Symposium Program 
Friday, May 27, 2023
1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Stonewall Jackson House
8 East Washington Street, Lexington, VA 24450
Participants may take tours starting on the hour and half hour and pick up their registration packets (Packets will also be available to registered participants at the evening program.)
Dinner on your own (Information on local restaurants will be available in your packets.)
5:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
VMI Museum and Museum Shop open for participants in symposium
7:30 p.m.
Jackson Memorial Hall, VMI Post
Opening Address
“A Host Within Himself”: Stonewall as a Leader
Frank A. O’Reilly
Among Lee’s lieutenants, no name evokes more excitement and emotion than that of “Stonewall.” Although Jackson looked deceptively plain, he exhibited an unparalleled mastery of the operational art of war. His leadership inspired his generation and every generation of soldiers since. “He is a very plain man,” wrote a Confederate soldier in 1862, “but is a host within himself.”
Saturday, May 28, 2023
Marshall Hall, Center for Leadership and Ethics, VMI Post
9:00 a.m.
Coffee and muffins or pastries
Book Sale Table provided by the Stonewall Jackson House Museum Shop
Gillis Theater, Marshall Hall
9:30 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Michael Anne Lynn, Site Director, Stonewall Jackson House
9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
“Stonewall Jackson’s Last Map”
Elizabeth Parnicza
Robert E. Lee himself carefully preserved "Stonewall" Jackson's last hand-drawn map of the Chancellorsville Battlefield by pasting the relic into his own copy of the first biography of Jackson. What can this map tell us about Jackson's knowledge of the Chancellorsville area as the battle develops? What does its use and preservation reveal about the relationship between Lee and Jackson?
10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Stretch Break
10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
“Jackson in Mexico”
Robert K. Krick
Thomas J. Jackson was a twenty-two year old graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point when the Mexican War offered him the opportunity to prove himself in combat. The war served as an important training ground for many of the young officers who fought on both sides in the American Civil War, including the young lieutenant from rural western Virginia who was cited for “gallant and meritorious conduct” and promoted for bravery under fire.
11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Stretch Break
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
"As inspiring a battle scene as ever was witnessed:"
The First Battle of Winchester, May 25, 2023
Keith S. Bohannon
The First Battle of Winchester on May 25, 2023 was one of several dramatic victories won by Stonewall Jackson during the Valley Campaign. This talk will examine Jackson's role in bringing about the victory and trace how the engagement has been depicted by authors ranging from Jackson's staff officers Jedediah Hotchkiss and William Allan to modern studies by Gary Ecelbarger and Peter Cozzens.
12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.Lunch
Served in the Hall of Valor at the Center for Leadership and Ethics
1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
“A Failure in Command”
John W. Mountcastle
When Stonewall Jackson joined Robert E. Lee’s forces defending Richmond in late June, 1862, he brought with him a hard-won reputation for celerity of movement and decisive battlefield engagement. Neither of these elements of command would characterize his performance during the Seven Days Battles around Richmond. We will discuss the great opportunity to achieve a major victory over McClellan’s Army of the Potomac that was lost on the day before the Battle of Malvern Hill. Jackson must share the blame for this command failure.
2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Stretch Break (“Last Call” for the Museum Shop book sale table.)
2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
An Odd Couple: The Stonewall Jackson-Jeb Stuart Friendship
Robert E. L. Krick
In a remarkably short time Jeb Stuart, the boisterous and occasionally even puerile cavalry chief, became a warm friend of the no-nonsense Stonewall Jackson. Their genuine fondness for each other, on its face peculiar, owed much to their almost identical ideas on the importance of soldierly duty.
3:25 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. Optional Walking Tour
A Brief Walk through Jackson’s VMI
Keith E. Gibson
Symposium participants are invited to walk in Jackson’s footsteps around the VMI Post. Participants will see the VMI of Professor Jackson’s time and explore the legacy he left – a great way to end a day of lectures – and to exercise the mind and body.
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Reception – Cash Bar
Center for Leadership and Ethics
6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
Banquet
Served in the Hall of Valor at the Center for Leadership and Ethics
7:15 p.m.
Closing Address
Gillis Theater
“Historical Fiction in a Factual World”
Jeff Shaara
The best historical fiction tempers the ancient art of story-telling with the latest tools of historical research. While ‘threading the needle” of history and fiction is challenging and often subject to controversy, the objective is to explore history in a different, personal light--- stories told through the eyes of the famous and not-so-famous. Shaara argues that it is possible---through research into the personalities of these characters and the world in which they lived---to gain insight and understanding of big events on a personal scale, and always with one eye on "getting it right".
Sunday Morning, May 29, 2023
Optional Walking Tour of Stonewall Jackson Cemetery (Sign up on Saturday)
9:30 a.m. Gather at the cemetery gates with a guide from the Lexington Visitor Center to learn more about the cemetery in which Jackson was buried. The graves of 296 Confederate veterans and two Virginia governors are found there.
Optional Church Services Lexington Presbyterian Church
120 South Main Street
8:45 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Visitors may wish to attend a service at the church Jackson joined in 1851, and of which he was a deacon. Services are at 8:45 in the chapel (less formal) and at 11:00 in the sanctuary (traditional).
Information on services offered at churches of other denominations is available upon request.
Local Museums Open
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. VMI Museum, Virginia Military Institute
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Lee Chapel, Washington and Lee University
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Stonewall Jackson House, 8 East Washington Street
