On May 10, 1863, Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson died from friendly fire wounds inflicted days before. Jackson's death was a loss to the Confederate cause, and ensured that Gen. Robert E. Lee would be without his best corps commander during the critical Gettysburg campaign.
The son of a Virginia lawyer, Jackson attended West Point and served as a junior artillery officer in the Mexican-American War. When the Civil War began, Jackson was teaching at the Virginia Military Institute and he soon joined the burgeoning Confederate army. Holding the rank of colonel and having assembled an infantry brigade, Jackson arrived at the Bull Run battlefield in July 1861, in time to help turn the tide against the Union forces.
It was during that battle that both Jackson and his brigade earned the moniker “Stonewall.” During the battle, Confederate Gen. Bernard Bee supposedly stated to his troops, “There is Jackson, standing like a stone wall.”
Shortly after making this statement, Bee was struck down by Union fire and soon died. To this day, the meaning of his statement is not certain. Did he mean that Jackson could stand up to enemy fire? Or did he mean that Jackson should have charged instead of just standing still?
Regardless of Bee's intended meaning, the term was used to celebrate both Jackson and his men, from then on known as the “Stonewall Brigade.” A few months later, Jackson was promoted to general and proved an able commander during engagements such as those during the Peninsular Campaign, Second Bull Run and Antietam. Lee valued Jackson's aggressiveness and intelligence on a battlefield. Jackson's ability to move his men quickly, always prized in war, led to the Stonewall Brigade receiving yet another nickname: “Jackson's Foot Cavalry.”
After the Confederate defeat at Antietam in September 1862, the Army of Northern Virginia retreated back to Virginia and withstood the Union attack at Fredericksburg in December. During that battle, Jackson had once again proven his ability to respond quickly to events on the battlefield. Holding the line along the Rappahannock River, Lee anticipated another Union attack in the spring, if not at Fredericksburg then further west. When Union Gen. Joseph Hooker ordered the Army of the Potomac to cross the river near Chancellorsville in May 1863, Lee sent Jackson's corps of about 30,000 men around Hooker's army to the south, and in an unexpected move hit it from the west.
Jackson's unexpected appearance would spoil Hooker's attack and put the Union commander on the defensive. Eventually, the Army of the Potomac pulled out of Virginia, Hooker certain that prolonged fighting would mean the end of his army. The battle had another major consequence, however, one that ultimately proved fatal for Jackson.
In the evening of May 2, Jackson rode forward with members of his staff to the advance line, hoping to discern Yankee intentions. Sitting atop his horse, Little Sorrel, Jackson and his men began riding back to their lines when fire tore through their ranks. In the second volume of his 1898 work, “Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War,” British soldier and military historian G.R.F. Henderson wrote:
“The volley was fearfully effective. Men and horses fell dead and dying on the narrow track. Jackson himself received three bullets, one in the right hand, and two in the left arm, cutting the main artery, and crushing the bone below the left shoulder, and as the reins dropped upon his neck, 'Little Sorrel,' frantic with terror, plunged into the wood and rushed toward the Federal lines. … Captain Wilbourn, one of his staff-officers, succeeded in catching the reins; and, as the horse stopped, Jackson leaned forward and fell into his arms.”
The shots had come from the 18th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. The regiment's men had believed that Jackson and his staff officers had been a Union patrol. Jackson was soon taken from the field to a nearby field hospital. Dr. Hunter McGuire, realizing that Jackson's left arm was beyond saving, informed him that it would have to be amputated. The general stated without hesitation, “Yes, certainly, Dr. McGuire, do for me whatever you think best.”
Upon learning of Jackson's circumstances, Lee said, “General Jackson has lost his left arm, and I have lost my right.” Though Jackson appeared to recover over the next few days, pneumonia soon took hold and his health deteriorated rapidly. His wife, Anna, appeared with their baby daughter on May 7, though Jackson proved too ill to speak for very long.
By Sunday morning, it became clear that the great general would not survive. Henderson wrote:
“Already his strength was fast ebbing, and although his face brightened when his baby was brought to him, his mind had begun to wander. Now he was on the battle-field, giving orders to his men; now at home in Lexington; now at prayers in the camp. Occasionally his senses came back to him, and about half-past one he was told that he had but two hours to live. Again, he answered feebly but firmly, 'Very good; it is all right.’ ”
Soon delusional, he began shouting orders for his subordinates, as though commanding them on the battlefield. After a period of silence his final words were, “Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.” He was 39 years old.
In his biography of fellow Confederate Gen. James Longstreet, Jeffrey D. Wert wrote: “When the news of his (Jackson's) death reached the army and the public, the grief poured forth. (Confederate) Secretary of War James Seddon correctly described Jackson as 'the hero of the war.' Lee wrote to Jeb Stuart: 'I regret to inform you that the great and good Jackson is no more.' To one of his sons the commander admitted: 'It is a terrible loss. I do not know how to replace him. Any victory would be dear at such a cost. But God's will be done.’ ”
Had Jackson not been shot at Chancellorsville, it is almost certain the general would have commanded his corps at Gettysburg in July 1863. An aggressive assault by Jackson at the beginning of the battle might have turned the tide, denying the Army of the Potomac the high ground at Cemetery Hill that allowed it to repel repeated Confederate attacks.
Cody K. Carlson holds an MA in history from the University of Utah and teaches at Salt Lake Community College. An avid player of board games, you can check out his blog at thediscriminatinggamer.com. Email: ckcarlson76@gmail.com