Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Myth, And The Arm

By | August 23, 2019

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Portrait of Thomas Jonathan Jackson, circa 1860. (1824-1863). Source: (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

By all accounts, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was one of the shining stars of the American Civil War. He was a commanding military leader and a brilliant strategist, but he was also a bit eccentric. He had a number of odd habits, and at least one of them seemed to eerily foreshadow tragic events to come. Let's take a look at the strange tale of Stonewall Jackson's arm.

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A brilliant military mind, Stonewall Jackson was a superstar of the Confederate Army. Source: (kenburnsclassroom.org)

Stonewall Jackson, the Man

Born on January 21, 1824, in Virginia, the smart, determined Thomas Jonathan Jackson was educated at West Point and commanded troops in the Mexican-American War before the outbreak of the Civil War. As a Confederate general, Jackson was a powerhouse of the southern army and played a key role in almost every major battle in the Eastern Theatre. It was after one particular battle—the First Battle of Bull Run, which took place on July 21, 1891—that another Confederate general, Barnard Elliot Bee, Jr. commented that Jackson held his line like a stone wall, giving Jackson his famous nickname.