Stonewall Stonewall Jackson and Autism

Carson, thanks for your input, but isn't that what Unicorn is suggesting, that unless the eccentricities are believed by the person to be a difficulty for them, that they are better left as described as "eccentric" or unlabeled altogether, and not necessarily as being mentally ill?

Lee

That's not what I interjected about. Unicorn said that there can be no diagnosis without manifest behavioral symptoms or signs causing a functional impairment. In many cases that is true. But it isn't the case with all DSM-IVR impairments: organic mental disorders like FASD and FDSD, traumatic brain injury, dementia, alzhemiers, and genetic impairments like Downs' Syndrome. Those disorders usually feature either physical or physiological morphology and deficits that can meet diagnostic criteria. I wanted clarification that Unicorn meant ASD and not all DSM-IV disorders.
Otherwise, the point is well made that if a disorder causes one no functional impairment, then there really isn't a reason to speculate.
 
You'll note that at the beginning of my post, I refer to Asperger's as a disorder; not an illness. It is classified by the DSM-IV as a developmental disorder; a mental developmental disorder.
http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=97#
And this is the same as being mentally ill?

What exactly is "normal" anyway? Anyone have more than a guess? I've been searching for the criteria and the standard for years.
When you see what isn't, you know what is. I suspect you know perfectly well what is, but shy away from saying so, because that implies the converse: There are things that aren't normal.

Did I say there was something shameful about it?
If your belief is that we should not even discuss it, then you are, in effect, shrouding it in shameful secrecy like a parent whose kid has just asked where babies come from.

No. I'm just curious why some people think that eccentricities equal a disorder.
I'm not the one who said it was a disorder. :smile:
 
I've recently read Jeff Shara's "God and Generals" in which Jackson is shown as highly intellectual and somewhat repressed in his emotions, still grieving his first wife and child. One scene that I found very moving in the novel is when he plays with a five-year-old girl at the house where he and his officers are billeted. His junior officers are amazed at this light-hearted side of him. Later, when the girl dies, Jackson is deeply affected.
Is this based on a true, documented incident?
 
med_81_2.jpg



Lizzy, I've always thought the story was a true recounting, that actually happened. Here's a painting done by Mort Kunstler of Jackson and the little child.


It was a side of mighty “Stonewall” Jackson known only to a few. For a fleeting time in 1863, Jackson’s inner heart was revealed to all who were in his presence. In the winter of 1862-63, Jackson made his headquarters at Moss Neck Plantation on Virginia’s Rappahannock River. The plantation was owned by Richard and Roberta Corbin, who had a young daughter named Janie, known for her friendly, delightful personality. While visiting with Janie’s parents, Jackson and the child developed an endearing friendship — encouraged, perhaps, by the fact that Jackson had a newly-born daughter he had not yet seen or by the barren conditions of Jackson’s own childhood.

“Jackson oversaw the writing of battle reports,” writes Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. in Gods and Generals: The Paintings of Mort Kunstler, “took the lead in promoting religious activity inside his corps, and became almost an adopted father to five-year-old Corbin. The child visited Jackson’s office daily. In the attention he gave her was the love and yearning he felt for the infant daughter he had not yet seen.”

Jackson willingly put aside his duties whenever Janie appeared at his headquarters. He laughed and played with the child — much to the surprise of officers and troops who knew only the formal, professional demeanor of “Stonewall” Jackson. Little Janie’s visit became the daily routine that brightened the famous warrior’s days. In March, when the looming spring campaign drew Jackson and his troops away from Moss Neck, he paid a farewell call on his five-year-old friend, only to learn that she was stricken with scarlet fever. He was reassured by her mother, who cited the doctor’s predictions for a rapid recovery.

A day later, news reached Jackson in the field that Janie Corbin had suddenly died. “Stonewall” Jackson, the hardened soldier, broke down and wept openly for the loss of his little friend. His tender emotions may have surprised some of his staff, but those who knew Jackson well understood the gentle spirit and tender heart that were usually concealed by the mighty man of war. Within weeks, Jackson too would be gone — a casualty of his wounds at Chancellorsville — yet the story of Jackson’s tender, cheerful moments with delightful little Janie Corbin would remain as enduring evidence of “Stonewall” Jackson, the man.




Mort Kunstler’s Comments

Long ago, when I first read about “Stonewall” Jackson and his playful time with little Janie Corbin, I wanted to paint it. Jackson befriended the child when he made his headquarters at Moss Neck Plantation, which was owned by Janie’s parents. It was the winter of 1862-63, following the battle of Fredericksburg, and Jackson, who was a new father himself, quickly became enamored with the little girl. The stern disciplinarian was often seen romping and playing piggy-back and other games with little Janie. Once he removed the 152271 braiding from his forage cap to give her as a tie for her hair.

Christmas trees were becoming popular at this point in history and I thought it would make a perfect background for the painting. The ornaments of the day are authentically rendered, and I think the Christmas setting underscores the obvious love that Jackson showed for his little friend.


http://www.mortkunstler.com/html/art-limited-edition-prints.asp?action=view&ID=81&cat=136
 
One of my disappointments in the Gods & Generals movie is that they didn't depict Jackson with any of these strange quirks about him. While they clearly showed his religious side, they didn't show his superstitious side or his awkward social side.
 
I've always liked that story! Jackson, like many fierce warriors, loved children. Anywhere there were kids he'd be playing with them, giving them rides on his shoulders, games, anything. But Janie Corbin was special. He had a newborn daughter he had not yet seen so that may have made the bond stronger than usual. When Jackson's faithful old kepi finally became too disreputable to wear and he gave it to Hotchkiss, his wife sent him a nice slouch hat. He wore it some but, well, it just wasn't him! So she sent another kepi but it had gold braid all around the top. That was too gaudy for the austere general, so he carefully cut it off with his penknife and made a crown for Janie. She was delighted with it and wore it all the time, even when she was sick.
 
Glorybound, thank you for that fascinating account and for posting the charming picture. I am so glad it is true! That certainly indicates someone who could relate to others but often chose not to.
 
Glorybound, thank you for that fascinating account and for posting the charming picture. I am so glad it is true! That certainly indicates someone who could relate to others but often chose not to.

You're welcome, Lizzy, and thank you for your response, as I haven't thought of Jackson much as one who could relate to others but who chose not to. That description makes really good sense, and explains some of his behavior, now that I've given it some thought.

Lee
 
And this is the same as being mentally ill?

I believe I also admitted that I misspoke with the inconsistency, and I apologized for it. ...Maybe you didn't read that? BTW: I edited that out of my original post, because it seemed to be problematic. Hopefully, I've solved that issue now.


When you see what isn't, you know what is. I suspect you know perfectly well what is, but shy away from saying so, because that implies the converse: There are things that aren't normal.

Like what? In order to know where you are coming from, I'd appreciate an example of "normal." If you mean "normal" as mentally healthy and/or inclined to be law-abiding (as opposed to mentally unstable, ill, or disordered, and/or inclined to be criminal) then, sure, there's a clear line. But when we are talking about eccentricities like the ones Stonewall displayed, I don't think there is a definition of normal, because each of us is different and unique in our mannerisms, our expressions and the way others perceive us. No two of us are exactly alike in this way, so I cannot find a benchmark for "normal" where eccentric behavior is concerned.

If your belief is that we should not even discuss it, then you are, in effect, shrouding it in shameful secrecy like a parent whose kid has just asked where babies come from.

Wow. Words are being put into my mouth that I never said. Where did I say that it shouldn't be discussed? I believe I asked why an eccentric person cannot be accepted as just that. Why must some people speculate that there has got to be something clinically abnormal about him or her?


I'm not the one who said it was a disorder. :smile:

I never accused you. ...And I only repeated what the APA's DSM-IVR diagnostic tool says.
 
If Jackson were my teacher I'd be scribbling down notes left and right.

Actually, in the classroom he was absolutely your worst nightmare as a student. Partially because of his poor vision--and partly because that was the subject he was given, which he wasn't too great at himself, he basically memorized his lectures (and lectures they were, straight out of the book). If anyone asked a question, or got him confused (guess how many times that happened with a bunch of teenaged boys!) he started over again from the beginning with that memorized lecture. This was in the classroom, mind you--in "labs" such as his artillery lab in the afternoon, out on the field, there were literally cadets fighting to get in his section. So we have half the student body dropping bricks out on his head (that's one of my favorite stories--he didn't even notice!) and half worshipping him for his military abilities. Word is he was about to be fired if the war hadn't started--and he was miserable as well. I guess notes would be great--if you could understand what he was talking about enough to take notes!
 
1) As far as I know the term "mentally ill" is no longer used or is at least severely frowned upon by health providers.
2) Basic premise of the DSM-IV for all the stuff in it is that a person is not to be assessed with a condition within the books (both IV and IV-TR, to my knowledge there is no version IV-R) ... : a) if it is in line with cultural and/or religious beliefs or b) if it is not affecting a persons life, function, or happiness. My humble understanding is that General Jackson was a product of a different time and different culture, and the causes and cures for medical conditions tended to be extremely different than today. We will never know whether a doctor told him to raise his arm or do other such stuff to treat problems. Certainly if you have "impingement" in your shoulder joint it feels real good to raise your arm for a while, even if your doctor told you that the resulting relief was due to balancing your humus rather than just plain relieving pressure from the connecting tissue. Check out the pre-Freudian definition for Schizophrenia for example.
3) ***The labels within the DSM are intended to be used to help communicate, plan and coordinate a person's care and treatment, it is not a word game.***
4) I have seen too many folks who have been very obviously misdiagnosed by professionals. Unfortunately some health professionals put labels on people's charts even when they are not qualified, or trained to do so. Always take labels with a large grain of salt. Poorly considered labels tend to stick to someone especially in a environment of assembly-line and rushed health care.
5) Just because someone has some minor behaviors that are listed for a label does not mean that their behavior's degree or combination with other symptoms or lack of symptoms is sufficient to merit a label. If one is properly trained, supervised, and perform enough assessments that person will *hopefully* develop an understanding of the degree of a symptom or behavior **versus just the simple presence of a symptom or behavior**.
6) The labels change every few years. The original target date for DSM-V was 2011 but it has been pushed back to 2013.
7) The person is not their label, they are a human being. No one outside of their caregivers should even know their labels, see #3.
8) Periodically a person or persons will write a book or article ascribing a mental health condition to someone who has been dead for so long that there is no one to advocate for them. Of course such authors are not motivated by seeking fame and fortune by riding on a dead famous person's coffin and taking advantage of their fame.
 
I believe I also admitted that I misspoke with the inconsistency, and I apologized for it. ...Maybe you didn't read that? BTW: I edited that out of my original post, because it seemed to be problematic. Hopefully, I've solved that issue now.
Yes, I see you changed quite a few things. Here's something that's not normal: Going back and rewriting everything you said to make it look like you never said the things someone disagreed with.

Like what? In order to know where you are coming from, I'd appreciate an example of "normal." If you mean "normal" as mentally healthy and/or inclined to be law-abiding (as opposed to mentally unstable, ill, or disordered, and/or inclined to be criminal) then, sure, there's a clear line. But when we are talking about eccentricities like the ones Stonewall displayed, I don't think there is a definition of normal, because each of us is different and unique in our mannerisms, our expressions and the way others perceive us. No two of us are exactly alike in this way, so I cannot find a benchmark for "normal" where eccentric behavior is concerned.
Eccentric behavior is not normal. The fact that you are able to define "eccentric" shows me that you know what is not normal. Stop moving in circles.

Wow. Words are being put into my mouth that I never said.
Well, what you "never said" is apparently going to be changing on a daily basis, so... speaking of benchmarks...

Where did I say that it shouldn't be discussed? I believe I asked why an eccentric person cannot be accepted as just that. Why must some people speculate that there has got to be something clinically abnormal about him or her?
Again, I ain't the one calling him clinically abnormal. But here's what you said, or at least this is what you said before you go and change it again. Fortunately you cannot change my quote of what you originally said.

Jackson was a brilliant strategist and militarist. He was one of a kind. Unique. God broke the mold when He made Stonewall. Can we not just leave it at that? Why must some folks decide that eccentricitiy equals a clinical disorder?
You are the one using the term "disorder" and wishing people would "leave it" at calling him brilliant and unique. So, we are evidently not allowed to discuss other possibilities, according to you.

Here's another new thing you added:
I like a clean kitchen and it bothers me to see dirty dishes in the sink. So, when I see these things, I feel a desire to wash the dishes and clean the counters. That may make me weird, but does it necessarily mean I've got OCD or OCPD? I think there is a lot more to a mental disorder than just eccentric behavior.
Again with the word "disorder."
 
8) Periodically a person or persons will write a book or article ascribing a mental health condition to someone who has been dead for so long that there is no one to advocate for them. Of course such authors are not motivated by seeking fame and fortune by riding on a dead famous person's coffin and fouling on it.
And here we are again with the mindset that having Asperger's Syndrome -- or perhaps any other behavior or trait outside the ordinary -- is something to be ashamed of, not discussed, and hushed up, with necrophilic and/or scatological associations to boot. (Um... speaking of not normal.) I guess there's no possible chance that it might be a positive thing for those who have Asperger's to see that incredible things can be accomplished by someone who might've had it. Nope, let's talk about coffin poop instead, woohoo!

Old Squarebox is dead and you are not going to hurt his feelings. Ain't anybody gonna run afoul of HIPAA on this here message board.
 
Nope, let's talk about coffin poop instead, woohoo!.....Old Squarebox is dead and you are not going to hurt his feelings. Ain't anybody gonna run afoul of HIPAA on this here message board.

My point is we should value the person and their accomplishments, and not label them. We need to see the person and not labels. And I do not read articles that try to get fame for the author at the possible expense of others. It is labels that I see as a bad thing, and putting labels on people puts the focus on labels and not the person. A person's uniqueness is not a bad thing, but putting labels on someone can do a person serious harm. The expense, the harm, the pooping is the putting the label on and displaying the label(s) to those who may not understand, not their wonderful uniqueness. I apologize that I did not make more clear that I was referring to the labels and to what I felt was the intent of people who write such articles.

I humbly suggest that this thread be closed.
 
My point is we should value the person and their accomplishments, and not label them.
If we call him brilliant, are we labeling him? The term "label" has negative connotations. This seems to indicate that there is something wrong about having certain personality traits. This is what's harmful: The mindset that if you are different, there's something wrong with you, and that it's wrong to discuss it.

We need to see the person and not labels.
Yes. The whole person.

A person's uniqueness is not a bad thing, but putting labels on someone can do a person serious harm.
Only if the label is viewed as shameful or negative. Is having Asperger's Syndrome shameful and negative?

Dwelling on Jackson's weird habits, as has been done in this thread, is OK, but putting a name to it is wrong? What is the difference?
 
This is an interesting topic and people are bringing some good insights and info. However I'm going to ask posters to disagree without being disagreeable. It derails discussion.
 
Briefly off topic but, wished to add what General Jackson's staff officer wrote, adding to Glorybound's post:

Colonel G.F.R. Henderson wrote:

Stonewall Jackson v2.
Chapter XXII—Winter Quarters
[excerpt]
The headquarters of the Second Army Corps were established at Moss Neck, on the terrace above the Rappahannock, eleven miles below Fredericksburg. After the retreat of the Federals to Falmouth, the Confederate troops had re-occupied their former positions, and every point of passage between Fredericksburg and Port Royal was strongly intrenched and closely watched. At Moss Neck Jackson was not only within easy reach of his divisions, but was more comfortably housed than had usually been the case. A hunting-lodge which stood on the lawn of an old and picturesque mansion-house, the property of a gentleman named Corbin, was placed at his disposal—he bad declined the offer of rooms in the house itself lest he should trespass on the convenience of its inmates; and to show the peculiar constitution of the Confederate army, an anecdote recorded by his biographers is worth quoting. After his first interview with Mrs. Corbin, he passed out to the gate, where a cavalry orderly who had accompanied him was holding his horse. ' Do you approve of your accommodation, General ?' asked the courier. ' Yes, sir, I have decided to make my quarters here.' ' I am Mr. Corbin, sir,' said the soldier,' and I am very pleased.'

The lower room of the lodge, hung with trophies of the chase, was both his bedroom and his office; while a large tent, pitched on the grass outside, served as a mess-room for his military family; and here for three long months, until near the end of March, he rested from the labour of his campaigns. The Federal troops, on the snow-clad heights across the river, remained idle in their camps, slowly recovering from the effects of their defeat on the fields of Fredericksburg; the pickets had ceased to bicker; the gunboats had disappeared, and ' all was quiet on the Rappahannock.' Many of the senior officers in the Confederate army took advantage of the lull in operations to visit their homes; but, although his wife urged him to do the same, Jackson steadfastly refused to absent himself even for a few days from the front. In November, to his unbounded delight, a daughter had been born to him. ' To a man of his extreme domesticity, and love for children,' says his wife,' this was a crowning happiness; and yet, with his great modesty and shrinking from publicity, he requested that he should not receive the announcement by telegraph, and when it came to him by letter he kept the glad tidings to himself—leaving his staff and those around him in the camp to hear of it from others. This was to him "a joy with which a stranger could not intermeddle," and from which even his own hand could not lift the veil of sanctity. His letters were full of longing to see his little Julia; for by this name, which had been his mother's, he had desired her to be christened, saying, "My mother was mindful of me when I was a helpless, fatherless child, and I wish to commemorate her now."'

' How thankful I am,' he wrote, ' to our kind Heavenly Father for having spared my precious wife and given us a little daughter ! I cannot tell how gratified I am, nor how much I wish I could be with you and see my two darlings. But while this pleasure is denied me, I am thankful it is accorded to you to have the little pet, and I hope it may be a great deal of company and comfort to its mother. Now, don't exert yourself to write to me, for to know that you were exerting yourself to write would give me more pain than the letter would pleasure, so you must not do it. But you must love your esposo in the mean time .... I expect you are just now made up with that baby. Don't you wish your husband wouldn't claim any part of it, but let you have the sole ownership ? Don't you regard it as the most precious little creature in the world ? Do not spoil it, and don't let anybody tease it. Don't permit it to have a bad temper. How I would love to see the darling little thing ! Give her many kisses from her father.

' At present I am fifty miles from Richmond, and eight miles from Guiney's Station, on the railroad from Richmond to Fredericksburg. Should I remain here, I do hope you and baby can come to see me before spring, as you can come on the railway. Wherever I go, God gives me kind friends. The people here show me great kindness. I receive invitation after invitation to dine out and spend the night, and a great many provisions are sent me, including cakes, tea, loaf-sugar, &c., and the socks and gloves and handkerchiefs still come!


' At present I am fifty miles from Richmond, and eight miles from Guiney's Station, on the railroad from Richmond to Fredericksburg. Should I remain here, I do hope you and baby can come to see me before spring, as you can come on the railway. Wherever I go, God gives me kind friends. The people here show me great kindness. I receive invitation after invitation to dine out and spend the night, and a great many provisions are sent me, including cakes, tea, loaf-sugar, &c., and the socks and gloves and handkerchiefs still come!

' I am so thankful to our ever-kind Heavenly Father for having so improved my eyes as to enable me to write at night. He continually showers blessings upon me; and that you should have been spared, and our darling little daughter given us, fills my heart with overflowing gratitude. If I know my unworthy self, my desire is to live entirely and unreservedly to God's glory. Pray, my darling, that I may so live.'

[excerpt]
There was much social intercourse, too, between the different headquarters. General Lee was no unfrequent visitor to Moss Neck, and on Christmas Day Jackson's aides-de-camp provided a sumptuous entertainment, at which turkeys and oysters figured, for the Commander-in-Chief and the senior generals. Stuart, too, often invaded the quarters of his old comrade, and Jackson looked forward to the merriment that was certain to result just as much as the youngest of his staff. ' Stuart's exuberant cheerfulness and humour,' says Dabney, ' seemed to be the happy relief, as they were the opposites, to Jackson's serious and diffident temper. While Stuart poured out his "quips and cranks," not seldom at Jackson's expense, the latter sat by, sometimes unprepared with any repartee, sometimes blushing, but always enjoying the jest with a quiet and merry laugh. The ornaments on the wall of the general's quarters gave Stuart many a topic of badinage. Affecting to believe that they were of General Jackson's selection, he pointed now to the portrait of some famous race-horse, and now to the print of some celebrated rat-terrier, as queer revelations of his private tastes, indicating a great decline in his moral character, which would be a grief and disappointment to the pious old ladies of the South. Jackson, with a quiet smile, replied that perhaps he had had more to do with race-horses than his friends suspected. It was in the midst of such a scene as this that dinner was announced, and the two generals passed to the mess-table. It so happened that Jackson had just received, as a present from a patriotic lady, some butter, upon the adornment of which the fair donor had exhausted her housewife's skill. The servants, in honour of General Stuart's presence, had chosen this to grace the centre of the board. As his eye fell upon it, he paused, and with mock gravity pointed to it, saying, "There, gentlemen! If that is not the crowning evidence of our host's sporting tastes. He even has his favourite game-**** stamped on his butter !" The dinner, of course, began with great laughter, in which Jackson joined, with as much enjoyment as any.'

Visitors, too, from Europe, attracted by the fame of the army and its leaders, had made their way into the Confederate lines, and were received with all the hospitality that the camps afforded. An English officer has recorded his experiences at Moss Neck :—

' I brought from Nassau a box of goods (a present from England) for General Stonewall Jackson, and he asked me when I was at Richmond to come to his camp and see him. I left the city one morning about seven o'clock, and about ten landed at a station distant some eight or nine miles from Jackson's (or, as his men called him, "Old Jack's ") camp. A heavy fall of snow had covered the country for some time before to the depth of a foot, and formed a crust over the Virginian mud, which is quite as villainous as that of Balaclava. The day before had been mild and wet, and my journey was made in a drenching shower, which soon cleared away the white mantle of snow. You cannot imagine the slough of despond I had to pass through. Wet to the skin, I stumbled through mud, I waded through creeks, I passed through pine-woods, and at last got into camp about two o'clock. ! then made my way to a small house occupied by the general as his headquarters. I wrote down my name, and gave it to the orderly, and I was immediately told to walk in.

The general rose and greeted me warmly. I expected to see an old, untidy man, and was most agreeably surprised and pleased with his appearance. He is tall, handsome, and powerfully built, but thin. He has brown hair and a brown beard. His mouth expresses great determination. The lips are thin and compressed firmly together;his eyes are blue and dark, with keen and searching expression. I was told that his age was thirty. eight, and he looks forty. The general, who is indescribably simple and unaffected in all his ways, took off my wet overcoat with his own hands, made up the fire, brought wood for me to put my feet on to keep them warm while my boots were drying, and then began to ask me questions on various subjects. At the dinner hour we went out and joined the members of his staff. At this meal the general said grace in a fervent, quiet manner, which struck me very much. After dinner I returned to his room, and he again talked for a long time. The servant came in and took his mattress out of a cupboard and laid it on the floor.

'As I rose to retire, the general said, "Captain, there is plenty of room on my bed, I hope you will share it with me ?" I thanked him very much for his courtesy, but said "Good-night," and slept in a tent, sharing the blankets of one of his aides-de-camp. In the morning at breakfast-time I noticed that the general said grace before the meal with the same fervour I had remarked before. An hour or two afterwards it was time for me to return to the station; on this occasion, however, I had a horse, and I returned to the general's headquarters to bid him adieu. His little room was vacant, so I slipped in and stood before the fire. I then noticed my greatcoat stretched before it on a chair. Shortly afterwards the general entered the room. He said:" Captain, I have been trying to dry your greatcoat, but I am afraid I have not succeeded very well." That little act illustrates the man's character. With the care and responsibilities of a vast army on his shoulders he finds time to do little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness.'

With each of his staff officers he was on most friendly terms; and the visitors to his camp, such as the English officer quoted above, found him a most delightful host, discussing with the ease of an educated gentleman all manner of topics, and displaying not the slightest trace of that awkwardness and extreme diffidence which have been attributed to him. The range and accuracy of his information surprised them. ' Of military history,' said another English soldier, ' he knew more than any other man I met in America; and he was so far from displaying the somewhat grim characteristics that have been associated with his name, that one would have thought his tastes lay in the direction of art and literature.' ' His chief delight,' wrote the Hon. Francis Lawley, who knew him well, ' was in the cathedrals of England, notably in York Minster and Westminster Abbey. He was never tired of talking about them, or listening to details about the chapels and cloisters of Oxford.' (1)

[excerpt]
Intense concentration of thought and purpose, in itself an indication of a powerful will, had distinguished Jackson from his very boyhood. During his campaigns he would pace for hours outside his tent, his hands clasped behind his back, absorbed in meditation; and when the army was on the march, he would ride for hours without raising his eyes or opening his lips. It was unquestionably at such moments that he was working out his plans, step by step, forecasting the counter-movements of the enemy, and providing for every emergency that might occur. And here the habit of keeping his whole faculties fixed on a single object, and of imprinting on his memory the successive processes of complicated problems, fostered by the methods of study which, both at West Point and Lexington, the weakness of his eyes had made compulsory, must have been an inestimable advantage. Brilliant strategical manoeuvres, it cannot be too often repeated, are not a matter of inspiration and of decision on the spur of the moment. The problems presented by a theatre of war, with their many factors, are not to be solved except by a vigorous and sustained intellectual effort. 'If,' said Napoleon,' I always appear prepared, it is because, before entering on an undertaking, I have meditated for long and have foreseen what may occur. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly and secretly what I should do in circumstances unexpected by others; it is thought and meditation.'

----------------
Henderson does not mention Jane Corbin at all. But, does mention that Jackson wrote to his wife as to come by train to visit him.

M. E. Wolf
 
Southern Historical Society Papers
Vol. XLIII
With Stonewall Jackson
In The Army of Northern Virginia
By
James Power Smith
Captain And A. D. C.
An Artillery Corporal And The General's Aide
Southern Historical Society Papers.

Richmond, Va., Aug., 1920. New Series, Vol. 5, Old Series, Vol. XLIII.
With Stonewall Jackson-- Chapter V.--Fredericksburg.
[excerpt]

Returning on one of the hill roads, for the first time I saw the "Moss Neck" mansion, the Corbin place, where the general and his party spent the winter following, and on the porches met the ladies we were to know so well. At midnight I arrived at headquarters, near the Hamilton house, and the two divisions, marching all night, reported by sunrise on the morning of December 13, and were sent into the lines already formed by A. P. Hill and Taliaferro.

[excerpt]
As Jackson rode back along the lines, the enthusiasm of the troops was simply boundless. It was impossible to restrain the cheers, which rolled like waves up and down the ranks and broke out again and again, revealing to the enemy the exact positions of our lines and where they ended. He wore the new and handsome coat, the present of General J. E. B. Stuart, and a new cap sent him by his wife, with a wide braid of gilt about it, which he disliked exceedingly but which he feared it might offend Mrs. Jackson to remove--but which he did remove that winter at Moss Neck to bind about the head of his little friend, Janie Corbin. He had a new officer's saber and spurs, sent him by Colonel White of the cavalry. Altogether he looked so very "spick and span" that the boys could scarcely believe their eyes, so unlike was he to the battered, sunburnt "Old Jack" of the Valley. But the sorrel horse he rode, and the same following of staff and couriers reassured the troops and they were more than ever delighted with him. The unwonted splendor of their great general was greeted as a good omen on the morn of battle. Everywhere there was confidence, impatient expectation, and the best of spirits.

[exerpt]

Southern Historical Society Papers.
Richmond, Va., Aug., 1920. New Series, Vol. 5, Old Series, Vol. XLIII.
With Stonewall Jackson-- Chapter VI.--Winter Quarters At Moss Neck
[excerpt]
Before noon Jackson, with one aide and a body of couriers, set off down the river road. In the afternoon couriers reached us from Stuart, and by five o'clock we learned that there were no indications of Federal movements on the river as far as Port Royal. We were then at the Moss -Neck church, below Hayfield. Jackson turned and asked where we should spend the night. He was told that we were near the "Moss Neck" house, the fine residence of James Park Corbin, and that it would be a suitable place for his headquarters, as it afforded large accommodation and was well-known and accessible to couriers. Turning aside from the river road, we soon reached the large and handsome place, but the general no sooner saw it than he declared he would not go there. The alternative was between the comfort and hospitality of that elegant residence and a night on the ground in the bitter cold of December without food or shelter, for our wagons had gone to Guinea Station and could not reach us. But with his cap down and his face up, Jackson said "No!" and that was an end, we thought, of the comfort and the supper and the ladies. Passing long columns of troops, who broke into wild cheers of delight on finding that "Old Jack" was with them, we turned into the oak woods a mile beyond "Moss Neck" house and dismounted. One young man there was disappointed and mad.

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Though it was midnight and all the household were asleep, they were soon aroused by Captain McGuire, who, through a keyhole, told a frightened maiden of advanced years that General Jackson accepted Mrs. Corbin's invitation and had come to spend the night. Lights soon began moving through the house. The great door was unbarred. Fires were stirred and replenished. The general was taken to a chamber and I slept before the fire on a costly rug, as comfortable a boy as there was in the army that bitter night. So began our winter's stay at "Moss Neck."

The house was a large mansion, built a few years before, when James Park Corbin had been a man of wealth, on the hills a mile or more back from the river and commanding a fine view. It was constructed after the style of an English country residence, with extended wings and with large porches of fine columns. It was exceedingly commodious, having a large number of rooms beautifully fitted and well-furnished. Mrs. Richard Corbin was the lady of the house, and gave the general a most cordial invitation to occupy as many rooms as he wished. But he would not listen to such a proposition. We must share the camp with the troops. And when the wagons came, our tents were pitched in the grove beyond the stables; and soon the staff gathered in, and the work of all departments began in earnest. Prompt reports came from our division commanders as to the encampment of troops. D.H. Hill was at Grace Episcopal church. A. P. Hill was at a house half-way between. Taliaferro was near us, and below, near Caroline Academy, was Early. Orders were issued as to picket lines on the river. Messages were sent to General Lee, and the long winter work of organization and preparation was begun.

Christmas was coming. Two days before General Jackson told us he wished to entertain Generals Lee, Stuart and Pendleton at dinner on Christmas day. I was the caterer at the time, for the members of the staff took that post in turn, and so it devolved on me to provide that dinner. "If I say it myself as shouldn't," it was a famous dinner. An attempt to buy a turkey from a lady resulted in a present of two fine turkeys. A bucket of oysters arrived from somewhere down the river; and a box came to the general from Staunton ladies, with another turkey, a splendid ham, a large cake, a bottle of wine, and the spaces filled with white biscuit and the best of pickles. Jim, the general's cook, was altogether successful, and John, our waiting boy, had on a spotless white apron. Lee, in good humor, declared that we were only playing soldiers and invited us to dine with him and see how a soldier ought to live. Stuart was in great glee, ridiculing the white apron and playfully chiding Jackson for his bottle of wine. In the center of the table was a print of butter-- present from the Hayfield farm--on which was a gallant rooster. Stuart pronounced it to be Jackson's coat-of-arms, and old General Pendleton said the grace and ate the dinner and said it was all good.

How many staff people were present I do not recall, but, in addition to our own party, there were Colonel Venable and Colonel Marshall and big Von Borcke and Pelham and John Esten Cooke and Hullihen and George Peterkin, and a lot more. There were not many turkeys left when the day was over!

[excerpt]
Southern Historical Society Papers.
Richmond, Va., Aug., 1920. New Series, Vol. 5, Old Series, Vol. XLIII.
With Stonewall Jackson-- Chapter X.--Jackson's Religious Character
[excerpt]
The stern warrior was one of the gentlest of men. He had the tenderest affection for little children. Little Janie Corbin was a pleasure and delight to him in the afternoons of his days of office toil at "Moss Neck", as she folded paper and cut lines of soldiers and paraded them on his table. He heard from me of her death with an outburst of tears and a convulsed frame.

It was complained by one of his distinguished generals of division, in a severe paper, that ladies,--mothers, wives and daughters,--had invaded the vicinity of our camps, and were diverting officers and men from military duty. When that paper was read to him, Jackson rose and paced the room impatiently, and to the request that he would order the ladies to retire, he said, "I will do no such thing; I am glad my people can have their friends with them; I wish my wife could come to see me."

No one who ever entered his house or obtained access to his office at his corps headquarters can forget the marked courtesy with which he was received. His attention was the same to his guest, whether he was the general commanding, or a private soldier. Your hat was taken by his own hands, and his own black stool from the mess-hall of this Institute must be your seat while you were his guest.

[excerpt]
In the lowly building at Guinea Station, where he lay suffering, failing, dreaming, passing away, he spoke of a grave "in Lexington, in the Valley of Virginia." And, then his thoughts so easily passed to another rest, and other shades.
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Note: Southern Historical Society Papers, are on the Internet, to read more fully the archival memories of Captain Smith.
 
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