One of the most brilliant military tacticians of history, Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson spent the major part of his first seventeen years as an orphan wandering from one relative to another. He learned at any early age to depend on himself, and when he graduated from West Point, he was in the top third of his class. His brilliant performance in the Mexican War made him a popular hero, but more important was the formula he learned: mystify, mislead and surprise! He used these tactics again and again during the Civil War, and he soon became the fighting symbol for the Southern cause. Wherever he led, victory followed; when he died the hopes of a Southern victory died with him.

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