Stonewall Jackson was one of the most famous Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the most trusted military commander of General Robert E. Lee. He was known for being bold, fast and deeply religious, and his soldiers feared and respected him. His death in 1863 was one of the biggest losses the Confederacy suffered during the entire war.
Stonewall Jackson’s Early Life
Thomas Jonathan Jackson was born on January 21st, 1824 CE in Clarksburg, Virginia, which is now part of the state of West Virginia. His early life was full of hardship. His father died of typhoid fever when Thomas was just two years old. His mother struggled to look after the family on her own and died when Thomas was seven. After losing both parents, Thomas went to live with his uncle, Cummins Jackson, at a farm in Jackson’s Mill, Virginia. He grew up there without much money and with very little formal schooling.
Despite his difficult start in life, Jackson worked hard and earned a place at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1842 CE. He was older than most of the other students and had less schooling than they did. He struggled at first and other students made fun of him for his rough background. Regardless, he kept working and improving. He graduated in 1846 CE, 17th in his class. Some of his classmates said that if the course had been longer, he would have finished first. After graduation, Jackson went straight to Mexico to fight in the Mexican-American War, where he served under General Winfield Scott and earned two promotions for bravery. It was in Mexico that he first met Robert E. Lee, who would later become his commanding general in the Civil War.
Stonewall Jackson as a Teacher
After the Mexican-American War, Jackson left the army in 1851 CE and took a job as a teacher at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. The Virginia Military Institute, known as VMI, was a school that trained young men to be soldiers and officers. Jackson taught classes on artillery and natural philosophy, which was the study of science at the time. His students found him odd. He was very strict, very serious and not easy to talk to. He had some unusual habits, such as eating a plain diet and often holding one arm up in the air for long periods of time because he believed it helped his blood flow better. Despite being a hard teacher, he was respected for his honesty and deep religious faith. He was a very committed Presbyterian Christian and attended church every week without fail. As such, his years at VMI shaped him into the serious, disciplined and deeply religious man he was when the Civil War began.
Stonewall Jackson and the First Battle of Bull Run
When Virginia left the United States in April of 1861 CE and the Civil War began, Jackson quickly joined the Confederate army. He was made a colonel and sent to organize and train volunteer soldiers. He did this job well and built a strong and disciplined brigade. In July of 1861 CE, the Union army marched south into Virginia to fight the Confederates at a battle that became known as the First Battle of Bull Run, or First Manassas. The fighting was intense. At one point the Confederate line started to fall apart under Union pressure. Jackson led his men forward and held their ground under very heavy fire. A fellow Confederate general, Barnard Bee, looked over and called out to his own men: “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!” The name stuck. From that point on, Thomas Jonathan Jackson was known to everyone as Stonewall Jackson. The battle ended as a Confederate victory and Jackson was promoted to major general.
Stonewall Jackson and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign
In the spring of 1862 CE, Jackson was given command of Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley in northwestern Virginia. The Shenandoah Valley was an important area because it was a natural route for armies moving north or south and it produced a large amount of food for the Confederate army. The Union army had a large number of troops in the area and planned to use them to help capture the Confederate capital of Richmond.
Jackson’s campaign in the valley from March to June of 1862 CE was one of the most impressive military operations of the entire war. He had only about 17,000 men, far fewer than the Union forces facing him. Regardless, he moved his army so quickly and attacked so boldly and unexpectedly that the Union forces could never get a firm grip on where he was or what he was going to do next. For instance, in just one month his army marched nearly 700 miles and fought five separate battles, winning four of them. The campaign kept tens of thousands of Union soldiers tied down in the valley who could otherwise have been used to attack Richmond. As such, Jackson’s Valley Campaign helped save the Confederate capital and became famous as a masterpiece of military strategy.
Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee
After the Valley Campaign, Jackson joined forces with Robert E. Lee and became Lee’s most important and trusted general. The two worked very well together. Lee was bold and Jackson was even bolder. Lee often gave Jackson difficult and risky assignments knowing that Jackson would carry them out with speed and determination. For instance, at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August of 1862 CE, Lee sent Jackson’s force on a long march around the back of the Union army to cut off their supplies. Jackson covered more than 50 miles in two days, captured a huge Union supply depot and then held off the Union army alone until Lee arrived with the rest of the Confederate forces. The battle was a major Confederate victory.
Jackson also played important roles at the Battle of Antietam in September of 1862 CE and the Battle of Fredericksburg in December of 1862 CE. At both battles, his hard fighting helped Lee hold off the Union army. By the end of 1862 CE, Jackson was the second most famous Confederate general after Lee himself. When Lee talked about Jackson, he spoke of him with great affection and deep respect. Lee once said of Jackson: “He is true, honest and brave; has a single eye to the good of the service, and spares no exertion to accomplish his object.”
Stonewall Jackson’s Death
Jackson’s death came suddenly and tragically at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May of 1863 CE. The battle was one of Lee and Jackson’s greatest victories together. Jackson led a daring march of 28,000 men around the entire right side of the Union army without being seen, then attacked the exposed Union flank at dusk, causing a total panic. The attack was a great success. As the fighting died down in the evening, Jackson and some of his officers rode forward in the dark to look at the Union positions. On the way back, Confederate soldiers from North Carolina heard horsemen approaching in the darkness. They thought it was a Union cavalry patrol. They opened fire. Jackson was hit by three bullets. One bullet broke the bone just below his left shoulder and his left arm had to be cut off.
Jackson was moved to a nearby farmhouse to recover. At first the doctors thought he would survive. Lee sent him a message saying: “He has lost his left arm but I have lost my right arm.” However, Jackson developed pneumonia a few days later. He died on May 10th, 1863 CE at the age of thirty-nine. His last words were: “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.” The entire South mourned his death. Many historians believe that the loss of Jackson changed the course of the war. For instance, just two months later at the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee made decisions that Jackson might have handled differently, and some historians believe the outcome might have been different had Jackson been alive.
Stonewall Jackson’s Legacy
Stonewall Jackson is remembered as one of the greatest military commanders in American history and the best general Robert E. Lee ever had working for him. He was bold, fast and completely dedicated to winning. His soldiers trusted him completely, even when his orders were hard and his marches were exhausting. For instance, his men called themselves the Foot Cavalry because they marched so fast and so far. Regardless, his story is also complicated. He fought to defend a Confederate society built on slavery. He himself owned enslaved people before the war. As such, Stonewall Jackson’s legacy is one that historians continue to study and debate, both for his remarkable military skill and for the cause he chose to fight for.
