Day 184: New Year’s Eve at Stonewall

Stonewall Resort at the holidays

Happy New Year’s Eve from Stonewall Resort in Lewis County, West Virginia.

It might be nice, today, just to enjoy this beautiful lodge (it is beautiful). But the name Stonewall Jackson carries too much baggage not to consider the history of this region.

And maybe today is as good a day as any.

I don’t know much about Civil War history or the people who fought, but as an adopted West Virginian, I know that this area gave birth to intense family conflicts — divisions that sometimes led all the way to the grave. In our divided times, it’s a chilling thought.

Rebellion and Rift

Thomas Stonewall Jackson fought for the Confederacy, as did many people from this part of now-West Virginia. He owned slaves and, in his early career as a teacher, taught classes for African-American children.

His sister Laura Ann, who had been sent after their parents’ death to live in Clarksburg, a little further north, supported the Union. Apparently she once said she would rather see him dead than a leader of the Confederate Army.

Death

On May 10, 1863, she got her wish, as Thomas died from complications after being mistakenly shot by a Confederate sentinel. Considered one of the greatest military tacticians in United States history his death greatly weakened the Confederacy.