Stonewall: A Biography of General Thomas J. Jackson

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Overview

The charismatic Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, who began his military career in the Mexican War, earned his great fame in the Civil War in a series of brilliantly fought battles. He was given the name Stonewall at the First Battle of Bull Run, when his brigade faced overwhelming odds but held the line. Byron Farwell's engrossing narrative reveals Stonewall Jackson both as a military genius and as a quirky, dark personality radically different from the storybook version that grew up after Jackson's ...

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More About This Book

Overview

The charismatic Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, who began his military career in the Mexican War, earned his great fame in the Civil War in a series of brilliantly fought battles. He was given the name Stonewall at the First Battle of Bull Run, when his brigade faced overwhelming odds but held the line. Byron Farwell's engrossing narrative reveals Stonewall Jackson both as a military genius and as a quirky, dark personality radically different from the storybook version that grew up after Jackson's untimely death at Chancellorsville in 1863.

In the first major biography of Stonewall Jackson in more than 30 years, Farwell reveals the quirky, obsessive, dark personality behind the legendary Confederate general who died at Chancellorsville. Despite many limitations, Jackson's genius was unquestionable, as revealed in this meticulously researched narrative. Photos.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Farwell, a leading popular military historian ( Mr. Kipling's Army ), argues that his subject's reputation has been so highly polished by admirers that both the man and the soldier are obscured. Here he depicts a Stonewall Jackson (1812-1863) as a complex person who could be petty as well as pious, vindictive as well as heroic. The core of the work, however, is a series of battle narratives that establish Jackson as a hard-driving offensive fighter who took risks and made them pay off. Farwell's insistence that Jackson was consistently lucky understates the effects of Stonewall's ability to force his enemies to make mistakes. He is more convincing in arguing that Jackson's difficulty in cooperating with colleagues and subordinates meant that corps command marked his effective limit. The author's concluding implication--that Jackson's death at Chancellorsville might not have been an overwhelming disaster for the Confederacy--is certain to attract attention. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Oct.)
Library Journal
reinterprets the South's most legendary soldier in this respectful but thoroughly debunking biography of ``Stonewall'' Jackson. Best known for his writings on Britain's colonial wars ( The Great War in Africa , LJ 12/86; Mr. Kipling's Army: All the Queen's Men , Norton, 1987), Farwell brings a fresh perspective to Civil War scholarship. In his efforts to establish the facts of Jackson's life and career, he concludes that most of the Jackson legends, including his fabled eccentricities, lack factual basis and contribute nothing to an appreciation of Jackson's merit and success as a military leader. At the same time, he notes that luck as much as skill made Jackson a legend. Suitable for all public and academic libraries but of real value for those with contrasting Jackson biographies.-- Lawrence E. Ellis, Broward Community Coll. Lib., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780393310863
  • Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
  • Publication date: 11/28/1993
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 532
  • Sales rank: 595,770
  • Product dimensions: 6.10 (w) x 9.30 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

During the Second World War, Byron Farwell (1921–1999) served as a captain of engineers attached to the Mediterranean Allied Air Force in the British Eighth Army area.

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