Jeb Stuart

Abstract

THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY HISTORICAL REVIEWan audacious and successful raider, he saw strategic possibilities more clearly than most of his official superiors, but was never given a chance to put his larger conceptions into execution until his resources were gone.In order to appeal to the general reader, Captain Sheppard has introduced many imaginary conversations and two or three fictitious characters. He has thereby undoubtedly added color to his narrative; but, although in his preface he has honestly confessed these embroideries, those readers who prefer fact to fiction will be irritated by them. Despite all this, it is evident that he has examined the sources with carealthough he has eschewed all footnote citations that he is thoroughly familiar with the western campaigns, and that in all important matters he has followed the records. Here and there are a few minor errors, and an occasional typographical slip. The style is rapid, vivid, and clear, but is marred now and then by such unusual and unnecessary words as "spate" and "opted" -the latter in wearisome reiteration. Two large maps and four battle plans enable the reader to follow the movements of both Confederate and Union forces. At the end is a good brief critical bibliography and a satisfactory index. CHARLES W. RAMSDELL Sons, 1930. xiv -1-512 pp. Illustrations and maps by the author. $5.00.) This is a book rich in material, fascinating in its presentation, and historically accurate. It is based on a thorough study of the published source material and is enlivened by a generous use of extracts fromStuart's own letters to his wife and older brother. Jeb Stuart, the dashing cavalryman, the hard-fighting soldier, the skilled tactician, clad in his gray uniform and golden sash, with his scarlet cape over his shoulder and his feathered hat on his head, moves swiftly through the glamorous pages. It is an enthralling story, told in rapidly moving prose, and, through it all, Stuart is at once the cavalier of song and story and also the puritan who did not smoke, drink, or swear and who attended church regularly.But there was another side to the story, a side not so attractive, a side hardly mentioned. A chapter on the problems of organization, horse supply, forage, and arms and equipment might have been included. There is no considered discussion of the tactical use of cavalry. The Civil War ushered in a new technique in the handling and use of cavalry. Stuart, as much as any other cavalry leader, was responsible for this new development. Until his time, cavalry had been used, primarily, as an adjunct to the main army -scouting and guarding the flanks and