Stonewall Jackson's wounds

Abstract

Background: Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, one of the most famous and successful Confederate generals of the American Civil War, was shot at the battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia on May 2, 1863, after leading his army in a surprise attack that destroyed the entire right flank of the Union army.

Study design: A thorough review was made of all firsthand accounts of the events surrounding General Jackson's wounding, all papers listed in the medical literature describing General Jackson's care, and several classical as well as several recent texts and articles about General Jackson. In addition, a site visit was made to examine the actual geographic locations where the events surrounding General Jackson's wounding occurred.

Results: After his wounding on May 2, General Jackson was rendered appropriate care-under the circumstances- by Doctor Hunter Holmes McGuire, Jackson's medical director. Doctor McGuire controlled the hemorrhage from Jackson's wounds, helped evacuate the General from the battlefield, amputated the general's badly injured left arm, and diligently cared for Jackson until the General's death on May 10, 1863.

Conclusions: General Jackson's death was a direct result of his wounds, the effects of hemorrhagic shock, a chest injury, and pneumonia. The wounding and death of General Stonewall Jackson had a profoundly negative effect on the fate of the Confederate cause in the American Civil War since the Confederacy irreplaceably lost one of its best generals.