Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1863-06-05
Henry Ward Beecher's Opinion Of stone
wall Jackson.

| ClIlNJ.
Henry Ward Beechers Opinion Of stone
wall jackson.
Under the heading, The Death Of Jack
son. the last number Of the New York
Independent contains the following:
ga brave and honest foe has fall u
Thomas Jefferson jackson has died of
wounds received in the confusion Of the bat
tie of Charlottesville at the hands Of his
Own men! There is not left another man
in the South to take his place, and Rich
mond papers scarcely exaggerate when they
say that the Confederacy could better have
lost Fifty thousand men Good in counsel,
his peculiar excellence was in the field
We know of no man on either side that sur
passed him, if any equalled, in handling an
army.
1--WE are in some respects better judges
of his military talents than Southern men,
since wo felt The blows which they only saw
dealt 1t is certain that no other man has
impressed the Imagination Of our soldiers
and the whole community so much as he.
An unknown name at the beginning Of the
war, save to his brother officers, and to his
classes in the military school at Lexington.
Virginia, his footsteps were earliest in the
/ field from which now death has withdrawn
them. But in two years he has made his
pane familiar in every civilized land on the
globe as q general of rare skill, resource,
and energy.
mo other general of the South could dc.
vclop so much power out of the slender and
precarious means, by the fervid inspiration
| of his own mind. as Jackson. He had az
solute control of his men, seeming almdsf
to fascnate them. He drove them through
marches long and difficult, without resour-
ces, feeding them as best be could; he de-
llvered battles as thunders cloud dischar-
! ges bolts. and. if the fortunes were against
him, then. with even more remarkable skill
than in advancing, he held his men togeth-
cr in retreat, and with extraordinary ad-
dress and courage, eluded pursuit, some
times fighting, sometimes fleeing, till he
brought off his forces safely. Then. almost
before the dust was laid upon the warpath,
his face was again towards his enemies, and
he was ready for renewed conflict. His
| whole sonl was in his work He had no
doubts nor parleyings within himself He
put the whole force of his being into his
blows for the worst cause man ever fought
for, as few Of our generals have ever learn
ed to do for the best cause for which trump
ct ever sounded. Henceforth We know him
no more after the flesh He is no longer
foe. We think of him now as noble minded
gentleman, a rare and eminent Christian
For years he has been an active member Of
of the Presbyterian Church, Of which he
was ruling elder He never, in all tho
occupations of the camp, or temptations of
campaigns lost the fervor of his piety, or
RENTED his Christian duties.
1--WE know that before every important
move he spent much time in prayer. He
had SO put his soul in the keeping of his
Master that he was relieved from all thought
of self, and had the whole power of his life
ready for his work Officers of Fremopt's
army who pursued him IN his famous retreat
from the Shenandoah Valley, found him
to be greatly beloved by the common people
among whom. in former times, he had la
bored, in prayer meetings. in temperance
meetings and in every Christian word aud
work No wonder he fought we'll along
region whose tor ography be had mapped
down with prayers, exhortations and CHS
tan labor.
He was unselfsh He fought neither
for reputation now. nor for future personal
advancement He therefore did not fall in
to the ruiuous habits of our general. wh"
are al" ".ys neglectiug to Go the things that
can be done. because they are small, but
squander time and men and patience in get
ting ready for great battles. which clude
them or defeat them He necessarily struck
on the right and on the left, and kept alive
the fire in the hearts of the ill-clad, poorly
fed and overworked men by the excitement
of enterprise ADD the constant relish of vic
tories, small IN detail, but whose SIAM was
allimportaht
"Let no man suppose that the North will
triumph over fallen son with insulting
gratulations! Nowhere else will the name
Of jackson be more bonored, Not for the
adhesion to the cause OF slavery but for his
ubtarnished personal character, for his dc.
vout piety, and for his military genius"
Organizing at Home.
The people Of Alabama and Georgia are
organizing themselves into companies with
the view Of presenting some obstacle to Yam
kee raids should they occur. 1t is easy for
a body Of cavalry to pass through country
where there are neither soldiers nor armed
local guards to present some obstacle in their
way. If those who are not in the field are
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