Where was Stonewall Jackson shot?

Answer 1

Stonewall Jackson was shot by friendly fire on May 2, 1863 while heading back to camp at Chancellorsville, VA. He was riding along with several of his aides and they were mistaken by his own men as a group of union soldiers. He was shot 3 times and his left arm was later amputated as a result. While recovering from the amputation he developed and died from pnuemonia on May 10, 1863. Some people theorize that Jackson would have survived the amputation of his arm. The theory is that he developed pneumonia as a result of the medics dropped his stretcher when retrieving him from the battle lines. The fall broke a rib that punctured his lung or something to that effect.

Answer 2

There are so many versions of this story that it seems something is being covered up.

We know that his patrol returned to camp in the evening, and the sentry could not tell whether their uniforms were blue or grey, especially as they were covered in dust.

When the sentry challenged them, it seems that one of the party answered in an unusual accent, which could have been a Northerner trying to sound like a Southerner.

This had become a standard method for Northern patrols to get past enemy sentries, and a Confederate officer called Major Barry shouted "It's a d..n Yankee trick!"

As for who fired the shot, we don't know. But there is also a persistent belief that Stonewall was deliberately assassinated. His subsequent position as one of the Confederate gods has tended to conceal that he was actually quite unpopular - eccentric in a way that was not attractive, and he had many enemies. In this, of course, he was no different from many Confederate generals, who often seemed to hate each other more than the enemy.

Finally, we know that Major Barry felt guilty about his part in the incident, and died young of grief.

Answer 3

he was shot by one of his own men on the way back from a patrol after the battle of chancelorsville he was shot by one of his own men on the way back from a patrol after the battle of chancelorsville

Answer 4

It is not known whether he was assassinated - but there are so many versions of the story that it looks as though something is being concealed.

He and his party rode back to camp in the evening, with their uniforms covered in dust, and the sentry could not tell if these uniforms were blue or grey.

The sentry challenged them, but he was nervous and shot all them out of hand before they had all answered up.

One issue is that Northern patrols had learned to answer Confederate sentries in a Southern accent, and this had cost a few lives, so the sentries were sensitive to this tactic.

It seems that either the sentry or a certain Confederate officer called Major Barry believed that one of the party had answered up in a fake Southern accent. Major Barry is known to have shouted "It's a d**n Yankee trick". (Later he blamed himself for the death of Stonewall, and died young of a broken heart.)

However, it has also been persistently rumoured that Stonewall's body was found with a note attached to it, alleging that he was assassinated. Some believe the note was written by the assassin, some believe it was written by Stonewall himself.

Answer 5

Nothing was done to punish any soldiers for the accidental shooting of Jackson. No one could have known exactly who fired the two shots that hit Jackson. Jackson was a very aggressive commander, and this trait had led him into going where he had no business to be, and where no soldier would have expected his commanding general to be. The Confederate attack began late in the day and was extremely successful. But as always happened the troops, though victorious, become scattered and disorganized. It was just getting dark, and Jackson, impatient for further success, rode out in front of his own lines, between his soldiers and the enemy, to see what more he could find that might be done. This was in an area called "The Wilderness" because all the trees had once been cut and now there was tangled underbrush, thorn bushes, small trees, and visibility beyond a few feet was impossible. There were only one or two roads through the area. A rumor of a Yankee cavalry counterattack had swept through the halted, forwardmost Rebels. When they heard the hooves of the horses of Jackson and his small group on the road, the Rebel troops believed this was the feared Yankee cavalry attack, and so opened fire. The shots which hit Jackson were fired by the men of the 18th North Carolina Infantry. I'm sure they felt awful about it, and those who fired at that time knew it might have been their shot that did the harm. Chances are though that those individuals might not have lived through the rest of the war themselves.

Answer 6

He was shot outside of his base camp returning from battle at night

Answer 7

When Stonewall Jackson was doing a night spy one of his men named Joshua Georges shot him.