The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1865-10-18
ST0NEWALh JACKSON.
4 SoIdieN's Story ola Soldier.
FROM tie Nes0 York Uer7d)@
T,DCr~1, TrI-- 7o6S

VIRGINIA, July 1860.
Among the prominent actors in the great
drama Of the late revolution, there was one
1Ehose curious figure rivctcd every eye. He
was man between thirty-fve and forty,
erect, stiff, clad in dingy grey, with the mca-
Sured carriage, and brief curt voice Of the
soldier on duty. When he smiled, it Is. true
his face WAS charming, and when his pierre
ing look grew soft, his eye was full of the
kindiiest sweetness, but his lips were habitu-
ally compressed, his glance keen, penetrating
and inQuisitive under the rim of the faded
cadet cap, drawn down low upon the forehead.
He rode ungracefully, though not badly, ap-
pearing to manage his horse without an effort
Of volition. In manner be was absent, pre-
occupied and absorbed, carried away appa
rently bv some possessing thought, which
rendered him obliviouS OF time ard place. lie
would raise his hand, sometimes both hands,
aloft in the hottest hours Of the battle, and
with closed eyes utter half,aUQible prayers.
His walk was a stride, which the most ardent
Of his admirers would not have Yentured to
call graceful. lie sat stinlY erect upon lis
camp stool, or in his pew at church, refusing
to enjoy the luxury of reclining in the least
degree, aHe was silent, shy awkward, home
ly in dress and. appearance, and constrained
in manner, without wit, without hAnor, with
out any apparent endowment distinguishing
him from the duiiest and most commonplace
of his species. And yet this powerfully cx-
cited the admiration and affection, not only
of his own people, but Of many Of his alver-
sarics; who in the hOmeIy figure ofStonewall
jackson saw the embodiment of goodness,
military genius, sd almost unbrOkcn VIC
tory. ag
His lie hiss been written, and need not here
form the subject Of separate treatment. Up
to 1861, therc wGS little in bis career to attract
attention. A poor coy, born beyond the ALE
ghancysi in Virginia, he managed to get to West
Point; thence passed as lieutenant Of artillery
to Mexico, where he fought rcckleSS!y; then
became professor at Lcy%gton; then colonel
OF Virginia volunteers at Harpcr's Ferry in
April 1851. Thence forward his career is
we'll knowu-how he decicLcd the fte of tl!S'
first battle of Manassas by the charge which
pierced the federal center; how he marched
in tie dead Of winter upon Bath aud r :naney,
driving out the federal garrison there; and
how he then entered upon the celebrated
campaign of the valley, which has made the
names of KeinStown, Mcdowell, Winchester,
Cross Keys, and Port Republic, famous in
military history. From the valley he came
10 the Lowland9 d9and decided with his veteran
corps, the hot day Of Cold Harbour; next
came his defeat ofGeneral Pope at Cedar Run;
then the remarkable march to Manassas in
the rear of Pope, followed by the victory
there. and the two days afterwards at Oxhill; !;
then the capture of Harper's Ferry with IL
900 men and more than seventy pieces OF ar
tilery; then Sharpsburg, where he sustained
General McClelans main attack with his
right wing under Hooker, and repulsed it :;
then Fredericksburg, where he drove back
General FrankfHis column Of 81, 900 men, as
sailing the confederate right aad ttFcn Chan
cellorsviHc, where With $4,000 men be fell
unexpectedly on the right of General Hooker,
and achieved the greatest, perhaps, Of all his
victories. He fell there, struck down, by an
accidental shot Of his own men, and thence
eor1Sard victory seemed to desert the south
arn standard. The confcderates rerulscd the
federal forces, thereafter but never defeated
4hem.
The campaign alluded. to will always be ia
NOUS in military annals; and the character Of
the man who fought them legitimate sub
ject of praise, Their effect upon the fortunes
of the war was incalculable. In other quar-
ters the clouds might lower :; but here light
shone. Victories over astounding odds; cx-
trication from perils threatening destruction,
and defeat of adverse combinations so power
full that apparently no effort could resist :hem,
were the phenomena which attracted to this
soldier, the eyes Of friends and enemies alike.
who ard what was the man who achieved
such great and uninterrupted success? That
was the question in many mouths; and what
was the secret of this continued triumph over
obstacles which would have crushed the most
experienced masters. of the art Of war? The
reply is staple. jackson was one of those
jeaders-"fcw and far between"-who are
born with supreme genius for war; and
Yho overcome ali carriers in their path by
p, the native supc, o,;ty < their faculties. The
qualities which constitute the character of a
great soldier are breadth Of view, foresight,
prudence, enterprise, :-:ye, - ilnperturba'
bic cQoIncss AL EAcult <. MT ccntradc.