Like a Stonewall

Confederate reinforcements formed a battle line at the edge of the woods behind this position, with the center anchored by a 2,500-man Virginia brigade under General Thomas J. Jackson. When told that the enemy was driving the Confederates, Jackson calmly answered, "We will give them the bayonet." His determined resistance on Henry Hill caught the attention of General Barnard Bee, who, while trying to rally the remnants of his brigade, cried, "Look! There stands Jackson like a stone wall! Let us go to his assistance!" The nickname quickly spread through the Confederate army and across the South, and "Stonewall" Jackson began his rise to legend.

Sudley, Virginia · United States