General Jackson

“ Subsequently his company was assigned to the Twenty-seventh infantry, of which he was promoted major in October, 1861. In the following spring he became a member of General Jackson's staff, and later was appointed adjutant-general and chief of staff, Jackson's corps, army of Northern Virginia. On September 27, 1862, Jackson, having well tested his courage and ability, manifested great confidence in him by recommending the volunteer soldier for promotion to brigadier-general and assignment to command of the Stonewall brigade. ”

“ General Jackson was a military chieftain whose equal in his special line or plan of conducting a campaign could not be found in the army. He never tried to evade a battle when it was in the interest of the cause he represented to fight, but by his dashing movements often accomplished by strategy victories that could not have been achieved in battle. ”

“ And if they wanted a leader he was the man.
When the committee reported the next day, they said there was no doubt that "our brave and patriotic General Jackson" would be ready to lead the men of war by the time they were ready to march. Where Jackson led there would be plenty to follow. Four thousand men were called out with orders to assemble at Fayetteville, eighty miles south of Nashville, on October 4, just one month from the day when Jackson had received his wounds. From his bed he took command. By his orders Colonel Coffee rode to Huntsville, Alabama, with five hundred men. ”

“ Close upon this victory came the news that General Jackson had been shot by his own men. When the shades of evening began to fall, he rode to the front to see what could be learned of the movements of the Federals, and as he rode back to his own lines, surrounded by his staff, some of his own followers, watchful and faithful to their duty, not recognizing him in the dim twilight, but mistaking the mounted men for cavalry belonging to the Union side, fired a volley at them, [180] killing several of the horsemen, and wounding others. ”

“ That he has been the industrious follower of General Jackson in those glorious contests for the defence of his country's rights, will not be deemed the unpardonable sin by the American people, so long as their hearts beat and swell with gratitude to their great benefactor. He is the very man for the times—a 'chip of the old block'—of the true hickory stump. ”

“ For two or three hours the noise of the battle remained almost stationary, accentuated at intervals by the shouting of the combatants, as ground was lost or won. It was here that General Lee said to General Jackson, "That fire is very heavy! Do you think your men can stand it?" The reply was, "They can stand almost anything; they can stand that!" We stood expecting every moment to be ordered in, as every effort was made by our officers to find a piece of open ground on which we could unlimber. ”

“ Instantly everything was astir, with an occasional lamentation or cry of pain from some wounded man. General Jackson mounted his horse hurriedly. The fighting soon became general throughout the lines, in portions of it terrific. General Pope, after two days of preparation, had advanced his lines and made the attack instead of receiving it, as our lines were on the eve of advancing.
A projected but uncompleted railroad, with alternating cuts and embankments, afforded a splendid line of defense to our infantry on the left. ”

“ How eagerly Jackson looked for help! He had only twenty thousand men against three times that many. At last Lee came up, and the battle was won (August 30th) . Many brave men were killed on both sides, but Lee was the victor. In three months’ time he had driven the foe from Richmond, and was now in front of Washington with his army.
He now sent General Jackson to Harper’s Ferry, where he took as prisoners twelve thousand men of the North, September 15th. Jackson then hurried back to Lee, who had crossed the Potomac and gone over into Maryland, on September 5, 1862. ”

“ As General Shields followed Jackson up the Valley after the battle, he stopped at a noted country house for the night. General Jackson had also rested there upon his retreat, and from his adjutant the lady of the house had learned the correct number of Jackson’s men.
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General Shields, at breakfast, entered into a conversation with his hostess, and in a polite way boasted of his great victory. “Ah! General,” said the lady, “we can afford such defeats as that, when twenty-seven hundred men hold back eleven thousand for hours and then retreat at leisure! Such defeats are victories.” ”

“ In 1818 General Jackson conducted a war against the Seminole Indians, and with a force of Georgia militia and volunteers from Tennessee, he penetrated into Florida to the villages of the savages and fugitive slaves who had joined them, setting fire to their habitations and scattering devastation in all directions. In 1821, he was appointed governor of Florida, that territory having been transferred by Spain to the United States, but resigned the office at the end of one year and returned to his farm near Nashville. ”

“ The corps of Jackson numbered now, after so much fighting and marching, less than seven thousand men, but this little band held the ground throughout the day, and bravely drove back every assault of the enemy.
When night closed the bloody fray, each army held its own position. On the next morning, General Lee awaited another attack, but General McClellan had received so heavy a blow that he would not venture another battle until fresh troops had come up. ”

“ No respect was paid, no regard had, for either faithful services or acknowledged integrity. An administration conducted on the most elevated and consistent principles, as far above party and selfish motives as it is possible for human beings to attain, was destined to be sacrificed. General Jackson entered upon his civil career in the spirit of a military chieftain. He knew well how to collect round his standard those intriguers in the free states who were content to adopt his badge, and ride into power in his train. Of the slave states he was sure, from both affinity and policy. ”

“ So far as his opportunities had permitted, he had shown himself in no way inferior to the greatest generals of the century, to Wellington, to Napoleon, or to Lee. That Jackson was equal to the highest demands of strategy his deeds and conceptions show; that he was equal to the task of handling a large army on the field of battle must be left to conjecture; but throughout the whole of his soldier's life he was never intrusted with any detached mission which he failed to execute with complete success. No general made fewer mistakes. No general so persistently outwitted his opponents. ”

“ 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. ”

“ General Jackson has been directed accordingly, and should the enemy descend into the Valley, General Longstreet will attack his rear, and cut off his communications. The enemy apparently is so strong in numbers that I think it preferable to baffle his designs by manœuvring, rather than resist his advance by main force, To accomplish the latter without too great a risk and loss would require more than double our present numbers. ”

“ General Jackson's address to his soldiers was spirited but inflated, encouraging and boastful, with a great patriotic ring, and, of course effective. The population of the city was united in resolving to make a sturdy defence.
Had the British marched as soon as they landed, they probably would have taken the city, in the existing consternation. But they waited for larger forces from their ships, which carried six thousand troops, and in their turn exaggerated the number of the defenders, which at the first were only about two thousand badly frightened men. ”

“ Jack and Frank were seated just outside the flap of Jackson’s tent, when the commander spoke these words to his officers within. Jack nodded to his companions.
“I wouldn’t care to be an army contractor and have the general on my trail,” said he. “He wouldn’t stop at much.”
“Not he,” said a young Nashville lawyer, who was in the scouts. “Jackson is a man who accomplishes everything he sets out to do. He does not know what fear is, and has the most resolute will I’ve ever known.” ”

“ The French will cut off our commerce; they will arm privateers against our merchantmen; and what if they attempt a landing?”—“That’s precisely the thing they will attempt,” observed General Jackson calmly; “and you may depend upon it we will give them a good drubbing.” This anecdote gave rise to a caricature, representing a French army, led by the Gallic cock, swimming across the Atlantic; and General Jackson standing on the American shore with his cane drawn, and a numerous staff behind him, expecting their arrival. ”

“ Rule of the Carpet-bagger shaken, New Orleans, 1874
[Pg 211]
September Fifteenth
General Jackson, after a brief dispatch to General Lee announcing the capitulation, rode up to Bolivar and down into Harper’s Ferry. The curiosity of the Union Army to see him was so great that the soldiers lined the sides of the road. Many of them uncovered as he passed, and he invariably returned the salute. One man had an echo of response all about him when he said aloud: “Boys, he’s not much for looks, but if we’d had him we wouldn’t have been caught in this trap.” ”

“ Because of this inefficiency of those who were in charge of the army’s supplies, and because of the loose nature of the terms under which his men had volunteered, General Jackson was soon plunged into a series of crises which would have broken [168] the spirit of a less powerful man. Besides the Tennessee militia, there was a body of men in his force known as the United States volunteers; these troops, because of the lack of food, demanded to be led back to the border. There is no doubt that the army was in a wretched condition, needing not only food, but clothes and shoes as well. ”

“ Some persons in Europe have formed an opinion of the possible influence of General Jackson upon the affairs of his country, which appears highly extravagant to those who have seen more of the subject. We have been told that General Jackson has won sundry battles, that he is an energetic man, prone by nature and by habit to the use of force, covetous of power, and a despot by taste. ”

“ General Jackson lavished affection and attention on him throughout his childhood and youth, and a real son could not have been reared more tenderly. “I have no doubt he will take care of us both in our declining years,” the General wrote Rachel in 1813. And in 1832 he wrote an old friend that “Andrew is now married and I mean to throw the care of the farm on him. I shall never more pester myself with this world’s wealth.” ”

“ I am the advance of the Army of the Northwest. We are ordered to join General Jackson, and ten days or so should see the troops in Winchester. What is going to happen then? Dear madam, I do not know!"
Miriam chose to remain petulant. "General Jackson is the most dreadful martinet! He drills and drills and drills the poor men until they're too tired to stand. He makes people get up at dawn in December, and he won't let officers leave camp without a pass, and he has prayer meetings all the time! Ever so many people think he's crazy!" ”

“ After riding up the turnpike a short distance, he found the enemy advancing. Turning, he rode back rapidly towards his own line. The Southern men lying hid in the thickets, thinking that Jackson and his staff were a squad of Northern cavalry, opened a rapid fire upon them. So deadly was their aim that nearly every horse in the party was killed. Two officers were killed, others hurt, and General Jackson himself was wounded three times. ”

“ Fighting along the line of four miles had become general—done on our side chiefly by infantry. Jackson's corps occupied the left with a thin line of men, and from it there was already a stream of stragglers. Jackson, while sitting nearby on his horse, watching the battle, was approached by a lad of about thirteen years, who for some time had been one of his orderlies. ”

“ Meanwhile, a brisk musketry fire had extended along the infantry lines, and soon after halting one of our battery horses fell dead, struck by one of their stray bullets. It was during this contest, in the pouring rain, that General Jackson, on receiving a message from a brigadier that his ammunition was wet, and he feared he could not hold on, replied, "Tell him to hold his ground. If his guns will not go off, neither will the enemy's." ”

“ In less than five minutes a shell burst among them, killing and wounding eleven men. This over, we moved to a haystack nearby, where our horses had more than one refreshing feed during lulls in the battle. It seemed, also, an attractive place for General Jackson, as he was seldom far from it till the close of the battle on the following day.
An hour later, while engaged in another artillery encounter, our detachment received a very peremptory and officious order from Major Shoemaker, commanding the artillery of the division. ”

“ He joined Jackson in the Valley early in December, and with a brigade composed of the Tenth, Twenty-third and Thirty-seventh Virginia, took a prominent part in the defeat of the Federals at McDowell, where he was in immediate command on the field after Edward Johnson was wounded, and participated in the victories at Cross Keys and Port Republic. Continuing in command of Jackson's Third brigade, he fought at Cedar mountain, August 9th, and after the death of General Winder was given charge of Jackson's division. ”