Stonewall Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery, Lexington, Virginia

James N.

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Part I - Graves of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson and His Family Members
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Maj. Thomas Jonathan Jackson ( U. S. Army, Ret. ) came to Lexington, Virginia, in 1851 to accept a post at Virginia Military Institute ( VMI ) as instructor of artillery tactics and Natural Philosophy, or in modern terms, physics. He remained for the next decade, marrying twice and purchasing the only home he would ever own, plus a small farm just outside town. Therefore it was only natural that it was to Lexington that his body should be brought for interment following his death May 10, 1863, after his mortal wounding at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863.

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Jackson was originally buried in the family plot above, to be joined there later by his second wife Anna Morrison Jackson and daughter Julia Jackson Christian. Later in the 1920's they were relocated to a circle near the center of the cemetery surmounted by the famous statue of Jackson as he appeared on the battlefield. Later burials included a grandson who rose to the rank of brigadier general in the U. S. Army around the time of WWI; another stone memorializes great-grandson Thomas Jonathan Jackson Christian who was lost in the skies over Germany in 1943 during WWII.

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Jackson's first wife Elinor ( Ellie ) Junkin Jackson died of a hemorrhage during childbirth on Oct. 22, 1854, and rests in the same casket along with their stillborn son who was placed in her arms at the time of burial. They repose in the nearby Junkin family plot which is only a short distance away from Jackson's original burial site.

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When the Jacksons were laid to rest here this was known as the Presbyterian Church Cemetery, though members of other faiths are certainly represented as well. This was because the town's Presbyterian Church had originally stood here, though by Jackson's day the building had been removed and a larger sanctuary built only a few blocks away nearer downtown. It remained so known until in the 1920's when it officially became the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery.

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It was overcast on the day of my visit here, my first after almost twenty years, and the twilight gloom and threatening rain provided a suitably lachrymose setting for reflection on Jackson and his meaning. His statue near the center of the grounds seems somehow to loom over all those who rest here, including several of his staff members, fellow generals, and many of the Old Confed's. of the Stonewall Brigade, some of whom will be featured in the next post.

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Part II - A Confederate Pantheon
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Near the entrance to the cemetery lie the remains of the Pendleton family: in the photo above, Episcopal Rector and Chief of Artillery for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia Brig. Gen. William Nelson Pendleton is at left; his son Col. Alexander ( Sandy ) S. Pendleton, variously Jackson's aide-de-camp, A.A.G., and finally Chief-of-Staff for the Second Corps under Ewell and Early is seen at right and below. Sandy was killed at the Battle of Fisher's Hill while trying to rally Early's men there.

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Brig. Gen. Elisha Paxton, a member of Jackson's staff who was also one of the commanders of the Stonewall Brigade, killed at Chancellorsville during Jackson's flank attack there.

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Civil War Governor of Virginia John Letcher was a native of Lexington and a patron of Jackson's, especially in the first year of the war.

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Col. Scott Shipp was Commandant of Cadets at Virginia Military Institute and led the Cadet Corps at the Battle of New Market, May, 1864, where he was wounded.

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Lt. Wilson Newman, one of Jackson's men from the Stonewall Brigade who was killed in the Battle of the Opequon ( Third Winchester ), Sept. 19, 1864, defending the sacred soil and constitutional rights of his native State Virginia.

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If you have never been to Lexington it is an exceptional, quaint little town to visit.

I have a personal attachment to the house because during the time it served as a hospital in Lexington, my mom was born there in 1943. They have a birthday club for those alive that were born there.

http://www.stonewalljackson.org/birthdayclub.html
 
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Thank you so much for those photos. Just grand.

I've got some relatives buried there and hope someday to see it but rather doubt it'll happen. So you've given me a nice peek.

A few years ago they took photos of all the stones and put up a website where one can search and view the records (I helped provide some family linking info). It's pretty cool but I was disappointed that they used shaving cream on the stones. And they partnered with an historical society and a university ! Oh well.

http://library2.wlu.edu/SJCemetery/
 
Burials still take place in the newer section of the cemetery, just a couple of hundred feet from the Jackson statue.

The remains of my father-in-law, Herman Ward Taylor Jr., are interred in Stonewall Jackson Cemetery. He was no enthusiast of the Confederacy, but he was a professor of Greek and Latin and Washington & Lee University for about 3o years. He lived almost all his adult life in Lexington and really liked the town with its ambiance of the old rural south.
 
The Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery is located on South Main Street in downtown Lexington, Virginia. This cemetery is less than a mile from the campus of the Virginia Military Institute. Formerly known as the Presbyterian Cemetery, it was renamed for legendary Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, who was interred here after his death on May 10, 1863. Jackson died at Guinea Station, Virginia.

* Robert E. Lee visits Stonewall Jackson's grave.

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* Jackson's Original Grave Site.

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* Jackson's Grave Site.

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And his home that you can tour is 3 or 4 blocks down Main St on E Washington

Nice, but nothing in it belonged to him.

One thing about Lexington that disturbed me... the VMI chapel. I think of chapels as places of peace, but it looks to me like this one is set up to worship and honor war and death. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

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Being a deeply religious man, I don't think Stonewall would approve of this altar.
 
Nice, but nothing in it belonged to him.

One thing about Lexington that disturbed me... the VMI chapel. I think of chapels as places of peace, but it looks to me like this one is set up to worship and honor war and death. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

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Being a deeply religious man, I don't think Stonewall would approve of this altar.

I understand your thought process but this chapel is part of a military institution. This painting pays respect to the cadets which fought at the Battle of New Market. Walk outside of the chapel and take a left, and the graves of the KIA cadets are behind the statue. I was very impressed with my visit in 2013. I enjoyed the chapel, the museum and walking the grounds of VMI.

Bill
 
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