Overview

Cavalryman of the Lost Cause is the first major biography in decades of the famous Confederate general J. E. B. Stuart. Based on research in manuscript collections, personal memoirs and reminiscences, and regimental histories, this comprehensive volume reflects outstanding Civil War scholarship. James Ewell Brown Stuart was the premier cavalry commander of the Confederacy. He gained a reputation for daring early in the war when he rode around the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign, providing valuable intelligence to General Robert E. Lee at the expense of Union commander George B. McClellan. Stuart has long been controversial because of his performance in the critical Gettysburg Campaign, where he was out of touch with Lee for several days; this left Lee uncertain about the size and movement of the Union army, information that would prove decisive when the battle began. In an engagement with the cavalry of Union general Philip Sheridan in spring 1864, Stuart was killed. He was only thirty-one. Jeffry D. Wert provides new details about Stuart's childhood and youth, and he draws on letters between Stuart and his wife, Flora, to show us the man as he was: eager for glory, daring sometimes to the point of recklessness, but a devoted and loving husband and father. Stuart has long been regarded as the finest Confederate cavalryman and one of the best this country has ever produced. Wert shows how Stuart's friendship with Stonewall Jackson and his relationship with Lee were crucial; at the same time Stuart's relationships with his subordinates were complicated and sometimes troubled. Cavalryman of the Lost Cause is a riveting biography of a towering figure of the Civil War, a fascinating and colorful work by one of our finest Civil War historians.

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9780743278195

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Reviews

Jeffry D. Wert adds to his considerable reputation as a military historian of the Civil War with this engaging biography of the Confederacy's best and most famous cavalry officer. Jeb Stuart figured prominently in most of the Army of Northern Virginia's storied operations, and Wert does full justice to his striking successes while also exploring with a critical eye his controversial conduct during the Gettysburg Campaign. This book is the obvious place to begin any exploration of Stuart's life and career. -- Gary W. Gallagher, Nau Professor of History, University of Virginia, and author of Lee and His Army in Confederate History

This fresh look at the Confederacy's premier cavalryman offers a fast-paced and sure-footed narrative of Stuart's campaigns combined with fascinating information about the man and his family. Cavalryman of the Lost Cause is now the Jeb Stuart biography. -- George C. Rable, Charles Summersell Chair in Southern History, University of Alabama, and author of Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg! , winner of the Lincoln Prize

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