Confederate
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
General
Stonewall Jackson
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...
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.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...
on May 2, 1863, and his left arm was
amputated
Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is ...
by
Hunter McGuire. Chaplain Beverly Tucker Lacy had the arm buried at
Ellwood Manor. Jackson died on May 10. Confederate staff officer James Power Smith had a granite monument erected for the gravesite of the arm in 1903, although it is not known how accurately Smith's marker represents the true location of the arm. Legend holds that American military officer
Smedley Butler
Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881June 21, 1940) was a United States Marine Corps officer and writer. During his 34-year military career, he fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Revolution, World War I, ...
had the arm exhumed in 1921, although the factual accuracy of this story is dubious. While it is unknown where the arm is now located, or if it even still exists, the marker has become a tourist site.
Jackson and the amputation
Thomas J. Jackson was born on January 21, 1824. He attended
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
, and after graduating in 1846, served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
, including in the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
. In 1852, he resigned from the army and began teaching at the
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...
. After the start of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
in 1861, Jackson became an officer in the
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
militia and joined the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...
. At the
, he gained fame and the nickname "Stonewall". Serving as a high-ranking officer in the
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...
under
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
, Jackson fought in a number of battles and became well known. On May 2, 1863, in 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.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...
, Jackson led his force on a successful
flank attack
In military tactics, a flanking maneuver is a movement of an armed force around an enemy force's side, or flank, to achieve an advantageous position over it. Flanking is useful because a force's fighting strength is typically concentrated in ...
against the
Federal army
The Federal Army (), also known as the Federales () in popular culture, was the army of Mexico from 1876 to 1914 during the Porfiriato, the rule of President Porfirio Díaz, and during the presidencies of Francisco I. Madero and Victoriano Huerta. ...
. While scouting in front of his own lines the night after the flank attack, Jackson was shot in a
friendly fire
In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy or hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while ...
incident. He was wounded in three places: one in the right hand and two in the left arm. A few hours later,
Hunter McGuire examined Jackson's wounds, and determined that his left arm needed
amputation
Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...
. Jackson was sedated with
chloroform
Chloroform, or trichloromethane (often abbreviated as TCM), is an organochloride with the formula and a common solvent. It is a volatile, colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to refrigerants and po ...
, and the arm was cut off near the shoulder.
While helping prepare the wounded Jackson to be moved from the battlefield for his safety, chaplain Beverly Tucker Lacy noticed Jackson's arm, wrapped up and intended to be buried in a ditch with other amputated limbs. Believing that the arm deserved a better fate, Lacy had the arm buried at
Ellwood Manor (a home owned by Lacy's brother), in the family plot there. The general was not informed of the limb's burial. Jackson died of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
on May 10.
Jackson's widow was asked if she desired the exhumation of the arm so that it could be buried along with the general, but declined after being assured that the arm had received
Christian burial
A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with specifically Christian rites; typically, in consecrated ground. Until recent times Christians generally objected to cremation and practiced inhumation almost exclusively. Today this opposi ...
. The next year, on May 6, during the
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General (C ...
, a Federal soldier reported in his diary that some of his fellow soldiers had exhumed the arm and then reburied it, although the location of the reburial is not known.
A granite marker was placed to the marker in 1903 by former Jackson staff officer James Power Smith. It is not known how accurately this marker reflects the actual burial site of Jackson's arm.
Other markers placed by Smith at battlefields are, in the words of the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
(NPS), "quite approximate in nature". The marker bears the words "Arm of Stonewall Jackson May 3, 1863".
Despite the cemetery containing the graves of 15 people, the only grave monument is the one for the arm.
Smedley Butler
In 1921, a force from the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
conducted a large mock battle at the Wilderness battlefield, led by American military officer
Smedley Butler
Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881June 21, 1940) was a United States Marine Corps officer and writer. During his 34-year military career, he fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Revolution, World War I, ...
. Among the visitors were
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...
and his wife,
Florence Harding
Florence Mabel Harding (née Kling; August 15, 1860 – November 21, 1924) was First Lady of the United States from 1921 until her husband's death in 1923 as the wife of President Warren G. Harding.
Harding had initially studied to be a con ...
. The Hardings stayed at Ellwood during their visit, and Florence was reported to have visited the burial site of Jackson's arm. By the late 1930s, a story from the family who owned Ellwood had begun to circulate claiming that Butler had been told of and disbelieved the claim that Jackson's arm had been buried at the site, and ordered an excavation made by a squad of Marines. The tale claims that Butler and the Marines found the remains of the arm and had it reburied in a metal container. Further versions of the story have claimed that the arm received a
21-gun salute upon reburial. One account claims that Butler filed a report about what had happened, but no such report has been located. Family history also claims that Butler revisited the site long after the 1921 mock battle.
While the story about Butler's 1921 visit is repeated on a historical marker near the site, and has been often published, the factual accuracy of the legend is disputed. Ellwood came under the control of the NPS in 1977 as part of the
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park is a unit of the National Park Service in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and elsewhere in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, Spotsylvania County, commemorating four major battles in the American Civil ...
, and the NPS conducted an archaeological study at the site. The study found no evidence of disturbed earth around the marker, and NPS attempts to locate a metal container with a
metal detector
A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. A metal detector consists of a control box, an adjustable shaft, and ...
have failed to detect any such container. A 2010 NPS press release included the conclusion "the arm was never dug up. It certainly was not reburied in the box near the marker" and expressed a belief that the Butler story was false. The press release also noted the NPS had failed to find documentation supporting the story from before 1940. A historian for the NPS has also rejected claims that the arm was stolen, or that it is located in storage somewhere.
Later history
A metal plaque reading "A Tribute to the Memory of Stonewall Jackson by the East Coast Expeditionary Force United States Marines. Sept. 26 - Oct. 4, 1921" was formerly affixed to the 1903 marker. It is unknown when this plaque was affixed, although according to legend it was added during the 1921 mock battle. At an unknown date, the plaque either eroded off or was removed from the granite marker. It has since been placed into storage. Chris Mackowski, writing for ''
Civil War Times
''Civil War Times'' (formerly ''Civil War Times Illustrated'') was a history magazine that covered the American Civil War. It was established in 1962 by Robert Fowler due to centennial anniversary interest in the Civil War in the United States. ...
'', questions why Butler would have had a marker prepared if he had not known about the arm before the 1921 exercise, but also asks why it would have been installed on the marker if the site was dug up and found to be empty.
Mackowski writes that frequent digging in the park could have rendered the arm unlocatable, or that the arm could have completely disintegrated over time. However, he does conclude that "In all likelihood, Stonewall Jackson's missing arm is still in the Ellwood family cemetery". NPS historian Frank O'Reilly states he believes that Jackson's arm was indeed buried in the area, but that it either no longer exists or is buried at a lost location elsewhere in the cemetery.
Mackowski and historian Kristopher D. White have compared the monument for Jackson's arm to the
Boot Monument
The Boot Monument is an American Revolutionary War memorial located in Saratoga National Historical Park, New York. Erected during 1887 by John Watts de Peyster and sculpted by George Edwin Bissell, it commemorates Major General Benedict Arno ...
for
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...
's injury at the
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The Battle ...
, the display of
Santa Anna
Santa Anna may refer to:
Places
* Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, US
* Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas, US
* Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, US
Ships
* San ...
's prosthetic leg at a museum in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, and the museum display of
Daniel Sickles's leg.
The marker has become a tourist attraction,
and in 1998, the NPS and a private group added a parking lot and signage to make the arm's burial site more accessible.
In 2019, the NPS opened an exhibit of surgical tools used by McGuire that are believed to have been the ones used to amputate Jackson's arm; the tools have also been displayed at the
Museum of the Confederacy
The American Civil War Museum is a multi-site museum in the Greater Richmond Region of central Virginia, dedicated to the history of the American Civil War. The museum operates three sites: The White House of the Confederacy, the American Civil ...
as well.
See also
*
Attempted theft of George Washington's skull
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
Stonewall Jackson's Arm Lies Here- a 2012 article in ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 185 ...
'' reflecting on the symbolism of the arm monument as an example of military sacrifice
{{Stonewall
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between ...
Jackson, Stonewall
Arm, Jackson, Stonewall
Arm, Jackson, Stonewall
Jackson, Stonewall
Jackson, Stonewall
Arm, Jackson, Stonewall