Stonewall Jackson

Monty

Monty

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Jan 26, 2005
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Sand Springs, OK
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I am reading the first of a series of 3 Civil War chronicles by Shelby Foote. I won the first volume at a club hunt and my wife bought me the other two for my birthday. It is very good reading and gives most of the political ramifications leading up to various battles. He really makes Stonewall Jackson look like a nincompoop! From his description of Jackson's actions he appears to be experiencing dementia. He does things like laying down under a tree and taking a 3 hr. nap when he is supposed to be moving his troops into place for a battle, etc. So far in my reading he has caused the Confederate Army to lose two battles because he was goofing off somewhere when he was supposed to be engaging the enemy. Has anyone else read up on Stonewall and is this the opinion expressed by other authors? Monty
 

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I want to be sure you guys know I am not belittleing Jackson. I am just relating what this author is saying. Monty
 

Here is how Jackson got the monicker "Stonewall":

Jackson rose to prominence and earned his nickname at the First Battle of Bull Run (known by Southerners as First Manassas) in July 1861. As the Confederate lines began to crumble under heavy Union assault, Jackson's brigade provided crucial reinforcements on Henry House Hill. Brig. Gen. Barnard Elliott Bee, Jr., exhorted his own troops to reform by shouting, "There stands Jackson like a stone wall. Rally behind the Virginians!"

Mike
 

Yo! Rebel here: ;) Monty, was the author of those volumes, a damn yankee? HA! what does HE know... find out who/what the authors are of the next books, you read; sometimes, bias will intrude into the writings... if you wanna know about Stonewall, read STONEWALL JACLSON AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR by Lieut. Col. G.F.R. Henderson (2 volumes). ;D
 

He is equally as sarcastic about Yankee generals, generals in general were less than brilliant in his estimation. Generally speaking! :D I have read many tales about our heroes that made them out to be less than heroic in real life. I was just wondering about Jackson in particular. My relatives were dirt farmers or share croppers living in Arkansas, Missouri or Indian Territory that is now Oklahoma. None of them ever owned slaves that I know of and they fought for both sides during the Civil War. My family tree is full of entries stating they died in the war for one side or the other. A terrible thing. Monty
 

This is what got me involved in detecting as a kid. I lived in a development called Jacksons Woods (Stuart Drive) in Winchester, VA. Our back woods litereally were "Sandy Ridge". My father had gotten me a cheap RadioShack detector and we would find CW bullets and stuff all the time in the apple orchard which is now a development.
 

Yo! Rebel here: ;D Wolf, I was a re-enactor (C.W.) in the early '70's... Stonewall Jackson's Foot Calvary Co. I, 10th Virginia out of Elkton, Va. (Rockingham County); we Rebs fought at New Market, etc. and around the camp-fires at night, we ALWAYS talked about going "relics hunting"... lol; up qnd down the Valley Turn-pike (now Rt. 11 (AKA "Old Mountain Road"...), there were lots of places BOTH sides camped, preparing for battle(s); you may also find family caches of jewels, coins, etc. AND... WEAPONS buried by Rebs to fight another day... I even heard about cannons buried in the banks of the Shenandoah River... filled with jewels, coin, etc... :o
 

I am into the second volume of the book where Stonewall has been wounded and lost an arm leading up to a Rebel victory near Fredricksburg. Lee has been quoted as saying, " Stonewall might have lost an arm but I have lost my right arm". It seems that Stonewall has been giving a much better accounting of himself in battles following the one incident quoted by the author in volume I. He was notorious for making forced marches and attacking the Yankees flank when least expected. I don't think the author has a biased eye as much as he is just trying to be historically correct from many different viewpoints. I have learned a lot from my reading of the Civil War and still have another full volume to go. The only trouble I am having is keeping track of the various characters since there are so many. By the way , the series is The Civil War, a Narrative by Shelby Foote. I would highly recommend it for any one interested in the Civil War in finite detail. The only thing I find lacking is the absense of a lot of pictures that would have enhanced the reading. Monty
 

Rebel said:
Yo! Rebel here: ;) Monty, was the author of those volumes, a damn yankee? HA! what does HE know... find out who/what the authors are of the next books, you read; sometimes, bias will intrude into the writings... if you wanna know about Stonewall, read STONEWALL JACLSON AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR by Lieut. Col. G.F.R. Henderson (2 volumes). ;D
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Rebel - Is that the books written by a British fella? If so, I have read them (many moons ago) and it was a good read.

Good general or not, Stonewall Jackson was a man of faith and a true gentleman, which I think are the two biggest reasons he is so revered in the South.
 

In my reading I am to the point of Grant's siege of Vicksburg after Stonewall's death. Now Lee is often writing or commenting to others how much he misses Stonewall. I am now getting the impression that the first negative impressions of Jackson was sour grapes from some of his peers, perhaps jelous of Jackson and Lee's close friendship. Stonewall is painted as a religious fanatic, almost refusing to fight on Sunday and has a somewhat excentric personality. For instance he would often disappear for hours at a time and they would find him taking a nap under a tree somewhere. He rarely changed uniforms and looked so ratty that many soldiers failed to recognize him when he came riding by. Someone else mentioned that in a battle he would ride with his arm upheld as if summoning God. In the middle of a strategy metting with his staff, he might call a halt and deliver a sermon. Altogether,I think he was a unique person and worthy of the accolades heaped upon him by his southern admirers. It appears that the South had the better leaders than the North by far but just didn't have the manpower and resources the North had. Many times the Southern troops went into battle, outnumbered, barefoot and had to scrounge shoes from the dead yankees. Imagine marching 20 miles barefoot on those primitive roads or through the woods. Amazing. Monty
 

I believe ya'll have Stonewall all wrong, couple of reasons.

One:I admit...he had religious issues, and was probably a hypo.

Two, the way he could make infantry move like cavalry to attack piecemeal sections of an ALWAYS superior Union army was superb! Look at the several battles at Winchester, also take a look at 2nd Manasses, and even Chanclersville before he was killed.

Three: There is more to Stonewall than just Stonewall, the way he not only execute orders from others but also know when to improvise...is amazing.

Four: Unrelated to this...Eventhough I AM a Grant fan, it is of my opinion that if Grant had met Lee in the '62-'63 time frame there is no doubt he would have been put down just like the other commanders of the AoP. Just my two cents.

mobrigade
 

Plus the notion of him receiving his nickname "Stonewall" by way of a negative move is wrong. I'm not sure where you got that one, it was said by General B. Bee, who was trying to rally his soldiers on Henry House hill (after the old lady inside was killed), "..look there stands Jackson like a Stonewall" Anyway,

good discussion

mobrigade
 

after the civil war there was a southern "smear campaign" against stonewall jackson. it wasn't until 20th century, historians visited this, questioned it, etc.
there are a lot of rumors and other propaganda made up about him to hurt his historical reputation.
 

Jackson was basically Lee's right hand man and it is said that if Jackson was alive at the Battle of Gettysburg things might of been different.
 

Just got through Watching a program that outlined several truisms of the art of war. Lee violated nearly everyone of them at Gettysburg by continually making frontal assualts. Longstreet wanted to go around the mouintain and hit the flank that was weakest, but Lee insisted on the frontal attack. That was a specific point made by the Art of War. Monty.
 

:read2: Gen. Jackson's arm was buried on the battlefield, where he was shot, and later died. His body was put on a train to Lynchburg, Va. (where I am); then taken by packet boat up the James River, to VMI/Lexington, Va. Been up there, and also visited Gen. R. E. Lee "site". We have a mountain in Boonesboro, Va. (Lynchburg/Bedford County, Va.) that was ORIGINALLY Fleming Mountain; was renamed JACKSON Mountain, and Gen. TT Munford had a HUGE "farm" at the base of JACKSON Mountain, on Coffee Road/Bedford County, Va. Beale Treasure is rumored buried nearby, and is PROBABLY part of state of Virginia Treasury/CSA Treasury & weapons. Gen. Jubal Early lived and died, and is buried in Lynchburg, Va. after the CONFEDERATE WAR; neither Gen. Early nor Gen. Munford ever surrendered...
THEY still wanted to fight! :o
 

Monty said:
In my reading I am to the point of Grant's siege of Vicksburg after Stonewall's death. Now Lee is often writing or commenting to others how much he misses Stonewall. I am now getting the impression that the first negative impressions of Jackson was sour grapes from some of his peers, perhaps jelous of Jackson and Lee's close friendship. Stonewall is painted as a religious fanatic, almost refusing to fight on Sunday and has a somewhat excentric personality. For instance he would often disappear for hours at a time and they would find him taking a nap under a tree somewhere. He rarely changed uniforms and looked so ratty that many soldiers failed to recognize him when he came riding by. Someone else mentioned that in a battle he would ride with his arm upheld as if summoning God. In the middle of a strategy metting with his staff, he might call a halt and deliver a sermon. Altogether,I think he was a unique person and worthy of the accolades heaped upon him by his southern admirers. It appears that the South had the better leaders than the North by far but just didn't have the manpower and resources the North had. Many times the Southern troops went into battle, outnumbered, barefoot and had to scrounge shoes from the dead yankees. Imagine marching 20 miles barefoot on those primitive roads or through the woods. Amazing. Monty
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Hiya Monty. As a CW buff you really are barking up my tree. I have always loved the stories about Jackson and his oddities of habit. Sucking on lemons or keeping on arm in the air to balance the humors of the body. I do not consider him nuts, but definitely a eccentric personality.
There is no doubt, General Jackson definitely cost many lives in the 7 days battles by his inept behavior. Why he acted in such a manner I have no idea. As per his performance at the first Bull Run and the Shannandoha, it was not in character. I am sure if DH Hill could have caught up to him during the 7 days we may not have had to wait for Chancellorsville for our own side to have shot him11 ;D If I was in Hill's shoes I would have wanted to put one between his eyes for causing me to lose so many of my men. Jackson can be directly linked to severe casualties Hill's men suffered.
This was only one battle though. A major battle and one that took place over many days, but just one battle. In so many other incidences like the Shanandoha valley campaign, the second Bull Run, and Chancellorsville he performed superbly, almost superhumanly.
Now for his name, this was uttered by Gen Bernard Bee at the first Bull Run. "There stands Jackson like a stone wall.".
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/civil-war-pictures/battle/bull-run/stonewall-jackson-name.htm .Was it a compliment?? Was it a insult?? We will never know because soon after making this famous m Bee was shot and killed. I for one am not sure but I hope it was a compliment.
 

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