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Whether it’s
because of his plumed hat, his crimson-lined cloak, or his daring raids
around the Union army, James Ewell Brown Stuart is probably the most
famous cavalryman of the Civil War. Although Stuart was a deeply religious
man and a faithful husband, he also loved to throw parties and flirt with
the ladies. All of this contributed to his image as America’s “last
cavalier,” as biographer Burke Davis referred to him.
A Virginian
who was educated at West Point, Stuart was already a veteran soldier from
his service in Kansas by the time the Civil War broke out. He was Lee’s
aide-de-camp at John Brown’s capture at Harpers Ferry. Early in the war,
he served in the Shenandoah Valley. He later led the cavalry of the Army
of Northern Virginia at both Battles of Bull Run and the Battles of
Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the
Wilderness.
Stuart was a
daring raider. He twice led his command around McClellan’s army. While
these raids were not strategically important, they were great morale
boosters for the Southern army. He was the commander of the Southern
horsemen at Brandy Station, the largest cavalry engagement fought on the
American continent. But he has also been greatly criticized for depriving
Lee of his eyes and ears while riding around the Union army at the
beginning of the Battle of Gettysburg. In 1864, he was mortally wounded at
Yellow Tavern on the outskirts of Richmond.
This book
takes you to all of these sites and more. Since cavalrymen by their very
nature did not leave behind much evidence of their passing, there is
little to see at some of the battlefields where Stuart played a strategic
role, but author Clint Johnson tells you of numerous places were you can
literally walk in the footsteps of this gallant soldier.
Useful as an
armchair biography or a unique type of travel guide, In the Footsteps of
J. E. B. Stuart will make this fascinating man come to life.
about
the author
Clint Johnson is also the author of Civil War Blunders, Touring
the Carolinas’ Civil War Sites, and Touring Virginia’s and West
Virginia’s Civil War Sites. He lives in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina.
Other books by
Clint Johnson in the In the Footsteps™ Series:
In
the Footsteps of Robert E. Lee
ISBN 0-89587-235-8
$12.95 paperback
In
the Footsteps of Stonewall Jackson
ISBN 0-89587-244-7
$12.95 paperback |
