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.