I Rode With Stonewall

IN 1899, Colonel Douglas, who had been the youngest officer on Stonewall Jackson’s staff, reread and rewrote his Civil War journal. The years had somewhat tempered his acerbities. With the exception of Hunter’s campaign in the Shenandoah Valley — and a few experiences as a prisoner — he seems to have found it on the whole a gentlemanly war. Indeed, he takes pleasure in telling of the many courtesies he received at Northern hands. It could hardly be otherwise. His record shows that he was a brave man and a good officer. His pictures prove him to have been an extraordinarily handsome and charming young man. He was also intelligent and observing, as this most interesting and delightful book demonstrates.

His almost day-by-day account of his intimate association with General Jackson presents as good a study of that great soldier as I have read. The book does not end with Jackson’s death, but continues until Lee’s surrender. It is a valuable addition to the ever-growing documentation of the War between the States.