"Stonewall Jackson" Topic

I finally got some time to paint today, so I put it to good use

"old blue light" "stonewall" "tom fool" and probably more names still. He was a true leader of men, and one can only wonder what would of happened if only he had lived! So as always thanks for looking and more to see on my blog accidentalpainterblogspot.com

Feedbackwelcome as always
Cheers for now Russ

Excellent work.

Well I tried the link and it won't work for me.I was in the Brigade as a re-enacter for many years. Your Jackson looks great from what I can see.I don't think little sorrel had a blaze as I remember. I saw the stuffed version years ago so I might be wrong. Hope I'm not being too picky.

Yours for the Brigade,
James

Thanks Warwizard, he painted up real nice!

ironicon, thanks for the info! It's not being to picky, I never thought about the blaze but I would say your right.
The link should be accidentalpainter.blogspot.com I missed the dot out! Homer Simpson strikes again!

Very nice work

Worked this time. I really like your CW armies. Love the version of R.E.Lee.

Old Tom has always been a favorite of mine. Great work AGAIN Russ. Have a good day. TIG

More excellent work sir!! Surely one of the most intriguing men to ever command troops in a war filled with characters?

Thanks guys
Frederick, thank you. Its nice that people take the time just to look but even nicer when they take the time to comment its very much appreciated.

iroicon, thank you also. I have being collecting and painting for a fair number of years now. ACW is my main passion and I always drift back to it sooner or later.

Thanks TIG, my GARRADS TIGERS are over half way there so hopefully another week should see them finished. I have struggled for time lately due to personal reasons but I am getting them done slowly.

GoodOldRebel, the war certainly threw up a lot of characters that's for sure, some that will probably never really get the recognition they deserve.

so keep looking guys and I will keep posting
cheers for now Russ

Bracken, makes you wonder for every one Jackson how many equally eccentric officers were never more than on the cusp of glory?

Yes, but was "Stonewall" a compliment or a criticism?
Nice fig.

GoodOldRebel, that is part of the attraction of the ACW. There are things and people we will never really know about. Even with the extensive writing and information we have we will still miss so much and like in so many other wars the real heroes will never be known about.

Korvessa, fair point! Was it due to Jackson standing like a stonewall and not moving forward. I suppose it depends on how you see him as a commander. He appears not to have being the most popular leader but then again I think most people in his position would of made a few enemies. People will always disagree and not see eye to eye! He made difficult decisions in situations that most people would never find themselves in, he certainly made his mark and paid the ultimate price.

I'd like to think it was a compliment or else it was a very strange rallying cry to the men of Bee's shattered Brigade?

GoodOldRebel, I've heard both versions over the years and to my mind it was a positive remark. Why else were they called the stone wall brigade, you wouldn't adopt the name if it meant anything other. I am. Biased but the southern army did seem to have more than its fair share of colourful commanders! Like you said slightly eccentric, deeply religious and some times almost on the verge of insanity! Certainly makes for a colourful history and very enjoyable to read about.

Agreed Bracken, the nick name must have at least been taken in a positive light by those who witnessed the incident? Either way Barnard E Bee was unable to confirm or deny the interpretation history seems largely too have made?

I too seem to have a penchant for the slightly eccentric characters produced by the South, though Stonewall seemed one of the more eccentric? Perhaps his success made his oddities of character more palatable?

GoodOldRebel, I think the madder the more appealing commanders seem. Having bare faced courage and a slightly eccentric way of thinking as helped propel quite a few people into the history books. People who if it wasn't for war would probably of remained in obscurity. The south did seem to have more than its fair share of eccentric characters. Yes there are exceptions, LEE seemed very able, stable minded and well loved by his men. Maybe their faith in God and their love of the south just brought it out in more obvious ways, was it just purely passion to conserve their way of life, and not to be dictated on how they should live. Rightly or wrongly it certainly made for a colourful history.

Very nicely done. I'm in the process of reading Rebel Yell by S.C. Gwynne. This will be the second bio I've read in Jackson (I can't remember the title of the first, but I find this to be a more enjoyable read). He was indeed an eccentric, however, in my opinion the most interesting officer in the war, CSA or US.

You can't argue the fact he was a real character, who believed in God and confederate cause! There is something much more appealing about the southern commanders! The south certainly had the bigger share of eccentric characters. You look to the union, and yes they had some, alcoholics, and yes even religious commanders, and blatant glory hunters who looked for ways to purely enhance thier own public standing. They all seem to pale in comparison.

Gotta love those characterful Southern leaders like Frank Cheatham, Leonidas Polk (his name was glorious if nothing else was), Piere Gustav Toutant Beauregard?

The Southern Cavaliers; Stuart, Turner Ashby, Morgan, Forrest, Wheeler, Shelby ….a few characters there!!

I think the cavaliers and the guerrillas had the most notorious reputations! They seem to have being slightly more flamboyant and in many cases more ruthless. You cant necessarily agree with their actions but they fought for what they believed was right. Yes as in all wars you have people who enjoyed their part they played maybe too much! and played the roles they had being given with relish. Who wouldn't want to defend their home, their way of life and punish the invader. The part that took me a while to really understand was that their loyalty to their state above loyalty to their country. It seemed a foreign concept, I am a typical reserved Brit I'm afraid. Although we did have our own civil war, but in comparison to the ACW its seems ancient history. To choose your state over your country seems alien but it shows the strength of character and conviction to the cause.

The flamboyance for me seemed die out in 1863 and was laid to rest finally in the bitter conflict of 1864? The deaths of Stuart and Morgan to me mark the turning point, afterwards it was the implacable fury of Forrest, Cleburne, Shelby, Jubal Early that seem to represent that hardening of the Southern spirit?

I think once the writing was on the wall the conflict changed! Like you say once the likes of Stuart where no more! The war changed into a desperate fight, you had both the elements who wanted revenge and those who thought that it was better to fight to the bitter end then give up and accept defeat! I think desperation overtook any romantic notions that where held in the early years of the war.

The poster boy for this for me is John Bell Hood, his early war gallantry at Gaines Mill, 2nd Manassas and Sharpsburg had by 1864 (and two serious wounds later) become the desperate fury of Franklin?

Its amazing how the war evolved, the first truly modern war in so many ways! The war started like so many wars, the romantic view of going off to fight and not really thinking about the blood and horror of it all. How much it must of changed the nation for years to come, and I suppose some of the effects must still be felt today. A civil war is probably the worst conflict possible, pitting brother against brother and father against son.

They must have seemed so innocent those soldiers of 1861 and '62?

I wonder how Jackson would have coped with the warfare of 1864?

I'm not sure how he would of adjusted, I like to see him as a southern gent! so I would like to think he would of being shocked and saddened, but his love for the south would of being a true source of torment. It's something that would of being a slow process and we will never really know if the war would of hardened him enough to fight to win at all costs.

It would have been a different war if Jackson and Stewart had lived to the end.

You have got to wonder how different the outcome would of being had they both lived, both where characters and true southern gents. Both had a flare for leadership but did Stuart really get caught up in his own reputation and put that above all else. Was he a glory hunter to the extent of eglecting his orders or has this blown up out of proportion. Stuart like most southern commanders certainly had a charisma about him. He appears to have being followed without question by his men, which to me personally speaks volumes, for men to follow their commanders without question shows both trust and respect IMHO. I am not normally a "what if" kind of person but this does capture my imagination!

Braken: I went to the English spelling of the name(Stuart v. Stewart) without thinking. My grandfather is from Manchester. Also my middle name. As soon as I saw your thread, the light bulb went on over my head. Also, a friend of my has played a scenario where Stuart is at Gettysburg from the beginning, and the south almost always wins. TIG