Early Life
Jubal Anderson Early was born on November 3, 1816, in Rocky Mount, Franklin County, Virginia. Early was the third of ten children born to Ruth Hairston Early and Joab Early, a wealthy tobacco farmer and local politician. After attending local schools and private academies in the Lynchburg and Danville, Virginia area, Early received an appointment to the United States Military Academy in 1833. He graduated from West Point in 1837, eighteenth in his class. Upon leaving the academy, Early served briefly in the Second Seminole War in Florida (1835-1842). Early remained in the army only one year, before resigning his commission to study law.
Civil War
CONFEDERATE OFFICER
After passing the bar, Early practiced law in Virginia during the 1840s, where he also served one term in the Virginia House of Delegates. When the secession crisis developed, Early served as a delegate to the Virginia Convention of 1861, and he voted against Virginia leaving the Union. When Virginia seceded, Early remained loyal to his home state, and he accepted a commission as a brigadier general in the Virginia Militia. Confederate officials soon promoted him to the rank of colonel in the regular Confederate Army.
