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Jackson, Thomas J. "Stonewall", 1824-1863 to Joseph Eggleston Johnston

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00046 Author/Creator: Jackson, Thomas J. "Stonewall", 1824-1863 Place Written: Winchester, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: December 14, 1861 Pagination: 3 p. : docket ; Height: 24.2 cm, Width: 18.7 cm Order a Copy

General Jackson, in command of Valley of the Virginia (Shenandoah Valley) discusses his attempts to damage the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. He informs General Johnston, Commander of the Department of Northern Virginia, that he has not been successful in damaging the Canal, but has captured several prisoners from the 17th Indiana Regiment. Jackson hopes to reverse the flow of water through a dam, or to make a small break in the canal. He plans to march with Gannetts' brigade the following Monday and hopes to prevent Washington, D. C. from receiving coal from Cumberland, Virginia during the course of the war. Jackson reports that if General Kelly (possibly Benjamin Franklin Kelley) advances, he will only have time to make a break in the canal. Relates that his brigade has been joined by Colonel William Booth Taliaferro's brigade, and that he has received reports of nine thousand Union troops gathering in Romney (present day West Virginia). Jackson expects Kelley to advance when the weather becomes colder.

Jackson, Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall," 1824-1863
Johnston, Joseph E. (Joseph Eggleston), 1807-1891
Kelley, Benjamin Franklin, 1807-1891
Taliaferro, William Booth, 1822-1898

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