GENERAL J. E. B. STUART: The Soldier and the Man

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Biography of Confederate General James Ewell Brown Stuart of Virginia who led the Army of Northern Virginia's cavalry arm during the ACW. His superiors generally praised his actions, but he also underperformed on several occasions -- notably at Gettysburg. Yet on more than a few occasions he underestimated his opponents, took unnecessary risks with his habitually understrength command, failed to properly discipline and motivate his troopers, and was prone to errors both strategic and tactical. Also probes elements of his character and personality that contributed to his battlefield performance.

These flaws were especially evident during the Gettysburg Campaign (June-July 1863), when his wayward path to the battlefield deprived Lee of the ability to negotiate safely his path toward a climactic confrontation with the Union Army of the Potomac. Because of the cavalryman's outsized reputation gained during the war-one embellished in the century and a half since-most of these errors have gone virtually unnoticed or, when addressed, have been excused in some fashion.