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[bobf <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>]

I also celebrate the birthday of my nameake , A great gentleman and a fierce 
and just warrior.  Thank you for this post Robert..........

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--- On Fri, 1/16/09, Robert Walton <waltonrp AT gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Robert Walton <waltonrp AT gmail.com>
> Subject: [Homestead] Lee Jackson Day
> To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Friday, January 16, 2009, 7:21 AM
> Today is Lee Jackson day in Virginia. A few years back it
> got
> separated from Martin Luther King day which is Monday.
> Being an
> admirer of history, both, I think, are great holidays.
> Sometimes
> Virginia gets flack from those who do not really understand
> Southern
> pride or history. Coming here from a state like Florida,
> that is
> largely controlled by northerners, I really appreciate
> Virginia's nod
> to our history.
> 
> I found this old blog archive this morning and found it
> very interesting:
> http://www.redpolka.org/blog/archives/001386.html
> >>>>
> 
> In a wonderful twist of historic irony we have Lee,
> Jackson, & King
> celebrated at the same time. While many smear &
> demonize all things
> Southern & all things Confederate, it is worth noting
> htat Lee &
> Jackson opposed the institution of slavery.
> 
> In an 1856 letter to President Pierce Lee stated that
> "there are few,
> I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not
> acknowledge that
> slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil.
> Their
> emancipation will sooner result from the mild and melting
> influences
> of Christianity than from the storm and tempest of fiery
> controversy.
> This influence, though slow, is sure".
> 
> Virginia didn't seceed until after Lincoln called an
> Army to invade
> the cotton states. In a letter to his daughter, Lee wrote
> "With all my
> devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty
> of an
> American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind
> to raise my
> hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have
> therefore
> resigned my commission in the Army, and save in defense of
> my native
> State, with the sincere hope that my poor services may
> never be
> needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my
> sword."
> 
> After the war Lee said "all the South has ever desired
> was that the
> Union, as established by our Forefathers, should be
> preserved and that
> the government, as originally organized, should be
> administered in
> purity and truth" and that "Had I known what use
> those people would
> make of their victory, there would have been no surrender
> at
> Appomattox…I would have preferred to die beside my men,
> my sword in my
> good right hand."
> 
> Jackson held similar views towards the institution of
> slavery. This
> incredibly law-abiding man broke the law every Sunday by
> teaching
> slaves and free blacks how to read. In 1855, he spearheaded
> the effort
> to hold classes every Sunday at 3:00 in Lexington,
> Virginia's
> Presbyterian Church. Historian Dr. James Robertson notes
> that, "In
> Jackson's mind, slaves were children of God placed in
> subordinate
> situations for reasons only the Creator could explain.
> Helping them
> was a missionary effort for Jackson. Their souls had to be
> saved.
> Although Jackson could not alter the social status of
> slaves, he could
> and did display Christian decency to those whose lot it was
> to be in
> bondage…he was emphatically the black man's
> friend." In fact, after
> the Battle of Manassas, Jackson realized he forgot to send
> his
> offering to the black school. Expecting news of the war,
> worshipers at
> the church opened Jackson's letter only to read,
> "In my tent last
> night, after a fatiguing day's service, I remembered
> that I failed to
> send a contribution for our colored Sunday school. Enclosed
> you will
> find a check for that object, which please acknowledge at
> your
> earliest convenience and oblige yours faithfully."
> 
> 
> Historian R.G. Williams summarized that "General
> Stonewall Jackson
> was, without question, one of the greatest generals America
> ever
> produced. He was fearless in battle and his legendary
> 'Valley
> Campaign' fought in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
> is still studied
> to this day. But more than that, he was a devout Christian
> and a lover
> of all good men – regardless of their color. Southerners
> and lovers of
> truth should do everything possible to educate future
> generations
> about the truth of our history, especially when it comes to
> the heroes
> of our faith and of our beloved Southland. Only in truth
> can we
> worship the Creator of all men. "
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