Encircling the Union Army

Jeb Stuart’s bold and unauthorized ride around the enemy in June 1862 is still studied and celebrated as one of history’s most daring intelligence raids. By late May 1862, Gen. George B. McClellan had moved his massive Army of the Potomac to the outskirts of the Confederate capital at Richmond. When Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston fell wounded at Seven Pines on May 31, Gen. Robert E. Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia and turned the tide of war in the Eastern Theater. Lee orde