Thomas J. Jackson was born on January 21, 1824 in Clarksburg, Virginia. Thomas was just a young boy when his father and sister died of typhoid fever. His mother soon found out that the Jackson family owed money and she had to teach and sew to keep them from being penniless. His mother died when he was only seven while giving birth to his step-brother. He and his brother went to live with his uncle in Jackson’s Mill. When he was a teenager Thomas worked as a constable and was responsible for collecting debts. He was later accepted into West Point Military Academy and had to work extra hard to get good grades. After serving in the Mexican War he became a teacher at the Virginia Military Institute. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he volunteered his services to his home state of Virginia. He got his famous nickname of “Stonewall” after standing tall and acting very brave at the Battle of Manassas also called Bull Run. He was accidentally shot by some of his own men at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Later his left arm was amputated and he came down with a bad case of pneumonia. He died several days later in May of 1863 at the age of 39. (Grade: 96% A)