The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1871-11-22
StoneWalI jackson.
r SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS AND POP
CLARITY.

command of the Virginia brigade,
which on the 2lst of July following VA
tho battle of Bull Run) won the title
Inv which it was ever attelWafd known,
- the "Stonewall" Brigade. That SIN
,o,ar appellation of q body of troops
originated in this wise;
In the eally part of the day we mad
Tho worst Of it decidedly. The battle
occurred at least five miles from the
,,onpd upon which it had been ex-
uected by our Generals, aud upon the
.x,rcme left of our position in the
morning. Bees, Evans and Barstow's
b:ieades, together with my own ana
Iatham's batteries, were the troops
chiefly engaged in the early part OF
,ne action. and we suffered very Sc
yelely.
Bartow's and Bees hrisades were
terribly cut np and driven from the
field for time, and all seemed lost,
When Jackson suddenly appeared upon
tLe scene with his splendid brigade,
and Will, magical rapidity took in the
situation, and formed his lines to resist
the rapid advance of the enemy. The
,.roic Bee, of South Carolina, and Bar
t,w. of Georgia, had succeeded in raj
living fragments Of their brigades. To
r.,ssure his men, Bee addressed them
briefly, and pointing to J"ckson's men
~ worthy example of courage and
GOODNESS, he exclaimed. "Look at those
yirginians! They stand like IL stone
val!!n A few minutes later Barlow
was killed and Bee moitaliy wounded.
The next day Bees compliment to
Jackson's men was repeated all over
the camp, and the name stuck to the
bricade and its commander ever after.
1t was not until his famous Shenan
doah Valley campaign, in the summer
of 1862, that Jackson began to attract
the attention of the whole county. l
will not recount the battles and marches
of the thirty days in which, with less
than $1,000 men, lie defeated success
sively Milroy, Banks, Fremont and
Shields, and recovered possession of
that fruitful region. For Il long time
there were many people in the South
who gave Jackson credit for the great
fighting qualities he displayed in that
campaign, but attributed the splendid
strategysto his snperiors at Richmond.
/ was in position to know that the
plan of the rapid series OF operations
was conceived as well as executed by
Jackson.
Tie morning after the battle of Nc
Dowell, in which Milroy was routed,
was alone some tine with General
jackson, and was intrusted by him
with his Geographic report of the ac-
ton to the government at Richmond
from Stanton, where l was then sta
tened and raising troops from the
mountain counties. Two days later,
Jackson, having left Ashby's cavalry
in front of Fremont and Milroy in the
mountains of Pendlaton county, and
fallen back to within twelve miles of
Staunton in the valley, sent courier
to ME with a telegram from General
Lee at Richmond, which I.was direct
ell to transmit Immediately, and on
receiving the reply to send it to Jack
son with all possible expedition.
The message sent was about in these
words 81 think | ought to attacl;
Banks, but under my orders l don't
feel at liberty to do So" General
Banks was then at Strausburg, seventy
miles north of Stanton. This dis
patch was sent to General Lee about
noon on Sunday. Within two hours q
reply came couched in about these
terms from General Joseph Z. John
ston, who then commanded the army
at Richmond: "If you can beat Banks
you may attack him. My orders were
only intended to caution you against
attacking Notifications" | forwarded
this to General jackson Immediately
and that evening he commenced Iii:
march down the Shenandoah, and three
days after struck Banks in flank a
Front Royal. Tie result of the mex
three weeks operations is known tt
the country.
have never had a doubt that Gene
raj Jackson was entitled to the Who'll,
credit of the strategy of the campaign
no less than of the fighting. He was ;
remarkably taciturn and reticent off
ccr. His troops were often completely
mystifed by his movements, whicl
were for q time inexplcable and ap
parently absurd, till suddenly bril-
liant 1eaouemeNt would burst upon al
and show the consummate generalsliE
of the movement.
One secret of his success was the &C
curacy of the information he Away
had of the enemy. His "right bower
was the gallant and chivalrous Colone
Turner Ashby, who commanded hi
cavalry, and was as indefatigable a
jackson, and kept the latter Away