Guinea Station - Where Stonewall Jackson Died

Jimklag

Lt. Colonel
Joined
Mar 3, 2017
Location
Chicagoland
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A natural offshoot of the thread on the flank march and Stonewall's wounding is a new thread on Guinea Station, or Fairfield Plantation, where Stonewall "crossed over to the other side of the river."

The plantation office building of Fairfield Plantation, where Stonewall Jackson died, is all that remains of the plantation today. My apologies for the photo quality - the camera was new and I had it set incorrectly and gave all my photos that day a bluish tint.

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Where the plantation house once stood.
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The death bed
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Where Mrs. Jackson slept during her husband's ordeal.
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Unfortunately, during our whirlwind tour of Civil War sites in April, we didn't get as far as the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, nor this, "making do" with Fredericksburg, Salem Church, and Chancellorsville before heading southwest towards Appomattox.
 
A foot note to an interesting thread. The rain coat or slicker that Jackson was wearing when wounded has its own interesting story. I am the owner of a gold enameled Army of Northern Virginia Badge that belonged to Joseph Bryant.He was one of Mosby’s partisan rangers. After the war ended around 1867 he was in the Chancellorsville area I believe looking for any kind of work he could find or possibly business. The weather was rainy and Mr. Bryant came apon this man who had been collecting relics from the battlefield and selling them as a source income. Mr. Bryant purchased the rain coat noticing that its arm had been repaired. At some point later he inspected the jacket and found Gen. Jackson’s name was written I think in a fold of the collar.I can only guess at his emotions upon his realizing he had the coat the great General was wearing when wounded. Realizing the importance of his find he turned it over to his father,a prominent citizen of Richmond who not knowing what to do with such an important relic asked and then shipped it to Gen.Lee. He (Gen. Lee) knowing it was the property of Mrs.Jackson contacted her as to its disposition. She stated it was a very painful reminder of her loss and she would not want it displayed and would the Gen. send it to her in France where she moved with her daughter. After Mrs. Jackson’s passing her daughter had the coat turned over to V.M.I. where the Gen. taught.
The readers of the forum will kindly excuse and note any errors in the telling of this as I am on the road and don’t have access to my books and tell this from memory. Originally told in a book on Mosbys Rangers that told brief stories of some of the more interesting Rangers of whom Joe Bryant was one. Thanks Mike
 
A foot note to an interesting thread. The rain coat or slicker that Jackson was wearing when wounded has its own interesting story. I am the owner of a gold enameled Army of Northern Virginia Badge that belonged to Joseph Bryant.He was one of Mosby’s partisan rangers. After the war ended around 1867 he was in the Chancellorsville area I believe looking for any kind of work he could find or possibly business. The weather was rainy and Mr. Bryant came apon this man who had been collecting relics from the battlefield and selling them as a source income. Mr. Bryant purchased the rain coat noticing that its arm had been repaired. At some point later he inspected the jacket and found Gen. Jackson’s name was written I think in a fold of the collar.I can only guess at his emotions upon his realizing he had the coat the great General was wearing when wounded. Realizing the importance of his find he turned it over to his father,a prominent citizen of Richmond who not knowing what to do with such an important relic asked and then shipped it to Gen.Lee. He (Gen. Lee) knowing it was the property of Mrs.Jackson contacted her as to its disposition. She stated it was a very painful reminder of her loss and she would not want it displayed and would the Gen. send it to her in France where she moved with her daughter. After Mrs. Jackson’s passing her daughter had the coat turned over to V.M.I. where the Gen. taught.
The readers of the forum will kindly excuse and note any errors in the telling of this as I am on the road and don’t have access to my books and tell this from memory. Originally told in a book on Mosbys Rangers that told brief stories of some of the more interesting Rangers of whom Joe Bryant was one. Thanks Mike

The coat as it's currently displayed (April, 2018) in the VMI Museum:

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There's a great story about Stonewall's arm that floats around the Marine Corps - "There has been mention of a 1921 incident where the U.S. Marine Corps supposedly was conducting training maneuvers in the area adjacent to Ellwood, and that General Smedley Butler, the Marine Corps commandant, didn’t believe the general's arm was buried there and so ordered some Marines to dig around the marker. They supposedly found the arm and, as the story goes, Gen. Butler had it placed in a metal box and reburied."

The whole article is listed here - https://www.nationalparkstraveler.o...-where-stonewall-jacksons-left-arm-buried7094
 
Thought I'd post this photo of the purported burial site of Jackson's arm, on the grounds of the Lacy House in the Wilderness.
View attachment 193337
I looked for this spot and couldn’t find it. I was pressed for time and unfortunately ran out. I was and am disappointed. :frown:
 
View attachment 193024
A natural offshoot of the thread on the flank march and Stonewall's wounding is a new thread on Guinea Station, or Fairfield Plantation, where Stonewall "crossed over to the other side of the river."

The plantation office building of Fairfield Plantation, where Stonewall Jackson died, is all that remains of the plantation today. My apologies for the photo quality - the camera was new and I had it set incorrectly and gave all my photos that day a bluish tint.

View attachment 193025


Where the plantation house once stood. View attachment 193026

The death bed
View attachment 193027 View attachment 193028
Where Mrs. Jackson slept during her husband's ordeal.
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The clock in the death room is the authentic one that was there at the time of Bluelights death. If you stood at the doorway of the room, you heard the same tic toc that produced the last sounds Jackson ever heard.
 
The guide pointed out the location when we took a tour of the Ellwood Manor (Lacy House).
When we were there, the Lacy house was being restored and the gentleman who was running the renovation took us down to the marker for the arm and gave us directions to Guinea Station. What surprised me was how far it was from the Lacy house to Guinea Station. Stonewall had to be seriously hurting after that long ride in an army ambulance.
 
When we were there, the Lacy house was being restored and the gentleman who was running the renovation took us down to the marker for the arm and gave us directions to Guinea Station. What surprised me was how far it was from the Lacy house to Guinea Station. Stonewall had to be seriously hurting after that long ride in an army ambulance.
He was moved during the battle precisely because it was during the battle - it was feared that with the eventual outcome still in doubt that he should be removed to Richmond for his safety, but Guinea Station on the RR was as far as he got.
 
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