A Legend Is Born
AN 'INTERVIEW' WITH THE HERO OF MANASSAS, GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON
By Tubialia Alba
for The Richmond Enquirer
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Library of Congress
Thomas J. Jackson, painted in 1913 |
A great victory was consummated, here in Virginia, by the Army of the Potomac, defender of States Rights, on the fields nearby to Manassas Junction. Although the day initially looked bad, the invaders were eventually driven from the soil of Virginia by our heroic young men, led by two of the finest generals who ever lived.
It was an effort of teamwork as President Davis, and his military aide, Lee, selected the field and the timing of Johnston's removal from the Shenandoah Valley to Manassas. Everywhere upon the field the awesome presence of Napoleon I's successor, General P. G. T. Beauregard and the marked genius of General Joseph E. Johnston were felt. Great work was done as well by lesser generals Hampton, Bee, Bartow and Evans. One other, however, will carry down through the ages as long as courage and fortitude are heralded as qualities to be admired and achieved. That man is Brigadier General Thomas J. Jackson.
After the battle, this correspondent picked his way through the fire-lit camps of the exhausted troops to interview the "man of the hour" and was rewarded with a cursory, albeit congenial, handshake. The man is reputed to be of a sunny and noble nature, but he appeared rather reserved after his tests upon the field, evidencing the shyness of a young boy who, though not taciturn, speaks but little.
In the darkening camp-light, this new hero looked of noble stature but
disdained show and frippery. He did not dress in the gaudy Murat-like manner
of his good friend, General Stuart of the cavalry. He sat holding his wounded
finger in the air as if pointing to Him who creates all victory. He sat
slumped somewhat, the reward of the fatiguing day, yet he still held his
palm toward the person to whom he was speaking.
Many know him to be a man of simple tastes and habits to which he applies a powerful Presbyterian approach, drawing guidance from his badly worn Bible. In not hesitating to take the full weight of responsibility upon the field, he displayed the reason why he is trusted by his superiors and is popular with his men. I overheard one of his fellows ask him to expound upon his success. He remarked that the glory is due to God and added "Let others speak praise of me, not myself."
It is no wonder others do so as he considers at great length what he
has learned of the strategies buried in military histories.
To better understand this man -- this hero of Scotch-Irish stock--who has
been acclaimed as a 'Stonewall" in a time of panic and peril when others
flowed like water, this correspondent spoke with Jackson's subordinates. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Jackson's great-grandfather emigrated from Coleraine, County Derry, to England, and after a time to America.]
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Historical Art Prints
"Stonewall" Jackson leading the 4th Virginia Regiment at the Battle of First Manassas. |
Captain Imboden, whose artillery hotly supported General Jackson during
the day's combat, allowed some background to this champion of Southern Rights.
He described the General as the calmest man upon the field. During the
heaviest of the fighting, with bullets as thick as mosquitoes, this man
Jackson rode slowly along his line as if on parade, wearing a face of calm
and but slight paleness.
With eyes visibly brighter, he spoke with strong and
even tones, "Steady, men, steady! All's well!" This is the usual Jackson.
During his battle at Falling Waters against the bemused General Patterson three weeks ago, a cannonball shattered the tree above Jackson's head and
witnesses attest that not a muscle of the man flinched. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Robert Emmett Patterson was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1792, the son of a hero of the 1798 Uprising.) It is fitting that the next day he received his rank as Brigadier-General in the Confederate States forces.
At Manassas, when an enemy missile struck his hand, he looked
at it and nodded, "Only a scratch! -- a mere scratch!". He casually wrapped it
in his handkerchief and rode off to attend more important matters.
I can not give a firsthand accounting of the events on the Manassas
fields for I was not present.
The participants say that the day looked
terribly bleak. Our Confederate forces were driven from Matthews' Hill and
from Henry House Hill. General Jackson stopped Captain Imboden, who was
profane in his distress, and told the Captain to plant his battery "Here!"
Brave and dusty General Bee then rode up upon his lathered charger to
announce that his men were being beaten back. Jackson bid him reform to his
rear.
In doing so, it is claimed, Bee pointed his sword, long unsheathed, at
Jackson's Virginians and said "Look! There is Jackson standing like a stone
wall! Rally behind the Virginians." This was done, the day was won, and
Thomas J. Jackson will forever be reborn to Southern history as "Stonewall"
Jackson.
There are those who decry this story already and claim that General
Bee meant something quite altogether different, but General Bee is dead of
his wounds and we will never know the truth of the matter from him. The facts
as reported by dozens of witnesses support, however, the more positive
outcome so heed not the self-serving dissenters.
When the Confederate line had been reconstituted, General Jackson kept
his men partially concealed by the folding of Henry House hill so that the
enemy could neither flank us nor play his artillery upon those flanks. The
newly christened "Stonewall" Jackson gave the following orders to his men,
"Reserve your fire till they come within fifty yards, then fire and give them
the bayonet, and when you charge, yell like furies!"
The brilliant General
Beauregard, at this time, ordered a general advance and our troops drove the
enemy precipitously from the field. It is reported that General Jackson's
charge at the Yankee center broke that line resulting in the complete rout of
the Yankee invaders.
I am told that with the battle completed and his men in possession of
Henry House hill, Jackson, his wound being dressed, cried out "Give me ten
thousand fresh troops and I would be in Washington tomorrow!" Alas, no such
troops are to hand.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This fictitious interview was written by Charles Venturi, a Bristol, Conn.-based writer and living historian, based on his extensive research into the life of Thomas J. Jackson.]
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