Jackson Statue at Lexington.
The veterans lingered long about their beloved hero. Many times had they followed him on the weary march and through the smoke of battle, and now it seemed as if he were with them again to lead them on to victory.
At last, saluting, they marched in silence away, carrying his image in their memories and the love of him in their hearts.
Perhaps it will interest my readers to have a pen and ink portrait of Mrs. Jackson at that time, as given by a leading journalist of the day. “Mrs. Jackson sat just behind the famous generals. She wore a handsome costume of black silk trimmed with crepe, black gloves, and a crepe bonnet. Her face is a most attractive one. Her black hair, still unmixed with grey, was brushed in graceful waves across her forehead. Her eyes, large and dark, sparkled and filled with tears, as veteran after veteran pressed forward to grasp her hand.”
Not long before, her daughter, Mrs. Christian, the baby Julia whom Jackson had loved so well, had died, leaving two children, Julia and Thomas. These children are the only descendants of our beloved General. At this writing, in the year of our Lord 1898, Mrs. Jackson is still living, and to her the hearts of Southern people turn in fond affection, because she was the best beloved of their mighty chief.
But not enough had been done to honor our hero. In 1896, a noble building called the “Jackson Memorial Hall” was completed at the Virginia Military Institute, and dedicated with fitting ceremony to the memory of Jackson. In these halls and beneath the shadow of this building, the cadets of the South for many long years will be trained for war. How fit the place! Near by rest Lee and Stonewall Jackson—mighty soldiers, and Christian warriors!
Jackson Memorial Hall, Virginia Military Institute.
There the sweeping winds proclaim our heroes’ fame, and nightly the glittering stars chant in heavenly chorus: “They shine, they shine with our brightness.”