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 Stonewall Jackson “crossed over the river” in this house at Guinea Station on May 10, 1863.
With that final delirious sentence, Thomas Jonathan Jackson did just as he said and crossed over that river - crossed over to his eternal rest.
Jackson, known by his nom de guerre, "Stonewall," was dead. Confederate General Robert E. Lee sometimes liked to tease 'Ole Blue Light,' as some of the men used to call him (no doubt not to his face), but he also had the deepest respect for the man - for his piety as well as for his skills as a military commander.
Jackson and Lee had just orchestrated a smashing victory at a little, out-of-the-way hamlet in Virginia called Chancellorsville, not far from Fredericksburg. They had gone against sound military theory and had divided their force, which was already vastly outnumbered by the Federals under the command of General Joseph Hooker. They decided to chance it when they discoverd that Hooker's right flank was "in the air," that is, unprotected by a natural barrier, such as a river. They were sanguine that risking such a bold division of their army would be worth the rewards of rolling up Hooker's right flank.
 The amputated arm of Stonewall Jackson is buried here, in a rural plot near the site of the Battle of Chancellorsville.
This time around I left at 5:30 a.m. Once I reached MD. Rte. 5, I got off of the Beltway and headed for US 301. Even before 7:00 a.m., the traffic on Rte. 5 heading toward Washington was backed up for several miles. If you like traffic in Atlanta, you will love it in D.C.
Fortunately, I encountered no traffic delays this time around. I drove through southern Maryland (always an enjoyable break from the rat race of I-95). I, too, crossed over a river, the Potomac, on the Harry W. Nice bridge (great view of the river) and entered into Virginia. After getting behind a few school buses making their morning runs, I got back onto 95 near Fredericksburg.
My first stop of the day was just south of that town, at a place called Guinea Station. The house where Jackson uttered his last words still stands and is a unit of the National Park Service. I had been there on at least two other occasions over the years, so I did not linger too long on this trip. I spent enough time to get a few photographs and take a quick look inside.
Jackson's gambit had worked. The Union right flank was caught totally off guard. Although the Confederates had too small a force to conquer the Federal army, they were successful in thwarting Hooker's offensive. The battle is considered one of the classic military engagements of all time.
The victory came at a dear price, however. On the evening of May 2, 1863, Jackson was reconnoitering when, in the darkness of night, he was fired upon by Confederate pickets who must have thought he was the enemy. The fighting had been fierce that day and no doubt the soldiers on both sides were quite antsy, knowing that the enemy could very well be lurking just yards away.
After being shot in the left arm, as well as the right hand, Jackson's doctor, Hunter S. Maguire, deemed it necessary to amputate the arm. Jackson was then taken safely behind the lines several miles to Guinea Station, where he lingered for several days. When Lee heard of the wounding of his friend and comrade-in-arms he is reported to have lamented, "Jackson has lost his left arm but I have lost my right."
Jackson lingered for several days while the battle continued. Lee, who could not leave the battlefront to visit his valiant lieutenant, sent word to him that he was praying for him like he had never prayed for himself. It is said that Lee wept upon hearing of Jackson's death, which occurred on May 10 due to complications from pneumonia.
How differently the battle of Gettysburg, which was fought just two months later, might have turned out if Stonewall had survived.
Back in 2001, on another trip, I visited the Spotsylvania Courthouse, Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg battlefields. I saw the area where Jackson was shot, which is just outside the Chancellorsville visitor center. I obtained a parking permit and drove a mile or two to a small gravel parking lot near a wooded path.
I walked at least half a mile before reaching a clearing where sits an old mansion. Several yards to the right there is a small enclosure. Inside the enclosure stands a small headstone indicating the final resting place of Jackson's amputated arm. His body was interred in Lexington, Virginia, where he had lived before the war.
I am reminded of the time in 1990 when I was visiting the Revolutionary War battlefield in Saratoga, New York. In a small grove of trees stands a headstone indicating the burial place of the leg of Benedict Arnold, which was shot during that battle. (This occurred when Arnold was still fighting for the Patriot cause.)
No doubt Jackson's arm, as well as the rest of his body, will be reunited when the graves of the redeemed open up upon the Lord's return for His own.
As for Arnold and his leg, I dare not speculate.
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