Civil War-dated ALS, four pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 8, March 24, 1864. Addressed from “Hd Qrs, Cav. Cops. A. N. Va.,” a handwritten letter to General Fitzhugh Lee that dates to less than two months before Stuart’s fatal wounding at the Battle of Yellow Tavern. The letter begins with Stuart providing his deputy with guidance for the imminent spring campaign and making a case for the return of a regiment taken from his command: “The Mason papers have been forwarded approved. The 8th & 14th I strongly endorsed & submitted to the Comd’g Gen’l. He was disinclined to urge the 8th as there was a present necessity he thought for it in E. Tenn. greater than here. The 14th May be recommended. He said we would no doubt get both in the summer but the longer it is left in abeyance the worse for us. The regt was under orders for me long before it was put in W. E. Jones’ brigade: lay stress on that, and find out exactly how many regiments or commands Jones has, and how much cavalry Longstreet has put the two in juxtaposition to our cavalry here & contrast the enemy’s forces of cavalry before Longstreet with that here, and you will convince the…that the order should be renewed.
Stuart switches to logistical matters: “I am anxious to have your whole command in the field, but entre nous it cannot possibly be subsisted till the grass grows – which after this snow can not be long hence. Look well to your forage – it is the existence of the cavalry, should that fail you will have to quietly send the companies to their counties again, but we will surely suffer at the hands of the enemy in such an event. I trust your energy will prevent such a contingency arising.”
Then segues to tactics: “I want your men practiced charging in column, solid and compact so as to shock. They generally disperse too much, also practice rear squadrons to dismount quickly & deploy to the right & left in a fight. Urge commanders to command their men in action from a Corp’l up to Brigadier. I hear you are coming up tomorrow so will desist. You will have two batteries of Horse Artillery serving with your Div’n when active movements begin, but it cannot be permanently attached. The batteries must get thorough remounts &c before taking the field. Give my love to my friend.” In fine condition. Accompanied by an unsigned 2.5 x 4 carte-de-visite portrait photo of J. E. B. Stuart in his military uniform.
An exemplary letter from the respected cavalry commander, loaded with fascinating war-related content ranging from intra-department orders to detailed instruction on battlefield preparation. Such helpful advice would prove paramount in the coming days as both Union and Confederate armies reanimated for a bloody spring conflict punctuated by the Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. On May 9th, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan and his Cavalry Corps detached from the Army of the Potomac settled in at Spotsylvania and swept southeast with a mass of 10,000 troopers with 32 artillery pieces, the most powerful cavalry force ever seen in the Eastern Theater. It was at the Battle of Yellow Tavern two days later where Stuart was fatally wounded by a Union sharpshooter. He died the next day at the age of 31.
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