What if stonewall jackson was alive for gettysburg

Additionally, Richard Ewell encountered the same problem at Gettysburg that Jackson encountered at Chancellorsville, i. He might have succeeded too. But with more fresh Union corps coming up the road, I doubt his fought-out men could have held it for very long. If Jackson had faced the same situation as Ewell on day one—worrying reports of advancing Union troops, disadvantage in terrain, serious casualties, and no reinforcements from A.

Hill—who is to say he or anyone could have swept Cemetery Hill? The ground and its defenders were strong, and Jackson was not always a skilled tactician. Jackson, alive, well, and whole, would have made a meaningful impact. Stuart had arrived earlier. The question revolves around a dead man—which speaks volumes about the value his contemporaries placed on him then—and we place on him now.

Ewell that it would have reversed the outcome of the battle. Had Jackson lived, then, Lee would not have had any incentive for making the shuffle. That would be using conjecture to support the very point of the question that we cannot know for sure what might have happened. If we pose a question the requires us to engage in speculation based on assumptions and then seek to demonstrate one cannot make those assumptions based on equally speculative assumptions where does that leave us in this whole discussion?

Yes, we can definitely say that because Lee himself actually said it. Your final question is the very point these posts have tried to raise: people make assumptions based on assumptions based on assumptions, which is ripe territory for speculation or—from my perspective—ripe for a discussion about critical thinking.

No matter what, Chancelorsville would have been a Confederate victory. I think there would have been a Gettysburg anyway, but I am sure just who would have had the high ground. And then cut off the Union route of retreat so that fighting is its only option? There would have been no Gettsyburg, because, as Jackson himself planned, he would have annihilated Hooker by cutting off his retreat at United States Ford on the Rappahannock, at Chancellorsville. Then Jackson planned to march straight on Washington and destroy it.

End of War. Regardless of what ramifications it may have had, we can agree that the death of Jackson certainly had a profound impact on the war. Speculation on that role Jackson would have played if not for his wounds on May 2nd demonstrates how we should not try to ignore the events on the battlefield in order to interpret the war through wider lenses. And it is for this reason that our work as military historians is still meaningful and your earlier description of the on-the-field conditions leading up to the wounding remains ever relevant.

I really appreciated both posts. Thanks for your comment, Ed. Great article and follow up posts. One thing I keep reminding myself of is the larger picture. If Jackson lived to fight another day, Meade draws a defensive line at Pipe Creek where he intended to make a stand all along. I have been in several conversations with visitors on this subject. In various scenarios, I have said that there would not be a change in the outcome of Gettysburg or perhaps there would not have been a Gettysburg.

If Jackson had been ali…ve and in the place of Ewell, there may have been a Battle of Harrisburg, instead of Gettysburg. We must also consider, as Chris has said, that Jackson may have been to ill to fight. What if;s are fun. In this case one shoould remember that if Jackson survives, everything changes.

All events are subject to different results and one can never surmise that the end result will conform to your expectations. Have fun with the premise but deal with the real results and not the anticipated ones. In combat, anything can happen and it usually does. Pizza, good beer, and cigars always inspire me to refight the war and indulge in a little what-if. Meg- Let me know when the next party is and I will come and enjoy your good beer! Hardest thing to be is a gracious winner.

First, you are making a big assumption that Jackson would have gotten sick. His illness may have been brought on by his weakness and loss of blood. He complained of chills, and even during the march, while temps soared well into the 80s, he was wearing every article of clothing he owned including his rubber rain coat.

His wound hid the fact he was sick because his body suffered such severe trauma, and only after his body began to recover from the trauma did the illness become apparent. It was always my belief that Jackson did not have pneumonia before being wounded. I found an article that says he was suffering from a head cold before being wounded, but the pneumonia probably began with a bruised lung received when he fell from the stretcher used to get him to safety.

I have read several articles regarding Jackson but I found this one particularly interesting. Pingback: The legacy of May 2 « Scholars and Rogues. If he emerges un hurt and vigorous, there is unity of command all divisions leading into PA were from the former 2nd corps and in all likelihood more aggressive actions.

The result might well have been on a different field. William Jones. And Longstreet was shot during the Wilderness battle, which is quite close to Chancellorsville where Jackson fell. Longstreet of course recovered. Meade probably would have retreated at that point to ensure the defense of Washington. After his home state of Virginia seceded from the Union in , Jackson joined the Confederate army and quickly forged his reputation for fearlessness and tenacity during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign later that same year.

He served under General Robert E. Lee for much of the Civil War. Jackson was a decisive factor in many significant battles until his mortal wounding by friendly fire at the age of 39 during the Battle of Chancellorsville in May When Jackson was two years old, his six-year-old sister died of typhoid fever.

His father, Jonathan Jackson , an attorney, perished of the same disease a short time later, leaving his wife, Julia Neale Jackson , with three children and considerable debt. After Julia Jackson remarried in , to a man who reportedly disliked his stepchildren, Thomas Jackson and his siblings were sent to live with various relatives. In , Jackson enrolled at the U. Military Academy at West Point. Older than many of the other students, he initially struggled with the curriculum and endured frequent ridicule for his modest background and relatively poor education.

However, Jackson worked hard and eventually met with academic success, graduating in Jackson left West Point just as the Mexican War was starting and he was sent to Mexico as a lieutenant with the 1st U.

Jackson continued his military service until he accepted a professorship at the Virginia Military Institute in Jackson spent 10 years as a professor of artillery tactics and natural philosophy similar to modern-day physics at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. He was better at teaching artillery than natural philosophy, and was disliked by some cadets for his brusqueness, lack of sympathy and eccentric behavior.

Students mocked him for his hypochondria and his habit of keeping one arm elevated to hide a perceived discrepancy in the length of his limbs.

In , Jackson married Elinor Junkin , the daughter of a Presbyterian minister who was the president of Washington College. She died in childbirth 14 months later; in , Jackson married Mary Anna Morrison , the daughter of a former president of Davidson College.

The following year, the couple had a daughter; however, the child lived for only a month. He did not drink, gamble or smoke. When Virginia seceded from the Union in , Jackson accepted a commission as a colonel in the Confederate army and went off to war, never to return to Lexington alive. During the first wave of secession from December through February , during which time seven Southern states declared their independence from the U.

However, when Virginia seceded in April , he supported the Confederacy, showing his loyalty to his state over the federal government. Jackson served only briefly as a colonel before receiving a promotion to brigadier general under General Joseph E. Johnston Jackson earned his nickname at the First Battle of Bull Run also known as Manassas in July when he rushed his troops forward to close a gap in the line against a determined Union attack.