Lieutenant General Jubal Anderson Early , C. S. A. Autobiographical sketch and Narrative of the War between the States. With notes by R. H. Early. (Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1912. Pp. xxvi, 496.)

General Early began the writing of these memoirs very soon after the close of the war and, according to the editor, continued to work at the task until his death in 1894. He was born in Virginia in 1816, graduated at West Point in 1837, resigned from the army to practice law, volunteered and served in the war with Mexico, and again returned to the practice of law in Franklin County, Virginia. He was a Whig, and voted against the ordinance of secession in the Virginia convention in 1861. Immediately thereafter he received a colonel's commission from the State and shortly afterwards from the Confederacy. He participated in the battle of Bull Run and in nearly all the subsequent campaigns of the army under the command of Joseph E. Johnston and Lee.

His narrative aims to give in a general way the operations of the armies, but is mostly confined in detail to the work of his own command and of those acting immediately with him. The general background, the larger strategic problems of the campaigns, are not always made clear enough for the general reader, but the immediate operations and battle experiences of his own command are set forth in photographic clearness of detail. Sometimes, in fact, the details of position and movement are abundant to the border of confusion and leave the reader constantly longing for a map. There are no maps of any sort in the book.

Generally the tone is calm and judicial. General Early refused to be drawn into the unfortunate controversies that arose between certain of the Confederate commanders; but he undertakes to refute, with evident repression of natural asperity, some of the complaints against himself. This is especially true of his campaigns in the Valley in 1864 and 1865. It is in fact hardly necessary to show that he fought against tremendous odds both of men and resources, and that it was necessary at times for him to assume the offensive against superior forces if he was to accomplish what General Lee desired. It is interesting to note that he had no very high opinion of Sheridan, whose reputation was largely based upon this Valley campaign, and attributes his escape “from utter annihilation [at Winchester] to the incapacity of my opponent.” The rout of his army at Cedar Creek, he attributes chiefly to the demoralization of his troops by their plundering of the captured Federal camp. Even here, Sheridan showed no vigor in pursuit.

General Early avows his own responsibility for the burning of Chambersburg which was in partial retaliation for the devastations wrought by the Union armies. He shows considerable feeling in denying the charges of “rebel atrocities,” particularly concerning the treatment of prisoners, and describes vividly the hardships and suffering of the southern people both at home and in the field.

Perhaps the publication of these memoirs will add little to the knowledge of the critical student of military science, but they are interesting reading and do much to clear Early's name from some of the charges of incapacity so freely indulged in by certain writers of military history.

Chas. W. Ramsdell .

How to cite:
Ramsdell, Charles W., "Lieutenant General Jubal Anderson Early", Volume 017, Number 1, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Page 95 - 96. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v017/n1/review_25.html
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