However, when
President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion, Early was furious. After Virginia voters ratified secession, like many of his cousins, he accepted a commission to serve in the state’s militia. Initially, Early became a
brigadier general in the Virginia Militia and was sent to Lynchburg, where he raised three regiments and then commanded one of them. On June 19, 1861, Early formally became a
colonel in the
Confederate army, commanding the
24th Virginia Infantry, including his young cousin (previously expelled from
Virginia Military Institute (VMI) for attending a tea party), Jack Hairston. After the
First Battle of Bull Run (also called the First Battle of Manassas) in July 1861, Early was promoted to brigadier general, because his valor at Blackburn's Ford impressed General
P.G.T. Beauregard, and his troops' charge along Chinn Ridge helped rout the Union forces (although his cousin Cpt.
Charles Fisher of the 6th North Carolina died supporting the assault). As general, Early led Confederate troops in most of the major battles in the
Eastern Theater, including the
Seven Days Battles, the
Second Battle of Bull Run, the
Battle of Antietam, the
Battle of Fredericksburg, the
Battle of Chancellorsville, the
Battle of Gettysburg, and numerous battles in the Shenandoah Valley during the
Valley Campaigns of 1864. General
Robert E. Lee, the commander of the
Army of Northern Virginia, affectionately called Early his "Bad Old Man" because of his short temper, insubordination, and use of profanity. Lee also appreciated Early's aggressive fighting and ability to command units independently. Most of Early's soldiers (except during the war's last days) referred to him as "Old Jube" or "Old Jubilee" with enthusiasm and affection. (The "old" referred to a stoop because of the rheumatism incurred in Mexico.) His subordinate officers often experienced Early's inveterate complaints about minor faults and biting criticism at the least opportunity. Generally blind to his own mistakes, Early reacted fiercely to criticism or suggestions from below.
Serving under Stonewall Jackson As the Union
Peninsular Campaign began in May 1862, Early, without adequate reconnaissance, led a futile charge through a swamp and wheat field against two Union artillery redoubts at what became known as the
Battle of Williamsburg. On June 26, the first day of the
Seven Days Battles, Early reported himself ready for duty. The brigade he had commanded at Williamsburg no longer existed, having suffered severe casualties in that assault and an army reorganization assigned the remaining men whose enlistments continued to other units. General Lee informed Early that he could not be assigned a new command in the middle of battle and recommended for Early to wait until an opening came up somewhere. On July 1, just in time for the
Battle of Malvern Hill (the last engagement in the Seven Days Battles), Early (though still unable to mount a horse without assistance) received command of Brig. Gen. Arnold Elzey's brigade because Elzey had been wounded at the
Battle of Gaines Mill and the ranking colonel, James Walker, seemed too inexperienced for brigade command. The brigade was not engaged in the battle. For the rest of 1862, Early commanded troops within the
Second Corps under General
Stonewall Jackson. During the
Northern Virginia Campaign, Early's immediate superior was Maj. Gen.
Richard S. Ewell. Early received accolades for his performance at the
Battle of Cedar Mountain. His troops arrived in the nick of time to reinforce Maj. Gen.
A.P. Hill on Jackson's left on Stony Ridge during the Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas). At the
Battle of Antietam, Early ascended to
division command when his commander,
Alexander Lawton, was wounded on September 17, 1862, after Lawton had assumed that division command while Maj. Gen. Ewell recovered after a wound received at Second Manassas caused amputation of his leg. At
Fredericksburg, Early and his troops saved the day by counterattacking the division of Maj. Gen. George Meade, which penetrated a gap in Jackson's lines. Impressed by Early's performance, Gen. Lee retained him as commander of what had been Ewell's division; Early formally received a promotion to major general on January 17, 1863. During the Chancellorsville campaign, which began on May 1, 1863, Lee gave Early 9,000 men to defend
Fredericksburg at Marye's Heights against superior forces (4 divisions) under Maj. Gen.
John Sedgwick. Early was able to delay the Union forces and pin down Sedgwick while Lee and Jackson attacked the rest of the Union troops to the west. Sedgwick's eventual attack on Early up Marye's Heights on May 3, 1863, is sometimes known as the
Second Battle of Fredericksburg. After the battle, Early engaged in a newspaper war with Brig. Gen.
William Barksdale of Mississippi (a former newspaperman and congressman), who had commanded a division under Maj. Gen.
Lafayette McLaws in the First Corps, until Gen. Lee told the two officers to stop their public feud. Jackson died on May 10, 1863, of a wound received from his own sentry on the night of May 2, 1863, and the recovered
Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell assumed command of the Second Corps.
Gettysburg and Overland Campaign During the
Gettysburg campaign of mid-1863, Early continued to command a division in the
Second Corps under Lt. Gen. Ewell. His troops were instrumental in overcoming Union defenders at the
Second Battle of Winchester on June 13–15. They captured many prisoners, and opened up the Shenandoah Valley for Lee's forces. Early's division, augmented with cavalry, eventually marched eastward across the
South Mountain into Pennsylvania, seizing vital supplies and horses along the way. Early captured
Gettysburg on June 26 and demanded a ransom, which was never paid. He threatened to burn down any home which harbored a fugitive slave. Two days later, he entered
York County and seized
York. Here, his ransom demands were partially met, including $28,000 in cash. York thus became the largest Northern town to fall to the Rebels during the war. He also burned an iron foundry near
Caledonia owned by abolitionist U.S. Representative
Thaddeus Stevens. Elements of Early's command on June 28 reached the
Susquehanna River, the farthest east in Pennsylvania that any organized Confederate force could penetrate. On June 30, Early was recalled to join the main force as Lee concentrated his army to meet the oncoming Federals. Troops under Early's command were also responsible for capturing escaped slaves to send them back to the south, which resulted in the seizure of free Blacks who were unable to evade the invading army. Over 500 Black people were abducted from southern Pennsylvania. Approaching the Gettysburg battlefield from the northeast on July 1, 1863, Early's division was on the left flank of the Confederate line. He soundly defeated Brig. Gen.
Francis Barlow's division (part of the Union
XI Corps), inflicting three times the casualties to the defenders as he suffered, and drove the Union troops back through the streets of the town, capturing many of them. This later became another controversy, as Lt. Gen. Ewell denied Early permission to assault
East Cemetery Hill to which Union troops had retreated. When the assault was allowed the following day as part of Ewell's efforts on the Union right flank, it failed with many casualties. The delay allowed Union reinforcements to arrive, which repulsed Early's two brigades. On the third day of battle, Early detached one brigade to assist Maj. Gen. Edward "Allegheny" Johnson's division in an unsuccessful assault on
Culp's Hill. Elements of Early's division covered the rear of Lee's army during its
retreat from Gettysburg on July 4 and July 5. Early fought well during the inconclusive
Battle of the Wilderness (during which a cousin died), and assumed command of the ailing A.P. Hill's
Third Corps during the march to intercept Lt. Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant at
Spotsylvania Court House. At Spotsylvania, Early occupied the relatively quiet right flank of the Mule Shoe. After Hill had recovered and resumed command, Lee, dissatisfied with Ewell's performance at Spotsylvania, assigned him to defend Richmond and gave Early command of the Second Corps. Thus, Early commanded that corps in the
Battle of Cold Harbor. Union Gen.
David Hunter had burned the VMI in
Lexington on June 11, and was raiding through the Shenandoah Valley, the Confederate breadbasket, so Lee sent Early and 8,000 men to defend
Lynchburg, an important railroad hub (with links to Richmond, the Valley and points southwest) as well as many hospitals for recovering Confederate wounded.
John C. Breckinridge, Arnold Elzey and other convalescing Confederates and the remains of VMI's cadet corps assisted Early and his troops, as did many townspeople, including
Narcissa Chisholm Owen, wife of the president of the
Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. Using a ruse involving trains entering town to exaggerate his strength, Early convinced Hunter to retreat toward West Virginia on June 18, in what became known as the
Battle of Lynchburg, although the pursuing Confederate cavalry were soon outrun.
Shenandoah Valley, 1864–1865 During the
Valley Campaigns of 1864, Early received a temporary promotion to lieutenant general and command of the "Army of the Valley" (the nucleus of which was the former Second Corps). Thus Early commanded the Confederacy's last invasion of the North, secured much-needed funds and supplies for the Confederacy and drawing off Union troops from the
siege of Petersburg. Since Union armies under Grant and Maj. Gen.
William Tecumseh Sherman were rapidly capturing formerly Confederate territory, Lee sent Early's corps to sweep Union forces from the Shenandoah Valley, as well as to menace Washington, D.C. He hoped to secure supplies as well as compel Grant to dilute his forces against Lee around the Confederate capital at
Richmond and its supply hub at
Petersburg. Early delayed his march for several days in a futile attempt to capture a small force under
Franz Sigel at
Maryland Heights near
Harpers Ferry. His men then rested and ate captured Union supplies from July 4 through July 6. Although elements of his army reached the outskirts of Washington at a time when it was largely undefended, his delay at Maryland Heights and from extorting money from
Hagerstown and
Frederick, Maryland, prevented him from being able to attack the federal capital. Residents of Frederick paid $200,000 ($ in dollars) on July 9 and avoided being sacked, supposedly because some women had booed Stonewall Jackson's troops on their trip through town the previous year (the city had divided loyalties and later erected a Confederate Army monument). Later in the month, Early attempted to extort funds from
Cumberland and
Hancock, Maryland, and his cavalry commanders burned
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, when that city could not pay sufficient ransom. Meanwhile, Grant sent two
VI Corps divisions from the Army of the Potomac to reinforce Union Maj. Gen.
Lew Wallace defending the railroad to Washington, D.C. With 5,800 men, Wallace delayed Early for an entire day at the
Battle of Monocacy Junction outside Frederick, which allowed additional Union troops to reach Washington and strengthen its defenses. Early's invasion caused considerable panic in both Washington and Baltimore, and his forces reached
Silver Spring, Maryland, and the outskirts of the District of Columbia. He also sent some cavalry under Brig. Gen.
John McCausland to Washington's western side. Knowing that he lacked sufficient strength to capture the federal capital, Early led skirmishes at
Fort Stevens and
Fort DeRussy. Opposing artillery batteries also traded fire on July 11 and July 12. On both days, President
Abraham Lincoln watched the fighting from the parapet at Fort Stevens, his lanky frame a clear target for hostile military fire. After Early withdrew, he said to one of his officers, "Major, we haven't taken Washington, but we scared Abe Lincoln like hell." Early retreated with his men and captured loot across the
Potomac River to
Leesburg, Virginia, on July 13, then headed west toward the Shenandoah Valley. At the
Second Battle of Kernstown on July 24, 1864, Early's forces defeated a Union army under Brig. Gen.
George Crook. Through early August, Early's cavalry and guerrilla forces also attacked the
B&O Railroad in various places, seeking to disrupt Union supply lines, as well as secure supplies for their own use. As July ended, Early ordered cavalry under Generals McCausland and
Bradley Tyler Johnson to raid across the Potomac River. On July 30, they burned more than 500 buildings in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, nominally in retaliation for Union Maj. Gen.
David Hunter's burning VMI in June and the homes of three prominent Southern sympathizers in
Jefferson County, West Virginia, earlier that month, as well as the Pennsylvania town's failure to heed his ransom demands (town leaders collecting door to door could only raise about $28,000 of the $100,000 in gold or $500,000 in greenbacks demanded, the local bank having sent its reserves out of town in anticipation). Averill's Union cavalry, although half the size of the Confederate cavalry, chased them back across the Potomac River, and they skirmished three times, the Confederate cavalry losing most severely at the
Battle of Moorefield in
Hardy County, West Virginia, on August 7. Realizing Early could still easily attack Washington, Grant in mid-August sent Maj. Gen.
Philip Sheridan and additional troops to subdue Early's forces, as well as local guerilla forces led by Col.
John S. Mosby. At times outnumbering the Confederates three to one, Sheridan defeated Early in three battles. Sheridan's troops also laid waste to much of what had been the Confederacy's breadbasket, in order to deny rations and other supplies to Lee's army. On September 19, 1864, Early's troops lost the
Third Battle of Winchester after raiding the B&O depot at
Martinsburg, West Virginia. Key subordinates (General
Robert Rodes and A.C. Godwin) were killed, General Fitz Lee wounded and General John C. Breckinridge was ordered back to Southwest Virginia—so Early had lost about 40% of his troop strength since the campaign began, despite distracting thousands of Union troops. The Confederates never again captured Winchester or the northern Valley. On September 21–22, Early's troops lost
Strasburg after Sheridan's much larger force (35,000 Union troops vs. 9500 Confederates ) won the
Battle of Fisher's Hill, capturing much of Early's artillery and 1,000 men, as well as inflicting about 1,235 casualties including the popular
Sandie Pendleton. In a surprise attack the following month, on October 19, 1864, Early's Confederates initially routed two thirds of the Union army at the
Battle of Cedar Creek. In his post-battle dispatch to Lee, Early noted that his troops were hungry and exhausted and claimed they broke ranks to pillage the Union camp, which allowed Sheridan critical time to rally his demoralized troops and turn their morning defeat into an afternoon victory. However, he privately conceded he had hesitated rather than pursue the advantage, and another key subordinate,
Dodson Ramseur, was wounded, captured and died the next day despite the best efforts of Union and Confederate surgeons. Furthermore, one of Early's key subordinates, Maj. Gen.
John B. Gordon, in his memoirs written in 1908 (after the irascible Early's death), also blamed Early's indecision rather than the troops for the afternoon rout. Although distracting thousands of Union troops from the action around Petersburg and Richmond for months, Early had also lost the confidence of former Virginia governor
Extra Billy Smith, who told Lee that troops no longer considered Early "a safe commander." Lee ordered most of the remaining Second Corps to rejoin the Army of Northern Virginia defending Petersburg by late November, leaving Early to defend the entire Valley with a brigade of infantry and some cavalry under
Lunsford L. Lomax. When Sheridan's troops nearly destroyed the Confederates at
Waynesboro on March 2, 1865, Early could not evacuate his men (many of whom were captured), nor artillery and supplies. He barely escaped capture with his cousin
Peter Hairston and a few members of his staff, returning almost alone to Petersburg. Hairston returned to one of his plantations near
Danville, Virginia, where Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled to stay with slave trader and financier
William Sutherlin. Lee, however, would not put Early back in command of the Second Corps there because his former subordinate Gordon was handling matters satisfactorily, and the press and other commanders suggested the recent disasters made Early unacceptable to the troops. Lee told Early to go home and wait, then relieved Early of his command on March 30, writing: Thus ended Early's Confederate career. ==Postbellum career==