".. Jackson was once asked how he could stand so calm in the face of battle. He responded that his belief in God, his firm Christianity, made him as safe on the battlefield as in his bed. His death was not his choosing and he was as prepared for it in peace as he was in war..."
Yes! This man, from humble beginnings had his character molded by life on this Earth and yet looked forward to what lay beyond the "River":
".. Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees."
— Jackson, last words
What follows are clips from this very balanced and honoring reflection on the life of Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson born Jan 21, 1824.
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/thomas-j-stonewall-jackson/
".. The Northern essayist and Republican partisan E.L. Godkin wrote following the death of “Stonewall” Jackson in 1863 that Jackson was “the most extraordinary phenomenon of this extraordinary war. Pure, honest, simple-minded, unselfish, and brave, his death is a loss to the whole of America, for, whatever be the result of this war, the United States will enjoy the honor of having bred and educated him.” Godkin claimed him because he recognized that Jackson was more than a representative of the South, he was an American hero, pure and simple.
Jackson was born in 1824 in Clarksburg, Virginia. While the Jacksons had a solid reputation in America, they came from humble beginnings. Both his great-grandfather and great-grandmother arrived in America as indentured servants having both been convicted of theft. They fell in love on the voyage over, and once they had satisfied their indentures, married and moved to the frontier where they acquired vast tracts of land. Both Jackson’s great-grandfather and grandfather served with distinction in the American War for Independence and has great-grandmother used the Jackson homestead as a refuge for dislocated American settlers during the war.
Jackson’s father died when he was a boy, something both Jackson and Lee shared in common, and his mother, left with a crushing debt, sold their farm and moved to a one-room rental. Jackson was only six and was left an orphan when his mother died five years later. After bouncing between relatives for a few years, Jackson eventually settled on his uncle’s frontier farm. He was largely self-educated and even taught one of his uncle’s slaves how to read and write..."
Wow .. transient in his youth with no biological father in his life .. and he chose to be different.
".. Jackson did not choose the military because he longed to be a soldier. What Jackson wanted most was to sharpen his character as a man. The military, in his mind, offered the best opportunity for success and respect. He is known for his military acumen, but his career and the famous decisions he made in battle were shaped by his character. Like Washington and Lee, the War did not define them, they defined the War..."
Great observation, these were men of character no matter what "side" they were on .. as both were on God's side
".. Unlike Lee and many Virginians from the tidewater region, he did not have the social refinement typical of Southern gentlemen. But Jackson was the perfect example of what Thomas Jefferson and other members of the founding generation considered the “natural aristocracy.” ... honesty, integrity and determination .. talent, a keen mind, and the ability to make quick, correct decisions on the battlefield. .."
".. A common description of Jackson is that he lived by the New Testament but fought by the Old. He was a warm, tender, dutiful and faithful husband. His second wife, Mary Anna, wrote he, “was a great advocate for marriage, appreciating the gentler sex so highly that whenever he met one of the “unappropriated blessings” under the type of truest womanhood, he would wish that one of his bachelor friends could be fortunate enough to win her” (his first wife died in childbirth)..."
Humble .. love it ..
".. Jackson owned no more than six slaves as an adult. Four were given as a wedding gift, and two requested that he purchase them so they could work for a man of Jackson’s kind temperament. He honored their request. One of his slaves was a young girl with a learning disability given to his wife as a gift. Like Lee, Jackson never made any statements in support of slavery. He was typical of many Southerners in his belief that slavery was ordained by God, that slaves had been given that burden by the hand of God, and that as a Christian man he was required to be a kind master. His pastor described his relationship to the black population of Lexington as thus: “In their religious instruction he succeeded wonderfully. His discipline was systematic and firm, but very kind. … His servants reverenced and loved him, as they would have done a brother or father. … He was emphatically the black man’s friend.” Jackson either freed his slaves or hired them out during the War Between the States.
Jackson was not a secessionist. He remained relatively neutral in the events leading to the “Secession Winter” of 1860 and 1861, but like Lee, once Virginia determined to leave the Union, he supported the cause with a vigor virtually unmatched by anyone south of the Mason-Dixon. He preferred waging an aggressive, punishing war on the North, of taking the bayonet to the enemy in the enemy’s territory, but though his strategic assessment of the military situation in 1861 was probably correct and may have won the South the War, he was overruled by the more conservative members of the military brain-trust, most importantly President Jefferson Davis. The War, they argued, had to be a just, defensive cause to preserve the South. Lee shared Jackson’s advocacy of an offensive war, but differed in the scope of such a conflict. The two men, however, would serve as the perfect one-two punch during the early years of the War Between the States. Jackson was the ideal complement to Lee’s selectively aggressive style..."
.. and aggressive at times too, truly led by the Spirit ..
Y'all will have to visit the link for more great information on this man of character .. guess a portrait of him would be appropriate in my man-cave someday.
Yes! This man, from humble beginnings had his character molded by life on this Earth and yet looked forward to what lay beyond the "River":
".. Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees."
— Jackson, last words
What follows are clips from this very balanced and honoring reflection on the life of Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson born Jan 21, 1824.
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/thomas-j-stonewall-jackson/
".. The Northern essayist and Republican partisan E.L. Godkin wrote following the death of “Stonewall” Jackson in 1863 that Jackson was “the most extraordinary phenomenon of this extraordinary war. Pure, honest, simple-minded, unselfish, and brave, his death is a loss to the whole of America, for, whatever be the result of this war, the United States will enjoy the honor of having bred and educated him.” Godkin claimed him because he recognized that Jackson was more than a representative of the South, he was an American hero, pure and simple.
Jackson was born in 1824 in Clarksburg, Virginia. While the Jacksons had a solid reputation in America, they came from humble beginnings. Both his great-grandfather and great-grandmother arrived in America as indentured servants having both been convicted of theft. They fell in love on the voyage over, and once they had satisfied their indentures, married and moved to the frontier where they acquired vast tracts of land. Both Jackson’s great-grandfather and grandfather served with distinction in the American War for Independence and has great-grandmother used the Jackson homestead as a refuge for dislocated American settlers during the war.
Jackson’s father died when he was a boy, something both Jackson and Lee shared in common, and his mother, left with a crushing debt, sold their farm and moved to a one-room rental. Jackson was only six and was left an orphan when his mother died five years later. After bouncing between relatives for a few years, Jackson eventually settled on his uncle’s frontier farm. He was largely self-educated and even taught one of his uncle’s slaves how to read and write..."
Wow .. transient in his youth with no biological father in his life .. and he chose to be different.
".. Jackson did not choose the military because he longed to be a soldier. What Jackson wanted most was to sharpen his character as a man. The military, in his mind, offered the best opportunity for success and respect. He is known for his military acumen, but his career and the famous decisions he made in battle were shaped by his character. Like Washington and Lee, the War did not define them, they defined the War..."
Great observation, these were men of character no matter what "side" they were on .. as both were on God's side
".. Unlike Lee and many Virginians from the tidewater region, he did not have the social refinement typical of Southern gentlemen. But Jackson was the perfect example of what Thomas Jefferson and other members of the founding generation considered the “natural aristocracy.” ... honesty, integrity and determination .. talent, a keen mind, and the ability to make quick, correct decisions on the battlefield. .."
".. A common description of Jackson is that he lived by the New Testament but fought by the Old. He was a warm, tender, dutiful and faithful husband. His second wife, Mary Anna, wrote he, “was a great advocate for marriage, appreciating the gentler sex so highly that whenever he met one of the “unappropriated blessings” under the type of truest womanhood, he would wish that one of his bachelor friends could be fortunate enough to win her” (his first wife died in childbirth)..."
Humble .. love it ..
".. Jackson owned no more than six slaves as an adult. Four were given as a wedding gift, and two requested that he purchase them so they could work for a man of Jackson’s kind temperament. He honored their request. One of his slaves was a young girl with a learning disability given to his wife as a gift. Like Lee, Jackson never made any statements in support of slavery. He was typical of many Southerners in his belief that slavery was ordained by God, that slaves had been given that burden by the hand of God, and that as a Christian man he was required to be a kind master. His pastor described his relationship to the black population of Lexington as thus: “In their religious instruction he succeeded wonderfully. His discipline was systematic and firm, but very kind. … His servants reverenced and loved him, as they would have done a brother or father. … He was emphatically the black man’s friend.” Jackson either freed his slaves or hired them out during the War Between the States.
Jackson was not a secessionist. He remained relatively neutral in the events leading to the “Secession Winter” of 1860 and 1861, but like Lee, once Virginia determined to leave the Union, he supported the cause with a vigor virtually unmatched by anyone south of the Mason-Dixon. He preferred waging an aggressive, punishing war on the North, of taking the bayonet to the enemy in the enemy’s territory, but though his strategic assessment of the military situation in 1861 was probably correct and may have won the South the War, he was overruled by the more conservative members of the military brain-trust, most importantly President Jefferson Davis. The War, they argued, had to be a just, defensive cause to preserve the South. Lee shared Jackson’s advocacy of an offensive war, but differed in the scope of such a conflict. The two men, however, would serve as the perfect one-two punch during the early years of the War Between the States. Jackson was the ideal complement to Lee’s selectively aggressive style..."
.. and aggressive at times too, truly led by the Spirit ..
Y'all will have to visit the link for more great information on this man of character .. guess a portrait of him would be appropriate in my man-cave someday.
posted from Bloggeroid
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