“I Cannot Think What Has Become of Stuart”: The Impact of Stuart’s Absence on Confederate Operations, June 25 to July 2, 1863

Abstract

“I Cannot Think What Has Become of Stuart” spy, not from his trusted cavalry chief, Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. Stuart had ridden off with three cavalry brigades on June 25 and had not been heard from since, leaving Lee to wonder where he was, what the Federals were up to, and why he had not heard from his cavalry. In the absence of detailed information concerning Union troop movements, Lee’s tactical options immediately narrowed, forcing him to radically change his plans and compelling him to operate in an information vacuum that would grow worse in the coming days. Entire volumes and countless articles have already minutely examined the question of the responsibility for Stuart’s absence.1 Rather than retreading that ground, this brief article examines the implications of Stuart’s absence on Lee’s decisionmaking process and how his tactical options were both limited and hindered during the critical period from June 25, when Stuart began his ride around the Union army, to July 2, when Stuart rejoined the Army of Northern Virginia, which was already engaged at Gettysburg.