Confederate historiography is rife with accounts of Jefferson Davis’s legendary support of certain commanders, like Braxton Bragg, Leonidas Polk, and Lucius B. Northrop, along with politician Judah P. Benjamin, and his equally legendary feuds with others, like Joseph E. Johnston. Even with Johnston, the fault was more his than that of Davis, as in his correspondence, the President, often exhibits a great deal of grace and aplomb.
But Davis was not,
at least early on, an enthusiast of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. That might come
as a shock, considering that many still celebrate Lee-Jackson Day across the South.
Often, Lee is number one, with Jackson a close second in admiration of military
skill.
It appears that
Davis and Jackson had never met prior to the spring of 1862. Davis was an 1828 United
States Military Academy graduate. During his West Point years, he is described
as frequently challenging the academy’s discipline, which includes being
involved in the famous Eggnog Riot of Christmas 1826.[1]
While serving in the regular army, Davis was court-martialed for
insubordination in 1835.[2]
Davis resigned from the U.S. Army shortly thereafter. He then became a cotton
planter and politician, serving in the U.S. House from 1845-1846. During the
Mexican-American War, Davis raised a regiment, for which he served as colonel, and
fought at Monterrey and Buena Vista. He then served in the U.S. Senate from
1847 to 1851, as Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce, and then
again in the U.S. Senate from 1857 to 1861.
Jackson was not a politician,
nor a planter. He did gain entrance to the United States Military Academy, graduating
in 1846, 17th out of 59th students. Jackson was also in
the Mexican-American War, serving as a second lieutenant in Company K, 1st
United States Artillery. His unit saw action at the Siege of Veracruz, and the
battles of Contreras, Chapultepec, and Mexico City. After Mexico, Jackson saw
action in Florida battling the Seminoles. Jackson also resigned from the U.S.
Army, taking a position of professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy and
Instructor of Artillery at the Virginia Military institute.
Davis, being so intimate
with the going-ons of the War Department, would have seen Jackson’s name in the
reports and telegraphs that arrived in Richmond after the start of the war.
Colonel Thomas J. Jackson took command of the garrison at Harpers Ferry in late
April 1861. Robert E. Lee was critical of Jackson for occupying Maryland
Heights, undoubtedly relaying the fears of others. Jackson wanted Confederate
forces to take the offensive at once. Jackson would next clash with Joseph E.
Johnston. While Jackson commanded over 7,000 men at Harper’s Ferry, he had a commission
only in Virginia. Johnston, after Virginia joined the Confederacy, was a
brigadier general in the Confederate army. When Johnson arrived to assume
command of the post at Harper’s Ferry, no one had notified Jackson, who refused
to relinquish command. Eventually, Johnston found an endorsement with Lee’s
signature on it, and Jackson acquiesced. Jackson then assumed command of all
Virginia regiments at Harpers Ferry.[3]
Promotion to brigadier general came on June 17, 1861. Jackson went on to become
the first icon of the South, earning the sobriquet of Stonewall Jackson at the
battle of First Manassas in July 1861. A promotion to major general came in
November 1861.
It was Jackson who
came up with the plan for the Romney Campaign. Jackson asked for reinforcements
for the campaign and received W.W. Loring’s division. Finding few Federals in
Romney, Jackson withdrew his brigade back to Winchester, leaving Loring at
Romney. Loring has been described as incompetent and not having the ability to
control his already demoralized soldiers. Loring’s officers believed that
Jackson’s men were living high (and warm) in Winchester while they suffered
through one of the coldest winters on record at Romney. Loring signed and
forwarded a petition from eleven of his officers to Richmond asking that
Jackson’s orders be overridden and they be allowed to withdraw from Romney.
Others wrote to their Congressmen, and with Loring’s approval, Brig. Gen.
William B. Taliaferro went to Richmond to plead their case. All of this happened
without using the proper chain of command, as Loring believed Jackson would not
endorse and forward the letters. Davis sided with Loring and ordered the
Secretary of War to telegraph Jackson, ordering him to move Loring’s men.
Jackson complied with the orders, then telegraphed, “With such interference in
my command I cannot expect to be of much service in the field.” He requested to
be assigned back to his old teaching job or allowed to resign.[4]
Davis considered
the Romney Campaign, and Jackson, “utterly incompetent.” It was only through
the work of Joseph E. Johnston that the ruffled feathers of Jackson were
smoothed and his resignation returned to him.[5]
Jackson preferred charges against Loring, charges that Johnston endorsed and
forwarded, but the matter was dropped in Richmond. A few days later, Loring was
promoted to major general at Davis’s request and sent to the Western Theater.
A couple of months
later, Jackson commanded all the troops in the Shenandoah Valley, with orders
from Johnston to prevent Banks from reinforcing McClellan on the Peninsula. The
next squabble came with Richard Ewell. Ewell was angry over Jackson’s secrecy,
so angry, that Ewell sent one of his brigadier generals, Richard Taylor, to
meet with Davis. Taylor just happened to be Davis’s brother-in-law (Davis’s
first wife). It was Ewell and Taylor’s request that an officer be sent to the
Valley, an officer who outranked Jackson and who could take command. Davis
agreed and wanted to send either James Longstreet or Gustavus W. Smith. Davis
agreed to send Longstreet as soon as possible and Taylor returned to Ewell with
the news. Lee stepped in, and as one historian put it, prevented Davis from “making
a truly colossal blunder.” Over the next few weeks, Jackson, with Lee’s encouragement
“carried out one of the more brilliant campaigns of military history.”[6]
The first meeting
of Davis and Jackson is thought to have occurred on July 2, 1862, at Lee’s
Headquarters near Malvern Hill. Lee was meeting with several of his generals
when Davis arrived unannounced. Introductions were made. Dr. Hunter McGuire was
an observer at the event, and it was McGuire who informed Jackson who Davis was,
although he probably already knew. Woodward writes that Jackson’s “feelings
toward Davis, however, were none too cordial, for he had not forgotten the
Romney campaign and Davis’s intervention in Loring’s favor during the affair.”
Hunter McGuire wrote that Jackson “stood as if a corporal on guard, his head erect,
his little fingers touching the seams on his pants, and looked at Davis.” It
was Lee who broke the awkward silence. “Why President, don’t you know General
Jackson? This is our “Stonewall Jackson.” Davis bowed stiffly, and Jackson
saluted. Lee and Davis soon adjourned into another room to talk. Davis and Jackson
spoke later that day. Jackson was alone among Lee’s generals to continue to
pursue McClellan.[7]
Davis, Lee, Jackson,
and others met in Richmond on July 13, devising the strategy of pursuing John
Pope and his army in Northern Virginia. Jackson’s brilliant Second Manassas campaign
still did not seem to inspire trust with Davis. When the army was reorganized
after the Maryland Campaign, the rank of lieutenant general was created. Davis
told Lee that “You have two officers now commanding several divisions and may
require more. Please send to me as soon as possible the names of such as you
prefer for Lt. General.” Lee could request promotions for Longstreet and
Jackson, or Lee could recommend someone else, bypassing Jackson. Woodward
believed that Davis was giving Lee “a convenient opportunity for reducing Jackson’s
responsibilities.”[8] Lee
responded with: “My opinion of the merits of General Jackson have been greatly
enhanced during this expedition. He is true, honest, and brave; has a single
eye to the good of the service, and spares no exertion to accomplish his
object.”[9]
Did Davis, during the war, ever come around to being a
supporter of Jackson? Perhaps. Davis was ill during the Chancellorsville campaign.
However, like many others, he was concerned over Jackson’s wounding. Varinia
Davis wrote that one of the Davis servants (slaves) was sent to the railroad
depot where the latest news about Jackson’s health was reported on the arriving
trains.[10]
It was Davis who sent the first (new) national flag to rest on the casket of
Jackson as it arrived in Richmond. In a letter to Lee on May 11, Davis
described the event as “a great national calamity.”[11]
In the funeral procession, Davis followed near the hearse in a carriage. Later
that day, when someone came to the White House to discuss business with Davis,
Davis “remained silent for a while and then said, ‘You must excuse me. I am
still staggering from a dreadful blow. I cannot think.”[12]
Is it possible to
read more into the attitude of Jackson in meeting with Davis at Malvern Hill in
July 1862? Maybe. Jackon was “stiff” around many people. Did Jackson know of
Ewell and Taylor’s mission to get him replaced? Maybe. Did Jackson smart from
the interference of Loring and his officers after the Romey campaign? Yes.
Jackson did resign over the event. A larger question: why did David dislike
Jackson so much? Was it disdain because Jackson was not of the social class of
Davis and Lee? That is just something to consider.
[1] Cooper,
Jefferson Daivs, 33.
[2] Davis,
Jefferson Davis, 68-69.
[3] Robertson,
Stonewall Jackson, 234-44.
[4] Woodworth,
Davis & Lee, 87-88.
[5] Tanner,
Stonewall in the Valley, 83, from the diary of Thomas Bragg.
[6] Woodworth,
Davis & Lee, 121-22; Parrish, Richard Taylor, 153.
[7] Woodworth,
Davis & Lee, 171.
[8] Woodworth,
Davis & Lee, 202.
[9] OR,
19, pt.2:643-4.
[10] Davis,
Jefferson Davis, 2:382-83.
[11] OR
25, pt. 1:791.
[12] Davis,
Jefferson Davis, 2:382-83.
