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Stonewall Jackson's military
feats had elevated him to near-mythical proportions in both North and
South, when in the midst of one of his most brilliant maneuvers he was
mistakenly shot by his own men on the night of May 2, 1863, at the Battle
of Chancellorsville. Confederate army commander Robert E. Lee decided that
his indispensable and most capable subordinate should recuperate at a safe
place well behind friendly lines. Doctors moved Jackson to Guinea Station,
intending to evacuate him to Richmond by railroad. Union cavalry, however,
had cut the rail line, compelling Jackson and his party to wait near
Guinea Station until the line was restored.
The "Stonewall
Jackson" Shrine is the plantation office building where General Jackson
spent the final six days of his life. The office was one of several
outbuildings on Thomas C. Chandler's 740-acre plantation, "Fairfield." The
Chandler family used the unpretentious frame structure for recreation as
well as for work. Chandler kept records in the office, and one of his sons
once practiced medicine there, but with three of the Chandler boys away
serving in the Confederate army, the building no longer witnessed its
antebellum level of activity.
The office stood bare, except for a few items in storage, when Jackson's
ambulance arrived. Chandler offered his house to Jackson and other
Confederate wounded, but Jackson's attendants chose instead the quiet
privacy of the outbuilding as the best place for the general to rest. Once
Confederate authorities regained control of the rail line, Jackson would
board a train at Guinea Station and resume his trip to Richmond.
Today the office is the only plantation building remaining. The Chandler
house burned after the Civil War, and its shell was dismantled in the
early 1900's. Established as an historic "shrine," the office underwent
restorations in the 1920's and 1960's. It still retains 45% of its
original fabric. The National Park Service has augmented some of the items
used during Jackson's stay with other pieces from the era, along with a
few reproductions, to recreate the scene of those tragic last days of his
life.
Courtesy of NPS
"Stonewall" Jackson Shrine tour guide |
