What did Stonewall Jackson say before he died?
“Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.”
159 years ago on Sunday, May 10, 1863, Confederate General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson (1824-1863) met an early and unexpected end to his legendary life.
At the age of 39 he died from effects brought on by complications of pneumonia, at Fairfield Plantation near Guinea Station in Caroline County, Virginia.
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General Jackson became seriously wounded when his own troops accidentally fired on him during the May 2, 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville.
Doctors performed an amputation on the General’s severely-wounded left arm on the following day.
However, the operation would not succeed in saving the general’s life, as his fatal pneumonia would set it
On the last day of his life, Stonewall Jackson stated: “It is the Lord’s Day. My wish is fulfilled. I have always desired to die on Sunday.”
General Jackson was buried in the Ellwood Family Cemetery at Spotsylvania in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Sometime later, Jackson’s body became disinterred and reburied beneath a statue in the cemetery center.
General Jackson’s amputated arm rests in a separate grave in a small family cemetery on the Ellwood Manor Plantation.
Located on the eastern edge of Orange County, Virginia, marked by a simple granite tombstone. Upon which bears the inscription the following text: “Arm of Stonewall Jackson, May 3, 1863.”
General Jackson was not only recognized as one of the most effective commanders in the Confederate army. Furthermore, also known for his deep religious faith and convictions.
The Confederate clergy, in a perplexed state following Jackson’s death, developed several Biblical theories explaining both his unexpected demise in addition, his relation to what they believed was a Divine call of the Confederacy.
Moreover, many soldiers throughout the Confederacy envisioned Jackson as the true Southern Christian hero.
In conclusion, historian Dr. James I. “Bud” Robertson, Jr. wrote:
