General Stonewall Jackson example essay topic

General Thomas J. "STONEWALL" Jackson Thomas Jonathan Jackson was born January 21, 1824, in Clarksburg, Virginia. While he was a child both of his parents were laid to rest. He was raised by his uncle, and moved to what is now, Jackson's Mill, West Virginia. When he turned 18 years old, he was appointed to attend West Point. During the Mexican War, he was appointed to order the First Regular Artillery. At this time, Jackson started to become religious.

He started to study the Bible, and joined the Presbyterian Church. In 1851 he accepted a teaching position at the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, Virginia. He made this home for nearly 10 years. While he was there, he married Eleanor Junk in. She pasted away a little more than a year after they were married. He then married in 1857 to Mary Anna Morrison.

He led the V.M.I. Corps to the witness of the John Brown hanging. When Virginia seceded from the union, the Governor ordered him to the field of battle. In the early days of the war, he was stationed around Harper's Ferry. He then traveled to the battle of First Manassas, this is where he got the name "STONEWALL" because his troops stood like a stone wall and repulsed all Federal assaults.

He was then commissioned to brigadier general in June of 1861, then in the following months was promoted to major general. He was assigned to the Shenandoah Valley district in November. While in the position of major general, he won some battles, and stood his ground. After the battle of Antietam, which was the bloodiest of all battles fought, he was promoted once again to lieutenant general, and in command of 2nd Corps. At the battle of Chancellorsville in May of 1863, he lunched his troops in an attack on federal troops. This was the best maneuver done up to this point in the war by Jackson.

Reconnoitering his front lines that evening in the dark, setting up for the final day of the battle, he was shot in the arm, and severely wounded by one of his own men. His arm had to be amputated, but he died eight days later from the wound. Robert E. Lee made this statement following his death- "Jackson has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right arm". He was buried in Lexington, Virginia. General Stonewall Jackson was one of the greatest generals America ever produced. He was fearless, a hard-fighting Southerner known for his eccentricities in battle.

But more than that, he was a devout Christian and a lover of all good men - regardless of their color. Southerners and lovers of truth should do everything possible to educate future generations about the truth of our history, especially when it comes to the heroes of our faith and of our beloved Southland.