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General "Stonewall" Jackson
General "Stonewall" Jackson: His Last Battle
At daybreak on the morning of the 29th of April, 1863,
sleeping in our tents at corps headquarters, near Hamilton's
Crossing, we were aroused by Major Samuel Hale, of Early's staff, with the stirring news that Federal troops were crossing
theRappahannock on pontoons under cover of a heavy fog. General Jackson had spent the
night at Mr. Yerby's hospitable mansion near by, where Mrs. Jackson [his second wife] had brought her infant child for the
father to see. He was at once informed, and promptly issued to his division commander’s orders of preparation for action.
At his direction I rode a mile across the fields to army headquarters, and finding General Robert E. Lee still slumbering
quietly, at the suggestion of Colonel Venable, whom I found stirring, I entered his tent and awoke the general. Turning his
feet out of his cot he sat upon its side as I gave him the tidings from the front. Expressing no surprise, he playfully said:
"Well, I thought I heard firing, and was beginning to think it was time some of you young fellows were coming to tell me what
it was all about. Tell your good general that I am sure he knows what to do. I will meet him at the front very soon."
| General Stonewall Jackson |
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| (Courtesy VMI) |
(About) "Chancellorsville Picture." The last photo of General Stonewall
Jackson dates from late April 1863 and is often called the "Chancellorsville photograph." Jackson was headquartered near what
would soon become his last battlefield - Chancellorsville - when a photographer from the Richmond studio of Minnis and Crowell
convinced him to pose for a portrait. Jackson was killed less than two weeks later.
It was Sedgwick who had crossed, and, marching along
the river front to impress us with his numbers, was now intrenching his line on the river road, under cover of Federal batteries
on the north bank.
All day long we lay in the old lines of the action of
December preceding, watching the operation of the enemy. Nor did we move through the next day, the 30th of April. General
Lee had been informed promptly by General J. E. B. Stuart, of the Confederate cavalry, of the movement in force by General
Hooker across the Rappahannock upon Chancellorsville; and during the night of Thursday, April 30th, General Jackson withdrew
his corps, leaving Early and his division with Barksdale's brigade to hold the old lines from Hamilton's Crossing along the
rear of Fredericksburg.
By the light of a brilliant moon, at midnight, that passed
into an early dawn of dense mist, the troops were moved, by the Old Mine road, out of sight of the enemy, until, about eleven
A.M. of Friday, May 1st, they reached Anderson's position, confronting Hooker's advance from Chancellorsville, near the Tabernacle
Church on the plank road. To meet the whole Army of the Potomac, under Hooker, General
Lee had of all arms about sixty thousand men. General Longstreet, with part of his corps, was absent below Petersburg. General Lee had two divisions of Longstreet's corps, Anderson's
and McLaws's, and Jackson's corps, consisting of four divisions, A. P. Hill's, D. H. Hill's commanded by Rodes, Trimble's
commanded by Colston, and Early's; and about a hundred and seventy pieces of field artillery. The divisions of Anderson and
McLaws had been sent fromFredericksburg to meet Hooker's advance from Chancellorsville; Anderson on Wednesday, and McLaws (except Barksdale's brigade left
with Early) on Thursday. At the Tabernacle Church,
about four miles east of Chancellorsville, the opposing forces met and brisk skirmishing
began. On Friday Jackson, reaching Anderson's position, took command of the Confederate advance, and urged on his skirmish
line under Brigadier-General Ramseur with great vigor. How the muskets rattled across a front of a mile or two, across the
unfenced fields, and through the woodlands! What spirit was imparted to the line, and cheers rolled along its length, when
Jackson, and then Lee himself, appeared riding abreast of the line along the plank road! Slowly but steadily the line advanced,
until at nightfall all Federal pickets and skirmishes were driven back upon the body of Hooker's force at Chancellorsville.
| Battle of Chancellorsville:Jackson's Flank Attack |
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| Location of Stonewall Jackson's death |
Here we reached a point, a mile and a half from Hooker's lines, where a road
turns down to the left toward the old Catherine Furnace; and here at the fork of the roads General Lee and General Jackson
spent the night, resting on the pine straw, curtained only by the close shadow of the pine forest. A little after night-fall
I was sent by General Lee upon an errand to General A. P. Hill, on the old stone turnpike a mile or two north; and returning
some time later with information of matters on our right, I found General Jackson retired to rest, and General Lee sleeping
at the foot of a tree, covered with his army cloak. As I aroused the sleeper, he slowly sat up on the ground and said, "Ah,
Captain, you have returned, have you? Come here and tell me what you have learned on the right." Laying his hand on me he
drew me down by his side, and, passing his arm around my shoulder, drew me near to him in a fatherly way that told of his
warm and kindly heart. When I had related such information as I had secured for him, he thanked me for accomplishing his commission,
and then said that he regretted that the young men about General Jackson had not relieved him of annoyance, by finding a battery
of the enemy which had harassed our advance, adding that the young men of that day were not equal to what they were when he
was a young man. Seeing immediately that he was jesting and disposed to rally me, as he often
did younger officers, I broke away from the hold on me which he tried to retain, and, as he laughed heartily through the stillness
of the night, I went off to make a bed of my saddle-blanket, and, with my head in my saddle, near my horse's feet, was soon
wrapped in the heavy slumber of a wearied soldier.
Some
time after midnight I was awakened by the chill of the early morning hours, and, turning over, caught a glimpse of a little
flame on the slope above me, and looking up to see what it meant I saw, bending over a scant fire of twigs, two men
seated on old cracker boxes and warming their hands over the little fire. I had but to rub my eyes and collect my wits to
recognize the figures of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Who can tell the story of that quiet council of war between
two sleeping armies? Nothing remains on record to tell of plans discussed, and dangers weighed, and a great purpose formed,
but the story of the great day so soon to follow.
It was broad daylight, and
the thick beams of yellow sunlight came through the pine branches, when some one touched me rudely with his foot, saying,
"Get up, Smith, the general wants you!" As I leaped to my feet, the rhythmic click of canteens of marching infantry caught
my ear. Already in motion! What could it mean? In a moment I was mounted and at the side of the general, who sat on his horse
by the roadside, as the long line of our troops cheerily, but in silence as directed, poured down the Furnace road. His cap
was pulled low over his eyes, and, looking up from under the visor, with lips compressed, indicating the firm purpose within,
he nodded to me, and in brief and rapid utterance, without a superfluous word, as though all were distinctly formed in his
mind and beyond question, he gave me orders for our wagon and ambulance trains. From the open fields in our rear, at the head
of the Carthapin road, all trains were to be moved upon that road to Todd's tavern, and thence west by interior roads, so
that our troops would be between them and the enemy at Chancellorsville.
My orders delivered and
the trains set in motion, I returned to the site of our night's bivouac, to find that General Jackson and staff had followed
the marching column.
Who was the young ordnance
officer who so kindly fed my horse at the tail of his wagon and then added the few camp biscuits, which were breakfast, dinner,
and supper to me that day? Many thanks to my unknown friend.
Slow and tedious is the
advance of a mounted officer who has to pass in narrow wood roads through dense thickets, the packed column of marching infantry,
to be recognized all along the line and good-naturedly chaffed by many a gay-spirited fellow: "Say, here's one of old Jack's
little boys, let him by, boys!" in a most patronizing tone. "Have a good breakfast this morning, sonny?" "Better hurry up,
or you'll catch it for getting behind." "Tell Old Jack we're all a-comin'." "Don't let him begin the fuss till we get thar!"
And so on, until about three P. M., after a ride of ten miles of tortuous road, I found the general seated on a stump by the
Brock road, writing this dispatch.
Near 2 P. M., May 2nd, 1863.
GENERAL: The enemy has made a stand at Chancellor's, which is about two miles from Chancellorsville.
I hope as soon as practicable to attack.
I trust that an ever kind Providence will bless
us with success.
Respectfully,
T. J. JACKSON,
Lieutenant-General.
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE.
P. S. The leading division is up, and the next two appear to be well closed.
T. J. J.
| General Stonewall Jackson's horse "Little Sorrel" |
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| (Courtesy VMI) |
(About) "Little Sorrel." This photograph shows General Stonewall
Jackson's horse "Little Sorrel," after the Civil War. Originally purchased by Jackson as a gift for his wife and initially
named "Fancy," this name was short-lived. Jackson decided to keep the horse, and it was universally known as "Little Sorrel."
Described as small (approximately 15 hands) and gaunt, but with remarkable powers of endurance, "Little Sorrel" remained Jackson's
favorite and he was riding this horse when he was mortally wounded at Chancellorsville.
The place here mentioned
as Chancellor's was also known as Dowdall's Tavern. It was the farm of the Rev. Melzi Chancellor, two miles west of Chancellorsville, and the Federal forces found here and at Talley's, a mile
farther to the west, was the Eleventh Corps, under General Howard. General Fitz Lee, with cavalry scouts, had advanced until
he had view of the position of Howard's corps, and found them unprotected by pickets, and unsuspicious of a possible attack.
Reaching the Orange plank
road, General Jackson himself rode with Fitz Lee to reconnoiter the position of Howard, and then sent the Stonewall brigade
of Virginia troops, under Brigadier-General Paxton, to hold the point where the Germanna
plank road obliquely enters the Orange road. Leading the main column of his force farther
on the Brock road to the old turnpike, the head of the column turned sharply eastward, toward Chancellorsville.
About a mile had been passed, when he halted and began the disposition of his forces to attack Howard.
Rodes's division, at the
head of the column, was thrown into line of battle, with Colston forming the second line and A. P. Hill's the third, while
the artillery under Colonel Stapleton Crutchfield moved in column on the road, or was parked in a field on the right. The
well-trained skirmishers of Rodes's division, under Major Eugene Blackford, were thrown to the front. It must have been between
five and six o'clock in the evening, Saturday, May 2nd, when these dispositions were completed. Upon his stout-built, long-paced
little sorrel, General Jackson sat, with visor low over his eyes, and lips compressed, and with his watch in his hand. Upon
his right sat General Robert E. Rodes, the very picture of a soldier, and every inch all that he appeared. Upon his right
sat Major Blackford.
"Are you ready, General
Rodes?" said Jackson.
"Yes, sir!" said Rodes,
impatient for the advance.
"You can go forward then,"
said Jackson.
A nod from Rodes was order
enough for Blackford, and then suddenly the woods rang with the bugle call, and back came the responses from bugles on the
right and left, and the long line of skirmishers, through the wild thicket of undergrowth, sprang eagerly to their work, followed
promptly by the quick steps of the line of battle. For a moment all the troops seemed buried in the depths of the gloomy forest,
and then suddenly the echoes wakes and swept the country, for miles, never failing, until heard at the headquarters of Hooker
at Chancellorsville—the wild "rebel yell" of the long Confederate lines.
Never was assault delivered
with grander enthusiasm. Fresh from the long winter's waiting, and confident from the preparation of the spring, the troops
were in fine condition and in high spirits. The boys were all back from home or sick leave. "Old Jack" was there upon the
road in their midst; there could be no mistake and no failure. And there were Rodes and A. P. Hill. Had they not seen and
cheered as long and loud as they were permitted the gay-hearted Stuart and the splendid Fitz Lee, with long beard and fiery
charger? Was not Crutchfield's array of brass and iron "dogs of war" at hand, with Poague and Palmer, and all the rest, ready
to bark loud and deep with half a chance?
| General Stonewall Jackson's horse |
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| (Courtesy VMI) |
(About) "Little Sorrel." Photo of General Stonewall Jackson's
horse "Little Sorrel" on the VMI Parade Ground after the Civil War. After the war, Little Sorrel first returned to North Carolina
with Mrs. Jackson, and subsequently was sent to VMI, where he grazed on the VMI Parade Ground and was a favorite of cadets.
He died 21 years after the conflict in March 1886, at the age of 36, and his mounted hide is now on display in the VMI Museum
in Lexington, Virginia. Little Sorrel's bones were cremated and interred on the grounds of VMI in 1997.
Alas! for Howard and his
uniformed lines, and his brigades with guns stacked, and officers at dinner or asleep under the trees, and butchers deep in
the blood of beeves! Scattered through field and forest, his men were preparing their evening meal. A little show of earthwork
facing the south was quickly taken by us in reverse from the west. Flying battalions are not flying buttresses for an army's
stability. Across Talley's field the rout begins. Over at Hawkins's hill, on the north of the road, Carl Schurz makes a stand,
soon to be driven into the same hopeless panic. By the quiet Wilderness Church in the vale, leaving wounded and dead everywhere,
by Melzi Chancellor's, on into the deep thicket, again the Confederate lines press forward,—now broken and all disaligned
by the density of bush that tears the clothes away; now halting to deliver a volley upon some regiment or fragment of the
enemy that will not move as fast as others. Thus the attack upon Hooker's flank was a grand success, beyond the most sanguine
expectation.
The writer of this narrative,
an aide-de-camp of Jackson's,
was ordered to remain at the point where the advance began, to be a center of communication between the general and the cavalry
on the flanks, and to deliver orders to detachments of artillery still moving up from the rear.
Whose fine black charger,
with such elegant trappings, was that, deserted by his owner and found tied to a tree, which became mine only for that short
and eventful nightfall?
It was about eight P. M.,
in the twilight, that, so comfortably mounted, I gathered my couriers about me and went forward to find General Jackson. The
storm of battle had swept far on to the east, and become more and more faint to the ear, until silence came with night over
the fields and woods. As I rode along that old turnpike, passing scattered fragments of Confederates looking for their regiments,
parties of prisoners concentrating under guards, wounded men by the roadside and under the trees at Talley's and Chancellor's,
I had reached an open field on the right, a mile west of Chancellorsville, when, in the dusky twilight, I saw horsemen near
an old cabin in the field. Turning toward them, I found Rodes and his staff engaged in gathering the broken and scattered
troops that had swept the two miles of battle-field. "General Jackson is just ahead on the road, Captain," said Rodes; "tell
him I will be here at this cabin if I am wanted." I had not gone a hundred yards before I heard firing, a shot or two, and
then a company volley upon the right of the road, and another upon the left. A few moments farther on I met Captain Murray
Taylor, an aide of A. P. Hill's, with tidings that Jackson and Hill were wounded, and some around them killed, by the fire
of their own men. Spurring my horse into a sweeping gallop, I soon passed the Confederate line of battle, and, some three
or four rods on its front, found the general's horse beside a pine sapling on the left, and a rod beyond a little party of
men caring for a wounded officer. The story of the sad event is briefly told, and very much in essentials as it came to me
from the lips of the wounded general himself, and in everything confirmed and completed by those who were eye-witnesses and
near companions.
| General Stonewall Jackson's boyhood home |
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| "Jackson's Mill," West Virginia. Courtesy VMI |
When Jackson had reached
the point where his line now crossed the turnpike, scarcely a mile west of Chancellorsville, and not half a mile from a line
of Federal troops, he had found his front line unfit for the farther and vigorous advance he desired, by reason of the irregular
character of the fighting, now right, now left, and because of the dense thickets, through which it was impossible to preserve
alignment. Division commanders found it more and more difficult as the twilight deepened to hold their broken brigades in
hand. Regretting the necessity of relieving the troops in front, General Jackson had ordered A. P. Hill's division, his third
and reserve line, to be placed in front. While this change was being effected, impatient and anxious, the general rode toward
us on the turnpike, followed by two or three of his staff and a number of couriers and signal-sergeants. He passed the swampy
depression and began the ascent of the hill toward Chancellorsville,
when he came upon a line of the Federal infantry lying on their arms. Fired at by one or two muskets (two musket balls from
the enemy whistled over my head as I came to the front), he turned and came back toward his line, upon the side of the road
to his left. As he rode near to the Confederate troops just placed in position, and ignorant that that he was in the front,
the left company began firing to the front, and two of his party fell from their saddles—Capt. Boswell of the Engineers,
and Sergeant Cunliffe of the Signal Corps. Spurring his horse across the road to his right, he was met by a second volley
from the right company of Pender's North Carolina Brigade. Under this volley, when not two rods from the troops, the general
received three balls at the same instant. One penetrated the palm of his right hand and was cut out that night from the back
of his hand. A second passed around the wrist of the left arm and out through the left hand. But a third ball passed through
the left arm halfway from shoulder to elbow. The large bone of the upper arm was splintered to the elbow-joint, and the wound
bled freely. His horse turned quickly from the fire, through the thick bushes, which swept the cap from the general's head,
and scratched his forehead, leaving drops of blood to stain his face. As he lost hold upon the bridle-rein, he reeled from
the saddle, and was caught by the arms of Captain Milbourne of the Signal Corps. Laid upon the ground, there came at once
to his succor, General A. P. Hill and members of his staff. The writer reached his side a minute after, to find General Hill
holding the head and shoulders of the wounded chief. Cutting open the coat sleeve from wrist to shoulder, I found the wound
in the upper arm, and with my handkerchief I bound the arm above the wound to stem the flow of blood. Couriers were sent for
Dr. Hunter McGuire, the surgeon of the corps and the general's trusted friend, and for an ambulance. Being outside of our
lines, it was urgent that he should be moved at once. With difficulty litter-bearers were brought from the line near by, the
general placed upon the litter, and carefully raised to the shoulder, I myself bearing one corner. A moment after, artillery
from the Federal side was opened upon us; great broadsides thundered over the woods; hissing shells searched the dark thickets
through, and shrapnels swept the road along which we moved. Two or three steps farther, and the litter-bearer at my side was
struck and fell, but, as the litter turned, Major Watkins Leigh, of Hill's staff, happily caught it. But the fright of the
men was so great that we were obliged to lay the litter and its burden down upon the road. As the litter-bearers ran to the
cover of the trees, I threw myself by the general's side, and held him firmly to the ground as he attempted to rise. Over
us swept the rapid fire of shot and shell—grape-shot striking fire among the flinty rock of the road all around us,
and sweeping from their feet horses and men of the artillery just moved to the front. Soon the firing veered to the other
side of the road, and I sprang to my feet, assisted the general to rise, passed my arm around him, and with the wounded man's
weight thrown heavily upon me, we forsook the road. Entering the woods, he sank to the ground from exhaustion, but the litter
was soon brought, and again rallying a few men, we essayed to carry him farther, when a second bearer fell at my side. This
time, with none to assist, the litter careened, and the general fell to the ground, with a groan of deep pain. Greatly alarmed,
I sprang to his head, and, lifting his head as a stray beam of moonlight came through clouds and leaves, he opened his eyes
and wearily said, "Never mind me, Captain, never mind me." Raising him again to his feet, he was accosted by Brigadier-general
Pender: "Oh, General, I hope you are not seriously wounded. I will have to retire my troops to re-form them, they are so much
broken by this fire." But Jackson, rallying his strength,
with firm voice said, "You must hold your ground, General Pender; you must hold your ground, sir!" and so uttered his last
command on the field.
Again we resorted to the
litter, and with difficulty bore it through the bush, and then under hot and angry fire along the road. Soon an ambulance
was reached, and stopping to seek some stimulant at Chancellor's (Dowdall's Tavern), we were found by Dr. McGuire, who at
once took charge of the wounded man. Through the night, back over the battle-field of the afternoon, we reached the Wilderness
store, and in a field on the north the field-hospital of our corps under Dr. Harvey Black. Here we found a tent prepared,
and after midnight the left arm was amputated near the shoulder, and a ball taken from the right hand.
| General Stonewall Jackson house |
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| (Courtesy VMI) |
(About) Jackson's Home. Photo of Jackson's home in Lexington, Virginia,
where he and Mary Anna lived from 1858 until war began in 1861.
All night long it was mine
to watch by the sufferer, and keep him warmly wrapped and undisturbed in his sleep. At nine A. M., on the next day, when he
aroused, cannon firing again filled the air, and all the Sunday through the fierce battle raged, General J. E. B. Stuart commanding
the Confederates in Jackson's
place. A dispatch was sent to the commanding general to announce formally his disability,—tidings General Lee had received
during the night with profound grief. There came back the following note:
"GENERAL: I have just received your note, informing me that you were wounded. I cannot express my regret at the
occurrence. Could I have directed events, I should have chosen, for the good of the country, to have been disabled in your
stead.
"I
congratulate you upon the victory which is due to your skill and energy.
'"Most
truly your,
"R. E. LEE, GENERAL."
When this dispatch was handed
to me at the tent, and I read it aloud, General Jackson turned his face away and said, "General Lee is very kind, but he should
give the praise to God." The long day was passed with bright hopes for the wounded general, with tidings of success on the
battle-field, with sad news of losses, and messages to and from other wounded officers brought to the same infirmary.
On Monday, the general was
carried in an ambulance, by way of Spotsylvania Court House to most comfortable lodging at Chandler's, near Guinea's Station,
on the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac railroad. And here, against our hopes, notwithstanding the skill and care of
wise and watchful surgeons, watched day and night by wife and friends, amid the prayers and tears of all the Southern land,
thinking not of himself, but of the cause he loved, and for the troops who had followed him so well and given him so great
a name, our chief sank, day by day, with symptoms of pneumonia and some pains of pleurisy, until at 3:15 P. M., on the quiet
of the Sabbath afternoon, May 10th, 1863, he raised himself from his bed, saying, "No, no, let us pass over the river, and
rest under the shade of the trees"; and, falling again to his pillow, he passed away, "over the river," where, in a land where
warfare is not known or feared, he rests forever, "under the trees."
| Jackson's grave in Lexington, Virginia, circa 1866 |
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| (Courtesy VMI) |
(Right) General "Stonewall" Jackson gravesite. Each year the "Stonewall" grave is visited by thousands
who pay their respect, and many even place lemons atop the fence in tribute to the legend that "Stonewall" enjoyed, or perhaps endured,
the bitter fruit.
His shattered arm was buried in the family burying-ground of the Ellwood place—Major
J. H. Lacy's—near his last battlefield.
His body rests, as he
himself asked, "in Lexington, in the Valley of Virginia." The spot where he was
so fatally wounded in the shades of the Wilderness is marked by a large quartz rock, placed there by the care of his chaplain
and friend, the Rev. Dr. B. T. Lacy, and the latter's brother, Major J. H. Lacy, of Ellwood.
Others must tell the story
of Confederate victory at Chancellorsville. It has been mine only, as in the movement of
that time, so with my pen now, to follow my general himself. Great, the world believes him to be in many elements of generalship;
he was greatest and noblest in that he was good, and, without a selfish thought, gave his talent and his life to a cause that,
as before the God he so devoutly served, he deemed right and just.
Sources: The Century Magazine. Vol. XXXII. October 1886, No. 6;
Map courtesy Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT); VMI.
Recommended Reading:
Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend (Hardcover) (950 pages).
Description: A distinguished Civil War historian unravels
the complex character of the Confederacy's greatest general. Drawing on previously untapped manuscript sources, the author
refutes such long-standing myths as Stonewall Jackson's obsessive eating of lemons and gives a three-dimensional account of
the profound religious faith frequently caricatured as grim Calvinism. Though the author capably covers the battles that made
Jackson a legend--Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, etc.--he emphasizes "the life story of an extraordinary man." The result
is a biography that will fascinate even those allergic to military history. Continued below.
The New York
Times Book Review, Stephen W. Sears . . . [T]wo dozen writers have attempted [Stonewall] biographies, and there are any number
of special studies, monographs and essays. Now going straight to the head of the class of Jackson biographers,
and likely to remain there, is James I. Robertson Jr. . . . Stonewall Jackson:
The Man, the Soldier, the Legend gives us far and away the sharpest picture we have ever had of this enigmatic
figure.
Recommended
Reading:
A Brotherhood Of Valor: The Common Soldiers Of The Stonewall Brigade C.S.A. And The Iron Brigade U.S.A. Description: Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson was arguably the
greatest commander of the Civil War. Yet, "Stonewall" Jackson
owed much of his success to the troops who served under his command. He eagerly gave them their due: "You cannot praise these
men of my brigade too much; they have fought, marched, and endured more than I even thought they would." The Stonewall Brigade,
composed mainly of Virginians from the Shenandoah Valley, proved its mettle at First Manassas and never let up--even after
its esteemed leader was shot down at Chancellorsville. Their equally elite counterparts in
the Army of the Potomac were known as the Iron Brigade, hardy westerners drawn from Wisconsin,
Indiana, and Michigan.
By focusing on these two groups, historian Jeffry Wert retells the story of the Civil War's eastern theater as it was experienced
by these ordinary men from North and South. Continued below.
His
battle descriptions are riveting, especially when he covers Antietam:
Three
times the Georgians charged towards the guns, and three times they were repelled. Union infantry west of the battery ripped
apart the attacker's flank, and the artillerists unleashed more canister.... Finally, the Georgians could withstand the punishment
no longer, and as more Union infantry piled into the Cornfield, Hood's wrecked division retreated towards West Woods and Dunker Church. When
asked later where his command was, Hood replied, "Dead on the field."
But
the book is perhaps most notable for the way in which it describes the everyday hardships befalling each side. They often
lacked food, shoes, blankets, and other military necessities. When the war began, the men believed deeply in their conflicting
causes. Before it was over, writes Wert, "the war itself became their common enemy." Wert is slowly but surely gaining a reputation
as one of the finest popular historians writing about the Civil War; A Brotherhood of Valor will undoubtedly advance his claim.
Recommended
Reading: Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade (American Civil War Classics)
(412 pages) (University of South Carolina
Press). Description: From his looting of farmhouses
during the Gettysburg campaign and robbing of fallen Union soldiers as opportunity allowed to his five arrests for infractions
of military discipline and numerous unapproved leaves, John O. Casler’s actions during the Civil War made him as much
a rogue as a Rebel. Though he was no model soldier, his forthright confessions of his service years in the Army of Northern
Virginia stand among the most sought after and cited accounts by a Confederate soldier. First published in 1893 and significantly
revised and expanded in 1906, Casler’s Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade recounts the truths of camp life, marches,
and combat. Moreover, Casler’s recollections provide an unapologetic view of the effects of the harsh life in Stonewall’s
ranks on an average foot soldier and his fellows. Continued below.
A native of Gainesboro, Virginia, with an inherent wanderlust and thirst
for adventure, Casler enlisted in June 1861 in what became Company A, 33rd Virginia Infantry, and participated in major campaigns
throughout the conflict, including Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
Captured in February 1865, he spent the final months of the war as a prisoner at Fort
McHenry, Maryland.
His postwar
narrative recalls the realities of warfare for the private soldier, the moral ambiguities of thievery and survival at the
front, and the deliberate cruelties of capture and imprisonment with the vivid detail, straightforward candor, and irreverent
flair for storytelling that have earned Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade its place in the first rank of primary literature
of the Confederacy. This edition features a new introduction by Robert K. Krick chronicling Casler’s origins and his
careers after the war as a writer and organizer of Confederate veterans groups.
Recommended Reading:
The Stonewall Brigade, by James I. Robertson (Author) (304 pages) (Louisiana
State University Press). Description: Commanded by
Thomas J. Jackson and comprised of the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 27th and 33rd Virginia Infantry Regiments, plus the Rockbridge Artillery
Battery, the unit was officially Virginia's First Brigade. This changed forever at the Battle of First
Manassas when in the face of a seemingly overwhelming Federal attack, General Bee, an adjacent Confederate brigade commander,
reportedly said, "Yonder stands Jackson like a stone wall; let's go to his assistance. Rally behind the Virginians!" Continued
below.
This book describes
the Stonewall Brigade in combat from first mustering to bitter end, when only 210 ragged and footsore soldiers remained of
the 6,000 that served through the war. "A nice read for the students of the "Stonewall"
Brigade, General "Stonewall" Jackson, and the Civil War."
Recommended Reading: Stonewall in the Valley: Thomas J. Stonewall
Jackson's Shenandoah Valley Campaign, Spring 1862. Description: The Valley Campaign
conducted by Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson has long fascinated those interested in the American Civil War as well
as general students of military history, all of whom still question exactly what Jackson
did in the Shenandoah in 1862 and how he did it. Since Robert G. Tanner answered many questions in the first edition of Stonewall
in the Valley in 1976, he has continued to research the campaign. This edition offers
new insights on the most significant moments of Stonewall's Shenandoah triumph. Continued below.
About
the Author: Robert G. Tanner is a graduate
of the Virginia Military Institute. A native of Southern California, he now lives and practices law in Atlanta, Georgia. He has studied and lectured on the Shenandoah Valley Campaign for more
than twenty-five years.
Recommended Viewing:
Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson Story, starring James I Robertson Jr., Bill Potter, and Ken Carpenter
(2007) (DVD). Description: His legacy as a military genius is widely renowned. Now, in Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson
Story, his legacy as a man of resolute Christian character is captured in this revealing documentary. Through stunning High
Definition videography and expert narrative, Still Standing traces the life of Stonewall Jackson from his orphaned childhood,
to the Sunday School class he taught for African Americans that has resulted in a lasting impact today, to the pivotal role
he played as a General in the Civil War. Still Standing inspires, entertains, and educates as it examines the life of a uniquely
American hero. Continued below.
Review: In true Franklin Springs Family Media fashion, Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson
Story is destined to become a family favorite. Still Standing chronicles the life of a true Christian man brought to fame
by his exemplary military acumen in the American Civil War. But it was his faithfulness to the Gospel in his family, with
his children, toward his soldiers, and the Sunday School class for Blacks (freemen and slaves) that he started, taught, and
supported that, no doubt, earned Thomas Jackson the reward of hearing those precious words, Well done, good and faithful servant,
from his King when he crossed over the river and finally rested under the shade of the trees. This important documentary will
be used in my family to inspire a new generation to look to General Jackson as a man with flaws, but who followed hard after
Christ. May mine and I, by God s grace, stand like a stone wall before the onslaught of the enemy, trusting that we are as
safe on the battlefield as we are in our beds. --Home Schooling Today
Recommended
Viewing: Biography - Stonewall Jackson (2005) (A&E) (DVD). Description: He earned his nickname for
bravery at Bull Run and led some of the most stunning campaigns of the Civil
War. An outstanding leader and brilliant tactician, Stonewall Jackson is widely regarded as one of the greatest Confederate
commanders. In an exhaustive investigation, this documentary examines Jackson's
military prowess through period accounts, interviews with renowned Civil War historians and military experts, and Jackson's
own strategies in his pivotal engagements. Continued below.
Follow his
career through the American Army, the Mexican American War, and his command in the Confederacy. See rare photos of the famed
leader and learn the tragic story of his death at Chancellorsville. Stonewall
Jackson visits some of the bloodiest battlegrounds in America for a riveting portrait of the commander
who held his ground “like a stone wall.”
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