Jubal: The Life and Times of General Jubal A. Early, Csa, Defender of the Lost Cause

by Charles Osborne

Book Overview

Charles C. Osborne's Jubal chronicles the life of one of Lee's most important--and most colorful--generals. Born in Virginia and educated at West Point, Jubal A. Early as a delegate to the Virginia Secession Convention in 1861 voted against leaving the Union, but when the fighting began, he joined the Confederate army and embraced the southern cause wholeheartedly.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080711913X
• ISBN13: 9780807119136
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 1.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Good Review on Jubal A. Early

As an ancestor of the Early Line, Jubal's great-grandfather back to the 1700's and mine were brothers. I grew up with all the history of Jubal including his "drinking, whoring and illegitimate 4 children with a woman he never married" information. I also know he was the right hand of Robert E. Lee when Stonewall Jackson died and thru Early, Lee had military things done, Early received no credit for ones well done and blamed for having done them if things went wrong. He was a strong supporter of the South BUT he did NOT want war. When it came, he joined and fought for the South and always believed the South should have won and would have if the south had been industrialized as the North had been. This book is a good one, some flaws but over all I found it well done.

Lee's Canterkerous General and father of the Lost Cause

For those well familiar with the Civil war, this is a great biography of Early in that it concentrates on Early the person and the General while assuming that you have the basic facts down on the Civil War. The author does not spend too much time on minute detail on troop movements that has been covered many times before but provides in-depth insight to "Old Jube" and his actions. A tough and controversial fighter, until reading this book I didn't know that the former Commonwealth Attorney and life long bachelor from Franklin County sired four children refusing to marry his companion because she was beneath his station. Great historical highlights such as Early's controversial role on Lee's left at Gettysburg, his great assignment defending Fredericksburg against great odds while Lee takes the rest of the army to Chancellorsville, his zealous and dictatorial grip on the Lost cause syndrome, and his public branding of the ill equipped Longstreet (not a lawyer and politically naive) as the cause of Lee's defeat at Gettysburg. Wonderful that it highlights the second battle of Fredericksburg and how the Federals found out the heights were lightly defended. In addition, the author makes an excellent case that when defending the valley after Jackson, Early did as well as Jackson until Grant sent Sheridan and a 40,000 man army to defeat him. The author notes that aside from poor use of his calvary and his negative tongue-lashing, Lee's "bad, old man" was a tough fighter and a major player in the Army of Northern Virginia.