, 1862-12-06
Who is Stuart2

General ]. E. B. Stuart is the son of the latt
Archibald Stuart, for several years member o
the House of Representatives of the United
States from the district which then embraced the
county of Patrick, in Virginia, where we believe
he was born. At a very early age he gave toker
of quick and active mind. His father died ter
or twelve years ago. His mother yet lives.
James E. B. Stuart entered the Military Acad
emy of West Point in the year 1850. Among
his contemporaries at that institution were Am
brose P Hill, Henry Heth, George II. Steuart
T. H. Holems. Beverly H. Robertson, and n.
George Evans, Seth NJ Barton, Alfred Cumming
and Thomas S. Rhett, of the rebel army, and
Burnside, Viele, Wilcox, Cogswe and others o
greater or less repute in the Union army. Among
his immediate classmates were Colonels John Pc
gram, George w. Cuts Lee ard John B. Vilep-
igne, now well known in the rebel service, and
Major Greble of the Union artillery, who was
killed in the first battle of the war at Great Beth
ell. In the Union army, the highest rank attained
by Stuart was that of first lieutenant but this
was in the cavalry regiment noted for its Offices
of which General Sumner was colonel and Major
General Joseph E. johnson, of the rebel army
lieutenat colonel.
There are doubtless oa file iu the pigeon holes
of the War Department, at Washington, official
reports of mary encounters with the savage, re-
cording in curt, dry, cold manner enterprises
which, in the glowing narrative of a Walter Scott
or an Alexandra Dumas, would We in interest
with the stories of chivalry One of these only,
in which Lieutenant Stuart bore a part, has been
recorded in OR newspapers but the account is as
short and unsatisfactory as possible On the 29th
of July, 1857, at a time when we were absorbed
with the Atlantic telegraph and other matters oil
the "piping times Of peace, Col Sumner encoun-
tered force of three hundred braves of the Chey-
enne tribe, strongly posted upon Solomon's Forl,
of the Kansas river, and after sharp struggle
put them to flight in great disorder. In this
combat Lieutenant Stuart was severely woun
ded.
AT the outbreak Of the present war Lieutenant
Stuart resigned his commission and offered his
sword to the cause of the South. 1t is unnecesa-
ry to refer to his exploits since that time They
have been laid before the public. With his rapid
rise from a colonelcy to the command of brig
ade and soon after to the rank of Major Gene
raj of cavalry, onr Eeadcrs are familiar. Per-
haps the most striking and successful of all his
expeditions were the Pamunkey raid through
McCellan's lines, in which the rebel Captain La
tame was lost and the recent decent upon Catletts
Station, where he gathered up the official cores
pondence and full dress uniform coat Of General
Pope. As a cavalry officer, General Stuart com
bines with his regular West Point training much
of the clan of John Morgan aud Turner Ashby
Ready for any enterprise, his military motto seems
to be that of the French eader-"De raudace
encore de tGudace, iaryoWrs de taudace' and bis
raid yesterday int4 Pennsylvania seems to have
surpassed his previous acts of audaciy
In the old amy Stuart was universally known
under the nickname of Beauty Stuart" as re-
fecting upon his personal appearance. The low
er part of his face is overAowed by a torrent OF
reddish brown beard but, according to rebel au-
thos!ity, his eye is bright and mobile, his move
ments are full of grace, his address is pleasing,
his port lofty, and his horsemanship perfect.
General Stuart married daughter of Philip
st. George Cooke, Colonel of the Second dra-
goons in the United States army. This officer, a
Yirginian by hi rth and education, is the brother
to the late John R. Cooke of Richmond. 1t was
said that one ofStuarts objects in She Pamunkey
expedition was to take his father-in-law pris-
oner.