Blog 8

So now the end has come.  In my previous blog, I talked about how the battle of the Wilderness was fought at night and resulted in the south's greatest casualty.  General Jackson was injured during the battle of the Wilderness, and would later die of his wounds.   When he was injured (by his own men) his arm was amputated and he was pulled of the line. His wife and baby daughter came to his sick house to comfort him.  At first the general seemed to be healing very well, general lee even wrote a very jovial letter him expressing a speedy return back to the line. Jackson is very happy at this time, but it doesn't last long.  Jackson believed in many strange ways to cure his aliments, including sucking lemons aqua therapy and holding his "longer arm higher" than his "shorter" to level out blood flow.  He covered his amputation with wet sheets and pneumonia set in.  His Doctor thought it was fatal and told the Jacksons this on Sunday 10 May 1862.   Jackson took this very well, he even laughed, because he always wished to die on a Sunday.   While on his death bed, he sets up and shouts order to confederated generals, then he utters his famous final words "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees(176.)" Then he died, and the south lost the war. When Lee had heard this, he turned to his slave and said " I have lost my right arm, and my heart is bleeding."   The south mourned the loss of their great leader hugely. He is still celebrated today.   

blog 7

It was may  1862. The battle of Chancellorville had begun. This battle was also know as the battle of the wilderness, because it was fought in the forests and at night.  it was a Confederate victory, but it cost them many men, including Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.  When the battle had begun, the Rebs quickly pushed the union forces under general Hooker back across the river, leaving both armies entangled and separated in the middle of the bloody forest.  The Rebs were pushing the yankee forces back so easily, that Jackson and Lee were very suspicious.  Suddenly they were attacked by artillery fire and were trapped.  However, Jackson had a plan where he would have to move his men around the Union forces and attack from behind. This was a very dangerous thing to do, and only General Jackson could be entrusted to carry it out. They marched all day, but by the time they had arrived, dusk had come.  Still Jackson pushed on, and advanced as his army attacked in the pitch darkness.  Jackson, and some men pushed ahead of the main body of troops to find the main road, instead they found the yankee trenches and retreated back quickly.  When they had arrived, Some of his centuries had mistaken them as the union cavalry and fired on Jackson. He was shot in the arm, fell off of his horse and hit head on a tree.  His men that were riding with him tried to save him, but were gunned down instead.  His left arm was amputated that very night and he was moved off the front.   he seemed to be healing in the days that followed, but that would not be the case.  I'm going to save that for later, but this chapter was called the fallen sword for good reason.  in my opinion, this was the battle that lost the south the war, just because of Jackson.   They might have won  the battle, but because of that one casualty the war was lost.  Its very sad and somber.

Blog 6

Antietam.  A complete failure for the confederates, but they are not phased.  Their morale is high and they are loving their great general Stonewall Jackson.  I liked how this chapter started, because it started with a song that one of the men wrote about Jackson, called "Stonewall Jackson's way."  This chapter is mainly about how much Jackson was loved by his men and superiors.  Cavalry General J.E.B. Stuart even gave Jackson a gold braided uniform.  Now Jackson fought with his men, ate as his men did and dressed as his men did, in rags.  So this new change in uniform was a rather large sight for the confederate army.  Now it is november and the army has moved back into the valley, where they are greeted with much praise. Even Englanders came to meet the now international phenomenon.  During the winter, there was not much fighting and the army was resting and enjoying Christmas.  Jackson's wife and baby daughter came  out to visit him.  This was very special for him.  I liked this chapter a lot, because it showed how beloved Jackson had become.  The soldiers crack jokes about him and his superiors are praising him.  I think the great humble Jackson deserved this praise. This chapter made me really happy seeing Jackson so happy. 

Blog 4

Back to the War.  I forgot to mention that Jackson arrived at the battle late, but luckily for him McClellan, being cautious as usual, did not attack the rebel army.  That gave the south one more day to prepare for the battle at hand.  The battle went back and forth, once a side would gain ground then they would lose it. Finally, Jackson charges his men into battle, a fatal mistake.  The confederate  army had many casualties, and the invasion of maryland was over.  While the men rested, Jackson, took the bottle of whisky that the men had been drinking and drank plenty of it.  This was a miraculous sight, because the General rarely drank at all.   He wished to avoid it's temptation.  I liked this part of the book a lot, because I saw a different side of Stonewall that I had not seen in him.  It was also one of his biggest failures, he won a majority of his battle's or caused great discomfort to the enemy.