ti7>Zb 
 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 True courage: 
 Conf Pam 12mo #326 
 
TRUE COURAGE: 
 
 A DISCO IT R B E 
 
 : EMORATITE OF 
 
 firut. imcral Thomas "$. Jackson, 
 
 BY REV. R. L. DABNEY, D. D. 
 
 PRwFESSOR IN PSION THEOLOQIGAI. SEMINARY. TA 
 
 3 C CON EDITION, 
 
 RICHMOND, VA., 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN COMMITTEE OP PUBLICATION 
 OP THE CONFEDERATE STATES 
 
 1863, 
 
TRUE COURAGE. 
 
 « Be not afraid of them that kill the boiy, and after tfutU 
 have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you 
 whom ye shall fear : Fearjiim which, after he hath killed, 
 hath power to cast into hell ; yea, J say unto you, fear 
 him."— Lvke xn : 4, 5, 
 
 A little wisdom and experience will teach us to be 
 very modest, in interpreting God's purposes by his prov- 
 idences. '• It is the glory of the Lord to conceal a thiug." 
 His designs are too vast and complex for our puny minds 
 to infer them, from the fragments of his ways which fall 
 under our eyes. Yet, it is evident, that He intends us 
 to learn instruction from the events which occur before 
 us under the regulation of his holy will. The profane 
 are more than once rebuked by Him (as Isa. 5: 12.) 
 because " they regard not the work of the Lord, neither 
 consider the operation of his hands." And our Saviour 
 sharply chides the Jewish Pharisees : " ye hypocrites 
 ye can discern the lace of the sky ; but can ye not dis- 
 cern the signs of the times?" (Matt. 16: 3.) We are 
 not therefore to refuse the lesson* of those events whick 
 Providence evolves, because caution and humility are re- 
 quired in learning them. We have a guide, which will 
 conduct us securely to the understanding of so much of 
 them as God intend* us to study: That^guide is the 
 Holy Scriptures. Aiaeftjs llie several principles which 
 
 P 42767 
 
TRUE COURAGE 
 
 they lay down for the/explanation of God's dealings it 
 is sufficient for onr present task, to declare this one: 
 Ibatthe characters of bis children which exhibit the 
 scriptural model, are given as examples, to be studied 
 and ,mitated by us. He would tins teach us more than 
 those abstract conceptions of Christian excellence, which 
 are conveyed by general definitions of duty; he would " 
 give us a living picture .and concrete idea, Ho thus aims 
 to stimulate oup aspirations and efforts, by showing us 
 that the attainments of holiness are within human reach 
 He enstamps the moral likeness on the imitative soul by ' 
 tho warmth of admiration and love. That such is the 
 use God mtends us to make of noble examples, the Apos- 
 tle James teaches us,. (5: 10.) "Take, my brethren, 
 the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord 
 ior an example of suffering and affliction and of pa- 
 tiencej" and the Epistle to the Hebrews, (6: 12,) when 
 it desires us to « be followers of them who, through pa- 
 tience, inherit the promises." 
 
 Common sense teaches us then, from these texts, that 
 the lesson is important and impressive, in proportion as 
 the example given us was illustrious. By this rule, God 
 iddresses to us instruction of solemn emphasis, in the 
 character, and the death, which we have now met to 
 commemorate. Our dead hero is God's sermon to us. 
 Km embodied admonition. His incorporate discourse, to- 
 nculcate upon us the virtue with which he was adorn- 
 dby the Holy Ghost; and especially those traits of 
 he citizen, the Christian, and the soldier, now most es- 
 aatial to the times. He, calls us, not to exhaust the 
 acaswm in useless i&si *if|# es , but to come and learn 
 * Wy of IJtfjfet ¥ ^ ]i s ht of a saining cwu* 
 
1RVK. COURAGE. ' 5 
 
 pie; and to let our ■ passionate Jove and grief burn in 
 upon the plastic heart, the impress of his principles. 
 Happy shall I be, if I can so conceive and execute my 
 humble task, as to permit this character to speak its 
 own high lesson to your hearts. The only reason which 
 makes you think this task appropriate to me, is doubt- 
 less this : that I had the privilege of his friendship, and* 
 an opportunity for intimately observing his character, 
 during the most brilliant part of his career. The ex- 
 pectations which you form from this fact, must be my' 
 justification from the charge of egotism, if I should al- 
 lude to my own observations of him, in exemplifying 
 these instructions. But I must also forewarn you, that 
 should there be any expectation of mere- anecdote to 
 gratify an idle curiosity, or of any disclosures of confi- 
 dential intercourse, now doubly sanctified by the seal of 
 the tomb, it will not be gratified. Aiui let it be added, 
 that however the heart may prompt enconiums on the 
 departed, these are not the direct object, but only the 
 incidental result of this discourse. 1 stand here, as 
 God's herald, in God's sanctuary, on his holy day, by his 
 authority. My business is, not to praise any man, how- 
 ever beloved and bewailed, but only to unfold'God's mes- 
 sage through his life and death. Among that cirele of 
 virtues which his symmetrical character displayed, since 
 time would fail me to do justice to all, I propose more 
 especially, to select one, for our consideration, his Chris- 
 tian courage. P-4 2 7 6 7 
 
 Courage is the opposite of fear. But fear may be de- 
 scribed either as a feeling and appreciation of existing 
 danger, or an unduo yielding to that feeling. It i; in 
 the latter sense, that it is unworthy. In the former, it 
 
TRUE I'UUIUGE. 
 
 is the necessary result of the natural, desire for well- 
 being, in a creature endued with reflection and f >recast. 
 Hence a true courage implies the existence of fear in the 
 form of sense, that is, of a feeling of danger. FAr cour- 
 age is but the overcoming of that feeling by a worthier 
 motive. A. danger unfelt is as though it did not exist. 
 No man could.be called brave for advancing coolly upon 
 a risk of which he was totally unconscious. It is only 
 where there is an exertion of fortitude in bearing up 
 against the consciousness of peril, that true courage has 
 place. If there is any man who can literally say that 
 " he knows no fear ;" then he deserves no credit for his 
 composure. True, a generous fortitude, in resisting the 
 consiousness of danger, will partly extinguish it ; so that 
 a sensibility to it, over-sensitive and prominent among 
 the emotions, is an indication of a mean self-love. 
 
 There are three emotions which claim the name of 
 courage. The first is animal courage. This is but the 
 ferment of animal passions and blind sympathies, com- 
 bined with an irrational thoughtlessness. The man is 
 courageous, only because he refuses to reflect; bold be- 
 cause he is blind. This animal hardihood, according to 
 the obvious truths explained above, does not deserve the 
 name of true eourage; because thereis no rational forti- 
 tude in resisting the consciousness of danger. And it is 
 little worthy of trust ; for having no foundation in a 
 reasoning self-command, a sudden, vivid perception of 
 the evil hitherto unnoted, may, at any moment, supplant 
 it with a panic, as unreasoning and intense as the previ- 
 ous fury. The second species of courage is that prompt- 
 ed by the spirit of personal honor. There is a conscious- 
 "ncss of risk ; /but it is manfully controlled by the souti- 
 
TRUE COURAGE. 7 
 
 ment of pride, the keener fear of reproach, and the de- 
 sire of applause. This kind of fortitude is more worthy 
 of the name of courage, because it exhibits self-com- 
 mand. But after all, the motive is personal and selfish ; 
 and therefore the sentiment does not rise to the level of 
 a virtue. The third species is the moral courage of him 
 who fears God, and, far that reason, fears nothing else. 
 There is an intelligent apprehension of danger ; there is 
 the natural instinct of self-love desiring to preserve its 
 owi\ well-being ; but it is curbed and governed by the 
 sense of duty, and desire for the approbation of God. 
 This alone is true courage ; true virtue ; for it is ration- 
 al, and its motive n moral and unselfish. It is a true 
 Christian grace, when found in its purest forms, a grace 
 whose highest exemplar, and whose source, is the Divine 
 Redeemer; whose principle is that parent grace of the 
 poul, faith. "David,' and Samuel, and the prophets. 
 through faith subdued kingdoms, * * * * waxed valiant 
 in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." (Heb. 
 11: 33, 34.) Trust in God, in his faithfulness, his ap- 
 probation, his reward, his command to brave the risks 
 allotted to them, was their motive. But " Christ dwell- 
 eth in our hearts by faith." (Eph. 3 : 17.) This is the 
 principle by which the soul of the believer is brought 
 into living union with Christ; and the heart, otherwise 
 sapless and withered, is penetrated by the vital sap o. 
 his holy Spirit. He is the head ; men of faith his mem 
 bers ; he the stock ; they the branches ; his divine prin- 
 ciples circulate from him into their souls, ard assimilate 
 them to him. But the whole mission of Jesus Christ or 
 earth is a divine exemplification of moral courage. What 
 waA it, save the unselfish sentiment of duty, oTerrulin* 
 
8 # TRUE COURAGE. 
 
 the anticipations of personal evil which made him de- 
 clare, in prospect of all. the woes of his incarnation, "Lo 
 I come, in the volume of the book it is written unto 
 me ; I delight to do thy will Oh my God ?" What else 
 caused him to press forward with eager, hungering haste, 
 through the toils and obloquy of his persecuted life, to 
 that baptism of blood, which awaited him at Jerusalem ? 
 What else nerved him when deserted, betrayed, and 
 destined to death, desolate, and fainting, amidst a piti- 
 less flood of enemies, one word of disclaimer might 
 have rescued him, to refuse that word and assert his 
 rightful kingship over Zion, with a tenacity more indom- 
 itable than the grave? Jesus Christ is the Divine 
 Pattern and Fountain of heroism. Earth's true heroes 
 are they who derive their courage from him. 
 
 Yet it is true, the three kinds of bravery which have 
 been defined, may be mixed in many breasts. Some 
 who have true moral courage may have animal hardi- 
 hood; and others truly brave may lack it. No Chris- 
 tian courage, perhaps, exists without a union of that 
 which the spirit of personal honor, in its innocent phase 
 inspires : and many men of honor have perhaps some 
 shade of the pure sentiment of duty, mingled with the 
 pride and self-glorying, which, chiefly nerve their forti- 
 tude. But he is the bravest man, who is the best Christian. 
 It is he who truly fears God, who is entitled to fear nothing 
 else. 
 
 1. He whose conduct is governed by the fear of God, 
 is brave, because the powers of his soul are in harmony. 
 There is no mutiny or war within, of fear against shame, 
 of duty against safety, of conscience and evil desire, by 
 wjuch, the bad man has his heart unnerved. All the no- 
 
TRUE COURAGt. 9 
 
 bier capacities of the soul combine their strength, and 
 especially, that master power, of which the wicked are 
 compelled to sing: "It is conscience that makes cowards 
 of us all," invigorates the soul with her plaudks. In 
 conscious rectitude there is strength. 
 
 This strength Gen. Jackson eminently possessed. He 
 walked in the fe*r of God, with a perfect heart, keeping all 
 his.commandments and ordinances, blameless. Never has 
 it been my happiness to know one of greater purity of life, 
 or more regular and devout habits of prayer. As ever in 
 his great task-master's eye, he seemed to devote every hour 
 to the sentiment of duty, and only to live to fulfill his charge 
 as aservant God. Of this be assured, that all his eminence 
 and success as a great and brave spldier were based on his em- 
 inence and sanctify as a Christian. Thus, every power of 
 his soul was brought lightened and honest conscience. 
 How could such a soul to muve in sweet accord, under the 
 guidance of an enfail to be courageous for the right ? 
 
 But especially did he derive firmness and decision, 
 from the peculiar strength of his conviction concerning 
 the righteousness and necessity of this war. Had ho not 
 sought the light of the Holy Scriptures, in thorough ex- 
 amination and prayer, had his pure and honest conscience 
 not justified the act, even in the eye of that Searcher of 
 hearts, whose fear was his evec-present , ruling principle, 
 never would he have drawn his sword in this great quar- 
 rel, at the prompting of any sectional pride, or ambition, 
 or interest, or anger, or dread of obloquy. But having 
 judged for himself, in all sincerity, he decided, with a 
 force of conviction as fixed as the everlasting hills, that 
 our enemies were the aggressors, that they assailed vital, 
 essential rights, and that resistance unto death was our 
 
10 TK.UK courage. 
 
 right and duty. On the correctness of that decision, 
 reached through fervent prayer, under the teachings of 
 the sure word of Scripture, through the light of the 
 Holy Spirit, which he was assured God vouchsafed to 
 him, he stood prepared to risk, not only earthly prospects 
 and estate, but an immortal soul ; and to venture, with- 
 out one quiver of doubt or fear, before the irrevocable 
 bar of God the Judge. The great question: " What if 
 I die in this quarrel," was deliberately settled; so de- 
 liberately, so maturely, that he was ready to venture 
 his everlasting all upon the belief that this was the path 
 of duty. 
 
 And so, we may assert, it is with all the best of our 
 land. Just in proportion to the integrity of men's prin- 
 ciples, to their magnanimity, to their incorruptible lov6 
 of right and truth, to tlieir fear of God, have been their 
 decision and zeal to tbre cause of the Confederate Stafes* 
 Our mothers, wives and sisters, with their diainteitoi: i 
 and generous instincts ; our most honored and venerable 
 citizens and jurists; the most saintly and rey.cTCiu! pas- 
 tor* in the Church of Christ ; have been foremost to 
 justify our defence. If there have been any dissent, 
 they have been found usually among the ignorant, the 
 mercenary, anil the base. This is our answer to the 
 slanderers, who denounced our revolution as a scheme 
 of wicked politicians, an artifice of the ambitious and 
 factious few. 
 
 II. The second reason which makes the man of faith 
 brave, is stated in the context : " Are not five sparrows 
 sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten 
 before God ? But even the very hairs of your head are 
 all numbered. Fear not therefore; ye are of more 
 
TUli: COUKAliE. 
 
 value than many sparrows." God's special providence 
 is over all his creatures, and all their actions ; it is over 
 them that fear him ; for their good only. By that al- 
 mighty and omniscient providence, all events are either 
 produced ; or at least permitted, limited, and overruled. 
 There is no creature so great as to resist its power, none 
 so minute as to evade its wisdom. Each particular act 
 among the most multitudinous which confound our at- 
 tention by their number, or the most fortuitous, which 
 'entirely baffle our inquiry into their causes, is regulated 
 by this intelligent purpose of God. Even when the 
 thousand misseles of death, invisible to mortal sight, are 
 sent forth aimless by those who launched them, shoot 
 in inexplicable confusion o#r the battle-field, His eye 
 gives each one an aim and a purpose, according to thp 
 plan of his wisdom. Thus teacheth our Saviour. 
 
 Now, the child of God is not taught what is the spe- 
 cial will.of God as to himself; he has no revelation as to 
 tne security of his person. Nor does he presume to pre- 
 dict what particular dispensation God will grant to the 
 cause in which to is embarked. But he knows that, be 
 it what it may, it will be wise, and right, and good. 
 Whether the arrows of death shall smite him or pass 
 him by, he knows no more than the unbelieving sinner ; 
 but he knows that neither event can happen him without 
 the purpose and will of his Heavenly Father. And that 
 will, be it whichever it may, is guided by Divine wis- 
 dom and love. Should the event prove a revelation of 
 God's decision, that this was the place, and this the hour, 
 for life to end ; then he accepts it with calm submission ; 
 for are not the time and place chosen for him by the All- 
 wise, who loves him from eternity 7 Him wko walks in 
 
the true fear of God, God loves.' He hath adopted him 
 as his son forever, through his faith on {she righteousness 
 of the Eedeerner. The Divine anger is 'forever extin- 
 guished by the atonement of the Lamb of God, and the 
 unchangeable love of God is conciliated to him by the 
 spotless righteousness of his Substitute. The precious- 
 ness of the unspeakable gift which God gave for his re- 
 redemption, even the life of the Only-begotten, and the 
 earnest of the Holy Ghost, bestowed upon him at first 
 while a guilty sinner, are the arguments to this believer, 
 of. the richness and strength of God's love to him. He 
 knows that a love so eternal, so free, so strong, in the 
 breast of such a God and Saviour, can leave nothing un- 
 bestowed, which divine wisdom perceives to be for his 
 true good. " He that spared not his own Son, but de- 
 livered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also 
 freely give us all things" (Rom. 8: 32.) And this * 
 love has enlisted for his safeguard, all the attributes of 
 God, which are the security of His own blessedness. 
 Why dwelleth the Divi»e mind in ineffable, perpetual 
 peace ? Not because there are none to assail it ; but be- 
 cause God is conscious in himself of infinite resources, 
 for defence and victory ; of a knowledge whichno cun- 
 ning can deceive ; of a power which no combination can 
 fatigu ?. TVell, these same attributes, which support the 
 stabili :y of Jehovah's throne, surround the weakest child 
 of God, with all ttie zeal of redeeming love. " The eter- 
 nal God is his refuge ; and underneath him are the ever- 
 iast'mg arms." (Deut. 33 : 27.) Therefore saith the 
 Apostle, that the believer hath " his heart and mind gar- 
 risoned by the peace of God which passeth all under^- 
 standing-" (Phil. 4: 7.) And" therefore our Saviour 
 
TRUE COURAGE. 13 
 
 m 
 
 saith, with a literal emphasis of which our faint hearts 
 are slow to take in the full glory* " Peace I leave with 
 you; my peace I give unto you." (John 14: 27.) In 
 proportion as God's children have faith to embrace the 
 love of God to them, are they lifted in spirit to his very 
 throne and cm look down upon the rage of battle, and 
 the tuniu}t of the people, with some of the holy disdain, 
 the ineffable security, which constitute the blessedness 
 of God " Their life is hid with Christ in God." 
 
 It has been said that Gen. Jackson was a fatalist, by 
 those who knew not whereof they affirmed. He was a 
 strong believer in the special providence of God. The 
 doctrine of a Fate is, that all events are fixed by an im- 
 manent, physical necessity in the series of causes and ef 
 fects themselves; a necessity as.blind and unreasoning as 
 the tendency of the stone towards the earth, when un- 
 supported from beneath ; a necessity as much controlling 
 the intelligence and will of God as of creatures ; a ne- 
 cessity which admits of qo modification of results through 
 the agency of second causes, but renders them inopera- 
 tive and non-essential, save as the mere, passive stepping 
 stones in the inevitable progression. The doctrine of a 
 Providence teaches that the regular, natural agency of 
 second causes is sustained, preserved, and regulated by 
 the power and intelligence of God; and that in and 
 through that agency, every event is directed by his most 
 wise and holy will, according to His plan, and the laws 
 of nature which He has ordained. Fatalism tends to 
 apathy, to absolute inaction: a belief in the provi- 
 dence of the Scriptures, to intelligent and hopeful effort. 
 It does not overthrow, but rather establish the agency of 
 second causes, because it teaches us that God's purpose. 
 
H TKLJL COUltAUfi. 
 
 to effectuate events only through them (save in the case 
 of miracles,) is as steadfast, as his purpose to carry out 
 his eternal plan. Hence it produces ,a combination of 
 courageous serenity, — with cheerful diligence in the use 
 of means. My. illustrious leader was as laborious as he 
 was trustful; and laborious precisely because he wa3 
 trustful. Every thing that self-sacrificing care, and pre- 
 paration, and forecast, and toil, could do, to prepare and 
 to earn success, he did. And therefore it wis, that God, 
 without whom " the watchman waketh but in vain," 
 usually bestowed success. So likewise, his belief in the 
 superintendence of the Almighty was a most strong and 
 living conviction. Tn every Order, or Dispatch, announc- 
 ing a victory, he was prompt to ascribe the result to the 
 Lord o ;' Hosts ; and those simple, emphatic, devout as- 
 criptions were with him no unmeaning formalities.* In 
 the very flush of triumph, he has been known to seize 
 the juncture for the earnest inculcation o.' this truth 
 upon the minds of his subordinates. On the momentous 
 morning of Friday, June 27th, 1862, as the different 
 corps of the patriotic army were moving to their respec- 
 tive posts, to fill their parts in the mighty combinati >n 
 of their chief, after. Jackson had held his final interview 
 with him, and resumed his march for his position at Cold 
 Harbour, his command was misled, by a misconception of 
 his guides, and- seemed about to mingle with, and con- 
 fuse, another part of our forces. More than an hour of 
 seemingly precious time was expended in rectifying this 
 mistake; while the booming of cannon in the front told 
 us that the struggle had begun, and made our breasts 
 thrill with an agony of suspense, lest the irreparable 
 hour should be lost by our delay : for we had still many 
 
i;:i >. COl ■ IGE. 15 
 
 miles to march. When this anxious fear was suggested 
 privately to Jackson, he answered, with a calm and as- 
 sured countenance : "No; let u*9 trust that the provi- 
 dence of our God will so overrule it, that no mischief 
 shall result/' And verily ; no mischief did result. 
 Providence brought as precisely into conjunction with 
 the bodies with which we were to co-operate: the bat- 
 tle was joined at the right juncture and by the time the 
 stars appeared, the right wing of the enemy, with which 
 he was appointed to deal, was nurled in utter rout, across 
 the river. More than once, when sent to bring one of 
 his old fighting brigades into action, I had noticed him 
 ^tting motionless upon his horse- with his right hand up- 
 lifted, while the war-worn column poured in stern si- 
 lence close by hi* side. At first it did not appear wheth- 
 er it was mere abstraction of thought, or a posture to 
 relieve his fatigue. But at Port. Republic, I saw it again - 
 and watching him more narrowly, was convinced by his 
 closed eyes and moving lips, that ho was wrestling in si- 
 lent prayer. I thought that 1 could surmise what was 
 then passing through his fervent soul; the sovereignty 
 of that Providence which workcth all things after the 
 •counsel of his own will, and givcth the battle not to the 
 strong, nor the race to the swift: his own fearful re- 
 sponsibility, and need of that counsel and sound wisdom, 
 which God alone can give; the crisis of his beloved coun- 
 try, and the balance trembling between defeat and vic- 
 tory ; the precious lives of his veterans, which the inex- 
 orable ne«es'*itie^ of war compelled him to jeopardize ; 
 the immortal souls passing to thwr account, perhaps un- 
 prepared ; the widowhood an*! orphanage which might 
 result from the orders he hid jast been compelled to is- 
 
1G *TRUE COURAGE. 
 
 sue. And as his beloved men swept by him to the front, 
 into the storm of shot, doubtless Lis great heart, as ten- 
 der as it was resolute, yeaaned ever them in unutterable 
 longings and intercessions, that " the Almighty would 
 cover. them with his feathers, and that his truth might 
 be their shield and buckler." Surely the moral grandeur 
 ©f this scene was akin to that, when Moses stood upon 
 the Mount of God, and lifted up his hands,- while Israel 
 prevailed against Amalek ! 'And what soldier-would not 
 desire to have the shield of such •prayers, under which 
 to fight? Were they not a more powerful element of 
 success than the artillery, or the bayonets of the Stone- 
 wall Brigade? 
 
 III. The true fear of God ensures the safety of the im- 
 mortal soul. United to Christ by faith, adopted into the 
 unchanging favor of God, and heir of an inheritance in 
 the skies which is as secure as the throne of God, the 
 believing soul, is lifted above the reach of bodily dan- 
 gers. But the soul is the true man, the true self, the 
 part alone which feels or knows, desires or fears, sorrows 
 or rejoices, and which lives forever. It is fate which is 
 irrevocable. If -it be lost, all. is lost ; and finally lost ; if 
 it be secure, all other losses are secondary, yea, in com- 
 parison, trivial. To the child of God, rage of enemies, 
 mortal weapons, and pestilence are impotent. True, he 
 has no assurance that they may not reach his body 
 enly, and, 
 
 "If the plague corns nigh, 
 
 And sweep the wicked down to hell, 
 Twill raise the saints on high." 
 
 This is our Saviour's argumsnt, "Be not afraid of 
 them that kill the body ; and after that have no more that 
 
" TRUE COURAGE. . 17 
 
 they can do?" Pagan fable perhaps intended to fore- 
 shadow this glorious truth, when it described its hero 
 with a body made invulnerable by its bath in the divine 
 river, and therefore insensible to fear, and indifferent to 
 the weapons of death. But the spiritual reality of the 
 allegory is found only, in the Christian, wbo has washed 
 his soul from the stain of sin, (which alone causes its 
 death,) in the Redeemer's blood. He is the invulnera- 
 ble man. " The arrow cannot make him flee ; darts are 
 counted as stubble; he laugheth at the shaking of a 
 spear." He shares, indeed the natural affections snd in- 
 stincts which makelife sweet to every man," and bodily 
 pain and death formidable. But these emotions of his 
 sensuous being are counteracted by his faith, which gives 
 to his soul a substantial, inward sense of heavenly life, 
 as more real and satisfying than the carnal. The clearer 
 the life of the (Jhristias, the more complete is this vie 
 toiy over natural fears. To the mere unbeliever, this 
 mortal life is his all-in-all, bodily death is utter extinc- 
 tion, pain is the master evil, and the grave is covered by 
 a horror of great darkness unrelieved by one ray of hope 
 or light. And Christians of a weaker type, in their mo- 
 ments cannot shake off the shuddering of nature in the 
 presence of these, the supreme evils of the natural man. 
 But as faith brightens, that tremor is quieted ; the more 
 substantial the grasp of faith on eternal realities, the 
 more does the giant death dwindle in his proportions, the 
 less mortal does his sword appear, the narrower and 
 more trivial e eems the gap which he makes between this 
 life and the higher ; because that better life is brought 
 nearer to the apprehension of the soul. Does the eagle 
 lament to see the wolf ravage its deserted nest, as it be- 
 
18 TRUJi courage; 
 
 take3 itself to its destined skies, and nerves its young 
 pinions and tires its eyes in the beams of the king of 
 day? The believer knows also, that should his body be 
 smitten into the grave, the resurrection day will repair 
 all the ravages of the sword, and restore the poor tene- 
 ment to his occupancy, " fashioned like unto Christ's glo- 
 rious body." He can adopt the boast of inspiration : 
 " God is our refuge and strength ; a very present help in 
 trouble. Therefore will not we fear though the earth be 
 removed, and though the mountains be carried into. the 
 midst of the sea." (Ps. 46: 1, 2.) Amidst the storm 
 of battle, and even the wreck of defeat, his steadfast 
 heart knows no fear. 
 
 But that the enemy of God should have courage in 
 battle, is incomprehensible to me. It can only be ex- 
 plained by thoughtlessness. When the danger which 
 assails the body reaches the soul also, when the weapon 
 that lays the body in the dust, will plunge the soul into 
 everlasting and intolerable torments, by what philosophy 
 cau a reasoning being brace himself to. meet it? He 
 who has not God for his friend, has no right to be brave. 
 But we should be far from inferring thence, that- citizen 
 who is conscious of his enmity to God, is therefore jus- 
 tified in shunning the exposure to this risk, at the ex- 
 pense of duty and honor. This would be but to add sin 
 to sin, and folly to folly. If safety is not found in the 
 path of duty, still more surely it will not be found when 
 out of it. He is in the greatest danger, who is disobey- 
 ing God ; and infinite wisdom and power can never be 
 at a loss for means to strike their enemj', however far 
 removed wounds and weapons of war may be. To refuse 
 a recognized duty is the surest way to alienate the mer- 
 
TRUE COUKA.GE. 19 
 
 cy of God, and to grieve the IJply Ghost, on whom we 
 depend for faith and repentance. The only safe or ra- 
 tional course therefore, for the ungodly soldier, is to 
 make his peace with God at once ; and thus advance with 
 well-grounded confidence in the path of his duty, and of 
 all men the soldier has the strongest reasons to become 
 a Christian ! 
 
 Such was the foundation of the courage of Jackson. 
 He walked with God, in conscious integrity ; and he em- 
 braced with all his heart " the righteousness of God 
 which is by the faith of Jesus Christ." His soul, I be- 
 lieve, dwelt habitually in the full assurance that God 
 was his God, and his portiou forever. His manly and 
 vigorous faith brought heaven so near, that death had 
 slight terrors for him. While it would be unjust to 
 charge him with rashness in exposure to danger, yet 
 whenever his sense of duty prompted it, he seemed to 
 risk his person with an absolute indifference to fear. The 
 sense of his responsibilities to his country, the heat of 
 his. mighty spirit in the crisis of battle, might sometimes 
 agitate him vehemently; but never was the most immi- 
 nent personal peril seen to disturb his equanimity for 
 one moment.* It is a striking trait of the impression 
 which he has made upon his countrymen, that while no 
 man could possibly be father from boasting, it always 
 became the first article of the belief of those subject to 
 his command, that he was of course, a man of perfect 
 courage. 
 
 But courage alone 1 does not explain the position which 
 he held in the hen i ? s of his people. In this land of he- 
 roic memories, and braVe men, others besides Jackson 
 have displayed true courage. God did not endow him 
 with several of those native gifts which are supposed to 
 
20 TKUE COUR1GE. 
 
 allure the idolatry of mankind towards their heroes. He 
 affected no kingly mien nor martial pomp ; bat always 
 bore himself with the modest propriety of the Christian.* 
 Nor did he ever study or practice those arts, by which a 
 Buonaparte .or an Alexander kindled the enthusiasm of 
 their followers. The only manifestation which ho ever 
 made of himself was in the simple and diligent perform- 
 ance of the duties of his office. His port on the battle- 
 field was usually rather suggestive of the zeal and in- 
 dustry of the faithful servant, than of the contagious 
 exaltation of a master-spirit. Nature had not given to 
 him even, the corporeal gift of the trumpet tones, with 
 which other leaders are said to have roused the divine 
 phrensy in their followers. It was only at times that 
 his modest and feeble voice was lifted up to his hosts?; 
 and then, as he shouted his favorite call : " Press for- 
 ward," the fiery energy of his will, thrilled through his, 
 rapid utterance, rather like the deadly clang ol the rifle^, 
 than the sonorous peal of the clarion. His was a mas- 
 ter-spirit; but it was too simply grand to study dramat- 
 ic sensations. It impressed its might upon the souls of 
 his countrymen, not through deportment, but through 
 deeds. Its discourses were toilsome marches and bat- 
 tles joined, its perorations were the thunder-claps of de- 
 feat hurled upon the enemies of his country. It jfeveaK 
 ed itself to us only through the purity and force of his 
 action ; and therefore the intensity of the eft'ect he has 
 produced. 
 
 This may help us to explain the enigma of his reputa- 
 tion. Y How is it that this man, of all others least aoefts- 
 torued to exercise his own fancy, or address that of others 
 Jias stimulated the imagination, ^not only of his country- 
 men, but of the civilized world, above all the sons of ge- 
 
— ■ - • — ■ — — *j*.mi uwmaui,. ■ " ■ _ L 
 
 nius among us ? How has he, the most unromautie of 
 great men, become the hero of a living romance, the 
 ideal of an inflamed fancy in every mind, even before his 
 life had passed into history ! How did that calm eye 
 kindle the fire of so passionate a love and admiration in 
 the heart of his people? He was brave, bu* not the 
 only brave. He revealed transcendant military talent ; 
 but the diadem of his country now glows with a galaxy 
 of such talent. He was successful ; but we have more 
 than one captain, whose bannei never trailed before an 
 enemy.. I will tell you the solution. It was, chiefly, 
 the singleness, purity, and elevation of his aims. Every 
 one who observed him was as thoroughly convinced of 
 his uBjA^fish devotion to duty as of his courage ; as cer- 
 tain that no thought of personal advancement, of ambi 
 tion or applause, ever for one instant divided the homage 
 of his heart with his great cause, and that " all the ends 
 he aimed at were his country's, his God's, and truth's," 
 as that he was brave. The love of his countrymen is 
 the spontaneous testimony of the common conscience, 
 to the beauty of holiness. It is the confession of our 
 naturo that the virtue of the Sacred Scriptures, tvhich 
 is a virtue purer and loftier than that of philosophy, is 
 true greatness, grander than knowledge, talent, courage, 
 or success. Here, then, as I believe, is God's < chief les- 
 son iu his life and death, (and the belief encourages aus- 
 picious hopes concerning God's designs towards us.) IJe 
 would teach us the beauty and power oi pure Christiani- 
 ty, as an element of our social life, ©f our national career, 
 Therefore he took an exemplar of Christian sincerity, as 
 near perfection as the infirmities of our nature would 
 permit, formed and trained in an honorable retirement ; 
 he set it in the furnace of trial, at an hour when threat 
 
'11 TUUE COUKAGE. 
 
 events and dangers had awakened the popular heart to 
 njost intense action ; he illustrated it with that species 
 of distinction which above all others, attracts the popu- 
 lar gaze,#ailitary glory; and held it up to the admiring 
 inspection of a country grateful for the deliverance it 
 had wrought for us. Thus he has taught us, how good 
 a thing his fear is. lie has made all men see and ac- 
 knowledge that, in this man, his Christianity was the 
 fountain head of the virtues and talents, which they so 
 rapturously applauded ; that it was the fear of God 
 which made him so fearless of all else ; that it was the 
 love of God which animated his energies ; that it was 
 the singleness of his aims which caused his wlme body 
 to be so full of light, that the unerring decisions of his 
 own judgment, suggested to the unthinking, the belief 
 in his actual inspiration ; that the lofty chivalry of his 
 nature was but the reflex of the Spirit of Christ. Do 
 not even the profane admit this explanation of his cha- 
 racter ? Here then, is God's lesson, in this life, to these 
 Confederate States : " It is righteousness that exalteth." 
 Hear it ye young men, ye soldiers, ye magistrates, ye 
 law-givers; that "he that exalteth himself shall be 
 abased ; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." 
 
 But what would he teach us by his death, to our view 
 so untimely ? To this question, human reason can only 
 an 5wer, that God's judgments are far above us, and past 
 our finding out.. t 
 
 One lovely Sabbath, riding alone with me to a religious 
 service in a camp, Gen. J ackson was talking of the gene- 
 ral prospects of the war, hopefully, as he ever did. But 
 at the close, he assumed an air of intense seriousness, 
 and said : " I do not mean to convey the impression that 
 T have not as much to live for as any man. and that life 
 
TRUE C0URA6E. 'Z6 
 
 is not as sweet. But I do not desire to survive the in- 
 dependence of my country." Can this death be> the -an- 
 swer to that wish ? Can "the solution be, that having 
 tried us, and Ibund us unworthy such a- deliverer, he has 
 hid his favorite in the grave, in the brightness of his 
 hopes, and before his blooming honors received any blight 
 from disaster, from the calamities which our sins are 
 about to bring upon us ? Nay ; we will not believe that 
 the legacy of Jackson's prayers was all expended by us, 
 when he died ; they will 3-et avail for us all the more, 
 that they are now sealed by. his blood. The deliverance 
 of the Jews did not end with the untimely end of Judas 
 Maccabee. The death of William of Orange was not 
 the death of the Dutch Republic. The lamented fall of 
 John Hampden was not the fall of the liberties of Eng- 
 land. And, if we may reverently associate another in- 
 stance with these, the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, 
 was, contrary to the fears of his disciples, but the begin- 
 ning of the sect of the Nazarenes. So, let us hope, the 
 tree of our liberties will flourish but the more for the 
 precious blood by which it is watered. 
 
 May it not be, that God; after enabling him to render 
 all the service which was essential to our "deliverance? 
 and showing us in him, the brightest example of the 
 glory of Christianity, has bid him enter into the joy of 
 his Lord, at this juncture, in order to warn us against 
 our incipient idolatry, and s make us say : " It is better 
 to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in princes?" 
 No man would more strongly deprecate this idolatry of 
 human instruments, than Jackson, and never so strongly, 
 as whsn addressed to himself. None can declare more 
 emphatically than would he, if he spoke to us from the 
 skies, that while man is mortal, the cause is immortal. 
 
34 TRUE COURAGE. 
 
 Away then, with unmanly discouragements, God lives, 
 though our hero is dead. 
 
 That he should have toiled so hard for the indepen- 
 dence of his country, and so ardently desired it ; and 
 then at last, be forbidden to hail the day of our final deliv- 
 erance, or to receive the grateful honors which his fellow- 
 citizens were preparing for him ; this has saddened ev^ery 
 heart with a pang both tender and pungent. The medi- 
 cine to this pain, my brethren, is to remember, that he 
 has entered into a triumph and peace, so much more 
 glorious than that which he bled to achieve for his coun- 
 try. It would have been sweet to us, to hail him re- 
 turning from his last victory to a delivered and enfran- 
 chised country ; sweet to see and sympathize with the 
 joy with which he hung up his sword, and paid the sacri- 
 fices of thanksgiving in the courts of the Lc rd's house > 
 sweet to witness, with reverent respect, the domestic 
 bliss of home for which he so much sighed, solacing him 
 for his long fatigues. That happiness we have lost ; but 
 he has lost nothing. He has laid down his sword at the 
 footstool of his Father God ; he now sings his thanks- 
 giving song in a nobler sanctuary than the earthly one 
 he loved so much; he " bathes his weary soul in seas of 
 heavenly rest." 
 
 We who loved him, while we bewail our own loss, 
 should not forget the circumstances which alleviate the 
 grief of his death. Surely, it was no illrchosen time for 
 God to call him to his rest, when his powers were in 
 their undimmed prime, and his military glory at its 
 zenith ; when his greatest victory had just been won ; 
 and the last sounds of earth which reached him were the 
 thanksgivings and blessings of a nation in raptures for 
 his achievements ; in tears for his sufferings. 1 love to 
 
TRUE COURAGE. 25 
 
 remember too, that bis martyr-life had just been glad- 
 dened by the gratification of those affections which were 
 in him so sweet and strong, and which yet, he sacrificed, 
 so patiently, for his country. 
 
 Still more do we- thank God that it was practicable, 
 as it might not have been at an earlier, or a later period, 
 for him to enjoy those ministrations of love, in his last 
 days, which were the dearest solace of his sufferings. 
 Into the sacredness of those last communings, and of 
 the grief which, survives them in his widowed home, we 
 may not allow even our thoughts to intrude. And yet, 
 may not a mourning nation venture to utter their bless- 
 ing on the mourning heart which blessed him with its 
 love ; and to pray, that the breast which so magnanim- 
 ously calmed its tumult, to make a quiet pillow for the 
 dying head of their hero, may be visited by God, with 
 the most healing balm of heavenly consolation? Will 
 not all the people say : amen ? 
 
 Nor will they forget the tender flower, sole off-shoot 
 of the parent stock, born to bloom amidst the wintry 
 storms of war, which he would fain have forbidden tke 
 summer breeze to visit too roughly. The giant tree 
 which would have shielded it with pride so loving, lies 
 prone before the blast. But his God will be its God ; 
 and as long as the* most rugged breast of his hardy com- 
 rades is warm, it will not lack for a parent's tenderness. 
 
 And now, with one more lesson, I leave you to the 
 teachings of the mighty dead. If there was one trait 
 which was eminent in him above the rest, it was deter- 
 mination. This was the power, before whose steady and 
 ardent heat obstacles melted away. This was the force, 
 which caused his battalions to breast the onsets of the 
 
20 TRUE COURAGE. 
 
 enemy like ramparts of stone, or else launched them ir- 
 resistibly upon their shivered lines ; " the unconquerable 
 will, the purpose never to submit or yield !" Every one 
 who was near him felt that defeat was a result who \\y 
 excluded from his contemplation. Let us imbibe this 
 spirit. As we, visit the soil which drank his blood ! or 
 the grave where his body rests in the bosom of his be- 
 loved valley, we will adopt them as new seals to our 
 pledge to be free or die. Let us resolve that as the 
 solemn mountain peaks keep their everlasting watch 
 around the home and the tomb of Jackson, even so im- 
 movably will we guard the honor and the rights for which 
 he died. 
 
A. !P F E 1ST D I X . 
 
 Sketch of the Life of Lieut. Gen. T. J. Jackson. 
 
 A few facts in regard to the life and death of General 
 Jackson may not be inappropriate, as an appendix to the 
 foregoing discoures. The following sketch appeared in 
 the Richmond Sentinel, from the pen of an intimate 
 friend of the illustrious dead : 
 
 " Thomas J. Jackson was born on the 21st day of Jan- 
 uary, 1824, in C'larksburg, Harrison county, Va. His 
 great grand-father, John Jack.- on, and his great grand- 
 mother were of English birth. 
 
 They emigrated to this country at an early duy, and 
 settled on the South branch of the Potomac. Subse- 
 quently, they removed to what is now Lewis county, in 
 Northwestern Virginia. Their son, Edward, (grand- 
 father of Thomas J.,) was surveyor in Harrison county 
 for many years, and subsequently represented the coun- 
 ty of Lewis in the Legislature for several years. Jona- 
 than Jackson, the father of Gen. Jackson, studied law 
 under Judge John G. Jackson, in Clarksburg; and then 
 commenced its practice, acquiring some reputation. He 
 became embarrassed as security for his friends, and all 
 his property was swept away before his death, which 
 took place in 1827. He left four children, of whom 
 Thomas, the youngest, was but three years old. An un- 
 cle, then residing in Lewis county, took the little orphan 
 to Rve with him Here Thomas, by going to school three 
 months in the winter, and laboring on the farm the resi- 
 due of the year, as was the custom with the farmers' 
 sons in Western Virginia, acquired the rudiments of a 
 plain English education. About the age of seventeen he 
 was appointed to a Cadetship at "West Point. He here 
 graduated with high distinction. 
 
 Gen. Jackson entered the military service under Gen. 
 Zachary Tayltr, with the rank of Brevet Lieutenant. 
 When Gen. Scott was ordered to Mexico, Lieut. Jack- 
 son joined him at Vera Cruz. In the short but sanguin- 
 ary and brilliant campaign that followed, resulting in the 
 capture of the city of Mexico, Lieut. Jackson, by suo- 
 
•J8 
 
 (JEN. T. J. .UCJKS0N 
 
 cessivc promotions for his gallantry and merit, became 
 Brevet Major. Perhaps none who started even w"ith 
 •him attained so high. 
 
 After the Mexican war was over Major Jackson left 
 the army because of impaired health, and accepted a 
 Professorship at the Virginia Military Institute. 
 
 When the present troubles commenced, he repaired at 
 once to Richmond, where he was commissioned Colonel 
 by Governor Letcher, and ordered to take command at 
 Harper's Ferry. He arrived there May 2d, . 18G1, and 
 the next day ente; ed upon his duties. From -that day 
 to the fatal 3rd of May, 1763, just after midnight, when 
 he received his disabling wounds, he was never absent 
 from the first day of. duty. * * * * 
 
 Gen, Jackson was twice married. The first time te a 
 daughter af Rev- Dr\ Junkin. Her children all died. 
 His widow fv.as Miss Morrison, of North Carolina, who, 
 with an inriat daughter of five months, now survives 
 him." 
 
 We need not spea ^ °f ^ s brilliant military career, be-- 
 ginning with the m» i^erly defence of Harper's Ferrj-, 
 and continued throuffl. l * ne Napoleonic campaign in the 
 Valley, and ending wit a tae glorious but mournful field 
 of Chancellorsville. \ n ^ e impression produced by it 
 abroad, may be inferred . ^ rom some extracts from Eng- 
 lish papers. The London Post (Government organ,,) of 
 May 5th, speaking of him sa y s : 
 
 '• Whilst his religien taut ' ht mVm humility and depen- 
 dence upon the Creator it c uc * not l aad ^ im to confound 
 the true nature of the objecv " s for which both he and Lis 
 lollowers were str iviste and to suppose that because 
 their ends were ni .blk'that th erefore, they were cham- 
 pions of God. If he was occat ionally a preacher in the 
 camp, he was skill, ful and also a gallant general in the 
 field ; and it is not surprising t\ at those wno Kad so fre- 
 quently followed } im to victory should have considered 
 him as specially ^ored by ?*■ ovidence > and "have re- 
 dded him -wi* . feelihas akin tte devotion. As a soldier 
 y ' y v t i*j 'the foremost pi V* in the history of the 
 f ° *£$ Tar Hi&^&iO is indellibly associ- 
 
ar.S. J. J. JACKSON. 29 
 
 federate armies ; by those achievements, by his genius 
 and hh coinage, he more than any one else specially con- 
 tributed. Stragetic ability is the most valuable qualifi- 
 cation a General can possess ; but it is not always that 
 consummate military tacticians command the confidence 
 of their followers, or insure the success 'of the opera- 
 tions they conduct. It was, however, the good fortune 
 of General Jackson, to lead men who, whilst their cour- 
 age was exalted in an extraordinary degree by the con- 
 viction that nothing could be worse than defeat, were 
 inspired with an unshaken faith in the genius and abili- 
 ty of their General. To follbw Jackson they knew was 
 to march to certain victory; and, if it' was necessary 
 that success should be purchased at the cost of many 
 lives, that reflection did not dispirit them, for the cause 
 in which they were fighting stripped death of all its ter- 
 rors." 
 
 The London Herald (Derby organ,) of the 27th 
 says: 
 
 " He was animated by the spirit which rendered the 
 soldiers of the Commonwealth irresistible in fight — 
 which carried Havelock through incredible dangers to 
 the gates of Lucknow in triumph. The Northern Re- 
 public has produced no heroes of the stamp of Jackson. 
 One* such man might be the salvatidnof them yet. Bla- 
 tant demagogues at home, bragging imbeciles in the 
 field, aflbrd a spectacle so absurd, and yet so painful, 
 that Europe knows, not whether to laugh or weep at the 
 degradation of her children. The Northerners want a 
 man to do a man's work. The only great men of the 
 ! war have been developed in the South. It is very diffi- 
 cult to explaiii this. Some may call it a fatality^ some a 
 i providential arrangement. That it is a fact is at present 
 I enough for us*" 
 
 An impression exists in many minds that his religion 
 was of a stern and austere type. But this is a mistake. 
 | He was stern in discharging his duty, but his religion 
 jwas of a sunny and hopeful character. A little incident 
 illustrates this. It was his habit, when camp duties per- 
 mitted, to gather his staff in" his re*** — ° " . 
 
 US to Sini* i— - 
 
30 '.i;>. T. J. JA.CK80K, 
 
 snug his usual reply, was, we will begin with " How hap- 
 py are they, who their Saviour obey," and the fact that 
 this joyous, exulting hymn was his favorite is a sufficient 
 key to the general tone of his religious character. It 
 Lad that blended tenderness, hopefulness and firmness 
 that constituted his. natural character, and made him the 
 remarkable man he was. Two other incidents recorded 
 jn the papers from authentic scources illustrate this fine 
 combination of characteristics : 
 
 " Previous to the first battle *of Manassas, when the 
 troops under the command of Stonewall Jackson had 
 made a forced march, on halting at night they fell on the 
 ground exhausted and faint.^ The hour arrived for set- 
 ting the watch for the night. The officw of the day 
 went to the General's tent, and said — 
 
 " General, the men are all wearied, and there is not 
 one but is asleep. Shall I wake them?" 
 
 " No," said the noble Jackson, " let them sleep, and 1^ 
 will watch the camp to-night," 
 
 And all night long he rode around that lonely camp, 
 the one lone sentinel for that brave but weary and si- 
 lent body of Virginia heroes. And when glorious morn- 
 ing broke, the soldiers woke refreshed and ready for ac- 
 tion, all unconscious of the noble vigils kept over their 
 slumber. 
 
 The night preceding that on which he received his 
 wounds, Gen. Jackson and his staff were in the open air 
 without tents. One of his aids prevailed on the Gene- 
 ral to accept of him a light covering. In the night, 
 however, when all was wrapped in deep sleep, Jackson 
 arose, and gently laying the covering over the young 
 aid, he lay down again and slept without any protection 
 whatever. In the morning he awoke with a cold, which 
 brought on the attack, eventually causing his death, 
 from pneumonia." , 
 
 As soon as it was ascertained that he was wounded, 
 Gen. Lee sent him the following note, as noble a tribute 
 to the writer as it was to the hero to whom it was ad- 
 dressed: 
 
>,T.S. T. J. J 
 
 " Ch.an(:ellorsvit.i.e. May 4th. 
 Generil : — T have just received your note informing 
 me that you were wounded. I cannot express my re- 
 gret at the occurrence. Could I have directed events 1 
 should Lave chosen, for the good of the country, to have 
 been disabled in your stead. 
 
 I congratulate you upon the victory which is due to 
 your sk.R and energy. 
 
 Most truly yours, 
 (Signed) R. E. LEE, General. 
 
 Lieut. Gex. T. J. Jackson. 
 
 On hearing this, he was deeply affected by the gene- 
 rous tribute of his chief, but humbly remarked, that^he 
 glory of the victory was due to God alone. 
 
 When he saw the anxiety of .those around him con- 
 cerning, his wounds, he said that he esteemed them great 
 blessings, that they were all right and would work to- 
 gether for good to him. 
 
 It was a special kindness of God to him that ln>wife 
 and child, whom he had seen so little during the war, 
 were allowed to reach him soon after he was wounded, 
 to soothe and cheer his closing days. When he saw tho 
 irrepressible grief of his beloved wife, he tried to cheer her 
 saying, " I know you would gladly give your life for me, 
 but do not be sad. I hope still to recover. Pray for 
 me, but always remember to say, ' Thy will be cfcne.' " 
 
 When speaking of the probability of his death, he ad- 
 vised her to make her home with her " kind and good 
 father," as he termed him ; but added no one is so 
 '• kind and good as your Heavenly Father." 
 
 When told that his old Stonewall Brigade had gone 
 into battle w-ith the watchword, rt charge, and remember* 
 Jackson," and inspired by it had swept the enemy be- 
 fore them in resistless triumph, he was moved, and re- 
 marked " it was just like them, they are a noble body 
 of men." 
 
 His thoughts ran much on the Bible, and he made 
 many inquiries about it from theologians around him» 
 which elicited some characteristic remarks, about what 
 he called H the headquarters " of Christianity and its 
 first preachers. He inquired whether any of those per- 
 
JACKSON. 
 
 ^TPBI^MHHd a return of their disease, 
 declaring that to him this seemed impossible, so great 
 was the power exerted, c; that the poor paralytic could 
 never again tremble with the palsy," and exclaimed 
 once, " Oh for infinite power." 
 
 As his end drew near, he was told that he had but two 
 hours to live. He calmly replied, "it will then be infi- 
 
 , nite gain to be translated to heaven, and be with Jesus." 
 When his unconscious babe was brought to him for a last 
 farewell, he gazed tenderly on her, and said, " how sweet 
 it would be to live -for this dear babe," then looking up, 
 serenely he added, u No, it is better to depart and be at. 
 peace." 
 
 His wanderings of mind were on his duty. He was 
 a^ain at the head of his fiery columns, the light of bat- 
 
 • * tie* in 4iis eye, and its thunder in his ear, and he ordered 
 one officer. to prepare for action, another to "bring the 
 infantry to the front," and another to have provisions 
 brought to the men. At last he faintly whispered, " all 
 right," as if his heroic spirit heard the shout of victory, 
 and was ready for its rest. 
 
 He had always desired to die on the Sabbath, and this 
 wish was kindly gratified. And during the morning 
 when his thoughts were not wandering, he made special 
 inquiry about the arrangements for preaching, and was 
 not satisfied until assured that the men should be sup- 
 plied with religious services, he seemed to sink into a 
 calm repose of both body and mind, from which he nev- 
 er fully rallied. As his thoughts were wandering on 
 some scene, earthly or heavenly, he was heard to mur- 
 mur " let us pass over the river and rest under the 
 trees," as if the bright unfading scenes on the other 
 • side of Jordan were dawning to his gaze ; and before the 
 
 W shadows had grown long on that bright Sabbath noon, 
 
 *"• his noble and holy spirit had passed over the river, and 
 was walking in the brightness beneath the trees that 
 fringe' the banks of the crystal stream, and had entered 
 upon that rest that remaineth for the people of God. 
 
 "Servant of God, well done! 
 ' ' Best from thy loved employ, 
 
 The battle fought, the victory won, 
 Eu?er thy Maater'a joy." 
 
J 
 
 Hollinger Corp. 
 P H8.5