Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January
21, 1824 –
May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil
War, and probably the most revered Confederate commander after General Robert E.
Lee. His military career includes such famous exploits as the audacious Valley Campaign of 1862 and as a corps commander in the
Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee. Confederate pickets accidentally shot him at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, which the general survived, albeit with the loss of an arm to amputation. However, he died of complications of pneumonia eight days later.
Jackson rose to prominence and earned his most famous nickname at the First Battle of Bull Run (also known as First Manassas) in July 1861. As the Confederate lines
began to crumble under
heavy Union assault, Jackson's brigade provided crucial reinforcements on Henry House Hill, demonstrating the discipline he instilled in his men. Brig. Gen. Barnard Elliott
Bee, Jr., exhorted his own troops to re-form by shouting, "There is Jackson standing like a stone
wall." That is how Jackson was named Stonewall Jackson