JEB Stuart Tricks the Yankees

JEB Stuart

Several weeks after defeating Burnside in the bloody Battle of Fredericksburg, Robert E. Lee ordered his cavalry commander, J. E. B. Stuart, to make a raid north across Union lines. He ordered him to "penetrate the enemy's rear, ascertain if possible his position & movements, & inflict upon him such damage as circumstances will permit." He set off with just less than 2,000 troopers and wreaked havoc in the Union rear, capturing 250 prisoners with their horses, wagons and supplies.

Along the way he played a memorable prank on the Union forces. Reaching a telegraph line, he had his telegraph operator tap the line, and began sending messages to confuse the Union forces. He also received valuable information regarding the Union's plans to capture him. When it was time to be moving on, he sent one final message to Montgomery C. Meigs at the War Department: “General Meigs will in the future please furnish better mules; those you have furnished recently are very inferior. J.E.B. Stuart.” With this done, he cut the telegraph lines and went on his way.