Stuart, James Ewell Brown

Life Span
to
Full name
James Ewell Brown Stuart
Place of Birth
Birth Date Certainty
Exact
Death Date Certainty
Exact
Gender
Male
Race
White
Sectional choice
South
Origins
Slave State
Education
West Point (US Military Academy)
Occupation
Military
Military
US military (Pre-Civil War)
Confederate Army

J. E. B. Stuart (American National Biography)

Scholarship
Stuart left a singular reputation. His fondness for display and frivolity is well known. He assiduously cultivated a public image that anticipated by many decades the media-minded generals of later wars. Stuart was "as ambitious as Caesar," admitted one of his officers. Fellow general James Longstreet contended somewhat smugly after the war that Stuart was "of the best material for the cavalry service, but needing an older head to instruct and regulate him. By our indulgence," wrote Longstreet, "he became too large for his position."

Despite those failings, real or imagined, Stuart clearly enjoyed contemporary respect and popularity at all levels, both military and civilian. His chivalric "gay cavalier" reputation concealed and only rarely subdued his many talents as a Civil War cavalryman. He had no peer at gathering intelligence; he discovered and developed such talents as John S. Mosby, Pelham, and Thomas L. Rosser; and he transferred his personality to the Confederate cavalry in a fashion that improved its morale and military efficiency. His name must appear near the top on any list of significant Civil War figures.
Robert E. L. Krick, "Stuart, J. E. B.," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00966.html.
Date Event
- The first pitched battle of the war between armies results in a Union disaster at Bull Run
Pennsylvania troops push back Confederate units in a small battle near Dranesville, Virginia
In Loudon County, Virginia, Pennsylvania infantry storm the streets of Middleburg and take the town
Near Williamsburg, Virginia, forty-thousand pursuing Union troops clash with the Confederate rearguard
- The Army of the Potomac concentrates on Chancellorsville in preparation for an attack on Lee
Union and Confederate armies collide near Chancellorsville in Spotsylvania County, Virginia
"Stonewall" Jackson's flanking movement seizes the initiative in the Battle of Chancellorsville
Lee's Army of Northern Virginia forces back entrenched Union forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville
- The beaten Union Army retreats across the Rappahannock, ending the Battle of Chancellorsville
In Virginia, General J.E.B. Stuart holds the first of several "Grand Reviews" of his entire cavalry force
General J.E.B. Stuart parades his entire cavalry force at a second "Grand Review" in Virginia
Thousands of cavalrymen clash at Brandy Station, Virginia, in the largest cavalry battle of the war
Near Upperville, Virginia, Union cavalry again clashes with the Confederate cavalry screen
Heavy fighting with Union cavalry at Hanover, Pennsylvania again delays Stuart's Confederate cavalry
Shells from General J.E.B. Stuart's horse artillery rain down on Carlisle in an evening bombardment
- Battle of Gettysburg
Stuart's cavalrymen destroy the U.S. Army's Cavalry School at Carlisle Barracks
After midnight outside Carlisle, General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry is ordered to concentrate on Gettysburg
Union cavalry capture Culpeper, Virginia after a sharp mounted action through the town
- Moving out from newly captured Culpeper, Virginia, Union cavalry units probe Confederate positions
Famed Confederate cavalry leader J.E.B. Stuart is mortally wounded in the stomach at Yellow Tavern
At a private house in Richmond, Confederate cavalry commander General J.E.B. Stuart dies of his wounds
General J.E.B. Stuart is buried with full honors at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia
Chicago Style Entry Link
Stuart, Jeb and Adele H. Mitchell. The Letters of Major General James E. B. Stuart. Alexandria, VA: Stuart-Mosby Historical Society, 1990. view record
Thomas, Emory M. "'The Greatest Service I Rendered the State': J. E. B. Stuart's Account of the Capture of John Brown." Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 94, no. 3 (1986): 345-357. view record
Thomas, Emory M. Bold Dragoon: The Life of J. E. B. Stuart. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. view record
How to Cite This Page: "Stuart, James Ewell Brown," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/6666.