Stonewall Jackson idézet

Thomas Jonathan „Stonewall” Jackson magyarul „Kőfal” Jackson hivatásos amerikai katonatiszt, az amerikai polgárháborúban a déliek Robert E. Lee után legismertebb parancsnoka. Jackson 1863-ig a keleti hadszíntér majdnem minden összecsapásában részt vett és a déli győzelmekben jelentős szerepet vállalt.

Jackson Virginiában született, azon a részen, ami később Nyugat-Virginia néven önálló állammá vált. Szegény sorba született és kiemelkedését az tette lehetővé, hogy felvételt nyert a West Point Katonai Akadémiára. Tanulmányait óriási szorgalommal végezte és fokozatosan a színvonalasabb alapoktatást kapott társai mellé fel tudott zárkózni. Kitüntetéssel szolgált a mexikói–amerikai háborúban és a chapultepeci ütközetben előléptették az önkéntes hadsereg őrnagyává és a hivatásos hadsereg főhadnagyává. 1851-től 1863-ig a Virginia Military Institute akadémiáján tanított, de tanári képességei gyengék voltak és diákjai rendre kigúnyolták és futóbolondnak nézték. Kétszer házasodott; első felesége szülés közben meghalt. Sógornőjével való szerelme szigorú vallási tiltás miatt nem szökkenhetett virágába. Második felesége, Mary Anna Morrison hosszú özvegységben élte túl férjét. Virginia 1861-es elszakadásakor Jackson belépett a konföderációs hadseregbe. Az első Bull Run-i csatában dandárját kimagaslóan irányította és jó helyzetfelismerésével és szilárd helytállásával az uniós roham visszaverésében oroszlánrészt vállalt. Barnard E. Bee dandártábornok visszavonuló katonáit kitartásra buzdítva ekkor hasonlította Jacksont állítólag egy kőfalhoz, mely nevet a déli sajtó felkapta és hamar legendás lett.

Jackson 1862 elején végrehajtotta a Shenandoah-völgyi hadjáratot. Az első kernstowni ütközetben a hibás hírszerzési értesülések miatt elszenvedett vereségtől eltekintve Jackson lendületes és óvatos manőverezéssel három különböző uniós hadsereget vert meg és ezzel megakadályozta, hogy bármelyikük megerősítse a Potomac hadsereget a Virginia-félszigeti hadjáratban Richmond kapui előtt. Ezután három hadosztályával Lee tábornagy segítségére sietett. A hétnapos csata alatti teljesítménye gyenge volt és Lee haditerveit szinte egyetlen alkalommal sem tudta teljesíteni. Az észak-virginiai hadjáratban azonban Jackson csapatai előbb zsákmányul ejtették és elpusztították John Pope vezérőrnagy ellátóbázisát, majd a Virginiai hadsereg ismételt rohamainak ellenállva kimagasló teljesítményt nyújtottak a második Bull Run-i csatában. 1862 szeptemberében a Maryland hadjárat során előbb térdre kényszerítették a Harpers Ferryben állomásozó helyőrséget, majd a antietami csata vérzivatarában a balszárny védelmét bízták Jackson csapataira, ahol a súlyos támadások kis híján teljesen felőrölték ellenállásukat. A Fredericksburgnél decemberben megvívott csatában, Jackson hadtestének közepén több száz méter széles lyukat hagyott védtelenül, melyet egy lendületes északi támadás kihasznált és a déli veszteségek nagy részét a csatában ennek visszaverésekor szenvedték el.

1863 májusában a jókora létszámfölényben levő uniós hadsereg fenyegetésével szemben Lee háromfelé osztotta hadseregét. Május 2-án Jackson 30 000 fős hadtestével megkerülte a Potomac hadsereg állásait és meglepetésszerű támadást indított annak jobbszárnyán, mellyel megfutamította a XI. hadtest csapatait és kb. három kilométerre nyomta vissza vonalukat. Az éjj leszálltával saját járőrei tüzet nyitottak a vonalak elé kiment altábornagyra és súlyosan megsebesítették a karján. Jackson túlélte karja amputálását; de nyolc nappal később belehalt a szövődményként fellépő tüdőgyulladásba. A hadtörténészek általában az Egyesült Államok egyik legtehetségesebb harctéri parancsnokának tartják. Hadműveleteit továbbra is tankönyvi példaként tanítják. Halála nagy veszteséget jelentett a Konföderáció számára, nem csak a katonai kilátásokat illetően, de a lakosság áldozatvállalási készségében is. Jackson a Dél hősiességének és odaadásának szimbólumává vált. Gyakran létszámhátrányban kivitelezett bátor katonai kezdeményezései a Konföderáció mítoszának jelentős részét képezik és a közvélemény egyik leggyakrabban feltett kérdése azt firtatja, mi lett volna, ha Jackson nem hal meg. Hősi alakját legjobban a Konföderáció elveszett ügyének mítoszápolói domborították ki. Wikipedia  

✵ 21. január 1824 – 10. május 1863
Stonewall Jackson fénykép
Stonewall Jackson: 58   idézetek 0   Kedvelés

Stonewall Jackson: Idézetek angolul

“I have seen enough of it to make me look upon it as the sum of all evils.”

Comments to his pastor (April 1861) as quoted in Memoirs of Stonewall Jackson by His Widow Mary Anna Jackson (1895) http://books.google.com/books?id=bG2vg5cH004C, Ch. IX : War Clouds — 1860 - 1861, p. 141; This has sometimes been paraphrased as "War is the sum of all evils." Before Jackson's application of the term "The sum of all evils" to war, it had also been applied to slavery by abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay in The Writings of Cassius Marcellus Clay : Including Speeches and Addresses (1848), p. 445; to death by Georg Christian Knapp in Lectures on Christian Theology (1845), p. 404; and it had also been used, apparently in relation to arrogance in a translation of "Homily 24" in The Homilies of S. John Chrysostom on the First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1839), p. 331 <!-- earliest use thus far found ~ Kalki 2008·01·21 -->
Kontextus: If the general government should persist in the measures now threatened, there must be war. It is painful enough to discover with what unconcern they speak of war and threaten it. They do not know its horrors. I have seen enough of it to make me look upon it as the sum of all evils.

“Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible; and when you strike and overcome him, never let up in the pursuit so long as your men have strength to follow; for an army routed, if hotly pursued, becomes panic-stricken, and can then be destroyed by half their number.”

As quoted in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War (1884 - 1888) edited by Robert Underwood Clarence C. Buel, Vol. II, p. 297
Kontextus: Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible; and when you strike and overcome him, never let up in the pursuit so long as your men have strength to follow; for an army routed, if hotly pursued, becomes panic-stricken, and can then be destroyed by half their number. The other rule is, never fight against heavy odds, if by any possible maneuvering you can hurl your own force on only a part, and that the weakest part, of your enemy and crush it. Such tactics will win every time, and a small army may thus destroy a large one in detail, and repeated victory will make it invincible.

“It is man's highest interest not to violate, or attempt to violate, the rules which Infinite Wisdom has laid down.”

Misattributed, Jackson's personal book of maxims
Kontextus: It is man's highest interest not to violate, or attempt to violate, the rules which Infinite Wisdom has laid down. The means by which men are to attain great elevation may be classed in three divisions — physical, mental, and moral. Whatever relates to health, belongs to the first; whatever relates to the improvement of the mind, belongs to the second. The formation of good manners and virtuous habits constitutes the third.

“To move swiftly, strike vigorously, and secure all the fruits of victory is the secret of successful war.”

As quoted in Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War (1904) by George Francis Robert Henderson http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12233, Ch. 25 : The Soldier and the Man, p. 481
Kontextus: War means fighting. The business of the soldier is to fight. Armies are not called out to dig trenches, to throw up breastworks, to live in camps, but to find the enemy and strike him; to invade his country, and do him all possible damage in the shortest possible time. This will involve great destruction of life and property while it lasts; but such a war will of necessity be of brief continuance, and so would be an economy of life and property in the end. To move swiftly, strike vigorously, and secure all the fruits of victory is the secret of successful war.

“Good-breeding is opposed to selfishness, vanity, or pride.”

Misattributed, Jackson's personal book of maxims
Kontextus: Good-breeding is opposed to selfishness, vanity, or pride. Never weary your company by talking too long or too frequently.

“I yield to no man in sympathy for the gallant men under my command; but I am obliged to sweat them tonight, so that I may save their blood tomorrow.”

To Col. Sam Fulkerson, who reported on the weariness of their troops and suggested that they should be given an hour or so to rest from a forced march in the night. (24 May 1862); as quoted in Mighty Stonewall (1957) by Frank E. Vandiver, p. 250
Kontextus: I yield to no man in sympathy for the gallant men under my command; but I am obliged to sweat them tonight, so that I may save their blood tomorrow. The line of hills southwest of Winchester must not be occupied by the enemy's artillery. My own must be there and in position by daylight. … You shall however have two hours rest.

“We must make this campaign an exceedingly active one. Only thus can a weaker country cope with a stronger; it must make up in activity what it lacks in strength.”

Forrás: Life and Letters of General Thomas J. Jackson (1891), Ch. 22 : The Last Happy Days — Chancellorsville — 1863, p. 429
Kontextus: We must make this campaign an exceedingly active one. Only thus can a weaker country cope with a stronger; it must make up in activity what it lacks in strength. A defensive campaign can only be made successful by taking the aggressive at the proper time. Napoleon never waited for his adversary to become fully prepared, but struck him the first blow.

“War means fighting. The business of the soldier is to fight.”

As quoted in Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War (1904) by George Francis Robert Henderson http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12233, Ch. 25 : The Soldier and the Man, p. 481
Kontextus: War means fighting. The business of the soldier is to fight. Armies are not called out to dig trenches, to throw up breastworks, to live in camps, but to find the enemy and strike him; to invade his country, and do him all possible damage in the shortest possible time. This will involve great destruction of life and property while it lasts; but such a war will of necessity be of brief continuance, and so would be an economy of life and property in the end. To move swiftly, strike vigorously, and secure all the fruits of victory is the secret of successful war.

“If the general government should persist in the measures now threatened, there must be war.”

Comments to his pastor (April 1861) as quoted in Memoirs of Stonewall Jackson by His Widow Mary Anna Jackson (1895) http://books.google.com/books?id=bG2vg5cH004C, Ch. IX : War Clouds — 1860 - 1861, p. 141; This has sometimes been paraphrased as "War is the sum of all evils." Before Jackson's application of the term "The sum of all evils" to war, it had also been applied to slavery by abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay in The Writings of Cassius Marcellus Clay : Including Speeches and Addresses (1848), p. 445; to death by Georg Christian Knapp in Lectures on Christian Theology (1845), p. 404; and it had also been used, apparently in relation to arrogance in a translation of "Homily 24" in The Homilies of S. John Chrysostom on the First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1839), p. 331 <!-- earliest use thus far found ~ Kalki 2008·01·21 -->
Kontextus: If the general government should persist in the measures now threatened, there must be war. It is painful enough to discover with what unconcern they speak of war and threaten it. They do not know its horrors. I have seen enough of it to make me look upon it as the sum of all evils.

“You may be whatever you resolve to be.”

This statement, attributed to Jackson, is inscribed on the Jackson Arch barracks entrance at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, where Jackson was a teacher in mathematics prior to the American Civil War.
Misattributed, Jackson's personal book of maxims

“Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”

Misattributed, Jackson's personal book of maxims

“Wrong no man by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”

Misattributed, Jackson's personal book of maxims

“Duty is ours; consequences are God's.”

Though this was a favorite motto of Jackson, and reported as among his last words, it did not originate with him, and was used by others at least as early as in a speech by abolitionist John Jay (8 October 1856)
Misattributed

“Spare no effort to suppress selfishness, unless that effort would entail sorrow.”

Misattributed, Jackson's personal book of maxims

“Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries as much as you think they deserve.”

Misattributed, Jackson's personal book of maxims

“The only true rule for cavalry is to follow the enemy as long as he retreats.”

Statement to Colonel Thomas T. Munford (13 June 1862); as quoted in Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War (1904) by George Francis Robert Henderson http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12233 Vol. I, Ch. XI p. 392

“Be not disturbed at trifles, nor at accidents, common or unavoidable.”

Misattributed, Jackson's personal book of maxims

“I see from the number of physicians that you think my condition dangerous, but I thank God, if it is His will, that I am ready to go. … It is the Lord's Day; my wish is fulfilled. … I have always desired to die on Sunday.”

Words on his deathbed (9 - 10 May 1863); as quoted in "Stonewall Jackson's Last Days" by Joe D. Haines, Jr. in America's Civil War http://www.historynet.com/magazines/american_civil_war/3031406.html

“I am more afraid of King Alcohol than of all the bullets of the enemy.”

As quoted in Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee (1874) by John William Jones, p. 171

“Through the broad extent of country over which you have marched by your respect for the rights and property of citizens, you have shown that you were soldiers not only to defend but able and willing to defend and protect.”

As quoted in Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendants : A History of Frederick County, Virginia (illustrated) from its formation in 1738 to 1908 (1989) by T. K. Cartmell, p. 322

“The time for war has not yet come, but it will come, and that soon; and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.”

Speech to cadets at the Virginia Military Institute (March 1861); as quoted in Mighty Stonewall (1957) by Frank E. Vandiver, p. 131; this has sometimes been paraphrased as "When war does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard."

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