Stonewall's Wake

In 1863, during the Civil War, General "Stonewall" Jackson was accidentally shot by his own troops in 1863. His body was laid in the Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, for two days before his funeral at his home Presbyterian Church in Lexington. Tens of thousands of mourning Confederate people crowded into the Capitol building to look on their beloved leader for the last time.

As the sun was setting on the last day of viewing, the marshal gave orders for the great doors of the Senate chamber to be closed. Just before the gates were finally shut, a rough looking Confederate veteran in tattered gray uniform pushed his way forward, tears running down his bearded cheeks.

The marshal in charge was about to turn this insistent old man away, when suddenly the old man lifted up the stump of his right arm, and cried out, "By this right arm, which I gave for my country, I demand the right of seeing my general one more time!" The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia happened to be standing nearby and ordered the marshal to let the veteran in. He said, "He has won entrance by his wounds."