Old Jack and Tom Fool: The Legend of Stonewall

"In the Footsteps of Stonewall Jackson," the newest book by Civil War enthusiast Clint Johnson will be published in March 2002, by John F. Blair, Publisher.

He was a lemon-sucker, an ice-water bather, a pathologically picky eater. He was also one of historys most brilliant military leaders, a daring strategist whose infantry tactics shocked his opponents.

He was Thomas J. Stonewall" Jackson, and his life is traced through the places he lived in Clint Johnsons new book, In the Footsteps of Stonewall Jackson.

The Civil War made him a legend, but Jacksons life is the stuff of myth. Born in the rugged hills of western Virginia (now West Virginia) not far from the Shenandoah Valley he would so ably defend, Jackson seems always to have been an outsider. Orphaned at a young age, he was accepted into West Point only when another boy from his hometown dropped out. Jackson was far behind his aristocratic classmates in education and social graces, though he graduated 17th in his class.

He was singled out for his heroism at the Battle of Chapultepec during the Mexican War, but he also acquired a reputation as an odd duck. Believing himself frail, he kept to a strict dietary regimen, often bringing his own food, including day-old bread, to parties. He bathed in ice-cold water. He developed a habit of holding one arm in the air, which he said allowed the blood to drain back into his body and restore balance.

In the spring of 1851, Jackson resigned from the United States Army to accept a teaching position at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. Though his exploits in the Civil War would make him a revered figure to generations of V.M.I. cadets, those who actually studied under him derided him with nicknames not nearly as heroic-sounding as Stonewall." Jackson was called Square Box" for his unusually large feet, Old Jack" for his eccentricities, and Tom Fool" for his poor teaching abilities. His standard lesson plan was to memorize the assigned section of the textbook, then recite it to students in class. If a student asked a question, Jackson would recite the relevant passage again.

Rather than try to explain Jackson, Johnsons In the Footsteps of Stonewall Jackson seeks to define the man by examining the places he knew. The book looks only at Jackson sites in the United States and Canada that can be easily reached by car.

Comparing Jackson to other Civil War figures he has written about, Johnson said, I believed I knew Lee after reading and researching his life. I cannot say the same thing about Stonewall Jackson. I doubt anyone can truly say they understand Jackson."

One of the Confederacys greatest generals defied Virginia law by teaching slaves to read in his Sunday school class. The man whose closest aides swore was incapable of laughter delighted in sneaking up on his wife and smothering her with kisses. The V.M.I. professor whose utter lack of charisma prompted a group of alumni to call for his removal became a legend in his own time, capable of inspiring his men to do the impossible.

Clint Johnson is descended from a Civil War veteran described on his pension application as addle-brained by the war." In addition to In the Footsteps of Stonewall Jackson, he is the author of In the Footsteps of Robert E. Lee, Civil War Blunders, Touring the Carolinas Civil War Sites, and Touring Virginias and West Virginias Civil War Sites. An avid Civil War reenactor, he has appeared as an extra in films such as North and South, Part II. He lives with his wife, Barbara, in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he is at work on In the Footsteps of J.E.B. Stuart.

Title: In the Footsteps of Stonewall Jackson
Author: Clint Johnson
Price: $12.95 paperback
ISBN: 0-89587-244-7
Specifications: 5½ x 8¼, 186 pages
Publication Date: March 2002
Subject: Travel/Civil War