The life of Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, ("Stonewall" Jackson)

Front matter

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Chapter I. Early Life

Jackson's ancestry — His great-grandfather — Death of his father — His early childhood— His mother's death — Residence with his uncles—A youthful escapade — Character at school— Farm work and rural pleasures — Becomes a constable — Conscientious discharge of duties — Aspirations for a thorough education — Appointed a cadet at West Point 13-29

Chapter II. West Point

First appearance at the Academy — Reminiscences of a class-mate concerning him — His course as a student — Graduates — Is ordered to take the field in Mexico — Joins the army at Vera Cruz — Applies for and receives the post of second lieutenant in Magruder's battery — Distinguishes himself in the battle of Churubusco— Is brevetted captain — Gallant conduct in the assault upon Chapultepec — Is brevetted major — Commendations from his superior ofiicers — Studies the Spanish language — Life at the Mexican capital . 30-42

Chapter III. Lexingtox

Passes two years at Fort Hamilton, Long Island — Transferred to Fort Meade, Florida — Accepts the position of Professor of Natural Philosophy and Artillery Tactics in the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington — Habits of study — Zeal in religion — His perfect trust in God — Marries Miss Eleanor Junkin — Death of his wife — Trip to

CONTENTS.

Europe — Thoughts of becoming a missionary — His deep prayerfulness — Second marriage — Jackson as a householder — Domestic life — His tenderness of heart — Extracts from letters to his wife 43-54

CHAPTER lY.

APPOINTED COLONEL.

Formation of the Southern Confederacy — Virginia's attitude — Bombardment of Fort Sumter — Secession of Virginia — Lee appointed major-general — Organization of camps of instruction — The senior cadets of the Institute ordered to Richmond — Jackson's departure from Lexington in charge of them — Life at Camp Lee — He is appointed colonel, and ordered to take command at Harper's Ferry 55-62

Chapter V

harper's ferry.

Situation of Harper's Ferry — Rendezvous of the troops of the Valley of Virginia — Jackson as a disciplinarian — He takes possession of Maryland Heights — Richmond made the capital of the Confederacy — General Joseph E. Johnston appointed to the command of Harper's Ferry — Jackson placed in command of a brigade — Harper's Ferry abandoned by Johnston — Movements of the Federal general Patterson — Destruction of railroad stock at Martinsburg — Fight at Haines's Farm — Beauregard organizes an army at Manassas Junction — Johnston withdraws to Winchester — Jackson is appointed brigadier-general 63-75

Chapter VI. Manassas

Hopes and expectations of the opposing parties — McDowell's advance — He is checked at Bull Run — Johnston summoned to the aid of Beauregard— Enthusiasm of the Virginia troops— Halt at Paris — Jackson acts as sentrj' — Arrival at the Junction — Disposition of the Confederate army at Bull Run — Beauregard's plan of battle — The Federals attack— Retreat of the Confederate left— Jackson's new line of battle— Death of General Bee— Arrival of Kirby -Smith — Defeat of the Federal army— Scenes in the retreat — President Davis on the battle-field— Jackson wounded— Reception at Richmond of the news of the victory 76-94

CONTENTS. 9

Chapter VII. Romney

The colored Sunday-school — Incident at Manassas — Jackson's satisfaction with his brigade— He is made major-general — Ordered to Winchester— Takes leave of his brigade— Operations of the Federal troops in Northwestern Virginia — Fruitless efforts of the Confederates to oppose them — New plans adopted by Jackson — He cuts the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal— DiflBculties in the work— He is joined by Loring's force — Expedition planned against Bath, Hancock, and Romney — Hardships endured by the troops — The enemy driven out of Bath — Ashby summons the town of Hancock to surrender — Romney abandoned by the enemy — A desolated country — Jackson's return to Winchester — Telegram from the Secretary of War — Jackson tenders his resignation, but afterwards withdraws it 95-112

CHAPTER YIII.

KERNSTOWN.

Disasters to the Confederate arms in the early months of 1862 — Fall of Forts Henry and Donelson — Affairs in Virginia— Magruder's tactics on the peninsula — The advantages of the North— Gloomy prospect for the South — Jackson at Winchester — He determines to fall back to Strasburg— Receives orders to hold Banks in check — Battle at Kernstown — Retreat of the Confederates — General Ashby 113-130

Chapter IX. Winchester

McClellan's movement against Richmond — Jackson's position in the Valley— He retreats to Harrisonburg— Movements after leaving that place— March to Staunton— Battle at McDowell— Flight of the enemy — Banks's movements — Front Royal surprised by the Confederates — Pursuit of the Federals — Excitement of the inhabitants of Winchester — Scenes during the Federal retreat . . 131-154 A*

IQ CONTEXTS.

Chapter X. The Retreat Down The Valley

In camp at Winchester— Starts for Charlcstown— Routs the enemynear that place— The Valley cleared of the invaders— lie prepares to attack Harper's Ferry — Learns that Fremont and Shields are moving against him — Retreats to Strasburg — Encounter with the Federal cavalry near Harrisonburg — Death of General Ashby — Jackson's grief — Makes arrangements to attack Fremont and Shields separately — He narrowly escapes capture by the Federals —The enemy repulsed at Port Republic — Battle of Cross Kejs — He turns upon Shields and defeats him — The Confederate cavalryenters Harrisonburg — Bivouac in Brown's Gap — Religious services 155-174

CHAPTER XL

BATTLES AROUND RICHMOND.

Battle of Williamsburg— Destruction of the ram Virginia— Repulse of the Federal gunboats at Drewry's Bluff— Battle of the Seven Pines — Jeb Stuart's raid — Jackson ordered to Richmond — The enemy hoodwinked — Interview between Jackson and Lee at Richmond — Jackson's command arrives at Ashland — McClellan's disposition of his forces around the Confederate capital — Lee's plan for the capture of the whole Federal army — McClellan's change of base — Jackson's deep sense of responsibility — Battle of the Chickahominy — Brilliant charge of the Texan and Mississippi brigades — The Federal army in motion towards the James — Battle near Savage Station — Battle of Frazier's Farm — Unsuccessful assault of the Federal position on Malvern Hill — The Federal army at Harrison's Landing — The siege of Richmond raised . . . 175-210

Chapter XII. Second Battle Of Manassas

The astonished farmer — Formation of the Federal Army of Virginia, under Pope — Jackson ordered to Gordonsville — Applies for reinforcements — Battle of Cedar Run — Defeat of the enemy — Death of

CONTENTS. 11

General Winder — Preparations to capture Pope's army — Pursuit of the retreating Federals — A touching tribute — Arrival of Jackson at Manassas — Critical position — Second battle of Manassas — Total rout of the enemy— Battle of Ox Hill 211-237

Chapter XIII. Sharpsburg

On the march to the Potomac — Arrival at Dranesville — Incident at Leesburg — Jackson's command crosses the Potomac — Halt at Frederick City — McClellan restored to the Federal command— Lee calls a council of war — Jackson detailed to capture Harper's Ferry — Once more in the Yalley — Attacks and takes Harper's Ferry- Arrives at Sharpsburg — Battle of Sharpsburg, or Antietam — Lee ■withdraws into Virginia — Engagement at Boteler's Ford — Jackson's kindness of heart 238-256

Chapter XIV. Fredericksburg

Appointed lieutenant-general — Religious services in camp — Destruction of portion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad — Stuart enters Pennsylvania — Jackson's corps put in motion — McClellan replaced by Burnside — Movements of both armies — Jackson at Fredericksburg — Lee's preparations for the fight — The Federals cross the Rappahannock — A vivid war-picture — Repulse of the enemy — Narrow escape of Jackson — Death of General Gregg — Flag of truce — The Federal retreats during the night— End of the campaign of 1863 257-279

Chapter XV

Sports in camp — Jackson's occupations during the season of inactivity — Rigid adherence to duty — His interest in the affairs of the Yalley — Visitors — Impressions upon strangers — His kindness to his guests — Love for little children — His delight in the soldiers' religious meetings — Visit from his wife and daughter . . 280-295

12 CONTENTS.

Chapter XVI. Chancellorsville

Preparations on both sides — Fight at Kelly's Ford — Jackson's impatience for the opening of the campaign— Hooker's movements — Strength of his position at Chancellorsville — Consultation between Lee and Jackson — Jackson proposes to attack the enemy in the rear— Routs llooker's Eleventh Army Corps — His enthusiasm and reckless exposure to danger — Is fired upon in the darkness by a party of his own men — Perilous position of the wounded general and his friends — His last military order 296-325

Chapter XVII. Death And Burial

A curious incident — Chancellorsville — Jackson's opinion of his flank movement against Hooker — Closing scenes — Dispatch from Lee- Removed to Guinea's Station — Death — Lee's general order — Grief of the people at the news — The remains escorted to Richmond — Scenes at the funeral — Burial at Lexington — Review of his life 326-357

Conclusion

Bronze statue presented to Virginia by Jackson's English admirers — Mr. Beresford Hope's letter — Acceptance of the gift — Inauguration of the statue 358-263

THE LIFE

OP

GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON.

Chapter I. Early Life

jN'ot quite half a century ago, a thoughtful-looking, rather slender, blue-eyed little boy, about eight years old, was seen walking along the road leading from Clarksburg to Lewis County, in Western Virginia. The sun was approaching the western horizon, and the boy moved along wearily and mayhap with aching feet, for he had walked eighteen miles that day. But the child is father to the man ; a strong will and patient perseverance had borne him through the heat and toil of the day. A few more minutes, and he has reached the goal of his wishes, as, knocking at the door of a house at which he stops, the homeless little traveler announces himself to its owner as his nephew Thomas Jonathan Jackson, and, though an unexpected guest, receives from his kind-hearted uncle the affectionate welcome which assured him that here at last he had found a resting-place and a home which would be his as long as he

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needed one. Tliis extraordinary display of daring and unyielding will and perseverance was indeed a fit opening of the career of one who was destined to command armies, make swift marches, win great victories, and to fall upon the field of battle with liis name enrolled among those of the great captains of the earth, and his memory enshrined in the hearts of his countrymen.

The race from which this great man sprang were of a sturdy stock of pioneers in the New World, whose energies and great probity won for them the esteem of the early settlers with whom they lived. John Jackson, the great-grandfather of " Stonewall Jackson," landed with other British emigrants in 1748 in Maryland. There he married Elizabeth Cummins, of London, and moved at once with this estimable woman to the northern part of Virginia. They lived for a short time in a beautiful valley of the Potomac River where Moorfields is now found. Having remained here three years, they moved still farther west, and finally settled in a place in Upshur County, Virginia, which was once know^n as Fort Jackson, but is now called Buckhannon.

The couple are represented as being of very unequal stature, the wife towering above the husband, and being as remarkable for her quick energy and great daring as he was for his goodness, his industry, and his tranquil courage. Tradition has preserved many instances of the undaunted spirit which she displayed on different occasions when the safety of the colonists was endangered by the attacks — often formidable — of the Indians. We are told that she never quailed at the sound of the savage war-whoop, but when shut up in a stockade fort, to which the settlers fled in time of danger, her voice, more frequently than that of any other, was heard soothing the fears of the women and children, and exhorting the men to deeds of daring and self-sacrifice. It is not now necessary to give a further account of this worthy couple, and I will only add that, when the American Revolution broke out, John Jackson fought in it with his elder sons, that he afterwards made quite a handsome fortune, and died in his eighty-sixth year. His stout-hearted wife survived him twenty-four years, and lived to the extreme old age of one hundred and five. This good couple had eight children,— five sons and three daughters. The second of these five sons, Edward Jackson, left fifteen children, one of whom, Jonathan Jackson, was the father of our hero. — -r;

Jonathan Jackson was a lawyer, and lived in Clarksburg. He married Julia Neale, of Parkersburg. She was a tall, graceful girl, whose sweet countenance and winning manners charmed all who met her, as in after-years her good sense and earnest piety commanded their respect. Her husband had inherited quite a snug little fortune from his father, which he might easily have increased by the labors of his profession, for he was quite an eminent lawyer. Unfortunately, however, in undertaking to assist some friends who were in trouble, he lost much of his own fortune in trying to rebuild theirs. The rest was lost at the card-table ; and thus it happened that before he had reached the prime of life he had lost all of his property except the house in which he lived, and his family were dependent for their support on what he could make by his profession. Jonathan Jackson had four children : Elizabeth, AVarren, Thomas Jonathan, and Laura,— of whom only the last is now living. He was a very devoted and affectionate father, and lost his life by a fever which he caught while nursing his daughter Elizabeth, who died of the same disease. He had nursed her day and night, and lioped on against hope as the progress of the disease showed too plainly what the result would be. At last the child died, and the heart-broken father, worn out by his fatigue, his distress, and the misfortunes accumulating upon him and his family, followed her to the grave two weeks later.

'^ The little Thomas Jonathan was only three years old at the time of his father's death, and at that tender age the young child's troubles in life began. Happy it was for him that he was too young to appreciate his mother's desolate condition ! Her husband left her penniless, and she found herself a widowed mother of three young children, without a home, and without any means of support. Kind friends were found who came to her relief. The Masons, of which order her husband had been an active member, gave her, soon after his death, a small house, containing only one room; and in this desolate little home, with her children around her, we behold this young mother commencing her widowed life.

To enable her to support herself and children, she took in sewing and taught a small school. The weight of troubles resting upon her was almost too great for one of her delicate health ; and yet she bore up patiently and bravely, her bright and cheerful disposition only giving way occasionally to fits of gloom and despondency.

It is said, by those who knew him best, that General Jackson rarely spoke of his childhood, having so many painful recollections of its trials and heartaches; and when we think how many and how great these were, we can well understand how he should have shrunk from looking back on them. Three years after her husband's

(leatli, Mrs. Jackson, who was still young and beautiful, married again. Her second husband, a gentleman named Woodson, was, like her first, a lawyer. He was very poor, and her relations were violently opposed to her marrying him, and threatened, if she insisted on doing so, to take her children from her and support and educate them themselves. If, however, she would not marry him, they would aid her with all the money they could spare. But neither threats nor promises would make her give up her second marriage. She had, however, been married but a short time when she found that her husband was too poor to undertake the support of her children, and she was forced to divide them out among their father's brothers and sisters, who had offered to take charge of them.* We can easily appreciate the trial it was to her to give up her young children. Slie was particularly distressed at parting with little Thomas. He was then, it is said, a pretty, rosy-cheeked, blue-eyed little boy, just six years old. Young as he was, he never forgot his own nor his mother's distress at their parting. His father had owned several slaves, but there was now only one left, '^ Uncle Robinson,^' and he was to take the child behind him on horseback and carry him from his mother to his new home. The hour came for his departure; his poor mother, with an aching heart, put up with her own loving hands a lunch for the little boy to eat on the road. " Uncle Robinson'^

* Since the above was written, I have learned that Mrs. Jackson gave up her children not on account of want of support for them, but because she went with her husband to Fayette County, and the journey was considered too trying for them. She herself had a presentiment of her own death when she left. Part of the time after her first husband's d 'i.t'i she lived with her father.

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18 LIFE OF GESERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON.

rode to the door, and all was now ready for liim to go. His mother bade him good-by, and the child was lifted up and placed on the horse behind the faithful slave. They had already started, when the poor mother — doubtless to have an excuse to fold her little son once more in her arms — called them back, to see whether she had omitted anything which could add to his comfort. But she had done all for him that her limited means would allow. And it was perhaps some violent outburst of grief at this second farewell which so impressed the scene on the child's mind that as a man he looked back to it as the most painful of his life. The horse's head was once more turned away from the door; they again set

^ out, and from that day his mother's home ceased to be his. Mrs. Woodson did not live long after parting with her children. A son was born a year after her marriage, and two months later she died. Her children, Warren and Thomas and their little sister Laura, were summoned to their mother's bedside as soon as it was discovered how ill she was, and remained with her until her death. Thomas was seven years old when this took place. She talked a great deal to him as she lay on her death-bed ; and those dying instructions and prayers of his mother were never effaced from his memory. She sank at last quietly and peacefully to rest. Young as he was when she died. General Jackson never forgot his mother, and to the day of his death he continued to think of her as of one who was beautiful, pious, and lovable in every respect.

^ Their father's sisters, Mrs. Brake and Mrs. White,

took charge of the little orphan children after their mother's death. Thomas lived with Mrs. Brake, about four miles from Clarksburg. He was a quiet, grave, and thoughtful child, and had been living \Yith his uncle and aunt Brake only a year when one day he left their house without any warning, walking, though only eight years old, alone to Clarksburg. There he went to the house of Judge Jackson, a cousin of his father, and asked Mrs. Jackson to give him his dinner. She kindly complied with his request, and while he was sitting eating at the table he said, very quietly, " Uncle Brake and I don't agree ; I have quit him, and shall not go back any more.''

Startled at this unexpected announcement, Mrs. Jackson tried to persuade him to return to his uncle Brake, who, it seemed, had offended him by his sternness. But he simply said, " No, he and I don't agree ; I have quit him, and shall not go back any more." When he left Judge Jackson's house, he went to that of a lady cousin, to whom he was very much attached, and asked her to let him stay all night with her. She gladly consented ; and he soon made to her the same remark he had made to Mrs. Jackson, and showed the same quiet determination never to return to live with the uncle he had just left.

It was the next morning that he left Clarksburg, and in that lonely walk of eighteen miles, already described, showed so remarkably that quiet self-reliance which characterized him in after-years, and which helped not a little to make him famous. The uncle to whom he went was Cummins Jackson, and from him, and two aunts who lived with their brother Cummins, he received the greatest kindness. In this new home he had the pleasure of living with his brother Warren, who had long been an inmate of his uncle's house.

To the two brothers Cummins Jackson fulfilled the duties of a father, and his house was always a happy home from the time he came to it, as Ave have seen, a forlorn little traveler, only eight years old, to the day when he left it, a stalwart youth, to enter the Military Academy of West Point. It would have been impossible for a child to lead a life better adapted to physical and moral development than the one Jackson led under his uncle's care. From him he learned all sorts of country games and occuj^ations, and, associating with him more as a companion than as a child, became wonderfully independent and manly for his years.

Cummins Jackson gave to his two nephews every advantage of education which the country then afforded. Thomas was not quick in learning, but he was very industrious and devoted to study. His mind was clear and strong, and what he learned he learned thoroughly. His brother Warren did not like to study, and, disregarding his uncle's kindness, became impatient at being forced to attend school regularly, and finally refused to live any longer under his roof. His uncle, indignant at his ingratitude and rebellion against his authority, told him he might go ; and the unhappy boy left, taking his younger brother with him.

Thomas, we are told, left his uncle's house with unfeigned sorrow; but such was his attachment to his brother that he could not bear to be separated from him.

The two boys accordingly, one fourteen and the other twelve years old, left their uncle's sheltering roof to seek their fortunes in the great world of which they knew so little. They went first to the house of a kind, maternal uncle; but he, like Cummins Jackson, insisted on their going to school. Warren again rebelled, and again persuaded Thomas to join him in leaving a home where they had found nothing but kindness.

The two children went down the Ohio River, and their friends lost siglit of them. The fall months passed away, and the winter set in, and still there were no tidings of the young Avanderers. At length, in February, they made their appearance. Their clothes Avere travel-stained and worn, and their faces showed the effects of sickness and hardship. Their relations, shocked at seeing their condition, heard with dismay the tale of their adventures. Their account was that they had floated in a boat down the Ohio, making their living by first one occupation and then another, until they reached its mouth. They then went down the Mississippi until they reached a lonely island opposite the southwestern corner of Kentucky. There they landed and made a bargain with some men to cut wood on this island for the Mississippi steamers. They lived in a cabin which barely protected them from the weather, and spent the summer cutting wood, at which they worked hard. The island was unhealthy, and they had chills and fever. At last, when they found they could stand it no longer, they asked a steamboat captain to take them back home. This he kindly consented to do, and thus, weary and worn, they were enabled to reach home once more.

Thomas Jackson returned to his uncle Cummins, and in his house he was tenderly cared for, and soon regained his health and strength. AYarren, ashamed perhaps to return to the good uncle whom he had left so unceremoniously, went to live with his aunt, Mrs. Isaac Brake, from whom he received great kindness ; but, never recovering from the effects of the hardships he had undergone, he died some years later, of consumption.

After his trip down the Mississippi, Thomas went back, as we have seen, to live with his uncle Cummins, nor did he ever again show any desire to leave him. He and his sister, after Warren's death, were the only two of their father's children left ; the latter lived in AVood County, where her mother's relations took care of her. As soon as Thomas was separated from AYarren, his desire to go to school was quite as great as his uncle could have wished. Cummins Jackson owned a mill, situated not far from his house, and close to it was the school-house in which Thomas Jackson spent his early school-days.

His mind, though clear and strong, was not a very quick one ; but what he once learned was his forever. Nothing could induce him to attempt the recitation of a lesson which he did not understand. Of arithmetic he was very fond, and it was the one of his lessons Avhich he learned and understood most quickly. His anxiety to learn and his fondness for study in no wise interfered with his devotion to boyish games and exercise. In games of base-ball he was generally chosen as captain of one side, which most frequently proved the winning party. He was not a fast runner, but was surpassed by none of his companions in jumping and climbing.

A quiet and peaceful boy, he was yet quick to resent an insult, and once, in a fight, preferred to receive a whipping rather than cry out, " Enough !"

Perhaps the most striking characteristic of Jackson as a child was his devotion to truth. From this neither threat nor temptation could induce him to swerve for an instant, and teachers and scholars alike admired and respected his courage, honesty, and truth. Industrious in and out of school, he was, however, always anxious to join his uncle whenever he went on a chase. Cummins Jackson, a fearless man and bold rider, enjoyed nothing more than a fox-hunt ; and in tliis exciting sport he was joined by his young nephew as soon as he was old enough. We can easily picture to ourselves this uncle and nephew mounting their horses and sallying forth in the bracing air of a bright, frosty autumn morning, and being soon engaged in a wild ride over hill and dale, in which the boy was not surpassed by the man in boldness and daring. In such a school young Jackson could not fail to become a fine, fearless horseman, and to learn that disregard for fatigue and exposure which is so characteristic of the young men of the South. But it was no part of his nucleus training that he should partake only of his amusements ; and he often had him to assist in his labors on his farm. To a lad as industrious as Thomas, this was no hardship, and his uncle found in him an able and willing assistant.

Though owning slaves, Cummins Jackson had not enough to perform all the work on his farm and at his mill. He and his nephew, therefore, put their own shoulders to the wheel. When Thomas was large enough to undertake such a task, it generally fell to his lot to take a team of oxen and haul logs from the Avoods to the mill, where they were to be sawed into planks. He soon learned to do this work so well, and showed so much resolution in the discharge of his duty, that whenever a particularly large log was to be brought to the mill he was sent to the woods with a party of men under his command, and the log always reached its destination safely. Thus he learned on his uncle's farm to work, to do well what he undertook, and to control himself and those under him.

An anecdote is told of him when he was quite a child, which shows that he had both courage and resolution even at that tender age. When riding home late one evening, a tall, white, ghostly figure suddenly rose from the roadside. The boy and horse were both frightened; the latter snorted and wheeled to run, but his young rider, recovering himself, pulled him back into the road, and, plying whip and spurs, galloped by the white figure, which a few minutes later proved to be one of his young uncles wrapped in a sheet.

In the school of such a life the boyhood of General Jackson was passed. His love of independence led him to try to support himself when still very young, as he was anxious to be no longer dependent on his uncle.

His first occupation was that of a constable, a position whose stern duties could be fulfilled only by a brave and determined man, and Jackson was found to be well qualified for the post. On one occasion he had to collect a sum which the person to whom it was owed had in vain tried to get. Jackson, having failed in several attempts to get the money, finally made the man who owed it promise that he would meet him in the little village of AYeston on a certain day and be ready to pay the money down. Having exacted this promise from the debtor, he pledged himself to the creditor to pay the money on that day.