Gen. Joseph Hooker, in command of the Army of the Potomac lying opposite Fredericksburg, Md., crossed the Rappahannock River early in May, 1863, and fought the severe battle of Chancellorsville, in which was killed the famous Southern general, Thomas J. Jackson, commonly known as Stonewall Jackson. He received this name at the first battle of Bull Run. Defeat seemed imminent, and one of the Confederate generals exclaimed: “Here stands Jackson like a stone wall, and here let us conquer or die!” Gen. Jackson’s last words were: “Let us cross over the river, and lie down under the trees.”
The lightning flashed across the heaven, the distant thunder rolled,
And, swayed by gusts of angry winds, the far-off church bell tolled,
The billows crashed against the rocks that kiss the ocean’s foam,
And eager pilots trimmed their sails and turned their skiffs for home.
As darkness fell upon the earth, and we were gathered round
Our blazing hearth, and listening to the storm’s terrific sound,
We all looked up to Uncle Tom, who sat beside the fire,
A-dreaming of the bygone days, and of disaster dire.