Mary Anna Morrison Jackson (July 21, 1831 – March 24, 1915) was the second wife, and subsequently

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

, of

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

general

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

. She was widely known as the "Widow of the Confederacy" for the next 50 years.

Biography

Mary Anna Morrison – popularly known by friends and family as Anna – was born at Cottage Home, the family plantation near Lincolnton,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

.First president of Davidson College owned Lincoln County plantation , news@norman
/ref>Marker: O-44
/ref> Her father, Robert Hall Morrison, was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

preacher and the first president of

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

, and her mother, Mary Graham, was the sister of

William Alexander Graham William Alexander Graham (September 5, 1804August 11, 1875) was a United States senator from North Carolina from 1840 to 1843, a senator later in the Confederate States Senate from 1864 to 1865, the 30th governor of North Carolina from 1845 to ...

, a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and later

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...

, as well as a Senator in the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the Provisional government, provisional and permanent Legislature, legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned w ...

during the Civil War. Anna received her formal education at

Salem Academy Salem Academy is a boarding and day school for high school girls in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It shares its campus with Salem College, located near historic Old Salem. Salem Academy is the oldest private school in North Carolina, and the 4th- ...

(now Salem Academy and College) from 1847 to 1849.Widow of the Confederacy, Mary Anna Morrison Jackson, had deep roots in Lincoln County , news@norman
/ref> Anna was introduced to Thomas Jackson by her sister Isabella, the wife of

Daniel Harvey Hill Lieutenant-General Daniel Harvey Hill (July 12, 1821 – September 24, 1889), commonly known as D. H. Hill, was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the eastern and western theaters of the American Civil Wa ...

, a professor at Washington College (now

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

) in

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...

; Jackson had recently accepted a teaching position at the nearby

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

. In 1853, Jackson had married Elinor Junkin, the daughter of Washington College's president, Dr.

George Junkin Reverend George Junkin D.D., LL.D (November 1, 1790 – May 20, 1868) was an American educator and Presbyterian minister who served as the first and third president of Lafayette College and later as president of Miami University and Washington ...

; she died in childbirth the following October. Around Christmas 1856, Jackson called on Anna in North Carolina while on furlough from VMI. They married in the front parlor of Cottage Home on July 16, 1857. They purchased a brick house on East Washington Street in Lexington, where they lived from 1858 to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Their first daughter, Mary Graham Jackson, died in infancy in 1858; their second, Julia Laura, was born in Charlotte on November 23, 1862, just before the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

. Anna lived with relatives in Charlotte during the war, while several members of her family - including her husband, her brother-in-law D.H. Hill, and her younger brother Joseph Graham Morrison, who served as Jackson's aide-de-camp - served in the Confederate Army. She visited her husband at his headquarters house in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

during the winter of 1861–62, at his winter headquarters at

Moss Neck Manor Moss Neck Manor is a historic, antebellum plantation house located at Rappahannock Academy, Caroline County, Virginia, United States. Construction James Parke Corbin (1808-1868) inherited the plantation, which did not have a significant house, ...

in the spring of 1863, and again at Guinea Station after he was wounded at the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

. She was at Jackson's bedside when he died on May 10, 1863.

After Stonewall Jackson's death

Anna never remarried after her husband's death; she moved back into Cottage Home with her father after the war, until moving to Charlotte in 1873 while Julia completed her education. After Julia married William Christian in 1885, Anna lived with him in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, then briefly in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, before returning to North Carolina. Julia had two children of her own before she died in 1889, at the age of twenty-six.Stonewall Jackson House - Frequently Asked Questions
Anna frequently attended Confederate veterans' reunions and wrote two books on her husband, a memoir and a collection of their letters. Anna Jackson died in Charlotte on March 24, 1915, at the age of eighty-three. She was buried with full military honors next to her husband and daughters at Oak Grove Cemetery in Lexington.

In popular culture

Jackson is the subject of the

Harnett Kane Harnett may refer to: __NOTOC__ People Given name * Harnett Kane (1910–1984), American author Surname * Cornelius Harnett (1723–1781), American statesman * Curt Harnett (born 1965), Canadian racing cyclist * Cynthia Harnett (1893–1981), Eng ...

1957 novel, ''The Gallant Mrs. Stonewall'', based on the Jacksons' early years together. She was portrayed by

Kali Rocha Kali Michele Rocha (born December 5, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Karen Rooney, the mother of four Rooney children and school's vice principal, in the Disney Channel sitcom '' Liv and Maddie''. She has also co-written ...

in the 2003 film

Gods and Generals (film) ''Gods and Generals'' is a 2003 American epic war drama film written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell. It is an adaptation of the 1996 novel of the same name by Jeffrey Shaara and prequel to Maxwell's 1993 film '' Gettysburg''. Most of the fi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Mary Anna 1831 births 1915 deaths People from Lincoln County, North Carolina Women in the American Civil War