The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1866-05-23
SIOAEWALL JACKSON.
A Northern Radicals estimate OF the
Man---A review of Cooks Life Of Stene-
KaA Jackson, &c.

4
A Northern Radicals estimate OF tin
Man---A review of Cooks Life Of Stone
HaA Jackson, &c.
Our people know what they think Of ou1
hero and the greatest Military genius Of
the 10Th Century; but what the enemy
think is much higher tribute tohis memo
ry. Below we give review Of John Els
ten Cooks Life ofStonewall Jackson, pub
lished in the Franklin Repository, Cham
bersburg, Pennsylvania, by Colonel Nc
Clure one Of the most radical Of radicals.
While differing from him in many things
hesays, and knowing his information could
not be as ours, we think our readers will at
least give him credit for fairness and hon
esty Of purpose in his general conclusions.
When some Maccauley is produced by a
generation. devested Of the passions and
prejedices of the war, a true history Of it
and Jackson, will be written-bat not till
then. The review says:
The fame of Stonewall jackson can
neither be enhanced or dimmed by good or
bad biographers. Of all the great leaders
the rebellion developed, either in the TO-
rum or in the field, no one has so stamped
his individuality upon the thrilling his
tory of the war as Thomas Jonathan Jack
son, the chief lieutenant Of Lea He was
comparatively unknown when the war
broke out In the secluded little village
of Lexington, in the Valley ofVirginia, he
lived for many years Indifferent to fame.
Beyond the effort to perform his duties as
a professor in the Military Institute with
scrupuaous consciousness, to attend di-
vine service with the utmost punctuahty,
and lead an exemplary christian life, he
seems never to have aspired. He was
jeeraa for his native awkwardness, hated
by many for his stern justice, and beloved
only by the few who could conform to his
Puritanical convictions of moral and social
duty. He seems to have had some desire
ia bis earher days to win renown and pro-
motion in his profession Of arms. He
served with distinction as a second lieu
tenant in the Mexican war and afterwards
was assigned to duty in Florida; but for
the quiet, dull routine Of a soldier in time
of peace he hadno inclination, andhe glad
ly accepted the invitation Of the Board of
the Institute to fill the chair Of Natural
and Experimental Philosophy. Oddly
enough the list of names from which his
was chosen embraced Gems. Mcclellan,
Reno and Rosecranz, of the Union army,
and Gen Geo. w. Smith, Of the rebel ar
my; but it is more than probable that
Jackson's nativity prevailed in the selec-
ton. He seems to have cherished the
idea that the time might come when he
would return to the army but only in the
event of actual war. For civil war he GER
tainly had no desire or cherished no ex-
pectation, and it was not until Virginia
had formally seeded from the Union, by
the fraud that was conceived in Richmond
and consumated under the guidance Of
A. H. Stevens, John Letcher and others,
that he manifested any disposition to favor
rebellion. It is alleged by some writers
that he made his decision as to the side
he should espouse, the subject of prayer
but ifso, we apprehend that the deeply
seated heresy Of State Rights had more to
do in determining his destiny than anys
cial direction of Providence. When the
crisis came jackson followed Virginia, and
he was reluctantly awarded a Colonelcy by
l. II how, S,,h
sequently he was assigned to duty in the
Shenandoah and given the command Of a
brigade. Gen. Jos. E. Johnston superse-
ded him when he occupied Harper's Ferry
with a strong force to oppose the march
Of Patterson, and jackson opened the war
in Virginia by the .skirmish at Falling
Waters Opened the war! Sad day in
deed for the Old Dominion! Her fair
fields are now waste, her homes desolated,
her family circles broken, her hills, val
legs and plains fidged with the graves Of,
those who have fallen, bereavement sha-
dows every surviving heart, and the con
queror sweeps the Mother Of Presidents
with martial law; the slave is disenthrall
ed from the lordly masters command, the
hero of the Peninsula, Of Fredericksburg,
of Charlottesville and another score of
mastery and sanguinary struggles, fills
the Presidency of Lexington College as a
paroled prisoner ofwar, andshard by Stone
wall jackson sleeps the sleep that knows
no waking!
We opened the book before us with IN
hoe
when the truthful Inner may undertake
the task Of portraying the rare character
istics, the sublime heroism, and the aston
ishing achievements Of Stonewall Jackson.
Romance could lend no charms-to the his
tory of such a career and such life. The
truth for the truths sake is the only thing
that could serve to swell the measure Of
his fame Coming as this work does from
one who has been trained in literature for
two decades, and who served near to his
hero during most Of the war, often witness
ing him in battle and at times his compan-
ion in the bivouac, we expected such a
narrative Of the deeds Of this wondrous
man as would stand the oyucible of time
and rank with theunfading chapters Of our
history. In this we have been grievously
disappointed. AS work it falls far be-
low some Of the anthor s.preyious efforts,
and does positive injustice to the charac-
ter it attempts to vindicate and surround
with fresh lustre. It is unreliable histori-
cally, extravaganza to tbeyery verge Of fal-
sity at times, blindly rebel in its proclivi-
ties even to the manifest denial of rebel
defects and the exaggeration of rebel tri-
umphs, and, as if laboring under the delu-
sion that the fame Of jackson was to be