Grave of the Arm of Stonewall Jackson.

Arm of Stonewall Jackson

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Southerners thought so highly of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson that his chopped off arm was buried in a cemetery and given its own tombstone.

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson

It happened like this: Stonewall was mistakenly shot by one of his own men during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He was taken to a field hospital tent where his arm was cut off. Like countless other amputated limbs during the Civil War, the arm was tossed on the ground. The next day Stonewall's chaplain took the arm and buried it in the small plantation cemetery of his brother, who lived a mile down the road. A few days after that, the rest of Stonewall died.

On hearing the news, Robert E. Lee said, "I have lost my right arm," although it was the loss of Stonewall's left one that killed him.

The arm lay in obscurity for 40 years. Then James Smith, one of Stonewall's former staff officers and the top living expert on the arm, directed the placement of a tombstone to mark its grave. Now battered and tilting with age (and possibly from souvenir hunters), the stone is inscribed, "Arm of Stonewall Jackson May 3, 1863."

In 1998 the National Park Service wanted to pour a concrete slab over the arm to protect it from looters. Despite its best efforts, and much careful digging, it could find no trace of the arm under or near the tombstone. That was good news for the graveyard, but bad news for anyone wanting closure on Stonewall Jackson's arm.

Drawing of Stonewall Jackson on his death bed.

Where is the arm of Stonewall Jackson? Some say that looters stole it decades ago. The National Park Service, however, believes that James Smith may have been deliberately vague with the placement of his tombstone. They feel that the arm really is somewhere in the tiny cemetery, and that its unknown exact location guarantees that it will always remain there.