Cavalryman of the Lost Cause – A Biography of J.E.B. Stuart
By Jeffry D. Wert
(April 2009 Civil War News)

Illustrated, index, 335 pp., 2007. University of Oklahoma Press, 2800 Venture Dr., Norman, OK 73069, $34.95, plus shipping.

Reviewer: John Deppen
John Deppen is past president of the Susquehanna CWRT, a member of General John F. Hartranft Camp #15 of the SUVCW and a living historian who portrays Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock.  His articles and reviews have appeared in Military Heritage, Gettysburg Magazine, The Civil War News and The Daily Item in central Pennsylvania.

Review:

by . Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index, 496 pp., 2008. Simon and Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, $32 plus shipping.

 “Not another J.E.B. Stuart book,” I thought as I took the book out of its envelope. When I saw the author’s name, I brightened somewhat, knowing of his outstanding accomplishments in the field of Civil War biography.

 Before I finished the first chapter I realized that author Jeffry D. Wert had done two remarkable things: He had improved his own skills as a writer and storyteller yet again and, second, he had brought “the greatest cavalry officer ever foaled in America” to life in an honest and meaningful way.

In Cavalryman of the Lost Cause, Wert steers clear of the silliness heaped upon Stuart by generations of hagiographers and vilifiers, and instead tells the man’s story from beginning to end through the use of comprehensive research and a brisk narrative. Stuart emerges as not only a dashing cavalier, but a genuine, flawed human being.

Before readers scramble to Wert’s account of Stuart’s movements in the Gettysburg campaign — the most controversial episode of Stuart’s career — they should scrutinize with care the chapters preceding it.

One cannot wholly understand Stuart’s decisions and leadership at Gettysburg — nor those of any other officer, for that matter — without first understanding his previous military experience, both on and off the battlefield.

Wert tackles Stuart’s Gettysburg drama head-on, and, at the risk of alienating a significant portion of his readers, comes to an inescapable judgment: “Ultimately, what matters in history’s long reach seems undeniable — Stuart failed Lee and the army in the reckoning at Gettysburg.”

Wert renders this judgment based on his studious analysis of the historical record, and not on any preconceived notion or bias. He deserves kudos for being courageous enough to say to Stuart’s legion of admirers, “Stuart acted injudiciously.”

Wert also pulls back history’s curtain to reveal a Confederate cavalry corps often bubbling with discord and discontent.

Stuart and his officers carried egos larger than their horses, and Wert shows these egos clashing time and again, often with serious military consequences. This was no band of merry men, as is often portrayed by Lost Cause romantics.

Wert’s scholarship shows us precisely why we needed “another J.E.B. Stuart book.” Though why we would need any other after Cavalryman of the Lost Cause is beyond me.