On May 10, 1863, the 39-year-old Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, one of the South’s most fearless generals, passes away from pneumonia, one week after he was unintentionally shot by his own troops during the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia. Jackson frightened Union officers during the first two years of the war.

Jackson, a native of Virginia, was raised in Clarksburg, in what is now West Virginia, in extreme poverty. Raised by family, Jackson grew up to be a quiet, reclusive young man. Despite having only a basic education, he managed to get accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point when a young man from the same congressional district declined his offer of admission. Jackson put in a lot of effort and graduated 17th out of 59 cadets despite having little training.

Jackson was promoted to brigadier general and placed in charge of five regiments that were created in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley when war broke out in 1861. Jackson distinguished himself at the Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 by spearheading the assault that gave the Confederates the upper hand. In an attempt to motivate his soldiers, Confederate General Barnard Bee declared, “There stands Jackson like a stone wall,” coining one of the most memorable nicknames in history.

Jackson was regarded as one of the Confederate army’s most capable leaders by 1862. The summer of 1862 saw Jackson lead his force in one of the most spectacular military campaigns in history. He marched throughout the Shenandoah Valley, holding off three Union armies and bringing relief to Confederates who had been shut down on the James Peninsula by George McClellan’s army. Later, for the Seven Days fighting, he returned to the Army of Northern Virginia, where he demonstrated exceptional leadership at Second Bull Run in August 1862. He quickly emerged as Lee’s most reliable corps commander.

In what may have been the Army of the Potomac’s most spectacular loss of the war, Lee divided his force and dispatched Jackson around the Union flank during the Battle of Chancellorsville. The attack was halted by midnight, and Jackson rode forward to scout the area in preparation for another assault. However, a gang of Rebels opened fire as he and his allies rode back to the lines. Jackson suffered three gunshot wounds, and a Southern bullet fractured his left arm, necessitating an amputation the next day. Pneumonia soon followed, and Jackson started to deteriorate. 

 

 

On May 10, 1863 Jackson is heard saying, “It is the Lord’s Day, I have always desired to die on Sunday.” He then began talking as though he was still on the battlefield: “Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the front!”  Jackson died at 3:15 p.m. His final words: “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.”  General Lee is quoted as saying, “He lost his left arm; but I have lost my right arm,”