Major-General Jeb Stuart, cavalry commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led a portion of his force in fighting a delaying action against Major-General Philip Sheridan’s Federal troopers at Yellow Tavern. Stuart was shot during the fight, and troopers of the 1st Virginia helped him off the field. They finally found an ambulance to take him to the Confederate capital of Richmond, six miles away. Due to the nearby Federal presence, the agonizing ride in a springless wagon took six hours.
Along the way, Stuart said, “I don’t know how this will turn out; but if it is God’s will that I shall die, I am ready.” The ambulance stopped at the home of his sister-in-law on Grace Street at 11 p.m. Four of Richmond’s top physicians tended to him, but there was little they could do. The bullet had severed his intestines, and he was slowly dying, most likely from internal bleeding and peritonitis.
Messages were sent to Stuart’s wife Flora and their children, who were staying near Beaver Dam Station. However, Federals had cut the telegraph lines out of Richmond, so the message did not arrive until noon on May 12. Flora and the children boarded a train for Richmond, but Federals had wrecked the tracks. Wounded Confederate cavalry officers gave them their ambulance wagon to finish their journey.
That morning, Stuart dictated his will to Major Henry McClellan, his adjutant. Stuart noted the sound of artillery, and McClellan assured him that it was Major-General Fitzhugh Lee chasing the Federals east, away from Richmond. Stuart said, “God grant that they may be successful, but I must be prepared for another world.”
President Jefferson Davis visited Stuart and asked his condition. Stuart replied, “Easy, but willing to die, if God and my country think I have fulfilled my destiny and done my duty.” When a doctor told him that he would probably die before nightfall, Stuart said, “I am resigned if it be God’s will, but I would like to see my wife… But God’s will be done.”
Around 7 p.m., a clergyman led everyone in the house in prayer. Stuart then asked him to lead a singing of “Rock of Ages,” his favorite hymn. Stuart tried singing along but could not. He said, “I am going fast now. I am resigned; God’s will be done.” James Ewell Brown Stuart, the “Cavalier of Dixie,” died at 7:38 p.m. He was 31 years old. Flora and the children finally arrived at the Grace Street house at 11:30 that night.
General Robert E. Lee received word of Stuart’s wounding during the terrible fighting at Spotsylvania. He read the note, took a few minutes to compose himself, and then told his staff, “Gentlemen, we have very bad news. General Stuart has been mortally wounded.” Lee then paid Stuart his highest compliment: “He never brought me a false piece of information.” As Lee returned to his tent around midnight, he received word that Stuart had died. Lee quietly remarked, “I can scarcely think of him without weeping.”
Funeral services were held on the 13th at St. James Church in Richmond. Stuart’s wife Flora and their children attended, along with President Davis, Chief of Staff Braxton Bragg, and several other high-ranking Confederates. Many others, including his troopers who were still pursuing Sheridan and those at Spotsylvania, could not be there. Lee could not spare any men for a funeral escort as Stuart’s body was brought to Hollywood Cemetery and buried. News of his death shocked and deeply sorrowed the South.
Meanwhile, Sheridan’s raid continued. His Federals rode east, where they damaged the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad and temporarily cut communications between Lee’s army and the capital. Sheridan planned to ride southeast and join Major-General Benjamin F. Butler’s Federal Army of the James at Bermuda Hundred, south of the James River.
On the 14th, the Federal troopers entered Butler’s lines at Haxall’s Landing, bringing some 400 freed Federal prisoners and 300 Confederate prisoners. They suffered 625 casualties on the raid, and while they did not attack Richmond as hoped, they damaged the supply depots at Beaver Dam and Ashland. And most importantly, Sheridan showed that he could match Stuart’s legendary cavalry. Sheridan reported that Stuart’s death at Yellow Tavern “inflicted a blow from which entire recovery was impossible.”
Sheridan’s men rested and refit their horses for the next three days before heading back north to rejoin the Army of the Potomac. They returned on the 24th, 15 days after their expedition began. The raid made sensational headlines in the North, most importantly because of the death of Stuart. In addition, the Federals had rode completely around Lee’s army and wrecked telegraphic communications and 10 miles of railroad track on three different lines. They also freed imprisoned comrades and captured vast amounts of supplies.
On the other hand, Sheridan’s raid did not do as much long-term damage to the Confederacy as hoped. The Confederates restored the wrecked railroad track and reopened the supply line to Lee’s army, and Stuart was ultimately replaced by Major-General Wade Hampton, who proved an ample commander. Moreover, Sheridan’s horsemen had been unable to scout for the Potomac army at a time when intelligence was desperately needed.
Bibliography
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