Stonewall Stonewall Jackson’s Personality Traits

[Reconstructed Rebel]

First - all I know for sure about Jackson is how he got his nickname. I've just finished Mary Chestnut's A Diary from Dixie, which is full of the news circulating around Richmond during the war. I'm wondering if the folks on this forum who have studied him would agree with General Lawton's assessment of the man as quoted below? Was Jackson loved by his men when he was alive or did they "deify him" only after he died?

General Lawton was here. He was one of Stonewall's generals. So I listened with all my ears when he said: *' Stonewall could not sleep. So, every two or three nights you were waked up by orders to have your brigade in marching order before daylight and report in person to the Commander. Then you were marched a few miles out and then a few miles in again. All this was to make us ready, ever on the alert. And the end of it was this: Jackson's men would go half a day's march before Peter Longstreet waked and breakfasted. I think there is a popular delusion about the amount of praying he did. He certainly preferred a fight on Sunday to a sermon. Failing to manage a fight, he loved best a long Presbyterian sermon, Calvinistic to the core.

"He had shown small sympathy with human infirmity. He was a one-idea-ed man. He looked upon broken-down men and stragglers as the same thing. He classed all who were weak and weary, who fainted by the wayside, as men wanting in patriotism. If a man's face was as white as cotton and his pulse so low you scarce could feel it, he looked upon him merely as an inefficient soldier and rode off impatiently. He was the true type of all great soldiers. Like the successful warriors of the world, he did not value human life where he had an object to accomplish. He could order men to their death as a matter of course. His soldiers obeyed him to the death. Faith they had in him stronger than death. Their respect he commanded. I doubt if he had so much of their love as is talked about while he was alive. Now, that they see a few more years of Stonewall would have freed them from the Yankees, they deify him. Any man is proud to have been one of the famous Stonewall brigade. But, be sure, it was bitter hard work to keep up with him as all know who ever served under him. He gave his orders rapidly and distinctly and rode away, never allowing answer or remonstrance. It was, * Look there — see that place — take it ! ' When you failed you were apt to be put under arrest. When you reported the place taken, he only said, 'Good!'

Source:

A Diary from Dixie : Mary Boykin Miller Chestnut, Mary Boykin Chesnut, Isabella D . Martin : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.

archive.org

 

[nc native]

General Lawton's assessment of General Jackson would be agreed with by a certain Texan who said about Jackson "He gave us a gum blanket, forty rounds of ammunition and drove us like hell." Jackson was a very driven man when he had an objective and did not let sympathy or personal feelings get in the way of achieving it.

There was another characteristic about Jackson that I do not recall any other leader doing during a battle during the Civil War. If his men were to make a charge over ground with wounded and dead men on it, he would tidy up the battlefield before making his move by removing the casualties if possible. This makes sense from a morale standpoint. I'm sure it would be discouraging to see wounded and dead men covering the ground in front of a position that needed to be taken.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

All this explains to some degree perhaps why General Garnett felt he had to defend his honor by participating in the July 3 charge at Gettysburg? Putting officers under arrest when they failed to be able to complete an assignment…if true…seems too extreme. But maybe being extreme is what was expected. Did Jackson have other officers under him who were punished in this way or was it just an issue between him and Garnett?

 

[Jamieva]

AP Hill and jackson were oil and water

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

AP Hill and jackson were oil and water

Because they had different styles of command? Any details you can share that would support or oppose the quote in the OP?

 

[jackt62]

Was Jackson loved by his men when he was alive or did they "deify him" only after he died?

Jackson was certainly deified by the press and public as a result of his amazing string of military achievements in the first years of the CW, and his untimely death raised that deification to even greater heights. And despite his harsh discipline, strict marching orders, and eccentric personality, he was if not deified, certainly esteemed by his troops during his lifetime. It may be hard to understand the hold that Jackson had on people as shown by his treatment of Richard Garnett who became one of Jackson's pallbearers at his funeral. In another example, a former VMI student, James Walker, challenged Jackson to a duel over some school quarrel and was subsequently expelled from VMI as a result. Yet years later, Jackson would recommend Walker as commander of the Stonewall Brigade.

 

[Kurtlg]

I am not an expert on Jackson by any means but there are a few things that I recall. He was ineffectual during the 7 Days campaign . He seemed out of sorts and there are many theories about why , yet I find this to be strange compared to his usual performance.
Another odd thing is that he didn't,'t seem to share his plans with his subordinates. Perhaps this is a memory I have from a single incident but I remember officers complaining because they had no prior knowledge as to where they were marching. It seemed to be known only to Jackson . Was this because he didn't trust his subordinates ?
Another incident I recall was Jackson getting angry because his men didn't shoot a young Union soldier who had shown extreme bravery . Did he lack any compassion for the enemy ? As I said, I am not a Jackson expert and these incidents are from memory so I will accept any corrections to my observations from any members with more knowledge.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

Did Jackson have close friends or was respect the nearest emotion among those who knew him well?

There are plenty of Jackson myths - evidently he did not, in fact, like lemons -he preferred peaches, which doesn't seem eccentric at all.

 

[Kurtlg]

Did Jackson have close friends or was respect the nearest emotion among those who knew him well?

There are plenty of Jackson myths - evidently he did not, in fact, like lemons -he preferred peaches, which doesn't seem eccentric at all.

I read that Jackson consumed any fruit that was available and did prefer peaches. He was observed with lemons that may have been liberated from Union supplies.

 

[rpkennedy]

I am not an expert on Jackson by any means but there are a few things that I recall. He was ineffectual during the 7 Days campaign . He seemed out of sorts and there are many theories about why , yet I find this to be strange compared to his usual performance.
Another odd thing is that he didn't,'t seem to share his plans with his subordinates. Perhaps this is a memory I have from a single incident but I remember officers complaining because they had no prior knowledge as to where they were marching. It seemed to be known only to Jackson . Was this because he didn't trust his subordinates ?
Another incident I recall was Jackson getting angry because his men didn't shoot a young Union soldier who had shown extreme bravery . Did he lack any compassion for the enemy ? As I said, I am not a Jackson expert and these incidents are from memory so I will accept any corrections to my observations from any members with more knowledge.

Tactically, Jackson was quite up-and-down. Even in the Valley, some of his battles were not tactical masterpieces but his men overcame some of his faults, along with some help from incompetent Union commanders. For every Chancellorsville, there was a Groveton/Brawner's Farm or a Antietam vs. Kernstown. His performance in the Seven Days was not particularly out of the ordinary for him but his fatigue from months of near constant campaigning has to be factored into his failures, not to mention that he was away from his home field, so to speak.

Ryan

 

[Pollaco]

Eccentric behavior or reaction to someone else's not-so-bright or bone-headed actions are not necessarily anger.Wouldn't a temper tantrum be an outburst of anger? Some people have their own way of showing dislike. Robert E. Lee was known to have an "icy stare" that could cut right through a person, but he controlled his temper.

 

[jackt62]

Robert E. Lee was known to have an "icy stare" that could cut right through a person, but he controlled his temper.

Interestingly, while Lee was good at controlling his temper publicly, he was less controlling when showing anger among his close aides.

 

[jackt62]

Another odd thing is that he didn't,'t seem to share his plans with his subordinates. Perhaps this is a memory I have from a single incident but I remember officers complaining because they had no prior knowledge as to where they were marching. It seemed to be known only to Jackson . Was this because he didn't trust his subordinates ?

Jackson was known to be highly secretive and did not share his plans with even close subordinates. During the 1862 Valley campaign, Ewell, who commanded the second of Jackson's divisions, was often left in a quandary about his orders. And Jackson's decision to reconnoiter the front line at Chancellorsville without alerting subordinate commanders might have cost him his life.

 

[jackt62]

Did Jackson have close friends or was respect the nearest emotion among those who knew him well?

I don't believe Jackson was capable of having "close" friends but he did have reliable associates who to some degree or other held him in high esteem. These would include Jedidiah Hotchkiss, Hunter McGuire, Henry Kyd Douglas and Sandie Pendleton.

 

[jackt62]

I read that Jackson consumed any fruit that was available and did prefer peaches. He was observed with lemons that may have been liberated from Union supplies.

The lemon story may be apocryphal but Jackson was a known eccentric who had unusual ways of dealing with what were probably real ailments such as dyspepsia.

 

[nc native]

All this explains to some degree perhaps why General Garnett felt he had to defend his honor by participating in the July 3 charge at Gettysburg? Putting officers under arrest when they failed to be able to complete an assignment…if true…seems too extreme. But maybe being extreme is what was expected. Did Jackson have other officers under him who were punished in this way or was it just an issue between him and Garnett?

The differences Jackson had with Garnett mostly result from the battle of Kernstown when Garnett who was in command of the Stonewall Brigade ordered a retreat after his men ran out of ammunition against Jackson's orders. Richard Garnett was the opposite of Jackson in that he was well known for treating his men well and being sympathetic to their feelings. There was another incident when Jackson was not happy that Garnett was letting his men rest for longer periods than Jackson wished during their marches. Richard Garnett was a able brigade commander and after he was dismissed from command of the Stonewall Brigade he soon found another command after George Pickett was wounded at Gaines Mill when he was appointed to lead Pickett's Brigade.

 

[bamaman]

The lemon story may be apocryphal but Jackson was a known eccentric who had unusual ways of dealing with what were probably real ailments such as dyspepsia.

Jackson used to hold his right up in the air to maintain the balance of fluids in his body! He was an eccentric!

 

[bamaman]

Jackson used to hold his right up in the air to maintain the balance of fluids in his body! He was an eccentric!

right hand

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

Jackson used to hold his right up in the air to maintain the balance of fluids in his body! He was an eccentric!

Ok, that is definitely odd….

 

[Rebforever]

General Jackson had the ability to lead men into battle. For whatever reason those men fought and died for him. So somewhere along the line he had to be a great motivator of people! For instance, sleeping on the ground in a snow storm. That did upset some officers. But for the soldiers, they will never forget.