USA > Virginia > Rockbridge County > Rockbridge County > A history of Rockbridge County, Virginia > Part 28
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Shortly afterward, Johnston led his army across the Blue Ridge to re-en- force Beauregard. It was on the momentous field of Manassas that the stead- iness of Jack on's men gained for their leader the appellation of "Stonewall." llerceforward, this adjunct name clung to Him. The same month he was commissioned a brigadier-general. Early in October he was a major-general and was placed in command in the Shenandoah. Jackson was a man of few words. but in parting with the Ston wall Brigade he made a very earnest speech.
Until the following March there were no movements of much importance mn bis military department It was not until the warm months of 1862 that Jack n realy wen his spurs. In March he lay in camp near Woodstock. He advanced with bis 3000 men and fought 7000 Federals at Kernstown, a few miles southwest of Winchester. This battle was a defeat, and the only one that Jachten experienced. Yet the audacity of the attack was disconcerting to the authorities at Wa hington. It produced the very effect that Jackson desired
Greater events were soon to flow. At the opening of May, 19,000 Feder- a's under Banks had occupied Harrisonburg. Frement with 15,000 more was advancing up the South Branch of the Potomac. Milroy and Schenk were a row tle Al'erbany divide with 6,000 and were threatening Staunton. Jackson wasat the south end of Massanutten Mountain with only 6,000 men under his pred ate command. Just across the Blue Ridge was Ewell with 9,000. Edward Telimen, who Had fallen back before Milroy, had 3,000 The odds against Tack a were more than two to one with re pect to numbers.
It was now that he began to display a capacity for unexpectedly rapid march- ine that gave his soldiers the name of "foot cavalry " Banks wished to join Milroy before Staunton, but was checkmated by Jackson, who was where he
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could speed down Luray valley and fall upon the Federal communications. Jackson took his column across the Blue Ridge and to the Virginia Central at Mechum's River. He then hurried it to Staunton and picketed the roads leading toward Harrisonburg. Meanwhile, Ewell came over the mountain and occupied the abandoned camp. Jackson had shipped away from Banks and was now free to deal with Milroy. The battle of McDowell, May 8, compelled Milroy and Schenk to fall back upon Fremont's army for support, and they were pursued nearly to Franklin. The road running east from this town to Harrison- burg was so obstructed that Fremont was compelled to move much farther down the South Branch to find an open way to the Shenandoah valley. He did not reach Wardensville until the last day of the month. Jackson hurried back the way he had himself come. Banks had fallen back to Strasburg, placing, how- ever, a small detachment at Front Royal. His army had been depleted to 8,000 men in order that a strong force might be assembled at Fredericksburg and march thence to the support of Mcclellan before Richmond.
With 17,000 men Jackson swept down the Luray valley and made short work of the outpost at Front Royal. He was now as near to Winchester as was Banks, and there was a race for that point. By fighting a rear-guard action just beyond Winchester, the Federal general succeeded in taking the greater part of his army across the Potomac. Yet he lost 2,000 men as prisoners and so large quantities of supplies that he became known as "Jackson's commissary." Four days after the fight at Winchester, Jackson was at Halltown, only six miles from Harper's Ferry and within sixty miles of Washington. Jackson's aim was to relieve the pressure upon the main Confederate army at Richmond. The Feder- al administration fell into the trap set for it. McDowell was ordered to detach one-half of his 40,000 men and throw it in Jackson's rear. While this column was advancing from the east, Fremont was coming on from the west. But by superior speed Jackson escaped before the jaws of the trap could close upon him. At the south end of the Massanutten he turned upon his pursuers and defeated them separately, Fremont at Cross Keys and Shields at Port Republic. The Shenandoah was thus so nearly cleared of Federal troops that there was nothing to interfere with marching to the aid of Lee at Richmond. The Valley campaign of 1862 was a striking success, and it established Jackson's fame as a military leader.
Jackson and his corps now became a part of the Army of Northern Virginia. In October of the same year the hero of the Valley was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-general. After joining General Lee he figured prominently in the battles of the Peninsula and Fredericksburg, and with very special prominence at Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Chancellorsville. In the last named con- flict he was accidentally wounded in a volley fired by his own men. He was
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taken to a little house near Guinea Station, where he succumbed to pneumonia, May 10, 1863, at the age of thirty-ninc.
The remains of the general reached Lexington by packet-boat in the after- noon of May fourteenth, and lay in state next day in his lecture room, the casket being draped and also nearly hidden by a mass of floral offerings. The funeral was on Saturday, May 10th, and he was buried by the side of his first wife in the town cemetery. Lexington was temporarily in possession of Hunter in 1864, and the report became current that the flag at the head of Jackson's grave was cut down by Federal soldiers. According to Colonel Schoonmaker, who commanded a brigade under Hunter and visited Lexington forty years later. the circumstances were these, Three elderly men called at the colonel's head- quarters and asked permission to rem ve the flag. They said it had been left at the grave inadvertently, no disrespect being intended. The colonel said the flag might remain in place until sunset. At that hour he rode to the cemetery with his staff, twelve sokliers, a bugler, and the three citizens. Flags of the Twelfth Pennsylvania and Fifth Massachusetts were set on opposite sides of the mound and three volleys were fired over it by way of military salute. The Confederate flag was then given to the three men, who seemed visibly affected.
When the war closed there were only two dark boards at the grave, but next year the plain slab was set up that may still be seen at the original grave. In July, 1891, a monument was unveiled in the presence of 10,000 peo- ple, among whom were the general's widow and many other distinguished guests. The orator of the day was General Jubal A. Early. There was music by the Stonewall Band, and a salute of fifteen guns was fired The unveiling was by a golden haired granddaughter, four years of age. In 1912 a statue, the gift of Sir Moses Ezekich and Thomas F. Ryan, was unveiled at the Virginia Military Institute.
Stonewall Jackson was nearly six feet in height. His eyes were grey, his hair was ligh t-brown, and during his campaigns he wore a leng, full beard His voice was sooft, and in his per onal relations with people he was kind and gentle. As a military leader he had an iron will and an abounding firmness. His in- timates were few He walked the streets of Lexington with a methodical stride. lo king neither to the right nor to the left. This customary air was a dignified reserve and 'e was lacking in a sense of humor He bad no use for liquor or tobacco, saying of the former that le was more afraid of it than of Federal bullets One of his mottoes was, "Never take counsel of your fears." His de- ciliveness of character is shown in his response to an urgent request to speak in the Frans'in Society, of which he was a member The occasion was in Feb- ruary, 1861, during a political debate His reply was as follows: "Mr. Presi- dent. I have learned from Old Hickory when I make up my mind never to do a
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thing, never to do it. I made up my mind before coming here not to make a speech, and I don't intend to do it."
Jackson was ever a close student of military science. A townsman remark- ed of him that he was "as exact as the multiplication table, and as full of things military as an arsenal." His successes were gained by the insight that goes with the professional soldier, by the energy that is a part of the born leader, and by unusual nimbleness in the conduct of a march. He insisted on discipline, and the topography of the Valley of Virginia was an open book to him. His achievements caused him to be idolized by his soldiers and have given him a high place in the military science.
Stonewall Jackson was a deacon in the Presbyterian church at Lexington, and attended to his religious duties with his customary punctuality and con- scientiousness. He sought to make all the acts of his daily life conform to his conception of Christianity. In giving a tenth of his income to the support of the Church he followed literally the Biblical rule. The church building has been remodeled since his day, but the position of his pew is indicated by a tablet.
Jackson's concern in the moral betterment of the negroes led him to open a Sunday school for them in 1855. It met in the afternoon and he himself open- ed each session with prayer. His absence in the army and his death did not halt the work thus begun, and the outcome was a stalwart church organization. The morning after the first battle of Manassas although inconvenienced by a wound in his hand, he punctiliously took time to send his pastor $50 to be used for his Sunday school. Jackson's name is revered by the colored people of Lexing- ton.
The first wife of Jackson was Eleanor Junkin, daughter of a president of Washington College. The second was Mary A., a daughter of the Reverend Robert H. Morrison of North Carolina. Their daughter Julia was born in war- time, November 23, 1862, married William E. Christian, and died of typhoid fever in 1889, leaving two children, Julia J., wife of Edmund R. Preston, and Thomas J., an officer in the army of the United States. Wife and daughter were with the general when he died.
ROBERT E. LEE AS A COLLEGE PRESIDENT
THE FATHER OF GENERAL LEE-EARLY LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE-LEE AS A CONFEDERATE GENERAL-HIS PRESIDENCY OF WA HINGTON COLLEGE-CLO ING DAYS-IHIS PERSONALITY
It is necessary to begin the present chapter with some mention of the father of Robert E. Lee. Henry Lee, whose own father was a first cousin to Richard Ilenry Lee, a celebrated statesman of the Revolutionary period, was a graduate of Princeton College, and he intended to enter the legal profession. The war i r Independence breaking out before he had reached his majority, he became an officer in Washington's army. When twenty-two years of age, he was put at the head of a band that became famous as "Lee's Legion." For his exploit on the present site of Jersey City, where he took 100 prisoners with the loss of scarcely a man, he was given a gold medal. At the close of 1780, when he lad attaired the rank of lieutenant-colonel and when the American cause looked dark, he led his legion, 300 strong and composed of both cavalry and infantry. to join General Greene in the South. During the campaign of 1781 his services were invaluable. In 1701 Fe was chosen governor of his state, and a county wa famed for him. In 1794 he was commander of the army of 15,000 sent to just down the Whiskey Insurrection. Four years later, when war with France se med imminent, he was advanced to the rank of major-general. While serving in Congress, he delivered the address on Washington that contains the well- kilown phrase, "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his country- men " During the war of 1812 he was severely injured in Baltimore while d forEng an editer-friend from a mob. From this hurt there was no full re- cesdry In the hope of benefit he visited the West Indies, but growing worse. le a ked to be put ashore at Cumberland Island, Georgia, so that he might die at t'elenje of Fis late commander-in-chief. He was hospitably received by the sides of General Greene, and ended his days in her house, three weeks later. at the age of sixty two. This event took place March 25, 1818 Pursuant to an Act of the General Atembly, the remains were removed to Lexington in 1913 to ret ly the side of there of his still more distinguished sen. The Honorable Ungle A White, of Lexington, was chairman of the legislative committee that jovaly superintended the removal.
General Lee was a met a neighbor to General Washington, and enjoyed lo cabdence and otcem Aan alumnus of Princeton he was brought into clore qualitance with the founders of Liberty Hall When Washington was
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studying what to do with the canal stock donated him by the state of Virginia, Lee was instrumental in directing his attention to the struggling academy. Lee sent his fourth child, Henry Lee, Jr., to study at Lexington, and the son was one of the early graduates of Liberty Hall. He died in France in 1837 at the age of fifty. He was able and well-informed, and was the author of several books. But the father himself owned land in Rockbridge and spent some of his time here. Lee was a planter, the tidewater soil was growing poor, and the unsettled period lasting from the beginning of the Revolution to the close of the war of 1812 was not conducive to material prosperity. Like many other men of his class, Lee was in debt, but it is alleged that he did not allow such a matter to engross his thoughts. Several anecdotes along this line are told of him. One of these is to the effect that a Rockbridge creditor needed his money, became impatient, and went with a constable to the general's home in Arnold's Valley. Light-Horse Harry, by which name he was familiarly known, was at home, and the callers had a delightful social hour. They left without saying a word about the writ, and the creditor was indifferent as to whether he should get his pay or not. The general's attitude might be styled an instance of unconscious and unpremeditated diplomacy.
Robert Edward Lee was born at Stratford, his father's manor-house in Westmoreland county, the date of his birth being January 19, 1807. He was the youngest of the sons of Light-Horse Harry, and his mother was a second wife. He passed through West Point without a demerit, graduating in 1829 at the head of his class. His first service was in the Engineer Corps of the army of the United States. He entered the war with Mexico as a captain, and won such distinction under General Scott as to attain the rank of colonel at the close. In 1852-5, he was superintendent of West Point. He remained with the regular army until the spring of 1861, spending only portions of his time at Arlington, the estate near the city of Washington which was inherited by his wife, Mary Custis, a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington by her first husband. It was during a leave of absence that he was put in charge of the Federal troops sent to deal with John Brown at Harper's Ferry.
In the opening months of 1861 Lee was again at home at Arlington. He was now fifty-four years of age and in the full maturity of his powers. General Scott loved him as a son, and not only had the highest opinion of his military skill, but predicted that Lee would greatly distinguish himself if circumstances should ever place him at the head of an army. It was because of this reputation that he was offered the command of the field army that was to invade the South. Lee was very much opposed to secession. As to slavery, he said that if he were to own all the slaves in the United States he would set them free as a means of preserving the Union. The political storm that was now breaking caused him
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great distress of mind. A Union that could not be vindicated except by an ap- peal to force was repugnant to him as it was to all others nurtured in the same school of political thought. He believed that when the Lincoln administra- tion adopted a coercive policy, the Union of 1788 was virtually dissolved, and that each of the competent states was at liberty to shift for itself. Looking at the situation in this light, he conceived that his first duty was to serve his native state, which from 1775 to 1788 had enjoyed a career practically independent. He therefore resigned his commission in the army. That he was entirely conscien- tious in this step is now conceded gy all students of American history. He de- cided his problem for himself and without attempting to influence even his sons.
Going to Richmond, Lee was made a major-general of the Virginia troops The last day of August he was advanced to the rank of full general in the Confederate service. In September he was in command on the Greenbrier. His operations in this quarter were inconclusive and of short duration. The fol- lowing winter he was in charge of the engineering details of the defense of the Atlantic coast, particularly in South Carolina. This work was so well done that Charleston was not occupied by the Federals until flanked by Sherman's army in the closing months of the war. In the spring of 1862. Lee was called to Richmond to act as military advisor to the Confederate president. When General Joseph E. Johnston was wounded at Seven Pines, May 31st, Lee was appointed to succeed him. Lee was now in his element, and for almost three years he remained at the head of the army of Northern Virginia. The story of that superb organization is almost the story of the war itself. It was the spearhead and most successful factor of the Southern resistance. The great battles of the Peninsula, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Get- tysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, the siege of Petersburg. and the campaign of maneuver against Meade in 1863 were all fought under the immedate chirection of Lee. Sharpsburg was a drawn battle, and Gettysburg a reverse, but neither of these actions took place on the soil of Lee's native state Worn down by relentless attrition and cut off from its supplies, the army of Northern Virginia gave up the struggle at Appomattox. April 9, 1865. A few more wecks and the Southern Confederacy ceased to exist.
Lee's home had been appropriated by the Federal authorities. The summer of 1865 found the great Confederate chieftain living quietly on a plontation in Powhatan county. He turned down all inducements to begin a career in Europe, beleving it his duty to remain with his own people and share their fortunes. Neither would he listen to any overture which had no other primary object than the capitalizing of his name. Yet some mode of breadwinning was necessary.
At a meeting of the trustees of Washington College, held August 4, 1865, Bolivar Christian nominated General Lee as its president. It is said that when
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J. W. Brockenbrough was selected to carry the offer of the trustees to the general, he declined on the ground that neither he himself nor the college had any money for the traveling expenses, and furthermore, that his clothes were not good enough. But the necessary money was raised and a friend loaned a new suit. Lee accepted the proffered office August 24th, stipulating that his duties were to be executive only, and that he was not to be asked to give classroom instruction. The following month he came to Lexington, riding his famous battle-horse, Traveler, and was quietly inaugurated October 2nd. During the five years that covered the final chapter of his life, General Lee was president of Washington College and a resident of Lexington. His salary was $1,500 and a cottage was built for himself and family.
The fortune sof the college were at this time at a low ebb. The building had been partially looted and the grounds were in disorder. The small endow- ment was unproductive, and the fifty students who presented themselves were wholly from Lexington and the country around. The magic of Lee's name, coupled with the affection in which he was held, would alone have swelled the student body to a goodly size and lent a great measure of success to his adminis- tration.
But Robert E. Lee was not the man to treat his office as a sinecure. A col- lege presidency seems a far remove from the leadership of a great army. Yet it was in the educational field that Lee felt that he could be most useful to his people. The day of warfare was past. A period of transition had come to the South. The great present need of the time was constructive work, and nowhere was this more applicable than to the young men of student age. Lee applied himself to his new sphere with assiduous diligence. He had been a soldier by profession, but he was also a man of sound scholarship. His eye was every- where. His system of reports, instituted by himself and almost military in its exactness, caused his spirit and his influence to pervade every department. In this way he kept himself informed of the progress and standing of every stu- dent. In administering reproof he was firm, yet gentle and fatherly. Under his executive skill, the attendance rapidly increased, the school prospered, and im- provements were made in the college property. One of his earlist tasks was to build the chapel, in the basement of which was his office. This room is kept as nearly as possible in the same condition as when he last used it.
In the third year of the war General Lee had a severe attack of laryngitis, followed by a rheumatic periodical inflammation. For some time he could not exercise on foot or ride fact without being inconvenienced by a pain in the chest or by difficult breathing. There was gradual improvement, although he continued to have occasional attacks of muscular rheumatism. In the winter o 1869-70, his health began sensibly to fail, and in the spring he visited Georgia. There was
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some relief, but not for long. His final illness, which seized him as he was about to say grace at his dinner table, was a passive congestion of the brain resembling concussion, but without paralysis. After lying unconscious several days he died October 12, 1870. Interment was in the mausoleum under the college chapel. in which other members of the Lee family now lic. June 24, 1883, a recumbent statue was placed in the chapel in the rear of the platform and within view of the audience.
Robert E. Lee was six feet tall, faultless in figure, and unusually handsome in feature. His coal-black hair became very grey during the progress of the war. Until his second campaign he wore no beard except a mustache, but afterward his face was unshaven. AAn aged resident of this county speaks of his countenance as noble and benignant, and not suggestive of the warrior. Yet he had temper, as was shown in the case of the dispatch that was dropped in a street of Frederick and fell into the hands of Mcclellan. He avoided all display and ostentation. and set before young men an example of simple habits, manners, needs, words, and duties. He wrote his daughters that "gentility, as well as self-respect, re- quires moderation in dress and gayety." The most distinguishing feature of his educational career was the moral influence he exerted on the student body. Hle abstained from the use of both liquor and tobacco. At Lexington he led a retired life, and did not mingle in society. His pastime was to ride about the country. He once remarked that "Traveler is my only companion. He and 1 wander out into the mountains and enjoy sweet confidence." In these expeditions he did not go inside the farm homes, but as he was very fond of buttermilk he often called at them for a glass.
Students of military science give Lee a very high place among the great generals of the world. His personal influence over his men was most unusual. He was always daring, and if he sometimes took great risks, it was because he had taken the measure of the commander opposed to him. His usual tactics were the offensive-defensive, in which a stand technically defensive is converted at an opportune moment into an energetic offensive. He intended to write the history of his campaigns, and collected some material for this purpose. Yet he never carried out the plan, thinking he would cause pain by presenting his narrative before there had been time for much abatement in sectional feeling. His advice to his people of the South was to use silence and patience : to "avoid controversy, allay passion, and give scope to every kindly feeling."
There has long been general agreement respecting the spotless private charac- ter of Lec, the purity of his motives, his carnest Christianity, and the good faith with which h accepted the downfall of the Confederate cause Some words he wrote on hearing of the assassination of Lincoln are touching in their mag- nanimity and in their accurate appreciation of the kindly qualities of the president.
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They also convey his abhorrence of the crime. His tolerant spirit is further shown in his opinion that the Democrats should have nominated Chase in 1868, although Chase had been a member of Lincoln's cabinet.
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