GDG- Stuart and the historians II

[Dennis Lawrence]

Hello,

   I wonder what we can learn about Stuart after Brandy Station.

What effect did the three grand reviews  have on the combat readiness of 
Stuart's troopers?

Was Stuart overconfident about the ability of his troopers to handle the 
growing capabilities of the Federal cavalry?


Take Care

Dennis

>Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
>
>
>Well said, Tom - and that's mine and Eric Wittenberg's take on it as well.
>As you know, we discuss these passages (among many others in other works)
>regarding Stuart in our book Plenty of Blame to Go Around.  We also take
>Bowden and Ward to task for making such statements without documentation.
>There is no documentation, of course, because it doesn't exist in anything
>we know of.  They are instead the authors' opinions, and there should be
>caveats as such.
>
>J.D.
>
>
> >>In rereading "Last Chance for Victory::  Robert E. Lee and the Gettysburg
>Campaign" by Bowden and Ward, I came across another example of apparent
>speculation about Stuart's ride around the Union army (in addition to the
>previous unsupported references by McPherson, Commager, and Weigley).
>Bowden and Ward characterize the situation this way:
>
>         "Jeb Stuart was still seething over his surprise and near-defeat 
> at Brandy
>Station.  For the fame-seeking and vainglorious trooper, the lingering
>humiliation of June 9 was but a thorn requiring extration." (page 101)
>
>         "The possibilities of what might be accomplished by [passing 
> around the
>flank of the Federals] fanned Stuart's desire for fame and glory." (page
>103)
>
>         Since they provide no supporting evidence, the authors appear to be
>retailing accepted dogma about Stuart's mindset.  Having established this
>narrow basis for discussion, it is difficult to see how the authors could be
>objective in relating the rest of the story about Stuart's ride.
>
>Tom Ryan>>
>
>
> 
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