Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-21

OOfPs SOnllnander. But there was grand
eur and dignity Of character about the man
that was perfect barrier to all levity Of de-
pertinent and ilnbecoming familiarity IN his
presence. lie was possessed, too, Of the
lofueSt courage, and his men knew II. On
one OCCASION m battle portion Of his line
gave way under terrible fire; and when
rallied showed some hesitation in resaming
their lost ground. He rode to the front and
ordered them to follow. lIim. Not man
moved. Some one cried out ;;as'sH
General that's no place for You, and
we will not move an inch until YOU 90 to
the rear, and then we VIII charge the enc
N.Y. ssg sifEi9T.f 17 tsll 2 ~
He had t6 yield, and as he rode slowly
back a wild yell ran up, and at a run the
line rushed forward, regained their position,
and drove the enemy back. ~ a. -fiFl
Can the world wonder that when this
leader laid down his sword and ordered his
handful of ragged and furnishing veterans to
stack arms as prisoners Of war, and babe
them long and last farewell, they crowded
round his horse in weeping groups, and in
the excess Of their soETowing embraces al
most pulled him 10 the ground? "a ,szoa
lo9a hsssToNEwALL' JACKSON. RI y- 81
Col. jackson was assigned to the COM
nland of the Virginia brigade, which on the
2lst of July following lin the battle of Bull
RUM won the title by which it was ever
afterwards known, as the SStonewalr'
brigade That singular appellation of a
body OF troops originated in this wise: aiii
In-the early part of the day we had the
worst Of it decidedly. The battle occurred
at least five miles from the ground upon
which it had been expected by our generals,
and upon the extreme left of our positionin
the morning. Bees, Evans and Bartow's
brigades, together with my own and Lath-
ans batteries, were the troops chiefly en-
gagged in the early part of the action, and
we suffered very severely. BaTtow's md
Bees brigades were terribly cut up and
driven from the field for time, and all
seemed lost, when Jackson suddenly APP
peared upon the scene with his splendid
brigade, and with magical rapidity took in
the situation, and formed his lines to resist
the rapid advance of the enemy. The he
roic Bee, of South Carolina, and Barlow,
of Georgia, had succeeded in rallying frag-
ments of their brigades. To reassure his
men Bee addressed them briefly, and point
ing to Jackson's men as worthy example
Of courage and GOODNESS, be exclaimed,
"Look at those Virginiansl They stand
like stone wall" A few minutes later
Barlow was killed and Bee mortaIly wound
ed. The next day Bees compliment to Jack
the name stuck to the brigade and its COM
mander ever after.
II was not until his famous Shenandoah
Valley campaign in the summer of 1862
that Jackson began to attract the attention
Of the whole country. viii not recount
the battles and marches of the thirty days
in which with less than 1900 men, he de-
feated successfully Milroy, Banks, Fremont,
and Shields, andrecovered possession of that
fruitful region. For long time there were
many people in the South who gave jackson
credit for the great fighting qualities he dis
played in that campaign, but attributed the
| splendid strategy to his superiors at Rich
mond. was in a position to know
that the plan of that rapid series of opera
tons was conceived as well as executed by
jackson.
The morning after the battle Of Mellow
| ell, in which AIilroy was routed, was alone
some time with Gen. Jackson, and was en-
trusted by him with his telegraphic report
| of the action to be transmitted to the Gov
| eminent at Richmond from Staunton, where
was then stationed 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 Pendleton county, and fallen
back TO within twelve miles of Stanton in
the valley, sent courier to me with a tele-
gram from Gen. Lee at Richmond, which
was directed to transmit Immediately, ami
on receiving the reply TO send il to Jackson
with all possible expedition. The message
he sent was about in these words: 81
think / ought to attack Banks, but under
my orders l don't feel at liberty to
| do 500 Gen. Banks was then at
Strasburg, seventy miles north of Staunton.
| This dispatch was sent TO Gen. Lee about
noon on Sunday Within two hours a re
ply came couched In about these terms
from Gen. Joseph E. Jolnston, who theI
commanded the army at Richmond: al
| you can beat Banks, YOU may attack him
My orders were only intended to caution
| you against attacking Notifications" | for
warded this TO Gen. Jackson Immediately
and that evening he commenced his march
! down the Shenandoah, and three DAYS later
| struck Banks in flank at Front Royal.
The result of the next three weeks opera
| tons is known to the country. l have
never had doubt that Gen. Jackson was
| entitled to the whole credit of the strategy
| of the campaign no less than of the fighting.
He was a remarkably taciturn and reti-
cent officer. His troops were often com
| pletely mystified by his movements, which
were for time inxeplicable and apparent
| ly absurd, till suddenly a brilliant denOue-
B1ent would burst upon all and show the
eomsummate generalship of the move
ment.
One secret of his success was the accura-
| cy of the information he always had of the
enemy. His ''right bower" was the gallant
and chivalrous Col. Turner Ashby, who
commanded his cavalry, and was as indie
| fatigable as Jackson, and kept the latter al
ways thoroughly informed of the enemy's
position and movements. l think that on
the field Of battle Jackson surpassed all our
generals in his displays of military genius.
Nothing escaped his observation, and he was
as quick as lightning in taking advantage
of any circumstance favoring success. A
false or injudicions movement by his adj
versary was fatal. Numerous instances
could be cited in which the scales of victory
were equally poised, till some incautious
advance or change of position by the enemy
gave Jackson his opportunity to have his en-
tire force upon weak point and overcome
| all resistance.
Except as a soldier, Jackson was man Of
ordinary talents. He was slightly deaf, and
appeared to disadvantage in company. He
talked very little, and his conversation was
commonplace. He was exceedingly modest
and never spoke of his achievements unless
drawn out, and then with evident reluctance
He was as simple as child in his manners
and as easily amused by pleasant anecdotes,
he never ventured upon the humorous in
his conversation, but enjoyed displays o.
wit in others. His religious feelings were very
| strong, and marked his whole career. But
| for the length to which il would extend this
article, could relate many anecdotes illus
trating the ehild-like simplicity Of character
| of this remarkable soldier. l may do so in
a future number, when come to treat Of
Ashby. egl' ID II
1 mvWE nnkTRFTa RVnRn