Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan " Stonewall " Jackson ( January 21 , 1824 – May 10 , 1863 ) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War , and one of the best - known Confederate commanders after General Robert E . Lee . His military career includes the Valley Campaign of 1862 and his service as a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E . Lee . Confederate pickets accidentally shot him at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2 , 1863 . The general survived with the loss of an arm to amputation , but died of complications from pneumonia eight days later . His death was a severe setback for the Confederacy , affecting not only its military prospects , but also the morale of its army and of the general public . Jackson in death became an icon of Southern heroism and commitment , joining Lee in the pantheon of the " Lost Cause " . Military historians consider Jackson to be one of the most gifted tactical commanders in U . S . history . His Valley Campaign and his envelopment of the Union Army right wing at Chancellorsville are studied worldwide even today as examples of innovative and bold leadership . He excelled as well in other battles ; the First Battle of Bull Run ( First Manassas ) where he received his famous nickname " Stonewall " , Second Bull Run ( Second Manassas ) , Antietam , and Fredericksburg . Jackson was not universally successful as a commander , however , as displayed by his weak and confused efforts during the Seven Days Battles around Richmond in 1862 . Early life . Paternal ancestry . Thomas Jonathan Jackson was the great - grandson of John Jackson ( 1715 or 1719 – 1801 ) and Elizabeth Cummins ( also known as Elizabeth Comings and Elizabeth Needles ) ( 1723 – 1828 ) . John Jackson was a Protestant ( Ulster - Scottish ) from Coleraine , County Londonderry , Ireland . While living in London , England , he was convicted of the capital crime of larceny for stealing £170 ; the judge at the Old Bailey sentenced him to a seven - year indenture in America . Elizabeth , a strong , blonde woman over tall , born in London , England was also convicted of larceny in an unrelated case for stealing 19 pieces of silver , jewelry , and fine lace , and received a similar sentence . They both were transported on the prison ship " Litchfield " , which departed London in May 1749 with 150 convicts . John and Elizabeth met on board and were in love by the time the ship arrived at Annapolis , Maryland . Although they were sent to different locations in Maryland for their indentures , the couple married in July 1755 . The family migrated west across the Blue Ridge Mountains to settle near Moorefield , Virginia , ( now West Virginia ) in 1758 . In 1770 , they moved farther west to the Tygart Valley . They began to acquire large parcels of virgin farmland near the present - day town of Buckhannon , including 3 , 000 acres ( 12 km² ) in Elizabeth ' s name . John and his two teenage sons were early recruits for the American Revolutionary War , fighting in the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7 , 1780 ; John finished the war as captain and served as a lieutenant of the Virginia Militia after 1787 . While the men were in the Army , Elizabeth converted their home to a haven , " Jackson ' s Fort , " for refugees from Indian attacks . John and Elizabeth had eight children . Their second son was Edward Jackson ( March 1 , 1759 – December 25 , 1828 ) , and Edward ' s third son was Jonathan Jackson , Thomas ' s father . Early childhood . Thomas Jackson was the third child of Julia Beckwith ( née Neale ) Jackson ( 1798 – 1831 ) and Jonathan Jackson ( 1790 – 1826 ) , an attorney . Both of Jackson ' s parents were natives of Virginia . The family already had two young children and were living in Clarksburg , in what is now West Virginia , when Thomas was born . He was named for his maternal grandfather . [ There is some dispute about the actual location of Jackson ' s birth . An historical marker on the floodwall in Parkersburg , W . Va . , claims that he was born in a cabin near that spot when his mother was visiting her parents who lived there . ] It is said that in Jackson ' s early childhood , he has been known to be called " The Real Macaroni " . It is a common legend and myth of how Jackson had ever achieved the nickname . Thomas ' s sister Elizabeth ( age six ) died of typhoid fever on March 6 , 1826 , with two - year - old Thomas at her bedside . His father also died of a typhoid fever on March 26 . Jackson ' s mother gave birth to Thomas ' s sister Laura Ann the day after Jackson ' s father died . Julia Jackson thus was widowed at 28 and was left with much debt and three young children ( including the newborn ) . She sold the family ' s possessions to pay the debts . She declined family charity and moved into a small rented one - room house . Julia took in sewing and taught school to support herself and her three young children for about four years . In 1830 , Julia Neale Jackson remarried . Her new husband , Blake Woodson , an attorney , did not like his stepchildren . There were continuing financial problems . The following year , after giving birth to Thomas ' s half - brother , Julia died of complications , leaving her three older children orphaned . Julia was buried in an unmarked grave in a homemade coffin in Westlake Cemetery along the New River and 60 in Fayette County within the corporate limits of present - day Ansted , West Virginia . Working and teaching at Jackson ' s Mill . As their mother ' s health continued to fail , Jackson and his sister Laura Ann were sent to live with their uncle , Cummins Jackson , who owned a grist mill in Jackson ' s Mill ( near present - day Weston in Lewis County in central West Virginia ) . Their older brother , Warren , went to live with other relatives on his mother ' s side of the family , but he later died of tuberculosis in 1841 at the age of 20 . Thomas and Laura Ann returned from Jackson ' s Mill in November 1831 to be at their dying mother ' s bedside . They spent four years together at the Mill before being separated — Laura Ann was sent to live with her mother ' s family , Thomas to live with his Aunt Polly ( his father ' s sister ) and her husband , Isaac Brake , on a farm 4 miles from Clarksburg . Thomas was treated by Brake as an outsider and , having suffered verbal abuse for over a year , ran away from the family . When his cousin in Clarksburg besought him to return to Aunt Polly ' s , he replied , " Maybe I ought to , ma ' am , but I am not going to . " He walked 18 miles through mountain wilderness to Jackson ' s Mill , where he was welcomed by his uncles and he remained there for the following seven years . Cummins Jackson was strict with Thomas , who looked up to Cummins as a schoolteacher . Jackson helped around the farm , tending sheep with the assistance of a sheepdog , driving teams of oxen and helping harvest wheat and corn . Formal education was not easily obtained , but he attended school when and where he could . Much of Jackson ' s education was self - taught . He once made a deal with one of his uncle ' s slaves to provide him with pine knots in exchange for reading lessons ; Thomas would stay up at night reading borrowed books by the light of those burning pine knots . Virginia law forbade teaching a slave , free black or mulatto to read or write , as enacted following Nat Turner ' s Slave Rebellion in Southampton County in 1831 . Nevertheless , Jackson secretly taught the slave to write , as he had promised . Once literate , the young slave fled to Canada via the underground railroad . In his later years at Jackson ' s Mill , Thomas was a school teacher . Brother Against Sister . The Civil War has sometimes been referred to as a war of " brother against brother , " but in the case of the Jackson family it was brother against sister . Laura Jackson Arnold was close to her brother Thomas until the Civil War period . As the war loomed she became a very staunch Unionist in a somewhat divided Harrison County . She was so strident in her beliefs that she expressed mixed feelings upon hearing of Thomas ' death . One Union officer said that though she seemed depressed at hearing the news her Unionism was stronger than her family bonds . In a letter he wrote that Laura had said she " would rather know that he was dead than to have him a leader in the rebel army . " Her Union sentiment also estranged her later from her husband . Early military career . West Point . In 1842 , Jackson was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York . Because of his inadequate schooling , he had difficulty with the entrance examinations and began his studies at the bottom of his class . As a student , he had to work harder than most cadets to absorb lessons . Displaying a dogged determination that was to characterize his life , however , he became one of the hardest working cadets in the academy , and moved steadily up the academic rankings . Jackson graduated 17th out of 59 students in the Class of 1846 . It was said by his peers that if he had stayed there another year , he would have graduated first . His roommate in his junior year at West Point was George Stoneman , who later served as a Union cavalry general and became the Governor of California . U . S . Army and the Mexican War . Jackson began his United States Army career as a second lieutenant in the 1st U . S . Artillery Regiment and was sent to fight in the Mexican - American War from 1846 to 1848 . He served at the Siege of Veracruz and the battles of Contreras , Chapultepec , and Mexico City , eventually earning two brevet promotions , and the regular army rank of first lieutenant . It was in Mexico that Thomas Jackson first met Robert E . Lee . During the assault on Chapultepec Castle , he refused what he felt was a " bad order " to withdraw his troops . Confronted by his superior , he explained his rationale , claiming withdrawal was more hazardous than continuing his overmatched artillery duel . His judgment proved correct , and a relieving brigade was able to exploit the advantage Jackson had broached . In contrast to this display of strength of character , he obeyed what he also felt was a " bad order " when he raked a civilian throng with artillery fire after the Mexican authorities failed to surrender Mexico City at the hour demanded by the U . S . forces . The former episode , and later aggressive action against the retreating Mexican army , earned him field promotion to the brevet rank of major . Lexington and the Virginia Military Institute . In the spring of 1851 , Jackson accepted a newly created teaching position at the Virginia Military Institute ( VMI ) , in Lexington , Virginia . He became Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy and Instructor of Artillery . Parts of Jackson ' s curriculum are still taught at VMI , regarded as timeless military essentials : discipline , mobility , assessing the enemy ' s strength and intentions while attempting to conceal your own , and the efficiency of artillery combined with an infantry assault . However , despite the high quality of his work , he was not popular as a teacher , and the students called him " Tom Fool . " He memorized his lectures and then recited them to the class ; any students who came to ask for help were only given the same explanation as before . And if students came to ask again , Jackson viewed this as insubordination and likewise punished them . The students mocked his apparently stern , religious nature and his eccentric traits . In 1856 , a group of alumni attempted to have Jackson removed from his position . Little as he was known to the white inhabitants of Lexington , Jackson was revered by many of the African - Americans in town , both slaves and free blacks . He was instrumental in the organization in 1855 of Sunday School classes for blacks at the Presbyterian Church . His second wife , Mary Anna Jackson , taught with Jackson , as " he preferred that my labors should be given to the colored children , believing that it was more important and useful to put the strong hand of the Gospel under the ignorant African race , to lift them up . " The pastor , Dr . William Spottswood White , described the relationship between Jackson and his Sunday afternoon students : " In their religious instruction he succeeded wonderfully . His discipline was systematic and firm , but very kind . . . . His servants reverenced and loved him , as they would have done a brother or father . . . . He was emphatically the black man ' s friend . " He addressed his students by name and they in turn referred to him affectionately as " Marse Major . " Jackson ' s family owned six slaves in the late 1850s . Three ( Hetty , Cyrus , and George , a mother and two teenage sons ) were received as a wedding present . Another , Albert , requested that Jackson purchase him and allow him to work for his freedom ; he was employed as a waiter in one of the Lexington hotels and Jackson rented him to VMI . Amy also requested that Jackson purchase her from a public auction and she served the family as a cook and housekeeper . The sixth , Emma , was a four - year - old orphan with a learning disability , accepted by Jackson from an aged widow and presented to his second wife , Mary Anna , as a welcome - home gift . After the American Civil War began he appears to have hired out or sold his slaves . Mary Anna Jackson , in her 1895 memoir , said , " our servants . . . without the firm guidance and restraint of their master , the excitement of the times proved so demoralizing to them that he deemed it best for me to provide them with good homes among the permanent residents . " James Robertson wrote about Jackson ' s view on slavery : While an instructor at VMI in 1853 , Thomas Jackson married Elinor " Ellie " Junkin , whose father , George Junkin , was president of Washington College ( later named Washington and Lee University ) in Lexington . An addition was built onto the president ' s residence for the Jacksons , and when Robert E . Lee became president of Washington College he lived in the same home , now known as the Lee - Jackson House . Ellie gave birth to a stillborn son on October 22 , 1854 , experiencing a hemorrhage an hour later that proved fatal . After a tour of Europe , Jackson married again , in 1857 . Mary Anna Morrison was from North Carolina , where her father was the first president of Davidson College . They had a daughter named Mary Graham on April 30 , 1858 , but the baby died less than a month later . Another daughter was born in 1862 , shortly before her father ' s death . The Jacksons named her Julia Laura , after his mother and sister . Jackson purchased the only house he ever owned while in Lexington . Built in 1801 , the brick town house at 8 East Washington Street was purchased by Jackson in 1859 . He lived in it for two years before being called to serve in the Confederacy . Jackson never returned to his home . In November 1859 , at the request of the governor of Virginia , Major William Gilham led a contingent of the VMI Cadet Corps to Charles Town to provide an additional military presence at the hanging of militant abolitionist John Brown on December 2 , following his raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry on October 16 . Major Jackson was placed in command of the artillery , consisting of two howitzer s manned by 21 cadets . Civil War . In 1861 , as the American Civil War broke out , Jackson became a drill master for some of the many new recruits in the Confederate Army . On April 27 , 1861 , Virginia Governor John Letcher ordered Colonel Jackson to take command at Harpers Ferry , where he would assemble and command the famous " Stonewall Brigade " , consisting of the 2nd , 4th , 5th , 27th , and 33rd Virginia Infantry regiments . All of these units were from the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia , where Jackson located his headquarters throughout the first two years of the war . Jackson became known for his relentless drilling of his troops ; he believed discipline was vital to success on the battlefield . Following raids on the B & O Railroad on May 24 , he was promoted to brigadier general on June 17 . First Bull Run . Jackson rose to prominence and earned his most famous nickname at the First Battle of Bull Run ( First Manassas ) on July 21 , 1861 . As the Confederate lines began to crumble under heavy Union assault , Jackson ' s brigade provided crucial reinforcements on Henry House Hill , demonstrating the discipline he instilled in his men . Brig . Gen . Barnard Elliott Bee , Jr . , exhorted his own troops to re - form by shouting , " There is Jackson standing like a stone wall . Let us determine to die here , and we will conquer . Rally behind the Virginians ! " There is some controversy over Bee ' s statement and intent , which could not be clarified because he was killed almost immediately after speaking and none of his subordinate officers wrote reports of the battle . Major Burnett Rhett , chief of staff to General Joseph E . Johnston , claimed that Bee was angry at Jackson ' s failure to come immediately to the relief of Bee ' s and Bartow ' s brigades while they were under heavy pressure . Those who subscribe to this opinion believe that Bee ' s statement was meant to be pejorative : " Look at Jackson standing there like a damned stone wall ! " Regardless of the controversy and the delay in relieving Bee , Jackson ' s brigade , which would thenceforth be known as the Stonewall Brigade , stopped the Union assault and suffered more casualties than any other Southern brigade that day ; Jackson has since then been generally known as Stonewall Jackson . During the battle , Jackson displayed a gesture common to him and held his left arm skyward with the palm facing forward — interpreted by his soldiers variously as an eccentricity or an entreaty to God for success in combat . His hand was struck by a bullet or a piece of shrapnel and he suffered a small loss of bone in his middle finger . He refused medical advice to have the finger amputated . After the battle , Jackson was promoted to major general ( October 7 , 1861 ) and given command of the Valley District , with headquarters in Winchester . Valley Campaign . In the spring of 1862 , Union Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan ' s Army of the Potomac approached Richmond from the southeast in the Peninsula Campaign , Maj . Gen . Irvin McDowell ' s large corps were poised to hit Richmond from the north , and Maj . Gen . Nathaniel P . Banks ' s army threatened the Shenandoah Valley . Jackson was ordered by Richmond to operate in the Valley to defeat Banks ' threat and prevent McDowell ' s troops from reinforcing McClellan . Jackson possessed the attributes to succeed against his poorly coordinated and sometimes timid opponents : a combination of great audacity , excellent knowledge and shrewd use of the terrain , and the ability to inspire his troops to great feats of marching and fighting . The campaign started with a tactical defeat at Kernstown on March 23 , 1862 , when faulty intelligence led him to believe he was attacking a small detachment . But it became a strategic victory for the Confederacy , because his aggressiveness suggested that he possessed a much larger force , convincing President Abraham Lincoln to keep Banks ' troops in the Valley and McDowell ' s 30 , 000 - man corps near Fredericksburg , subtracting about 50 , 000 soldiers from McClellan ' s invasion force . As it transpired , it was Jackson ' s only defeat in the Valley . By adding Maj . Gen . Richard S . Ewell ' s large division and Maj . Gen . Edward " Allegheny " Johnson ' s small division , Jackson increased his army to 17 , 000 men . He was still significantly outnumbered , but attacked portions of his divided enemy individually at McDowell , defeating both Brig . Gens . Robert H . Milroy and Robert C . Schenck . He defeated Banks at Front Royal and Winchester , ejecting him from the Valley . Lincoln decided that the defeat of Jackson was an immediate priority ( though Jackson ' s orders were solely to keep Union forces occupied away from Richmond ) . He ordered Irvin McDowell to send 20 , 000 men to Front Royal and Maj . Gen . John C . Frémont to move to Harrisonburg . If both forces could converge at Strasburg , Jackson ' s only escape route up the Valley would be cut . After a series of maneuvers , Jackson defeated Frémont ' s command at Cross Keys and Brig . Gen . James Shields at Port Republic on June 8 – 9 . Union forces were withdrawn from the Valley . It was a classic military campaign of surprise and maneuver . Jackson pressed his army to travel in 48 days of marching and won five significant victories with a force of about 17 , 000 against a combined force of 60 , 000 . Stonewall Jackson ' s reputation for moving his troops so rapidly earned them the oxymoron ic nickname " foot cavalry " . He became the most celebrated soldier in the Confederacy ( until he was eventually eclipsed by Lee ) and lifted the morale of the Southern public . Peninsula . McClellan ' s Peninsula Campaign toward Richmond stalled at the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31 and June 1 . After the Valley Campaign ended in mid - June , Jackson and his troops were called to join Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia in defense of the capital . By utilizing a railroad tunnel under the Blue Ridge Mountains and then transporting troops to Hanover County on the Virginia Central Railroad , Jackson and his forces made a surprise appearance in front of McClellan at Mechanicsville . Reports had last placed Jackson ' s forces in the Shenandoah Valley ; their presence near Richmond added greatly to the Union commander ' s overestimation of the strength and numbers of the forces before him . This proved a crucial factor in McClellan ' s decision to re - establish his base at a point many miles downstream from Richmond on the James River at Harrison ' s Landing , essentially a retreat that ended the Peninsula Campaign and prolonged the war almost three more years . Jackson ' s troops served well under Lee in the series of battles known as the Seven Days Battles , but Jackson ' s own performance in those battles is generally considered to be poor . He arrived late at Mechanicsville and inexplicably ordered his men to bivouac for the night within clear earshot of the battle . He was late and disoriented at Gaines ' Mill . He was late again at Savage ' s Station and at White Oak Swamp he failed to employ fording places to cross White Oak Swamp Creek , attempting for hours to rebuild a bridge , which limited his involvement to an ineffectual artillery duel and a missed opportunity . At Malvern Hill Jackson participated in the futile , piecemeal frontal assaults against entrenched Union infantry and massed artillery , and suffered heavy casualties ( but this was a problem for all of Lee ' s army in that ill - considered battle ) . The reasons for Jackson ' s sluggish and poorly - coordinated actions during the Seven Days are disputed , although a severe lack of sleep after the grueling march and railroad trip from the Shenandoah Valley was probably a significant factor . Both Jackson and his troops were completely exhausted . It has also been said by Longstreet that , " General Jackson never showed his genius when under the immediate command of General Lee . " Second Bull Run to Fredericksburg . The military reputations of Lee ' s corps commanders are often characterized as Stonewall Jackson representing the audacious , offensive component of Lee ' s army , whereas his counterpart , James Longstreet , more typically advocated and executed defensive strategies and tactics . Jackson has been described as the army ' s hammer , Longstreet its anvil . In the Northern Virginia Campaign of August 1862 this stereotype did not hold true . Longstreet commanded the Right Wing ( later to become known as the First Corps ) and Jackson commanded the Left Wing . Jackson started the campaign under Lee ' s orders with a sweeping flanking maneuver that placed his corps into the rear of Union Maj . Gen . John Pope ' s Army of Virginia . At Manassas Junction , Jackson was able to capture all of the supplies of the Union Army depot . Then he had his troops destroy all of it , for it was the main depot for the Union Army . Jackson then retreated and then took up a defensive position and effectively invited Pope to assault him . On August 28 – 29 , the start of the Second Battle of Bull Run ( Second Manassas ) , Pope launched repeated assaults against Jackson as Longstreet and the remainder of the army marched north to reach the battlefield . On August 30 , Pope came to believe that Jackson was starting to retreat , and Longstreet took advantage of this by launching a massive assault on the Union army ' s left with over 25 , 000 men . Although the Union troops put up a furious defense , Pope ' s army was forced to retreat in a manner similar to the embarrassing Union defeat at First Bull Run , fought on roughly the same battleground . When Lee decided to invade the North in the Maryland Campaign , Jackson took Harpers Ferry , then hastened to join the rest of the army at Sharpsburg , Maryland , where they fought McClellan in the Battle of Antietam ( Sharpsburg ) . Antietam was primarily a defensive battle against superior odds , although McClellan failed to exploit his advantage . Jackson ' s men bore the brunt of the initial attacks on the northern end of the battlefield and , at the end of the day , successfully resisted a breakthrough on the southern end when Jackson ' s subordinate , Maj . Gen . A . P . Hill , arrived at the last minute from Harpers Ferry . The Confederate forces held their position , but the battle was extremely bloody for both sides , and Lee withdrew the Army of Northern Virginia back across the Potomac River , ending the invasion . Jackson was promoted to lieutenant general , being ranked just behind Lee and Longstreet . On October 10 his command was redesignated the Second Corps . Before the armies camped for winter , Jackson ' s Second Corps held off a strong Union assault against the right flank of the Confederate line at the Battle of Fredericksburg , in what became a decisive Confederate victory . Just before the battle , Jackson was delighted to receive a letter about the birth of his daughter , Julia Laura Jackson , on November 23 . Also before the battle , Maj . Gen . J . E . B . Stuart , Lee ' s dashing and well - dressed cavalry commander , presented to Jackson a fine general ' s frock coat that he had ordered from one of the best tailors in Richmond . Jackson ' s previous coat was threadbare and colorless from exposure to the elements , its buttons removed by admiring ladies . Jackson asked his staff to thank Stuart , saying that although the coat was too handsome for him , he would cherish it as a souvenir . His staff insisted that he wear it to dinner , which caused scores of soldiers to rush to see him in uncharacteristic garb . So embarrassed was Jackson with the attention that he did not wear the new uniform for months . Chancellorsville . At the Battle of Chancellorsville , the Army of Northern Virginia was faced with a serious threat by the Army of the Potomac and its new commanding general , Major General Joseph Hooker . General Lee decided to employ a risky tactic to take the initiative and offensive away from Hooker ' s new southern thrust — he decided to divide his forces . Jackson and his entire corps were sent on an aggressive flanking maneuver to the right of the Union lines . This flanking movement would be one of the most successful and dramatic of the war . While riding with his infantry in a wide berth well south and west of the Federal line of battle , Jackson employed Maj . Gen . Fitzhugh Lee ' s cavalry to provide for better reconnaissance in regards to the exact location of the Union right and rear . The results were far better than even Jackson could have hoped . Lee found the entire right side of the Federal lines in the middle of open field , guarded merely by two guns that faced westward , as well as the supplies and rear encampments . The men were eating and playing games in carefree fashion , completely unaware that an entire Confederate corps was less than a mile away . What happened next is given in Fitzhugh Lee ' s own words : Jackson immediately returned to his corps and arranged his divisions into a line of battle to charge directly into the oblivious Federal right . The Confederates marched silently until they were merely several hundred feet from the Union position , then released a bloodthirsty cry and full charge . Many of the Federals were captured without a shot fired , the rest were driven into a full rout . Jackson pursued relentlessly back toward the center of the Federal line until dusk . Darkness ended the assault . As Jackson and his staff were returning to camp on May 2 , they were mistaken for a Union cavalry force by the 18th North Carolina Infantry regiment who shouted , " Halt , who goes there ? " , but fired before evaluating the reply . Frantic shouts by Jackson ' s staff identifying the party were replied to by Major John D . Barry with the retort , " It ' s a damned Yankee trick ! Fire ! " A second volley was fired in response ; in all , Jackson was hit by three bullets , two in the left arm and one in the right hand . Several other men in his staff were killed , in addition to many horses . Darkness and confusion prevented Jackson from getting immediate care . He was dropped from his stretcher while being evacuated because of incoming artillery rounds . Because of his injuries , Jackson ' s left arm had to be amputated by Dr . Hunter McGuire . Jackson was moved to Thomas C . Chandler ' s plantation named " Fairfield " . He was offered Chandler ' s home for recovery , but Jackson refused and suggested using Chandler ' s plantation office building instead . He was thought to be out of harm ' s way ; but unknown to the doctors , he already had classic symptoms of pneumonia , complaining of a sore chest . This soreness was mistakenly thought to be the result of his rough handling in the battlefield evacuation . Death . Lee wrote to Jackson after learning of his injuries , stating " Could I have directed events , I would have chosen for the good of the country to be disabled in your stead . " Jackson died of complications from pneumonia on May 10 , 1863 . On his death bed , though he became weaker , he remained spiritually strong , saying towards the end " It is the Lord ' s Day ; my wish is fulfilled . I have always desired to die on Sunday . " Dr . McGuire wrote an account of his final hours and his last words : His body was moved to the Governor ' s Mansion in Richmond for the public to mourn , and he was then moved to be buried in the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery , Lexington , Virginia . However , the arm that was amputated on May 2 was buried separately by Jackson ' s chaplain , at the J . Horace Lacy house , " Ellwood " , in the Wilderness of Orange County , near the field hospital . Upon hearing of Jackson ' s death , Robert E . Lee mourned the loss of both a friend and a trusted commander . As Jackson lay dying , Lee sent a message through Chaplain Lacy , saying " Give General Jackson my affectionate regards , and say to him : he has lost his left arm but I my right . " The night Lee learned of Jackson ' s death , he told his cook , " William , I have lost my right arm " and " I ' m bleeding at the heart . " " Harpers Weekly " reported Jackson ' s death on May 23 , 1863 , as follows : Legacy . Jackson ' s sometimes unusual command style and personality traits , combined with his frequent success in battle , contribute to his legacy as one of the most remarkable characters of the Civil War . Although martial , stern in attitude , he was profoundly religious and a deacon in the Presbyterian Church . One of his many nicknames was " Old Blue Lights , " a term applied to a military man whose evangelical zeal burned with the intensity of the blue light used for night - time display . He disliked fighting on Sunday , although that did not stop him from doing so after much personal debate . He loved his wife very much and sent her tender letters . In direct contrast to Lee , Jackson was not a striking figure , often wearing old , worn - out clothes rather than a fancy uniform . Physical ailments . Jackson held a lifelong belief that one of his arms was longer than the other , and thus usually held the " longer " arm up to equalize his circulation . He was described as a " champion sleeper " , even falling asleep with food in his mouth occasionally . A paper delivered to the Society of Clinical Psychologists hypothesized that Jackson had Asperger syndrome , although other possible explanations , such as a herniated diaphragm , exist . Indeed Jackson suffered a number of ailments , for which he sought relief via contemporary practices of his day including hydrotherapy , popular in America at that time , visiting establishments at Oswego , New York ( 1850 ) and Round Hill , Massachusetts ( 1860 ) although with little evidence of success . Jackson also suffered a significant hearing loss in both of his ears as a result of his prior service in the U . S . Army as an artillery officer . A recurring story concerns Jackson ' s love of lemons , which he allegedly gnawed whole to alleviate symptoms of dyspepsia . General Richard Taylor , son of President Zachary Taylor , wrote a passage in his war memoirs about Jackson eating lemons : " Where Jackson got his lemons ' no fellow could find out , ' but he was rarely without one . " However , recent research by his biographer , James I . Robertson , Jr . , has found that none of his contemporaries , including members of his staff , friends , or his wife , recorded any unusual obsessions with lemons and Jackson thought of a lemon as a " rare treat . . . enjoyed greatly whenever it could be obtained from the enemy ' s camp " . Jackson was fond of all fruits , particularly peaches , " but he enjoyed with relish lemons , oranges , watermelons , apples , grapes , berries , or whatever was available . " Religion . Jackson ' s religion has often been discussed . His biographer , Robert Lewis Dabney , suggested that " It was the fear of God which made him so fearless of all else . " Jackson himself had said , " My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed . " Stephen W . Sears suggests that " Jackson was fanatical in his Presbyterian faith , and it energized his military thought and character . Theology was the only subject he genuinely enjoyed discussing . His dispatches invariably credited an ever - kind Providence . " However , according to Sears , " this fanatical religiosity had drawbacks . It warped Jackson ' s judgment of men , leading to poor appointments ; it was said he preferred good Presbyterians to good soldiers . " James I . Robertson , Jr . suggests that Jackson was " a Christian soldier in every sense of the word . " According to Robertson , Jackson " thought of the war as a religious crusade , " and " viewed himself as an Old Testament warrior - like David or Joshua - who went into battle to slay the Philistines . " Jackson encouraged the Confederate States Army revival that occurred in 1863 , although it was probably more of a grass - roots movement than a top - down revival . Jackson strictly observed the Sunday Sabbath . James I . Robertson , Jr . notes that " no place existed in his Sunday schedule for labor , newspapers , or secular conversation . " Command style . In command , Jackson was extremely secretive about his plans and extremely meticulous about military discipline . This secretive nature did not stand him in good stead with his subordinates , who were often not aware of his overall operational intentions until the last minute , and who complained of being left out of key decisions . Robert E . Lee could trust Jackson with deliberately non - detailed orders that conveyed Lee ' s overall objectives , what modern doctrine calls the " end state " . This was because Jackson had a talent for understanding Lee ' s sometimes unstated goals and Lee trusted Jackson with the ability to take whatever actions were necessary to implement his end state requirements . Few of Lee ' s subsequent corps commanders had this ability . At Gettysburg , this resulted in lost opportunities . Thus , after the Federals retreated to the heights south of town , Lee sent one of his new corps commanders , Richard S . Ewell , discretionary orders that the heights ( Cemetery Hill and Culp ' s Hill ) be taken " if practicable " . Without Jackson ' s intuitive grasp of Lee ' s orders or the instinct to take advantage of sudden tactical opportunities , Ewell chose not to attempt the assault , and this failure is considered by historians to be the greatest missed opportunity of the battle . Horsemanship . Jackson had a poor reputation as a horseman . One of his soldiers , Georgia volunteer William Andrews , wrote that Jackson was " a very ordinary looking man of medium size , his uniform badly soiled as though it had seen hard service . He wore a cap pulled down nearly to his nose and was riding a rawboned horse that did not look much like a charger , unless it would be on hay or clover . He certainly made a poor figure on a horseback , with his stirrup leather six inches too short , putting his knees nearly level with his horse ' s back , and his heels turned out with his toes sticking behind his horse ' s foreshoulder . A sorry description of our most famous general , but a correct one . " His horse was named " Little Sorrel " ( also known as " Old Sorrel " ) , a small chestnut gelding which ironically was a captured Union horse from a Connecticut farm . He rode Little Sorrel throughout the war , and was riding him when he was shot at Chancellorsville . Little Sorrel died at age 36 and is buried near a statue of Jackson on the parade grounds of VMI . ( His mounted hide is on display in the VMI Museum . ) Mourning his death . Jackson was greatly admired and respected throughout the South , and his death had a profound effect there on civilians and soldiers alike . A poem penned by one of his soldiers soon became a very popular song , " Stonewall Jackson ' s Way " . Many theorists through the years have postulated that if Jackson had lived , Lee might have prevailed at Gettysburg . Certainly Jackson ' s discipline and tactical sense were sorely missed , and might well have carried an extremely close - fought battle . Many Southerners tried to put up a brave front following Jackson ' s death . As Margaret Mitchell noted in her historical novel , " Gone with the Wind " , " [ t ] rue , the South had suffered a sickening loss when Stonewall Jackson had been fatally wounded at Chancellorsville . True , Georgia had lost one of her bravest and most brilliant sons when General T . R . R . Cobb had been killed at Fredericksburg . But the Yankees just couldn ' t stand any more defeats like Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville . They ' d have to give in , and then this cruel war would be over . " Remembering Jackson . After the war , Jackson ' s wife and young daughter Julia moved from Lexington to North Carolina . Mary Anna Jackson wrote two books about her husband ' s life , including some of his letters . She never remarried , and was known as the " Widow of the Confederacy " , living until 1915 . His daughter Julia married , and bore children , but she died of typhoid fever at the age of 26 years . A former Confederate soldier who admired Jackson , Captain Thomas R . Ranson of Staunton , Virginia , also remembered the tragic life of Jackson ' s mother . Years after the War , he went to the tiny mountain hamlet of Ansted in Fayette County , West Virginia , and had a marble marker placed over the unmarked grave of Julia Neale Jackson in Westlake Cemetery , to make sure that the site was not lost forever . Commemorations . West Virginia ' s Stonewall Jackson State Park is named in his honor . Nearby , at Stonewall Jackson ' s historical childhood home , his uncle ' s grist mill is the centerpiece of a historical site at the Jackson ' s Mill Center for Lifelong Learning and State 4 - H Camp . The facility , located near Weston , serves as a special campus for West Virginia University and the WVU Extension Service . He is memorialized on historic Monument Avenue in Richmond , Virginia ; on the grounds of the state capitol in his native West Virginia ; and in many other places . The Thomas Jonathan Jackson Sculpture was erected at Charlottesville , Virginia in 1921 , and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 . At VMI , a bronze statue of Jackson stands outside the main entrance to the cadet barracks ; first - year cadets exiting the barracks through that archway are required to honor Jackson ' s memory by saluting the statue . The lineage of Jackson ' s Confederate Army unit , the Stonewall Brigade , continues to the present day in form of the 116th Infantry Brigade of the U . S . Army , currently part of the Virginia National Guard . The unit ' s shoulder sleeve insignia worn until 2008 depicted Stonewall Jackson mounted on horseback . The United States Navy submarine U . S . S . " Stonewall Jackson " ( SSBN 634 ) , commissioned in 1964 , was named for him . The words " Strength — Mobility " are emblazoned on the ship ' s banner , words taken from letters written by General Jackson . It was the third U . S . Navy ship named for him . The submarine was decommissioned in 1995 . During World War II , the Navy named a Liberty ship the SS " T . J . Jackson " in his honor . The U . S . M36 tank destroyer was nicknamed Jackson after him by British forces in World War II . The Commonwealth of Virginia honors Jackson ' s birthday on Lee - Jackson Day , a state holiday observed as such since 1904 . It is currently observed on the Friday preceding the third Monday in January . Jackson also appears prominently in the enormous bas - relief carving on the face of Stone Mountain riding with Jefferson Davis and Robert E . Lee . The carving depicts the three on horseback , appearing to ride in a group from right to left across the mountainside . The lower parts of the horses ' bodies merge into the mountainside at the foot of the carving . The three riders are shown bare - headed and holding their hats to their chests . It is the largest such carving in the world . " Stonewall " Jackson appeared on the CSA $ 500 bill ( 7th Issue , February 17 , 1864 ) . The towns of Stonewall in Virginia , North Carolina , Alabama , Mississippi , Louisiana , Oklahoma , Texas and Kentucky are named in his honor as is Stonewall County in Texas . During a training exercise in Virginia by U . S . Marines in 1921 , the Marine commander , General Smedley Butler was told by a local farmer that Stonewall Jackson ' s arm was buried nearby under a granite marker , to which Butler replied , " Bosh ! I will take a squad of Marines and dig up that spot to prove you wrong ! " Butler found the arm in a box under the marker . He later replaced the wooden box with a metal one , and reburied the arm . He left a plaque on the granite monument marking the burial place of Jackson ' s arm ; the plaque is no longer on the marker but can be viewed at the Chancellorsville Battlefield visitor ' s center