Life and Letters of "Stonewall" Jackson
Mary Anna Jackson

Thomas Jonathan Jackson has become one of my great heroes. As I have expressed in the words of a song, he was a man who loved his country, his family, his duty, and his God.

His wife, Mary Anna Jackson, prepared this magnificent biography nearly thirty years after his death. It includes her own skillful prose describing his life and career, along with selections from letters that Jackson wrote to her and to others. The book also features quotations and passages from others who knew him.

Jackson was born in 1824. His father and mother both died within a few years, and relatives cared for Thomas and his two siblings. He studied diligently at West Point and served with distinction in the Mexican War. In the 1851 he became a professor at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. His first wife, Ellie, died in childbirth, and he was married to Anna a few years later. She bore him one daughter.

The War Between the States brought Jackon's name to international prominence. He established himself as one of the South's greatest commanders before his death in 1863. However, Jackson's exploits on the field of battle pale beside his faithful devotion to duty as the Lord's servant. He set high standards of speech and conduct for himself, and he sought to promote the work of church before and during the war. In the late 1850s, he led a Sunday school program for slaves in Lexington. It continued for thirty years, lasting long after his death. He was known as a man of prayer, and he set an example for others with his considerate, generous behavior.

Having seen battle in Mexico, Jackson deprecated war and considered it "the sum of all evils", but he offered his services to the Confederacy and fought for her constitutional rights, seeking to establish the South as an independent nation. Thomas Jackson won numerous battles against his Northern opponents, but the Lord did not ultimately favor the Southern cause with victory. As his wife said regarding the prayers of Southern believers, "That so many united and fervent prayers should have been offered in vain is one of those mysteries which can never be fathomed by finite minds. The mighty Ruler of the nations saw fit to give victory to the strong arm of power, and He makes no mistakes" (page 147).

Every age has men and women who stand out among others. Some are infamous because of their wicked deeds. Heroes establish themselves by their noble deeds, setting a good example from which others can learn. I am glad to know of Thomas Jackson and the example he set.

(Originally published by Harper & Brothers, 1892. This edition republished by Sprinkle Publications, 1995.)