Camp Qui Vive  "Stuart's Headquarters"

Confederate cavalry Ge. Jeb Stuart, despite the grim realities of the war in which he was immersed, possessed a lighthearted soul and was very fond of music and laughter. His headquarters, located in an old farmhouse between Centreville and Fairfax Court House, had been given the name "Camp Qui Vive" (French for "Who goes there?") and had the air of a medieval court of which Stuart was the lighthearted lord.

John Esten Cooke, one of Stuart's staff officers, described the cavalryman's headquarters during the winter of 1861-62. According to his account, outwardly the camp resembled any cavalry camp, alive with the jingling spurs and clanking sabers of troopers and couriers going about the business of war. Behind the scarlet battle flag in the yard was a Blakely cannon, guarded by a huge, snarling raccoon that snapped at anyone who came near. Stuart laughingly referred to the coon as "the pearl of sentinels, the paragon of 'coons". The front room of the house was sparsely furnished with a desk, a table, a few chairs, and a camp couch in front of the fireplace. As the general would sit writing at the desk he would occasionally break out in song or turn and utter a jest. His laughter would echo through the room as he turned back to his work at hand.

At dinnertime one night, two ladies were ushered into the room. They were suspected spies who had been caught trying to sneak past Confederate pickets and journey to Alexandria. The next day they were escorted to army headquarters at Centreville, but for that night they were entertained by the gallant Jeb Stuart. After a sparse military meal, Stuart returned to his paperwork, but called out songs from his desk while three black members of his household staff- one an accomplished guitar player, another a vocalist, and the third a dancer- entertained the ladies and staff members. Cooke related that the prisoners were completely won over by their genial host. Before they departed the next day, one of them said to Stuart: "You Rebels do seem to enjoy yourselves!"

Fascinating Fact:  The music in Gen. Jeb Stuart's camp was often provided by an accomplished banjo player named Sweeney; he was also known to play lively tunes as he rode near the general on the march.


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