J. E. B. Stuart

"Our loss was not a scratch to man or horse."

"Gentlemen, in ten minutes every man must be in his saddle!"

"General Consternation."

"Jine the cavalry."

"Our Southern ideals of patriotism provided us with the concepts of chivalry. I tried to excell in these virtues, but others provided a truer interpretation of gallant conduct. A devoted champion of the South was one who possessed a heart intrepid, a spirit invincible, a patriotism too lofty to admit a selfish thought and a conscience that scorned to do a mean act. His legacy would be to leave a shining example of heroism and patriotism to those who survive."

"Old Joe Hooker, will you come out of the Wilderness!"

"Charge! And remember Jackson!"

"While rashness is a crime, boldness is not incompatible with caution, nay, is often the quintessence of prudence."

"An attack of cavalry should be sudden, bold, and vigorous. The cavalry which arrives noiselessly but steadily near the enemy, and then, with one loud yell leaps upon him without a note of warning, and giving no time to form or consider anything but the immediate means of flight, pushing him vigorously every step with all the confidence of victory achieved, is the true cavalry; while a body of men equally brave and patriotic, who halt at every picket and reconnoiter until the precious surprise is over, is not cavalry."

"That individuality of action which so strongly characterizes the conduct of our troops in battle, if unguided or misdirected, can but produce confusion. But let the same idea control the mind of every man, let them apply these general principles to the incidents of battle as they arise, and success is certain."

"Indeed in this war more truly than in any other the spirit of lovely woman points the dart, hurls the javelin, ignites the mine, pulls the trigger, draws the lanyard and gives a fiercer truer temper to the blade in a far more literal sense than the mere muscular aggressions of man."

"Bear in mind that your telegrams may make the whole Army strike tents, and night or day, rain or shine, take up the line of march. Endeavor, therefore, to secure accurate information... Above all, vigilance! vigilance! vigilance!"

"Go back! Go back! And do your duty, as I have done mine, and our country will be safe. Go back! Go back! I had rather die than be whipped."

"Easy, but willing to die if God and my country think I have fulfilled my destiny and done my duty."

"Doctor, I suppose I am going fast now. It will soon be over. But God’s will be done. I hope I have fulfilled my destiny to my country and my duty to God... I am resigned; God’s will be done."

"Dance away, young ladies; half of these young men will be dead or wounded next week."

"If we oppose force to force we cannot win, for their resources are greater than ours. We must substitute esprit for numbers. Therefore I strive to inculcate in my men the spirit of the chase."

"The instant the [Stars and Stripes] appeared, Stuart ordered the charge, and at them we went like the arrow from a bow."

"Shall I tell you when he was on the Rappahannock, and they telegraphed him his child was dying — his darling little Flora — that he replied that ‘I shall have to leave my child in the hands of God; my duty to my country requires me here.’"