Calm Under Fire

By: Mark Churms

At the Battle of Falling Waters, July 2, 1861, wearing the blue uniform of a Virginia Military Institute Professor, Col. Thomas J. Jackson rides a small brown horse he named “Fancy”; more commonly known as “Little Sorrel”.

A courier from Winchester has just ridden up on the Valley Pike and handed Jackson a dispatch from Gen. Johnston.  As he begins to pencil his reply, a Federal Cannon shot passes through the branches of a nearby white oak tree, scattering Jackson with leaves, bark and twigs!  Brushing these away, he will calmly finish writing, not acknowledging the danger. 

The courier, and Staff Officers E. G. Lee and "Sandy" Pendleton, react to the near miss, as troops of the 2nd Virginia infantry cheer their stoic Commander!  Nearby two of the VMI cadet guns, manned by the 1st Rockbridge Artillery, wait in reserve.  Jackson's calm reaction to this near miss, impressed his troops and helped start the mystique surrounding the man soon to be known as "Stonewall".

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