Page:War and its Heroes.djvu/28

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30 TBB WAR AND ITS BE1U : I mm! Cmniag; numbering in all 2,611 of th< I d of the Valley of Virginia. BOW in: GOT Tin: namk Of " STONIWALL." Twafl ;it the first battle of MuiMU, when the Southern leaders "saw with impressible anguish the exhaustion of the troops, the waning fortunes of the (lay, and the countless reserves which the enemy hurled incessantly upon their thin and weary lints AnODg these was the heroic Qenenl Bee, in command of the 4th Alabama and some Mississippians, who wen Dearly worn ont by the terrible ordeal through which they had passed. Bee rode up and down the lines, cheei- injr on the men, and beseeching them, by all they held dear, not to give way, when he met Jaokson, and said, in the bitter despair of his heart, " Gfeneral, th> i/ an h.atnfj us back!" The face of the stern, silent soldier betrayed no answering emotion. The keen eye glittered for an instant; the lips opened; and in the curt, peculiar tones of the speaker he said, " Sir, ic> will give //fin tlt> bayonet!" Bee seemed to gather new inspiration from theWOfds; he gal- loped back to the remnants of his command, and, fronting to Jackson, called out to his men, u Thru is JacJeaon standing like <> ttonewaUl Let us determine todu here, amd vm will conquer, FoUowmet" * * * At Manassas, "the country had gained a splendid victory against enormotu odds ; and, although he did not then know it, Jackson had gained n name with which he is furcver inseparably identified. When the hemic Bee exclaimed, "There is Jackson standing Kke a stonewall" he unconsciously employed a term which thenceforth clung to Jackson more closely than his baptismal appel- lation. From that hot day of battle, the leader of the men of the Valley was known as "Stonewall Jackson" — his command as the "Stonewall Brigade." Many are ignorant and few recall the fact, that the great soldier was christened "Thomas Jonathan." His veritable christening in the popular heart was on that evening of Manassas, when Bee, about to surrender his great soul to his Maker, baptized him, amid blood and fire, "Stonewall jACKSOtr!" On Saturday, the 22d of April, General Jackson rapidly moved his little army from cam]' near Mount Jackson back to ('edar Creek, twenty-six miles, in one day, and camped there that night, making his headquarters in Strasburg, which was evacuated by the enemy the day before. Early the next morning (Sunday) he again moved forward, and his artillery opened on the enemy, near Kernstown, about twelve o'clock. An artillery duel was kept up until about four o'clock in the afternoon, when the. enemy's infantry advanced in force, and were met heroically by Jackson's brave little band. Three times the " stars aud stripes " fell, and three times did our gallant troops drive the enemy headlong to the hill. The first brigade (the " Stonewall ") finally came up, and again a fresh column of the enemy was driven back, leaving the side of the hill black with their dead. No battle has been fought during the war against such odds and under euch trying circumstances. "With a force not exceeding 3,500 men — men who