West Point graduate... by sheer grit.
Recipient of more promotions in the Mexican War than any other officer.
Tactical mastermind.
Lieutenant General.
Stone wall.
Strength.
"War means fighting. The business of the soldier is to fight. Armies are not called out to dig trenches, to live in camps, but to find the enemy and strike him; to invade his country, and do him all possible damage in the shortest possible time. This will involve great destruction of life and property while it lasts; but such a war will of necessity be of brief continuance, and so would be an economy of life and property in the end."
Strength.
Pouring from ink of the heart,
Pen of his soul,
To his beloved "esposa"...
Anna...
"It is a great comfort to me to know that although I am not with you, yet you are in the hands of One who will not permit any evil to come nigh you...."
"In my daily walks I think much of you. I love to stroll abroad after the labors of the day are over, and indulge feelings of gratitude to God for all the sources of natural beauty with which He has adorned the earth...."
"And as my mind dwells on you, I love to give it a devotional turn, by thinking of you as a gift from our Heavenly Father..."
"Home is not home without my little dove. I love to talk to you, little one, as though you were here, and tell you how much I love you..."
Strength.
Love of a father...
Guidance of his hand
Even if he could not be near...
For his precious baby Julia.
"I cannot tell you how gratified I am, nor how much I wish I could be with you and see my two darlings. But while this pleasure is denied me, I am thankful it is accorded to you... Don't you regard it as the most precious little creature in the world? Do not spoil it, and don't let anybody tease it. Don't permit it to have a bad temper. How I would love to see the darling little thing? Give her many kisses for her father."
"Just to think our baby is nearly three months old. Does she notice and laugh much? You have never told me how much she looks like her mother. I tell you, I want to know how she looks. If you could hear me talking to my esposa in the mornings and evenings, it would make you laugh, I'm sure. It is funny how I talk to her when she is hundreds of miles away..."
"I am beginning to look for my darling and my baby. I shouldn't be surprised to hear at any time that they were coming, and I tell you there would be one delighted man."
Strength.
Those words upon paper were some of his last.
Days later he would be mortally wounded as he pressed through the dark with his men. His esposa and baby Julia reached his side. Anna sought words worthy of his courage and character.
She read the book of Psalms. She sang treasured hymns. She poured back his own strength... offered to her these years... until his face eased to a smile,
"Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees."
Strength.
Thomas Jonathan Jackson.
"Stonewall"
Beyond accomplishments, or titles, or victories tallied...
Honor.
Faith.
Devotion.
Strong enough to love.
Do you have that kind of strength?
From my heart,
Susan
Reading Beloved Bride: The Letters of Stonewall Jackson to His Wife, by Bill Potter caused me to reflect again on a post from seasons past, Gentle Men.
