The Antietam Commanders: Part 1 Robert E. Lee

Note: As we approach the 148th anniversary of the decisive battle of the Civil War, I thought I would share two biographies that I have developed and used in a program I call Antietam Leadership Lessons. It is a presentation that I have now made on a number of occasions to senior federal government managers. It is part of a leadership development program that looks at the words and deeds of senior Antietam commanders and how they relate to leadership competencies that are part of today's Federal government Senior Executive Service (SES). Today is General Lee's story. The narrative ends as the sun rises on the morning of September 17, 1862.

Robert Edward Lee commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Antietam. Lee was born on January 19, 1807 at Stratford Hall Plantation in Virginia. A son of one of Virginia’s oldest families, Lee’s father, Light Horse Harry Lee led Washington’s cavalry in the Revolutionary War. Later on, the elder Lee served as governor of Virginia. A series of bad business ventures landed Lee’s father in debtor’s prison for a time. Seeking to restore his poor health, Lee journeyed to the West Indies, when young Robert was six and the boy never saw him again. Henry died in 1818 on his way home. His father’s circumstances had a profound effect on Lee. Though proud of his father’s wartime and political accomplishments, Lee was determined to conduct himself honorably and responsibly. Raised by his mother in somewhat modest circumstances, the prospect of a free college education and Lee’s family connections secured for the young man an appointment to the Military Academy at West Point in 1825. One of the senior classmen when Lee entered the academy was one Jefferson Davis from Mississippi. Lee graduated in 1829 ranked number two in his class. Selecting the elite Corp of Engineers as his branch, Lee served with distinction in various fortification and levee building projects around the nation in the 1830 and early 1840s. In 1831, he married Mary Custis, a great granddaughter of Martha Washington by her first husband. Together they raised seven children and enjoyed a happy stable home life. Over the years Mary suffered increasingly from arthritis which ultimately invalided her. In 1847, Winfield Scott, commander in chief of the US Army selected Captain Lee as one of the senior engineers for his expeditionary force in Mexico. Lee distinguished himself in several brilliant and daring reconnaissance’s deep behind enemy lines. Wounded at the battle of Chapultepec, Lee received three brevets for gallantry ending the war as a brevet colonel. His wartime success won for him the undying respect and admiration of his commander and mentor General Scott. Among the other engineers on Scott’s staff that Lee came to know was young 20 year old George McClellan, fresh out of West Point. After the war Lee resumed duties as an engineer. In 1852 he was selected to be the Superintendent of West Point. Lee improved the curriculum and facilities and spent a lot of time with the cadets. Among them were his eldest son Custis, and a young Virginian by the name of James Ewell Brown (JEB) Stuart. In 1855, Lee transferred to the cavalry and was assigned as the lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Texas. His commanding officer was another future Confederate general Albert Sydney Johnston. This was a trying time for Lee. His duty alternated between serving on court martials and pursuing the elusive Apache Indians in western Texas. The long months far away from his family were particularly difficult. In 1859 while home on leave, Lee was placed in command of the military force sent to capture John Brown at Harpers Ferry. In 1861 after 32 years in the Army, Lee was promoted to Colonel and given command of the 1st Cavalry Regiment. As the secession crisis deepened and Fort Sumter was fired upon, Lee on April 18, 1861, was offered a senior command in the Union Army by his old mentor Winfield Scott. He declined the offer, swearing to only raise his sword in the defense of his home state of Virginia. On April 19th, Virginia seceded from the Union, and Lee with a heavy heart resigned from the US Army the next day. He was offered and accepted command of the Virginia state forces on April 23, 1861. When the Confederate capital moved to Richmond, Lee was promoted to the rank of full General in the Confederate Army on June 14, 1861. For the next nine months, Lee served in two unfulfilling and thankless assignments. He first commanded troops in Western Virginia who were defeated by George McClellan in July of 1861. Later he was responsible for the fortification of the southeastern coast. Lee’s apparent relegation to these two assignments left some with the impression that Lee was a man who had not lived up to his potential. However Jefferson Davis was not among those who shared these sentiments. Summoned back to Richmond from Charleston in March of 1862, Lee became the President’s principal military advisor. He orchestrated Stonewall Jackson’s successful Valley Campaign in March of 1862 which threatened the Northern capital and denied reinforcements to General McClellan’s army at a critical time as it slowly advanced down the Peninsula toward Richmond. Then on May 31, Joseph Johnston commanding the Army in front of Richmond was seriously wounded in the Battle of Seven Pines. Davis, who was on the field of battle with Lee immediately placed his trusted lieutenant in what many viewed as temporary command of the Johnston’s army. For the next three weeks, Lee ordered the army to dig in as he reorganized and planned. He earned the nickname of “Granny Lee” and the “King of Spades” for his seeming unwillingness to fight and propensity for digging in. Porter Alexander, a Confederate staff officer with the Army asked an aide to President Jefferson Davis if he thought Lee had audacity enough to lead a field army. “Lee is audacity personified,” the man replied. “His name is audacity, and you need not be afraid of not seeing all of it that you will want to see.” That prophecy came true less than three weeks later when Lee launched a series of bloody attacks against McClellan’s forces. Lee was never quite able to trap and destroy the Union Army largely because of the inexperience of his own commanders, and tenacity of the Union soldiers. Nevertheless he drove the Federals back 30 miles. With the threat to Richmond reduced, Lee divided his army. He remained with Longstreet to observe McClellan and sent Stonewall Virginia back into the Shenandoah Valley to confront another advancing Union Army under John Pope. When Lincoln ordered the return of McClellan’s Army to the Washington area, Lee and Longstreet rejoined Jackson northwest of Fredericksburg and in a three week campaign smashed Pope’s Army at the Second Battle of Manassas on August 30-31. In less than 10 weeks, Lee had virtually cleared the state of Virginia of northern troops. Lee now had the initiative and had to decide what his next step would be. Lee advised President Davis of the desirability of moving into Maryland. Having worked closely with President Davis in previous assignments and knowing his demand for constant, up to date and detailed information, Lee maintained a regular correspondence with the President throughout his command. Davis, himself a West Point graduate and former Secretary of War in the Pierce administration considered himself a military expert and would have much preferred a general officers commission in the Confederate Army to the Presidency. A distant and often extremely difficult man to work with, Davis never established the same amiable working relationship with any of his other army commanders, as he had with Lee. Davis therefore readily concurred with Lee’s proposal. Though much reduced by battle, fatigue and straggling, Lee’s army now aptly named the Army of Northern Virginia, crossed the Potomac River into Maryland on September 4, 1862. Lee’s plan was to draw the defeated Union Army out of its Washington fortifications and deep into Maryland or Pennsylvania. There, he expected to inflict a final devastating defeat on ground of his choosing and end the war. On September 9th his army was resting at Frederick. Lee developed Special Order 191, his plan for the capture of Harpers Ferry and the resumption of his offensive. He again divided his army and sent Stonewall Jackson to clear Harpers Ferry. Lee moved with Longstreet, to Hagerstown Maryland, and left a thin line of infantry and cavalry to guard his rear along the South Mountain passes. Lee was confidant that the Union Army would not appear until long after Jackson had captured Harper’s Ferry and rejoined him near the Pennsylvania border. But his plans went awry. It took Jackson longer than planned to encircle Harpers Ferry. Meanwhile, McClellan advanced faster than Lee anticipated. Moving into Frederick, he discovered a copy of Lee’s Special Order 191 left in a farm field near one of the Confederate camps. McClellan now realized that he was perfectly positioned between the widely separated wings of Lee’s Army to defeat each one in detail. McClellan’s push through the passes on September 14th forced Lee to reconsider his campaign. With Harpers Ferry still besieged and McClellan between the two wings of the Army, Lee briefly considered withdrawing into Virginia. However, Jackson’s message late on the 14th predicting the eminent surrender of Harpers Ferry the next day convinced Lee to stand his ground in Maryland. He withdrew Longstreet’s battered forces to the west bank of Antietam Creek and boldly awaited McClellan’s approach. When the sun came up on the morning of September 17, 1862, Lee’s army of less than 40,000 men faced the Union Army of the Potomac with nearly 87,000 men. Somewhere out there among those 40,000 men was Lee’s 18 year old son, Robert E Lee Jr, a private in an artillery battery sure to be in the most severe of the fighting. The bloodiest battle in American history was about to begin.

A Great Addition to your Civil War Library

Every month, we see one or two new books out on the Civil War. Certainly if I had unlimited resources, I would be doing a lot more buying than I do now. So it is important to be discriminating in my purchases. Our Boys Did Nobly, John Hoptak's latest book is an important addition to the scholarship on the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history, and very likely the turning point in the American Civil War. As a native of Schuylkill County Pennsylvania where the three regiments originated and a National Park Service ranger at Antietam National Battlefield, Mr. Hoptak brings an intimate knowledge of the terrain, soldiers, and tactics of these battles to his book. This work is not just narrowly focused on the actions of these three Pennsylvania regiments. It is also an excellent overall account of the Maryland Campaign itself. It covers the origination of the three regiments in the first year of the war and then focuses on their roles in this campaign from the opening moves of Confederate General Robert Lee in the invasion of Maryland, to Union General George McClellan’s countermoves, to the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam.

Mr. Hoptak is an excellent storyteller and his style is clear and easy to follow. Important for me, he punctuates his story with the actual times that events occur so one gets a good sense of the chronology. The work contains many never before seen first hand quotations and photographs of the participants, has an excellent and beautifully rendered set of maps by Antietam Ranger Mannie Gentile, and is extremely well footnoted. Often overlooked in the Maryland Campaign is the Battle of Crampton’s Gap (seen in the photo). It receives a very thorough telling here.

If you think this is just the story of three Pennsylvania regiments, look again. Whether new to the Civil War or a seasoned enthusiast, you will learn much about the Maryland Campaign that only an author of Mr. Hoptak’s knowledge and writing skill can offer. I highly recommend this book. Get it at the Antietam Book Store, or here.

Soldier Found At Antietam to Be Buried in Saratoga New York

Here is an article that appeared on September 4, 2009 in the Albany Times Union by staff writer Dennis Yusko detailing the burial of the New York soldier found in the Cornfield last October. According to the article, the New York Army National Guard, National Park Service and U.S. Veterans Administration plan to bury the soldier's remains on September 17, 2009 the 147th anniversary of the battle. Don Roy, director of the New York Military Force Honor Guard, will retrieve the remains from Antietam on September. 15. They will stay overnight at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. On September 16, the coffin will be taken to the State Military Museum in Saratoga Spring New York where the Saratoga cemetery's Honor Guard and 125th NYVI will guard it. The coffin will remain on public display through the evening. The next day, a procession will bring the soldier's remains to the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery for interment with full military honors set for 10 a.m. September 17. The soldier will become the first unknown soldier buried in that cemetery.

Seventeen Miles

I got to know Craig Stevens, a strong supporter of Civil War preservation when he and I recently made a tour of the South Mountain battlefields. A couple of weeks ago, he asked me to retrace with him the path that A. P. Hill followed when he marched his Light Division from Harpers Ferry, to the sound of the guns at Sharpsburg on September 17, 1862.

To prepare for my trip with Craig, I drove the route the day before our tour. I obtained a National Park Service (NPS) map from Antietam National Battlefield that shows A. P. Hill’s route from Harpers Ferry to Sharpsburg. If you wish to get this map when you visit the battlefield, be sure to ask specifically for the one showing A.P. Hills route. There is another map for travelers who desire the most direct path to and from Harpers Ferry. I took a third route from Sharpsburg to Harpers Ferry that followed the scenic Harpers Ferry Road along the Maryland side of the Potomac River.

Arriving in the town, I set my trip odometer to zero at John Browns’ Fort at the end of Shenandoah Street. For the first two miles, the route is a narrow gravel road called Potomac Street. The Potomac River is visible on the right along stretches of the road. Several culverts that cross the road made me fear at times for the undercarriage of my low-slung Honda Civic. I followed Potomac Street, until it joins Bakerton Road two miles outside of Harpers Ferry. If you are like most sane people, you will be unwilling to subject your car to the insults of this tortuous path. Instead, you can join the march route at Bakerton Road and only miss the first two miles. To do this, leave Harpers Ferry, and pick up US 340 south. Within a mile, turn right at Bakerton Road. For another mile or so, you will see the School House Road portion of the Bolivar Heights battlefield. Remember that this is not part of A.P. Hill’s route. When you pass under a railroad overpass that intersects Potomac Street, you are back on the way. The Potomac River will not be visible on Bakerton Road for about 2.8 miles. When you eventually see it again briefly off to your right, the road is elevated somewhat above the river. Bakerton Road then again turns inland and ends at Moler's Cross Road. The Bethesda Methodist Church known as the White Church on the NPS map is located here. This crossroad is 6.8 miles from the starting point in Harpers Ferry. There is a wayside here that describes A.P. Hill’s seventeen-mile march.

Herein lays the first interesting discrepancy I discovered on our trip. The wayside has the historic campaign map included in the Official Records (OR) Atlas Plate 29-1. It is the map titled “Map of Harpers Ferry and Sharpsburg” by Lieutenant S. Howell Brown. The wayside map depicts a different route than the one I have on the NPS map. The NPS map indicates a right hand turn at Moler’s Crossroad and a quick left about 1/10th of a mile down the road at a Christmas tree farm on to Knott Road. This road eventually returns to the river at River Road, about one mile east of the ford. The wayside map indicates a turn to the left on to Engle Moler’s Road, and a right about 1.7 miles down at Trough Road. Trough Road ends at Boteler’s Ford. I followed the NPS map route that day. It is 3.3 miles to the ford. On another day, I followed the Trough Road route to the ford. It is only 2.3 miles to the ford using Trough Road. For purposes of calculating the mileage for my trip and for this article, I am using the River Road (longer) route. However, if any of you know the definitive route that A.P. Hill took, I would like to hear from you.

So following the NPS map, I left Moler’s Crossroad and took twisting Knott Road to River Road. Unlike Bakerton Road, the River Road is much closer and just slightly higher in relation to the river. Most of the riverfront seems to be privately owned here but I managed to take a couple photographs from the road. At the intersection of River Road and Trough Road are the historical markers for the ford variously known as Pack Horse, Blackford’s, or Boteler’s Ford.

Fords as I understand the definition are places where a river is wider and shallower. For wagons, artillery, horses, and men to cross, the river bottom at a ford must be relatively smooth and free of large rocks and debris, and the banks on each side must be gentle enough to allow easy access to the river.

There is really no place to park nearby but I managed to squeeze on to the right shoulder. To my right was the river and ford. To the left were the impressive heights where the Battle of Shepherdstown was fought. The only indication that I was actually at the ford was a white “No Dumping” sign. It was a dark, drizzly day here on the river. I parked the car and followed a path down to the ford. Here at last was Boteler’s ford. At the banks of the river, two fishermen curiously watched my approach. I observed rafters standing in water only ankle deep. To the left (north) along the river, I spied remains of the milldam that was also used as a crossing by A.P. Hill. In the distance I could also see the railroad bridge that crosses the river and the Rumsey memorial column just outside of Shepherdstown. Here at this secluded spot was the location where A.P. Hill crossed on the 17th of September and where two days later, Robert E. Lee re-crossed, his dreams of a final victory lost in the blood of Antietam. This was my first time here and there was a powerful moment as I imagined all the history that passed over this quiet place.

I was starting to wonder about the distance. My trip meter indicated that I had travelled just 11.1 miles from downtown Harpers Ferry to the ford. It didn’t feel like this march would end up being seventeen miles. There would have to be another six miles to go from the other side of the ford to Harpers Ferry Road. Freezing the trip meter at 11.1 miles, I returned to my car and drove west on River Road to Shepherdstown, where the road becomes German Street. I crossed the river into Maryland and after the bridge made an immediate right on to Canal Road. Passing the boat launch at Lock 38, I parked in the large parking lot on the left further down the road. I walked down the towpath to the Boteler’s Ford wayside. Looking across the river, I spied my two fisherman friends on the other side. Like the West Virginia side, this is a place where much history has passed. It is a quiet almost idyllic spot. The rain was falling gently but it was warm enough for the rafters and a few waders to enjoy the river. Again I thought of A.P. Hills crossing around 2PM on the 17th and galloping ahead to Sharpsburg to seek out Lee. One night later, it would be the scene of Lee’s retreat back into Virginia and the end of his high hopes for a successful campaign. In another day this place would witness the Battle of Shepherdstown. I paused for another moment to reflect and then headed back down the path to the parking lot, as the rain grew heavier. I drove about 0.9 miles back down Canal Road to where the wayside on the towpath is located. Restarting the odometer, it was just 0.7 miles to the turn off from Canal Road to Millers Sawmill Road and only another 1.5 miles to the intersection of Millers Saw Mill Road and Harpers Ferry Road. According to my calculations, then it was just 11.1 miles from Harpers Ferry to the ford. After crossing the river it is an additional 2.2 miles to Harpers Ferry Road, the point where the brigades of Gregg, Branch and Archer launched their decisive assault. This is a total of only 13.3 miles.

Until now, I had not given the distance issue much thought. It is commonly held that this was a trek of seventeen miles, no doubt based on the figure that A.P. Hill himself used in his official report. Hill states that “The head of my column arrived upon the battlefield of Sharpsburg, a distance of 17 miles, at 2:30 o’clock, and reporting in person to General Lee, he directed me to take position on our right (OR, vol 19, 1:981). The reports of his brigade commanders in the OR make no other reference to a specific distance. But seventeen miles is how history largely seems to remember it. Ezra Carmen in The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, James Murfin in Gleam of Bayonets, Steven Sears in Landscape Turned Red, and A.P. Hill biographer James Robertson all repeat this assertion. Only Dr. Joseph Harsh in his classic study Taken at the Flood calls this distance into question, as “the Confederates own map make the route appear five or so miles shorter” (TATF: 418). Interestingly, the “Confederates own map” referred to by Harsh is the one used at the Moler’s Crossing wayside.

I was hard pressed to figure where seventeen miles came from. Could it be that Hill used the distance of the route that he took when he rode ahead to find Lee as the basis for his report? I came back to the ford to measure that route. I traced the route west on Canal Road from the ford to the Shepherdstown Pike and then east along that road to Cemetery Hill just east of Sharpsburg. Lee spent a lot of time that day on Cemetery Hill because it offered such a good vantage point, but with the Federal advances in the afternoon that exposed Cemetery Hill to increasing Federal artillery fire, Lee moved to a position south of the Shepherdstown Pike across from his headquarters. If Hill found Lee at Cemetery Hill, and if he followed the roads, and did not try to travel cross-country, then that is barely 16 miles from Harpers Ferry. But if Lee had moved back to his other position by the time Hill arrived, then we are back to an even shorter distance.

I have provided the attached map in an attempt to clear up the different mileage calculations I made for this study. Hill and the Light Division’s route from Harpers Ferry to the Boteler’s Ford using the NPS map, is marked in yellow. The route of Hill’s division after it crossed the ford to its attack positions at the Miller’s Sawmill Road-Harpers Ferry Road intersection is marked in red. Finally the route that A.P. Hill might have taken when he set out ahead of the division to find Lee is marked in green.

Is the actual distance that Hill and the Light Division marched be it 17 or 15 or 13 miles that day really that important? A seventeen-mile march in eight hours is a much harder prospect than a 13-mile march. If Hill’s troops started marching at 7:30 with the first troops making the 11.1 miles to Boteler’s Ford by 2:00 PM, that is a marching rate of 1.7 miles per hour. (11.1 miles divided by 6.5 hours) These troops crossed the ford and arrived in the vicinity of the battlefield around 3:40 PM. The distance of 2.3 miles (if you count the river) was made in an hour and forty minutes, a rate of about 1.4 miles per hour. (2.3 miles divided by 1.6 hours) The slower rate of march probably comes from a slower pace crossing the river, and the time needed by Hill’s commanders to put the troops into battle line. I am hardly an expert in march rates but this does not appear to be a fast speed for troops newly fed from the captured spoils of Harpers Ferry. The march rates may be academic here for this discussion. What is paramount is the arrival time and location. Had Hill’s division arrived sooner, it is possible that Lee would have sent him to the left or center of his line; and then there would have been nothing to stop Burnside’s Ninth Corps on the Confederate right. If the division had marched up the Shepherdstown Pike instead of Miller’s Sawmill Road, a distance a little closer to 17 miles, Hill would not have been in the perfect position that he was in to launch his devastating flank attack.

Craig and I discussed this the next day as we drove the route. Nothing will ever detract from the impact of Hill’s arrival on the battlefield at the decisive place and time. It was certainly his finest hour. Hill’s action at Sharpsburg cemented his reputation. Lee would later say that Hill was “the best soldier of his grade with me”. Even Jackson, a man whom Hill had a difficult relationship with going back to their days at West Point, was deeply impressed with Hill’s ability as a fighter. These impressions of Hill would remain with Lee and Jackson to literally the end of their days.

People often say that in life, it is not the destination that is important, but the journey to get there. However in this case, I would submit that Hill’s journey that day, whether seventeen miles or not, is not the issue. What counts is the fact that the destination landed him square on the dangling left flank of the Union Army. A Union Army that was within minutes of breaking Lee’s line and cutting off his own escape path back to Virginia was itself knocked back nearly to the bridge it had captured four hours earlier. Hills march and powerful assault changed the battle at the tactical level from a decisive victory for the Union with the potential for complete destruction of Lee’s Army to a draw.

Our Boys Did Nobly by John Hoptak

Today, I picked up my copy of John Hoptak's new book Our Boys Did Nobly - Schuylkill County Pennsylvania, Soldiers at the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam. John, a ranger at Antietam National Battlefield, is a tremendously gifted writer and the author of several other Civil War histories. As a volunteer at the park, I have gotten to know him well over the past two years. The book is turning out to be a great read and while the focus is on three Pennsylvania regiments with roots in John's hometown of Schuylkill County, it does a great job as well in narrating the overall story of the Maryland Campaign and these two pivotal battles. John's command of the subject matter is impressive and he tells the story in in a compelling but readable style. I will have more to say about it soon but get your copy today. It is at the Antietam Bookstore and available here at Amazon.com.

2009 Antietam National Battlefield Anniversary Schedule of Events and Hikes

Appearing at the top left column of this blog are links to the National Park Service's recently released schedule of events and hikes for Battle Anniversary Week running from Friday, September 11 through Thursday, September 17. This posting will reside there until the conclusion of the week of events. For your convenience, the event link is also available here and the hike link is here. I hope to see many of you there sometime during the anniversary week programs.

On Jackson…Quotes By and About the Man

I recently finished reading James I. Robertson’s classic Stonewall Jackson The Man, The Soldier, The Legend. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co, 1997). To my mind, this mammoth work is the best biography of Jackson out there. Over 160 of the quotes in my database come from this book alone. Below are some of my favorite Jackson quotes, a small sample of the over 100 Jackson quotes now in my database. Some are by Jackson himself, but all others are from contemporaries who either knew him or observed him in action. It is by no means a comprehensive or all encompassing list below but quotes that nevertheless resonate with me.

The First Battle of Bull Run where Jackson first came to national prominence:

"Look men, there is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer! Follow me!" Barnard Bee’s immortal words to his men at the First Battle of Bull Run that earn Jackson the immortal nickname Stonewall; July 22, 1861

Jackson’s profound genuine faith and trust in God and his introverted nature are essential components of the man:

"To attempt to portray the life of Jackson while leaving out the religious element, would be like undertaking to describe Switzerland without making mention of the Alps." Moses D. Hoge, a noted Presbyterian scholar and Jackson friend made this observation

"The General is a great man for praying at all times. But when I see him get up a great many times in the night to pray, then I know there is going to be something to pay, and I go straight and pack his haversack. Because I know he will call for it in the morning." Jackson's servant Jim Lewis commenting about Jackson penchant for praying before a major action; August 8, 1862

"Through God's blessings the advance [on Harpers Ferry] which commenced this evening, has been successful thus far, and I look to Him for complete success to-morrow." Thomas J. Jackson’s message to Robert E. Lee the night of September 14, 1862

"He divides his time between military duties, prayer, sleep and solitary thought. He holds converse with few." Charles Blackford describing Jackson at the start of the Second Manassas campaign; July 1862

"Jackson is a very plain and simple man having little conversational power, and only two elements of greatness-implicit self-reliance giving great imperturbility of temper and feeling and never-yielding Faith. I like him very much." Thomas R. Cobb after his first meeting with Jackson upon Cobb’s arrival at Fredericksburg; December 1862.

Jackson often triggered extreme reactions, both positive and negative from those he worked with:

"I tell you sir, he is as crazy as a March hare! He has gone away I don’t know where, and left me here with some instructions to stay until he returns…” Richard Ewell in a conversation with Colonel James Walker of the 13th Virginia; May 12, 1862

"Do you remember my conversion with you at Conrad’s Store when I called this old man an old woman? Well, I take it all back! I will never prejudge another man. Old Jackson's no fool. He has a method in his madness." Richard Ewell talking to Thomas Munford after the Port Republic battle; June 8, 1862

"I suppose I am to vegetate here all winter under that crazy old Presbyterian fool…” A. P. Hill to J.E.B. Stuart; November 14, 1862

"The Stonewall Brigade reserved to itself the exclusive right to cuss 'Old Jack.” John Newton Lyle after fist fights between men of the Stonewall Brigade and William Loring’s command; January 23, 1862

"It is a great pity sir, that General Jackson has not bitten some of his subordinates on furlough and affected them with the same sort of craziness that he has himself." Alexander Boteler, long time Jackson friend and supporter responding to one of Loring’s officers who states that Jackson is insane; January 1862

"I must admit that it is much pleasanter to read about Stonewall & his exploits than to serve under him & perform those exploits." Andrew Wardlaw of the 14th South Carolina in a letter to his wife; October 5, 1862

"He wore a faded uniform coat, pants and cape, somewhat round shouldered and looks on the ground when he walks as if he had lost something;” William Ellis Jones first sees Jackson at the Battle of Cedar Mountain; August 11, 1862

"He complained that one arm and one leg were heavier than the other, [Jackson] would occasionally raise his arm straight up, as he said, to let the blood run back into is body, and so to relieve the excessive weight." Dabney Maury

Some of Jackson’s own views on battle and other subjects:

"Reserve your fire until they come within fifty yards! Then fire and give them the bayonet! And when you charge, yell like furies.” Thomas J. Jackson battle command to his brigade at the First Battle of Bull Run July 22, 1861

"I am obliged to sweat them tonight, that I may save their blood tomorrow” Thomas J. Jackson talking to Colonel Samuel Fulkerson before the Battle of Winchester; May 24, 1862

"Wait until they come a little nearer, and they shall either scare me or I shall scare them!" Thomas J. Jackson response when James Longstreet jokingly asked Jackson whether he was scared of the Yankees massing in front of the Confederate positions at Fredericksburg; December 1862

"There are but few commanders who properly appreciate the value of celerity." Thomas J. Jackson in a “conversation” with Maxcy Gregg from A.P. Hill’s division just before Jackson places Hill under arrest; September 4, 1862

"Do you know why I habitually abstain from intoxicating liquors? Why sir because I like the taste of them. When I discovered this to be the case, I made up my mind at once to do without them altogether." Thomas J. Jackson in a conversation with Alexander Boteler on May 31, 1862

Jackson’s last days:

"We didn’t know what he was worth, Mac, till we lost him." Sandy Pendleton to Hunter McGuire upon the wounding of Jackson; May 3, 1862

"Give General Jackson my affectionate regards, and say to him: he has lost his left arm but I have lost my right arm. Tell him to get well and come back to me as soon as he can." Robert E. Lee to Jackson's chaplain Beverly Tucker Lacy after Lacy gave Lee an update on the deteriorating condition of Jackson; May 7, 1863

"Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." Thomas Jackson’s last words; May 11, 1862

And finally, West Point classmate and fellow artilleryman John Tidball, made the following perceptive observations about Jackson:

"His chief characteristics as a military leader were his quick perceptions of the weak points of the enemy, his ever readiness, the astounding rapidity of his movements, his sudden and unexpected onslaughts, and the persistency with which he followed them up. His ruling maxim was that war meant fighting and fighting meant killing, and right loyally did he live up to it. Naturally taciturn, and by habit the keeper of his own designs, it was as difficult for his friends to penetrate them as it was easy for him to deceive the enemy...In any other person this would have been taken as cunning and deceit; but with him it was the voice of the Lord piloting him to the tents of the Midianites." John C. Tidball a West Point classmate of Jackson in his unpublished memoir "Getting through West Point".