The Battle of Cedar Mountain

As the Confederate line broke at Cedar Mountain, "Stonewall" Jackson stood firm and rallied his troops while other officers urged their men on by pointing to the presence of their commanding general. Jed Hotchkiss recalled Jackson trying to draw his long cavalry sabre to stop the rout, finding it too rusted from nonuse to withdraw, then unsnapping it from his belt and using it, scabbard and all, on the heads of fleeing, panic-stricken troops. General William B. Taliaferro said Jackson's escape from death was miraculous because he was in the thickest of the combat at very short range.

Virginia · United States