Stonewall An account of the wounding of Stonewall Jackson

THE DEATH OF STONEWALL JACKSON
AGAIN. — That gallant soldier and excellent gentleman, Capt. V.V. Richardson, of Columbia county, addressed a letter to the editor of the Wilmington Review, some weeks ago, concerning the death of Jackson, which escaped our notice at the time. As the statement of one who may almost be termed an "eye witness," Capt. Richardson’s letter is a valuable contribution to the discussion of this subject, revived by the unexpected statement of Mr. Capps that the wounding was before dark, instead of after night as we think has been abundantly proven.
The following is Capt. Richardson’s letter:
WHITEVILLE, N.C., Jan. 18, 1884.

http://petersburgbreakthrough.org/18thNCrichardson.html
Thanks for posting that CSA- most interesting. All I can say is thank goodness Jackson was NOT shot by his beloved Virginians- that would have been most sad indeed.
 
True! He should have given his troops a heads up he might be in their front. Still, even if he had said so, the situation would make them so jumpy it probably wouldn't have mattered. Would they wait to see if that racket was enemy or friend under the tense circumstances? The thing is, he shouldn't have been there at all. However, Stonewall was a fighter and his blood was up. He could just feel super victory in his bones and needed to see for himself if it could really be done.

I agree. My point is that not wanting a member of the 18th NC in your family as an overreaction and a reach because Jackson is at the very extreme least, half, and likely much more, at fault for his own wounding.
 
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True! He should have given his troops a heads up he might be in their front. Still, even if he had said so, the situation would make them so jumpy it probably wouldn't have mattered. Would they wait to see if that racket was enemy or friend under the tense circumstances? The thing is, he shouldn't have been there at all. However, Stonewall was a fighter and his blood was up. He could just feel super victory in his bones and needed to see for himself if it could really be done.
As I understand he was pushing hard to get to US Ford hoping to trap the AoP south of the river. Looking at a map he was about 2 miles "straight line" distance away when he was shot. The AoP was also aware of this piece of key terrain and was busy setting up a defense to protect their "backdoor".
 
As I understand he was pushing hard to get to US Ford hoping to trap the AoP south of the river. Looking at a map he was about 2 miles "straight line" distance away when he was shot. The AoP was also aware of this piece of key terrain and was busy setting up a defense to protect their "backdoor".

He had a very small window but he did have a window. That was the thing. If he had not been shot, he may well have ordered another assault. His troops were tired and disorganized but they, too, might have caught the victory-in-hand moment - that would have given them a second wind! I think Jackson would have ordered such a movement and he would have won. Folding Hooker's right up like a wet blanket would have been the destruction of the AoP.
 
He had a very small window but he did have a window. That was the thing. If he had not been shot, he may well have ordered another assault. His troops were tired and disorganized but they, too, might have caught the victory-in-hand moment - that would have given them a second wind! I think Jackson would have ordered such a movement and he would have won. Folding Hooker's right up like a wet blanket would have been the destruction of the AoP.
Guess I need to qualify my "like". No doubt he would have tried and in fact among his last words on the field were "press on, press on". But in reality I doubt seriously that he would have been successful. The terrain was against him and his troops were beyond fatigued. The NC 18th, for example, had not been fighting all day but they had been marching all day. Now a better, 'what if' scenario would be, imo, what if Jackson had been in position to start his flank attack an hour earlier? 2 hours earlier? Who knows? As it was, it was one of the greatest military feats of the ACW and possibly any war. It fell "two miles" short.
 
Guess I need to qualify my "like". No doubt he would have tried and in fact his among his last words on the field were "press on, press on". But in reality I doubt seriously that he would have been successful. The terrain was against him and his troops were beyond fatigued. The NC 18th, for example, had not been fighting all day but they had been marching all day. Now a better, 'what if' scenario would be, imo, what if Jackson had been in position to start his flank attack an hour earlier? 2 hours earlier? Who knows? As it was, it was one of the greatest military feats of the ACW and possibly any war. It fell "two miles" short.

Getting started before he did? Oh, yes. That would have been a smashing victory altogether. Jackson was not one to back off for well enough, he would go for the jugular every time. But he had to wait on A P Hill. There was a lot of straggling, it had been a long march on a narrow trail. As it was, not all his troops were up yet when he ordered the attack.
 
Obviously, Jackson's a favorite of mine. And as some have already stated, he first a man of God, and believed the hour and place of his death was already appointed. So he certainly wouldn't hold his men responsible for an accident that has taken place in every war that's ever been or will be fought.

As far as notifying his troops that he was going to be in their front, that involved a runner. In what was still a fluid situation there's no guarantee one would have found Lane. Or that Lane would've found Barry. And even if he were found and told of the recon there's still no way for that to filter down to a jumpy private who just spent the day marching and fighting. I don't believe there's any blame to assign here.
 
Getting started before he did? Oh, yes. That would have been a smashing victory altogether. Jackson was not one to back off for well enough, he would go for the jugular every time. But he had to wait on A P Hill. There was a lot of straggling, it had been a long march on a narrow trail. As it was, not all his troops were up yet when he ordered the attack.
It may well have done enough damage to force peace and gain recognition in Europe. That he was able to position as many men as he did to make an attack at all is astounding.
 
This is the whole article. Is this a commonly known account?

"The details which follow are given on the authority of Jackson’s staff officers, and one or two others who witnessed all that occurred. In relation to the most tragic portion of the scene, there remained, as will be seen, but a single witness.

Jackson had ridden forward on the turnpike to reconnoiter and ascertain, if possible, in spite of the darkness of the night, the position of the Federal lines. The moon shone, but it was struggling with a bank of clouds, and afforded but a dim light. From the gloomy thickets on each side of the turnpike, looking more weird and somber in the half-light, came the melancholy song of the whippoorwill. “I think there must have been ten thousand,” said Gen. Stewart, afterward. Such was the scene amid which the events now about to be narrated took place. Jackson had advanced with some members of his staff, considerably beyond the building know as “Meizi Chancellor’s,” about a mile from Chancellorsville, and had reached a point nearly opposite an old dismantled house in the woods, near the road, whose shell torn roof may still be seen, when he reined in his horse, and, remaining perfectly quiet and motionless, listened intently for any indications of a movement in the Federal lines. They were scarcely two hundred yards in front of him, and seeing the danger to which he exposed himself one of his staff officers said, “General, don’t you think this is the wrong place for you?” He replied quickly, and almost impatiently, “The danger is all over! The enemy is routed! Go back, and tell A. P. Hill to press right on!” The officer obeyed, but had scarcely disappeared, when a sudden volley was fired by the Confederate infantry in Jackson’s rear, and on the right of the road, evidently directed upon him and his scout. The origin of this fire has never been discovered, and after Jackson’s death there was little disposition to investigate an occurrence which occasioned bitter distress to all, who, by any possibility, could have taken any part in it. It is probable, however, that some movement of the Federal skirmishers had provoked the fire; if this is an error, the troops fired deliberately upon Jackson and his party, under the impression that they were a body of Federal cavalry, reconnoitering. It is said that the men had orders to open upon any object in front, “especially upon cavalry;” and the absence of pickets or advance force of any kind on the Confederate side explains the rest. The enemy were almost in contact with them; the Federal artillery, fully commanding the position of the troops, was expected to open every moment; and the men were just in that excited condition which induces troops to fire at any and every object they see.

Whatever may have been the origin of this volley, it came, and many of the staff and escort were shot, and fell from their horses. Jackson wheeled to the left and galloped into the woods to get out of range of the bullets; but he had not gone twenty steps beyond the edge of the turnpike, in the thicket, when one of his brigades, drawn up within thirty yards of him, fired a volley in their turn, kneeling on the right knee, as the flash of the guns showed, as though prepared to guard against cavalry. By this fire Jackson was wounded in three places. He received one ball in the shoulder joint, shattering the bone and severing the chief artery. A second ball passed through the same arm between the elbow and wrist, making its exit through the palm of the hand; and a third ball entered the palm of his right hand about the middle, and passing through, broke two of the bones. At the moment when he was struck, he was holding his rein in his left hand, and the right was raised, either in the singular jesture habitual to him at times of excitement, or to protect his face from the boughs of trees. His left hand immediately dropped to his side, and his horse, no longer controlled by the rein, and frightened at the firing, wheeled suddenly and ran from the fire in the direction of the Federal lines. Jackson’s helpless condition now exposed him to a distressing accident. His horse ran violently between two trees, from one of which a horizontal bough extended at about the height of his head, to the other; and, as he passed between the trees, this bough struck in the face, tore off his cap, and threw him violently back on his horse. The blow was so violent as nearly to unseat him, but it did not do so, and rising erect again, he caught the bridle with the broken and bleeding fingers of his right hand, and succeeded in turning his horse back into the turnpike. Here, Captain Wilbourn, of his staff, succeeded in catching the reins and checking the animal, who was almost frantic with terror, at the moment when, from loss of blood and exhaustion, Jackson was about to fall from the saddle.

The scene at this time was gloomy and depressing. Horses, mad with fright at the close firing, were seen running in every direction, some of them riderless, others defying control; and in the wood lay many wounded and dying men. Jackson’s whole party except Captain Wilbourn and a member of the signal corps, had been killed, wounded or dispersed. The man riding just behind Jackson had had his horse killed; a courier near was wounded, and his horse ran into the Federal lines; Lieutenant Morrison, aid-de-camp, threw himself from his saddle, and his horse fell dead a moment afterward; Captain Howard was wounded and carried by his horse into the Federal camps; Captain Leigh had his horse shot under him; Captain Forbes was killed; and Captain Boswell, Jackson’s chief engineer, was shot through the heart, and his dead body carried by his frightened horse into the lines of the enemy, near at hand.

Such was the result of the causeless fire. It had ceased as suddenly as it had begun, and the position in the road which Jackson now occupied was the same from which he had been driven. Captain Wilbourn, who, with Mr. Wynn, of the signal corps, was all that was left of the party, notices a singular circumstance which attracted his attention at this moment. The turnpike was utterly deserted with the exception of himself, his companion, and Jackson; but in the skirting of thicket on the left, he observed some one sitting on his horse, by the side of the wood, and cooly looking on, motionless and silent. The unknown individual was clad in a dark dress, which strongly resembled the Federal uniform; but it seemed impossible that he could have penetrated to that spot without being discovered, and what followed seemed to prove that he belonged to the Confederates. Captain Wilbourn, who was standing by Jackson, now said, “they certainly must be our troops,” to which the General assented with a nod of the head, but said nothing. He was looking up the road toward his lines with apparent astonishment, and continued for some time to look in that direction as if unable to realize that he could have been fired upon and wounded by his own men. His wound was bleeding profusely, the blood streaming down so as to fill his gauntlets, and it was necessary to secure assistance promptly. Captain Wilbourn asked him if he was much injured, and urged him to make an effort to move his fingers, as his ability to do this would prove that his arm was not broken. He endeavored to do so, looking down at his hand during the attempt, but speedily gave it up, announcing that his arm was broken. An effort which his companion made to straighten it gave him great pain, and murmuring, “you had better take me down,” leaned forward and fell in to Captain Wilbourn’s arms. He was so much exhausted by loss of blood that he was unable to take his feet out of the stirrups, and this was done by Mr. Wynn. He was then carred to the side of the road, and laid under a small tree, where Captain Wilbourn supported his head while his companion went for a surgeon and ambulance to carry him to the rear, receiving strict instructions, however, not to mention the occurrence to anyone but Dr. McGuire, or other surgeon. Captain Wilbourn then made an examination of the General’s wounds. Removing his field glasses and haversack which contained envelopes for dispatches, and two religious tracts, he put those on his own person for safety, and with a small penknife he proceeded to cut away the sleeves of his India rubber overall, dress coat and two shirts, from the bleeding arm.

While this duty was being performed, General Hill rode up with his staff, and dismounting beside the General, expressed his great regret at the accident. To the question whether his wound was painful, Jackson replied, “very painful,” and added that his “arm was broken.” General Hill pulled off his gauntlets, which were full of blood, and his sabre and belt were also removed. He then seemed easier, and having swallowed a mouthful of whiskey, which was held to his lips, appeared much refreshed. It seemed impossible to remove him without causing his wounds to bleed afresh, but it was absolutely necessary to do so, as the enemy were not more than one hundred and fifty yards distant, and might advance at any moment; and all at once a proof was given of the dangerous position which he occupied. Captain Adams, of General Hill’s staff, had ridden some fifteen yards ahead of the group, and was now heard calling out, “halt! Surrender! Fire on them if they don’t surrender!” At the next moment he came up with two Federal skirmishers, who had at once surrendered with astonishment, declaring that they were not aware that they were in the Confederate lines. General Hill had drawn his pistol and mounted his horse, and he now returned to take command of his line and advance, promising Jackson to keep his accident from the knowledge of the troops, for which the General thanked him. He had scarcely gone, when Lieutenant Morrison came up and reported the Federal line advancing rapidly, and then within about one hundred yards from the spot; he exclaimed, “Let us take the General up in our arms and carry him off.” But Jackson said faintly, “No, if you can help me up, I can walk.” He was accordingly lifted up, and placed upon his feet, when the Federal batteries in front opened with great violence, and Captain Leigh, who had just arrived with a litter, had his horse killed under him with a shell. He leaped to the ground near Jackson, and the latter, leaning his right arm on Captain Leigh’s shoulder, slowly dragged himself along toward the Confederate lines, the blood from his wounded arm flowing profusely over Captain Leigh’s uniform.

Hill’s lines were now in motion to meet the coming attack, and as the men passed Jackson, they saw from the number and rank of his escort that he must be a superior officer. “Who is that—who have you there?” was called, to which the reply was, “Oh! Its only a friend of ours, who is wounded.” These inquiries became at last, so frequent that Jackson said to his escort: “When asked, just say it was a Confederate officer.” It was with the utmost difficulty that the curiosity of the troops was evaded. They seemed to suspect something, and would go around the horses which were led along on each side of the General to conceal him, to see if they could discover who it was. At last one of them caught a glimpse of a man who had lost his cap, as we have seen, in the woods, and was walking bareheaded in the moonlight, and suddenly the man exclaimed, “in the most pitiful tone,” says an eye-witness: “Great God! That is General Jackson!” An evasive reply was made, implying that this was a mistake, and the man looked form the speaker to Jackson with a bewildered air, but passed on without further comment. All this occurred before Jackson had been able to drag himself more than twenty steps; but Captain Leigh had the litter at hand, and his strength being completely exhausted, the General was placed upon it, and borne to toward the rear.

The litter was carried by two officers and two men, the rest of the escort walking beside it and leading the horses. They had scarcely begun to move, however, when the Federal artillery opened a furious fire upon the turnpike from the works in front of Chancellorville, and a hurricane of shot and canister swept down the road. What the eye then saw a scene of disordered troops, riderless horses, and utter confusion. The intended advance of the Confederates had doubtless been discovered, and this fire was directed along the road over which they would move. By this fire Generals Hill and Pender, with several of their staff, were wounded and one of the men carrying the litter was shot through both arms, and dropped his burden. His companion did likewise, hastily flying from the dangerous locality, and but for Captain Leigh, who caught the handle of the litter, it would have fallen to the ground. Lieutenant Smith had been leading his own and the General’s horse, but the animals now broke away in uncontrollable terror, and the rest of the part scattered to find shelter. Under these circumstances the litter was lowered by Captain Leigh and Lieutenant Smith into the road, and those officers lay down by it to protect themselves, in some degree from the heavy fire of artillery which swept the turnpike and “struck millions of sparks from the flinty stones of the road side.” Jackson raised himself on his elbow and attempted to get up, but Lieutenant Smith threw his arm across his breast and compelled him to desist. They lay in this manner for some minutes without moving, the hurricane still sweeping over them. “So far as I could see,” wrote one of the officers, “men and horses were struggling with a most terrible death.” The road was, otherwise, deserted. Jackson and his two officers were the sole living occupants of the spot.

The fire of canister soon relaxed, though that of shot and shell continued, and Jackson rose to his feet. Leaning on the shoulders of the party who had joined him, he turned aside from the road, which was again filling with infantry, and struck into the woods, one of the officers following with the litter. Here he moved with difficulty among the troops, who were lying down in line of battle, and the party encountered General Pender, who had just been slightly wounded. He asked who it was that was wounded, and the reply was, “a Confederate officer.” Gen. Pender, however, recognized Jackson, and exclaimed, “Ah! General, I am sorry to see you wounded. The lines are so much broken that I fear we will have to fall back.” These words seemed to affect Jackson strongly. He raised his head, and said with a flash of the eye, “ You must hold your ground, General Pender!” This was the last order Jackson ever gave upon the field.

His strength was now completely exhausted, and he asked to be permitted to lie down upon the ground. But to this the officers would not consent. The hot fire of artillery which still continued, and the expected advance of the Federal infantry, made it necessary to move on, and the litter was again put in requisition. The General now nearly fainting, was laid upon it, and some litter bearers having been procured, the whole party continued to move through the tangled woods toward Meizi Chancellor’s. So dense was the undergrowth and the ground so difficult, that their progress was very slow. An accident now occasioned Jackson untold agony. One of the men caught his foot in a vine, and stumbling, let go the handle of the litter, which fell heavily to the ground. Jackson fell upon his left shoulder where the bone had been shattered, and his agony must have been extreme. “For the first time,” says one of the party, “he groaned, and that most piteously.” He was quickly raised, however, and a beam of moonlight passing through the foliage revealed his pale face, closed eyes, and bleeding breast. Those around him thought he was dying. What a death for such a man! All around him was the tangled wood, only half illuminated by the struggling moonbeams, and above him burst the shells of the enemy, exploding, says an officer “like showers of falling stars,” and in the pauses came the melancholy notes of the whip-poor=wills, borne on the night air. In this strange wilderness, the man of Port Republic and Manassas, who had led so many desperate charges seemed about to close his eyes and die in the night.

But such was not to be the result then. When asked by one of the officers whether he was much hurt, he opened his eyes and said quietly, without further exhibition of pain, “No, my friend, don’t trouble yourself about me.” The litter was then raised upon the shoulders of the men, the party continued its way, and reaching an ambulance, near Meizi Chancellor’s placed the wounded General in it. He was then borne to the field hospital at Wilderness Run five miles distant."

Jamie
 
That's a good account. A P Hill and his staff got the worst of the volley, though - he was the only one of his party not hurt some way. He was about 60 yards ahead of Jackson and called for the firing to stop, they were killing his friends. Didn't work. He probably saved Jackson's life, at least for the time being, by putting a tourniquet on the arm. Kept him from bleeding to death right there. Hill cradled Jackson's head in his lap for a while, talking to him. A little later Hill, who was now in command, was creased by a cannonball along the back of his legs. The numbness wouldn't let him stand, walk or ride so he had to turn command over to Rodes. Rodes declined and Jeb Stuart, who was quite some ways off, was sent for. By the time he arrived, the opportunity that Stonewall thought was there was gone. Stuart did well, all things considered, but couldn't pull off another great victory.
 
I find a few items in the above account to take issue with or question. 1. Lane had placed the NC 33 infantry Regiment out as pickets. So there were CSA soldiers in front of the NC 18th. Part of the problem is that the NC 18th apparently did not know that. 2. If General Jacoson had only received the gunshot wounds he most likely would have survived. BUT he was dropped from his stretcher at least twice and possibly three times. One drop was from the stretcher carried at shoulder level. One of the drops injured a lung. That lung developed pneumonia. General Jackson died from the pneumonia. 3. I have never read of any Union infantry attack on the NC 18th that night. 4. If you read all the posts in this thread you can see why some controversy exists even today. EYE WITNESS reports differ about key elements of the event such as location and circumstances. Sometimes even 'eye witnesses' get it wrong so a historian really becomes a detevtive trying to get enough evidence to build a case of hopefully truth.
 
I find a few items in the above account to take issue with or question. 1. Lane had placed the NC 33 infantry Regiment out as pickets. So there were CSA soldiers in front of the NC 18th. Part of the problem is that the NC 18th apparently did not know that. 2. If General Jacoson had only received the gunshot wounds he most likely would have survived. BUT he was dropped from his stretcher at least twice and possibly three times. One drop was from the stretcher carried at shoulder level. One of the drops injured a lung. That lung developed pneumonia. General Jackson died from the pneumonia. 3. I have never read of any Union infantry attack on the NC 18th that night. 4. If you read all the posts in this thread you can see why some controversy exists even today. EYE WITNESS reports differ about key elements of the event such as location and circumstances. Sometimes even 'eye witnesses' get it wrong so a historian really becomes a detevtive trying to get enough evidence to build a case of hopefully truth.

On your Point 2, it was also raining. Jackson had on a slicker but that had been removed in order to see how badly he was injured. Don't think they had a blanket over him, or the slicker either for that matter. I might add, too, that these dumps from the stretcher were not short rolls off the edge. The soldiers were carrying him at shoulder height - he dropped about four feet onto the ground every time they dropped him. The last time, it was onto a stump. :x3:

On your Point 3, there wasn't an organized Union attack on the 18th that night but the lines were so close they kept intermingling. Several Federals were captured because they thought the Confederate line was their own. The Union troops were just as jumpy as the Confederates - that's why there was so much shelling. The 27th and 73rd Pennsylvania, and the 29th New York were German troops who had nearly stopped the attack, with the help of Dilger's well-managed one cannon! They certainly made up for the Flying Dutchmen of Howard's 11th Corps. That was earlier, though. I suspect the Union activity in the area was the result of both lines coming to a disorganized halt and people trying to find what was going on.

Your point on eye witnesses is certainly worthwhile. Every cop, after interviewing all the eye witnesses to a crime, know the perp was the tall, short, fat, skinny guy!
 
Re: the 18th NC Regiment: Arthur S. Smith, mentioned in Tolar's account as having knocked down a horse from Jackson's party with the butt of his rifle, was my 2G grandfather Smith's brother. My 3G grandfather, Sgt. Thomas J. Lewis of Co. A, was wounded in the left leg at Chancellorsville on May 3, the day after the 18th wounded Gen. Jackson. His leg was not amputated. He went home to heal, presumably by train to Wilmington (he was from Bladen County, NC), then up the Cape Fear River to Elizabethtown by steamer. He did not return to his regiment before the end of the War. When I was a small boy, I was given his bayonet by my grandmother. Sadly, and inexplicably, it disappeared during one of my parents' many moves (my father was a Baptist minister and moved too often). It's a matter of great sadness to me, even today. I've attached photos of the grave markers of these two men- they are buried not too many miles apart in NE Bladen County, NC, along the South River. Both of them were certainly present on May 2, and probably participated in the fatal volley. The notion that the 18th is at fault is ridiculous- they had been moving all day, were under small arms and artillery fire, it was between 8 and 9 p.m. in early May (dark) and the lines were still disorganized. They had no idea that there was a mounted party out in front of them and, in the fog of war, they did what anyone else would've done. No one was sorrier for the result than they were. Chancellorsville was a very bad time for the 18th- they lost their Colonel, their colors, and then this... but the overall fighting record of these Cape Fear boys stands on its own. For more good information on the 18th NC Regiment, I recommend "Cape Fear Confederates" by James "Jay" Gillispie, published by McFarland. It's an excellent read!

Grandpa TJ Lewis.jpg


Arthur Stevens Smith grave marker.jpg
 
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