Confederacy," led the last charge, and "fought his corps to a frazzle." The young flag went down in defeat; "Yet 'tis wreathed around with glory, Though its folds are in the dust." A CHAPTER VII JACKSON AND HIS "FOOT-CAVALRY" I "Poor White Trash" PHRASE to conjure with is "Lee and Jackson." It always elicits applause in the South; frequently, in other sections. Both men "went with their states." Each represented a civilization-one the Cavalier and the other the Puritan. Mrs. Jackson's life of her husband is one of the notable books of the last century, and should be read by every schoolboy. One part of it has been grossly misunderstood. She tells us that General Jackson's first two American progenitors came over as "indented servants," and married some time after their arrival. This plain statement has been distorted by some writers. It has been construed to mean that Jackson's people were "poor white trash,” and that he was a social miracle. The whole thing is nonsensical. Many fine men and women, unable to pay their passage, permitted planters or others to advance the money for their passage-a large sum in those days-and let them "work it out" after their arrival. The Jacksons were a sturdy, substantial stock, which has produced fine, able, and progressive men for several generations. Thomas J. Jack son, as boy and youth, was very ordinary. No one at West Point dreamed that he would ever be distinguished. Few people in Lexington thought that he was anything more than a "cranky professor." In those days, he showed no special capacity for anything except for doing his duty at all times and in all places. Only when powder was burning did his eye gleam with a mighty lustre. He was like the steed that snuffeth the battle from afar. His genius is for war. It will begin to show itself on the fields of Mexico, when he is rapidly promoted for gallantry at Vera Cruz, Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec; will oft and anon give some inklings of its presence, when at the cannon's roar on the drill ground at the Virginia Military Institute, Major Jackson "would grow more erect, the grasp upon his sabre would tighten, the quiet eyes would flash, the large nostrils would dilate, and the calm, grave face would glow with the proud spirit of the warrior." It will disclose itself more fully at Manassas when he says to General Bee, "Sir, we will give them the bayonet;" but will reach its meridian glory when he drives four Federal armies out of his beloved Valley, falls like lightning upon McClellan's flank at Gaines's Mill and afterwards upon Hooker's at Chancellorsville, hurling battalion after battalion of the enemy back upon one another in wild confusion. II Jackson's Political Views What led Major Jackson to enter the Southern army? Was it ambition? No; for, though he might have been swayed by that motive in his earlier days, he was now too conscientious-morbidly conscientious-to fight for any cause that he did not believe in heartily. Was he, as some would say, driven by public opinion? As well try to browbeat the falls of Niagara or intimidate the rock of Gibraltar. We have Mrs. Jackson's statement: he "was strongly for the Union, but believed firmly in states rights. If Virginia secedes, he will go with his state." He would have preferred to fight in the Union rather than secede. This was the feeling of a large number of Southern people. Lincoln's call for troops decided Virginia. Up to the day of that call, Lexington was almost solid against secession. After that, Lexington and the whole state east of the Alleghanies were in favor of secession. Major Jackson believed, also, in slavery. Moreover, he owned a few "servants." He believed that slavery was sanctioned by the Bible, and that it was God's mode of christianizing the African. He conducted a Sunday school for negroes; had his servants regularly at his family prayers; treated them kindly and tenderly. III "Stone Wall" Major Jackson offered his sword to Virginia. He was commissioned colonel, then brigadier-general. At Manassas, July 21, 1861, his great career began. There he was dubbed "Stonewall." All day long, that hot July day, the men of the North and of the South dashed against each other, bravely, madly, frantically. The pent-up hatred of decades and of generations vented itself in the whistling bullet, the clashing bayonet, and the screaming mortar. The very demons of hell must have danced for joy as they saw two great Christian civilizations surging and foaming towards each other in bloody billows on the red fields of Manassas. Who, in God's name, shall give account thereof in the day of judgment? Who is there? Carolina and her sisters, led by Hampton, Bee, Bartow, and others; Louisiana with her Tigers and the Washington Artillery, and the "peerless Beauregard;" Virginia, led by Joe Johnston, and following Stuart's plume. "General, they are beating us back," cries Bee to Jackson. "Sir, we will give them the bayonet," answers the Spartan of Lexington. "Look! there stands Jackson like a stone wall. Rally behind the Virginian," cried Bee, as he yielded up his noble spirit. So Jackson became "Stonewall." All other theories are utterly without foundation. Who saved the day at Manassas? Who was the hero of that battle? "I," said the sparrow, "with my bow and arrow; I killed Cock Robin." There is glory enough for all. Jackson checked the onset at the Henry house; Kirby Smith and Elzey, later in the day, brought reinforcements that turned the tide of battle. Jackson was at first anxious to take Washington. After hearing the statements of President Davis, General Johnston, and others as to the condition of the troops and the |