Jubal Early is one of the most interesting generals of the Civil War. While he played important roles at battles like Gettysburg and Monocacy, as well as being the man who led a Confederate army at Fort Stevens, where President Lincoln came under fire, his biggest contributions came after the war.
Early's writings helped shape how the Civil War and Confederacy were remembered in the decades after the war, particularly as a Virginian working and contributing toward the Southern Historical Society. He helped shape the Lost Cause, as well as the deification of Robert E. Lee, all while defending the South and justifying the war.
Naturally, Early also wrote a memoirs of his time in the Army of Northern Virginia and as a Confederate general throughout the war as well. The memoirs are important not just for Civil War historians but also anyone interested in the Lost Cause as a literary and historiographical movement.