Stuart, Jeb

Stuart, Jeb

 orig. James Ewell Brown Stuart

(born Feb. 6, 1833, Patrick county, Va., U.S.—died May 12, 1864, Yellow Tavern, near Richmond, Va.) U.S. army officer. He graduated from West Point and was an aide to Col. Robert E. Lee in the defeat of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. In 1861 he joined the Confederate army, becoming brigadier general of a cavalry brigade. On scouting raids he obtained information on Union troop movements that contributed to Confederate victories at the Seven Days' Battle and the Second Battle of Bull Run; Lee called Stuart the “eyes of the army.” As major general, he helped win the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Before the Battle of Gettysburg, he was instructed by Lee to gather information on Union troop movements; he was delayed on a raid and arrived after the battle had begun. Though criticized for his action, he continued to provide intelligence to Confederate forces. He was mortally wounded in the Confederate defeat at Spotsylvania Courthouse.

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Stuart, (James Ewell Brown) Jeb (1833–64) soldier; born in Patrick County, Va. An 1854 West Point graduate, he fought against Indians on the frontier and was Robert E. Lee's aide in the assault against John Brown and his men at Harpers Ferry. He began his career as the Confederacy's best-known cavalry commander with a well-timed charge that stopped a federal assault at First Bull Run (1861). In June 1862 he led 1,200 troopers in a famous ride around McClellan's army; as often turned out to be the case with Stuart, the raid was more spectacular than productive. He led his cavalry in most of the other famous campaigns in northern Virginia, but received much criticism for losing contact with Lee, who called him "the eyes of the army," for a critical week during the Gettysburg campaign (June 1863). A dramatic figure in his gaudy uniforms and famous plumed hat (he was called "Beauty" by fellow officers), he was mortally wounded in a clash with Sheridan's troopers at Yellow Tavern on May 11, 1864.