Stonewall Jackson
(1824–1863)

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a famous Confederate general during the United States Civil War. Before joining the military, he lived a fairly uneventful life. He was born in Clarksburg, Virginia, went to local schools, and then attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (1842–1846), graduating in time to join the army in the Mexican War. In 1853, Jackson married Elinor Junkin (1825–1854), who died during childbirth. In 1857, Jackson married Mary Anna Morrison (1831–1915).

At the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21,1861, spectators from Washington watched from a hill hoping to see the Union troops crush the Confederates. As Jackson's brigade stood firm against the Union attack, a Confederate officer remarked, "There is Jackson standing like a stone wall." The Confederates drove back the Union troops, and Jackson won a new name.

In 1863, Jackson and General Robert E. Lee defeated the Union troops in three days at Chancellorsville. However, riding back to his lines from that battle, Jackson was accidentally shot by his own troops. He died ten days later. General Robert E. Lee said of him, "I have lost my right arm …. I know not how to replace him."

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