The Last Triumph Of Stonewall Jackson

The story of the battle of Chancellorsville and of Jackson's famous

flank movement, with its disastrous result to Hooker's army, and to the

Confederates in the loss of their beloved leader, has been often told.

But these narratives are from the outside; we propose to give one here

from the inside, in the graphic description of Heros Von Borcke, General

J. E. B. Stuart's chief of staff, who took an active part in the

st rring events of that critical 2d of May, 1863.



It is a matter of general history how General Hooker led his army across

the Rappahannock into that ugly region at Chancellorsville, with its

morasses, hills, and ravines, its dense forest of scrub-oaks and pines,

and its square miles of tangled undergrowth, which was justly known as

The Wilderness; and how he strongly intrenched himself against an attack

in front, with breastworks of logs and an abattis of felled trees. It is

equally familiar how Lee, well aware of the peril of attacking these

formidable works, accepted the bold plan of Stonewall Jackson, who

proposed to make a secret flank movement and fall with his entire corps

on Hooker's undefended rear. This was a division of Lee's army which

might have led to disaster and destruction; but he had learned to trust

in Jackson's star. He accordingly made vigorous demonstrations in

Hooker's front, in order to attract his attention and keep him employed,

while Jackson was marching swiftly and stealthily through the thick

woods, with Stuart's cavalry between him and the foe, to the Orange

plank-road, four miles westward from Chancellorsville. With this

introductory sketch of the situation we leave the details of the march

to Von Borcke.



"All was bustle and confusion as I galloped along the lines on the

morning of the 2d, to obtain, according to Stuart's orders, the latest

instructions for our cavalry from General Lee, who was located at a

distance of some miles to our right. Anderson's and McLaws's

sharp-shooters were advancing and already exchanging shots with the

enemy's skirmishers--the line of battle of these two divisions having

been partially extended over the space previously occupied by Jackson's

corps, that they might cover its movements.



"This splendid corps meanwhile was marching in close columns in a

direction which set us all wondering what could be the intentions of old

Stonewall; but as we beheld him riding along, heading the troops

himself, we should as soon have thought of questioning the sagacity of

our admired chief as of hesitating to follow him blindly wherever he

should lead. The orders of the cavalry were to report to Jackson and to

form his advanced-guard; and in that capacity we marched silently along

through the forest, taking a small by-road, which brought us several

times so near the enemy's lines that the stroke of axes, mingled with

the hum of voices from their camp, was distinctly audible.



"Thus commenced the famous flank march which, more than any other

operation of the war, proved the brilliant strategical talents of

General Lee and the consummate ability of his lieutenant. About two

o'clock a body of Federal cavalry came in sight, making, however, but

slight show of resistance, and falling back slowly before us. By about

four o'clock we had completed our movement without encountering any

material obstacle, and reached a patch of woods in rear of the enemy's

right wing, formed by the Eleventh Corps, Howard's, which was encamped

in a large open field not more than half a mile distant.



"Halting here, the cavalry threw forward a body of skirmishers to occupy

the enemy's attention, while the divisions of Jackson's corps--A. P.

Hill's, Colston's, and Rode's, numbering in all about twenty-eight

thousand men--moved into line of battle as fast as they arrived. Ordered

to reconnoitre the position of the Federals, I rode cautiously forward

through the forest, and reached a point whence I obtained a capital view

of the greater part of the troops, whose attitude betokened how totally

remote was any suspicion that a numerous host was so near at hand.



"It was evident that the whole movement we had thus so successfully

executed was regarded as merely an unimportant cavalry raid, for only a

few squadrons were drawn up in line to oppose us, and a battery of four

guns were placed in a position to command the plank-road from Germana,

over which we had been marching for the last two hours. The main body of

the troops were listlessly reposing, while some regiments were looking

on, drawn up on dress parade; artillery horses were quietly grazing at

some distance from their guns, and the whole scene presented a picture

of the most perfect heedlessness and nonchalance, compatible only with

utter unconsciousness of impending danger.



"While complacently gazing on this extraordinary spectacle, somewhat

touched myself apparently with the spell of listless incaution in which

our antagonists were locked, I was startled with the sound of closely

approaching footsteps, and, turning in their direction, beheld a patrol

of six or eight of the enemy's infantry just breaking through the bushes

and gazing at me with most unmistakable astonishment. I had no time to

lose here, that was certain; so quickly tugging my horse's head round in

the direction of my line of retreat, and digging my spurs into his

sides, I dashed off from before the bewildered Yankees, and was out of

sight ere they had time to take steady aim, the bullets that came

whizzing after me flying far wide of the mark.



"On my return to the spot where I had left Stuart, I found him, with

Jackson and the officers of their respective staffs, stretched out along

the grass beneath a gigantic oak, and tranquilly discussing their plans

for the impending battle which both seemed confidently to regard as

likely to end in a great and important victory for our arms. Towards

five o'clock Jackson's adjutant, Major Pendleton, galloped up to us and

reported that the line of battle was formed and all was in readiness for

immediate attack. Accordingly the order was at once given for the whole

corps to advance. All hastened forthwith to their appointed posts,

General Stuart and his staff joining the cavalry, which was to operate

on the left of our infantry.



"Scarcely had we got up to our men when the Confederate yell, which

always preceded a charge, burst forth along our lines, and Jackson's

veterans, who had been with difficulty held back till that moment,

bounded forward towards the astounded and perfectly paralyzed enemy,

while the thunder of our horse-artillery, on whom devolved the honor of

opening the ball, reached us from the other extremity of the line. The

more hotly we sought to hasten to the front, the more obstinately did we

get entangled in the undergrowth, while our infantry moved on so rapidly

that the Federals were already completely routed by the time we had got

thoroughly quit of the forest.






"It was a strange spectacle that now greeted us. The whole of the

Eleventh Corps had broken at the first shock of the attack; entire

regiments had thrown down their arms, which were lying in regular lines

on the ground, as if for inspection; suppers just prepared had been

abandoned; tents, baggage, wagons, cannons, half-slaughtered oxen,

covered the foreground in chaotic confusion, while in the background a

host of many thousand Yankees were discerned scampering for their lives

as fast as their limbs could carry them, closely followed by our men,

who were taking prisoners by the hundreds, and scarcely firing a shot."



That the story of panic here told is not too much colored by the

writer's sympathy for his cause, may be seen by the following extract

from Lossing's "Civil War in America," a work whose sympathies are

distinctly on the other side. After saying that Jackson's march had not

passed unobserved by the Federals, who looked on it as a retreat towards

Richmond, and were preparing for a vigorous pursuit of the supposed

fugitives, Lossing thus describes the Confederate onset and the Federal

rout:



"He (Jackson) had crossed the Orange plank-road, and, under cover of the

dense jungle of the wilderness, had pushed swiftly northward to the old

turnpike and beyond, feeling his enemy at every step. Then he turned his

face towards Chancellorsville, and, just before six o'clock in the

evening, he burst from the thickets with twenty-five thousand men, and,

like a sudden, unexpected, and terrible tornado, swept on towards the

flank and rear of Howard's corps, which occupied the National right; the

game of the forest--deers, wild turkeys, and hares--flying wildly before

him, and becoming to the startled Unionists the heralds of the

approaching tempest of war. These mute messengers were followed by the

sound of bugles; then by a few shots from approaching skirmishers; then

by a tremendous yell from a thousand throats and a murderous fire from a

strong battle line. Jackson, in heavy force, was upon the Eleventh Corps

at the moment when the men were preparing for supper and repose, without

a suspicion of danger near. Deven's division, on the extreme right,

received the first blow, and almost instantly the surprised troops,

panic-stricken, fled towards the rear, along the line of the corps,

communicating their emotions of alarm to the other divisions.... In the

wildest confusion the fugitives rushed along the road towards

Chancellorsville, upon the position of General Carl Schurz, whose

division had already retreated, in anticipation of the onset, and the

turbulent tide of frightened men rolled back upon General A. Von

Steinwehr, utterly regardless of the exertions of the commander of the

corps and his subordinate officers to check their flight. Only a few

regiments, less demoralized than the others, made resistance, and these

were instantly scattered like chaff, leaving half their number dead or

dying on the field."



With this vivid picture of an army in a panic, we shall again take up

Von Borcke's personal narrative at the point where we left it:



"The broken nature of the ground was against all cavalry operations, and

though we pushed forward with all our will, it was with difficulty we

could keep up with Jackson's 'Foot-cavalry,' as this famous infantry was

often called. Meanwhile, a large part of the Federal army, roused by the

firing and the alarming reports from the rear, hastened to the field of

action, and exerted themselves in vain to arrest the disgraceful rout of

their comrades of the Eleventh Corps. Numerous batteries having now

joined the conflict, a terrific cannonade roared along the lines, and

the fury of the battle was soon at its full height. Towards dark a

sudden pause ensued in the conflict, occasioned by Jackson giving orders

for his lines to reform for the continuation of the combat, the rapid

and prolonged pursuit of the enemy having thrown them into considerable

confusion. Old Stonewall being thoroughly impressed with the conviction

that in a few hours the enemy's whole forces would be defeated, and that

their principal line of retreat would be in the direction of Ely's Ford,

Stuart was ordered to proceed at once towards that point with a portion

of his cavalry, in order to barricade the road and as much as possible

impede the retrograde movement of the enemy.



"In this operation we were joined by a North Carolina infantry regiment,

which was already on its way towards the river. Leaving the greater part

of the brigade behind us under Fitz Lee's command, we took only the

First Virginia Cavalry with us, and, trotting rapidly along a small

bypath, overtook the infantry about two miles from the ford. Riding with

Stuart a little ahead of our men, I suddenly discovered, on reaching

the summit of a slight rise in the road, a large encampment in the

valley to our right, not more than a quarter of a mile from where we

stood; and, farther still, on the opposite side of the river, more

camp-fires were visible, indicating the presence of a large body of

troops.



"Calling a halt, the general and I rode cautiously forward to

reconnoitre the enemy a little more closely, and we managed to approach

near enough to hear distinctly the voices and distinguish the figures of

the men sitting around their fires or strolling through the camp. The

unexpected presence of so large a body of the enemy immediately in our

path entirely disconcerted our previous arrangements. Nevertheless

Stuart determined on giving them a slight surprise and disturbing their

comfort by a few volleys from our infantry. Just as the regiment,

mustering about a thousand, had formed into line according to orders,

and was prepared to advance on the enemy, two officers of General A. P.

Hill's staff rode up in great haste and excitement, and communicated

something in a low tone to General Stuart, by which he seemed greatly

startled and affected.



"'Take the command of that regiment, and act on your own

responsibility,' were his whispered injunctions to me, as he immediately

rode off, followed by the other officers and the cavalry at their

topmost speed.



"The thunder of the cannon, which for the last hour had increased in

loudness, announced that Jackson had recommenced the battle, but as to

the course or actual position of affairs I had not an iota of

information, and my anxiety being moreover increased by the suddenness

of Stuart's departure on some unknown emergency, I felt rather awkwardly

situated. Here was I in the darkness of the night, in an unknown and

thickly wooded country, some six miles from our main army, and opposite

to a far superior force, whom I was expected to attack with troops whom

I had never before commanded, and to whom I was scarcely known. I felt,

however, that there was no alternative but blind obedience, so I

advanced with the regiment to within about fifty yards of the enemy's

encampment and gave the command to fire.



"A hail of bullets rattled through the forest, and as volley after

volley was fired, the confusion and dismay occasioned in the camp were

indescribable. Soldiers and officers could be plainly seen by the light

of the fires walking helplessly about, horses were galloping wildly in

all directions, and the sound of bugles and drums mingled with the cries

of the wounded and flying, who sought in the distant woods a shelter

against the murderous fire of their unseen enemy. The troops whom we

thus dispersed and put to flight consisted, as I was afterward informed,

of the greater part of Averil's cavalry division, and a great number of

the men of this command were so panic-stricken that they did mot

consider themselves safe until they had reached the opposite side of

the Rapidan, when they straggled off for miles all through Culpeper

County.



"Our firing had been kept up for about half an hour, and had by this

time stirred up alarm in the camps on the other side of the river, the

troops of which were marching on us from various directions.

Accordingly, I gave orders to my North Carolinians to retire, leaving

the task of bringing his command back to the colonel; while, anxious to

rejoin Stuart as soon as I could, I galloped on ahead through the dark

forest, whose solemn silence was only broken by the melancholy cry of

hosts of whippoorwills. The firing had now ceased altogether, and all

fighting seemed to have been entirely given up, which greatly increased

my misgivings. After a tedious ride of nearly an hour over the field of

battle, still covered with hundreds of wounded groaning in their agony,

I at last discovered Stuart seated under a solitary plum-tree, busily

writing despatches by the dim light of a lantern.



"From General Stuart I now received the first intimation of the heavy

calamity which had befallen us by the wounding of Jackson. After having

instructed his men to fire at everything approaching from the direction

of the enemy, in his eagerness to reconnoitre the position of the

Federals, and entirely forgetting his own orders, he had been riding

with his staff-officers outside our pickets, when, on their return,

being mistaken for the enemy, the little party were received by a South

Carolina regiment with a volley that killed or wounded nearly every man

of them and laid low our beloved Stonewall himself. The Federals

advancing at the same time, a severe skirmish ensued, in the course of

which one of the bearers of the litter on which the general was being

carried was killed, and Jackson fell heavily to the ground, receiving

soon afterward a second wound. For a few minutes, in fact, the general

was in the hands of the enemy, but his men, becoming aware of his

perilous position, rushed forward, and, speedily driving back the

advancing foe, carried their wounded commander to the rear."



Jackson received three balls, one in the right hand and two in the left

arm, one of these shattering the bone just below the shoulder and

severing an artery. He was borne to the Wilderness tavern, where a

Confederate hospital had been established, and there his arm was

amputated. Eight days after receiving his wounds, on the 10th of May, he

died, an attack of pneumonia being the chief cause of his death. His

last words were, as a smile of ineffable sweetness passed over his pale

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

trees."



Thus died the man who was justly named the "right hand" of General Lee,

and whose death converted his last great victory into a serious disaster

for the Confederate cause, the loss of a leader like Stonewall Jackson

being equivalent to the destruction of an army.