J. E. B. Stuart

James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833 – May 12, 1864) was a Confederate army general and cavalry officer during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb," from the initials of his given names. Stuart was known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use of cavalry in support of offensive operations. While he cultivated a cavalier image (red-lined gray cape, the yellow waist sash of a regular cavalry officer, hat cocked to the side with an ostrich plume, red flower in his lapel, often sporting cologne), his serious work made him the trusted eyes and ears of Robert E. Lee's army and inspired Southern morale. During the 1864 Overland Campaign, Union Major General Philip Sheridan's cavalry launched an offensive to defeat Stuart, who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern.

Quotes

• Our loss was not a scratch to man or horse.
  • Report on the Battle of Lewinsville, September 11, 1861. The Rebellion Record, vol. 3 (1862), p. 125

• Gentlemen, in ten minutes every man must be in his saddle!
  • June 12, 1862. Memoirs of the Confederate War for Independence (1866), p. 37

• General Consternation.
  • Having conducted a successful cavalry raid across the Chickahominy River at Forges Bridge, June 12, 1862, when congratulated upon his success, Stuart replied jokingly that he had left a general behind him, and when asked as to the identity of the unfortunate person, he replied thus. James Longstreet, From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America (1896), Ch. IX, p. 119

• Jine the cavalry.
  • At the Battle of Second Manassas, August 1862. James Longstreet, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. 2 (1888)

• Our Southern ideals of patriotism provided us with the concepts of chivalry. I tried to excell in these virtues, but others provided a truer interpretation of gallant conduct. A devoted champion of the South was one who possessed a heart intrepid, a spirit invincible, a patriotism too lofty to admit a selfish thought and a conscience that scorned to do a mean act. His legacy would be to leave a shining example of heroism and patriotism to those who survive.
  • Letter to R. H. Chilton, December 3, 1862. Virginia Historical Society. Oxford Dictionary of Civil War Quotations (2006), p. 398

• Old Joe Hooker, will you come out of the Wilderness!
  • During the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863. John Esten Cooke, A Life of General Robert E. Lee (1875)

• Charge! And remember Jackson!
  • During the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 11, 1863. John Esten Cooke, A Life of General Robert E. Lee (1875)

• While rashness is a crime, boldness is not incompatible with caution, nay, is often the quintessence of prudence.
  • General Order No. 26, Cavalry Tactics, July 30, 1863. Letters of Major General James E. B. Stuart (1990)

• An attack of cavalry should be sudden, bold, and vigorous. The cavalry which arrives noiselessly but steadily near the enemy, and then, with one loud yell leaps upon him without a note of warning, and giving no time to form or consider anything but the immediate means of flight, pushing him vigorously every step with all the confidence of victory achieved, is the true cavalry; while a body of men equally brave and patriotic, who halt at every picket and reconnoiter until the precious surprise is over, is not cavalry.
  • General Order No. 26, Cavalry Tactics, July 30, 1863. Letters of Major General James E. B. Stuart (1990)

• That individuality of action which so strongly characterizes the conduct of our troops in battle, if unguided or misdirected, can but produce confusion. But let the same idea control the mind of every man, let them apply these general principles to the incidents of battle as they arise, and success is certain.
  • General Order No. 26, Cavalry Tactics, July 30, 1863. Letters of Major General James E. B. Stuart (1990)

• Indeed in this war more truly than in any other the spirit of lovely woman points the dart, hurls the javelin, ignites the mine, pulls the trigger, draws the lanyard and gives a fiercer truer temper to the blade in a far more literal sense than the mere muscular aggressions of man.
  • Letter to his cousin Nannie, November 13, 1863. Peter Tsouras, Military Quotations from the Civil War (1998), p. 264

• Bear in mind that your telegrams may make the whole Army strike tents, and night or day, rain or shine, take up the line of march. Endeavor, therefore, to secure accurate information... Above all, vigilance! vigilance! vigilance!
  • Letter to John R. Chambliss, April 4, 1864. Douglas Southall Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants (1944)

• Go back! Go back! And do your duty, as I have done mine, and our country will be safe. Go back! Go back! I had rather die than be whipped.
  • Order made after being mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern, May 11, 1864. Brink of Destruction: A Quotable History of the Civil War (2002), p. 167

• Easy, but willing to die if God and my country think I have fulfilled my destiny and done my duty.
  • When asked how he felt as he lay dying of his wounds, May 12, 1864. The Illustrated London News (June 18, 1864), p. 585

• Doctor, I suppose I am going fast now. It will soon be over. But God’s will be done. I hope I have fulfilled my destiny to my country and my duty to God... I am resigned; God’s will be done.
  • To his doctor on his impending death, May 12, 1864. Douglas Southall Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants (1944)

Undated

• Dance away, young ladies; half of these young men will be dead or wounded next week.
  • Quoted by Alexander Hunter, Johnny Reb and Billy Yank (1905)

• If we oppose force to force we cannot win, for their resources are greater than ours. We must substitute esprit for numbers. Therefore I strive to inculcate in my men the spirit of the chase.
  • Quoted by Shelby Foote, The Civil War, vol. 1 (1958)

About

• The instant the [Stars and Stripes] appeared, Stuart ordered the charge, and at them we went like the arrow from a bow.
  • Lt. William W. Blackford, 1st Virginia Cavalry. Brink of Destruction: A Quotable History of the Civil War (2002), p. 49

• Shall I tell you when he was on the Rappahannock, and they telegraphed him his child was dying — his darling little Flora — that he replied that ‘I shall have to leave my child in the hands of God; my duty to my country requires me here.’
  • Recounted by Major-General Fitzhugh Lee, October 28, 1875. Jubal Early, Southern Historical Papers, vol. 1 (January–June 1876), p. 102