Old Jubilee
Spring Campaign 1864
There was little room left for speculation when it came to General
Jubal A. Early, West Point graduate, lawyer, and Confederate general.
By the early summer of 1864, Early was the last remaining high-ranking
officer that Lee could trust to take command of a portion of the
Army of Northern Virginia and lead it into the Shenandoah Valley
against Union forces under General David Hunter, and to possibly
draw away forces under general Grant near Petersburg and Richmond.
By the late spring, Early had succeeded to command of the old
Second Corps with the rank of lieutenant general. Despite the
corps' losses in the Wilderness battles that spring, Early was
able to muster about 8,000 muskets, which he led to Lynchburg,
Virginia in mid-June. This inferior number would face twice that
amount under Union arms. But Jubal was up to the task.
Outspoken and often acidic with his opinions, Early did not
cut a dashing figure, "He was six feet high, but a stoop
of the shoulder caused by rheumatism," the general was known
for his "Independent mind", self-reliance, and his expertise
in strategy.
Early "was an able strategist", recalled General John
B. Gordon. By June 1864 Gordon was a major general in command
of one of Early's divisions. In contrast to the plain Early, Gordon
embodied the model of Southern generalship, though he gave the
artful Early his due respect for his commander was "one of
the coolest and most imperturbable of men under fire and in extremity."
If anything, Early was willing to take chances. His arrival
at Lynchburg caused the retreat of Hunter's forces. The chase
down the Shenandoah Valley began. Within three weeks, Early's
troops were across the Potomac River where they would be threatening
the Nation's capitol itself. Audacious and quick, Jubal Early
took his minimal force into Union territory and through tactically
did not achieve a great victory, his summer campaign achieved
a needed moral boost to the worsening Confederate situation.
But his character would always remain the same, that of a stubborn
fighter who depended more on his own sense of intuition than the
opinions of his officers. Being a veteran of every major battle
fought by the Army of Northern Virginia in that summer of 1864,
he bedeviled Grant and Lincoln in the Shenandoah Valley.
750
Limited Edition Numbered and Signed.
75
Artist Proofs Numbered and Signed.
100
Museum Edition Numbered and Signed.
50
Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation Edition.
Image Size: 27" x 19 1/2"
Overall Size: 31 1/2" x 23 1/2"
This print may still be available on the secondary market.
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