Stuart ambitious, bold in battle

CAVALRYMAN OF THE LOST CAUSE: A BIOGRAPHY OF J.E.B. STUART –- By Jeffrey D. Wert

Simon & Schuster

$32, 496 pages

REVIEWED BY STEVE FRENCH

Although devotees of Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest will argue the point, countless Civil War enthusiasts think Maj. Gen. James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart’s many celebrated exploits rank him as the South’s premier cavalry officer.

In his new book, “Cavalryman of the Lost Cause,” historian Jeffrey Wert thoroughly examines the life of the flamboyant Rebel cavalier whose devoted men were the eyes and ears of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army.

Stuart was born Feb. 6, 1833, at Laurel Hill, the family home in Patrick County, Va. There he enjoyed an idyllic childhood. A playmate remembered him as “a fearless rider” who “could undergo any amount of bodily strain and fatigue.”

Desiring a military life, Stuart received an appointment to West Point in the summer of 1850. The author points out that at that time, the teenager had “endearing qualities of a generous nature and compelling personality. But ambition burned within him.”

His ambition served him in good stead. When he graduated in 1854, Stuart ranked 13th in his class.

Mr. Wert chronicles Stuart’s assignment to “the Regiment of Mounted Rifles in Texas” and subsequent 1855 transfer to the 1st U.S. Cavalry, stationed at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Over the next five years, Stuart honed his martial skills fighting against the Indians — one Cheyenne brave even shot him the chest — and helped the regiment quell disturbances in the Kansas-Missouri border war. A comrade recalled that Stuart was “worth a dozen ordinary men.”

On Nov. 14, 1855, Stuart married Flora Cooke, the daughter of Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke. Their union was a happy one, and the author uses excerpts from many of their letters to give the reader deep insight into Stuart’s personal and professional life.

At the start of the war, the young lieutenant resigned his commission and quickly returned home. Soon he was commanding the 1st Virginia Cavalry and guarding a line that stretched from Harpers Ferry westward along the Potomac River.

During this time, Mr. Wert points out, Stuart developed a close friendship with Col. Thomas J. Jackson — later “Stonewall.” He adds that even though the men had completely different personalities — Stuart was playful and outgoing while Jackson was reserved — both had an “unshakable Christian faith, fierce attachment to Virginia, and steadfast devotion to the Confederate cause.”

Over the following months, Stuart’s intense training regimen molded the 1st Virginia into a crack fighting outfit. His handpicked staff consisted of highly qualified men who, like their boisterous leader, relished adventure and a good time.

Mr. Wert traces Stuart’s subsequent rise to brigade and divisional command, minutely describing his specialty: daring raids around the Union Army. In three forays in the summer and fall of 1862, Stuart’s troopers slipped behind the Union Army, gaining needed intelligence and causing great havoc in rear areas. The Oct. 9 through 12 Chambersburg Raid even led a frustrated President Lincoln to sack Gen. George B. McClellan, commander of the Army of the Potomac.

Story Continues →