The Death of Jeb Stuart

The Death of Jeb Stuart. . , The Battle of Yellow Tavern bought Richmond time. Enough Confederate reinforcements manned the interior line of defenses around Richmond to persuade Sheridan to cancel his goal of raiding the Confederate capital., The ambulance carrying Stuart began the dangerous route to Richmond. Accompanying him was Dr. Fontaine, who had to order the mule driven ambulance to halt due to the severe pain Stuart was experiencing. The continuation of heavy rainfall delayed the ambulance. It would be 11 p.m. that night before the ambulance reached the home of Stuart's brother-in- law Dr. Charles Brewer on the two hundred block of West Grace Street., On arrival, Stuart was conscious and in severe pain, but there was little doctors could do to help him. After removing his gold-colored military sash his staff realized that the wound was mortal. Ice was sent for, the application of which brought Stuart some relief. During the next several hours, the Brewer home was visited by Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Stuart's closest military aides, each aware Stuart was dying and wishing to pay their final respects., Stuart often asked for his wife, eager to see her one last time. Flora Stuart had received word of her husband's wounding and she hastily journeyed, with her children, from the Fontaine home in Hanover County to Richmond. The trip was treacherous as the family travelled through the devastation and destruction of the recent battles., Stuart remained conscious until the end, able to speak and leave details of how his personal belongings should be dispersed. Dr. Charles Brewer, holding Stuart's hand, stated that the general died at 7:38 p.m. Stuart did not live long enough to see his wife as he had wished. Mrs. Stuart did not arrive until several hours after her husband's death., The following day, a solemn silent procession left St. James Episcopal Church in Richmond, carrying the body of 31 year old Jeb Stuart for burial at Hollywood Cemetery. His gray metallic casket was covered by a cross made of white spring flowers., In place of a military gun salute to a fallen commander, the only sounds heard were from the battle of Drewry's Bluff that was still raging outside the city., General Robert E. Lee would write on hearing of the death of Stuart: "I can scarcely think of him without weeping.", Though the loss of Stuart was great, the Battle of Yellow Tavern did not mean the end of the prowess of the Confederate cavalry. Those commanders that followed Stuart, Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee, were more than capable of sustaining the success that J.E.B. Stuart inspired. The Confederate victory at Trevilian Station on June 11-12 would prove that Sheridan did not destroy the mounted arm of Lee's army at the Battle of Yellow Tavern.