The FReeper Foxhole Profiles General Thomas Jonathan (Stonewall) Jackson - June 21st, 2003

http://www.civilwarhome.com/CMHjacksonbio.htm ^

[snippy_about_it]

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.
We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.

Author Unknown

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FReepers from the The Foxhole
join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time.

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Lieutenant-General Thomas Jonathan Jackson
(1824-1863)

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Lieutenant-General Thomas Jonathan Jackson was one of those rare historical characters who are claimed by all people--a man of his race, almost as much as of the Confederacy. No war has produced a military celebrity more remarkable, nor one whose fame will be more enduring. He was born January 21, 1824, in Clarksburg, Va., and his parents, who were of patriotic Revolutionary stock, dying while he was but a child, he was reared and educated by his kindred in the pure and simple habits of rural life, taught in good English schools, and is described as a "diligent, plodding scholar, having a strong mind, though it was slow in development." But he was in boyhood a leader among his fellow-students in the athletic sports of the times, in which he generally managed his side of the contest so as to win the victory. By this country training he became a bold and expert rider and cultivated that spirit of daring which being held sometimes in abeyance displayed itself in his Mexican service, and then suddenly again in the Confederate war.

In June, 1842, at the age of eighteen, he was appointed to a cadetship in the military academy at West Point, where, commencing with the disadvantages of inadequate preparation, he overcame obstacles by such determination as to rise from year to year in the estimation of the faculty. He graduated June 30, 1846, at the age of twenty-two years, receiving brevet rank as second-lieutenant at the beginning of the Mexican war, and was ordered to report for duty with the First Regular artillery, with which he shared in the many brilliant battles which General Scott fought from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. He was often commended for his soldierly conduct and soon received successive promotions for gallantry at Contreras and Churubusco. Captain Magruder, afterwards a Confederate general, thus mentioned him in orders: "If devotion, industry, talent, and gallantry are the highest qualities of a soldier, then is he entitled to the distinction which their possession confers." Jackson was one of the volunteers in the storming of Chapultepec, and for his daring there was brevetted major, which was his rank at the close of the Mexican war.

His religious character, which history has and will inseparably connect with his military life, appears to have begun forming in the City of Mexico, where his attention was directed to the subject of the variety of beliefs on religious questions. His amiable and affectionate biographer (Mrs. Jackson) mentions that Colonel Francis Taylor, the commander of the First artillery, under whom Jackson was serving, was the first man to speak to him on the subject of personal religion. Jackson had not at any time of his life yielded to the vices, and was in all habits strictly moral, but had given no particular attention to the duties enjoined by the church. Convinced now that this neglect was wrong, he began to study the Bible and pursued his inquiries until he finally united (1851) with the Presbyterian church. His remarkable devoutness of habit and unwavering confidence in the truth of his faith contributed, it is conceded, very greatly to the full development of his singular character, as well as to his marvelous success.



In 1848 Jackson's command was stationed at Fort Hamilton for two years, then at Fort Meade, in Florida, and from that station he was elected to a chair in the Virginia military institute at Lexington in 1851, which he accepted, and resigning his commission, made Lexington his home ten years, and until he began his remarkable' career in the Confederate war. Two years later, 1853, he married Miss Eleanor, daughter of Rev. Dr. Junkin, president of Washington college, but she lived scarcely more than a year. Three years after, July 16, 1857, his second marriage occurred, with Miss Mary Anna, daughter of Rev. Dr. H. R- Morrison, of North Carolina, a distinguished educator, whose other daughters married men who attained eminence in civil and military life, among them being General D. H. Hill, General Rufus Barringer, and Chief Justice A. C. Avery.

The only special incident occurring amidst the educational and domestic life of Major Jackson, which flowed on serenely from this hour, was the summons of the cadets of the Institute by Governor Letcher, to proceed to Harper's Ferry on the occasion of the raid of John Brown in 1859.

During the presidential campaign of 1860 Major Jackson visited New England and there heard enough to arouse his fears for the safety of the Union. At the election of that year he cast his vote for Breckinridge on the principle that he was a State rights man, and after Lincoln's election he favored the policy of contending in the Union rather than out of it, for the recovery of the ground that had thus been lost. The course of coercion, however, alarmed him, and the failure of the Peace congress persuaded him that if the United States persisted in their course war would certainly result. His State saw as he did, and on the passage of its ordinance of secession, the military cadets under the command of Major Jackson were ordered to the field by the governor of Virginia. The order was promptly obeyed April 21, 1861, from which date his Confederate military life began.


On November 4, 1861, newly promoted Major General Jackson said farewell to his Stonewall Brigade as he departed to take command of Confederate defenses in the Shenandoah Valley. Jackson delivered a moving speech to the soldiers, then galloped away to echoes of the Rebel Yell. He would later term the peculiar Confederate battle cry "the sweetest music I have ever heard."

Jackson's valuable service was given to Virginia in the occupation of Harper's Ferry and several subsequent small affairs, but his fame became general from the battle of First Manassas. It was at one of the crises of that first trial battle between the Federal and Confederate troops that he was given the war name of "Stonewall," by which he will be always designated. The true story will be often repeated that on being notified of the Federal advance to break the Confederate line he called out, "We will give them the bayonet," and a few minutes later the steadiness with which the brigade received the shock of battle caused the Confederate General Bee to exclaim: "There stands Jackson like a stone wall."

He was commissioned brigadier-general June 17, 1861, and was promoted to major-general October 7, 1861, with the wise assignment to command of the Valley district, which he assumed in November of that year. With a small force he began even in winter a series of bold operations in the great Virginia valley, and opened the spring campaign of 1862, on plans concerted between General Joseph E. Johnston and himself, by attacking the enemy at Kernstown, March 23rd, where he sustained his only repulse; but even in the movement which resulted in a temporary defeat he caused the recall of a considerable Federal force designed to strengthen McClellan in the advance against Richmond. The next important battle was fought at McDowell, in which Jackson won a decided victory over Fremont. Then moving with celerity and sagacity he drove Banks at Front Royal, struck him again at Newtown, and at length utterly routed him. After this, turning about on Shields, he overthrew his command also, and thus, in one month's campaign, broke up the Federal forces which had been sent to "crush him." In these rapidly executed operations he had successfully fought five battles against three distinct armies, requiring four hundred miles, marching to compass the fields.



This Valley campaign of 1862 was never excelled, according to the opinions expressed by military men of high rank and long experience in war. It is told by Dr. McGuire, the chief surgeon of Jackson's command, that with swelling heart he had "heard some of the first soldiers and military students of England declare that within the past two hundred years the English speaking race has produced but five soldiers of the first rank--Marlborough, Washington, Wellington, Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and that this campaign in the valley was superior to either of those made by Napoleon in Italy." One British officer, who teaches strategy in a great European college, told Surgeon McGuire that he used this campaign as a model of strategy and tactics, dwelling upon it for several months in his lectures; that it was taught in the schools of Germany, and that Von Moltke, the great strategist, declared it was without a rival in the world's history.

After this brilliant service for the Confederacy Jackson joined Lee at Richmond in time to strike McClellan's flank at the battle of Cold Harbor, and to contribute to the Federal defeat in the Seven Days' battles around Richmond. In the campaign against Pope, undertaken by Lee after he had defeated McClellan, Jackson was sent on a movement suited to his genius, capturing Manassas Junction, and foiling Pope until the main battle of Second Manassas, August 30, 1862, under Lee, despoiled that Federal general of all his former honors. The Maryland campaign immediately followed, in which Jackson led in the capture of Harper's Ferry September 15th, taking 11,500 prisoners, and an immense amount of arms and stores, just preceding the battle of Sharpsburg, in which he also fought with notable efficiency at a critical juncture. The promotion to lieutenant-general was now accorded him, October 10, 1862. At the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, Lieutenant-General Jackson held the Confederate right against all Federal assaults. The Federal disaster in this battle resulted in the resignation of Burnside and the reorganization of the army under General Hooker in 1863.



After the most complete preparations Hooker advanced against Lee at Chancellorsville, who countervailed all the Federal general's plans by sending Jackson to find and crush his right flank, which movement was in the process of brilliant accomplishment when Jackson,who had passed his own lines to make a personal inspection of the situation, was fired upon and fatally wounded by a line of Confederates who unhappily mistook him and his escort for the enemy. The glory of the achievement which Lee and Jackson planned, fell upon General Stuart next day, who, succeeding Jackson in command, ordered that charge which became so ruinous to Hooker, with the thrilling watchword, "Remember Jackson."

General Jackson lived a few days and died lamented more than any soldier who had fallen. Lee said: "I have lost my right arm." The army felt that his place could not be easily supplied. The South was weighted with grief. After the war, when the North dispassionately studied the man they ceased to wonder at the admiration in which he was held by the world. He was buried at Lexington, Va., where a monument erected by affection marks his grave. "For centuries men will come to Lexington as a Mecca, and to this grave as a shrine, and wonderingly talk of this man and his mighty deeds. Time will only add to his great fame--his name will be honored and revered forever."

[snippy_about_it]

Next to Robert E. Lee himself, Thomas J. Jackson is the most revered of all Confederate commanders. A graduate of West Point (1846), he had served in the artillery in the Mexican War, earning two brevets, before resigning to accept a professorship at the Virginia Military Institute. Thought strange by the cadets, he earned "Tom Fool Jackson" and "Old Blue Light" as nicknames.


Janie Corbin and "Old Jack" Christmas 1862

Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he was commissioned a colonel in the Virginia forces and dispatched to Harpers Ferry where he was active in organizing the raw recruits until relieved by Joe Johnston. His later assignments included:

• Colonel, CSA
  • commanding lst Brigade, Army of the Shenandoah (May - July 20, 1861);
• Brigadier General, CSA (June 17, 1861);
  • commanding 1st Brigade, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac July 20 - October 1861);
• Major General, CSA (October 7, 1861);
  • commanding Valley District, Department of Northern Virginia (November 4, 1861 - June 26, 1862);
  • commanding 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia June 26, 1862-May 2, 1863);
• Lieutenant General, CSA(October 10, 1862).

Leaving Harpers Ferry, his brigade moved with Johnston to join Beauregard at Manassas. In the fight at 1st Bull Run they were so distinguished that both the brigade and its commander were dubbed "Stonewall" by General Barnard Bee. (However, Bee may have been complaining that Jackson was not coming to his support). The 1st Brigade was the only Confederate brigade to have its nickname become its official designation. That fall Jackson was given command of the Valley with a promotion to major general.



That winter he launched a dismal campaign into the western part of the state that resulted in a long feud with General William Loring and caused Jackson to submit his resignation, which he was talked out of. In March he launched an attack on what he thought was a Union rear guard at Kernstown. Faulty intelligence from his cavalry chief, Turner Ashby, led to a defeat. A religious man, Jackson always regretted having fought on a Sunday. But the defeat had the desired result, halting reinforcements being sent to McClellan's army from the Valley. In May Jackson defeated Fremont's advance at McDowell and later that month launched a brilliant campaign that kept several Union commanders in the area off balance. He won victories at Front Royal, 1st Winchester, Cross Keys, and Port Republic. He then joined Lee in the defense of Richmond but displayed a lack of vigor during the Seven Days.

Detached from Lee, he swung off to the north to face John Pope's army and after a slipshod battle at Cedar Mountain, slipped behind Pope and captured his Manassas junction supply base. He then hid along an incomplete branch railroad and awaited Lee and Longstreet. Attacked before they arrived, he held on until Longstreet could launch a devastating attack which brought a second Bull Run victory.

In the invasion of Maryland, Jackson was detached to capture Harpers Ferry and was afterwards distinguished at Antietam with Lee. He was promoted after this and given command of the now-official 2nd Corps. It had been known as a wing or command before this. He was disappointed with the victory at Fredericksburg because it could not be followed up. In his greatest day he led his corps around the Union right flank at Chancellorsville and routed the 11th Corps. Reconnoitering that night, he was returning to his own lines when he was mortally wounded by some of his own men.



Following the amputation of his arm, he died eight days later on May 10, 1863, from pneumonia. Lee wrote of him with deep feeling: " He has lost his left arm; but I have lost my right arm." A superb commander, he had several faults. Personnel problems haunted him, as in the feuds with Loring and with Garnett after Kernstown. His choices for promotion were often not first rate. He did not give his subordinates enough latitude, which denied them the training for higher positions under Lee's loose command style. This was especially devastating in the case of his immediate successor, Richard Ewell. Although he was sometimes balky when in a subordinate position, Jackson was supreme on his own hook. Stonewall Jackson is buried in Lexington, Virginia.

[snippy_about_it]

Death of Stonewall Jackson
Virginia Military Institute General Orders
May 1863

Adjutant General's Office Va.
May 11th 1863

Major Gen. F.H. Smith
Supt., Virginia Military Institute

Sir:
By Command of the Governor I have this day to perform the most painful duty of my official life in announcing to you and through you to the Faculty & Cadets of the Virginia Mil. Institute the death of the great and good--the heroic and illustrious Lieut. General T.J. Jackson at 15 minutes past 3 oclock yesterday afternoon.

This heavy bereavement over which every true heart within the bounds of the Confederacy mourns with inexpressible sorrow--must fall if possible with heavier force upon that Noble State Institution to which he came from the battle-fields of Mexico, and where he gave to his native state the first years service of his modest and unobtrusive but public spirited and useful life.

It would be a senseless waste of words to attempt a eulogy upon this great among the greatest of sons who have immortalized Virginia. To the Corps of Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute, what a legacy he has left you, what an example of all that is good and great and true in the character of a Christian Soldier.

The Governor directs that the highest funeral honors be paid to his memory, that the customary outward badges of mourning be worn by all the officers and cadets of the Institution.

By command, W.H. Richardson, A.G.
By Command of Major Genl. Smith. A.G. Hill, Actg. Adjt., V.M.I.



What did Jackson teach? Was he a good teacher? Was he popular with his students?

Jackson taught at the Virginia Military Institute from August 1851 until the outbreak of Civil War in April 1861. He was responsible for the Department of Natural Philosophy (in modern terms, roughly equivalent to Physics; it included astronomy, mechanics, acoustics, optics, and other sciences) and also instructed and drilled the cadets in artillery tactics. He was neither popular with cadets, many of whom ridiculed and disliked him, nor considered to be a particularly able teacher. In 1856, a group of alumni petitioned the Board of Visitors to remove Jackson from his position; the issue was tabled by the Board. Francis H. Smith, VMI's Superintendent during Jackson's era, wrote the following in his History of the Virginia Military Institute

"As Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, Major Jackson was not a success. He had not the qualifications needed for so important a chair. He was no teacher, and he lacked the tact required in getting along with his classes....His genius was in the Science and Art of War. He found a field for the display of this genius when the war opened in 1861."


VMI Cadets at Stonewall Jackson's grave, ca. 1868. From the VMI Archives photograph collection.

Where did Jackson die? Where is Jackson's gravesite? Where is his amputated arm buried?

Jackson died on May 10, 1863, at a field hospital near Guiney Station, VA, approximately 30 miles from the battlefield at Chancellorsville. The hospital was located in an office building on the estate of Thomas and Mary Chandler. Jackson's body was returned to Lexington, Virginia, for burial. He had spent almost ten years in the town while he was a Professor at the Virginia Military Institute. The funeral took place on May 15, 1863. He was buried in what is now known as the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery, located on Main Street. The gravesite is today a popular tourist attraction.

Jackson's amputated arm was buried by the Rev. Beverly Tucker Lacy in his family burial plot at "Ellwood," the Lacy family estate (15 miles west of Fredericksburg) that was located about one mile from the field hospital where Jackson was initially treated. The land is now owned by the National Park Service and there is a marker noting the location of the arm.


Mrs. Thomas Jackson

Did Jackson marry? Did he have any children?

Jackson married twice. On August 4, 1853, Jackson married Elinor Junkin (1825-1854), daughter of Dr. George Junkin (President of Washington College) and Julia Miller Junkin. Elinor (Ellie) died in childbirth on October 22, 1854. Their child, a son, was stillborn. On July 16, 1857, Jackson married for the second time: Mary Anna Morrison (1831-1915), daughter of Robert Hall Morrison and Mary Graham Morrison. Mary Anna's family resided in North Carolina; her father was the retired President of Davidson College. Mary Anna gave birth to a daughter, Mary Graham, on April 30, 1858; the baby died less than a month later. In November 1862, Mary Anna again bore a daughter, Julia Laura, the only Jackson child to survive into adulthood. She married William E. Christian in 1885 and she died of typhoid fever in 1889, at age 26. Her children were Julia Jackson Christian (1887-1991), who married Edmund R. Preston; and Thomas Jonathan Jackson Christian (1888-1952), who married three times. Both of Jackson's grandchildren had several children; thus there are many living descendants of Stonewall Jackson.

What was the name of Jackson's horse?

In the spring of 1861, while he was in command at Harper's Ferry, Jackson acquired the horse that he rode throughout the war. Although the horse was Little Sorrel originally purchased by Jackson as a gift for his wife and initially named "Fancy," this name was short-lived. Jackson decided to keep the horse, and it was universally known as "Little Sorrel." Described as small (approximately 15 hands) and gaunt, but with remarkable powers of endurance, Little Sorrel remained Jackson's favorite and he was riding this horse when he was mortally wounded at Chancellorsville. After the war, Little Sorrel first returned to North Carolina with Mrs. Jackson, and subsequently was sent to VMI, where he grazed on the VMI Parade Ground and was a favorite of cadets. He died in March 1886, at the age of 36, and his mounted hide is now on display in the VMI Museum in Lexington, Virginia. Little Sorrel's bones were cremated and interred on the grounds of VMI in 1997.

Who shot General Jackson?

Jackson died as a result of "friendly fire." He was shot at Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, by an unknown member or members of the 18th North Carolina Infantry Regiment; he died on May 10th. The order to fire was given by Maj. John D. Barry, and many of his men fired at the same time. Jackson was struck by three .57 caliber bullets. Barry died two years after the war at the age of 27; his family believed his death was a result of the depression and guilt he suffered as a consequence of having given the order to fire.



How did Jackson acquire the nickname "Stonewall"?

This famous nickname was first given to Jackson by General Bernard Bee on the battlefield at First Manassas on July 21, 1861. It refers to Jackson's steadfastness in the face of the enemy. Jackson's demeanor inspired Bee (a friend from Jackson's years at West Point) to shout to his troops, "Look, men, there is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer!"

Jackson's troops also referred to him as "Old Jack."

Is it true that Jackson loved lemons?

Jackson was very concerned about his health and followed a strict diet which emphasized fruits and vegetables. Although he enjoyed almost every variety of fruit, he had no special fondness for lemons; in fact, peaches were his favorite. Civil War historian James I. Robertson, Jr., Jackson's biographer, states that "no member of Jackson's staff, no friend, not even his wife ever mentioned Jackson had a particular penchant for lemons," and refers to the "lemon myth." It is true that Jackson was observed eating lemons on several occasions during the war; this was due only to the fact that he ate whatever fruit was available. When the Confederates captured a Union camp, lemons were sometimes among the food stores that they confiscated; the Union soldiers received lemons and other fruits more frequently than did their Confederate counterparts. Despite the historical inaccuracy, the story remains popular. Tourists who visit Jackson's gravesite at Lexington, Virginia, often leave lemons as a tribute.

What are some famous Jackson quotations? Which phrase is inscribed on the VMI Barracks?

"You may be whatever you resolve to be" These words are inscribed over the Jackson Arch entrance to the present-day VMI Barracks. During his years as West Point cadet, Jackson began keeping a notebook in which he jotted down inspirational phrases that he believed would aid him in the development of his character and intellect. He continued to add to this book throughout the 1850's. Jackson was not (and never claimed to be) the author of most of these maxims; rather, he collected ideas and phrases from the books he read. This particular principle is attributed to the Reverend Joel Hawes and first appeared in an 1851 work, Letters to Young Men, on the Formation of Character & c. Jackson's original notebook is located in the George and Catherine Davis Collection at Tulane University.

"The Institute will be heard from today"

These words were spoken by Jackson on the battlefield at Chancellorsville, VA, shortly before 5 p.m. on May 2, 1863. Ready for battle, he was surrounded by former students and colleagues from his years at the Virginia Military Institute; they were now his officers and comrades-in-arms. Overcome by emotion, Jackson said, "the Institute will be heard from today." A few hours later, Jackson received what would prove to be a fatal wound. This quotation is today inscribed on the base of the Jackson Statue located on the grounds of VMI. For those interested in trivia--the words on the statue ("the Virginia Military Institute will be heard from today") are inaccurate; Jackson said only "the Institute...." The date inscribed on the statue is also incorrect; it says May 3, rather than the correct date, May 2.


Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery
Lexington, Va

"Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees."

These were Jackson's final words, spoken on his deathbed on May 10, 1863. Civil War historian James I. Robertson, Jr., author of the widely acclaimed 1997 biography of Jackson, believes that as he lay dying, Jackson envisioned scenes from his beloved boyhood home at Jackson's Mill, West Virginia. Robertson describes the context of the words as follows-

...There, clearly in view, was Jackson's Mill! The West Fork River was still curling like a moat around the boundaries of the family home place. ...Look! He could see the little boy: tired, withdrawn, alone. He knew where the lad was going. It was where he wanted to go. On the other side of the West Fork was the little grove of white poplars that was his solitude---and his refuge---from the cares of the world. The sanctuary beckoned to him now with an intensity he had never felt before. "Let us cross over the river," he exclaimed, "and rest under the shade of the trees." Tom Jackson had come home. (Robertson, pg. 753)

Additional Sources:

new.vmi.edu
www.oldgloryprints.com
www.lib.utexas.edu
www.cmstory.org
www.clarksburg.com
www.allenscreations.com
www.southernartcreations.com
americanhistory.si.edu
www.civilwarrart.com
www.americaslibrary.gov
www.hammergalleries.com
www.lexingtonvirginia.com

[snippy_about_it]

'The hardships of forced marches are often more painful than the dangers of battle'

-- Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

'Then, Sir, we will give them the bayonet!'

-- Stonewall Jackson’s reply to Colonel B.E Bee
when he reported that the enemy were beating them back.
At the first battle of Bull Run, July 1861.

'Under divine blessing, we must rely on the bayonet when firearms cannot be furnished'

-- Stonewall Jackson,
letter accompanying his requisition for 1000 pikes. April 1861

'Don't say it's impossible! Turn your command over to the next officer. If he can't do it, I'll find someone who can, even if I have to take him from the ranks!'

-- General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

'I yield to no man in sympathy for the gallant men under my command; but I am obliged to sweat them tonight, so that I may save their blood tomorrow.'

-- General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

'Who could not conquer with such troops as these?'

-- General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

'Once you get them running, you stay right on top of them, and that way a small force can defeat a large one every time... Only thus can a weaker country cope with a stronger; it must make up in activity what it lacks in strength. '

-- General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

[snippy_about_it]

[snippy_about_it]

.......FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!

.......Good Morning Everyone!


If you would like added or removed from our ping list let me know.

[Do the Dew]

Good Morning Snippy. How are this beautiful morning?

[snippy_about_it]

Good Morning, I'm just waking up!

[Do the Dew]

I was up late and up early. Lots going on today. Reed has a game at 8:30 and Rhett needs to be somewhere at 9:30. And this is just the beginning. I am trying to get Mel's things together for camp she goes to Sunday. So, I am tired already.

I will try and hang around a little today. It has been a long time since I have cruise around FreeRepublic. I better put FreeRepblic on the top of my priority list. Ha Ha.

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. My priority list is VERY short.

You have freep mail.

[E.G.C.]

Good Morning, Snippy. How's it going?

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Stonewall Jackson (SSBN-634)

Lafayette class nuclear ballistic missile submarine
Displacement:
6,650 tons surfaced
8,250 tons submerged
Length: 425 feet
Beam: 33 feet
Draft:
32 feet Speed:
15+ knots surfaced
20+ knots submerged
Armament: 16 Trident (C-4) missiles, 4 21" forward torpedo tubes, MK-48 Torpedoes
Test depth: In excesss of 500 feet (actual depth classified)
Ships complement (each in 2 crews):
16 Officers
148 Enlisted men

Keel laid down by Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA, 4 July 1962; Launched 30 November 1963; Sponsored by Miss Julia Christian McAfee, great, great granddaughter of Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson; Commissioned 26 August 1964; Cdr. John H. Nicholson in command Blue Crew; Cdr. Richard A. Frost in command Gold Crew; Decommissioned 15 June 1994.

USS STONEWALL JACKSON (SSBN 634) got underway from Vallejo on 3 September 1964 for her shakedown cruise to Cape Kennedy, Florida. The Blue crew completed training with successful missile firing on 2 December 1964. STONEWALL JACKSON returned to the Pacific Ocean to complete shakedown availability on 13 February 1965, then made final preparations at Bangor, Washington for overseas movement. In April she began her first strategic deterrent patrol.

1 June 1965, the Gold crew relieved the Blue crew at Apra Harbor, Guam, and for the next five years, the submarine conducted deterrent patrols from that port. In the spring of 1970, STONEWALL JACKSON was reassigned to the Atlantic Fleet. On 23 April 1970 she got underway from Pearl Harbor to conduct a special operation, before continuing on to the Panama Canal.

She transited the canal on 7 May 1970 and changed operational control from Submarine Flotilla (SubFlot) 5 to SubFlot 6, officially joining the Atlantic Fleet. Eight days later, she put into New London, Conn.

She spent the second half of May in upkeep at New London, then headed south on 1 June. The submarine stopped at the Naval Academy from 7 to 10 June for midshipman indoctrination tours, then put to sea for special operations.

STONEWALL JACKSON entered Charleston, South Carolina to off-load missiles during the first week in July, then shaped a course for New London, arriving on the 10th. On 15 July 1970, she entered the shipyard of General Dynamics Electric Boat Division at Groton, CT, for conversion to the Poseidon (C-3) missile system. The installation of the new missile system was completed by 29 October 1971 when the Blue crew began preparations to put to sea. Between October 1971 and March 1972, both Blue and Gold crews conducted their shakedown cruises off the southeastern coast of the United States. She returned to Groton on 4 March 1972 and, on 8 March, commenced post-shakedown availability at the General Dynamics shipyard.

On 7 April 1972, she got underway for Charleston for a missile load-out in preparation for her first post-conversion and first Atlantic deterrent cruise. From April 1972 until mid 1978, she operated out of the advanced base at Holy Loch, Scotland, alternating Blue and Gold crews on deterrent patrols.

In early summer 1978 she returned to Charleston, South Carolina to again off-load missiles then shaped a course for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She remained at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard undergoing an extensive overhaul until April 1980.

In April 1980, STONEWALL JACKSON returned to Charleston, South Carolina for post-overhaul shakedown and availability. In late summer 1980 she received a missle systems backfit for conversion to the Trident (C-4) missle system and returned to her deterrent patrol duties home ported in and operating out of Charleston, South Carolina. In September 1982 while her home port remained Charleston, South Carolina, her port of operation moved from Charleston to King's Bay, Georgia alternating Blue and Gold crews until mid 1994 when she began her last patrol at the decommissioning and disassembly yards in Washington state.

STONEWALL JACKSON was decommissioned and struck from the Navy List on 9 February 1995. Disassembly and disposal was completed through SRP (Submarine Recycling Program) on 13 October 1995 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

[snippy_about_it]

Good. The sun is out and no rain in sight for a week if you can believe the weather forcasters. lol.

Good morning.

[snippy_about_it]

Thank you and Good morning.

It's nice to read about our submarines.

We don't often hear about them for obvious reasons so reading this history of the USS Stonewall Jackson (SSBN-634) was a treat.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning SAM, snippy, everyone.

[snippy_about_it]

Good Morning feather.

[snippy_about_it]

I scanned a few pictures I took last year while visiting Manassas and the Bull Run Battlefield. Next vacation I'll have a digital camera and my pictures will be clearer and larger!

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Bull Run- Stone bridge, terrain, New York Monuments -14th Brooklyn,5th Regiment,10th Regiment Volunteers

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Stonewall Jackson monument on Henry Hill, General Bee monument,Henry House

General Bee Monument Inscription:

General Barnard Elliott Bee of South Carolina Commander, Third Brigade Army of the Shenandoah Was killed here July 21, 1861 Just before his death To rally his scattered troops He gave the command "Form, form, there stands Jackson like a stonewall Rally behind the Virginians!"

Manassas battlefield virtual tour link

[larryjohnson]

Hey,Foxes. What do you think of my Freep of an Iowa mayor?
Cresco Times Online:
http://www.crescotimes.com/articles/2003/06/19/news/news01.txt

[snippy_about_it]

Lt. Col. Johnson concluded by saying, "As much as I like Ed, I cannot let this go. He is an elected official. If I am wrong, I will apologize to Ed, his family and the townsfolk who elected him Mayor."

I love your freep! Stay on him Larry, this is so wrong if he is lying and it looks like he has embellished his service record. Go get 'em, I'm so proud of you!

[snippy_about_it]

And another thing (you've got me on a rant now, look out), if he is embellishing his record what on earth for? There is nothing dishonorable about service, I don't care if you swept floors the whole time, service in our Armed Forces no matter the job or place or time is honorable on it's own merit.

I consider people like this as spitting on our 'everyday' troops just because we don't know about any 'heroic' duties they may have performed, or maybe there weren't any for lack of opportunity or because they weren't injured. If they are lies, how dare he! < /rant>

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on June 21:
1002: St. Leo IX, Pope
1639: Increase Mather, American Congregationalist minister, theologian
1732 Martha Washington 1st, 1st lady
1774 Daniel D Tompkins (D-R), 6th US vice-president (1817-25)
1851 Daniel Carter Beard US, organized 1st boy scout troop
1882 Rockwell Kent artist/painter/illustrator (Canterbury Tales)
1891 Hermann Scherchen Berlin Germany, conductor (Nature of Music)
1892 Hilding Rosenberg Bosj”kloster Sweden, composer (Babels Torn)
1892 Reinhold Niebuhr US, theologian (Nature & Destiny of Man)
19-- Kip Winger rocker (Winger-17)
19-- Leigh McCloskey LA Calif, actor (Mitch-Dallas, Brian-Executive Suite)
1903 Al Hirschfeld cartoonist (1975 Tony Award)
1903 Dorothy Stickney actress (And So They Were Married)
1905 Jean-Paul Sartre France, philosopher/writer (Nobel 1964; declined)
1912 Mary McCarthy US, novelist (Group)
1921 Frank Scott Fargo ND, pianist (Lawrence Welk Show)
1921 Jane Russell Bemidji, MN, actress full-figured gal (The Outlaw)
1921 Jean Kent London England, actress (Adv of Sir Francis Drake)
1922 Judy Holliday NYC, comedienne/actress (Born Yesterday, Adam's Rib)
1923 John Compton Lynchburg Tn, actor (Shannon-The D.A.'s Man)
1925 Maureen Stapleton Troy NY, actress (Airport, Coccoon, Plaza Suite)
1927 Carl Stokes (Cleve-Mayor)
1928 Judith Raskin NYC, soprano (Susanna-Le Nozze di Figaro)
1930 Mike McCormack NFL offensive tackle (NY Yankees, Cleveland, Phila)
1931 Lawrence K Grossman News president (NBC-TV)
1931 Margaret Heckler US Secretary of Health & Human Services (1983-85)
1932 Lalo (Boris) Schifrin Buenos Aires Argentina, composer
1933 Bernie Kopell NYC, actor (Love Boat, Get Smart, That Girl)
1935 Fran‡oise Sagan France, novelist (Bon Jour Trieste)
1935 Monte Markham Manatee Fla, actor (Second Hundred Years, Dallas)
1938 Ron Ely Hereford Tx, actor (Tarzan, Doc Savage)
1940 Joe Flaherty Pitts Pa, comedian (SCTV, Blue Monday)
1940 Mariette Hartley NYC, actress (Poloroid spokesperson, Marooned)
1942 William Bradford Reynolds Conn, US asst attorney general
1944 Corinna Tsopel Athens Greece, actress (Man Called Horse)
1944 Ray Davies singer/guitarist (The Kinks-Come Dancing)
1947 Meredith Baxter-Birney Ca, actr (Family Ties, Bridget loves Bernie)
1947 Michael Gross Chicago Ill, actor (Family Ties)
1948 Joey Malland rocker (Badfinger-Come & Get It)
1948 Leo Sayers rocker (You Make Me Feel Like Dancing)
1950 Joey Kramer NYC, rock drummer (Aerosmith-Janie Got a Gun)
1953 Benazir Bhutto 1st female leader of a Moslem nation (Pakistan)
1953 Robyn Douglass Sendai Japan, actress (Lonely Guy, Romantic Comedy)
1956 Mikhail Burtsev USSR, sabres (Olympic-gold-1976)
1956 Rick Sutcliffe pitcher (LA Dodgers, Chicago Cubs)
1957 Mark Brzezicki rocker (Big Country-Wonderland)
1959 Tom Chambers NBA forward, center (Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns)
1962 Marc Copage LA Calif, actor (Corey Baker-Julia)
1964 Kari Kennell Colorado Springs Co, playmate (Feb, 1988)
1966 Nan Woods actress (1 More Saturday Night)
1967 Tim Simenson rocker (Bomb the Bass)
1982 Prince William of Wales Prince Chuck & Lady Di's baby

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Deaths which occurred on June 21:
1208: Murder of Philip, King of Germany, by his daughter's rejected suitor
1377 Edward III, king of England (1327-77), dies
1591 Aloysius [Luigi] van Gonzaga, Prince/Italian Jesuit saint, dies
1876 Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna Mexican general (took Alamo), dies at 82
1908 Nikolai A Rimski-Korssakov, Russian composer (Sheherazade), dies
1957 Don McBride actor (Mr Clyde-My Friend Flicka), dies at 68
1964 Andrew Goodman, US civil rights activist, murdered at 20
1964 James Chaney, US civil rights activist, murdered at 21
1964 Michael Schwerner, US civil rights activist, murder at 21
1973 Frank Leahy football coach (Notre Dame), dies at 64

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1964 JOHNSON EDWARD R. HARRISBURG PA.
[11/11/67 RELEASED IN CAMBODIA, DECEASED]
1966 BLACK COLE LAKE CITY MN.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV,ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1966 EASTMAN LEONARD C. BERNARDSTON MA.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1966 SULLIVAN JOHN B. PITTSBURGH PA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 09/90]
1967 SPINLER DARRELL J. BROWNS VALLEY MN.
1968 WADLEIGH CARL D.
1971 METZLER CHARLES D. DOWNEY CA.
1972 CALLAGHAN PETER A. LONG ISLAND NY.
[03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1972 ROSE GEORGE A. KANSAS CITY MO. [03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV,ALIVE AND WELL 98]


POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
1498 Jews are expelled from Nurenberg Bavaria by Emperor Maximillian
1607 1st Protestant Episcopal parish in America established, Jamestown
1633 Galileo Galilei is forced by Inquisition to "abjure, curse, & detest" his Copernican heliocentric views
1684 MA Bay Colony's charter revoked
1768 1st US bachelor of medicine degree (Dr John Archer)
1788 US Constitution goes into effect as NH is 9th to ratify
1792 Vancouver meets Spanish ships Sutil & Mexicana off Vancouver, BC
1805 Great Stoneface Mt found in NH
1821 African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church organizes (NYC)
1834 Cyrus Hall McCormick patents reaping machine
1858 Louisiana chess prodigy Paul Morphy arrives in Europe
1869 The opera "Die Meistersinger" is produced (Munich)
1879 F W Woolworth opens 1st store (failed almost immediately)
1887 Britain celebrates golden jubilee of Queen Victoria
1893 1st Ferris wheel premieres (Chicago's Columbian Exposition)
1894 Workers in Pittsburgh strike Pullman sleeping car company
1900 Dodgers score 7 in top of 11th to go ahead of Phillies, 20-13, In bottom of 11th Phillies stalls so umpire forfeits game to Dodgers
1903 Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of The Mazarine Stone" takes place (BG)
1904 Boston Herald tells of Red Sox trade "Dougherty as a Yankee," 1st known reference to NY club as Yankees (became Yankees in 1913)
1906 M Wolf discovers asteroid #601 Nerthus
1913 Tiny Broadwick becomes 1st woman to parachute from an airplane
1916 Boston Rube Forster no-hits NY Yankees, 2-0
1917 Hawaiian Red Cross founded
1919 Germans scuttle their own fleet
1923 Marcus Garvey sentenced to 5 years for using the mail to defraud
1930 Ruth hits 3 HRs as Yanks blow 6-0 lead in 7th & lose 15-7
1933 1st Great Lakes-to-Gulf of Mexico barge trip completed, New Orleans
1938 Baseball's Pinky Higgins gets 12th straight hit
1939 Doctors reveal Lou Gehrig has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
1942 129ø F (54ø C), Tirat Zevi, Israel (Asian record)
1942 Rommel takes Tobruk in North Africa
1943 Federal troops put down racial riot in Detroit 30 dead
1945 Japanese forces on Okinawa surrender to US during WW II
1946 10 die in fire at Baker Hotel, Dallas Texas
1948 1st stored computer program run, on Manchester Mark I
1948 Dr Peter Goldmark of CBS demonstrates "long playing record" Columbia commits to 33 1/3 rpm records, plans to phase out 78's
1949 H L Giclas discovers asteroid #1886 Lowell
1962 USAF Maj Robert M White takes X-15 to 75,190 m
1963 Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) succeeds John XXIII
1964 Phillies Jim Bunning pitches perfect game (Mets) on Fathers day, in 2nd game of DH, Mets get 3 hits, 3 being fewest hits in NL DH
1964 3 civil rights workers-Michael H Schwerner Andrew Goodman & James E Chaney-disappeared after release from a Mississippi jail
1967 Yanks take 5-3 lead in 11th & lose 6-5, in 2nd game Red Sox lead 3-2 in 9th & Yanks beat them 6-3
1968 Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren resigns
1969 1st reported hearing of pirate radio WGHP (With God's Help Peace)
1969 Zager & Evans release "In the Year 2525"
1970 Brazil wins last Jules Rimet Trophy, soccer championship
1971 50,000 attend Celebration of Life, rock concert, McCrea Louisana
1975 Soyuz 19 returns to Earth
1977 Former White House chief of staff HR Haldeman enters prison
1977 Menachem Begin (Likud), becomes Israel's 6th PM
1981 12-bottle case of 1979 Napamedoc Cabernet wine auctioned for $24,000
1982 Paul McCartney releases "Take it Away"
1982 Wash DC jury finds John Hinckley Jr innocent by insanity
1985 American, Brazilian & West German forensic pathologists confirm skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were Nazi Dr Josef Mengele
1986 Heike Drechsler of East Germany long jumps 7.45 m (women's record)
1986 Pres Reagan gives speech defending his judicial appointments
1987 Discovery rolls over from OPF to Vandenberg AFB
1987 Mike Tyson sexually harasses a parking lot attendent
1988 Los Angeles beats Detroit, for the NBA championship
1989 Carlton Fisk becomes AL catcher HR hitter, 307th at Yankee stadium
1989 Melanie Griffith & Don Johnson remarry
1989 Supreme Court rules ok to burn US flag as a political expression
1990 25,000 die in Iranian Earthquake
1990 Little Richard gets a star on Hollywood's walk of fame
1990 NYC's Zodiac killer shoots 4th victim, Larry Parham
1990 US House of Reps vote 254-177 to stop US flag burning, doesn't pass
1991 Eleanor Mondale marries Greg "Thunder" Malban (Minn DJ)
1991 Islanders Denis Potvan & Michael Bossy inducted into NHL Hall of Fame

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Hong Kong, Taiwan : Dragon Boat Festival
New Hampshire : Ratification Day (1788)
US : Father's Day (Remind the guy how much you care) - - - - - ( Sunday )
Newfoundland : Discovery Day (1497-John Cabot) - - - - - ( Monday )

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Religious Observances
Christian-Colombia : Sacred Heart Day [moveable feast]
Saint Alban Feast Day - Saint Alban, a Roman soldier, was beheaded for harboring a priest refuge. He became Britain's first martyr. He is considered the patron saint of refugees.
RC : Memorial of St Aloysius Gonzaga, religious, patron of youth
Luth : Commem of Onesimos Nesib, translator/evangelist

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Religious History
1639 Birth of Increase Mather, early American theologian. He published nearly 100 books, and is credited with helping end executions for witchcraft in colonial America.
1821 Birth of Henry W. Baker, compiler of 'Hymns Ancient and Modern' Ä the unofficial Anglican church hymnal. He also authored the hymn based on Psalm 23: 'The King of Love My Shepherd Is.'
1821 The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church was formally constituted in New York City. Nineteen clergymen were present, representing six African-American churches from New York City; Philadelphia; New Haven, CT and Newark, NJ.
1963 In Rome, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was elected Pope Paul VI, the 261st pontiff of the Catholic Church.
1968 Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth wrote in a letter: 'Faith in God's revelation has nothing to do with an ideology which glorifies the status quo.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy."