Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1880-11-11
"STONEWALL JACKSON'S
WAY"
Anecdote of a Confederate General
Who Had Way Of His Own.
American Oueen1

.l
as apt to have his No. ys dan
0 CLING out Of the stirrups as i
' them. A thoughtful man, wit
) oblong features, kindly gra
eyes, sombre in looks, with
: mind never at rest, he appeared
) often in what may not inappro
} priately be termed "lits of alb
straction," ,"and apparently obliv.
ious to every thing passing a
} round him, but at the whistle
of a minnie ball, or the boom ol
a cannon, how his whole fac,
lit up with expectancy
He was suddenly alive t.
"coming events" OfJackson's
rigid discipline l will here pu
on record an instance. Will,
a boy, l was coming out of The
postofice in Lexington, Va, ,one
morning. and, as l came out, 1
youth of some IL summers pass
ed in, clad in a black suit.
stopped for a minute on the
pavement at the postoffice door,
with nay face toward the Vir-
ginia MilitaryInstitute,o of which
jackson was then professor
jackson was coming up the
street at the time, and only a
few yards from the door.
The cadet was i'll citizens
dress, and had ''run the block
ade" to get q letter from "his
GIRL" and had thus violated two
rules-come to town in citizens
dress, and without leave ! He
was coming out, unconsciously,
into the "snare Of the fowler" /;
but he chanced to spy Jackson
within a few yards of the Office,
and instantly sprung back, jump
cd over the counter, few past
the postmaster, and leaped out
Of the back window, cat style,
on call Gours."
Jackson took in "the situa-
ton" at a glance, for, as the cats
heels were disappearing out Of
the back window, Jackson's
stern countcnancc darkened the
door, and he cried out in a stem
torian voice: 81 recognize you,
sirl Go to the barracks and re-
port yourself under arrestp
Many a mentor would have been
blind to the escapade, would
have tried not to have seen his
pupil, would have "winked at
it," but not so with Jackson; on
the contrary, he quickened his
pace and was an interested spec
tator to the lively movements
of his pupils heels. But it has
been mystery to me ever since,
how in the world jackson rec
ognized that cadet by his No. Z
boots as his heels were disap-
pearing out of the window.
When l saw jackson again he
lay dead on the field Of Cham
cellorsville. To show Jackson's
listlessness on important occa-
.sions, | will record another in
cidcnt. 1t is well known that
"Stonewall"was not a mere map
fighter, or attacked the enemy
on scientific principles. He
made war as Claiborne Mason
made his (Jackson's) bridges,
BY intuitive knowledge and COM
nonsense principles. Al d
when many a general was plan
ming a battle on maps, jackson
had fought and won them by
the celebrity Of his movements.
But to the point: On a certain
night, near the banks of the
Rappahannock, a council of war
was being held, at which, as
matter Of course, Gen. Robert
E. Lee presided. Jackson was
the last to enter the commander
in-chief's tent. He sat down,
crossed his lank legs, folded his
arms, and was lost in thought in
IA few minutes. The subject
and manner Of attack was elab-
oratelY discussed in all its de-
tails, for nearly an hour, on the
maps and plan Of battle, and a
conclusion nearly arrived at,
when Gen. Lee, wishing to hear
Jackson's opinion-he had not
opened his mouth during the
entire discussion--asked him
for his views; but, mirabile
dictu! jackson was sound a.
sleep, and, when reused up, his
answer to Lees question was
without so much as opening
eyes): "Oh, run them into the
river |" His suggestion was a
dopted, and a bold, stand-up
attack was made, and the enemy
was not only "run into the riv-
er," but clear across it.
.Lemuel MCGEE, on his way to