The CSA Jackson 5

[Battleline]

Next on my list are the Confederate Jacksons not named Stonewall. There were five of them, hence the title. I don't believe any of the others have been done, but I'll throw out the names just to make sure:
William L. “Mudwall” Jackson
William H. “Red” Jackson
John K. Jackson
Henry R. Jackson
Alfred E. Jackson

[Gil R.]

All unassigned. Go for it.

[Battleline]

Subsequent research has cast doubt on the nickname "Mudwall" Jackson. I've included some outside debate below

There has been quite a bit of debate about which of the Jacksons actually was nicknamed “Mudwall.” Accounts actually place the nickname with three of the “Jackson Five.” The Generals in Gray version I have credit the name to William L. Jackson, second cousin of Stonewall.
The article referenced below states this nickname belongs to Alfred E. Jackson.
However, “To claim there is but one true ‘Mudwall’ is like saying in football there exists but one true ‘Bubba.’ ”—Dennis Kelly,
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield, Marietta, Georgia.
http://www.bluegraymagazine.com/Files/m ... ackson.pdf

[Missouri_Rebel]

Love the Jackson 5. I was unaware that Re-run was in the band though. Must of been before the weight gain.[:)]

mo reb

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. William L. Jackson (b. 1825, d. 1890) Unlike his better known cousin, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, William Lowther Jackson took a different route to the general’s rank. Sometimes called “Mudwall” (there is debate whether this was his nickname, or that of another general) Jackson, William was born in the same city as his cousin, Clarksburg, (West) Virginia, Feb. 3, 1825. He studied law and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1847. He moved up the political ranks serving as commonwealth attorney, jurist, member of the Virginia house of delegates and lieutenant governor. He was judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit when war broke out. He enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army. He rose through the ranks and became colonel of the 31st Virginia Infantry, which served under Gen. R.S. Garnett in the Western Virginia Campaign during the summer of 1861. Garnett was killed in action around Rich Mountain July 11 and the Federals won a huge victory. Jackson then moved to the staff of his cousin, Stonewall Jackson, in the Shenandoah Valley. He served on the staff through the various campaigns until April of 1863, when he was elected colonel of the 19th Virginia Cavalry, a unit he helped to recruit from behind the Federal lines. This unit became part of the brigade of Gen. A.G. Jenkins. He served in this brigade through West Virginia. After Jenkins was mortally wounded in a defeat at Cloyd’s Mountain May 9, 1864, Jackson moved up the ranks and led the brigade in defense of Lynchburg and through the 1864 Valley Campaign. He was promoted to brigadier general to rank from Dec. 19, 1864. When the war ended, Jackson went west before finally receiving a parole in Brownsville, Texas, July 26, 1865. After a time in Mexico, Jackson returned home to West Virginia only to find a law which prohibited former Confederates from practicing law. He moved to Louisville, Kentucky. After a few years of living there, he was appointed to the Kentucky bench and stayed in that position until he died in Louisville March 24, 1890. He is buried in Louisville.

Brig. Gen. William H. Jackson (b. 1835, d. 1903) Although William Hicks “Red” Jackson commanded a division level unit near the end of the Civil War, he never was promoted past brigadier general. Hicks was born in Paris, Tennessee, Oct. 1, 1835, and attended West Tennessee College. He followed that with a stint at the U.S. Military Academy, graduating with the Class of 1856 (38th). As a young army officer, he fought Indians in Texas and New Mexico before resigning his commission May 16, 1861, to become a Confederate artillery captain. Jackson was badly wounded during a Federal victory at Belmont, Missouri, Nov. 7, 1861. When Jackson recovered, he was appointed colonel of the First (later Seventh) Tennessee Cavalry. He served under noted commanders such as Earl Van Dorn, Joseph Johnston, Stephen D. Lee, Joseph Wheeler, John B. Hood and Nathan B. Forrest. During a raid led by Van Dorn against Holly Springs, Mississippi, Dec. 20, 1862. Jackson distinguished himself in the raid, which destroyed a vital supply center for U.S. Grant’s Mississippi operations and forced him to postpone operations against Vicksburg. For gallantry on the raid, “Red” Jackson was promoted to brigadier general to rank from Dec. 29, 1862. After action in Middle Tennessee and Van Dorn’s murder, Jackson’s command was sent to the Vicksburg area. Under Stephen D. Lee, Jackson commanded cavalry in the Department of Mississippi, Alabama and East Louisiana. Commanding Polk’s cavalry, he fought to try to stop Sherman’s successful raid on Meridian, Mississippi, during the Meridian Campaign. During the Atlanta Campaign, Jackson commanded under Wheeler. His command was engaged as the Confederates rebuffed the Federal advance at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, June 27, 1864. At the Battle of Lovejoy’s Station, Georgia (Aug. 20, 1864), Jackson’s men arrived to surround Kilpatrick’s Federal Cavalry. Despite taking a victory, Jackson could not destroy the Federal force. In August of 1864, he took 2,000 men to Tuscumbia, Alabama, to join Hood’s Tennessee Campaign during the fall of 1864. Forrest assigned him to demonstrate around Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and then to act as a rearguard during the retreat to Alabama. In February 1865, Jackson was placed in command of all Tennessee cavalry in Forrest’s department. He commanded a division in opposition of Wilson’s Raid against Selma April 2, 1865, and commanded a division at the time of the Confederate surrender. After the war, Jackson married the daughter of Gen. William G. Harding (Tennessee militia) and became a thoroughbred horse breeder at the “Belle Meade” plantation near Nashville. The stable produced such noted champions as Bonnie Scotland, Iroquois, Inspector and Great Tom. Jackson also was president of the National Agricultural Congress and Tennessee Bureau of Agriculture. Jackson died at “Belle Meade” March 30, 1903. “Belle Meade” eventually was purchased by the State of Tennessee and is maintained as a historic site.

Brig. Gen. John K. Jackson (b. 1828, d. 1866) John King Jackson spent most of the Civil War as a brigadier general, commanding troops in some of the bloodiest fights of the war. Also called “Mudwell” (supposedly for his unit’s defense at Chattanooga), Jackson was born Feb. 8, 1828, in Augusta, Georgia. Educated at Georgia’s Richmond Academy and the University of South Carolina, Jackson graduated with honors from the latter school in 1846. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1848. He practiced in Augusta until the start of the Civil War. He was a lieutenant in the Oglethorpe Infantry and advanced to captain. When that unit was incorporated into the Fifth Georgia, Jackson was elected colonel in May 1861. He was posted at Pensacola, Florida, when he was promoted to brigadier general to rank from Jan. 14, 1862, and ordered to Grand Junction, Tennessee, to help form the Army of Tennessee. He was charged with organizing troops arriving and being forwarded to Corinth, Mississippi, for the upcoming Battle of Shiloh. At Bloody Shiloh April 6-7, 1862, Jackson commanded a brigade of Texas and Alabama infantry and a Georgia artillery battery. His unit was committed in the second wave. In conjunction with the brigade of Chalmers, Jackson pressured the Federal left, routed Stuart’s brigade and ran out of ammunition near Wicker Field. After the Confederate retreat, Jackson was assigned to protect railroad lines at Bridgeport, Alabama. When Gen. Braxton Bragg assembled forces for the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stones River). Assaulting the Federal left, Jackson’s brigade was all but destroyed, taking heavy casualties. When Bragg retreated, the remaining men in Jackson’s brigade returned to Bridgeport. Jackson was assigned to protect communication lines between Tullahoma, Tennessee, and Atlanta. As Confederate forces were brought together for the Battle of Chickamauga (Sept. 18-20, 1863). Jackson’s brigade was placed in the division of Gen. Cheatham. In the Confederate drive to victory, 61 percent of Jackson’s men became casualties. During the siege of Chattanooga, Jackson’s command helped to check the Federals after they broke through at Missionary Ridge Nov. 25, 1863. Jackson continued to command troops in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign before he was sent with two regiments to Charleston, South Carolina, in July of 1864. Assigned to command the District of Florida, Jackson commanded men in the defense of Savannah and was guarding depots near Branchville, South Carolina. After the war, Jackson returned to Augusta and resumed his law practice. He caught pneumonia on a trip to Milledgeville. He died in Augusta Feb. 27, 1866, and was buried in an unmarked grave in the City Cemetery of Augusta.

Brig. Gen. Henry R. Jackson (b. 1820, d. 1898) He was a lawyer, U.S. district attorney, newspaper editor, soldier, judge and minister. And Henry Rootes Jackson did all of that before the Civil War. Jackson was born June 24, 1820, in Athens, Georgia. He graduated from Yale with the Class of 1839 and started to practice law in Savannah, Georgia. He became a U.S. district attorney by the time he was 24. When the Mexican War came, Jackson volunteered for service and was a colonel of the First Georgia Infantry volunteer regiment. He served as a newspaper editor, a superior court judge and U.S. minister to Austria 1853-58. In 1859, he turned down the chancellorship of the University of Georgia. He also assisted the government in prosecution of the captain and owners of the Wanderer, a slave ship. He was a delegate to two political conventions in 1860 and became an elector for Breckinridge. When the Civil War approached, he was a member of the Georgia secession convention. Given a judge position in the Confederate courts, Jackson gave that up to accept a commission as a brigadier general in the Provisional Confederate Army June 4, 1861. He went to West Virginia with Robert E. Lee, earning praise for action at Cheat Mountain. Jackson’s troops repulsed Federals Oct. 3, 1861. However, Jackson resigned his commission Dec. 2, 1861, to accept command of a division of Georgia State Troops with the rank of major general. This came against the wishes of Pres. Jefferson Davis and Gen. Lee. The Conscription Act of 1862 gave his command to the Confederacy and Jackson went to serve as a volunteer aide on the staff of Gen. W.H.T. Walker. Jackson was recommissioned a brigadier general Sept. 23, 1863. During the Atlanta Campaign, Jackson was tasked with helping Gov. Joseph Brown organize Georgia’s state troops to oppose the Federal invasion. He commanded the District of Georgia before being assigned to brigade command for Gen. Hood’s Tennessee Campaign. Leading a brigade in Gen. Cheatham’s corps, Jackson fought in the bloody fight at Franklin, Tennessee, Nov. 30, 1864, and the follow-on fight at Nashville Dec. 15-16, 1864. As Hood’s army was routed, Jackson was captured and sent to Massachusetts. He was imprisoned until July 1865. He returned to Georgia to practice law after the war. In 1885, Jackson was called into foreign service again, being named minister to Mexico by Pres. Grover Cleveland. Over the final 25 years of his life, he was president of the Georgia Historical Society. He died May 23, 1898, in Savannah and was buried in Bonaventure Cemetery there.

Brig. Gen. Alfred E. Jackson (b. 1807, d. 1889) Prior to the Civil War, Alfred Eugene Jackson traded manufactured goods throughout the south via wagon and boat. Born in Davidson County, Tennessee, Jan. 11, 1807. Educated at Washington and Greeneville Colleges, Jackson’s went into farming along the Nolichucky River in eastern Tennessee. Soon after, he went into business, selling produce and manufactured goods from North Carolina to the Mississippi River. His empire grew to include stores, mills, factories and farms. In 1861, Jackson went into Confederate service as quartermaster with the rank of major on the staff of Gen. Felix Zollicoffer as quartermaster. After Zollicoffer was killed in a Federal victory at the Battle of Mill Springs (Fishing Creek) Jan. 19, 1862, Jackson became paymaster in Knoxville. Jackson was given field command with his promotion to brigadier general to rank from Feb. 8, 1863, commanding a brigade in the Department of East Tennessee. This unit consisted of Thomas’ Cherokee Legion, home guards and irregulars. It also operated at times with the 4th Kentucky Cavalry. This brigade participated in a number of small engagements. Jackson’s brigade had between 1,500 and 1,800 men when it captured 300 men of the 100th Ohio Infantry Regiment at Telford’s Station, Tennessee, Sept. 8, 1863. Supposedly Jackson earned his “Mudwall” name (as written by Geoff Walden, Blue & Gray Vol. VIII #1) for this action as he was very slow to realize the true numerical advantage his unit had over the Federals. After the fall of Knoxville in December 1863, Jackson commanded forces guarding Saltville, Virginia. Jackson was ordered to the Army of Tennessee, then fighting in the Atlanta Campaign, but no record exists of him taking that brigade. He was back in Saltville in September of 1864. In November, he was found unfit for command and sent to light duty on the staff of Gen. John C. Breckinridge. The war broke Jackson financially. In 1866, he was renting land in Washington County, Virginia, and working it with his own hands. But Jackson got a break. He was given a special pardon by Pres. Andrew Johnson for kindness shown to the Johnson family during the war. Eventually, much of his prewar holdings were returned to him. He resided in Jonesboro, Tennessee, and died there Oct. 30, 1889.

[Gil R.]

Thanks, as always.