Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/559

JACKSON 535 sovereign right of a State to withdraw from the Union, and therefore to the secession movement of 1861 he at once accorded his sympathy. On the organization of the Virginia troops he was commissioned colonel of infantry by Governor Letcher, who, long intimate with him, adequately appreciated his yet undisclosed military genius. Jackson s first exploit in the war of secession was the capture, on May 3, 1861, of the Federal arsenal at Harper s Ferry. Soon afterwards he received the command of a brigade the brigade which, by its immovable fortitude at Bull Run, turned the tide of battle in that long doubtful struggle, and, from the admiration of its comrades, extorted for itself and its chief the now historic name of " Stonewall." Detached from the army at Manassas for separate service in the Shenandoah Valley, Jackson soon signalized his genius for war. Placing himself between the converging columns of Shields, Milroy, and Banks, he struck one after the other ; and, with a force inferior to his adversaries sepa rately, he eventually drove them back upon Washington in utter defeat. In this "campaign of the valley" Jackson displayed true military instinct and the highest military art. By vigilance, sagacity, celerity and secrecy of move ment, and faultless tactical skill on the field of battle, he achieved the greatest possible results with the smallest possible means. His reputation was now fixed in the estimation alike of friend and foe ; and, while the Confede rate States were filled with the renown of his achievements, the Federal forces were in constant terror of his prowess. Having stayed the invasion of Virginia along the line of the valley, Jackson repaired to Richmond to concert with Lee the deliverance of the Confederate capital, then closely pressed by M Clellan. Appointed, meanwhile, to the com mand of a corps, he suddenly revealed himself on the right flank of the Federal army at Mechanicsville ; and in a series of desperately fought engagements he routed the besieging army, and drove M Clellan to shelter at Harrison s Landing. Richmond relieved, Jackson, without pause, hastened to confront Pope, who was menacing the city from the north. In the battle of Cedar Run he inflicted signal defeat upon that general, and compelled him to retrace his steps across the Rappahannock. Reinforced by M Clellan s army and fresh troops from the northern States, Pope made a stand at Manassas ; but in the second battle on that field he suffered an overthrow as decisive as that sustained by M Dowell in the first fight at Bull Run. As usual Jackson s corps bore the brunt of the battle ; and as usual to his skill and courage the Con federate army was mainly indebted for its success, Follow ing up the victory by the invasion of Maryland, Lee detached Jackson for an attack on Harper s Ferry, again in the hands of the Federalists, and garrisoned by 12,000 troops. In a few days the surrender of the place, with all its force and munitions of war, was announced to Lee, who, slowly retiring before M Clellan, anxiously expected the arrival of Jackson, that he might turn and crush his pursuer. But before he could effect the desired junction Lee was brought to bay at Antietam, and com pelled to accept battle under every disadvantage. Jackson now arrived, however, with two of his divisions, and his presence not only averted an otherwise inevitable disaster, but rescued the Confederate army from the destruction which awaited it if defeated with its rear resting on the river. Henceforth Jackson s operations were under the immediate eye and command of Lee ; and, while at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville his gallantry was as conspicuous as ever, to his illustrious chief belongs the glory of those hard-fought fields. On the afternoon of May 2, 1863, Jackson fought his last battle. Executing a plan of his own conception, he suddenly struck the flank of the llth Federal corps, and drove it pell-mell before him. Night fell with the hostile forces in close proximity ; and, while Jackson was making a reconnaisance with a view to pressing the pursuit, he was fired on in the dark by men of his own command, and received wounds of which he died on May 10, 1863. His death smote the Confederates with a pang of unspeakable anguish. The fall of their foremost chieftain was bewailed as the omen of the fall of the party. In deportment Jackson was grave and measured ; but he relaxed on approach, and his address was bland and gracious. In conversation he conveyed the impression of a frank, firm character, and of an intellect clear and direct, but in no wise of superior order. No opinion floated languidly in his understanding; he held all his beliefs with an intense earnestness of conviction, and he was prompt and resolute in carrying his convictions into action. He engaged in the war of secession with an unfaltering faith in the justice of the cause and an unhesitating persuasion of its triumph. He was the idol of his troops. At his command they would cheerfully endure any sacrifice or confront any peril. On the field of battle he was never known to lose his self-possession, or to be surprised by any fluctuation of fortune ; his quick eye would detect the exigent moment, and his unerring judgment direct the decisive manoeuvre. (E. A. r.*) JACKSON, WILLIAM (1730-1803), an English musician of repute, was bom at Exeter, in May 1730. His father, a grocer, bestowed a liberal education upon him, but, on account of the lad s strong predilection for music, was induced to place him under the care of John Silvester, the organist of Exeter Cathedral, with whom he remained about two years. In 1748 he went to London, and studied under John Travers, organist of the king s chapel. Returning to Exeter, he settled there as a teacher and composer, and in 1777 was appointed subchanter, organist, lay-vicar, and master of the choristers of the cathedral. In 1755 he published his first work, Twelve /Songs, which became at once highly popular. His next publication, Six /Sonatas for the Harpsichord, was a failure. His third work, Six Elegies for three voices, preceded Ly an Invocation, with an Accompaniment, was very successful, and placed him among the first composers of his day. Dr Burney considered these as the best of Jackson s works, and added that "no composer copied less from others than Jackson." His fourth work was another set of Twelve Songs, now very scarce ; and his fifth work was again a set of Tivelve Songs, all of which are now forgotten. He next published Tivelve Hymns, with some good remarks upon that style of composition, although his precepts were better than his practice. A set of Twelve Songs followed, containing some good compositions. Next came an Ode to Fancy, the words by Dr Warton. Tivelve Canzonets for two voices formed his ninth work ; and one of them " Time has not thinned my Flowing Hair" long held a place at public and private concerts. His tenth work was Eight Sonatas for the Harpsichord, some of which were novel and pleasing. He composed three dramatic pieces, Lycidas (1767), The Lord of the Manor, to General Burgoyne s, words (1780), and The Metamorphoses, a comic opera produced at Drury Lane in 1783, which did not succeed. In the second of these dramatic works, two airs "Encom passed in an Angel s Form " and "When first this Humble Roof I knew " were great favourites. Some of his church music, published after Ids death, did not please the critics. In 1782 he published Thirty Letters on Various Sid)jects, which are well written and interesting. In these he severely attacked canons, and described William Bird s Non nobis Domine as containing passages not to be endured. But his anger and contempt were most strongly expressed against catches of all kinds, which he denounced as bar-