The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson
May is a beautiful month, but in Civil War history, it is also a sad one. The South lost both Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and General J.E.B. Stuart in May, one year apart (1863 and 1864).
If you venture off I-95 near Fredericksburg, you can visit the site that was, until recently, called the Stonewall Jackson “Shrine.” Due to the changing times, the name has now officially been changed to The Stonewall Jackson Death Site. The Stonewall Jackson Shrine at the plantation outbuilding where Jackson died, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. (NPS)
‘Fairfield’ Frozen in Time
Civil War History: How Stonewall Jackson Met His End
Antiseptic techniques were not yet in practice, and contaminated instruments and non-sterile conditions resulted in many wound infections.
Here s What You Need To Remember: Friendly fire was the direct cause of Jackson s death; an erroneous medical diagnosis helped. However, given what we know now about medicine, most historians agree that it is unlikely that the doctors could have done much to help him.
Following his greatest victory, at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, Confederate Lt. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson was scouting ahead of the lines with members of his staff when tragedy struck. In the pitch blackness of the early-spring evening, Jackson and his men were mistaken for Union cavalry and fired upon by their own side. Jackson sustained a severe wound to his upper left arm, necessitating amputation. Upon hearing the news, victorious General Robert E. Lee remarked, “He has lost his left arm, bu