Beau Sabreur in Gray --David Marshall

Edward G. Longacre, author of Joshua Chamberlain: The Soldier and the Man, Unsung Hero of Gettysburg: The Story of Union General David McMurtrie Gregg, and many other notable biographies, gives us an unbiased portrait on the “Beau Sabreur” of the Confederacy, J.E.B. Stuart. This is a well-balanced evaluation of Stuart's military successes and failures, without painting the Confederate general as either a hero or villain.

Of course, several biographies of Stuart have appeared over the past half-century, the most recent about sixteen years ago. Most have lauded his contribution to the Confederate cause in the Eastern Theater, following a rather familiar tradition of hero-worship, portraying Stuart as a model of chivalric conduct with a romantic’s outlook on life.

While primarily a military biography concentrating on the Civil War, Longacre does offer solid coverage of Stuart's early life, his West Point education, his ante bellum army service, his marriage, his service in “Bleeding Kansas,” and role in the capture of John Brown at Harpers Ferry.

Longacre’s conclusions often differ from past biographers. as he addresses several interesting questions about Stuart’s role in the war.

For example, he asks why Stuart did not retain command of Stonewall Jackson's infantry corps in the reorganization after Chancellorsville. General Robert Lee and others praised Stuart for his excellent handling of the corps, despite having command unexpectedly thrust upon him at a moment of crisis in the battle. As Longacre puts it, “under the particular conditions he inherited, then, it is hard to see how Jeb Stuart . . . could have done a better job.” And he suggests that Stuart was saddened when he was not given the command, which would have come with a promotion to lieutenant general, on a permanent basis. Longacre concludes that the post was denied him because there were complaints by some of the infantry – presumably senior officers – that “Stuart had led them too recklessly against the artillery.”

In looking at Stuart’s role in both the Maryland Campaign of 1862 and the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863, he made a number of missteps, most notable during the latter operations when he lost contact with the army. And while Stuart was adored by subordinates and the hero-worshipping public as a model of chivalric conduct with a romantic’s outlook on life, there was significant criticism of him by several important officers, notably Thomas L. Rosser, who had formerly been on very cordial terms with Stuart.

Wade Hampton, who would eventually inherit Stuart's command, although he had good relations with Stuart, believed that his troops were unfairly treated by the general. Longacre argues that Hampton might have been better than Stuart at leading the army's cavalry, and he is not the only historian to have made that observation.

Despite his criticisms, Longacre quite forcibly argues that, following the battle of Gettysburg, Stuart shined in the roles given to his troops – outpost actions, intelligence gathering, advance guard, screening front and flanks, rear guard, and direct attack actions. But as the war went on, Stuart’s much improved Union opponents became proficient at revealing Stuart's mistakes and inadequacies.

Longacre argues that Lee lost confidence in Stuart from Gettysburg onwards, but there does not seem to be sufficient evidence accessible to reach a solid conclusion about the matter, and right to the end, at Stuart’s death, Lee commented that he had "never brought me a piece of false information.".

Longacre does a wonderful job pointing out that Stuart sporadically underachieved. The author argues that he underestimated the Federal cavalry, took needless risks with his command, failed to correct and persuade his troopers to fight certain intended ways, and was disposed to mistakes both tactical and strategic.

Overall, Longacre does an excellent job of presenting the role of Jeb Stuart in the Civil War in this well-written, thought-provoking, and ground breaking work.

Highly recommended.

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Note: J.E.B. Stuart is also available in e-editions.

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