Stonewall Jackson: The Good Soldier by Allen Tate

From a swing my mother and I were sitting on at Boggy Bayou, a little finger full of water that splinters off of Choctawhatchee Bay.  I miss those afternoons, but I'm glad to be back home with my hubby huggy bear.

I am in Texas, but I still dream of Florida.

I have been listening to Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, but with a new twist.  The American jazz pianist, Schickeria, played the cadenza.  It was a live performance on the radio and I cannot find it on YouTube which is a shame because I have never heard a more fantastic cadenza than the one Schickeria played.  However, here is a recording with, I think, the composer at the piano.

This is the second book I read out loud to my mother when I was visiting my parents.  We did not quite finish it before I had to return to Texas so I read the final chapters to her over the phone as Derek and I were driving through Mississippi.


Stonewall Jackson: The Good Soldier by Allen Tate

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This biography of Stonewall Jackson is a worthy read in a couple of ways.

One, the background and description of the battles, even though from a Southern perspective, are accurate and informative.

Tate's description of Stonewall Jackson is even handed, even though Jackson is a somewhat mysterious figure about which not a whole lot is known.

What makes this book interesting, as long as it doesn't offend you, is that it was written in 1927 by the poet Allen Tate in an attempt to renovate the reputation of the South and make a defense for their war.

Tate is a Southerner through and through so while his facts are clear and accurate and his description of Jackson not gushing nor even particularly flattering, his opinions as to the outcome of various battles probably differ than most people's today.

His terminology is slanted toward a legitimate Secession. He refers to Jefferson Davis as "President Davis" and Lincoln as "The Northern President." He faults Davis for losing the war for the South as well as a few Generals he felt were over complacent. He thinks Jackson is eccentric but effective, most of the time.

The only person in his biography with which he finds no fault is General Robert E. Lee.

People looking for a complete record of the Civil War will be disappointed as this historical record ends with Jackson's unexpected death in 1963, two years before the war ended.

Needless to say I disagree with the author's attitude but I think it is invaluable to read this dated piece of historical record in order to remember and understand the attitudes and culture of a past time.

I look forward to reading S.C. Gwynne's Rebel Yell and compare the two biographies of this fascinating historical figure, who I may say, had he lived, might have turned the war around. In my opinion, as much as I respect Jackson's abilities; I think our country benefited from his death.



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