Autographs
Exceptional Civil War Battlefield Content Autograph Letter Signed by Confederate Genl. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
THOMAS JONATHAN “STONEWALL” JACKSON (1824-1863). Civil War Confederate Corps Commanding General, best known CSA Commander after Robert E. Lee.
May 14, 1862-Dated Civil War Date, Battlefield Autograph Letter Signed, “T.J. Jackson”, 1 page, 7.25” x 8.5”, “Hd. Qrs. Valley Dist.”, “7:20 a.m.”, Choice Very Fine. “Stonewall” Jackson writes to Major General R.S. Ewell. This historic Civil War Letter reads, in full:

“Your dispatches of 2 and 2.15 P.M. of yesterday have been recd. If (Union General Mathaniel P.) Banks is going to Fredericksburg can you not send forward your cavalry and (Tuner) Ashby’s and break up the Manassas Gap R.R. (one of Banks’ supply lines) and so operate against Banks as to delay him until I can join you. This evening I will be about (40) forty miles from Harrisonburg. Ashby is familiar with the country about Fauquier. Please let me hear from you at onec. Respectfully your obdt Servt - (Signed) T. J. Jackson Maj Genl.”

Jackson’s Valley Campaign and his envelopment of the Union Army's right wing at Chancellorsville are studied worldwide, even today, as examples of innovative and bold leadership. The purpose of CSA General “Stonewall” Jackson’s presence in the Shenandoah Valley was to keep Union forces from reinforcing Union General McClellan’s forces on the Peninsula, where they threatened Richmond. By playing of the fears of the Federal administration for Washington, Jackson was tasked with immobilizing the 70,000 troops in middle Virginia by placing them on the defensive. This to be accomplished with a mere 20,000 widely scattered Confederate troops ringing the Shenandoah Valley, and under various Confederate commanders. With his fast-moving infantrymen led by Ashby, Jackson ranged up and down the Valley for months in early 1862, keeping three Union commanders – John Charles Frémont, Nathaniel Banks, and Irvin McDowell – all busy and thoroughly unsettled, as their combined forces, though vastly outnumbering Jackson’s, were unable to stop him.

Numerous skirmishes including Winchester, Kernstown, Front Royal, Woodstock, New Market, Cross Keys and Port Republic were all victories for Jackson, though at each battle site the Union forces were sure he would be defeated. Jackson inflicted numerous casualties, seized huge quantities of supplies (mostly from Banks), and kept almost 40,000 Federal troops off the Peninsula during the campaign. Overall, Jackson’s Valley Campaign was a major triumph, adding to his previous victory laurels at Bull Run. By June 14, 1862, he had forced the Union to proceed up the valley, rather than march on to reinforce McClellan’s army against Richmond.

At this time, Jackson was operating under Robert E. Lee’s explicit instructions to contain Banks, as stated in a letter from Lee dated 8 May 1862 and then a letter following up directing Jackson to prevent Banks from going to Fredericksburg or to the Pennisula. Jackson, however, had anticipated this directive and already put the first part of his plan of attack into motion, sending Ashby to cut off Banks’ most immediate method of escape via the Manassas Gap Railroad. With this accomplished, Jackson marched his troops forward to Front Royal for the first of his brilliant counter-offensive maneuvers against Banks.
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate General during the American Civil War, and the best-known Confederate commander after General Robert E. Lee.

His military career includes the Valley Campaign of 1862 and his service as a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia, under Robert E. Lee. Confederate pickets accidentally shot him at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. The general survived but lost an arm to amputation; he died of complications from pneumonia eight days later. His death was a severe setback for the Confederacy, affecting not only its military prospects, but also the morale of its army and of the general public. Jackson in death became an icon of Southern heroism and commitment, and became a mainstay in the pantheon of the "Lost Cause".

Military historians consider Jackson to be one of the most gifted tactical commanders in U.S. history. His Valley Campaign and his envelopment of the Union Army's right wing at Chancellorsville are studied worldwide, even today, as examples of innovative and bold leadership. He excelled as well in other battles: the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas), where he received his famous nickname "Stonewall"; the Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas); and the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg.

Jackson was not, however, universally successful as a commander as displayed by his late arrival and confused efforts during the Seven Days Battles around Richmond, in 1862.