THOMAS J. ("STONEWALL") JACKSON.
At this juncture, the Confederate cause received the severest blow in its history. That remarkable man, Stonewall Jackson, was confident that the destruction of the Union army was at hand, and he was impatient for the morrow that he might complete the fearful work. In the dusk of early evening he rode forward, accompanied by several of his staff, to reconnoitre the Union position. Passing beyond the outer line of skirmishers, the party halted in the gloom and peered toward the Federal lines. Dimly discerned by a South Carolina regiment, they were mistaken for the enemy, and a volley was fired at them. One of the staff was killed and two wounded. Comprehending the blunder, Jackson wheeled and galloped into the woods, but before the shelter could be reached, the South Carolinians fired a second time.
Jackson was struck twice in the left arm and once in the right hand. His frightened horse whirled about and plunged away. A limb knocked off his hat and came near unseating him, but he managed to keep in the saddle and guide his steed into the road, where one of his staff helped him to the ground and supported him to the foot of a tree where he was laid down. He was suffering so keenly that he could not walk, and was carried on a litter to the rear. For a part of the way, all were exposed to such a hot artillery fire that they had to pause several times and lie down.
HOUSE IN WHICH STONEWALL JACKSON DIED.
The wound grew so bad that the arm was amputated, but pneumonia followed, and Jackson died on Sunday, May 10th. His last words, uttered in his delirium, were: "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shadow of the trees."
BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE.
The fighting at Chancellorsville was renewed at daylight, May 3d. General Stuart succeeded to the command of Jackson's corps. The superior numbers of the Union army and its compact formation gave it all the advantage. It needed but one thing to insure overwhelming success: that was competent leadership, and that was the one thing which it did not have.