| In
painting Stonewall Jackson at the apogee of his greatest
military triumph at Chancellorsville, he is frozen him
in a moment of time, in an aggressive, urgent posture,
that epitomizes the image and attitude of the General
which endeared him to his men and to the patriotic hearts
of Southerners, and which struck fear and awe into the
hearts of his enemies. He is seen among his troops,
urging them onward with a favorite phrase: “Press
forward, men!”, in the midst of the brilliant
flank attack which had the Orange Turnpike as its axis
of advance. Jackson was desperate to convey the urgent
need to maintain the momentum of the assault which was
flagging. Daylight was in short supply, as evidenced
by the pale orange moon under which Jackson and his
party of reconnoitering officers would be fired upon
by a regiment of jittery North Carolina soldiers a few
hours later, with extremely dire consequences.
The
men of Jackson’s second Corps, Army of Northern
Virginia, had marched all day in unabating heat and
dust, with little water and little food, through densely
wooded country over roads that at places were little
more than footpaths, to assemble for and mount an attack
on an enemy that never suspected a general engagement
would ensue that day, until the Confederates were upon
them and the enemy right flank had collapsed entirely.
The
scene shows the Confederate assault about an hour and
a half after its commencement at 5:15 PM on May 1, 1863.
Jackson had the artillery in the dusty background of
my picture brought up to assume a forward firing position
in the hopes of maintaining the offensive. The fight
had reached a critical stage, a the right wing of the
Army of the Potomac, under the command of Major General
Joseph Hooker, did eventually regain its composure,
and mounted a spirited defense. Despite being caught
completely off guard, Major General Oliver O. Howard’s
Eleventh Corps succeeded in inflicting 1,000 casualties
on Jackson’s men and stalling his advance.
SIGNED,
LIMITED EDITION PRINT
Edition
size: 950
Image size: 30 x 20 inches
Print only: $150.00 $135.00
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