Lee hurried to Spottsylvania Court House and was entrenched before Grantarrived. The two armies again flew at each other\'s throat. True to Lee\'sprediction the union Commander hurled Sheridan\'s full force of tenthousand cavalry in a desperate effort to turn the right and strikeRichmond while the Confederate infantry were held in a grip of death.
From a hilltop Stuart saw the coming blue legions of Sheridan. They rodefour abreast and made a column of flashing sabers and fluttering guidonsthirteen miles long.
The young Cavalier waved his plumed hat and gave a shout. It wasmagnificent. He envied them the endless line of fine horses. He had butthree small brigades to oppose them. But his spirits rose.
He ordered his generals to harass the advancing host at every point ofvantage, delay them as long as possible and draw up their forces atYellow Tavern for the battle.
He took time to dash across the country from Beaver Dam Station to seehis wife and babies. He had left them at the house of Edmund Fontaine.
He feared that the Federal Cavalry might have raided the section.
To his joy he found them well and happy, unconscious of the impendingfight.
For the first time in his joyous life of song and play and war he wasworried.
His wife was in high spirits. She cheered him.
"Don\'t worry about us, my soldier man! We\'re all right. No harm hasever befallen us. We\'ve had three glorious years playing lovers\'
hide-and-seek. I\'ve ceased to worry about you. Your life is charmed. Godhas heard my prayers. You\'re coming home soon to play with me and thebabies always!"She was too happy for Stuart to describe the host of ten thousand riderswhich he had just seen. Their lives were in God\'s hands. It was enough.
He held her in his arms longer than was his wont at parting. And thenwith a laugh and a shout to the children he was gone.
At Jerrold\'s Mill, Wickham\'s brigade suddenly fell on Sheridan\'s rearguard and captured a company. Sheridan refused to stop to fight.
At Mitchell\'s Shop, Wickham again dashed on the rear guard and wasforced back by a counter charge. As he retreated, fighting a desperatehand-to-hand saber engagement, Fitzhugh Lee and Stuart rushed to his aidand the blue river rolled on again toward Richmond.
At Hanover Junction Stuart allowed his men to sleep until one o\'clockand then rode with desperate speed to Yellow Tavern. He reached hischosen battle ground at ten o\'clock the following morning. He had wonthe race and at once deployed his forces to meet the coming avalanche.
Wickham he stationed on the right of the road, Lomax on the left. Heplaced two guns in the road, one on the left to rake it at an angle.
He dismounted his men and ordered them to fight as infantry. A reserveof mounted men were held in his rear.
He sent his aide into Richmond to inquire of its defenses and warnGeneral Bragg of the sweeping legions. The Commandant at the ConfederateCapital replied that he could hold his trenches. He would call onPetersburg for reinforcements. He asked Stuart to hold Sheridan back aslong as possible.
On the morning of the eleventh of May, at 6:30, he wrote his dispatch toLee:
"Fighting against immense odds of Sheridan. My men and horses are tired,hungry and jaded, _but all right!_"It was four o\'clock before Sheridan struck Yellow Tavern. With skill anddash he threw an entire brigade on Stuart\'s left, broke his line, rolledit up and captured his two guns. Stuart ordered at once a reservesquadron to charge the advancing Federals. With desperate courage theydrove them back in a hand-to-hand combat, saber ringing on saber to theshout and yell of savages.
As the struggling, surging mass of blue riders rolled back in confusion,Stuart rode into the scene cheering his men. A man in blue, whose horsehad been shot from under him, fired his revolver pointblank at Stuart.
The shot entered his body just above the belt and the magnificent headwith the waving plume drooped on his breast.
Captain Dorsey hurried to his assistance. There were but a handful ofhis men between him and the Federal line, The wounded Commander was indanger of being captured by a sudden dash of reserves. He was lifted offhis horse and he leaned against a tree.
Stuart raised his head.
"Go back now, Dorsey, to your men.""Not until you\'re safe, sir."As the ambulance passed through his broken ranks in the rear, he liftedhimself on his elbow and rallied his men with a brave shout:
"Go back! Go back to your duty, men! And our country will be safe. Goback! Go back! I\'d rather die than be whipped."The men rallied and rushed to the firing line. They fought so well thatSheridan lost the way to Richmond and the Capital of the Confederacy wassaved.
The wounded Commander was taken to the home of his brother-in-law,Dr. Charles Brewer, in Richmond. He had suffered agonies on the roughjourney but bore his pain with grim cheerfulness.
He had sent a swift messenger to his wife. He knew she would reachRichmond the next day.
The following morning Major McClellan, his aide, rode in from thebattlefield to report to General Bragg. Having delivered his message hehurried to the bedside of his beloved Chief.
The doctor shook his head gravely.
"Inflammation has set in, Major--""My God, is the............