On May 10, 1863, the Confederacy was dealt a staggering blow when Lieutenant General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson died of pneumonia.
But the most shocking part wasn’t his death from disease.
It was that the legendary commander had been mortally wounded by his own troops just eight days earlier in what would become one of the most consequential friendly fire incidents in American military history.
“Those Certainly Must Be Our Troops”
The sun had set on May 2, 1863, when disaster struck. Jackson had just orchestrated a masterful surprise attack at Chancellorsville, Virginia, crushing the unsuspecting right flank of the Union Army and sending Federal troops into panicked retreat.
As darkness fell over the battlefield, Jackson – eager to press his advantage – rode forward with several staff officers to scout enemy positions. In the confusion of night, soldiers from the 18th North Carolina Infantry Regiment mistook Jackson’s party for Union cavalry and opened fire.
Captain Richard Eggleston Wilbourn, Jackson’s signal officer who was riding with the general that night, preserved the tragic events in a detailed letter now held by the Virginia Historical Society.
“Gen. J. attacked the enemy in the rear near the Wilderness Church on the evening of the 2nd of May and drove the enemy before him till about 9 o’clock p.m. when the firing ceased,” Wilbourn wrote. “Gen. J. was in unusually fine spirits and every time he heard the cheering of our men which is ever the signal of victory—he raised his right hand a few seconds as if in acknowledgement of the blessing and to return thanks to God for the victory.”
According to Wilbourn’s account, Jackson and his escort were “fifty or sixty yards” in advance of Confederate General A.P. Hill when Lane’s Brigade “commenced firing at us from the right for some cause I suppose taking us for the enemy.”
“At the first fire some of the horses were shot from under their riders and several persons killed or wounded,” Wilbourn recalled. As horses bolted in panic, Jackson’s mount “dashed off in the opposite direction.”
When they came within yards of Confederate troops on the left of the road, they “received their fire” from just thirty yards away. It was this second volley that struck Jackson three times – in his left arm between the elbow and shoulder, in his left wrist, and in the palm of his right hand.
“I Fear My Arm Is Broken”
When asked if he was badly hurt, Jackson calmly replied, “I fear my arm is broken.” His stoic demeanor masked the severity of his wounds.
“I immediately dismounted,” Wilbourn wrote, “remarking, ‘try to work your fingers, if you can move your fingers at all the arm is not broken,’ when he tried & commented, ‘yes it is broken, I can’t work my fingers.'”
Jackson soon grew weak from blood loss and told Wilbourn to take him down from his horse. As Wilbourn tried to help him dismount, Jackson “fell into my arms prostrated.”
The captain and another officer carried the wounded general off the road to hide him from view, concerned about the impact his wounding would have on Confederate morale. They laid him under a small tree with his head resting on Wilbourn’s leg.
“Capt. I wish you would get me a skillful surgeon,” Jackson requested.
The Final Fall
The horror wasn’t over. While being carried on a stretcher through intense artillery fire, one of the litter bearers was hit, and another tripped on a vine. Jackson was thrown to the ground, landing on his broken arm.
“He gave several most pitiful groans—but previous to this he made no complaint and gave no evidence of suffering much,” Wilbourn wrote.
The general was finally placed in an ambulance and taken to a field hospital where surgeons amputated his left arm. When General Robert E. Lee was informed of Jackson’s wounding, he responded with words that would prove prophetic: “Any victory is dearly bought that deprives us of the services of Jackson even temporarily.”
Initially, Jackson seemed to recover well after the amputation. But pneumonia set in days later, and on May 10, he uttered his famous last words: “Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.”
The Irreplaceable Commander
The Confederacy had lost its most brilliant tactical mind. Jackson’s innovative flanking maneuvers, lightning-fast marches, and bold attacks had repeatedly confounded Union forces despite being outnumbered.
Jackson had earned his famous nickname at the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861, when Confederate General Barnard Bee, attempting to rally his troops during the battle, pointed to Jackson’s brigade holding firm against Union attacks and shouted, “There stands Jackson like a stone wall!”
Robert E. Lee, who had brilliantly divided his forces at Chancellorsville despite being outnumbered two-to-one, never found another subordinate who matched Jackson’s aggressive instinct and tactical brilliance. Just two months after Jackson’s death, Lee’s invasion of the North ended in defeat at Gettysburg – a battle many historians believe might have ended differently had Jackson lived.
Confederate General John B. Gordon later wrote: “Like a meteor, he flashed across the military firmament, startling and attracting the gaze of all. . . and then suddenly went out in darkness.”
The Man Behind the Legend
Born in 1824 to humble beginnings in what is now West Virginia, Jackson was orphaned at age seven. Despite a limited education, he secured an appointment to West Point when another candidate declined. Through sheer determination, he graduated 17th in a class of 59.
As fierce as he was in battle, Jackson was deeply religious. He regularly held prayer meetings and refused to fight on Sundays unless attacked. His eccentricities were legendary – he sat bolt upright believing it helped his digestion, constantly sucked lemons, and took cold baths for his health.
The accidental shooting of Jackson by his own men demonstrates the chaos and confusion of Civil War battlefields, where communication was limited and soldiers often made split-second decisions with tragic consequences.
When Captain Wilbourn first informed Robert E. Lee of Jackson’s wounding, the commanding general replied, “Thank God it is no worse, God be praised that he is yet alive.”
Lee would never find another commander who could execute his battle plans with the same aggression, speed, and effectiveness as Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. His death at age 39 marked a turning point in the Civil War – one from which the Confederacy would never recover.
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