NPS continues investigation of 'Stonewall' Jackson monument vandalism at Manassas

(National Park Service photo)

The National Park Service is continuing to investigate vandalism – in the form of poured and sprayed paint – on the famous Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson monument at Manassas National Battlefield Park, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

NPS spokeswoman Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles said “no more details are available for release at this time.”

The monument after it had been scrubbed (NPS)

Crews by Thursday afternoon had removed all the paint and will repolish the black granite base at a later date, the park said in a Facebook post about the vandalism that was discovered at about 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

White paint was poured on three of the four sides of the polished granite base. The word “Dead!!!” was written in gold spray paint. 

Cleanup of vandalism of Stonewall Jackson statue at Manassas Battlefield Park is progressing well. Latex paint washing off  @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/hFGdFa5tua

— Julie Carey (@JulieCareyNBC) October 4, 2017Vandalism has been reported in other locations in the country amid the debate over what to do with monuments honoring or recognizing the Confederate cause and its leaders.

The monument was erected in 1940 near the Henry House. It’s where Jackson received the nickname “Stonewall,” at the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861.

(NPS photos)

An NPS web page said this of the dedication, which came during World War II but before the United States entered that conflict: “Mounted atop an eight-foot base of black granite etched with Brig. Gen. Barnard Bee's immortal phrase, "There Stands Jackson Like a Stone Wall," the stalwart Jackson in the saddle projected the same strength and determination that Americans needed in the current perilous affairs.”

NPS law enforcement park rangers are investigating Wednesday’s incident; anyone with information is asked to call 301-714-2235.

A visit to 'Stonewall' Jackson Shrine, where general wounded at Chancellorsville came to rest under the shade of the trees

A Jackson staff member placed this monument in 1903.

I made a brief visit on Tuesday afternoon to the Spotsylvania Court House battlefield and the “Stonewall” Jackson Shrine south of Fredericksburg, Va.

It had been years since I had seen where Lt. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson died in a small farm building at Guinea Station. He was wounded by his own men on May 2, 1863, at Chancellorsville, the site of his greatest success -- a sweeping flank attack that rolled back the Federal right.

The shrine was a peaceful place, with only a couple weekday visitors present.

I learned that the Confederate general got to know the Chandler family who owned the farm just a year before, during the Fredericksburg campaign. Now, Robert E. Lee wanted his lieutenant to recuperate at a spot well behind enemy lines. Jackson was taken by ambulance to Guinea Station.

Jackson died in this bed. (Picket photos)

According to the National Park Service: “Although offered the use of the Chandler house, Jackson's doctor and staff officers chose the quiet and private outbuilding as the best place for Jackson to rest after his long ambulance ride. If all went well, the general would soon board a train at Guinea Station and resume his trip to Richmond and the medical expertise available there.”

Five physicians tended to Jackson, who had his left arm amputated after his wounding. The general’s wife, Mary Anna, arrived with their infant daughter and spent most of her time at his bedside or an office in the next room.

Jackson had contracted pneumonia, perhaps before he was wounded, and his condition worsened within days. He expressed a wish to die on a Sunday, and that occurred on May 10.

Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire recorded his famous last words: "A few moments before he died he cried out in his delirium, 'Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the front rapidly! Tell Major Hawks' -- then stopped, leaving the sentence unfinished. Presently a smile of ineffable sweetness spread itself over his pale face, and he said quietly, and with an expression, as if of relief, 'Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.’” (Jackson was buried in Lexington, Va.)

I asked the ranger to describe the continued attention to Jackson. He spoke of poetry and postwar stories told about Confederate leaders during the rise of the “Lost Cause” narrative.

He pointed to a copy of a famous painting of Lee and Jackson’s last meeting (above). A couple from Northern Ireland had previously visited and said they had a copy hanging in their bedroom.

Remembering 'Stonewall' W. Virginia roots

Proponents of a cultural center in West Virginia honoring native son Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson are assessing the costs to interpret the Confederate general's life. They learned this week that moving a cabin to Clarksburg and transforming it would require more than $250,000 over 10 years from the city. Jackson was born in Clarksburg before it seceded from Virginia. • Article

Did moonlight help do in Stonewall?

An astronomer and researcher at Texas State University have put forth a theory on what contributed to the legendary general's fatal wounding by fellow Confederates 150 years ago at Chancellorsville: The bright moon would have silhouetted Jackson and his officers, obscuring their identities. • Article

Saturday seminar: Stonewall, old soldiers and the confounding sound of silence

As July 2, 1863, dawned at Gettysburg, Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell had an important task ahead. His troops were to make a strong show of force against the Union right as Lt. Gen James Longstreet’s men moved to take the Round Top mountains at the south end of Cemetery Ridge.

But Ewell missed the signal to commence activity. He claimed later he could not hear the barrage of Confederate artillery, and failed to move his troops in time, allowing Union commanders to shift troops to blunt Longstreet’s assault.

Longstreet's July 2 assault at Gettysburg (Library of Congress)

“The hot temperatures near the ground probably caused a dramatic upward refraction of sound waves,” Charles D. Ross wrote in 1999 newsletter of the Acoustical Society of America.

Union commander George G. Meade also claimed not to hear the sound of fighting at one point during Gettysburg, while people in Pittsburgh, 150 miles, heard the din of battle.

The phenomenon, known as “acoustic shadows,” is among the topics being covered Saturday (Feb. 16) at a daylong free seminar at Longwood University in Farmville, Va.

The 14^th Annual Civil War Seminar is sponsored by the university and Appomattox Court House National Historic Park, which is 30 miles from Farmville.

Unusual acoustics due to atmospheric conditions sometimes make it difficult for commanders to hear sounds of battle that can help them deploy trees or react. Temperature inversions, terrain, absorption and wind can factor in, creating an auditory dead zone.

Professor Ross

Ross, a professor of physics at Longwood, is among the speakers focusing on 1863, “A Year of Decision.” Chancellorsville, another 1863 battle, also witnessed acoustic shadows.

Patrick Schroeder, park historian at Appomattox Court House NHP, told the Picket that organizers are hoping for a crowd of about 300.

“They are topnotch speakers for free,” he said. “We are going to get people from Civil War roundtable groups, Sons of Confederate Veterans groups. We will get a fair amount of Longwood students and local people.”

The 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. program is being held at the 800-seat Jarman Auditorium on campus.

Other speakers are:

n 

         --  Frank O’Reilly, National Park Service employee and author, will discuss the Battle of Chancellorsville. O’Reilly also has written extensively about Fredericksburg.

T.J. Duckett of S.C. at 1913 reunion

n       -- Historian and writer Robert K. Krick will describe the mortal wounding of Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville. Krick has written more than 20 books. For 30 years, he was chief historian of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park.

n      --- Troy Harman of the NPS will discuss the fighting at Gettysburg. “He is probably going to cover how the federal troops would use the terrain to their advantage,” said Schroeder.

n     -- John Heiser will talk about Gettysburg and the “Great Reunion of 1913.” That meeting was the largest combined reunion of Civil War Veterans ever held.

Registration to attend the seminar is not required. “If you want to come in just the afternoon or morning you can just do that,” said Schroeder.

• Details on the seminar, contact information

• More about the seminar's speakers

• Article on acoustic shadows

See 'Gods and Generals', learn about reproduction furniture used in movie

A metro Atlanta university is offering an interesting twofer: A free screening of 2003's "Gods and Generals" and a talk by a master cabinet maker who made furniture pieces used in the film.

The Center for the Study of the Civil War Era at Kennesaw State University will present the movie at 6 p.m. June 18 (Monday) at the Social Sciences building theater. Popcorn will be provided.

At 7 p.m. June 23 (Saturday), furniture maker Joe Cress of Abingdon, Va., will discuss items he made for the film and his interest in battlefield preservation. That program, also free, is the building's auditorium.

“You could put some of his reproductions next to the original items and you would be very hard-pressed to tell them apart," said Michael K. Shaffer, assistant director of the center.

"Gods and Generals" focuses on Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and his spectacular successes from 1861 to 1863.

Cress specializes in making high-quality reproductions of furniture used by Confederate generals. At Kennesaw, he will show his Robert E. Lee camp chest, a bed leg from the death bed of Jackson and the J.E.B. Stuart field desk (right). A few of his company's designs are licensed with Virginia Military Institute and the Museum of the Confederacy, which have the originals.

He made seven or eight items for the movie.

“The set decoration folk have warehouses of artifacts they can choose from," Cress told the Picket. “They wanted to get as close to the original pieces as they could."

For more information on either program, contact Shaffer at mshaffe3@kennesaw.edu or 678-797-2551. Guests should park in the West Parking Deck, then enter Building 22, the Social Sciences building. Photo of Stuart desk courtsey of Logan Creek Designs.

• Kennesaw State University campus maps
• Civil War Center's Facebook page

COMING TUESDAY IN THE PICKET: A closer look at Joe Cress' specialized craft

Remembering the '62 Valley Campaign

In June 1862, Stonewall Jackson’s historic Valley Campaign came to a thunderous climax at the Battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic in Rockingham County. This June 9, 150 years later, guests from across the nation will gather on the Cross Keys battlefield for a landmark Sesquicentennial program: “If This Valley Is Lost”: Preserving the Legacy of Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign. • Article

Stonewall belt buckle on loan for anniversary

Manassas National Battlefield Park kicked off the week marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War’s first major battle by unveiling an exhibit featuring a belt buckle worn on the field by famed Confederate general Stonewall Jackson and a shotgun carried by partisan leader Col. John Singleton Mosby. • Article

See works of master mapmaker

Civil War and cartography enthusiasts will have an opportunity beginning Saturday to see digital images of the works of Confederate military mapmaker Jedediah Hotchkiss. • Article