Manuscript DS, signed "J.E.B. Stuart, Major Genl Comdg," one lightly-lined page, 7.75 x 9.75, May 10, 1863. This General Order No. 15 was written from Cavalry Division Headquarters in Northern Virginia and concerns the death of his right-hand man, Channing Price. In full: "It becomes my painful duty to announce to the Division the death, from wounds received in action, of Major Channing Price, Asst: Adjt: General, Cavalry Division. This gallant officer while at the post of duty near the Furnace, in Spottsylvania County, on the 1st of May, received a fatal wound, which in a few hours deprived the Division staff of its most efficient member, the country, of a faithful and gallant defender, and an afflicted family, of its brightest ornament. Surely Death loves a shining man. The purest and best have fallen: let their spirits animate those of us who survive. In token of respect for the memory of the deceased, the Division Staff will wear the usual military badge of mourning for thirty days." Beautifully double-suede matted and framed with a color portrait of Stuart, and a descriptive plaque, to an overall size of 30 x 27. In fine, clean condition.
Price's demise came at the Battle of Chancellorsville, one of the many lives lost to secure a surprising Confederate victory. At one point during the fight, Stuart, Price, and General 'Stonewall' Jackson followed a small path in the dense growth of Catharine Furnace and came upon a Union encampment. Their initial round of artillery fire gave away their position, however, and resulted in a barrage of Northern return fire. In the heat of the battle, Price was wounded by shrapnel…and without a tourniquet to bind his wound, the piercing shortly turned fatal. Describing Price as a "gallant officer" whose death "deprived the Division staff of its most efficient member, the country, of a faithful and gallant defender," Stuart immediately bought tourniquets for every member of his staff to carry. Ten days later, the general wrote General Order No. 15…and exactly one year to the day later, was himself mortally wounded. Oversized.
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