THE DEATH AND LEGACY OF STONEWALL JACKSON

  Around 9:00 PM on the night of May 2, 1863, Thomas J. " Stonewall" Jackson and some of his staff were scouting the Federal lines on the Chancellorsville battlefield. He was in the process of pulling off one of the most stunning victories ever won over a Union Army during the Civil War. That is in spite of being outnumbered two to one, Jackson, however; was so eager to annihilate his enemy that he was exposing himself to extreme danger. He was riding at night between the Confederate and Union lines in an age when night battles were rare. No one had thought to notify Confederate troops of the generals presence in front of their lines. As Jackson and his aides rode through the woods toward the 18th North Carolina regiment, someone shouted " Halt, who goes there?" Before anyone could identify themselves a shot rang out. Jackson's party were mistaken for Union cavalry. Almost immediately behind that a full volley was fired in Jackson's direction. His horse bolted and with much difficulty he was able to get it under control.

 Jackson's brother-in-law, Lt. Joseph Morrison, shouted "cease firing, you are firing on your own men". Morrison's own horse had been shot out from under him. Confederate Major John Barry of the 18th North Carolina regiment shouted "It's a damned Yankee trick! Fire!" and another volley was fired into Jackson and his men. This time one of Jackson's staff was killed, and another was wounded. Jackson, himself was struck three times. Once in his right hand and twice in his left arm. The worst damage was done by a bullet that shattered the bone in his arm just below the shoulder, and it also cut an artery.

  Once the firing stopped the unwounded men of Jackson's staff hurriedly tried to move him to safety. It was feared that they might be caught in the middle of a Union counter attack. He was too weak to walk from the loss of blood so they placed him on a stretcher. Just as they did, Union artillery began firing in their direction. One of the stretcher bearers was wounded in both arms which caused him to drop the stretcher. A man standing nearby caught it before Jackson hit the ground. As the firing continued soldiers lay around Jackson shielding him with their bodies.Again, they tried to walk the general out of harms way but he was still too weak. They placed him back on the stretcher one more time. The litter bearers had not walked far when one of them tripped. This time Jackson was tossed on to the ground groaning in pain.

 An ambulance was finally located and his brother-in-law rode with him in the ambulance and held his wounded arm. Jackson was taken to the Chancellor House, which had been Union General Joseph Hookers headquarters earlier that day. There Dr. Hunter McGuire joined them. Jackson said " I am badly injured Doctor; I fear I am dying. I am glad you have come, I think the wound in my shoulder is still bleeding." Dr. McGuire said later that the situation was grave. He found blood oozing from the wound. Dr. McGuire placed his finger on the artery. The handkerchief, that was being used for a tourniquet, had slipped and Dr. McGuire readjusted it. The doctor said that if he hadn't done this Jackson would have been dead in about ten more minutes. McGuire said that Jackson was in so much pain that the impression of his teeth could be seen through his lips.

The notebook belonging to Capt. James Boswell, who was killed

The foundation of the Chancellor House

 Dr. McGuire administered morphine to Jackson and got him to take a swig of whiskey. A modern medical examiner, Shiya Ribowsky, believes that giving Jackson whiskey at this time was one of the worst things that they could have done. He said that alcohol can lower your blood pressure and cause you to bleed more freely. This might have contributed to the pneumonia that later killed him. That and the chloroform that was used to put him under during the amputation of his arm. Dr. Ribowsky thinks Jackson possibly inhaled saliva and stomach contents that caused the pneumonia that followed.

 Pneumonia was a common cause of death after an amputation during the Civil War. Jackson was taken by ambulance to a field hospital four miles away. There Jackson was stabilized, administered chloroform by a team of doctors, Around 2:00 AM Dr. McGuire said that they would probably have to amputate his arm and if so would he consent to the amputation. Jackson said  “Yes, certainly, Dr. McGuire, do for me whatever you think best.” As the chloroform was administered Jackson said “What an infinite blessing!” and repeated the word blessing twice as he lapsed into unconsciousness. A minie ball was removed from his right hand and his left arm was amputated.

Jackson's kepi

The whiskey flask that Jackson drank from

 On May 3rd the battle of Chancellorsville continued and the fighting was even worse than the previous day when Jackson was wounded. Lee was afraid that the field hospital where Jackson was recuperating would be overrun. So he suggested that Jackson should be moved to Guinea Station, twenty seven miles away, which was near the railroad. There, he could be moved quickly if it became necessary. 

 Jackson seemed to be recovering okay but he complained of a pain in his side. He believed that he had been injured when he fell off of the stretcher. Dr. McGuire was unable to find any sign of an injury. The move to Guinea Station was accomplished on May 4th. On the way to Guinea station some of the hardened teamsters refused to clear the way for the ambulance until they learned that it was carrying Jackson. Then with tears running down their faces they would humbly remove their hats while standing by the side of the road until Jackson's ambulance had passed. The people living along the route would tearfully bring what little food they had to Jackson and prayed for his recovery.

 Upon arrival at Guinea Station Jackson was taken to Fairfield Plantation, the home of Thomas Chandler. Chandler offered his home to Jackson but he refused. Instead Jackson chose the small Chandler farm office building nearby. At first Jackson seemed to be making progress and Dr. McGuire was optimistic. He was sleeping well and Dr. McGuire was looking in on him through the night. The generals chaplain, Reverend Beverly Lacy held a bedside service with him. This brought much pleasure and comfort to the deeply religious Jackson.

 Lacy later took Jackson's amputated arm and buried it in the family cemetery on his brothers farm called Ellwood. Recently, while visiting the Chancellorsville battlefield, I tried to visit the spot where Jackson's arm was buried. We arrived too late in the afternoon, and the gate to the property was already closed. That same night Dr. McGuire slept on a couch in Jackson's room. Around 1:00 AM Jackson awoke feeling nauseous and asked his body servant Jim Lewis to wet a rag with cold water and lay it across his painful side. Not wanting to awaken Doctor McGuire, Lewis continued laying cold rags on him but by morning the pain had intensified. After Doctor McGuire woke up that morning he examined Jackson. He then came to the realization that Jackson was suffering from pneumonia. McGuire also mistakenly believed that it was caused by the fall from the stretcher.

 As Jackson was taking a turn for the worse his wife Anna, and their infant daughter arrived at Guinea Station. There were more prayer services but Jackson began to sink into delirium. When he was in this state he would be giving orders to nonexistent troops. More doctors arrived on the scene. Occasionally Jackson would come to his senses and talk to his wife and play with his baby daughter. He called her his little comforter.

 Jackson insisted that he was going to get well in spite of the pneumonia. He was delighted by the news that the Confederates had won the battle of Chancellorsville. Casualties for the Confederates had been over 13,000 as opposed to the Unions 17,000. Although Chancellorsville had been Lee's greatest victory of the war, the Confederates could not afford to lose these kind of casualties and expect to remain an effective fighting force. Jackson's condition continued to worsen, however; and by Sunday May 10th, Doctor McGuire broke the bad news to Anna that Jackson would not last through the day.

 In spite of her tears Anna broke the news to Jackson. When he saw Dr. McGuire he said “Doctor, Anna informs me that you have told her I am to die today; is it so?” The doctor told him yes. Jackson responded “Very good, very good. It is all right.” He then talked to his wife about where she would live after he died and he asked to be buried in Lexington Virginia. This was so he would be near his pre-war home and to be near VMI, where he had been an instructor. He then said “It is the Lord’s Day. I have always desired to die on Sunday.”

 Sinking into a final delirium he said “Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the front!” Just before dying at 3:15 PM, his final words were “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.” Just before Jackson died General Lee sent word by the reverend Lacy "Give General Jackson my affectionate regards, and say to him: he has lost his left arm but I my right." Lee was devastated by the news of Jackson's death. Upon hearing the news he told his cook "William, I have lost my right arm and I'm bleeding at the heart"

 In my view Stonewall Jackson was the best General in the Confederate Army. With the possible exception of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Lee was a great general but he was employing the wrong strategy for winning the war. Like Washington, Lee had a very aggressive nature and wanted at all times to attack the enemy where he found them. Washington did too but he finally wised up to to the fact that he could never hope to defeat the British in a one on one slugfest. His main goal became the preservation of his army and not the military defeat of the British on the battlefield. He wanted to do damage to the British but never risk his army again the way he had done in New York early in the war. As long as the American Army existed America existed. The same was true of the Confederacy. When the Confederate Army died, the Confederacy died.

 Eventually the British became war weary and let us go our own way. If Lee had taken Washington's approach to warfare, the North might have finally given in to the same war weariness that Britain did and won it's independence. Unlike Washington, however; Lee wasted his army away, giving up casualties that he couldn't spare. In fairness, however; Washington didn't have a Jefferson Davis breathing down his neck. Lee's true greatness was in how he conducted himself after the war. By providing the South with moral leadership. Accepting defeat and working to reunite the country.

  Jackson's military strategy, in my view would have given the South it's best chance at victory. Not that I believe the South should have won the war, or that the country would have been better off if they had. That can be debated. I am simply making the point that victory for the South was not out of the question.

 Jackson proved his brilliance as a strategist in his Shenandoah Valley campaign early in the war. He bluffed three different Federal armies into believing that Washington D.C. was being threatened. This deprived McClellan of much needed support during his Peninsula Campaign. As a strategist Jackson believed in rapid flanking movements to get from point A to point B. Tactically once his army arrived on the scene he then chose the best ground to defend, allowing the enemy to beat their brains out trying to take it. At Prospect Hill during the battle of Fredericksburg Jackson was heard to say, "My men have sometimes failed to take a position, but to defend one, never!" This is what Longstreet wanted Lee to do at Gettysburg. Let Meade have the high ground. He urged Lee to flank Meade's position and find good ground somewhere between Washington and Baltimore. Then let Meade destroy his army trying to dislodge the Confederates. Lee did not take this advice and he suffered the consequences.

 Jackson also wanted to lead an independent army throughout the north. His goal was to move rapidly and living off the land. Jackson wanted to bring the war to the North and demoralize them in the same way that they were demoralizing the South. Lee was always trying to win the decisive battle in the hopes of forging a foreign alliance with a foreign power or negotiating an armistice that would end the fighting. Jackson's idea of victory was annihilating his enemy. This is what he was trying to do when he was wounded by friendly fire at Chancellorsville. One of Jackson's most famous quotes was "Always mystify, mislead and surprise the enemy if possible". Chancellorsville was the result of this thinking.

Location of the Chandler House

Chandler Office

Jackson death site

In 2003 I visited Lexington Virginia where Jackson has a home that has been preserved, where he taught at V.M.I. his grave sites. I say grave sites because he was buried in one spot and later was moved to another nearby. Because Jackson enjoyed lemons people had thrown lemons on his 2nd grave when I was there.

Jacksons original grave 

A modern picture of the same angle

Jackson's hopefully final resting place