Stonewall Jackson's Little Sorrel by Sharon B. Smith

Author:Sharon B. Smith [Smith, Sharon B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyons Press
Published: 2016-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Cedar Mountain, shown in 1865, provided both a good view and dangerous exposure.

Andrew J. Russell Photograph, Library of Congress

The duel between the artillery of Stonewall Jackson’s wing of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and that of Nathaniel Banks’s corps of the Union Army of Virginia raged for more than two hours, and Jackson spent most of that time in motion on the back of his indefatigable little horse. He arranged his infantry into a position to advance once the artillery had done its work. He sent messages, the most important to the still-trailing Light Division of A. P. Hill. He rechecked the disposition of the regiments at the front. He again searched for high ground to take a look at the lay of the land and the location of the Union forces.

Although any man or horse on the battlefield was in danger from flying shells, Jackson put himself and Little Sorrel in extra jeopardy halfway through the artillery duel. John Blue, a cavalry lieutenant from western Virginia, had been assigned to Jackson as a courier and was amazed at what he saw of the famous general’s actions. Lt. Blue was among the officers Jackson led up the northern slope of Cedar Mountain, barely within the lines of the Confederate right.

Blue noted that Jackson sat there on Little Sorrel, “immobile as a statue,” as he watched the artillery battle through his binoculars. Shells exploded around the group, killing one horse and severely wounding two others. Jackson seemed not to notice, and Little Sorrel remained stationary as well.

Jackson eventually agreed to a timid suggestion from a staff member that he leave such an exposed position, leading the group a short distance down the hill. He stopped, then sent the others on their way.

“They will hardly fire at a single horseman,” Jackson said as he calmly continued his study of the Union forces within their full view and cannon range. Little Sorrel seemed not to mind that the other horses were permitted to seek cover while he was not.

John Blue developed an admiration for Little Sorrel as well as for Stonewall Jackson that afternoon. Jackson sat alone on the slope of Cedar Mountain for just a few minutes after the other riders left. When he finally came down to his waiting staff he received word that Brigadier General Charles Sidney Winder had been incapacitated by what proved to be a fatal wound. Winder, commander of Jackson’s old Stonewall Brigade, had just been promoted to division command and was a vital link in the line of battle. He was an old Lexington friend of Jackson’s and that, as well as the fact that his division was assigned to the very front of the Confederate infantry line, shook Jackson.

Jackson and Little Sorrel raced half a mile north to the scene of Winder’s wounding, the staff struggling to keep up with the pair. Blue observed that Jackson and his little horse jumped two fences to reach the forward-most infantry, now trying to adjust to a sudden change in leadership.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.