Always an irascible officer, Jubal A. Early suffered overwhelming defeats in the Shenandoah Valley and went on after the conflict to wage a literary war with a fellow Confederate corps commander. A West Pointer (1837) from Virginia, Early had served one year in the artillery, and later in the Mexican War as a major of volunteers, before taking up law. Also involved in politics, he served in the legislature. Although he voted against secession at the convention, he entered the military where his assignments included: colonel, 24th Virginia (early 1861); commanding 6th Brigade (in 1st Corps from July 20), Army of the Potomac June 20-October 22, 1861); brigadier general, CSA July 21, 1861);commanding brigade, Van Dorn's-D.H. Hill's Division (in Potomac District until March), Department of Northern Virginia (October 22, 1861-May 5, 1862); commanding Eizey's Brigade, Ewell's Division, 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia Uuly 1-September 17, 1862); commanding the division (September 17, 1862-November 1863; ca. December 4-15, 1863; February-May 7; and May 21-27, 1864); major general, CSA (April 2 3 to rank from January 17, 1863); commanding the corps (November-ca. December 4, 1863 and May 27-June 13, 1864); commanding Valley District, Department of Northern Virginia (December 15, 1863 February 1864 and June 13, 1864-March 29, 1865); commanding 3rd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (May 7-21, 1864); and lieutenant general, CSA (May 31, 1864). Leading a brigade at 1st Bull Run and Williamsburg, he was wounded at the latter. Returning to duty, he was given another command on the day of Malvern Hill. At Cedar Mountain and 2nd Bull Run he directed this unit and continued until he succeeded to division level at Antietam. He went on to Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg and commanded the corps in the Mine Run operations. Detached, he commanded in the Shenandoah during the winter of 1863-64. After the Battle of the Wilderness he took over temporary control of Hill's Corps during the operations at Spotsylvania. He directed his division at the North Anna and took over Ewell's Corps before Cold Harbor. A couple of weeks later this command was sent back to the Valley and Early invaded Maryland, fighting at Monocacy and on the outskirts of Washington. Falling back to Virginia, he dispatched part off his cavalry to burn Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in retaliation for Union devastation. In September and October he was defeated in a series of disasters at the hands of Sheridan. The reverses at 3rd Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek ended his power in the Valley and the old 2nd Corps and was recalled to Lee in December. However, Early remained with a small force that was destroyed at Waynesborough the following March. Lee then removed him, explaining that he was forced to by public reaction and the fact that he could not defend his subordinate without revealing how weak the Confederacy was. Early fled to Mexico but soon returned to practice law. He was connected with the Louisiana Lottery and was president of the Southern Historical Society. Becoming a defender of Lee, he feuded with Republican convert James Longstreet until his death. |
The Life and Times of General Jubal A. Early, C S A, Defender of the Lost Cause This well-written, comprehensive biography comes as close as is perhaps possible to a sympathetic treatment of the controversial Confederate (1816-1894). While acknowledging Early's post-Civil War role in creating the mythology of the "lost cause," Time-Life Books editor Osborne focuses on his subject's military career. He depicts Early as an extremely competent brigade and division commander who proved only adequate at corps level and a failure as an independent commander in the Shenandoah Valley. Conceding that Union material superiority was so great by 1864 that no one was likely to have performed any more effectively than Early |
Narrative of the War Between the States by Jubal Anderson Early |
A Memoir of the Last Year of the War for Independence in the Confederate States of America Jubal Anderson Early ranked among the most important generals who fought with Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. A brigade and corps commander, he played principal roles at the battles of First Manassas, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and most of the other engagements in the Eastern Theater during the first three years of the Civil War. In 1864 Early commanded an army in the Shenandoah Valley, winning several victories and menacing Washington before suffering ignominious defeat in a series of battles against Phillip H. Sheridan's Union forces. |
The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History The South lost the Civil War, but southerners have certainly held their own in the postwar battle to shape historical interpretations of the conflict. Southern politicians, war veterans, and historians successfully promoted the "Lost Cause" view of the origins and results of our national nightmare. The South, so the story goes, wanted to preserve its unique culture, and slavery was not a fundamental basis of that culture. Led by valiant gentlemen-officers (e.g., Robert E. Lee) and brave, defiant common soldiers, the Confederacy struggled against insurmountable odds, eventually succumbing to numerically but not morally superior forces. This collection of essays by nine Civil War scholars shows how the myth was consciously propagated by southerners |
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