Stonewall's Idiosyncrasies

[samgrant]

Don't know if this topic has been addressed previously, but it has always intrigued me.

Gary Gallagher says:

"Stonewall Jackson is one of the great bizarre characters from the Civil War and is just a bundle of oddities and eccentricities as a person.
"He was a hypochondriac. He had all kinds of worries about his body. He would often hold his right hand up in the air because he thought he didn’t have an equilibrium of blood in his body and if he held his right hand up, then the blood would flow down and re-establish equilibrium, as he put it. An interesting notion.
"He would not eat pepper because he thought it weakened his left leg—not his right leg, just his left leg. He wouldn’t let his back touch the back of a chair because he said it jumbled his organs, and it was important to sit upright so the organs were naturally atop of one another."
"He’s a very odd fellow. He’s in his late 30s early in the war and about to embark on a campaign that will make him the most famous Confederate military leader."

I've read similar by others.

Any other examples? Was this a myth? If true, what was the nature of this condition?

[pendlekin]

"As a result a theory has grown up that Jackson was a confirmed hypochondriac. But a modern physician says that he may well have suffered from a fairly common and most uncomfortable condition, diaphragmatic hernia. This is the surmise of Dr. MacLennan of Alabama a veteran of general practice, civilian and military, based upon biographical reading on Jackson. A breach in the diaphragm, Dr. MacLennan points out, would produce symptoms of which Jackson complained for years without finding relief."

From Civil War strange and fascinating facts by Burke Davis P#127

[ole]

Sounds reasonable, Pendlekin, but doesn't that condition involve other, more serious symptoms. Or maybe his was just a little one?

It's kinda fun to speculate on today's diagnoses of the afflictions of the more prominent figures in the WBTS. Sherman was crazy, A.P.Hill had VD (sorry, STD), Davis was bi-polar, Lincoln had something or other that made the bones in his face grow, Grant was a drunk, Bragg had something the name of which I can't recall, Lee had a bad Ticker.

Oh well, just a thought.
Ole

[william42]

I remember reading somewhere, not sure where, that Jackson was prone to sleepiness at times when he was in very stressful situations, such as battle. I think the author said that it was a physiological response to stress, not entirely uncommon in today's world, but maybe not recognized as a stress-induced condition back in the 19th century. So incidents of him napping during battle, if that occurred, were considered strange by those who supposedly witnessed it. I don't know if this information is correct or not. Maybe somebody else has come across this before. I have only read that in one source, and it was quite a long time ago.

Terry

[samgrant]

Originally Posted by william42

I remember reading somewhere, not sure where, that Jackson was prone to sleepiness at times when he was in very stressful situations, such as battle. I think the author said that it was a physiological response to stress, not entirely uncommon in today's world, but maybe not recognized as a stress-induced condition back in the 19th century. So incidents of him napping during battle, if that occurred, were considered strange by those who supposedly witnessed it. I don't know if this information is correct or not. Maybe somebody else has come across this before. I have only read that in one source, and it was quite a long time ago.

Terry

I also have read that more than once, tho I'm not sure where. Shelby Foote, maybe?

[ole]

One incident was at the beginning of the "7 Days" battles when he was asleep and not joining the attack. Gainesville? Mechanichsville? That, however, has been explained as fatigue from the march from the Valley.
Ole