Posted on 05/02/2018 5:21:28 AM PDT by Bull Snipe
Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson, (aka Stonewall) is wounded twice in the shoulder and once in the hand when fired on by pickets of the 18th NC Infantry. General Jackson would die eight days later from pneumonia.
His famous last words: “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.”
Spoken in delirium, I believe. Such words show a beautiful mind, I think.
Been to the spot where he was hit. Friendly fire.
The Five Orange Pips
We were in Lexington, Virginia about two weeks ago and passed Jackson’s house. We didn’t stop by because we had done the tour once before. Lovely, quiet town. There to visit Traveller’s grave again and drop a penny in his memory.
Ive long considered his last words spoken in true heavenly vision....
.....he was a strong believer, and his first wife and child died in childbirth
.....he loved them deeply and knew they waited for him on the other side
When my father was dying, the hospice chaplain said many times the dying start talking about and envision their loved ones waiting for them....
My father envisioned his mom and dad
Many times the dying will hold their arms open as if to greet them
Done well Jackson was a great Civil War genetal.
In this case, though, he went out at night to try and assess Union positions. He did not tell anyone he was leaving or where he was going. No one could have known it was Jackson before they fired.
Horses are great. Here’s to Traveller!
Can’t help but think we lost a very big humanizing influence when they were replaced by the automobile.
The Confederate infantry in the area had been warned earlier to be on the lookout for Union cavalry. Jackson was riding with several men of his staff when they were challenged, then fired on, before being able to reply.
Very true! And while it is early, let’s lift a glass to all war horses.
You know, when I was a youngster I read most of the Sherlock Holmes stories but I’ve got to check out the one you mentioned.
Men of such honor are rare!!!
I agree with you - I have long thought Jackson was seeing his next life.
I only wish I knew that my parents had such thoughts. They died peacefully but left no message for us.
“The Five Orange Pips,” although being in the original batch of Sherlock Holmes short stories, which are considered the best, has a lot of plot holes.
For example, if Col. Openshaw wanted to “checkmate” the KKK, why did he burn their papers, rather than save them, since they were incriminating?
Also, why did Sherlock Holmes send John Openshaw back home, knowing that the KKK was on his trail, after they’d already killed his uncle and father?
I like it anyway. The characters and settings of the Sherlock Holmes stories are so good, that it more than makes up for any shortcomings in the plots, which are still interesting and ingenious despite the plot holes.
BTW, Edmund Wilson, who wrote a scathing essay panning detective fiction, ended up with Sherlock Holmes as his bedtime reading!
Those are the finest short stories on the planet. Never met a freeper who knew who Edmund Wilson was!
Jackson may not be the hero he’s often perceived as. His nickname — Stonewall — may not have been a compliment. It was given to him by Gen. Barnard Bee at First Bull Run, who observed him “standing like a stone wall.” The problem was, Jackson was supposed to be advancing.
The intent of Gen. Bee’s words has been fiercely debated over the years. Personally, I find Longstreet a better exemplar.
Also know P.G. Wodehouse, who said:
“When I was starting out as a writerthis would be about the time Caxton invented the printing pressConan Doyle was my hero. Others might revere Hardy and Meredith. I was a Doyle man, and I still am. Usually we tend to discard the idols of our youth as we grow older, but I have not had this experience with A.C.D. I thought him swell then, and I think him swell now.”
It’s true that we do discard the heroes of our youth - sometimes to rediscover them much later in life. I need to read those stories again.
Did you know that it was King Richard the Third who encouraged Caxton to produce books in English for the general public? He was not fond of Latin and wanted to encourage English as the language of government.
I didn’t know that, but not surprised.
According to Josephine Tey, Richard got a bad rap.
I think so.
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