Fabled Confederate general (1833–1864) best known for his consummate skill in reconnaissance and as a cavalry officer. After leading successful offensive actions during the Northern Virginia Campaign—as well as a “late,” disastrous showing at Gettysburg, which led to a personal rebuke by Lee—Stuart was killed during the Overland Campaign at the age of 31. War-dated ALS signed “J. E. B.,” one page, 3.25 x 5.25, February 3, 1862. A message to [the] “Ladies.” In full: “It is snowing too hard for you to think of travelling to-day, but look out for a sleigh-ride tomorrow. Yours….” Stuart’s susceptibility to the fair sex is well documented. In the 1986 biography Bold Dragoon, for example, author Emory M. Thomas observes that, after losing the attention of an early sweetheart, Stuart “continued to crave the company of women and attended winter band concerts, as much to see the ‘smiles of the ladies’ as to listen to the music.” Even after his 1855 marriage to the former Flora Cooke, during a wartime visit to the outskirts of Middleburg, Virginia, Stuart attracted the attention of “a group of very pretty young girls.” As the group of “fifty or sixty females of all ages” showered him with attention, kissing his hand and his uniform, Stuart invitingly observed, “Ladies, your kisses would me more acceptable to me if given on the cheek,” and, in the words of an observer, the women “charged ... the kisses now popped in rapid succession like musketry, and at last became volleys....” Accompanied by a “Head Quarters Cavalry Brigade, Army of the Potomac” envelope addressed in Stuart’s hand to “Miss Laura Ratcliffe, near Frying Pan Church.” Light intersecting folds and moderate allover wrinkling, not affecting legibility, otherwise fine condition. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
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