William Lowther Jackson

William L. Jackson

William Lowther Jackson (born February 3, 1825 in Clarksburg , Virginia (now West Virginia ), † March 26, 1890 in Louisville , Kentucky ) was an American lawyer , politician and officer in the Confederate Army . During the Civil War he was nicknamed "Mutwall" Jackson in reference to his cousin Thomas J. Jackson , who was nicknamed "Stonewall" Jackson.

Life

origin

John Jackson, an Irishman , settled in Maryland around 1748 and moved to the Buckhannon River in Virginia (now West Virginia) 20 years later . His son, George Jackson (1757-1831), represented the third constituency of Virginia in the US House of Representatives . He had two sons: John George (1777-1825) and Edward B. Jackson (1793-1826). John George Jackson represented the first constituency of Virginia in the US House of Representatives. He was married to Frances Emelia Triplett and was the father of John G. Jackson, MC , Brigadier General John Jay Jackson (1800–1877) and Jacob B. Jackson (1829–1893), US Governor of West Virginia. Edward B. Jackson represented the first constituency of Virginia in the US House of Representatives. He had two sons: Colonel William L. and Jonathan Jackson. William L. Jackson was married to Harriet Wilson. They were the parents of Judge and Brigadier General William Lowther Jackson. Jonathan Jackson was the father of Major General Thomas Jonathan Jackson (1824–1863).

Before the Civil War

William Lowther Jackson studied law and began practicing law in Virginia in 1847 after being admitted to the bar. He was later appointed the Commonwealth Attorney of Harrison County . Jackson also pursued a political career. He was elected to the Virginia House of Representatives twice . During this time he served twice as Second Auditor of the State and Superintendent of the State Library Fund . Then in 1856 he was elected lieutenant governor of Virginia, a position he held between 1857 and 1860. He was then elected judge in the 19th District of Virginia in 1860.

During the Civil War

Jackson was an advocate of slavery . For this reason he resigned from his post as a judge in early 1861 and signed up as a private member of the Confederate Army after the outbreak of the civil war . Brigadier General Lee then named him military commander of Parkersburg in May 1861 . Jackson was a lieutenant colonel in the Virginia Volunteers and was subordinate to Colonel Porterfield in Randolph County in June 1861 . Two regiments were formed from the companies at Huttonsville . Jackson was given command of the 31st Regiment, with which he took possession of the pass at Laurel Mountain on June 14, 1861 after the arrival of General Garnett . After the disastrous end of operations in West Virginia, Jackson, who has now been promoted to Colonel, became a volunteer aide of his cousin Major General Jackson in the Valley Campaign . His extraordinary behavior is mentioned in the official report of the Battle of Port Republic . He then took part in the Second Battle of the Bull Run and the Maryland Campaign , including the battles of Harpers Ferry and Sharpsburg . On February 17, 1863, he was authorized by the War Department to raise a regiment for the Provisional Army of the Confederate States (PACS) within enemy lines in West Virginia. At the beginning of April 1863 he had set up the regiment, the 19th Virginia Cavalry , and then took over command of it. He was under Brigadier General Jenkins in the Army of Western Virginia under Major General Jones . Jackson took part in an expedition against the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in April . At that time he was subordinate to Brigadier General Imboden and had 300 or 400 recruits under him. In July 1863 he commanded a second expedition to Beverly , where he was attacked by Cavalry General Averell's troops near Huttonsville . He stayed in the Department of Western Virginia for the remainder of the year and faced incursions by Union forces several times . A small cavalry brigade was under him . In the spring of 1864 he was stationed at Warm Springs , where he had command of a brigade of seven cavalry regiments under Major General Breckinridge . He was attacked in early May during Brigadier General Crook's expedition . He then took part in the defense of Lynchburg in June . The following month he commanded his brigade on the Maryland expedition to Washington, DC In retreat he was in charge of the rearguard that repulsed an attack by Union forces near Rockville , Maryland. On December 19, 1864, Jackson was promoted to brigadier general. He was then repeatedly drawn into combat during the Second Valley Campaign , such as the battles of Winchester , Cedar Creek , Toms Brook , Fishers Hill, and other occasions where he was in command of a brigade in Major General Lomax's division . In the spring of 1865 he was still in the field when he disbanded his brigade on April 15. However, he refused to surrender and headed west until he received a slogan on July 26, 1865 in Brownsville , Texas .

After the Civil War

After the war, Jackson temporarily emigrated to Mexico , but returned to West Virginia after the amnesty was granted. He later moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he resumed his practice as a lawyer. A few years later he was appointed magistrate, a position to which he was repeatedly elected until his death on March 24, 1890. His judicial career was characterized by a high degree of moral courage and expert knowledge, so that he was regarded as one of the leading lawyers in the state.

William Lowther Jackson was married to Sarah Elizabeth Creel (1837-1913). The couple had two sons together:

• Alexander Herbert (1851-1932)
• William Lowther Jackson (1854–1895)

Web links

• William Lowther Jackson on the Civil War Reference website

• William Lowther Jackson in the database of Find a Grave (English)