Get your own Free Home Page
With his abrasive and sloppy image, Jubal Early emerged from the Civil War as one of its great characters. A sharp-tongued, hard drinker, he projected anything but the clean, noble image of a military commander. But "Old Jubal" or "Jube" was one of the war's more popular generals.
Born into a prominent Franklin County family, Early attented schools in the area before being appointed to the U.S. Military Academy in 1833, just a year after the devastating death of his mother. He graduated from West Point in 1837, 18th in his class, and received a commission as 2nd lieutenant in the 3rd Regiment Artillery for duty in Florida's Seminole War. His first taste of battle came near Jupiter Inlet in the Everglades. At the end of the conflict, he resigned to pursue a law career in Rocky Mount, Va.
When Virginia voted to secede in 1861, Early was at the state convention, casting his vote against secession. However, he quickly stepped forward to defend his home, accepting a commission as colonel of state forces assigned to train volunteers at Lynchburg. He soon found himself in command of the 24th Virginia Infantry. With the official secession of Virginia, Early resigned his post at Lynchburg and joined his regiment at Manassas Junction. He commanded the 6th Brigade at Blackburn's Ford, and performed well with Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard at First Manassas. Early's superiors were so impressed with his performance that they appointed him brigadier general.
Early and his brigade fought in the Peninsula Campaign under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, defending against Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's invading Federals. He took a minie bullet in the shoulder at Williamsburg, but remained on the field until removed to a hospital.
Recuperating quickly, Early returned to Richmond in search of a command. He was ordered to take over for the wounded Brig. Gen. Arnold Elzey, a brigade command under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. He arrived just in time for the Battle of Malvern Hill. There, Early and his men became lost in heavy woods, suffering 33 casualties without firing a shot. But he fought valiantly at Cedar Mountain and along the Rappahannock River prior to Second Manassas. On Aug. 22, 1862, near Warrenton Springs, Early's skillful maneuvers fooled Maj. Gen. John Pope's Federals, allowing his brigade to escape without a single casualty. Early's cool head at Antietam saved his brigade once again.
Early's brilliant fighting at Fredericksubrg earned him a promotion to major general, to rank from Jan. 17, 1863, giving him command of a division. But at Chancellorsville, Early's major weakness again shone through, where his failure to gather adequate reconaissance got him in trouble. Similar events came at Mine Run late in 1863, and in the Wilderness in 1864. But Gen. Robert E. Lee still considered Early, who had performed well during the Gettysburg Campaign, a valuable asset, leading Lee to appoint him lieutenant general as of May 31, 1864.
That year, after fighting at Cold Harbor, Early boldly crossed the Potomac River with 14,000 men, winning what was probably his most celebrated victory, at Monocacy. However, his actions there alerted Federal troops around Washington, and his original plan to attack the capital had to be aborted. In retreat, Early took part in another action that would make him famous, at Chambersburg, Pa., where his troops, seeking restitution for the Federal destruction in the Shenandoah Valley, set the town ablaze.
Early ended the war fighting Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan at Fisher's Hill, Winchester, Cedar Creek, and Waynesborough. Upon Lee's surrender, Early, using a disguise, traveled west to Texas, then to Havana, Cuba, and then to Toronto, Ontario.
In Canada, Early wrote A Memoir of the Last Year of the War (1867), a lively, and colored, account of his activities during the final battles of the war. Early made his return to Lynchburg in 1869 and reestablished his law practice. Early, unlike many of his comrades, did not accept the Confederate defeat graciously. During the later years of his life, he supervised the Louisiana State Lottery and served as the first president of the Southern Historical Society. His writings, including an Autobiographical Sketch (1912), a revision of his memoir, leave no doubt that Early chose to forever remain defiantly "unreconstructed."
Get your own Free Home Page