Thomas Jonathan Jackson was born in what is now Clarksburg, West Virginia. Jackson and his sister were raised by their mother until she died when he was seven, and they were then raised by an uncle until Jackson left for West Point. He worked his way up from fifty-ninth in cadet standing to seventeenth when he graduated in 1846. He chose an artillery unit to serve out his commitment and was sent to Mexico, where gallantry earned him two field promotions, achieving the rank of Major. He left the Army to take a teaching position at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. While at VMI, he joined the Lexington Presbyterian Church, where he founded a Sunday School for free and enslaved blacks along with founding and directing the Rock Bridge Bible Society. He married the minister's daughter, Elinor Junkin, but in 1854 she died in childbirth. In 1857 Jackson married Mary Anna Morrison. Their first child died as an infant, and their second child, Julia, was born during the war. When Virginia seceded in 1861, Colonel Jackson took the VMI Cadets to Richmond. He earned the name Stone Wall at the battle of First Manassas, and his Stone Wall Brigade turned the tide that day. In 1862 and 1863 Jackson consistently overwhelmed his opponents. Very religious, he disliked battles on Sundays but would fight when pressed, and he prayed before, during, and after a battle. His actions led to the Great Revival of the Southern Army. He was wounded by friendly fire at Chancellorsville in 1863. As a result of his injury, his left arm was amputated and he later developed pneumonia. While in delirium he cried out battle orders. His final words were "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees". On May 10, 1863, Thomas Jonathan Jackson passed away. He is buried in Lexington, Virginia.