Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 259, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 October 1910 — How Stonewall Jackson Won Life's Battle [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

How Stonewall Jackson Won Life's Battle

by JOSEPH W. FOLK

- f f&S7Z/4sy~ tfonsmar’ of jjfissour/

COPrftiOHT dOaEPH B. BOW I_J£ «S

’ OU may be whatever you V resolve to be." This was the motto of Stonewall Jackson. 777 By this r^ 6 be lived and 99% conquered, and by It died in ' the rush of victory. . Such, was Jackson’* faith in God and himself, he inspired not only his own men with the certainty of victory, but the entire s confederacy felt sure of ultimate triumph while he was in the field. No warrior was ever worshiped by his people as was this Soldier Saint of the Lost Cause. While he lived and fought the people of the south saw in him the incarnation of God’s Justice struggling for them. When the wound which was nadvertently given by his own men at Chancellorsville terminated fatally, the news came as a chilling shock to southern hopes. The history of modern times affords no parallel to the deep sorrow that throbbed in the hearts of the confederate people when Jackson died. Those who had never seen his race wept for him as for their nearest kindred. They began to realize that with him removed their cause was doomed. As one of the leader's Tn?Jt red . hen he heard the news of Jackson s death. "God has deserted us, else he would not have taken Jackson. In being so bowed down with grief a V Jack r’B l°ss, it must not be unl^f to °^*K hat they loved Robert E. to tht D e t ? elp ° ther *® nerala less, for «oi amo f a “ ed at least > their devowas Z Sf d *? ldolatry - *»ut there others L ln Jackßon that the to tS nf D ,° P ,° BSeSS whlch appealed them 6 Pe ? le of the south, and gave the refl SU M IIme confldence - This was hat thl h ° f hiß absolute taßh e hlm n o d n. 0f Pr ° V,denCe ™ Christened "Stonewall" at Manassas. StonewaU Jackson, as every schoolsol Wa .t Plain Thomas J. Jackwhen the a ° battl ® ° f M anassas when the day seemed to be Koine rod DSt th .® aoothern forces, Gen. Bee ev^? al UI V 0 Jackson and in despair back T v^ 7 are beatlng us win in and Jackson replied: "Then we ill give them the bayonet.’’ Catching n ra 2 Q 0t J aokßon’s indomit ab J® wU J* 066 galloped back to his command and shouted: "There is i ackso " standing like a stone wall. Rally behind the Virginians. Follow “ ’ Gen - Bee charged at the head bißmen - and in a little while fell mortally wounded with his face to the front. From that time Jackson was known as “Stonewall,” and his com“aad beca !ho immortal as the Stonewall brigade. ~ ®* ob * waß Jackson’s ancestors had lived in Maryland and Virginia for tban . 100 and were of Scotch-Irlsh descent They were all honest, God-fearing people, and they were of fighting blood, taking a conspicuous part, first in the Indian troubles, and then in the revolutionary war. mv Rob “ Bt in Boyhood. , 2 07 Who Was t 0 become one of the greatest military commanders the world has ever known was i 1824 ,D Clarksbur * among the beautiful mountains of what was then Virginia, and now West Virginia He was left an orphan at an early age mother hT* 1 ° f £ ,S father ’ and bis mother being unable to support him he lived with an uncle, through whose kindness he was given the benefit of th© best schools of those times Without showing any special aptness as a scholar, he by perseverance mastered whatever he undertook, and through hard study learned his lessons well Like all geniuses of war he excelled in mathematics. As a boy he was not strong physically, and In his early years suffered a partial paralysis. which later disappeared through the strenuous exercises at the military academy.

Served as County Constable Partly for the healthful outdoor work that the office would give and partly to obtain funds to aid In his further education, he secured the appointment as constable In his district He was under age at the time but was in such general favor that no one raised the question as to the legality of the court appointing a minor to the office. He performed the duties of this place with industry and fidelity, though the kind of people he was thrown In contact with officially, were not such as to aid in the development of character. As he approached manhood he did not display that sober, serious nature that afterwards dominated him. The spiritualization of everything he did, and his rule of making every act of his life a religious act came later. At this time be was little different from other young men In attending horse races, house raisings and. country dances! His truthfulness and aggressive honesty remained untarnished from childhood. He' was always modest, selfreliant and full of dignity and courtesy. Success In Mexican War. At the age of 18 he obtained a West Point cadetship and entered that institution. His literary education had not been thorough, and he progressed with difficulty. In the examinations which the first half year’s novitiate, he came within a fraction of failing. He steadily improved, however, through his earnest application and untiring perseverance, and graduated at the age of 82, In 1846, seventeenth In a class of about

seventy. The Mexican war was tljen in progress, and Jackson was at once made second lieutenant by virtue of his West Point commission. His services were brilliant in this campaign, and he was promoted to the rank of major. Became Devout Christian. So far Jackson had not given deep study to religious subjects, and had little knowledge of creeds. When he returned to the United States at the close of the Mexican war, he became intensely concerned in Christianity, and joined the Episcopal church. Prom that time forward his every act was characterized by extreme piety. He is quoted as having said that two hours was as long as he could go without communing with his Maker in prayer. Conscientiousness was one of his marked traits, and duty was to him of first consideration. His reverence of the Deity was that o{ the standard of perfection and of the source of authority. He believed in a special Providence, and was erroneously called a fatalist by some. HJs abiding trust and simple faith were those of a child. He never questioned the whys and wherefores of Providence but fervently prayed for everything and was satisfied with what occurred. "I prefer God’s will to my own,” he said. A few years after the close of the Mexican war, he accepted thq chair of natural philosophy in the Virginia Military institute at Lexington, and took charge of the cadets at that place. This connection opened up for him his career in the war. At the

outbreak of hostilities between the I states be responded to the call of the governor of Virginia, and placed his cadets and himself under Oen. Robert E. Lee’s command. He was appointed colonel of the Virginia Volunteers. After the battle of Harper’s Ferry he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in recognition of his eminent ability. A Thunderbolt In War. He then began those marvelous military operations that have, won the plaudits of all mankind. Military experts have pronounced his maneuvers greater in some respects than Napoleon’s and surpassing in details' those of Julius Caesar. He was a thunderbolt of war-energy. He would strike at one point and in an incredibly short time attack at some distant place, and hurl his forces against the weakest line of his opponent. He was never routed in battle and never bad an organized portion of his army captured. The baffling strategy which he brought to bear upon the opposing forces, his furious attacks, and his remarkable marches made his name and fame, as a leader of armies undying. While the battle raged he would be In the very front of danger, and when the crisis was passed he would retire to his tent for prayer. His trust in the Almighty made him fearless of all things else. He united qualities that seemed incompatible, by combining military genius of the highest order with intense religious fervor. He would never tell his plans of war even to his closest associates, and those around him would not know what he intended to do until the orders were given. He made rapid marches, advancing and retreating with a swiftness unheard of before In the annals of war. His sudden onslaughts usually swept all before him, and when the opposition brought against him overwhelming numbers he would suddenly disappear to crash like lightning In a new and unexpected place. His tactics werd to advance and light anid

go on fighting until victorious. Through it all he prayed and prayed. More than once as his brigade was passing into action, he could be seen sitting motionless upon his horse with right hand uplifted, and while the war columns swept by him in solemn silence, into the fiery storm of shot, his lips would move in earnest prayer as the earth trembled beneath the thunder of cannon, and the very air of the heavens seemed agonized with the shriek of shell. Slain by His Own Men. “You may be whatever you resolve to be,’’ and so he resolved and so he won. He believed that his marvelous victories would go on to (he end of the war, and that the southern cause would triumph, but God willed otherwise. His victory at Chancellorsville was followed soon after by his death from the injuries inflicted by the fire of his own soldiers, who in the darkness of night mistook him and his escort for the enemy. He accepted the Divine Will with that same satisfaction he did His favors, knowing it to be best. As he lay on his deathbed conscious that his earthly aircastles were in ruins, and that his life was ebbing fast, he was thoroughly resigned to his fate. When the shadows came closer, and he realized that the end was at hand, he said as his last words: “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.” So he died courageous and trustful, a noble example of the winning of life’s battle by simple faith and devotion to duty. Fought for Btate's Righto. Was he sincere? His critics question. How, it has been asked, could a man pray for the continuation of human slavery? The civil war was not waged for or against slavery. It is true the agitation of the slavery question brought about the issues out of which the war came; but the south did not fight to keep negroes slaves, nor did the north fight to make negroes free. The south battled for what 4t conceived to be the rights of free

and independent states confederated under a constitution guaranteeing those rights; the north fought to establish the indissolubility of the union of those states. It is plain now that armed conflict over this question was inevitable from the time the states came together to form a “more perfect union,” and adopted a constitution without settling the question of the right of a state to withdraw from that compact The future was certain to bring either disunion or the sealing of the union in blood. If the difference as to the dissolubility of the union had not arisen out of slavery, it would have come over some other problem. The south was deeply impressed with the righteousness of its cause, and Lee and Jackson and the other great leaders believed ln it as they did in their religion. They were fighting for the freedom of their states —not for the slavery of men and women. These disputes are all forever settled now, and no patriotic American wishes they had terminated other than as they did. Nevertheless, the southern cause was to millions of good people a sacred cause, worth

praying for and dying for. Exactly as no southerner now regrets that the union was maintained, so no patriotic northerner denies the sincerity of the southerners In fighting so bravely for a cause they believed altogether righteous. . Roused North and Thus Saved Union, The evening bells of life are tolling for the survivors of that fierce conflict, and one by one they are being laid to rest in their last camping ground. The animosities of other years have subsided in the soft twilight of time and the deeds of those who wore the gray as well as those who wore the blue are the common glory of a united country. Jackson believed and taught that God’s will is best, and so all see it was in the ending of that contest. It was this man of iron and of faith that was raised up through his mighty victories to arouse the nation, and thus preserve this federated republic that is the hope of the oppressed of every land. Faith In God, faith In his fellow men, faith ln himself, these are. the ways by which Jackson won a fame that will become brighter and bright er as time flies through the ages.