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Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson (1824–1863)
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At the First Battle of Manassas in July 1861, the
unrelenting vigor with which Confederate General
Thomas Jonathan Jackson held his position inspired
a general nearby to rally his troops with the cry,
“There is Jackson standing like a stone wall.”
From that moment on, Jackson became “Stonewall,”
a name that he repeatedly lived up to, fighting
under the command of General Robert E. Lee.
The deeply religious Jackson believed intensely
in the righteousness of the Southern cause, and
a key to his success was his ability to instill
in his men his own fighting fervor. One of his
most brilliant victories came at Chancellorsville
in the spring of 1863, where his flanking maneuvers
sent the Union troops into a rout. Tragically
for Jackson and the South, this would prove to
be his last battle. Jackson died of wounds accidentally
inflicted by his own men. On hearing of his death,
Lee lamented, “I know not how to replace
him.”
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J. W. King (lifedates unknown)
Oil on canvas, 1864
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Given in memory of Lieselotte Richardson
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