Symposium Spotlight: Stonewall Jackson’s “Arresting” Personality
We’re pleased to finally be able to share details about the Sunday morning tour for our 12th Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge.
As we explore “Partnerships and Rivalries,” ECW’s Stonewall Jackson Fanboy-in-Chief, Chris Mackowski, will take a look at the command tensions between Stonewall Jackson and, well, just about any subordinate who served under him!
Join ECW on the south end of the Fredericksburg battlefield at Prospect Hill, the anchor of the Confederate right flank. There, a monument declares “Jackson on the Field.” But December 13, 1862, was not Stonewall Jackson’s finest day, despite anything else the monument might suggest. Only the quick thinking of a number of subordinates plugged a Federal breakthrough and saved the day.
Did that amazing “save” happen because of Jackson’s leadership or in spite of it?
Jackson had a notoriously tumultuous relationship with most of his subordinates. He clashed with and arrested dozens of officers during the war.
“[T]hat crazy old Presbyterian fool . . .” groused A. P. Hill, who had a particularly strained relationship with Jackson. “I know we shall have a smash up before long. . . . The Almighty will get tired helping Jackson after a while, and then he’ll get the d–ndest thrashing. . . . [But] I should get my share and probably all the blame, for the people will never blame Stonewall for any disaster.”
That disaster almost came at Fredericksburg. We’ll walk the field with Chris, who’ll use the battle as an opportunity to look more closely at Jackson’s relationships with A. P. Hill, D. H. Hill, Jubal Early, William Taliaferro, James Walker, Maxcy Gregg, William T. Poague, and others. We’ll also explore Jackson’s history of conflict with other subordinates.
“These men should have been Jackson’s partners in command,” Chris says, “but with a partner like Jackson, who needs an enemy?”
Tickets for the ECW Symposium, August 7–9, 2026, are $325 for all three days. For more information, or to order tickets, click here.
Hate to be a nitpicker, but it’s Maxcy Gregg, not “Maxy.”
Chris may not like this but Old Jack was a consistently mediocre tactician throughout his Civil War tenure. He was the Head Coach who could come up with a good game plan but who should have left the play-calling to his Coordinators. It was exacerbated by his bizarre penchant for secrecy and his fractious relationships with subordinates.
I do not disagree.