Bold Dragoon: The Life of J. E. B. Stuart
by Emory M. Thomas
Harper & Row, 1986, $22.95.
Today it is not possible to read a biography without the author practicing amateur psychoanalysis. Thomas, in his book, certainly does plenty of it. After all these years, a new, balanced biography of Stuart is needed. Unforttmately, Bold Dragoon falls short of the mark.
Stuart's military career receives only superficial attention and the usual criticisms appear about Brandy Station and Gettysburg. On the whole, these are fair criticisms if not unique ones. I have little to quarrell about here.
However, I do have a problem with Thomas' view of Stuart. We are told that Stuart was the product of a rather dissipate father and a stern, self-righteous mother. Sent to various schools at a young age, Stuart developed independence early. He was a serious, if pleasant, young man who had ambitions. Stuart masked his insecurities by presenting a bold facade to the world as the merry, laughing cavalier. This is plausible to a certain degree.
To many, Thomas' portrait of Stuart makes him appear more human. But he really says nothing new. Stuart was a shownan, he could be self-centered and petty. Yes, he hungered for adulation (especially from women) and craved military glory. All these faults have been noted by other biographers, even Thomason who worshipped him. Thomas sees Stuart deliberately creating a legend about himself. The bold cavalier was just a facade; yet Thomas, in spite of all the psychoanalysis, cannot show us the real Jeb Stuart behind the mask. Might I suggest that Jeb Stuart was what he seemed -- the last cavalier. The legend remains.
This article first appeared in Volume 6, No. 3 of The Cannoneer.
