The Right-Hand's loss of the Left Arm: A Hidden Landmark
BY KITTY L. | SHIROOKAMI - DOGS.UNITE | 11.13.2020
It’s funny how trekking trails in Virginia will inevitably lead you down historic rabbit holes. On the way to another unplanned dogventure, we stumbled across an intriguing site. Having regularly enjoyed the beauty of Chatham Manor, I was expecting to see something similar, but I was in for a big surprise.
Going down a beautiful leaf-ladened path, we found an open field with a curious “grave.” It turns out that this was no ordinary grave, but the grave of an arm, the arm of Stonewall Jackson.
Going down a leafy path. | Kitty L. / SHIROOKAMI
At the battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, the Confederate general “Stonewall” Jackson was sent by General Robert E. Lee to flank and attack the Union Army of the Potomac from the rear and was shot in the left shoulder by his own troops in the North Carolina regiment. The battle occurred near the Ellwood plantation, owned by the prominent Ellwood family that supported the Confederacy at the time.
The Battle of Chancellorsville resulted in heavy losses on both sides. | Library of Congress
The plantation served as a field hospital for both Union and Conferedate soldiers. As a result of the friendly fire, Ellwood family and Confederate surgeons treated Jackson and amputated his arm on the Ellwood plantation, which was located near the battlefield. Thus, Lee’s “right-hand” lost his left arm in an important victory for the South, against a force 4,000 more men.
A peculiar grave. | Kitty L. / SHIROOKAMI
The arm was interred here in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Nearby the burial site is the beautiful Ellwood Manor, which displays symmetrical Georgian-style architecture, woodwork, and plasterwork. Names of Civil War soldiers can be seen on the walls of the house. Both sites are managed by the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
Ellwood Manor. | Kitty L. / SHIROOKAMI
It is a unique relic of a bygone era where the amputated body parts were preserved as objects of reverence. Though controversial by today’s standards, the burial of amputated body parts can be seen in history not only in the case of Stonewall Jackson’s arm, but also for other notable figures, like: Horatio Nelson’s leg, which was buried with full military honors (Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1797); Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle’s arm (Scotland, 1865); and the famous astronomer and polymath Galileo Galilei’s finger, kept as a relic by the Medici’s for centuries (Florence, Italy, 1642).
Stonewall Jackson’s last days. | Library of Congress
But why should we care today? The arm isn’t an ode to a general of the past, who died only a few days after his amputation. It’s a stark reminder of the brutalities of war in one of America’s darkest moments, one of the largest battles of the Civil War involving 170,000 troops. Those who visit are reminded of the sacrifices made by soldiers on both sides, and the lasting impact such wars had on present day communities.
Contemplating the impacts of the Civil War. | Kitty L. / SHIROOKAMI
This has been an updated retro-post.