Stonewall Jackson Papers

The collection consists primarily of the personal papers of Civil War General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (b. 1824 d. 1863). The bulk of the letters date from the pre-Civil War period and concern professional, personal and domestic matters, including many in which Jackson writes about his religious faith, his concerns about health and diet, and his family. The collection provides insight into Jackson's personality and philosophy, and presents a portrait of the man as he was in the years before he gained national fame as a wartime military leader. A small percentage of the documents date from the Civil War period and are directly related to Jackson's Confederate Army service.

The collection includes ca. 160 items of Jackson's outgoing correspondence, 1844-1863, spanning his cadetship at West Point; his service in the United States Army (1846-1851) including his participation in the Mexican War; his years as a faculty member at the Virginia Military Institute (1851-1861); and his career in the Confederate States Army. The bulk of the correspondence is addressed to his sister, Laura Ann (Jackson) Arnold. Other correspondents include Margaret Junkin Preston, and CSA Generals Joseph E. Johnston and Daniel Harvey Hill. Other series include miscellaneous incoming correspondence; miscellaneous Civil War reports, orders and dispatches; and documents associated with Jackson.

In addition to Jackson's personal papers, the collection contains the allied papers of Jackson's second wife, Mary Anna (Morrison) Jackson (ca. 143 items); his daughter Julia Jackson Christian (ca. 10 items); and his sister Laura Ann Jackson Arnold (ca. 115 items).