Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was a lawyer who became a Confederate Army general in the American Civil War. After the war ended, Early became one of the proponents of the "Lost Cause" view of the Confederacy and the Civil War.
In 1864, Jubal Early was sent by Robert E. Lee to sweep Union forces from the Shenandoah Valley and to menace Washington City. This invasion caused considerable panic in the North and Early was able to get close to the outskirts of Washington. He sent his cavalry to the west side of Washington, while his infantry attacked Fort Stevens. Abraham Lincoln watched the assault from Fort Stevens. As Lincoln was about to leave the parapets, one of Early's men shot and killed the President.[1]
Despite Lincoln's death, the South lost the Great Rebellion. The victorious North, under President Hannibal Hamlin, imposed a harsh peace upon the rebellious states, a peace made harsher by Lincoln's death.