Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1880-04-08
Stonewall Jackson. the Pro
fessor.
Wheeling Register.

wall jackson is when / was a
College boy at Lexington, Vir-
! ginia, in the fall of 1860. l am
notable to say whether it was the
peculiar carriage of the stiff, miIi-
tary-looking Institute Professor
who. daily passed the College
grounds that was of chief interest
to the students of Washington
College, or whether the stories
told of daring and reckless cour-
age in his early military life in
vested him with a halo of romance
Iand made him an object of hero
worship in their youthful minds.
Whatever the cause, the solid
tramp of Major jackson on the
plank-walk would be the signal
to stop all games of mirth that
may have been in progress on
the College campus until he had
passed. The stiff, stolid-looking
man would pass on, turning bis
head neither to the right nor left,
but a single touch of hIs cap was
the silent recognition given Of
| the deferentiaI respect shown by
the boys.
"Old Jack" as he was famil-
iarly called by cadets and stu
dents, was so plain in manner
and attire, there was so little ef-
fort at show, his feet were so
large and his arms and hands
fastened to his body in such an
awkward shape, that the cadets
didn't take much pride in him as
a Professor. They feared him
in the lecture-room, they paid
the strictest Difference to him on
parade; but in showing a strang-
or the sights about the Institute
cadet was never know to point
out "Old jack as one of the
ornaments of the institution. He
was more popular with the Col.
lege students, who did not have
the same reason for fearing the
austerity of his manner, but who
knew him as the son-in-law of
their College President, the Rev..
George Junkin.
My first meeting with General
jackson in the social circle was
one evening when he called to
sec a friend at our boardinghouse.
shall never forget the impress
sion his manner and appear
ance made upon me, Boy as j
was, / looked upon him with
reyerential awe. 1had heard the
stories of his struggles in early
lifeSof how he had walked from
| his house in Lewis County to
Washington to receive his ap-
pointment as a cadet to West
Point; of his being i'll prepared,
and the difficulty he had in keep
ing up with his classes; and then
III heard of his brilliant career in
Mexico, of his mounting the
walls of Cherdbusco with the
American flag in his hands; and
there now was the hero of my
youthful enthusiasm before me.
He was SO different from what |
thought a hero ought to be I!
There was so little animation, no
grace, no enthusiasm. ALL was
stiffness and awkwardness. He
sat perfectly erect, his back
touching the back of the chair
nowhere; the large hands were
Ispread out, one ON each knee,
while the large feet, sticking out
at an exact right-angle to the
leg (the angle seeming to have
been determined with mathemat-
ical precision1 occupied an. un-
warranted space. The figure re-
called to my boyish mind whatI
had once seen-a rude Egyptian
carved figure intended to repre-
sent one0f the Pharaohs.
But when the conversation
Icommenced lost sight of the
lawkward-looking figure. Ieven
llost the reverential awe which
had so deeply impressed me at
first. i only saw the mild eyes
emitting gentle beams, and only
heard a soft, melodious voice
speaking, it is true, in short,
crisp sentences-but withal as
mild and winning as a wOman's.
| then understood how it was
that Major jackson could be
Ihero. Underlying that rough,
Iuncomely exterior was a vein Of
the most exquisite sentiment. In
the soul OF the man was that mag
nctism which attracted and that
power which controlled and made
him the master of his fellow-men.
In after days, when / saw the
uplifting of his dusty cap excite
the widest enthusiasm among
bis veteran legions, / knew
whence the power emanated.