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Blake
PostPosted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 11:11 pm 
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I was just reading a book on the ANV and the author ventured an opinion which I had not heard before. He wrote that Stuart's death in May 1864 came at a very unfortunate time for Lee and the ANV as it robbed Lee of a potential infantry corps commander to replace the wounded Longstreet, the incompetent Ewell, or the sickly Hill. Stuart had a ready replacement to lead his Cavalry Corps in the person of Wade Hampton and might have been shifted to lead an infantry corps as he had done at Chancellorsville. At the very least the idea is intriguing.

Would Stuart have left the Cavalry Corps if asked by Lee? Stuart surely wanted a promotion to Lieutenant General and this probably would have resulted in his long sought promotion. Also, could Stuart have turned down Lee is asked? And would Lee have even asked or considered it?

You do have to wonder about it. How much more comfortable would Lee have been with someone like Stuart leading 1st Corps while Early led the 2nd and Hill the 3rd? Would it have made any difference at all? Probably not. But as Lee's officer corps was crumbling apart in 1864 it surely would have taken some of the burden off of Lee to have Stuart assume such a role.

Yet another Civil War "what if" to think about.

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Quaama
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2025 12:09 am 
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"Would Stuart have left the Cavalry Corps if asked by Lee?"

I'm confident that General Stuart, and many others, would have done anything General Lee asked of them.

However, I have doubts that Lee would have asked him. Stuart's infantry experience was limited although he did well for a time at Chancellorsville after taking command of Second Corps following Jackson's fatal wounding and A. P. Hill being wounded shortly after taking command from Jackson. Lee didn't authorise Stuart taking command of Second Corps and I think Lee simply went along with it until he headed north the next month.

I think there were a number of others who could have been asked to step up before Stuart was asked to transfer over. Personally, I would have liked to see John B. Gordon being moved up to Corps Command in 1864. Gordon's first action as Corps Commander was in March 1864. Two weeks later the ANV surrendered.

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