May 10, 1863
The Confederacy lost one of – if not the best – general on this date … and perhaps the war itself. With the possible exception of Robert E Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson spent his part of the war confounding Yankees. Accidentally shot by one of his own men (with a .67 caliber bullet) on May 2 while returning from a night patrol during the battle of Chancellorsville, he died in this building at Guinea Station, VA on May 10. He was 39yo.
“He was martial and stern in attitude and profoundly religious, a deacon in the Presbyterian Church.“
“Presently a smile of ineffable sweetness spread itself over his pale face, and he said quietly, and with an expression, as if of relief, ‘Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.'”
Harper’s Weekly reported his death:
“General “Stonewall” Jackson was badly wounded in the arm at the battles of Chancellorsville, and had his arm amputated. Jackson initially appeared to be healing, but he died from pneumonia on May 10, 1863.“
Nothing is left of Guinea Station except the railroad, nor anything of the plantation except this outbuilding and marker where Jackson was cared for and died.
Seems not at all uncommon for officers in combat, in any war, to die from friendly fire.
It’s always shocking to see how young these men were. So many were lost in that dreadful war. So many grieving wives and mothers.
I’m thinking a lot about mothers today.
I’m sure many of us are thinking of our mothers today, especially if they are no longer on this earth.
I don’t really know how one gives an adequate tribute to a mother.
Mothers are a part of you in every sense. They are quite literally the place you come from, your first home. And if you are very lucky, they make a second home to which you always want to return, a place that is always lovely, welcoming and safe.
Good mothers laugh at your silly jokes, comfort you when you are sad or poorly, push and encourage you when you are lagging, take pride in all your accomplishments, always holding hope for your life.
My mother did all of that for us and more. She was a dynamo; a beautiful bundle of positive, persistent energy that I still feel around me today.
So… Happy Mother’s Day to mothers present and passed.
Very nice SK, and true. My mother did it all, for her family – a husband and 5 kids, and I have no memories of her complaining. And in that time period, 1955 – 1978 when my little bother turned 17, she didn’t have most of the conveniences that mothers today had. I didn’t appreciate her while that was going on, and it wasn’t until after our own son was about 5 that I started appreciating her. As our marriage and our son grew I appreciated my mother and father more.
I can’t thank my mother for what she sacrificed for us kids as she is gone but I will thank my wife, in her stead. Today is mothers day on the ghost compound!