Book Description
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 where 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 the author of Civil War Blunders, Touring the Carolinas' Civil War Sites, Touring Virginia's and West Virginia's Civil War Sites, In the Footsteps of Robert E. Lee, and In the Footsteps of Stonewall Jackson. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
In the Footsteps of J. E. B. Stuart FROM THE PUBLISHER
How elusive was Confederate cavalry chief J. E. B. Stuart? Just ask Union general George McClellan, who suffered embarrassment when Stuart rode a circle around his entire army in June 1862. Or Union general John Pope, from whose headquarters tent Stuart brazenly stole a coat, a dispatch book, and half a million dollars. This book will bring you closer to Stuart than the Federal army managed to get during most of the Civil War. You'll visit his birth place, the site of his fatal wounding, and the cemetery where he was buried. You'll see the scenes of his military feats in the East, of course, but you'll also travel to rural Kansas, where he was almost killed by a Cheyenne Indian in 1857, and to southwestern Texas, where he nearly ended up riding a camel instead of a horse. For many, the flamboyant, daring Stuart -- he of the thick beard, plumed hat, flowing cape, and galloping horse -- remains a lasting symbol of the Confederacy. This book provides an intimate look at the man by introducing the places he knew throughout his life.
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