William Lowther Jackson

Jackson was born on February 3, 1825, in Clarksburg, Virginia (now West Virginia). Studying law he was admitted to the Bar of Virginia in 1847.[3] Jackson married Sarah Elizabeth Creel on December 19, 1849, and together they had two or three children. Jackson was a big man, standing about six feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds. He had a shock of dark red hair and piercing blue eyes like those of his famous cousin, Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson. Mudwall Jackson was not known as an eloquent speaker, but as a forceful one.[4]

Jackson later became the Commonwealth's Attorney for Harrison County. Entering politics he was elected into the Virginia House of Delegates two times, first representing Wood, Wirt, Ritchie and Doddridge counties Dec. 2, 1850-until Western Virginia received more representation after adoption of a new Virginia Constitution in 1851 after a convention the previous year, then Benjamin W. Jackson represented Doddridge and Tyler Counties, John Jay Jackson Jr. represented Wood County and this William L. Jackson Pleasants and Ritchie Counties.[5]

Jackson and other family members retained their extensive business interests in all the various counties, however. He also became Virginia's Second Auditor, as well as superintendent of the state library fund. In 1857, Jackson won his first statewide elective office, becoming Virginia's third Lieutenant Governor. In that capacity he served as President of the Virginia Senate from 1857 until 1860 (during the Assemblies of 1857-1859 and 1859-1861).[6] Robert L. Montague succeeded him in January 1860. The legislative then made W.L. Jackson a circuit judge for the 19th district (in which he had long practiced).[7]

Jackson during the civil war.

When Virginia seceded from the Union, Jackson, a proponent of slavery, resigned from his position as judge and enlisted in the Confederate States Army as a Private. Recommended to General Robert E. Lee, he quickly became an officer, then Lieutenant Colonel of the 31st Virginia Infantry Regiment. Assigned to the command of Gen. Robert S. Garnett, he participated in the Western Virginia Campaign and the battles of Rich Mountain and Cheat Mountain. In July 1861 he was promoted to rank of Colonel. In early 1862 he became a Volunteer Aide-de-camp to his cousin, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson; and participated in his campaigns during the year.[8][9]

William's younger brother George, who was a graduate of West Point (Class of 1856), resigned from the U.S. Army, and also became a colonel in the Confederate Army.

In February 1863, as West Virginia's constitutional convention adopted a new constitution with the provision abolishing slavery demanded by the U.S. Congress (and which President Lincoln had signed into law on December 31, 1862), Confederate authorities authorized William Jackson to organize a mounted regiment for service behind enemy lines. He thus recruited the 19th Virginia Cavalry, which immediately joined the Jones-Imboden Raid, first under command of Albert G. Jenkins, then under John D. Imboden. Jackson stayed in western Virginia, promoted to command a cavalry brigade. He fought at the Bulltown and confronted Union Gen. George Crook returning into West Virginia following Crook's victory at the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain. In 1864 Jackson joined CSA Lt. Gen. Jubal Early in the Valley Campaigns from May to October. He received his promotion to brigadier general on December 19, 1864.[9]

On April 15, 1865, six days after Gen. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, Jackson disbanded his brigade. Refusing to surrender, however, he headed westwards, finally receiving a parole in Brownsville, Texas, on July 26, 1865.[4]

Temporarily emigrating to Mexico, Jackson returned to what was now West Virginia, then learned that the new state barred former Confederate officers from practicing law in the state. He then moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he was allowed to resume his practice of law. Jackson became a circuit judge again and kept this position for his remaining life.

He died on March 26, 1890, of Bright's disease in Louisville; and was interred there on Cave Hill Cemetery.[4]

William L. Jackson is one of three Confederate generals associated with the nickname "Mudwall", a reference to the "Stonewall" nickname given to his cousin Thomas.[10] While William Jackson has been known as such for a long time, it was found by noted historian Garry W. Gallagher that the nickname was originally given to fellow Confederate General Alfred E. Jackson from Tennessee (no family relation). It seems the two were mixed up in the Southern Historical Society Papers in 1906 and the error was involuntarily repeated afterwards. Sometimes the name is even attributed to another (likewise not related) Confederate Brigadier, John K. Jackson. It is also possible that at times the name was attributed to several of the Jacksons simultaneously.[11][12]

• Alfred E. Jackson
• List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)
• Stonewall Jackson
• Virginia in the American Civil War
• West Virginia in the American Civil War

• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Evans, Clement A., ed. Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History. 12 vols. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899. OCLC 833588. Retrieved January 20, 2011. Volume 2. Johnson, B. T.; Maryland. White, Robert; West Virginia. Online version: Evans, Clement A. (Clement Anselm), 1833–1911. Confederate military history. Atlanta, Ga., Confederate Pub. Co., 1899. (OCoLC)560915765.
• Robertson, James I. Jr. Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1997. ISBN 978-0-02-864685-5.
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Walden, Geoffrey R. (1990). "Will the Real "Mudwall" Jackson Please Stand Up?". Blue & Gray VIII (#1).
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.

• Hardway, Ronald V.; On Our Own Soil: William Lowther Jackson and the Civil War in West Virginia's Mountains; Quarrier Press, Charleston WV; October 3, 2003; ISBN 978-1-891852-27-5