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Raid.” West Virginia History47 (1988): 53–62;

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Imboden.” Unpublished master’s thesis, University

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JACKSON, THOMASJ. “STONEWALL”

Jackson, Thomas J. “Stonewall”

(January 21, 1824–May 10, 1863)
Confederate General

“S

tonewall” Jack-
son was one of
the Civil War’s
great battle captains.
Pious and uncommunica-
tive, he possessed an un-
canny, intuitive grasp of
Confederate Gen. Robert
E. Lee’s orders, almost
before they were issued.
His untimely death rob-
bed the Army of Northern
Virginia of its cutting
edge and undoubtedly
hastened the Confeder-
acy’s downfall.
Thomas Jonathan Jack-
son was born into a life of
poverty in Clarksburg, Vir-
ginia (present-day West
Virginia), on January 21,

1824. Orphaned at an
      early age, he was raised
      by his uncle. In 1842, he
      gained admission to the
      U.S. Military Academy at
      West Point. Jackson pos-
      sessed only a rudimentary education and was
      unprepared for the academic rigors he en-
      countered. Nonetheless, he worked diligently
      and graduated seventeenth out of a class of
      59 four years later. Jackson then joined the
      army of Gen. Winfield Scott as a second lieu-

tenant of artillery in 1847,

and he won consecutive

brevet promotions to

major during the Mexi-

can-American War for

gallantry at the Battles of

Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo,

and Chapultepec.

After the war, Jackson

performed routine garri-

son duty in Florida and

New York, but he re-

signed in February 1852

to teach artillery tactics

and natural philosophy at

the Virginia Military Insti-

tute (VMI). Uninspiring

as a teacher, his stern, in-

flexible, and methodical

nature made him unpopu-

lar and reinforced his

reputation as an eccen-

tric religious fanatic. At

this stage in his life, he

was referred to by many

students as “Fool Tom

Jackson.” He studiously

avoided public life, but in 1859 he com-

manded the VMI Cadet Corps at the hanging

of abolitionist John Brown. When the Civil

War broke out in April 1861, Jackson, who did

not support secession, sided with his state

and gained appointment as a colonel. His first

Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson

National Archives