STUART, J.E.B. “JEB”
Stuart, J.E.B. “Jeb”
(February 6, 1833–May 12, 1864)
Confederate General
C
onspicuous in his
plumed hat, flam-
boyant “Jeb” Stuart
was the embodiment of
everything a cavalry offi-
cer should be: brave, im-
petuous, brilliant, and
daring. For three years
during the Civil War, he
was the eyes and ears of
the Army of Northern Vir-
ginia and contributed
greatly to many of its vic-
tories. His only stumble,
at Gettysburg, was seri-
ous and may have cost
the Confederacy the war.
Nevertheless, Stuart is re-
garded as America’s finest
cavalry leader.
James Ewell Brown
Stuart was born in
Patrick County, Virginia,
on February 6, 1833, and attended the U.S.
Military Academy in 1850. Four years later, he
graduated a respectable thirteenth in a class
of 46 and was commissioned a second lieu-
tenant in the Mounted Rifle Regiment. He saw
active duty in Kansas and Texas before trans-
ferring to the First U.S. Cavalry. Stuart then
fought in several skirmishes with the
Cheyennes and was part of peace-keeping
activities throughout the Bleeding Kansas pe-
riod. Kansas at this time was besieged by pro-
and antislavery factions, many of whom re-
sorted to violence and murder to advance
their views. While performing this service,
Stuart rose to first lieutenant in 1855 and also
met and married the daughter of his superior,
Col. Philip St. George Cooke. Eager to en-
hance his meager income, Stuart turned to in-
venting and patented a device for fixing
swords to belts. In October 1859, while visit-
ing Washington, D.C., to
secure a patent for his de-
vice, he was notified of
abolitionist John Brown’s
seizure of the govern-
ment arsenal at Harpers
Ferry, Virginia. Stuart car-
ried orders to Col. Rob-
ert E. Leeand served as
his aide during opera-
tions that suppressed the
insurrection. Returning
west, he gained a promo-
tion to captain in April
1861, the same month
that the Civil War com-
menced. Stuart then re-
signed his commission
and joined the Confeder-
ate Army.
By July 1861, Stuart
was colonel of the First
Virginia Cavalry Regiment
and attached to the army of Joseph E. John-
stonin the Shenandoah Valley. Stuart expertly
covered Johnston as that general transferred
his force by rail to Bull Run on July 21, 1861,
and then distinguished himself in combat. In
September, Stuart was promoted to brigadier
general, and the following spring he was
closely engaged in the 1862 Virginia Peninsula
campaign against Gen. George B. McClellan. He
fought well in a succession of battles from
Yorktown to Seven Pines, and on June 12–15
Stuart led a raid that completely circled McClel-
lan’s army. All the while he was pursued by his
father-in-law, Cooke, who was unable to catch
him. The information Stuart gathered allowed a
new commander, Lee, to attack and drive
Union forces away from Richmond. Conse-
quently, Stuart was made a major general and
commander of all Confederate cavalry in the
Army of Northern Virginia. He then conductedJ.E.B. “Jeb” Stuart
Library of Congress