stonewall jackson

in anticipation of the excitement of freedom week and in honor of my continuing civil war history nerdiness, i decided to finally stop by at something i'd driven by for the past few years. the stonewall jackson shrine. the shrine is located at guinea station, located right off exit 118 on I-95 in virginia. you drive about 5 miles off the interstate, and you find yourself pulling up to a small white house.



the truth is, it's not much of a shrine, but it is an amazing place, because it's the house where general thomas jonathan jackson, better known as "stonewall" jackson died in 1863.

"stonewall" jackson earned his name during the first battle of bull run, where he was seen atop his horse, resolute in the face of the enemy as divisions around him were fleeing. seeing jackson's bravery, the confederate troops rallied and went on to win the battle. jackson, a devout presbyterian, regularly showed unusual courage in battle due to the fact that he simply believed that when it was time for the Lord to take him, He would do so, and there was nothing he could do about it.

following the battle of chancellorsville outside fredericksburg, jackson and his men were returning to camp when they were accidentally shot at by confederate soldiers in the confusion of darkness. jackson was shot three times and had to have his left arm amputated.

jackson was sent to a nearby farmhouse to recover from his injuries.

for a few days, it appeared as if jackson was going to recover, but later pneumonia started to set in and there was very little the doctors could do. his wife and child arrived from richmond to be by his side. upon learning his imminent fate, his wife shared the news with jackson. at first he denied it, confident that he was not meant to die that day and that his work on earth was not done. but as the day wore on and his condition worsened, he came to accept his fate, saying "It is the Lord's Day; my wish is fulfilled. I have always desired to die on Sunday."

following this, jackson became delirious, and was going in and out of consciousness. his attending doctor wrote:

A few moments before he died he cried out in his delirium, "Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the front rapidly! Tell Major Hawks"—then stopped, leaving the sentence unfinished. Presently a smile of ineffable sweetness spread itself over his pale face, and he said quietly, and with an expression, as if of relief, "Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees."

if that's not totally badass, i don't know what is.

anyway, i'm really glad i stopped by. i already knew the story to some degree, but the park ranger knew a lot of extra details and did a really great job of telling the story.

in the house itself, jackson's original deathbed and blanket were still there, almost 150 years later.

crazy. and awesome.

that's today's civil war nerd blog moment!