A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT MAKES A HERO
Introduction:Having recently read numerous books and articles on Generals Lee and Jackson, I took a different approach to the recognition of these two heroes... and at how much they really are just that... Heroes.
While we all know of the accomplishments of both of these Southern Icons, and recognize the similarities of the two, I want you to step back with me and look at several more similarities you may not have noticed that make them even more special. In giving a detailed biography of each one, my intention is not to bore you with things you may already know, but to point out a few things you may not have known about them as individuals and how their separate backgrounds forged the character that culminated in the heroes we know and love today. General Lee was born on January 19, 1807, into what some would call the aristocracy of the time. His father was "Light Horse" Harry Lee, a hero in his own right of the first American Revolution, who served as a general officer in the Continental Army. He was very politically active serving as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1786-1788, from 1789 to 1791 he served in the General Assembly and from 1791-94 as governor of Virginia. His exploits made him famous not only in this country but in the entire English speaking world. The problem with being a "hero" is that it doesn't pay the bills. Harry was one to become politically outspoken at the drop of a hat, he was also drawn to wild schemes in which he would invest large sums of money. These two character traits led to him having to leave the country in 1813, the country he fought to free in the Revolutionary War. Harry Lee died on his way back to his native Virginia on March 25, 1818. (Robert was only 11 years old.) Harry Lee was buried on Cumberland Island, Georgia and remained their until 1913, when his remains were moved to the Lee family crypt, at Lee Chapel, on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Robert E. Lee visited his father's grave for the first time while in Georgia in the Engineering Corps of the U.S. Army.
Robert and his siblings were raised by their mother, Anne Hill Carter Lee, who was a descendant of King Robert II of Scotland. Anne had an inheritance from her family and when Harry left, the family lived on what was left of the inheritance. A quote from a period historian stated, "While the family never went hungry, the variation of the meals left something to be desired".
Robert went on to earn his education, ending up at West Point where he graduated second in his class and never received a demerit. His military career began with the U.S. Army and his war-time exploits in the field are known to us all, starting with the capture of John Brown, the Mexican War, and eventually the War For Southern Independence.
Lee married Mary Anna Randolph Custis (1808-1873), great-granddaughter of Martha Washington and step-great-granddaughter of George Washington, the first President of the United States. They were married on June 30, 1831 at Arlington House, her parents' house just across from Washington, D.C. The 3rd U.S. Artillery served as honor guard at the wedding. They eventually had seven children, three boys and four girls. General Robert E. Lee died October 12, 1870. His citizenship was restored posthumously by President Gerald Ford in 1975.
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Thomas Jonathan (Stonewall) Jackson was born January 21, 1824, into a completely different setting. His great-grandfather, John, and great-grandmother, Elizabeth, arrived in the colonies aboard a prison ship, where they met and after serving their sentences of indentured servitude, married in July 1755. Yes, you read correctly. Stonewall Jackson's great-grandparents were slaves! Knowing this, who in his right mind could believe this man fought for the expansion or perpetuation of slavery? The family moved into what is now called West Virginia. They acquired large tracts of virgin farm land near what is now Buckhannon. John and two of his sons served in the First American Revolution. At the end of the war, John was a Captain and later served as a Lieutenant in the Virginia Militia. An interesting note was that while John and the older boys were away, Elizabeth fortified the home to prevent Indian attacks, and it became known as "Jackson's Fort".
Thomas was the third child of Julia and Jonathan Jackson, an attorney. He was named for his maternal grandfather. Thomas lost his older sister, Elizabeth, March 6, 1826 to typhoid fever as he sat by her bedside. Twenty days later, his father died of the same disease. The next day after that, his mother gave birth to a sister, Laura Ann. This left his mother with three very young children with no means of support. She declined family charity and moved the children into a small one room house where she "took-in" sewing and taught school to support herself and children. In 1830, Julia married an attorney named Blake Woodson, who had little use for Thomas and the other children. Julia died in 1831, from complications of childbirth leaving her three children, for all practical purposes, orphans.
Prior to his mother's death, Thomas and his sister Laura Ann were sent to live with their uncle, Cummins Jackson at Jackson's Mill near what is now Weston, W.V. The older brother, Warren, was sent to live with relatives on his mother's side of the family. Warren died in 1841 of tuberculosis. Thomas and Laura Ann spent four years at Jackson's Mill, then Laura was sent to live with her mother's family and Thomas was sent to live with his Aunt Polly, his father's sister and her husband. Again, he was disliked and even mistreated. After a year he decided to return to Jackson's Mill and walked the 18 miles through the mountain wilderness to his uncle's home where he was welcomed. While his Uncle Cummins was a strict surrogate father, he was loved and respected by Thomas. He helped around the farm, tending sheep, driving teams of oxen and helping harvest the wheat and corn. Formal education was not easy to come by for Thomas, but he attended school when able, sometimes as little as 39 days a year. At one point, his teacher was a former soldier who wrote "The" book on military tactics of the time in regards to border warfare. You have to wonder if this brief encounter with such a man helped shape the future Southern hero. Much of Thomas' education was "self-taught". He studied as time allowed, much of his studies was at night. The story is told of a deal made with one of his uncle's slaves to provide him with pine knots, which were used for light during his studies. In exchange, Jackson would teach the slave to read and write. Virginia law forbade the teaching of slaves to read and write but Jackson was a man of his word and taught the young slave, who later used his newly acquired skills to write his own pass and escape north to Canada. Jackson himself eventually worked as an educator in the schools around the area.
Thomas Jackson was accepted into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. Due to his inadequate prior education he had difficulties with the entrance exams and was not to be accepted until another student became ill and had to withdraw. Jackson began his studies there in the bottom of his class. He had to work harder than most to absorb the lessons, it has been pointed out by many modern day educators that Jackson was probably dyslexic. However, his determination was to persevere and by graduation, he had moved from the very bottom to 17th in a class of 59. It was said by his peers that if he stayed there another year, he would have graduated first.
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So what have we learned about Lee and Jackson? They both came from homes where they lost at least one parent (in Jackson's case, both), they were not raised with all the available amenities of the day. They both had to work hard for what they received, they were raised as Christian men and retained that belief through-out their lives. We can look at the early hardships suffered by these men and realize that these are the same conditions that today are used to excuse bad behavior of our youth. This was in the days before DFACS, welfare, food stamps, counseling etc., before it was common place to point back at your upbringing and say it was "their fault" because of the breakdown of the family structure. These men overcame the hardships of their childhood and in Jackson's case, probably reading problems, to become the very best of the best. They didn't let the loss of the family unit derail their future, they are some of the earliest to "overcome".
Take time to emphasize this with your children and grandchildren, let them know that there is no reason to search for a hero to shape their future. Make sure they know that men like Lee and Jackson are the ones they should admire and try to emulate...
For theirs was the stuff Heroes are made of !
Remember the Charge, it's our responsibility to carry on the cause and the real reason they fought...
Remember it was the Second War for Independence...
SBG
DEO VINDICE
