Jeb Stuart Got His Revenge

Jeb Stuart, a major general of cavalry in the Confederate Army, had a score to settle. It might have seemed a little thing to most other people, but to Stuart, it was a big thing.

Major General J.E.B. Stuart

Soldiers under Union General John Pope had surprised Stuart and his cavalry command in action near Centerville. Stuart himself had barely escaped capture, but in his hurried escape he had forgotten his vaunted plumed hat, and Pope got ahold of it. Chagrined by the loss of such a prized personal possession and symbol of his dash and daring, Stuart vowed to one day get it back.

As Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee were preparing to begin the campaign for the Battle of Second Manassas (Bull Run for all you Yankees), Stuart and his cavalry were sent behind enemy lines to disrupt Union supply lines by targeting a supply depot set up at Catlett's Station, where the Orange and Alexandria Railroad crossed Cedar Run. The facility was only lightly guarded, mostly by invalids, soldiers who were recovering from sicknesses or wounds.

Train and Union supply depot at Catlett's Station, Virginia

Stuart set out with his 1,500 cavalrymen under the cover of darkness and what Stuart described as a "terrific" thunderstorm and "the darkest night I ever knew." As they approached their target, Stuart encountered a slave, who told him that Pope's "personal baggage and staff" were just ahead. At Stuart's command, the Southern horsemen charged, screaming the blood-curdling Rebel yell. The Union soldiers were totally caught off guard and surrendered with only negligible resistance.

The Confederates captured about 300 Union soldiers, a safe containing a large amount of paper money and gold, and Pope's dispatch book from which Lee learned about all the Yankees' troop movements and plans for reinforcements. With that intelligence, the Southerners were able to win the subsequent Second Battle of Manassas.

But almost as important as the dispatch book to Stuart was something else that was captured--Pope's dress uniform coat. Like Stuart earlier, Pope had been off guard by Stuart's raid and had fled so quickly that he had failed to retrieve all of his gear. Now it was in the hands of Stuart, who gloated in his prize. He had his revenge.

After getting Pope's coat, Stuart wrote the following note to Pope and had it sent through the lines to him:

General,

You have my hat and plume. I have your best coat. I have the honor to propose a cartel for the fair exchange of the prisoners.

J.E.B. Stuart

Maj. Genl. CSA

Even in wartime, some people retained a sense of humor. That's how it was on August 22, 1862.