April 11th.
I am very much concerned at having no letter this week, but
my trust is in the Almighty. How precious is the consolation flowing from the
Christian's assurance that “all things work together for good to them that love
God!” . . . God gave us a glorious
victory in the Southwest1, but the loss of the great Albert Sidney
Johnston is to be mourned. I do not remember having ever felt so sad at the
death of a man whom I had never seen. .
. . Although I was repulsed in the attempt to recover Winchester, yet the
enemy's loss appears to have been three times that of ours. In addition to
this, the great object which required me to follow up the enemy, as he fell
back from Strasburg, seems to have been accomplished very thoroughly. I am well
satisfied with the result. Congress has passed a vote of thanks, and General
Johnston has issued a very gratifying order upon the subject, one which will
have a fine effect upon my command. The great object to be acquired by the
battle demanded time to make known its accomplishments. Time has shown that while
the field is in possession of the enemy, the most essential fruits of the
battle are ours. For this and all of our Heavenly Father's blessings, I wish I
could be ten thousand times more thankful. Should any report be published, my
views and object in fighting and its fruits will then become known. You appear
much concerned at my attacking on Sunday. I was greatly concerned, too;
but I felt it my duty to do it, in consideration of the ruinous effects that
might result from postponing the battle until the morning. So far as I can see,
my course was a wise one; the best that I could do under the circumstances,
though very distasteful to my feelings; and I hope and pray to our Heavenly
Father that I may never again be circumstanced as on that day. I believed that
so far as our troops were concerned, necessity and mercy both called for the
battle. I do hope the war will soon be over, and that I shall never again have
to take the field. Arms is a profession that, if its principles are adhered to
for success, requires an officer to do what he fears may be wrong, and yet,
according to military experience, must be done, if success is to be attained.
And this fact of its being necessary to success, and being accompanied with
success, and that a departure from it is accompanied with disaster, suggests
that it must be right. Had I fought the battle on Monday instead of Sunday, I
fear our cause would have suffered; whereas, as things turned out, I consider
our cause gained much from the engagement.
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1 At Shiloh.
SOURCE: Mary Anna Jackson, Life and Letters of
General Thomas J. Jackson (Stonewall Jackson), p. 248-9
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