result of their heavy and continuous 
 marching, the horses of Stuart's troops were in 
 bad condition, many of them having sore 
 tongues and a disease known as ^ ^grease heel"; 
 in spite of this and the absence of man^^ men 
 who had gone home to procure fresh horses, 
 the services now rendered by the cavalry were 
 invaluable. General Lee said in his report of 
 this campaign that the vigilance, activity, and 
 courage of the cavalry were conspicuous, and to 
 its assistance was due in a great measvire the 
 
CAVALRY AT (^TLPEPER 115 
 
 success of some of the army's most important 
 operations. 
 
 While General Lee was awaiting the move- 
 ments of the Federal army, an event happened 
 which changed the entire aspect of military 
 affairs. General ^IcClellan was removed from 
 command and General Burnside was put in his 
 place. General McClellan had been too slow 
 and cautious to suit the authorities at Washing- 
 ton; so, much to the delight of the Confederate 
 government, this abl e gen eral was removed just 
 as his campaign had begun. 
 
 General Burnside remained at Warrenton ten 
 days in order to reorganize his army into three 
 divisions. Then he began to move his forces 
 toward Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock 
 river. This movement was at once observed 
 by Stuart and reported to General Lee who 
 immediately began to move troops toward 
 Fredericksburg. When Burnside 's forces reached 
 the northern bank of the river, they found the 
 town in Lee's possession and the heights to the 
 south of it crowned by his artillery. 
 
 General Lee now ordered General Jackson 
 to come from the Valley to join him. While 
 waiting for this reenforcement, he began to con- 
 struct earthworks for his artillery and to dig 
 rifle-pits for his infantry on the range of hills 
 
116 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 extending in a semicircle for five miles south of 
 ^the river. Here with Hampton guarding the left 
 wing of the army and Stuart the right, the Con- 
 federates camped in comparative quiet until 
 early in December. 
 
 During this period, there were several heavy 
 snowstorms which the soldiers enjoyed like so 
 many schoolboys. Major Yon Borcke tells of a 
 snow battle when several hundred men of 
 McLaws' division charged across a snow-covered 
 plain half a mile wide, on the quarters of Hood's 
 division. Suddenly Hood's whole division, led 
 by its officers with colors flying, advanced 
 against the attacking party which was driven 
 back some distance. Then receiving reenforce- 
 ments from their own division, the men rallied 
 and threw up entrenchments behind which they 
 made a stand. The air was white with flying 
 snowballs, and the contest waxed hottest just at 
 at Stuart's headquarters where he stood on a box 
 and cheered the contestants. Hood's men finally 
 drove their opponents from the snow entrench- 
 ments, and would have routed them utterly, 
 had not Anderson's division come up to assist 
 their fleeing comrades. With these reenforce- 
 ments, McLaws' men suddenly turned and drove 
 Hood's division back home. From these sham 
 battles, the army turned soon to real warfare. 
 
C^AVALRY AT CULPEPER 117 
 
 General Burnsidc had i)osted guns on Staf- 
 ford Heights opposite Fredericksburg and on 
 December 10, he shelled the town. Then his 
 splendid army of 116,000 men crossed the river 
 on pontoon bridges, and on the morning of De- 
 cember 13, it stormed Lee's position. The battle 
 raged all da}^, but the Federals were repulsed at 
 all points and when night closed, the Confede- 
 rates were still holding their position. 
 
 This battle of Fredericksburg offered little 
 opportunity for cavalry charges, but General 
 Fitz Lee kept watch over the fords on the Con- 
 federate left, while General W. H. F. Lee was 
 posted on the right. Stuart also remained on 
 the right as it was the weakest part of the line, 
 and was in constant conference with Lee and 
 Jackson. 
 
 As the Federals made their first advance 
 against the troops of Jackson at Hamilton's 
 Crossing near the extreme right. Major Pelham 
 of the Stuart Horse Artillery in an exposed 
 position opened a cross fire with one gun and 
 caused them to halt for over an hour. Five 
 Federal batteries opened upon him, but he con- 
 tinued to fire until withdrawn by Stuart. 
 
 Both General Lee and General Jackson were 
 on the extreme right and witnessed the wonder- 
 ful work done by Major Pelham's gun. Both 
 
118 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 of them in their reports of this battle mentioned 
 the genius and bravery of the young Alabamian. 
 
 General Jackson asked General Stuart, ^'Have 
 3^ou another Pelham, general? If so, I wish that 
 you would give him to me." 
 
 General Lee expected the battle to be re- 
 newed the next morning, but Burnside remained 
 quiet, and, on the night of December 15, in a 
 violent storm of wind and rain, he withdrew to 
 the opposite bank. 
 
 It soon became evident that Burnside had no 
 intention of renewing the combat, but was pre- 
 paring to pass the winter on the Stafford hills 
 on the northern side of the river. General 
 Lee's army, therefore, w^ent into winter quarters 
 along the south bank of the Rappahannock. 
 The infantry and artillery built snug log huts, 
 and began, in spite of the want of good rations 
 and warm clothes, to enjoy the rest from 
 marching and fighting. 
 
 The cavalry, however, had no rest, for upon 
 its vigilance depended the safety of the army. 
 It observed the Federal movements, watched 
 the fords of the river, and made continual raids 
 to the rear of Burnside 's army. 
 
 On December 20, General Stuart set out 
 with 1,800 men under the command of his 
 tried and true generals, Hampton, Fitz Lee, 
 
CAVALRY AT CULPEPEK 
 
 119 
 
 and W. H. F. Lee, on what is known as the 
 ''Dumfries Raid." They were to pass by dif- 
 ferent routes to the rear of Burnside's army, to 
 cut his hne of communication with Washington 
 city, and to destroy all w^agons and stores that 
 they could not bring off. 
 
 From a war-time photograph 
 CONFEDERATES DESTROYING RAILROAD 
 
 Stuart led his forces between various army- 
 posts that guarded the rear of Burnside's army, 
 avoiding the strongest and attacking others 
 which he knew to be weak or ignorant of his 
 approach. He at last marched north to Burke's 
 
120 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Station, where his keen sense of humor caused 
 him to play a joke on the authorities at Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 He surprised the telegraph operator at the 
 instrument, just as he was receiving a message 
 from headquarters at the capital, telling of 
 measures which were being taken to capture 
 Stuart's command. Having thus gained im- 
 portant information, Stuart put one of his own 
 men in the operator's place and sent a message 
 to Meigs, the quartermaster general at Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 ''I am much satisfied with the transport of mules lately 
 sent, which I have taken possession of, and request that 
 you send me a fresh supply. 
 
 J. E. B. Stuart." 
 
 This message produced great consternation in 
 Washington, where the people were as afraid of 
 Stuart and his cavalry as they were of the whole 
 Confederate army. 
 
 After thus revealing his whereabouts, Stuart 
 marched quickly back to Culpeper Courthouse, 
 which he reached on December 30, having 
 lost on the raid, one killed, thirteen wounded, 
 and fourteen missing. About twenty wagons 
 and some stores had been captured. This was 
 the fourth raid that Stuart had made around or 
 
CAVALRY AT CULPEPER 
 
 121 
 
 to the rear of the Federals, without capture or 
 serious loss. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Dabney in his Life of Stonewall 
 Jackson tells us that during this winter, General 
 Jackson had for his headquarters a hunting 
 lodge near Moss Neck. Here he was often 
 
 From a war-time photograph 
 FEDERALS REPAIRING! RAILROAD WHICH CONFEDERATES HAD DESTROYED 
 
 visited by General Stuart on his rounds of 
 official duty. These visits were always welcome 
 to Jackson who admired and loved the 3^oung 
 cavalry leader and they were the signal of fun 
 for the young men of the staff. While Stuart 
 poured out ' 'equips and cranks/' often at Jack- 
 
122 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 son's expense, the latter sat by, silent and 
 blushing, but enjoying the jests with a quiet 
 laugh. 
 
 The walls of the lodge were ornamented with 
 pictures which gave Stuart many a topic for- 
 jokes. Pretending to believe that they had 
 been selected by Jackson himself, he would point 
 now to the portrait of a famous race horse and 
 now to the print of a dog noted for his hunting 
 feats, and remark that they showed queer taste 
 for a devout Presbyterian. Once Jackson, with 
 a smile, replied that perhaps in his youth he had 
 been fonder of race horses than his friends sus- 
 pected. 
 
 One day, in the midst of a gay conversation, 
 dinner was announced and the two generals 
 with their aides passed to the mess table. 
 The center of the table was graced by a print of 
 butter upon which was impressed the image of a 
 rooster. It had been presented to Jackson by a 
 lady of the neighborhood and had been placed 
 upon the table in honor of Stuart, 
 
 As the eyes of the gay young general fell upon 
 it, they sparkled with glee and he exclaimed, 
 ^^See there, gentlemen! We have the crowning 
 evidence of our host's sporting tastes. He even 
 puts his favorite gamecock upon his butter!" 
 
 The dinner, of course, began with merry 
 
CAVALRY AT CULPEPER 123 
 
 laughter in which General Jackson joined with 
 much zest. 
 
 In patriotism, in bravery, and in military skill, 
 says Dr. Dabney, these two men were kindred 
 spirits, but Stuart's cheerfulness and humor 
 were the opposites of Jackson's serious and 
 diffident temper. 
 
 Though bitter cold weather had now set in, 
 General Burnside resolved to make an effort to 
 turn the right of General Lee's army and drive 
 him from his winter quarters at Fredericksburg. 
 This attempt, however, was unsuccessful, and 
 General Burnside's failure at Fredericksburg 
 caused him to be replaced by General Joseph 
 Hooker, called ^Tighting Joe Hooker.' 
 
 Hooker reorganized the army into corps; and 
 made one corps of the cavalry, with tried and 
 skillful officers. He also provided the cavalry 
 with the best horses and equipments that money 
 could procure. He realized that the Federal 
 cavalry had never been fit to contend success- 
 fully with Stuart and the forces under his com- 
 mand, and so now did all in his power to 
 strengthen this branch of the Federal service. 
 By the early spring, Hooker had his army com- 
 pletely reorganized and ready to begin a cam- 
 paign against General Lee. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 CHANCELLORSVILLE 
 
 1863 
 
 In the meanwhile, General Lee's soldiers 
 across the Rappahannock river suffered greatly 
 for want of proper food and clothing during the 
 long cold winter. The appeals of their beloved 
 commander to the Confederate government 
 were not heeded; but the soldiers endured their 
 privations with great fortitude and when 
 spring arrived, they were ready for the coming 
 great battle with the army of ^Tighting Joe 
 Hooker.'' 
 
 On March 17, St. Patrick's Day, there was 
 a cavalry engagement at Kelly's Ford, near 
 Culpeper, where General Fitz Lee won a re- 
 markable victory over a large force of Federal 
 cavalry under Brigadier-General Averell. Lee, 
 who was stationed at Culpeper, had only 
 about 800 men to meet more than 2,000 
 Federals, but he disposed his forces with such 
 skill and fought so stubbornly that Averell, 
 in spite of the fact that he had a large force in 
 reserve, was unable to break Lee's thin lines 
 and retreated across the river. 
 
 [ 124 ] 
 
CHANCET.LORSVILLE 125 
 
 General Stuart happened to be at Culpeper, 
 attending a court martial, when this engage- 
 ment occurred. He saw how skillfully Lee was 
 handhng the situation and unselfishly refused to 
 assume command, wishing his able brigadier 
 general to win all the glory of repulsing such a 
 large force. 
 
 In this battle, John Pelham, Stuart's young 
 chief of artillery of whom we have so often 
 spoken, was killed. He had accompanied Stuart 
 to Culpeper, merely on a visit of pleasure, but 
 when he heard the call of Confederate artillery, 
 even though it was not his own guns, he im- 
 mediately went forward to take part in the 
 engagement. Borrowing a horse from Bob 
 Sweeny, he hurried to the battle ground. He 
 rushed into the thickest of the fray, to rally a 
 regiment that was beginning to waver. 
 
 Just as he shouted, ^Torward, boys! forward 
 to victory and glory!" he was mortally wounded 
 by a fragment of a shell. 
 
 The whole South mourned the death of this 
 young hero. James R. Randall, the author of 
 ''Maryland, My Maryland," said of him: 
 
 "Gentlest and bravest in the battle brunt, 
 The Champion of the Truth, 
 He bore the banner to the very front 
 Of our immortal youth." 
 
126 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 His body was carried to Richmond and lay in 
 state in the Capitol, until it could be borne under 
 proper military escort to his native state, 
 Alabama. Stuart, who loved Pelham like a son, 
 went to Richmond to be present at the funeral. 
 
 When he wrote Mrs. Stuart of the young 
 hero's death, he said, ^^His record is complete and 
 it is spotless and noble. His character pure and 
 his disposition as sweet and innocent as our 
 child." The general had a strong personal 
 affection for the young men of his staff and the 
 death of Pelham was as great a grief to Stuart 
 as it was a loss to the army. 
 
 Stuart's men and horses were greatly 
 weakened by the heavy and almost constant 
 skirmishes, picket duty, and raids in which they 
 had been engaged since the fall. On the other 
 hand, the Federal cavalry, just reorganized into 
 one splendid corps under the command of 
 Major-General George Stoneman, was in better 
 condition than ever before. General Hooker 
 depended upon this large and finely-equipped 
 force to open a campaign which would prove 
 fatal to General Lee's army. 
 
 General Stoneman was ordered to cross the 
 Rappahannock river at one of the fords in 
 Culpeper county and, after dispersing the small 
 force of Confederate cavalry in that vicinity, 
 
CHANCELLORSV I \A.V 1 27 
 
 to proceed toward Richmond, destroying the 
 Central Raih'oad, capturing all supply stations, 
 and doing all possible damage along the Pamun- 
 key river. He was then to proceed to the 
 Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad, and by 
 breaking up that road and burning certain 
 bridges, to cut General Lee's army off from 
 Richmond. As soon as Stoneman started on his 
 raid, the ^^Grand Army," as it was called, under 
 General Hooker himself, was to move to 
 Chancellorsville about ten miles southwest of 
 Fredericksburg. Thus General Lee was to be 
 forced to come out of his entrenched position 
 and to give battle on ground of Hooker's own 
 choosing. 
 
 Several bodies of Federal cavalry tried to 
 cross at various fords on the Rappahannock and 
 Rapidan rivers, but were repulsed by small 
 bodies of watchful Confederate pickets. The 
 rivers were now rising rapidly from the .usual 
 spring rains, and the Rappahannock became so 
 swollen that the advance of Stoneman w^as 
 checked for two weeks. Many of Stuart's 
 troopers were absent for various reasons and 
 he had only about two thousand men with 
 whom to guard the fords and to cover a front 
 of more than fifty miles. 
 
 On the afternoon of April 24, three corps of 
 
128 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Federal infantry appeared at Kelly's Ford. A 
 strong party crossed in boats and drove the 
 pickets from the ford. They then laid a pontoon 
 bridge; and during the night, the Twelfth Army 
 Corps passed to the southern shore. The next 
 morning, Stuart learned that the entire Grand 
 Army was on the move. He telegraphed this 
 
 From a war-time photograph 
 
 A PONTOON BRIDGE 
 Made by laying timbers on wooden or canvas boats 
 
 information to General Lee who ordered Stuart 
 at once to swing around the Federal divisions 
 that had crossed the river and join him at 
 Fredericksburg. General W. H. F. tee with 
 only two regiments — a small force but all that 
 
CHANCELLORSVILLE 120 
 
 could be spared — was sent to protect the 
 Central Railroad from Stoneman's cavalry. 
 
 Stuart, skirmishing day and night with the 
 Federal cavalry, marched rapidly to the help of 
 Lee. As the cavalry passed at night through 
 the dark forest lighted only by the faint rays of a 
 crescent moon, they had frequent alarms and 
 several encounters with small forces of the 
 Federal cavalry already posted in the woods. 
 
 At one time, Stuart, accompanied by only a 
 few officers of his staff, was riding some distance 
 ahead of his brigade, and met such a large 
 Federal force that he was compelled to take flight. 
 Later, when riding at the head of a regiment 
 that he had called up as an advance guard, 
 he suddenly encountered several regiments of 
 hostile cavalry drawn up across a field in line of 
 battle. Stuart's small force became panic- 
 stricken. All efforts of the general to rally his 
 men were in vain and he was compelled a second 
 time to retreat hastily. It seemed for a time 
 that he would be cut off from his forces, but 
 Colonel Munford came up with his regiment, 
 charged gallantly, captured most of the at- 
 tacking Federals, and left the road again open. 
 Several such skirmishes occurred and the troops 
 were rendered almost panic-stricken by these 
 unlooked-for attacks. In the darkness, they 
 
130 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 often fired on each other instead of on their foe, 
 and they feared an ambush at each turn of the 
 road. Altogether, it was a march of doubt and 
 danger, but they finally reached Lee's army 
 without serious loss. 
 
 Chancellorsville, to which place the main 
 army of General Hooker was being moved, was 
 not a town, but merely a large farmhouse sur- 
 rounded by the usual outbuildings. Toward 
 Fredericksburg ten miles distant, the country 
 was somewhat open; but in every other direc- 
 tion it was covered with tall pines and with 
 dense thickets of scrub oaks and many other 
 kinds of trees and flowering plants. This forest, 
 called '^the Wilderness,'' was about twenty 
 miles long and fifteen broad. It was traversed 
 by two good roads, the Plank road and the old 
 Turnpike; it was along these roads, the posses- 
 sion of which would, of course, be hotly con- 
 tested by the Federal troops, that General Lee 
 would have to send his forces to attack General 
 Hooker in his strong position at Chancellors- 
 ville. 
 
 But on the night of the first of May, just after 
 the first skirmishing had occurred along these 
 two roads, Stuart brought information that 
 changed the situation decidedly. He rode up 
 about eleven o'clock to an old fallen tree where 
 
CHANCELLORSVILLE 131 
 
 Lee and Jackson were talking over the plans 
 for the next day, and reported that while 
 Hooker had fortified his position at Chancellors- 
 ville on the east, the south, and the southwest, 
 upon the north and the west he had no defences. 
 At the same time, information had been secured 
 concerning an old road by which a circuit could 
 be made around Hooker's army. Jackson at 
 once conceived the idea of making a forced 
 march by this road so as to attack Hooker in the 
 rear on the next day. Lee agreed, as on this 
 plan seemed to depend their one chance of 
 success. 
 
 Th6 next morning, General Lee with about 
 14,000 men remained in front of the Federals on 
 the Plank and Turnpike roads, while Jackson 
 with three divisions marched fifteen miles 
 through the forest and about three o'clock in 
 the afternoon reached the rear of Hooker's army 
 on the west. General Fitz Lee with the First 
 Virginia cavalry led the advance while the 
 other regiments of cavalry protected the right 
 of Jackson's line of march. Colonel Munford, 
 commander of one of these regiments, was 
 familiar with this part of the country and 
 rendered valuable service as a guide to Jackson. 
 
 As Jackson's command marched first directly 
 south by the Furnace road, Federal scouts, who 
 
132 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 were spying from the tops of tall pine trees, 
 thought that Lee's army was in full retreat. 
 They carried this report to Hooker who sent 
 forward two divisions to attack the marching 
 column. By that time, Jackson had turned 
 to the west and, completely screened by trees 
 and undergrowth, was marching rapidly along 
 the old road. The rear of his column, however, 
 was attacked near Catherine Furnace. This 
 attack was soon checked by McLaws, whom 
 Lee sent forward from his small force, and by 
 two regiments sent back by Jackson when he 
 heard the firing in his rear. 
 
 While the infantry was swinging along the 
 forest road, the cavalry had reached the Plank 
 road, near Chancellorsville, and was await- 
 ing General Jackson. Fitz Lee, impatient at 
 the delay, rode toward the Federal line, and 
 found to his surprise that it was near at hand 
 and in full view from his post of observation. 
 The Federals did not dream that the Confeder- 
 ates could reach the road at this point and so had 
 no guards stationed there. 
 
 Afterwards Fitz Lee thus described the scene: 
 '^Below and but a few hundred yards distant, 
 ran the Federal line of battle. There was the 
 line of defense and long lines of stacked arms in 
 the rear. Two caAnons were visible in the part 
 
CHANCELLORSVILLE 133 
 
 of the line seen. The soldiers were in groups in 
 the rear, laughing, chatting, smoking; probably 
 engaged, here and there, in a game of cards and 
 other amusements indulged in when feeling safe 
 and awaiting orders. In the rear were other 
 persons driving up and butchering beeves.'^ 
 
 Realizing the importance of his discovery, 
 Lee rode back to meet Jackson and guided him to 
 the same place of observation. Jackson im- 
 mediately placed his troops in position on the 
 turnpike and ordered them to advance and 
 attack the unsuspecting enemy. As long as the 
 dense growth and rough ground permitted, 
 Stuart and his cavalry guarded the left flank. 
 After a rapid march through the tangled 
 thickets, the men rushed forward with wild 
 cheers and dashed upon the unsuspecting 
 Federals as they were cooking their suppers. 
 The panic-stricken Federal soldiers rushed back 
 upon their center, and as the terror spread, 
 after them went horses, wagons, cannon, men — • 
 speeding to recross the Rappahannock. The 
 officers tried in vain to stop the fleeing men. 
 For a while, the panic was so great that the des- 
 st ruction of Hooker's army seemed certain. 
 
 After pursuing the Federals for two hours until 
 they were within half a mile of Hooker's head- 
 quarters at the Chancellor house, the Con- 
 
134 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 federates stopped in the darkness to reform. 
 Just at this critical moment, General Hooker 
 succeeded in bringing up reenforcements and 
 posted fresh artillery in the edge of the woods on 
 Hazel Grove, a small hill in front of General 
 Jackson's assaulting column. Still, however, 
 the soldiers in gray advanced. General A. P. 
 Hill's division was now ordered to the front to 
 take charge of the pursuit. While he was en- 
 gaged in forming his lines, General Jackson with 
 several aides and couriers rode down the Plank 
 road nearly to the defenses around Chancellors- 
 ville. As they were returning, they were fired 
 upon by some of their own men who had been 
 posted in the thickets and who, in the moon- 
 light, mistook Jackson and his escort for Federal 
 cavalry. 
 
 General Jackson was wounded and was borne 
 from the field. A little later, General Hill also 
 was wounded. Jackson then sent for Stuart 
 who had been ordered to hold the road to Ely's 
 Ford, one of the Federal lines of retreat. 
 
 As soon as Stuart received the sad news that 
 Jackson had been wounded, he placed Fitz Lee 
 in command of the force holding the road and 
 hastened into the heart of the Wilderness. It 
 was midnight when he arrived at the front and 
 according to Jackson's orders assumed com- 
 mand of the victorious but wearied corps. 
 
GENER.\L STONEWALL JACKSON 
 From an original negative by Cooke, the last photograph made of General Jackson 
 
 [ 135] 
 
136 - LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Stuart, not knowing Jackson's plans for 
 completing the movement, sent an aide to 
 Jackson to request instructions. 
 
 General Jackson replied, 'Tell General Stuart 
 to act upon his own judgment and do what he 
 thinks best. I have implicit trust in him." 
 
 Such a message from his loved chieftain must 
 have meant much to the young general who 
 found himself suddenly confronted with such a 
 serious situation, and the next day he proved 
 that Jackson had not trusted him in vain. 
 
 First of all, it was necessary that Stuart, who 
 had been absent from the front sometime, should 
 have a clear idea of the position of his men and 
 of the Federals. He, therefore, at once called a 
 meeting of the infantry commanders. As a 
 result of this consultation, it was decided to 
 defer until the next morning the attack upon the 
 strong fortifications around Chancellorsville. 
 The rest of the night was spent by the officers 
 in preparations for the coming assault; the men 
 lay upon their arms and took a brief rest. 
 
 When morning dawned, the guns of Lee, who 
 was working his way along the two main roads 
 to join Jackson, thundered on the east and the 
 south, and those of Stuart answered on the west. 
 In both wings of Lee^s army, the battle raged 
 furiously. After many assaults, Hazel Grove 
 
CHANCELLORSVILLE 137 
 
 where the Federal artillery and infantry were 
 posted in force, was taken by Stuart. Then 
 arose a mighty struggle for the clearing around 
 the Chancellor house. Stuart ordered thirty 
 pieces of artillery to be posted so as to sweep 
 the clearing with canister and grapeshot. Under 
 this fire, his own men advanced, Stuart himself 
 leading two of the charges. One of his officers 
 said that he ^ ^looked like a very god of battle.^' 
 As he rode forward at the head of his forces, he 
 sang at the top of his clear voice which could be 
 heard above the din of battle, 
 
 ''Old Joe Hooker, 
 Won't you come out of the wilderness?'* 
 
 At the third assault, the works were carried 
 and connection was made with General Lee^s 
 force. By ten o'clock, the Chancellor house and 
 the woods around it, full of wounded men, were 
 on fire from the bursting shells. The Con- 
 federate flag floated proudly in the clearing 
 around the house and the Confederate army 
 was again united, while Hooker's forces in full 
 retreat were swept back into the woods north of 
 Chancellorsville. 
 
 A great southern historian and military critic. 
 General Alexander, says '^the promptness and 
 boldness with which Stuart assumed command, 
 and led the ranks of Jackson, thinned by their 
 
138 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 hard day's march and fighting to not more than 
 20,000 men, against Hooker's 80,000 soldiers 
 was one of the most brilliant deeds of the war.'' 
 While the battle of Chancellorsville was in 
 progress, Stoneman, the Federal cavalry leader, 
 had crossed the Rappahannock and was march- 
 ing toward Richmond. General W. H. F. Lee fol- 
 lowed him with two regiments and so hindered 
 his line of march that the Federal general, in 
 spite of his excellent cavalry, was forced to re- 
 tire with few spoils and little glory. Stoneman 
 was soon after relieved of his command, and 
 Pleasanton was put in his place as major gen- 
 eral of the Federal cavalry. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 THE BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION 
 1863 
 
 Soon after the battle of Chancel] orsville, 
 Lee's army was reenforced by the return of 
 Longstreet's corps, which had been for some 
 time at Suffolk, Va., and the cavalry was in- 
 creased by the addition of new regiments from 
 North Carolina and the Shenandoah Valley. 
 Lee's total forces were now about 80,000 and 
 his men, encouraged by their recent victory, 
 were in good fighting trim. Lee decided to carry 
 the scene of war once more into northern terri- 
 tory. He hoped to form a line of battle near 
 the Susquehanna river in the fertile fields of 
 Pennsylvania, where he could force the Federals 
 to fight on ground of his own choosing. The 
 next weeks were spent in preparation for this 
 northward movement. 
 
 On June 6, there was a cavalry review on the 
 open plain between Culpeper Courthouse and 
 Brandy Station. Great preparations had been 
 made for this review. Each trooper had burnish- 
 ed his weapons and trappings and rubbed down 
 
 [ 139 1 
 
140 LIFE OF J. E. B, STUART 
 
 his much-enduring charger^ in order that they 
 might make the best appearance possible. 
 Visitors, especially many ladies, from all the 
 country round attended the magnificent spec- 
 tacle. 
 
 Stuart and his entire staff took their position 
 on a little grassy knoll. Eight thousand troopers 
 and sixteen pieces of horse artillery passed before 
 him in columns of squadrons, — first at a walk, 
 then at a gallop — while the guns of a battery on 
 a hill opposite the reviewing stand fired at 
 regular intervals. 
 
 An eyewitness of the scene tells us that Stuart 
 ^Vas superbly mounted. The trappings on his 
 proud, prancing horse all looked bright and new 
 and his sidearms gleamed in the morning sun 
 like burnished silver. A long black ostrich plume 
 waved gracefully from a drab slouch hat cocked 
 up on one side and held by a clasp which also 
 stayed the plume." 
 
 The same authority, Gunner Neese, tells an 
 amusing story about himself during this review. 
 He says that, as acting first sergeant of his 
 battery, he was riding at the head of the horse 
 artillery, mounted on a mule with ears about a 
 foot long. Just before the artillery arrived at 
 the reviewing stand, the searching eye of General 
 Stuart, who was very fastidious in all things, 
 
THE BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION 141 
 
 spied the waving ears of the mule and he quickly 
 dispatched an aide to tell the captain to order 
 the mule and his rider off the field. Neese says 
 that he was not greatly surprised at the order, 
 but that the mule was. 
 
 For sometime General Hooker had wanted to 
 know what was going on behind the dense 
 screen of cavalry that Stuart had collected at 
 Culpeper, for it was evident that General Lee 
 was planning an important movement. Just 
 two days after the big review, Hooker sent to 
 find out, and for once tjie Federal cavalry took 
 Stuart by surprise. General Pleasanton marched 
 cautiously to the north bank of the Rappahan- 
 nock, at Beverly's Ford, with three divisions 
 of cavalry and five brigades of infantry. No 
 fires were allowed in the Federal camp, and 
 every precaution was taken to prevent the 
 Confederate pickets on the south bank from 
 discovering the presence of the large force. 
 
 Stuart's brigades, under Fitz Lee, Robertson, 
 W. H. F. Lee, and Jones, were encamped near 
 the fords of the Rappahannock in readiness to 
 cross the river the next morning and protect the 
 flank of Lee's army which was already begin- 
 ning its northward movement. Four batteries of 
 horse artillery were encamped in the edge of the 
 woods, in advance of Jones's brigade, near St, 
 
142 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 James Church. This church was about two 
 hundred yards to the west of the direct road to 
 Beverly^s Ford and was about two miles from 
 the ford. 
 
 Stuart himself camped on Fleetwood Hill, 
 half a mile east of Brandy Station and four 
 miles from Beverly's Ford. As an early start 
 was ordered for the next morning, all of Stuart's 
 camp equipage was packed in wagons in readi- 
 ness for the move. Pickets were placed at all 
 fords and the weary men slept, unaware of the 
 lurking enemy. 
 
 At dawn on June 9, General Pleasant on di- 
 vided his command into two columns and sent 
 one, under Brigadier-General Gregg, to cross the 
 river at Kelly's Ford, four miles below the rail- 
 road bridge, and to gain the road to Culpeper 
 Courthouse. The other column, under General 
 Buford, was ordered to cross at Beverly's Ford 
 and proceed toward Brandy Station. This ad- 
 vance was gallantly disputed by the Confederate 
 pickets at the ford, but being greatly outnum- 
 bered they were retiring slowly toward St. James 
 Church when Major Flournoy with about one 
 hundred men charged down the road upon the 
 advancing regiments. The colonel who was 
 leading the Federal charge was killed and the 
 troops were driven back. 
 
THE BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION 143 
 
 But the skirmishes of the picket force and the 
 charge of Major Flournoy had given General 
 Jones time to draw up his men in hne of battle 
 and to withdraw the artillery from its exposed 
 position. General Jones then charged to the 
 support of Major Flournoy. This charge was 
 repelled by the Federals, and Jones retired to 
 
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 r/esT Li/^es o 
 
 FIHAL • * 
 
 CONFE DEBATE 
 FIRST LINES c=D 
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 FLEETWOOOJ 
 
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 STEVENsSoeO 
 
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 MAP OF BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION 
 
 his line of battle at St. James Church where he 
 was soon joined by the brigades of Hampton 
 and W. H. F. Lee. 
 
 From ten o'clock in the morning, the battle 
 raged furiously. The Confederates advanced, 
 but were met by Federal troops that charged 
 gallantly across an open field up to the very 
 muzzles of the cannon which were sending 
 forth shell and canister into their midst. They 
 
144 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 advanced, however^ too far beyond their guns 
 and, being attacked on both flanks, they re- 
 treated with heavy loss. 
 
 Stuart, who had hastened to the front to 
 dispute the march of Buford, was suddenly 
 threatened by more serious danger in the rear. 
 
 The gallant Colonel Butler had been left 
 with a regiment of South Carolina cavalry to 
 guard Brandy Station, two miles in the rear of 
 St. James Church and just haK a mile from 
 Fleetwood Hill where Stuart's headquarters had 
 been located for several v/eeks. While on duty 
 at Brandy Station, Colonel Butler was informed 
 by a scout that a body of Federal cavalry was 
 moving toward Stevensburg. This was a part 
 of the column that had been sent to Kelly's 
 Ford early in the morning. General Gregg had 
 driven in the Confederate pickets at the ford, 
 and although General Robertson moved at once 
 to the help of his pickets, he was too late to 
 prevent General Gregg from sending a con- 
 siderable force toward Stevensburg which was 
 on the direct road to Culpeper Courthouse 
 where General Lee was encamped. General 
 Gregg himself, with the remainder of his force, 
 marched on toward Brandy Station. 
 
 Colonel Butler knew that it was most im- 
 portant to keep the Federals from finding out 
 
^ ^ 
 
146 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 that Lee's army was at Culpeper, and as soon 
 as he heard that they were marching along the 
 Stevensburg road, he advanced without orders 
 down that road. After a fierce fight, he stopped 
 the advance of the Federals who turned back to 
 join Gregg at Brandy Station. 
 
 In the meantime, General Gregg had marched 
 to the station where, Colonel Butler being 
 absent, he met no opposing force. From this 
 point, he immediately passed on to Fleetwood 
 Hill which that morning had been vacated by 
 General Stuart as headquarters. Stuart had 
 left there Major H. B. McClellan and several 
 couriers, with orders for all brigades and regi- 
 ments to communicate with him at that place. 
 These staff officers saw Gregg's large forces 
 approaching and knew that they must hold the 
 hill at any cost, as it was the key to Stuart's 
 whole position. 
 
 In Major McClellan's Life of Stuart he gives 
 us a very vivid and accurate account of the com- 
 bats which raged up and down and over the 
 crest of Fleetwood Hill. He says that every 
 vestige of the camp had been removed and 
 there remained upon the hill only McClellan and 
 the couriers. A six-pound howitzer, which for 
 want of ammunition had been sent back from the 
 fight going on at St. James Church, was halted 
 
THE BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION 147 
 
 at the foot of the hill and later proved their 
 salvation. As soon as the young major saw the 
 long Federal columns approaching, he dis- 
 patched a courier to General Stuart with in- 
 formation of this movement. For fear that 
 some accident might befall the first courier, he 
 sent a second, praying for help lest the entire 
 force be enclosed between the divisions of 
 Buford and Gregg. 
 
 Finding some round shot and imperfect shells 
 in the limber chest. Major McClellan ordered 
 the howitzer to be brought up the hill and a 
 slow fire to be opened upon the rapidly-advanc- 
 ing Federals. The fire caused surprise and a 
 halt. It seemed to indicate the presence of a 
 considerable force. 
 
 General Gregg, therefore, made preparations 
 for a serious attack upon the hill, and opened 
 fire with three rifled guns. But Major Mc- 
 Clellan and the men with their one gun, held the 
 hill until help came. Reenforcements promptly 
 sent by General Stuart arrived just as the 
 lieutenant in charge of the gun had fired his last 
 cartridge and the Federal cavalry was advancing 
 ^'in magnificent order of columns of squadrons, 
 with flags and guidons flying." 
 
 There now followed a number of combats 
 which for dash and bravery have rarely been 
 
148 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 equaled. First the Confederates, then the 
 Federals, seemed to have possession of the hill. 
 Stuart himself soon arrived, bringing Hampton 
 and Jones from the other firing line to help hold 
 this important position. Back and forth swept 
 the blue and the gray, each fighting stubbornly 
 and well. For a brief space of time, the New 
 Jersey cavalry held the hill. Soon they were 
 repulsed by a charge led by the Virginia cavalry. 
 There was a fierce contest at the foot of the hill 
 over three Federal guns. The Confederates 
 charged and took the guns, but were driven 
 back by overwhelming numbers and forced 
 to cut their way out. About this time, Hampton 
 came up with his four regiments formed in 
 columns of squadrons with a battery of four 
 guns. As they advanced at a gallop, they saw 
 the crest of Fleetwood Hill covered with Federal 
 cavalry. Passing the eastern side of the hill, 
 they struck the column just beyond the rail- 
 road and there followed a fierce hand-to-hand 
 fight. When the smoke and dust of the conflict 
 lifted, it was seen that Hampton had won. 
 The Federals were retiring. At the same time, a 
 charge had been made straight up the hill on the 
 northeast side by Georgia and South Carolina 
 cavalry. A saber charge was made and the hill 
 was cleared of the opposing troops. As soon as 
 
THE BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION 149 
 
 the Confederates gained the summit of the hill, 
 three batteries were placed in position there. 
 
 Fleetwood Hill was now in the possession of 
 the Confederates, but the Federals still held 
 Brandy Station. Stuart at once brought up 
 a regiment which charged on both sides of the 
 road to the station, drove out the Federals and 
 pursued them for some distance. 
 
 While the battle was raging at Fleetwood Hill, 
 W. H. F. Lee with a small force held the Con- 
 federate lines near St. James Church. There 
 was a lull in the fighting while Buford was 
 retiring some of his cavalry and bringing up 
 fresh troops, and so Stuart was able to withdraw 
 both Hampton and Jones, in order to repel the 
 attack on Fleetwood Hill. 
 
 As soon as the Federals were driven from 
 Brandy Station, Stuart formed a new line of 
 battle between the church and the station, where 
 he received a heavy Federal onset. This battle 
 was waged with varied success, but at last 
 Gregg joined Buford and late in the evening 
 the Federals retired across the river, — defeated 
 in spite of their superior numbers. 
 
 The losses in the battle of Brandy Station 
 were heavy on both sides. The Federal loss was 
 nearly 1,000 officers and men, while the Con- 
 federate loss was over 500. The Federals were 
 
150 LIFE OF J. E. B. STtlAHT 
 
 forced to leave in the hands of the Confederates 
 three cannon, six flags, and nearly 500 prisoners. 
 Pleasanton was really driven back by Stuart 
 and the cavalry, but he claimed that as he had 
 found out that there was a force of infantry at 
 Culpeper Courthouse, which was the informa- 
 tion he had been sent to obtain, he retired as 
 soon as possible after he had been joined by 
 Gregg. 
 
 Gunner Neese tells us that several times during 
 the day he saw General Stuart, when the battle 
 raged fiercest, dash with his staff across the 
 field and pass from point to point along the line, 
 perfectly heedless of the surrounding danger. 
 During the engagement, Neese fired his faithful 
 gun one hundred and sixty times. Just before 
 the battle closed in the evening he saw the fire 
 flash from the cascabel of his gun and found 
 that it was disabled forever — burnt out en- 
 tirely at the breech. 
 
 We have described this battle at length 
 because it is considered one of the greatest 
 cavalry combats of the nineteenth century. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN 
 
 1863 
 
 Stuart did not attempt to follow Pleasanton, 
 because Lee's plan for the invasion of the North 
 would not allow the useless sacrifice of men and 
 horses. Indeed, all of the cavalry was needed 
 to screen his army as it marched through the 
 Blue Ridge gaps into the Valley, from which 
 point it was to cross the Potomac into Mary- 
 land. 
 
 While Longstreet^s corps, which was the last 
 to move from Culpeper, was advancing to the 
 Valley, Stuart and his cavalry had a hard time 
 trying to protect Ashby's and Snicker's gaps, 
 through which Longstreet's forces would have to 
 pass. The battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and 
 Upperville, severe cavalry engagements in 
 which Stuart's forces were slowly forced back to 
 the foot of the Blue Ridge, were all fought to 
 protect these gaps until Longstreet could pass 
 through them on his northward march. 
 
 On June 22, General Pleasanton, who had 
 forced General Stuart back from Upperville to 
 
 [ 151 ] 
 
152 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Ashby's Gap, withdrew, and Stuart moved 
 forward to Rector's Cross Roads, where he 
 could better watch the Federal movements. 
 On that same day, General Ewell, who com- 
 manded the advance division of General Lee's 
 army, crossed the Potomac. By June 27, Lee's 
 entire army had reached Chambersburg, Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 In the meantime, Stuart was in Virginia 
 watching the Federals, in order to report to Lee 
 the moment that Hooker began to move. He 
 wrote General Lee that he thought he could 
 move with some of his cavalry around General 
 Hooker's rear into Maryland, thus throwing 
 himself between the Federals and Washington, 
 and so probably delay Hooker's northward 
 movement. General Lee wanted General 
 Stuart and his cavalry to join General Early 
 and guard his flank as he marched toward York, 
 Pennsylvania; he thought that Stuart could 
 reach him in this way just as easily as by cross- 
 ing at Shepherdstown where the rest of the army 
 crossed. Therefore, he gave Stuart permission 
 to cross at one of the lower fords, telling him to 
 annoy the Federals in the rear and collect all 
 possible supplies for the army. 
 
 Major Von Borcke, the young Prussian officer, 
 had been severely wounded and Major Mc- 
 
THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN 153 
 
 Clellan was now Stuart's adjutant general. He 
 tells us that on the night before General Stuart 
 started, a cold drizzling rain was faUing, but 
 the general insisted on sleeping on the ground 
 under a tree, because he said his men were 
 exposed to the rain and he would not fare better 
 than they. He could have had more comfort- 
 able quarters on the porch of a deserted house 
 near by, where McClellan, by the light of a 
 tallow ^^dip," was receiving and writing dis- 
 patches. When General Lee's letter, containing 
 instructions for Stuart's march, came, Mc- 
 Clellan carried it to the general, who quietly read 
 it, and then turned to go to sleep on his hard, 
 cold bed. 
 
 It was by such an example as this, as well as 
 by his bravery in battle, that Stuart won the 
 undying love of his soldiers. I am going to 
 quote for you a beautiful tribute paid him by 
 Mosby, his chief scout, who guided Stuart past 
 the Federal lines on the first part of this expedi- 
 tion. 
 
 Mosby says that when he went to the general 
 for instructions before starting, '^he was in his 
 usual gay humor. I never saw him at any time 
 in any other. Always buoyant in spirits, he in- 
 spired with his own high hopes all who came in 
 contact with him. I felt the deepest affection 
 
154 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 for him. My chief ambition was to serve him. 
 He was the rare combination of the Puritan and 
 the knight-errant; — he felt intensely the joy of 
 battle and he loved the praise of fair women and 
 brave men. 
 
 ^^I served under him from the beginning of the 
 war until he closed his life, like Sidney, leading 
 a squadron on the field of honor. Yet I do not 
 remember that he ever gave me an order. There 
 was always so much sympathy between us and 
 I felt so much affection for him that he had only 
 to express a wish, that was an order for me." 
 
 In making their plans, neither Lee nor Stuart 
 had counted on an immediate northward move- 
 ment of the Federal army. Yet when Stuart 
 with three brigades passed eastward through a 
 gap in Bull Run Mountain, he found Hooker's 
 army already moving northward. He at once 
 sent General Lee a dispatch conveying this 
 valuable information, but the courier bearing it 
 never reached headquarters, and so Lee did not 
 know of this important movement until Hooker's 
 whole army had crossed the Potomac and 
 moved toward Frederick, Maryland. 
 
 It was now impossible for Stuart to cross the 
 river where he had intended, and it would take 
 too much time to retrace his steps and cross at 
 Shepherdstown, so he determined on the bold 
 
THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN 155 
 
 move of crossing at Rowser's Ford, or Seneca, 
 only thirteen miles from Washington city. At 
 this point, the water was very deep and swift, 
 and the artillery had difficulty in crossing, but 
 time was too precious for them to seek a better 
 ford. 
 
 The caissons and limber chests were emptied 
 and dragged through the water, and the ammu- 
 nition was carried over in the hands of troopers. 
 By three o'clock on the morning of June 28, 
 Stuart's command was on the Maryland side of 
 the river, but the whole Federal army now lay 
 between the cavalry and General Lee. Stuart 
 would have to march around this army before he 
 could obey Lee's order to join Early at York. 
 
 But General Lee had also told Stuart to 
 collect all the supplies that he could get for the 
 use of the army. He now had an opportunity to 
 carry out these instructions, for he met and 
 captured a long line of Federal supply wagons. 
 
 Fitz Lee's brigade tore up the track of the 
 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, burned the bridge, 
 and cut the telegraph wires, thus destroying the 
 line of communication between Washington city 
 and General Meade who had taken Hooker's 
 place as commander of the Federal forces. At 
 one time, Stuart's troopers were so near Wash- 
 ington that they could see the dome of the Cap- 
 
156 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 itol, and the whole North was in a panic lest the 
 dreaded Stuart should attack the city. General 
 Stuart, however, was hastening northward in 
 order to join General Early at York. 
 
 His long train of captured wagons seriously 
 hindered the rapid movement of his horsemen, 
 but he was unwilling to abandon these supplies 
 that he knew were so greatly needed by Lee's 
 army. 
 
 If, however, he could have foreseen the events 
 of the next few days he would have burned the 
 wagons and hurried by forced marches to join 
 General Lee who had to fight the first two 
 days' battle at Gettysburg without the valuable 
 aid of Stuart and his cavalry. But Stuart 
 acted in the light of what he knew and did 
 what seemed best at the time, holding on to his 
 valuable prize in spite of the fact that it delayed 
 his march to York nearly two days. 
 
 On the morning of June 30, Stuart had a 
 sharp encounter with cavalry, at Hanover, 
 Pennsylvania, and at one time it seemed that he 
 would have to give up his captured wagons. 
 He already had them parked, so that they could 
 easily be burned if he was compelled to leave 
 them, but Hampton's and Fitz Lee's brigades, 
 which had been guarding the wagons in the rear, 
 came up and the Federals were dislodged. 
 
158 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Stuart remained at Hanover until night, in order 
 to hold the Federals in check, while the wagon 
 trains were sent toward York under the protec- 
 tion of Fitz Lee's brigade. 
 
 Major McClellan tells us that this night^s 
 march was terrible to both the troopers and the 
 drivers of the wagons. The men were hungry 
 and exhausted, and so were the mules. Every 
 time a wagon stopped, it caused a halt along the 
 whole line, and as the drivers were constantly 
 falhng asleep, these halts occurred very fre-; 
 quently. It required the utmost vigilance on 
 the part of every officer on Stuart's staff to keep 
 the train in motion. 
 
 When Fitz Lee reached the road leading from 
 York to Gettysburg, he learned that Early had 
 already marched westward. When Stuart arrived 
 at this point, he sent out couriers to find Early 
 and locate the other Confederate forces. He 
 then pushed immediately on to Carlisle where 
 he hoped to obtain provisions for his weary and 
 hungry troops, but when he reached Carlisle, 
 he found it already in possession of the Federals. 
 
 Smith, the Federal general in command, was 
 summoned to surrender, but he replied, ^^If you 
 want the city, come and take it." 
 
 Stuart was preparing to storm the city when 
 he received orders from General Lee to move at 
 once toward Gettysburg 
 
THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN 159 
 
 For eight days and nights, Stuart's men had 
 been almost continually on the march and had 
 been surrounded by superior cavalry forces, but 
 "he reached Gettysburg on the evening of the 
 second of July, in time to take part in the third 
 day's battle. He delivered to the quartermaster 
 one hundred and twenty-five captured wagons 
 and teams. He would willingly have sacrificed 
 this valuable prize could he have been on hand 
 two days earlier to assist his beloved chief in 
 the battle that had been unexpectedly forced 
 at this point, but in which he held his ground 
 during two days of stubborn fighting. 
 I General Lee's plan for the third day's battle 
 was to have General Longstreet's corps storm 
 the Federal center in its strongly-fortified 
 position upon Cemetery Ridge. Stuart's cavalry 
 was to march unobserved to the Federal rear. 
 Here it was to attack, thus protecting the Con- 
 federate left flank and drawing attention away 
 from the forces which were to storm Cemetery 
 Ridge. 
 
 About noon on the third of July, Stuart led 
 two brigades along the York turnpike and took 
 position on Cross Ridge in the rear of the 
 Federal line of battle. Hampton and Fitz Lee 
 were ordered to follow as soon as they were 
 supplied with amunition. 
 
160 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 On the slope of Cross Ridge stood a stone 
 dairy, and farther down in the valley was a barn 
 belonging to a farmer named Rummel. Con- 
 cealing his men in the woods on the top of the 
 hill, Stuart pushed forward a gun and fired a 
 number of shots, probably to notify General 
 Lee that he had gained a good position on the 
 
 From a war-time photograpli 
 THE TOLL OF WAR 
 Dead Confederate .'sharpshooters on the battlefield of Gettysburg 
 
 left flank. He then sent word for Hampton and 
 Fitz Lee to hasten, as he wished to attack the 
 Federal rear. While waiting for them, he sent 
 some dismounted cavalry to hold the Rummel 
 barn and a fence to the right of it. 
 
 Before Fitz Lee and Hampton came up, 
 Stuart saw that he had stirred up a hornet's nest. 
 
THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN 161 
 
 The Federal cavalry had discovered his move- 
 ments and were ready for him. A battery of six 
 guns opened fire upon his gun and soon disabled 
 it. Then a strong line of sharpshooters advanced 
 and a fierce fight took place near the barn. On 
 the left, the Confederate sharpshooters drove 
 the Federals for some distance across the field. 
 Just then a large force of Federal cavalry ap- 
 peared and drove back the Confederate dis- 
 mounted men almost to the Rummel barn. 
 There the Federals were met and driven back 
 by the Confederates, but the Federals were 
 reenforced and returned. Hampton advanced to 
 the charge, and the battle surged back and 
 forth over the open field in a hand-to-hand fight 
 with pistols and sabers, until nearly all of 
 Hampton's and Fitz Lee's regiments were en- 
 gaged. 
 
 At last the Federals retired to the line held at 
 the beginning of the fight and the Confederates 
 held the Rummel barn. There followed an 
 artillery duel which lasted until night. Then 
 Stuart withdrew to the York turnpike, leaving 
 a regiment of cavalry picketed around the bam 
 which was full of wounded Confederates. 
 
 Stuart encamped that night on the York road. 
 Early the next morning, he withdrew in the rain 
 and rejoined the main army on the heights west 
 
162 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 of Gettysburg. The Confederates under Pickett 
 had stormed the Federal heights opposite and 
 had taken the guns, but as Hood, who was to 
 support the charge was detained by the Federal 
 cavalry, they could not hold their position, and 
 finally had to retreat with the loss of many lives. 
 The Federals did not pursue the Confederates, 
 but remained the whole of the next day upon 
 their entrenched heights. 
 
 Being now nearly out of ammunition and 
 supplies for his men. General Lee ordered a 
 retreat on the night of July 4. He had a diffi- 
 cult task to perform. But happily his army 
 had not been routed nor had the men lost 
 confidence in him. As long as he was lead- 
 ing, they were willing to go anywhere and to 
 endure anything. 
 
 He had now before him a long march, and he 
 was encumbered with four thousand prisoners 
 and a wagon train fifteen miles long. It would 
 take great skill and courage to conduct his army 
 safely b^ck into Virginia. 
 
 In this extremity, he relied on his cavalry for 
 aid. Both men and horses were by this time 
 reduced in numbers and were worn out by hunger 
 and fatigue. They, however, took promptly 
 the position assigned by General Lee and 
 guarded the army and its trains from the 
 
THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN 163 
 
 attacks of the Federal cavalry. General Stuart ^s 
 command guarded both wings of the army, — 
 Stuart himself being on one side and Fitz Lee 
 on the other. They, of course, were pursued by 
 the Federal cavalry, and before they reached 
 the fords of the Potomac, both Stuart and Fitz 
 Lee had been engaged in several skirmishes. 
 
 The wagon train reached Williamsport on 
 July 6, and found the river too much swollen 
 to cross. The wagons were massed in a narrow 
 space near the river and were guarded by a small 
 force. Here they were attacked by General 
 Buford. This engagement is called ^^the 
 Teamsters^ Battle," because the teamsters as- 
 sisted the troopers so well in holding the Federals 
 in check. Together they succeeded in resisting 
 the attack of Buford until the arrival of Stuart 
 who had been engaged in driving the Federal 
 cavalry from Hagerstown. A little later, Fitz 
 Lee came thundering down the Greencastle road. 
 Buford then retired without having taken or 
 destroyed the trains so important to Lee. 
 
 On July 7, when the infantry and artillery 
 arrived at Hagerstown from which Stuart 
 had driven the Federal cavalry the day before. 
 General Lee was not able to cross the Poto- 
 mac. He, therefore, selected a strong position 
 and fortified it while waiting for the waters 
 
164 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 to fall. From July 8 to 12, Stuart protected 
 the front of Lee's army, fighting a number of 
 battles. Then, all the Federal forces having 
 come up, Stuart retired to the main body of 
 the army and General Lee prepared for battle. 
 But Meade, who was very cautious, thought 
 Lee's position too strong to attack. 
 
 Major McClellan, General Stuart's adjutant 
 general, says in his Life of Stuart that those 
 days will be remembered by the cavalry 
 leader's staff as days of great hardship. The 
 country had been swept bare of provisions and 
 nothing could be purchased. Scanty rations had 
 been issued to the men, but none to the officers. 
 For four or five days, they received all the food 
 that they had from a young lady in Hagers- 
 town, whose father, a Southerner, loved the 
 Confederacy. After a day of incessant fighting, 
 Stuart and his officers reached the house of this 
 friend about nine o'clock at night. While food 
 was being prepared, Stuart fell asleep on the 
 sofa in the parlor. When supper was announced, 
 he refused to rise. Knowing that he had eaten 
 nothing for twenty-four hours. Major Mc- 
 Clellan took him by the arm and compelled him 
 to take his place at the table. He ate sparingly 
 and without relish. 
 
 Thinking that the supper did not suit him. 
 
THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN 165 
 
 their kind hostess inquired: ^ ^General, perhaps 
 you would Hke to have a hard-boiled egg?" 
 ^Tes/' he replied, ^I'll take four or five." 
 This singular reply caused a good deal of 
 astonishment, but nothing was said at the time. 
 The eggs were brought in; Stuart broke one 
 and ate it, and rose from the table. 
 
 When they returned to the parlor, Major 
 McClellan sat down at the piano and com- 
 menced singing, 
 
 "If you want to have a good time 
 Jine the cavalry." 
 
 The circumstances hardly made the song 
 appropriate, but the chorus roused the general 
 and he joined in it with a right good will. During 
 all that time, he had been unconscious of his 
 surroundings, and when told of his seeming 
 rudeness to his hostess he hastened to make 
 apologies. 
 
 This little incident shows how greatly Stuart 
 was exhausted by the strain and fatigue of 
 sleepless days and nights during this unfortu- 
 nate campaign. For more than two weeks, he 
 had been almost constantly in the saddle, using 
 both mind and body in the effort to save his 
 command and to bring the Confederate army 
 back to Virginia without serious disaster. 
 
 On July 13, the waters had subsided so much 
 
166 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 that General Lee gave orders for the army to 
 cross the river that night. By one o'clock 
 the next afternoon, the southern army was 
 again in Virginia, General Stuart's command 
 bringing up the rear. 
 
 The Federals, strange to say, offered little 
 opposition and the crossing was a complete 
 success. The Federal government and the 
 northern people were much disappointed when 
 they learned that General Lee had so skillfully 
 led his army out of its perilous position. They 
 had expected that General Meade would de- 
 stroy it, hemmed in between the flooded Potomac 
 and the Federal army so superior in numbers. 
 Lee now moved back to Bunker Hill near 
 Winchester. Stuart repelled an advance of the 
 Federal cavalry and drove it steadily back to 
 within a mile of Shepherdstown. Here a large 
 number of the troopers were dismounted and 
 advanced in line of battle. The Federals re- 
 treated slowly until dark when they withdrew 
 from the contest in the direction of Harper's 
 Ferry, having lost heavily in killed and wounded. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 
 
 1863-'64 
 
 General Meade now advanced into Virginia 
 and attempted to follow General Lee and cut 
 him off from Richmond. Lee being at once in- 
 formed by Stuart of the movement, skillfully 
 eluded his foe and by the first of August, had 
 placed his army behind the Rappahannock river, 
 between Meade and Richmond. 
 
 The cavalry now had a short period of rest. 
 The whole force was reorganized, and Hampton 
 and Fitz Lee were promoted to the rank of 
 major general. This much-needed rest was 
 broken on September 13, by the advance of 
 the Federals into Culpeper county. Stuart 
 had been warned of their forward movement, 
 and at once started his wagons and disabled 
 horses toward Rapidan Station. General Lee 
 supposing that General Meade was advancing 
 in force, had already retired behind the Rapidan 
 river and placed his army in a very strong 
 position. 
 
 [ 167] 
 
168 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Early on the morning of Sept. 13, the Federal 
 cavalry advanced in large numbers to the fords 
 of the Rappahannock. As Lee did not intend 
 to hold Culpeper county, Stuart retired toward 
 Rapidan Station, keeping up a running fight as 
 he withdrew. 
 
 A few days later, Stuart came in touch with 
 Buford's cavalry near Jack's Shop in Madi- 
 son county, and attacked them in several 
 spirited charges. He was unable, however, 
 to drive back these forces. Unwilling to re- 
 treat, he advanced and was engaged in a 
 furious combat when he was informed that 
 Kilpatrick's command was in his rear. As he 
 withdrew to meet this unexpected foe, Buford 
 pressed forward and it seemed for a time that 
 Stuart had at last been caught in a place from 
 which he could not escape. 
 
 Kilpatrick had already thrown a large force of 
 dismounted men between Stuart and the river, 
 and he was thus enclosed between two large 
 forces of finely-mounted men. Buford pressed 
 forward until the battle was brought into a field 
 in the center of which a small hill afforded a good 
 position for Stuart's artillery. He now divided 
 his regiments and guns — some to fight Buford, 
 some to fight Kilpatrick. At last, Kilpatrick's 
 main force was driven back and one of Stuart's 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 169 
 
 regiments dashed up to the fence behind which 
 Kilpatrick's dismounted men were firing, threw it 
 down, and made way for Stuart to retire. With- 
 drawing rapidly, Stuart then crossed the ford 
 at Liberty Mills where he was very soon reen- 
 forced. 
 
 On October 9, General Lee commenced the 
 movement around the right of General Meade's 
 army which is called the ^^Bristoe Campaign." 
 In this campaign, the cavalry was sorely tried. 
 Fitz Lee — who, as you have been told, had 
 been promoted to the rank of major gen- 
 eral — was left at Raccoon Ford, supported by 
 two brigades of infantry, to hold Lee's line and 
 to make Meade believe that Lee's whole army 
 was still encamped at that place. Stuart with 
 Hampton's division moved to the right of Lee's 
 army as it again marched northward; it was his 
 duty to prevent the Federals from finding out 
 Lee's movements and to protect the army from 
 attacks. 
 
 Now followed a series of sharp engagements 
 between the cavalry of the two armies. There 
 was a skirmish near James City after which the 
 Federals retired toward Culpeper Courthouse. 
 The next morning, Stuart followed them. Three 
 miles from the Courthouse, he met and drove 
 in the Federal pickets. But he now found out 
 
170 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 that Meade was retreating from the Rappahan- 
 nock and that Fitz Lee, who had fought a battle 
 at Raccoon Ford, was advancing towards 
 Brandy Station, — fighting Buford as he marched. 
 
 Stuart knew that Kilpatrick was at Culpeper 
 Courthouse awaiting his attack, but on re- 
 ceiving this news he turned at once northward 
 toward Brandy Station, hoping to join Fitz Lee 
 and get possession of Fleetwood Hill from which 
 he had driven the Federal cavalry in June. If 
 he could carry out this plan, he would cut off 
 Kilpatrick from Buford. Kilpatrick, who had 
 massed his force of about four thousand men on 
 the open space east of the Courthouse at 
 Culpeper waiting the attack of Stuart, soon 
 found out that the latter had eluded him and 
 was hurrying toward Brandy Station. He, 
 therefore, began a race for the same position. 
 
 Unfortunately, Stuart was delayed by a 
 skirmish with Federal forces and when he came 
 in sight of Brandy Station, he saw that Kilpatrick 
 had beaten him in the race. Buford, who was 
 being pursued by Fitz Lee, had already taken 
 possession of Fleetwood Hill and placed his artil- 
 lery upon its crest. Stuart had moved so rapidly 
 that he had left his artillery far behind, but 
 Fitz Lee's guns were booming as he came into 
 position. 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 171 
 
 Fitz Lee joined Stuart and they at once at- 
 tacked Kilpatrick's and Buford's forces, now 
 under the command of Major-General Pleasan- 
 ton. The Federals fought bravely, but they 
 were steadily pushed toward their position on 
 Fleetwood Hill. It was now late in the after- 
 noon, and Stuart, declining to attack them in 
 their strong position, sent Fitz Lee to the left 
 as if to cut off the Federals from the river. As 
 soon as Pleasanton perceived this flanking 
 movement, he withdrew from Fleetwood Hill 
 and, protected by his artillery, crossed the river. 
 Stuart's weary troopers camped that night once 
 more around Brandy Station, well pleased at 
 having gained a decided victory over such large 
 forces. 
 
 Two days later, Stuart reached Warrenton 
 where the whole army was encamped and he 
 immediately received orders to proceed toward 
 Catlett's Station with two thousand men and 
 seven guns, for the purpose of gaining accurate 
 information about the position of Meade's army. 
 
 General Meade had started his forces back 
 toward Culpeper Courthouse to engage General 
 Lee in battle, but he found out that Lee was 
 marching around his right, so as to get between 
 him and Washington city. On receiving this 
 information, Meade at once recalled his forces. 
 
172 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 These movements and countermovements came 
 near resulting disastrously to Stuart who was 
 caught between the advancing and retreating 
 divisions of the Federals. 
 
 When he reached Catlett's Station, he found 
 that a column of Federal infantry was moving 
 toward that place. He at once fell back on the 
 road to Warrenton and found another Federal 
 corps in his rear. His situation was now one of 
 great peril. It seemed that his force would either 
 be captured or cut to pieces. 
 
 Fortunately, when Stuart perceived his 
 danger he was emerging from a piece of woods 
 and night was closing in. He at once retired his 
 command to the depths of the woods and called 
 a council of his officers. They were so near the 
 enemy that the neighing of a horse or the clash 
 of a saber could be heard, and to make retreat 
 impossible, they were hemmed in on one side 
 by a swollen stream and on the other side by a 
 forest. At first, it was proposed to leave the 
 seven guns and cut their way out. Stuart, 
 however, would not agree to abandon his artil- 
 lery. At last, officers went through the com- 
 mand and ordered each man to stand by his 
 horse's head, and to make no sound himself nor 
 let his horse make any. 
 
 As soon as it was dark, Stuart ordered four 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 173 
 
 trusted men to make their way to General Lee at 
 Culpeper Courthouse. They were to inform 
 him of the dangerous position of the cavalry and 
 ask him to send aid as soon as possible. Then 
 followed long hours of anxious waiting. During 
 the night, a Federal corps marched past the 
 front of Stuart's position, but fortunately the 
 noise of the moving column prevented the 
 Federals from detecting the presence of the 
 Confederates within the woods. 
 
 At the first peep of day, the Confederates dis- 
 covered that a large force of Federal infantry 
 had halted near, had stacked arms, and were 
 getting breakfast. They were so near the Con- 
 federates that several of their officers who 
 strayed into the woods were captured. In the 
 dim light of morning, each soldier in gray 
 tightened the girth of his hungry, weary steed 
 and mounted silently, with weapons ready for 
 the charge. The seven guns were parked near 
 the west of the hill, just opposite the feasting 
 Federals. Then the men waited, — waited either 
 to be discovered by the Federals when the 
 bright sunlight should flash upon their gray 
 coats or to hear Lee's guns as a signal for them 
 to attack. 
 
 At last! There was firing from toward War- 
 renton. Aid was approaching and the time had 
 
174 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 come to cut their way out. In an instant, the 
 seven guns were pouring shot and shell upon the 
 surprised Federals. The horsemen then charged 
 upon the infantry regiments which had hastily 
 formed in line of battle and were advancing upon 
 the guns. A fierce combat now ensued in which 
 the Federals were driven back. The artillery 
 and wagons, followed closely by the horsemen, 
 passed behind the rear of the Federals and thus 
 the whole command escaped from its perilous 
 position. 
 
 General Meade now fell back to Centerville 
 and General Lee, having failed to cut off General 
 Meade from Washington, retired again to the 
 line of the Rappahannock. Stuart continued to 
 follow the Federal cavalry, having skirmishes at 
 Bull Run, Groveton, and Frying Pan Church. 
 
 A few days later, the Confederate cavalry 
 defeated a large force of infantry near Buck- 
 land, in a battle that is known as the ^^Buckland 
 Races." After a sharp skirmish, Stuart fell 
 back slowly toward Warrenton in order to draw 
 the Federals after him; for Fitz Lee was moving 
 forward from Warrenton to attack them in the 
 rear. Stuart, as soon as he heard the sound of 
 Fitz Lee's guns, turned suddenly upon the 
 Federals with so furious a charge that their lines 
 were broken and put to flight. Stuart chased, 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 175 
 
 them for five miles and captured two hundred 
 and fifty prisoners and eight wagons and ambu- 
 lances. Thus he may be said to have fairly won 
 the race back to Buckland. 
 
 Soon after this, both armies went into winter 
 quarters. The Federal soldiers had comforts 
 and even luxuries, while the Confederates were 
 poorly clothed and fed. Their sufferings during 
 this bitter cold winter could not have been en- 
 dured but for the food and clothing sent from 
 their homes. Officers and men fared alike; the 
 resources of the Confederacy were at a low ebb. 
 
 Mrs. Stuart was boarding at Orange Court- 
 house, and, as General Stuart's headquarters 
 were near by, he was able to spend some time 
 with his family again. And a very happy family 
 it was now, for on the ninth of the previous 
 October, the very day that began Stuart's heavy 
 work in the Bristoe Campaign, a daughter had 
 come to comfort him and Mrs. Stuart for the 
 loss of their fit tie Flora. The devoted father 
 named this little baby Virginia Pelham, in honor 
 of his beloved state and in memory of the gallant 
 young leader of the Stuart Horse Artillery whom 
 he had loved so well. The members of General 
 Stuart's staff were all devoted to this new 
 member of the family, and General Lee, whose 
 headquarters were not far distant, came more 
 
176 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 than once to visit Mrs. Stuart and ^^Miss 
 Virginia/' as he called the little lady. The 
 admiration paid his little daughter gave Stuart 
 great delight. 
 
 Late in February, 1864, the Federal cavalry 
 made an attempt to take Richmond. This 
 movement was known as ^^Dahlgren's Raid" 
 and the large Federal forces were fitted out with 
 great care. But in spite of their superior num- 
 bers, they were driven back by Stuart's cavalry. 
 
 On March 17, General U. S. Grant was placed 
 in command of all the Federal armies. As it 
 was evident that the great struggle of the year 
 would take place in Virginia, he took charge of 
 General Meade's army and prepared it for the 
 coming campaign. He had an army of 125,000 
 men, fully equipped, and with all that money 
 could buy. 
 
 At midnight on May 3, the Federal army 
 began to advance. General Lee permitted 
 it to cross the Rapidan and march into the 
 Wilderness where the battle of Chancellorsville 
 had been fought the year before. In this jungle, 
 it would be difficult for the Federals to use their 
 artillery and they would be compelled to fight 
 at a disadvantage: General Grant expected 
 General Lee to retreat to a line nearer Rich- 
 mond, and he was surprised when his troops 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 177 
 
 plunged into the dense woods and thickets of the 
 Wilderness to find General Lee ready to fight 
 on ground of his own choosing. 
 
 As soon as the news was received at the cavalry 
 headquarters that the Federals had crossed the 
 fords of the Rapidan, Stuart set out for his 
 picket line. He conducted in person the 
 advances of the infantry until the lines of the 
 enemy were reached, and on May 6 and 7 the 
 great Battle of the Wilderness raged furiously. 
 
 The cavalry did heavy work on the Con- 
 federate right. Gunner Neese, in his diary, 
 tells an interesting anecdote of Stuart on the 
 morning of the second day's battle. 
 
 He says: ^^Our orders to hasten to the front 
 this morning at daylight were pressing and 
 urgent, and we had no time to prepare or eat 
 breakfast, which greatly rufHed some of our 
 drivers. When we drew near to the enemy's 
 line we awaited orders, and one of our drivers 
 was still going through baby acts about some- 
 thing to eat and having no breakfast. Just 
 then General Stuart and staff came along and 
 halted a moment right in the road where we 
 were and heard the grumbling and childish 
 murmuring of our hungry man, and the general 
 rode up to him and gave him two biscuits out 
 of his own haversack." 
 
178 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 On the night of May 7, Grant began to move 
 his army by the left flank to get between 
 Lee and Richmond, but the movement was dis- 
 covered at once and Fitz Lee's cavalry was sent 
 forward to delay the Federals until Longstreet's 
 infantry could come up. Fitz Lee's men were 
 at times dismounted, and they fought so stub- 
 bornly that Grant's forces were held in check 
 until the infantry by a rapid night march reached 
 the entrenchments which had been hastily 
 thrown up near Spotsylvania Courthouse. 
 
 I am going to tell you about the arrival of the 
 infantry and the beginning of the next morning's 
 battle in the words of a private of the First Vir- 
 ginia cavalry. 
 
 He says: ^^We had been fighting and re- 
 treating all night, and at last, when near 
 Spotsylvania Courthouse had thrown up slight 
 entrenchments. Protected by Breathed's guns, 
 we were awaiting another attack. Suddenly 
 we heard the steady march of infantry coming 
 in our rear. The old fellows came swinging 
 along in the moonlight, each one with his camp- 
 kettle on his back and his long musket with its 
 gleaming bayonet resting easily on his shoulder. 
 Each man settled down by a dismounted trooper, 
 glad to rest a little while, but full of quips and 
 jokes. Xook here sonny,' said one to me. 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 179 
 
 picking up my carbine, Vhat's this here thing 
 for? Ef I was you I'd be feared of it; it might 
 hurt somebody!' But even talking was not 
 permitted. Officers passed along, enjoining 
 silence and ordering us not to fire until we could 
 see the whites of the Yankees' eyes. 
 
 ^ 'About daylight we heard loud cheering. 
 Major Breathed had brought off one of his guns 
 in the face of thousands of the enemy, and they 
 were cheering! On came a blue line of battle 
 eight deep calling out, 'Come out, you dis- 
 mounted cavalry! We know you are there.' 
 
 ''Silence reigned behind the earthworks, but 
 every gun was ready. When the Federals were 
 well over the crest of the hill, the order rang 
 along the line — 'Steady, aim, fire!' Bang! went 
 the carbines and muskets, and with piercing yells 
 the Confederates leaped out of the works and 
 rushed with gleaming bayonets upon the already 
 retreating foe. The veterans had delivered so 
 fierce and so well-directed a fire that the attack 
 was not renewed at that position." 
 
 A short while afterward, Stuart arrived with 
 reenforcements. Major McClellan was the only 
 member of General Stuart's staff present during 
 the brisk skirmishes of the morning. He says 
 that Stuart exposed himself recklessly to the 
 fire of the Federals, in spite of the earnest request 
 
180 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 of the infantry officers that he would retire to a 
 safer position. 
 
 He sent Major McClellan on such seemingly 
 unnecessary messages that after a while that 
 officer thought that General Stuart was trying 
 to shield him from danger, so he said, ^^ General, 
 my horse is weary. You are exposing yourself 
 and you are alone. Please let me remain with 
 you." 
 
 But Stuart merely smiled kindly and sent him 
 with another message. 
 
 When Grant reached Spotsylvania Court- 
 house, he decided to send a corps of cavalry 
 forward on a raid toward Richmond. This 
 force was to cut Lee's communication, take 
 Richmond, and be in position to attack the rear 
 of Lee's army after Grant crushed him at 
 Spotsylvania. General Sheridan commanded 
 these troops that started for Richmond, along 
 the Telegraph Road. 
 
 General Fitz Lee who saw them, says: ^Ten 
 thousand horsemen riding in a single road in 
 column of fours made a column thirteen miles 
 in length; and with flashing sabers and flutter- 
 ing guidons were an imposing array." 
 
 To contend with this force, Stuart had only 
 three small brigades, yet on him depended the 
 safety of Richmond and the protection of the 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 181 
 
 rear of Lee's army. At Jarrold's Mill, Wick- 
 ham's brigade had a sharp skirmish with Sheri- 
 dan's rear guard and captured a number of 
 prisoners. Yet on and on marched Sheridan, 
 leaving the Telegraph Road, and going toward 
 Beaver Dam Station. At Mitchell's Shop, 
 Sheridan's rear guard having been reenforced, 
 made another stand. Wickham attacked again, 
 but would have been forced back by the greatly- 
 superior numbers of the Federals had not Stuart 
 and Fitz Lee come up with reenforcements and 
 the Federals passed on. 
 
 At Beaver Dam Station, Stuart left his 
 command a short while to see if his wife and 
 children, who were near by at the home of Mr. 
 Edmund Fontaine, had escaped annoyance 
 from the Federals. Having found them safe 
 and well, he pressed on toward Hanover Junc- 
 tion to place his forces between Sheridan and 
 Richmond. 
 
 Hanover Junction was reached after dark and 
 Stuart proposed an all-night march. Fitz Lee's 
 men, however, were worn out with fighting and 
 marching and, at the request of their com- 
 mander, Stuart at last consented that the 
 troopers should rest until one o'clock. He 
 directed that his trusted adjutant, Major 
 McClellan, should remain awake to arouse the 
 
182 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 sleeping men, and to see them mounted and on 
 the march at the time mentioned. 
 
 Major McClellan in his Life of Stuart, says: 
 'When the troops had moved out, I returned to 
 Stuart and awoke him and his staff. While 
 they were preparing to move, I lay down to 
 catch, if possible, a few moments' rest. The 
 party rode off as I lay in a half-conscious con- 
 dition, and I heard some one say, 'General, 
 here's McClellan fast asleep. Must I wake 
 him?' 'No' he rephed, 'he has been watching 
 while we were asleep. Leave a courier with 
 him and tell him to come on when his nap is 
 out/ " 
 
 After taking a short rest. Major McClellan 
 rejoined General Stuart just as he passed the 
 road leading to Ashland. A squadron of Con- 
 federate cavalry had come upon a force of 
 Federal cavalry in that town, and had dis- 
 persed it with great loss to the latter. 
 
 Stuart reached Yellow Tavern, about eight 
 miles from Richmond, about ten o'clock on the 
 morning of May 11. He had beaten Sheri- 
 dan in the race to Richmond and placed him- 
 self between that city and Sheridan's forces. 
 He at once posted his small force to meet the 
 Federal advance. Wickham was placed on the 
 right of the Telegraph Road and Lomax on the 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 183 
 
 left. Two guns were placed in the road and one 
 farther to the left. The whole force was dis- 
 mounted, except a portion of the cavalry which 
 was held in reserve. 
 
 General Stuart then sent Major McClellan 
 into Richmond to find out the condition of af- 
 fairs in the city. General Bragg, in charge of the 
 defense, replied that he had enough men to hold 
 the trenches and that he was hourly expecting 
 reenf orcements from Petersburg — that he wished 
 General Stuart to remain on the Federal flank 
 and to retard its progress as much as possible. 
 
 General Stuart's last official dispatch written 
 on the morning of May 11, the day that he was 
 wounded, showed his wonderful determination 
 and unfailing cheerfulness in the face of danger 
 and difficulty, and was also a tribute to the men 
 who fought under him. 
 
 He wrote: ^'May 11th, 1864, 6:30 A. M. 
 Fighting against immense odds of Sheridan — 
 my men and horses are tired, hungry, and 
 jaded, hut all right. ^^ 
 
 About four o'clock that same day, Sheridan 
 attacked the whole line, throwing a brigade of 
 cavalry upon the left. Stuart galloped to this 
 point, and found that the Federals had captured 
 his two guns and had driven back almost the 
 entire left. He at once ordered a reserve 
 
184 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 squadron to charge the advancing Federals. 
 Just as the latter were being driven back in a 
 hand-to-hand combat, General Stuart rode up 
 to where Captain Dorsey and about eighty dis- 
 mounted men who had collected on the Tele- 
 graph Road, were firing at the retreating 
 Federals. As the struggling mass fell back, one 
 of the Federals who had been unhorsed in the 
 fight, turned and fired his pistol directly at 
 General Stuart. The fatal shot entered his 
 body just above the sword-belt. 
 
 Captain Dorsey saw that the general was 
 wounded and hurried to his assistance. He 
 tried to lead the general's horse to a safer place, 
 but it became very unruly. General Stuart 
 insisted on being lifted off and allowed to rest 
 against a tree. Then he ordered the captain to 
 go back to his men, but Captain Dorsey refused 
 to do so until his general had been taken to the 
 rear. There were now only a few of Stuart's 
 men between him and the Federals and for a 
 few moments there was great danger of his being 
 captured. 
 
 But soon another horse was brought, and the 
 general was taken to a safer place by Captain 
 Dorsey and put in charge of Private Wheatley. 
 Wheatley speedily procured an ambulance, and 
 took the general to the rear. Here Dr, Fontaine 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 185 
 
 and two of the general's aides, Venable and 
 Hullihen, took charge of their wounded chief 
 and started at once to Richmond. 
 
 As the ambulance passed through the disorder- 
 ed Confederate ranks the general called to his 
 men, '^Go back! go back and do your duty as I 
 have done, and our country will be safe. Go 
 back! go back! I had rather die than be 
 whipped." 
 
 These were his last words upon the battle- 
 field, aiid they carried to his men a message, 
 full of the spirit of their beloved chief. They 
 did 'go back,' and fought so well that Sheridan 
 was finally 'driven from Richmond. 
 
 The ambulance had to take a rough and round- 
 about way, in order to avoid the Federals, and it 
 did not reach Richmond until after dark. The 
 general was taken to the home of his brother-in- 
 law. Dr. Charles Brewer. He had suffered 
 greatly on the trip, but had borne the pain with 
 fortitude and cheerfulness. 
 
 The next morning. Major McClellan, who 
 according to Stuart's orders had remained on 
 the battlefield, rode into the city to deliver to 
 General Bragg a message from General Fitz Lee 
 now in command of the cavalry. As soon as he 
 had delivered his message, he went at once to 
 the bedside of his wounded general. Infiamma- 
 
186 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 tion had set in, and the doctors said there was 
 no hope of Stuart's recovery. I shall let Mc- 
 Clellan tell you in his own words about the 
 general's last hours. 
 
 He says: ^^After delivering General Fitz Lee's 
 message to General Bragg, I repaired to the 
 bedside of my dying chief. He was calm and 
 
 _ _^ cs5<^?sr r?T> ■^jo 
 
 THE HOUSE IN WHICH STUART DIED 
 
 This house has been torn down. The building erected on its site bears a tablet 
 in memory of Stuart. 
 
 composed, in the full possession of his mind. 
 Our conversation was, however, interrupted by 
 paroxysms of suffering. He directed me to make 
 the proper disposal of his official papers, and 
 to send his personal effects to his wife. 
 
 ^^He then said: ^I wish you to take one of my 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 1C7 
 
 horses and Venable the other. Which h the 
 heavier rider?' 
 
 ''I rephed that I thought Venable was. 
 
 ^' ^Then/ he said, 'let Venable have the gray- 
 horse and you take the bay.' 
 
 ''Soon he spoke again: 'You will find in my 
 hat a small Confederate flag, which a lady of 
 Columbia, South Carolina, sent me, with the 
 request that I would wear it upon my horse in a 
 battle and then return it to her. Send it to her.' " 
 
 Later, Major McClellan found the flag inside 
 the lining of the general's hat. Among his 
 papers was the letter conveying the lady's 
 request. 
 
 "Again he said: 'My spurs which I have 
 always worn in battle, I promised to give to 
 ]\lrs. Lilly Lee, of Shepherdstown, Virginia. 
 My sword I leave to my son.' 
 
 "While I sat by his bed, the sound of cannon 
 outside the city was heard. He turned to me 
 eagerly and inquired what it meant. I ex- 
 plained that Gracey's brigade and other troops 
 had moved out against the rear of the enemy 
 on the Brooke turnpike and that Fitz Lee 
 would endeavor to oppose their advance at 
 Meadow Bridge. 
 
 "He turned his eyes upward, and exclaimed 
 earnestly, 'God grant that they may be success- 
 
188 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 iuV Then turning his head aside, he said with 
 a sigh: ^But I must be prepared for another 
 world/ 
 
 ^The thought of duty was ever uppermost in 
 his mind, and after Hstening to the distant 
 cannonading for a few moments, he said, 
 'Major, Fitz Lee may need you.' I understood 
 his meaning and pressed his hand in a last 
 farewell. As I left his chamber. President 
 Davis entered. 
 
 'Taking the general's hand he asked: '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.'" 
 
 "The Rev. Dr. Peterkin visited him, and 
 prayed with him. He requested Dr. Peterkin 
 to sing 'Rock of Ages,' and joined in the singing 
 of the hymn. 
 
 "During the afternoon, he asked Dr. Brewer 
 whether it were not possible for him to sur- 
 vive the night. The doctor frankly told him 
 that death was close at hand. 
 
 "He then said: 'I am resigned if it be God's 
 will; but I would like to see my wife. But God's 
 will be done.' 
 
 "Again he said to Dr. Brewer: 'I am going 
 fast now; I am resigned. God's will be done.' " 
 
FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND DEATH 189 
 
 Major Von Borcke, General Stuart's former 
 aide who had not yet recovered from his severe 
 wound, was also in Richmond. After Mc- 
 Clellan went away, Von Borcke remained at his 
 chieftain's side. He tells us that he sat on the 
 bed, holding the general's hand and handing 
 him crushed ice which he ate in great abun- 
 dance and which was applied to cool his burning 
 wound. Everyone was hoping that Mrs. 
 Stuart would arrive in time to be with him before 
 he passed from earth. 
 
 Finally the general drew Von Borcke to him, 
 and after bidding him farewell said, ^Xook after 
 my family after I am gone and be the same 
 true friend to my wife and children that you 
 have been to me." These were his last con- 
 nected words. 
 
 At eight o'clock the end came, and it was 
 three hours later before Mrs. Stuart arrived. 
 The destruction of bridges and a fearful storm 
 had caused delay in the trip from Beaver Dam. 
 Owing to the telegraph lines being broken, the 
 tidings that General Stuart was wounded did 
 not reach his wife until noon on Ma}^ 12. 
 
 At the time of his death, May 12, Stuart 
 was just thirty-one years old. Yet through his 
 high ideals, his devotion to duty, and his mili- 
 tary genius, he had risen to a position of great 
 
190 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 trust and honor in the service of his country 
 for which he laid down his hfe. Such a death, 
 crowning such a hfe, is glorious and inspiring. 
 One feels that Horatius, the noble Roman, in- 
 deed spoke truly when he said: 
 
 ''And how can man die better, 
 Than by facing fearful odds, 
 For the ashes of his fathers 
 And the temples of his gods?" 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 SOME TRIBUTES TO STUART 
 
 While General Stuart's life was ebbing away, 
 General Sheridan retired from the attack on 
 Richmond. The delay at Ashland and the 
 all-day fight at Yellow Tavern in which two 
 brigades of Stuart's cavalry had detained the 
 ten thousand men of Sheridan's command, had 
 given the authorities at Richmond time to 
 collect forces for the defense of the city. 
 
 General Fitz Lee who now commanded the 
 cavalry, harassed the retreat of Sheridan for a 
 while, but his men and horses were too worn-out 
 to attempt to cut off so large a force. Sheridan, 
 therefore, marched through the swamps of the 
 Chickahominy river to the Pamunkey, and 
 after an absence of more than two weeks, 
 rejoined Grant's army which was still vainly 
 attempting to get between Lee and Richmond. 
 
 General Fitz Lee in his Life of General Robert 
 E. Lee J says: ^^Sheridan's raid would have been 
 the usual record of nothing accomplished and a 
 broken-down command except that at Yellow 
 Tavern the Confederate cavalry chieftain was 
 
 [ 191 1 
 
192 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 mortally wounded and died the next day in 
 Richmond. This sad occurrence was of more 
 value to the Federal cause than anything that 
 could have happened, and his loss to Lee was 
 irreparable. He was the army's eyes and ears — 
 vigilant always, bold to a fault, of great vigor 
 and ceaseless activity. He had a heart ever 
 loyal to his superior, and duty, was to him the 
 ^sublimest word in the language.' " 
 
 In a letter to his wife a few days after General 
 Stuart's death. General Robert E. Lee said: 
 ^^As I write, I expect to hear the sound of guns 
 every moment. I grieve for the loss of the 
 gallant officers and men, and miss their aid and 
 sympathy. A more zealous, ardent, brave, and 
 devoted soldier than Stuart the Confederacy 
 cannot have." 
 
 General Lee's order to the army announcing 
 the death of Stuart was as follows: ^^ Among 
 the gallant soldiers who have fallen in the 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, he added the brighter 
 graces of a pure life guided and sustained by the 
 Christian's faith and hope. The mysterious 
 
SOME TRIBUTES TO STUART 193 
 
 hand of an all-wise God has removed him from 
 the scene of his usefulness and fame. His grate- 
 ful 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." 
 
 General Wade Hampton's order to his cavalry 
 corps was also an eloquent tribute to the great 
 cavalry leader. It was as follows: 
 
 ''In the midst of rejoicing over the success of 
 our arms, the sad tidings come to us from 
 Richmond of the death of our distinguished 
 Chief of Cavalry. Death has at last accepted 
 the offering of a life, which before the admiring 
 eyes of the Army, has been so often, so freely 
 and so nobly offered, on almost every battle- 
 field of Virginia. In the death of Major-General 
 J. E. B. Stuart the Army of Northern Virginia 
 has lost one of its most brilhant, enthusiastic 
 and zealous military leaders, the Southern cause 
 one of its earliest, most untiring and devoted 
 supporters, and the Cavalry arm of the service 
 a chieftain who first gave it prominence and 
 value, and whose dazzling achievements have 
 attracted the wonder and applause of distant 
 nations. His spirit shone as bright and brave 
 in the still chamber of death, as amid the 
 storm of the battlefield, and he passed out of 
 
194 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 life the same buoyant hero he had hved. Blessed 
 through a short but glorious career with many 
 instances of almost miraculous good fortune, it 
 was his great privilege to die with the con- 
 sciousness of having performed his whole duty 
 to his country. To his children he leaves the 
 rich legacy of a name which has become identi- 
 fied with the brightest acts of our military 
 history and, when the panorama of our battles 
 shall be unfolded to posterity, in almost every 
 picture will be seen the form of our gallant 
 leader. His name will be associated with 
 almost every scene of danger and of glory, in 
 which the Cavalry of the Virginia Army has 
 borne a part, and they will recount the exploits 
 of Stuart with the pride which men feel in their 
 own honorable records. 
 
 ^The Major General commanding hopes that 
 this division will show by their own noble con- 
 duct their high appreciation of the character of 
 their lost commander, and when the danger 
 thickens around them and the cause of their 
 country calls for heroic efforts they will remem- 
 ber the example of Stuart. No leader ever set a 
 more glorious example to his soldiers on the 
 battlefield than he did, and it becomes the men 
 he has so often led, while they mourn his fall, to 
 emulate his courage, to imitate his heroic devo- 
 tion to duty and to avenge his death.'' 
 
SOME TRIBUTES TO STUART 195 
 
 While General Lee and his army continued to 
 wrestle with the hosts of Grant, the city of 
 Richmond was in deep gloom and mourning. 
 Once more the tide of battle had come near her 
 gates; and this time the beloved and gallant 
 Stuart had fallen. He had been the pride of her 
 heart, her brave and chivalrous defender. But 
 Stuart was to sleep his last long sleep upon her 
 bosom, in beautiful Hollywood around whose 
 promontories sweep the waters of the James as 
 they rush onward to the Chesapeake and where 
 the tall pine trees whisper of the life eternal. 
 The city aroused herself from her grief to do 
 homage to the noble dead. 
 
 The City Council of Richmond passed resolu- 
 tions of respect and sympathy for the family 
 of General Stuart and asked that the body of 
 him who ^ ^yielded up his heroic spirit in the 
 immediate defense of their city, and the succes- 
 ful effort to purchase their safety by the sacri- 
 fice of his own life," might ^'be permitted to 
 rest under the eye and guardianship of the 
 people of Richmond and that they might be al- 
 lowed to commemorate by a suitable monument 
 their gratitude and his services." 
 
 At five o'clock on the afternoon of May 13, the 
 funeral of General Stuart took place from old 
 St. James Church in Richmond. The coffin con- 
 
196 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 taining the remains of the brave soldier was 
 carried up the aisle and, covered with wreaths 
 and flowers, was placed before 
 the altar. 
 
 The funeral service was con- 
 ducted by Reverend Dr. Peter- 
 kin who had been with General 
 Stuart during his last hours. 
 The church was filled with of- 
 ficials of the Confederate govern- 
 ment and citizens of Richmond. 
 President Davis sat near the 
 front, with a look of great sad- 
 ness upon his careworn face. 
 His cabinet officers were around 
 him and on either side of the 
 church were the senators and 
 representatives of the Confeder- 
 ate Congress. But the cavalry 
 officers and soldiers who loved 
 and followed Stuart were all 
 absent. They were on the firing 
 line, either in the Wilderness or 
 on the Chickahominy, — fighting 
 in defense of Richmond which 
 he had died to save. 
 
 No military escort could be 
 spared from the front to accompany the funeral 
 
 MONUMENT 
 
 Marking Stuart's grave in 
 
 Hollywood Cemetery, 
 
 Richmond, Va. 
 
SOME TRIBUTES TO STUART 197 
 
 procession to Hollywood or to fire the usual 
 parting salute to the dead commander. But 
 as the body was lowered into the grave, the 
 earth trembled with the roar of artillery from 
 the battlefield where his old troops were obey- 
 ing his last command and driving back the 
 Federals. No better salute could have been 
 given the gallant leader. 
 
 Leaving the body of their brave defender 
 beneath the pines of Hollywood, the officials and 
 citizens of Richmond returned to their homes 
 to meet other sorrows. Before a year passed, the 
 devoted city was overtaken by the fate which 
 Stuart had so ably aided Lee in averting. 
 Richmond fell into the hands of the Federals, 
 General Lee surrendered, and the southern Con- 
 federacy was no more. 
 
 When the city arose from her ashes and 
 again put on the garb of peace, one of her first 
 works was to erect memorials in honor of 
 the men who had fought so nobly in her de- 
 fense. 
 
 In 1888, a monument was erected by some of 
 Stuart's comrades to mark the place at Yellow 
 Tavern where he received his mortal wound. 
 Governor Fitzhugh Lee was the orator of the 
 occasion. He had been one of Stuart's most 
 trusted brigadier generals, and had known him 
 
198 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 since they were cadets together at West Point. 
 
 In beautiful and touching language, he re- 
 viewed the chief 
 events of Stuart's 
 life, his brilliant 
 campaigns, and his 
 last hours. 
 
 The shaft at Yel- 
 low Tavern is 
 twenty-two feet 
 high and stands 
 on a knoll about 
 thirty feet from 
 the spot where 
 Stuart was wound- 
 ed. Upon it are 
 the following in- 
 scriptions : 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S^f^-f 
 
 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 ii 
 
 H 
 
 MONUMENT AT YELLOW TAVERN 
 Marking the place where Stuart was wounded 
 
 Face: Upon this field, Major-Genl. J. E. B. Stuart, 
 Commander Confederate Cavalry A. N. Va., 
 received his mortal wound, May 11, 1864. 
 
 Right: He was fearless and faithful, pure and power- 
 ful, tender and true. 
 
 Left: This stone is erected by some of his comrades 
 to commemorate his valor. 
 
 Rear: He saved Richmond, but he gave his life. 
 Bom Feb. 6, 1833, died May 12, 1864. 
 
SOME TRIBUTES TO STUART 199 
 
 In 1891, the 'Teteran Cavalry Association of 
 the Army of Northern Virginia" was organized 
 for the purpose of marking the grave of General 
 Stuart with a suitable monument; but it was 
 afterwards decided that, with the aid of the city 
 of Richmond, the association would erect an 
 equestrian statue. The city donated the site on 
 Monument avenue, near the equestrian statue 
 of General Lee, and also contributed a large 
 sum of money, so that the association was 
 enabled to erect the statue. 
 
 The sculptor, Mr. Fred Moynihan, designed 
 and executed a statue, which is an excellent 
 likeness of General Stuart and a striking 
 example of the sculptor's skill. In 1907, the 
 memorial was unveiled in the presence of an 
 immense concourse of people, including large 
 numbers of veterans from all parts of the South. 
 Chief among the guests of honor were Miss Mary 
 Custis Lee, Mrs. Stonewall Jackson, and Mrs. 
 J. E. B. Stuart. 
 
 Fully ten thousand men marched in the 
 column which took over an hour to pass a 
 given point. Veterans who were too feeble to 
 endure the fatigue of the march went early to 
 the monument, and joined the great multitude 
 that crowded the sidewalks and even the house- 
 tops. 
 
200 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 When the parade reached the monument, the 
 crowd was so dense that it was with difficulty 
 that the poHce made way for the orator and 
 distinguished guests. The multitude was called 
 to order by Major Andrew R. Venable, of 
 Farmville, Virginia, a member of the staff of 
 General Stuart, who introduced Rev. Walter Q. 
 HuUihen, of Staunton, Virginia, another member 
 of Stuart's staff, who made the dedicatory 
 prayer. Major Venable then introduced the 
 orator of the day. Judge Theodore S. Garnett 
 of Norfolk, Virginia, another member of the 
 staff of General Stuart. 
 
 It was indeed a remarkable incident that 
 three of General Stuart's staff officers presided 
 at the unveiling of his statue forty-three years 
 after his death. 
 
 Judge Garnett in an eloquent speech reviewed 
 the life and campaigns of Stuart, paying glowing 
 tributes to the general, to the ' 'ever-glorious 
 and gallant" Stuart Horse Artillery, and to his 
 comrades of Mosby's Battalion. He closed 
 with these words: '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." 
 
 The veil was then drawn from the monument 
 
STUART STATUE 
 On Monument Avenue, Richmond, Va, 
 
 [201 1 
 
202 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 by the hand of httle Virginia Stuart Waller, 
 General Stuart's granddaughter. As the canvas 
 fell from the heroic figure of General Stuart 
 mounted on his powerful horse, the guns of the 
 Howitzers boomed a salute and the cheering 
 of the vast throng arose in billows of sound. 
 '^Stuart was again riding with Lee/' 
 
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 
 
 Chapter I 
 
 Give three incidents to prove that Stuart inherited his 
 spirit of patriotism and devotion to duty. 
 
 Tell an interesting story connected with his grand- 
 mother, Bethenia Letcher Pannill. 
 
 What do you know of Stuart's life at Laurel Hill? 
 
 Tell what you can about his early education. 
 
 Give an account of his life at West Point. 
 
 What do you know of his religious feelings and con- 
 victions? 
 
 Tell about his choice of a profession and his equipment 
 for it. 
 
 Chapter II 
 
 How did Stuart win distinction in his first miHtary 
 service? 
 
 What good quaUties for a soldier and leader did he 
 show in this adventure? 
 
 What two events of deep personal interest happened to 
 Stuart in the fall of 1855? 
 
 Tell about the political trouble in Kansas at this time. 
 
 Who was ''Ossawatomie" Brown? 
 
 Tell about Stuart's being wounded in a fight with 
 Indians. 
 
 What quaUties did he show in leading the party back 
 to Fort Kearny? 
 
 What was the reason for his visit to Washington in 
 1859? 
 
 [ 203 ] 
 
204 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 What interesting and important outcome did this visit 
 have? 
 
 What feehngs were aroused in the country by the 
 John Brown Raid and the hanging of Brown? 
 
 Chapter III 
 
 What was Stuart's first cavalry commission under the 
 Confederate government? 
 
 What kind of troops did he have, and what was his 
 work? 
 
 Tell about his wonderful capture at Falling Waters. 
 
 What did General Joseph E. Johnston say about 
 Stuart? 
 
 Tell about Stuart's part in the First Battle of Manassas. 
 
 Tell about the visits paid Stuart by his family at his 
 outpost near Washington. 
 
 What did General Longstreet write President Davis 
 about Stuart? 
 
 Chapter IV 
 
 See if you can paint a word-picture of Stuart when he 
 was made a brigadier general. 
 
 Why did the soldiers still keep their confidence in Stuart 
 after his defeat at the battle of Dranesville? 
 
 What was the Peninsular Campaign? What was 
 Stuart's part in it, up to the time that General Lee was 
 made commander of the Army of Northern Virginia? 
 
 Describe the Chickahominy Raid. Why is this raid one 
 of the most wonderful cavalry achievements in history? 
 
 Tell two interesting incidents connected with the 
 capture of the Federal supply depot at the White House. 
 
 Tell about the close of the Peninsular Campaign. 
 
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 205 
 
 Chapter V 
 
 What was Stuart's reward for his services in the 
 Peninsular Campaign? 
 
 Tell about the reorganization of the cavalry. 
 
 Give an account of life at Dundee. What brought it 
 to a close? 
 
 Tell about the capture of Stuart's hat. 
 
 Give an account of the adventure in which he "made 
 the Yankees pay for that hat." 
 
 What was Stuart's part in the Second Battle of Manas- 
 
 Chapter VI 
 
 Tell about the capture of Fairfax Courthouse. 
 
 Tell a story to show how the people of this section felt 
 toward General Stuart and the cause for which he fought. 
 
 Describe the crossing of the cavalry into Maryland. 
 
 Do you think the Maryland people were glad to 
 welcome the Confederates into their State? Why? 
 
 Tell about the ball at Urbana. 
 
 How did the Confederates treat the Unionists in 
 Frederick? 
 
 Describe Stuart's retreat from Frederick to South 
 Mountain. 
 
 What were the principal mountain passes and why was 
 it necessary for the cavalry to hold them until the capture 
 of Harper's Ferry? 
 
 What did General Jackson say about General Stuart 
 at the battle of Antietam? 
 
 How did the cavalry help General Lee to get his army 
 back safely into Virginia? 
 
 Tell about ''the girl of Williamsport." 
 
206 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 Tell about Stuart and Von Borcke's narrow escape 
 from being captured on a reconnoitering expedition. 
 Tell about Bob Sweeny and camp life at The Bower. 
 
 Chapter VII 
 
 Would you have been proud of being one of the soldiers 
 chosen by Stuart to accompany him on the Chambers- 
 burg Raid? Why? 
 
 Give a brief account of the raid. 
 
 To whom did Stuart assign all the glory and honor? 
 
 What was the effect of the raid on the North? On the 
 South? 
 
 Why was Stuart sometimes called "Knight of the 
 Golden Spurs?" 
 
 Chapter VIII 
 
 Tell about McClellan's campaign in the autumn of 
 1862 and the retreat of the cavalry toward Culpeper. 
 
 What exciting adventure did Stuart have at Ashby's 
 Gap? 
 
 What qualities as a man and a soldier did Stuart show 
 during the illness and after the death of his "httle Flora"? 
 
 When and how did Stuart lose a part of his mustache? 
 
 What was the condition of Stuart's cavalry at the time 
 that Burnside took McClellan's place as commander of 
 the Federal army? 
 
 Tell about the snowball fight in the Confederate camp 
 at Fredericksburg. 
 
 What part did Stuart and his cavalry take in the 
 battle of Fredericksburg? 
 
 How did Pelham, the young chief of the Stuart Horse 
 Artillery, distinguish himself in this battle? 
 
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 207 
 
 Tell about the Dumfries Raid and the joke that Stuart 
 played on the Federal quartermaster at Washington. 
 
 Tell about the friendship between Stuart and Jackson. 
 
 What changes took place in the Federal army in the 
 early spring of 1863? 
 
 Chapter IX 
 
 Tell about the death of young Pelham and Stuart's 
 love for him. 
 
 Give an account of Stuart's encounters with the 
 Federal cavalry just before the battle of Chancellorsville. 
 
 How did Stuart and his cavalry assist Jackson in 
 surprising the Federal left flank? 
 
 When Jackson was wounded, what did he say about 
 Stuart? 
 
 How did Stuart fulfill Jackson's trust? 
 
 Tell about Stoneman's raid and its result. 
 
 Chapter X 
 
 Describe the Culpeper cavalry review. 
 
 Draw a diagram showing how the Federals gave Stuart 
 a double surprise in the battle of Fleetwood Hill, or 
 Brandy Station, attacking him from both the front and 
 the rear. 
 
 Describe the final combat for the possession of the hill. 
 
 Chapter XI 
 
 Why did Lee's plan prevent Stuart's following up 
 Pleasanton's retreat? 
 
 Why did not Stuart follow the route of the remainder 
 
LIFE or J. E. B. STUART 
 
 of the army when he started into Pennsylvania to join 
 Early at York? 
 
 Descri])e his march from Seneca Ford to Carlisle. 
 
 In the light of what he knew, would it have been wise 
 for Stuart to abandon his captured wagons? Give a 
 reason for your opinion. 
 
 How long did his saving the wagons delay his march? 
 
 Do you think that he would have kept the wagons if 
 he had known what was happening at Gettysburg? 
 
 What part did Stuart and his cavalry take in the third 
 day's battle? 
 
 Tell about the work of Stuart and his cavalry in covering 
 the retreat of General Lee's army. 
 
 Tell the incident about Stuart and the hard-boiled 
 eggs. Explain his conduct on this occasion. 
 
 Chapter XII 
 
 Tell about General Lee's position and Stuart's en- 
 counter with Buford and Kilpatrick at Jack's Shop. 
 
 What was the ''Bristoe Campaign?" 
 
 Tell how Stuart drove the Federals a second time from 
 Fleetwood Hill. 
 
 What narrow escape did Stuart and his cavalry have 
 near Catlett's Station? 
 
 Tell about Virginia Pelham Stuart. 
 
 What northern general took command of all the Federal 
 armies in the spring of 1864? 
 
 Tell about the Battle of the Wilderness. What interest- 
 ing anecdote is told about Stuart when he was on his 
 way to this battle? 
 
 Tell about the battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse. ^ 
 
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 209 
 
 How did General Stuart try to save Major McClellan 
 from danger in this battle? 
 
 Describe the cavalry raid that General Grant planned 
 in order to take Richmond. 
 
 How did Stuart beat Sheridan in the race to Yellow 
 Tavern? 
 
 Tell about Stuart's being wounded and borne from 
 the field. 
 
 What was his last command to his men? 
 
 What impressed you most when you read the account 
 of Stuart's death? 
 
 Why is such a death as this glorious and inspiring? 
 
 Repeat the Unes from *'Horatius" that apply to the 
 death of Stuart. 
 
 Chapter XIII 
 
 What tribute did Fitz Lee pay his dead commander? 
 
 What private and public tributes were paid by General 
 Robert E. Lee? 
 
 How did the city of Richmond show her grief at the 
 time of Stuart's death? 
 
 What later tributes has she given to her hero and 
 defender? 
 
THE ORGANIZATION OF AN ARMY 
 
 The Federal and Confederate armies in the War of Secession 
 were organized in practically the same way. There were a few 
 points of difference, and in active service the numbers and arrange- 
 ment of military forces varied and were changed. 
 
 INFANTRY 
 
 Squad: any small number of men, usually 7, under command of 
 a corporal. 
 
 Platoon: a subdivision, usually half, of a company under a lieu- 
 tenant. 
 
 Company: from 83 to 125 men under a captain. 
 
 Battalion: 2 or more, usually four, companies under a major. 
 
 Regiment: 10 companies — or 3 battalions of 4 companies each — 
 under a colonel cr a lieutenant-colonel. 
 
 Brigade: 3 to 5 regiments under a brigadier-general. 
 
 Division: 2 to 5 brigades under a major-general. 
 
 Army corps: 2 or more divisions under a major-general or a lieu- 
 tenant-general, — organized as a complete army and sufficient 
 in itself for all the operations of war. 
 
 CAVALRY 
 
 Squad: any small number of men, usually 7, under a corporal. 
 Platoon: a sub-division, usually half, of a company under a lieu- 
 tenant. 
 Troop: 2 to 6 platoons, 76 to 100 men, under a captain.^ 
 Squadron: 2 to 4 troops under a senior captain or a major. 
 Regiment: 10 troops — or 4 to 6 squadrons — under a colonel. 
 Brigade: 3 or 4 regiments under a brigadier-general. 
 Division: 2 to 4 brigades under a major-general. 
 
 ARTILLERY 
 
 Battery: usually 144 men with 4 guns and 2 howitzers, under a 
 
 captain. 
 Battalion: 3 to 4 batteries under a major. 
 Regiment: 2 to 8 battalions under a colonel. 
 
 When infantry regiments are combined into brigades, brigades 
 into divisions, and divisions into army corps, — cavalry, artillery, 
 and certain other auxiliary troops, such as engineers, signal corps, 
 etc., are joined with them in such proportions as are necessary. 
 Every unit, from the company up, has its own supply and ammuni- 
 tion wagons, field hospitals, etc. 
 
 [210 1 
 
WORD LIST 
 
 Ab o li'tion party: a politi- 
 cal party, founded by 
 Garrison about 183^3, the 
 object of which was to 
 free all slaves in the 
 United States. 
 
 ad van§e': forward move- 
 ment of a military force. 
 
 advance guard : troops 
 which march in front, in 
 order to secure a military 
 force against surprise. 
 
 aid'-de-camp: an officer 
 who assists a general by 
 sending orders, collect- 
 ing information, etc. 
 
 aide: a military or naval 
 officer who assists a su- 
 perior officer. 
 
 A pa'che: a warlike Indian 
 tribe originally located 
 in New Mexico and Ari- 
 zona. 
 
 ar'senal: a place for the 
 storage or manufacture 
 of arms and military 
 equipment. 
 
 ar til'ler y : cannon, large or 
 small; that branch of the 
 
 service which handles the 
 cannon. 
 
 as sault': attack of a mili- 
 tary force on the works 
 or position of an enemy, 
 in the effort to carry it 
 by a single charge. 
 
 base: a place from which 
 the operations of an 
 army proceed, forward 
 movements are made, 
 suppHes are furnished, 
 etc. 
 
 bat tarion: See page 210. 
 
 bat'tery: Seepage 210. 
 
 biv'ouac (-wak) : a tempo- 
 rary encampment of 
 soldiers, usually without 
 tents. 
 
 bri gade': See page 210. 
 
 brunt: the shock of an at- 
 tack or onset. 
 
 buoy'ant: cheerful, light- 
 hearted. 
 
 cais'son: a strong four- 
 wheeled wagon, consist- 
 ing of two parts, the 
 body and the limber, 
 
 [ 211 
 
212 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 that carries ammunition 
 chests or boxes. 
 
 can'is ter : cannon shot 
 consisting of a metal 
 cy Under which bursts 
 when fired, discharging 
 the bullets with which it 
 is filled. 
 
 car 'bine: a short, light 
 rifle used chiefly by 
 cavalry. 
 
 cas'ca bel: a knob or pro- 
 jection in the rear of the 
 breech of a muzzle-load- 
 ing cannon. 
 
 cav'al ry: that part of the 
 army consisting of 
 mounted soldiers. 
 
 Chey enne': an Indian 
 tribe formerly inhabiting 
 South Dakota, Wyoming, 
 and Nevada. 
 
 commandant': the com- 
 manding officer of a place 
 or of a body of men. 
 
 com'pa ny: See page 210. 
 
 corps (cor) : See page 210. 
 
 comi'ter movement: a 
 movement by which a 
 body of troops marches 
 back over ground it has 
 recently occupied or 
 marched over. 
 
 cul'mi nat ed : 
 
 final result. 
 
 reached a 
 
 di vi'sion: See page 210. 
 
 encamped: formed a 
 camp. 
 
 en trench': fortify with de- 
 fensive works as with a 
 trench or ditch and a 
 wall. 
 
 en trench'ments: fortifi^ 
 cations consisting of a 
 parapet of earth and the 
 ditch or trench from 
 which the earth was 
 taken. 
 
 flank: the side of an army, 
 either in column or in 
 line. 
 
 grape'shot : a cluster of iron 
 balls arranged in an iron 
 framework to be dis- 
 charged from a cannon. 
 Formerly grapeshot was 
 inclosed in a canvas bag 
 so quilted as to look like 
 a bunch of grapes. 
 
 gui'dons: small flags car- 
 ried by cavalry and field 
 artillery. 
 
WORD LIST 
 
 213 
 
 hSv'er sack : a bag or case 
 in which a soldier carries 
 provisions on a march. 
 
 Hora'tius: a hero of 
 ancient Rome who with 
 two others defended the 
 bridge across the Tiber 
 against an advancing 
 army. Read Lord 
 
 Macaulay's poem ^'Ho- 
 ratius." 
 
 how'itz er : a cannon for 
 throwing shells. 
 
 im'mi nent: threatening; 
 dangerous and close at 
 hand. 
 
 in dom'i ta ble : unyield- 
 ing; unconquerable. 
 
 fn'fan try: foot soldiers 
 armed with rifles and 
 bayonets ; one of the three 
 chief divisions of an 
 army, the other two being 
 cavalry and artillery. 
 
 in vest'ing: surrounding 
 with troops; laying siege 
 to. 
 
 ir rep'a ra ble: not capable 
 of being repaired or reme- 
 died. 
 
 ISr'i at: a long, small rope 
 used for catching or 
 
 for picketing cattle or 
 horses. 
 lim'ber: the fore part of a 
 gun carriage, consisting 
 of a chest mounted on 
 two wheels and having a 
 pole for the horses. See 
 caisson. 
 
 ma neu'vers: movements 
 or changes of position of 
 troops or war-vessels for 
 tactical purposes or for 
 display. 
 
 marines': naval troops; 
 soldiers serving on war- 
 vessels. 
 
 mar'tiallaw: the military 
 administration which 
 when proclaimed takes 
 the place of civil law in 
 time of war or disorder. 
 
 mil'i ta ry law: the laws by 
 which an army and its 
 affairs are governed. 
 Military law differs 
 from martial law in that 
 the former is a perma- 
 nent code for the govern- 
 ment of the army and 
 the latter is the applica- 
 tion of the laws of war 
 
214 
 
 LIFE OF J. E. B. STUART 
 
 to all the people in a 
 certain district. 
 mine: an explosive charge, 
 sunken in the earth or 
 under water, for the pur- 
 pose of destroying an 
 enemy passing over it, — 
 formerly exploded by 
 contact or by a fuse, but 
 now usually exploded by 
 electricity. 
 
 ordinance ; 
 
 phes. 
 
 military sup- 
 
 ensign in battle, especial- 
 ly the ancient royal ban- 
 ner of France. 
 out'post: a post or station 
 outside the limits of a 
 camp, for observation or 
 to guard against surprise. 
 
 pa roled': set at liberty on 
 parole, or word of honor 
 not to bear arms against 
 the captors. 
 
 per'emp to ry: authorita- 
 tive; not admitting of 
 debate or question. 
 
 pick'ets: soldiers stationed 
 on the outskirts of a 
 
 camp to warn against the 
 enemy's approach. 
 
 pikes : soldiers' weapons, 
 consisting of wooden 
 staves with steel points. 
 In recent warfare, pikes 
 have been superceded by 
 bayonets. 
 
 pla toon': See page 210. 
 
 pon toon': a vessel, such as 
 a flat-bottomed boat or a 
 canvas - covered frame, 
 used in the construction 
 of a floating bridge. 
 
 pre dic'a ment: a diffi- 
 cult or trying condition 
 or situation. 
 
 pro'vost (vo) guard : a body 
 of soldiers detailed for 
 poHce duties. 
 
 quar'ter master : a staff 
 officer of a regiment or 
 other body of troops, 
 whose duty it is to pro- 
 vide quarters, arrange 
 transportation, and pro- 
 vide and issue food, cloth- 
 ing, and other suppHes. _ 
 
 rank : grade of official stand- 
 ing in the army or navy. 
 rear guard: troops which 
 
WORD LIST 
 
 215 
 
 march in the rear of a 
 body of forces in order to 
 protect it. 
 
 re con'nais sange: an ex- 
 amination of territory or 
 of an enemy's position 
 for the purpose of gain- 
 ing information,— some- 
 times involving an attack 
 for the purpose of dis- 
 covering the enemy's 
 position and strength. 
 
 reg'iment: See page 210. 
 
 re treat': the withdrawal, 
 especially in an orderly 
 manner, of troops from 
 an exposed or dangerous 
 position. 
 
 rrfled: having the bore 
 rifled, or grooved spirally, 
 in order to give a rotary 
 motion to the bullet. 
 
 shell: a hollow projectile 
 for cannon, which con- 
 tains an explosive charge. 
 
 side arms: weapons worn 
 at the side or in the belt, 
 as sword, pistol, bayonet, 
 etc., especialh^ sword. 
 
 Sid'ney, Sir Philip: a 
 
 famous English soldier 
 and author of the six- 
 teenth century, the model 
 of unselfish courage. He 
 was mortally wounded in 
 battle of Zulphen, in 
 1586. 
 
 si mul ta'ne ous : happen- 
 ing at the same time. 
 
 spy : a soldier not in uniform 
 who penetrates the 
 enemy's camp or zone of 
 operations, for the pur- 
 pose of gaining informa- 
 tion. 
 
 tal'ma : a style of long cape 
 or cloak worn by men and 
 women during the first 
 half of the nineteenth 
 century. 
 
 un lim'ber ed : removed 
 from the limber. See 
 limber and caisson. 
 
 Zou aves': infantry wear- 
 ing a brilliant oriental 
 uniform, consisting of 
 leggins, baggy trousers, 
 short jacket, and tas- 
 selled cap or turban. 
 
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