If J.E.B. Stuart could have had a dying wish, it probably would have been to die in a great cavalry engagement during battle. And that's exactly what happened at Yellow Tavern, six miles from Richmond, Virginia. Stuart's 3,000 - 4500 men were up against Union Gen. Phil Sheridan's 10,000 man cavalry.
Prior to the battle, Sheridan's soldiers rode four abreast and in a column which stretched 13 miles. Outnumbered and outgunned since Sheridan's troops were armed with the dreaded, rapid firing Spencer carbine, Stuart's two Confederate brigades fought valiantly and fiercely not yielding to the odds. For two solid hours, sabers clanked, pistols cracked and carbines popped as horsemen tumbled from their saddles. When Stuart's Divisions appeared to be slowly giving way, Gen. Sheridan finally called off the attack, calling it a "obstinate contest."
This battle saw the loss of one of the South's premier generals - J.E.B. Stuart. A dismounted cavalryman shot at a large, red bearded Confederate officer on a horse thirty feet away. The officer was Gen. J.E.B. Stuart. He was seriously wounded and would be carried from the field. Stuart observed a group of Confederate stragglers moving away from the battle and he shouted to them, "Go back! Go back! Do your duty as I've done mine. I'd rather die than be whipped!" This was said to be Stuart's last order. Lee could not speak for several hours after being told of Stuart's death. Time Line May 11, 1864
Looking to the past, Stuart never forgot Gettysburg and from this time forward, stayed in contact with the army and lessened his "showboating." He became one of Lee's most trusted generals. Stuart's flamboyant manner with colorful plumes in his hat, a banjo player named "Sweeney" at his side and the love for attention of the ladies was mainly all show. Inside, he was a devoted husband, father and the "Cavalier of Dixie" to his men. He was jovial, always playful except while in battle and he just loved life. But, like Stonewall Jackson, Stuart was an aggressor always looking for the battle and the advantage!
Said one of his aides, John E. Cooke, "Never have I seen a purer, more knightly, or more charming gallantry than his...ladies were his warmest admirers, for they saw that under his laughing exterior, was an earnest nature and warm heart." Stuart was transported to Richmond after he was wounded and died the next day before his devoted wife, Flora, could arrive. The last words he spoke were in a whisper, "I am resigned; God's will be done." He is buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.