The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1885-04-16
STONEWALL JACKSON,
Interesting Facts About the Distinguished
Confederate General-An Eccen-
trio but Pious Man.


| friend"
The speaker was Col. George H.
| Moffat, gentleman of wealth and leis-
ure, writes Buckingham, w. ", cor
respondent to the Pittsburg Dispatch.
Continuing, he said:
During the years which l spent at
| college in Lexington, Va, | made my
| home with Mrs Dr. Estelle She was
a warm hearted and cultured southern
woman and a close friend of jackson,
| who was then professor of mathemat-
les AZ the state military institute. He
| called often at her house, and it was
| there that | came to know him, in the
| autumn of 1859. | shall never forget
| the first time | met him. As a boy l
| heard of his heroic struggles as cadet
at West Point, and his dashing and
gallant services with Gen. Scott in
| Mexico. In imagination | had created
an ideal, which made my first meeting
with him a keen disappointment.
Instead of the handsome, polished
| gentleman l had pictured, 1 found him
awkward in appearance, severely plain
! in dress, and stiff and constrained in
bearing. But when he began to talk
my momentary disappointment passed
away. His voice was soft, musical,
and expressive, and in conversation
| his eyes of gray would light up in a
way which showed that through the
mans nature ran vein of sentiment
as tender as that of a woman. As |
listened to his terSe and well-rounded
| sentences, always instructive and full
! of meaning, boy though | was, | felt
| that he possessed power which, in
stirring times, would make him lead
er among his fellows. When in later
years | saw his appearance on the bat
tle-field gave renewed courage to vet
| erans who had faced death in a thous-
| and forms, / knew that my conviction
was not a mistaken one.
"One thing which made me sincere
ly respect Jackson was that he was a
profoundly devout man. He believed
implicitly in divine power. and labor
ed constantly to bring himself and
| those to whom he held the relation of
teacher to the highest ideal of man
hood. An incident which comes to
my mind now will illustrate this phase
of his character:
jackson was the superintendent of
Sunday school in Lexington made up
of colored children. My college chum
was teacher in this school, and one
! day during his absence | took charge
of his class. 1t was a Sunday in sum
mer, and the room was filled with
| children ranging from to 10 years of
| age. Scattered among them were sew
eral white ladies and gentlemen who
acted as teachers. Just as the clock
| was striking the superintendent call
| ed the school to order with a prayer,
| earnest and full Of feeling. which went
straight to the hearts of all who heard
! it. And then the manner in which he
! handled the lesson of the day, touching
| upon all the points that would interest
! his little hearers, was admirable. His
way of stating old truths was also
| charming in its freshness and simplic-
iy. Some of the aristocratc people of
the town looked with disfavor upon
| this undertaking of JacksOn's, but his
| heart was in his work, and then, as
ever, needing not what others said, he
| did what he believed to be his duty.
| The success OF the school was always
| dear to him, and even after the war
! had broken out and he had left Lex
ington his letters always expressed the
desire that it should be kept up as OF
| old.
| "Jackson's first wife was the daurh-
| ter OF Rev. George Jenkins, the presi-
| dent of Washington and Jefferson col
| lege. 1t was one of the striking anOm-
| allies of the war that while jackson
| was the idol of the southern cause, his
| tather-in-l3w was an extreme unioniSt,
| and at the beginning OF the war, on
! account of his decided views, rendered
bis resignation and went north. Jack
/ sons second wife, by whom he had
! one child, daughter. is still living,
and often visits Parkersburg, this state,
where the relatives of her husbands :
/ mother, the Meals, reside. Both OF
JackSon's wives were noble women, and
to both he was warmly attached.
Though, as have said, jackson
was reserved and austere in his tear
| inc, he was one of the most popular
! men in Lexington. Modest. and al
ways unwilling to make a showing of
| his powers, everyone, sooner or later.
came to regard him as a remarkable
man, and even if they did not claim
! him as a friend they respected him
sincerely, and We're prompt to show
him that they did. In the classroom
! he was impartial and strict, but not
severe. A dull student always received
| .he kindliest encouragement from him,
while lazy one was Just as sure of a
reprImand. There are scores of men
VINO owe the education they possess to
the thorough grounding received dur
inc the years spent under Prof. Jack
son.
When in April, 1861, news reached
Lexington that the ordinance of Sc
! cession had been passed, the sleepy old
town seemed suddenly changed to a
military camp, and on every side We're
seen the preparations for war. 1t was
decided that the older cadets at the
military institute should be sent to the
various recruiting stations to drill the
volunteers. And so one day in May,
with jackson at their head, they march
ed away. Poor lads too many of them
far too many-that morning was only
the bright opening of a career soon to
end in suffering and death. The time
set for their departure was a still, sun
! ny Sunday morning, and all the people
of the town, several thousand in num-
Der, had gathered to see them off. The
cadets, numbering two hundred, were
drawn up in front of the gate of the
fortress-like institute building. waiting
for Jackson's appearance. After a
time he came riding out through the
gateway on the homely sorrel which
afterward became almost as famous as
its master. He had barely reached the
| head of the column, and, wheeling.
stood facing the multitude, when, tax
ing off his slouch hat, he said in low
voice: Let US pray And then an
aged minister of the town, DR.. White,
lifted his voice in prayer. | can not
recall his words. and only remember
that he prayed Gods blessing light
rest upon the cause for which the young
men were going forth to battle, and
j His hands might protect them. When
he had 6Ri1hsd Jackson faced his men,