Jubal: The Life and Times of General Jubal A. Early, C S A, Defender of the Lost Cause - Hardcover

Osborne, Charles C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0945575351 ISBN 13: 9780945575351

Publisher: Algonquin Books, 1992

Synopsis

The life story of one of the Civil War's most combative, assertive, and controversial generals examines his role in the successes and failures of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

About this title

From Library Journal

In the spate of Civil War books that flood the market each year, it is a wonder that no one has produced a full-scale, modern biography of Early. Thanks to veteran journalist Osborne, we now have a well-written and balanced account of Early's life and career that will appeal to general readers and scholars alike. Osborne explains the source of Early's extraordinary ambition, describes his antebellum political career, including his antisecessionist vote in the 1861 Virginia convention, and traces his development throughout the war into the bitter and unreconstructed rebel he always remained. The bulk of the book consists of Osborne's careful campaign history, for Early fought with Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia until he received an independent command in 1864. All the controversies that surrounded Early--about Gettysburg, the raid on Washington, and Cedar Creek--are handled in a judicious manner. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the book is Early's postwar machinations to elevate Lee to secular sainthood and to create the myth of the Lost Cause. Osborne does justice to a fascinating life. For public and academic libraries.
- David B. Mattern, Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

This well-written, comprehensive biography comes as close as is perhaps possible to a sympathetic treatment of the controversial Confederate (1816-1894). While acknowledging Early's post-Civil War role in creating the mythology of the "lost cause," Time-Life Books editor Osborne focuses on his subject's military career. He depicts Early as an extremely competent brigade and division commander who proved only adequate at corps level and a failure as an independent commander in the Shenandoah Valley. Conceding that Union material superiority was so great by 1864 that no one was likely to have performed any more effectively than Early, Osborne stresses the general's egocentricity and bitter, sardonic personality, traits that increasingly sapped his confidence and diminished his capacity to work with both superiors and subordinates. Marred somewhat by an unconvincing conclusion--that Early's behavior was shaped by a "deep fear of his softer side"--this is nevertheless likely to remain the definitive study of "Old Jube."
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0945575351
• ISBN 13: 9780945575351
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 560