Henry R. Jackson

Henry Rootes Jackson
Born	(1820-07-24)July 24, 1820 Athens, Georgia
Died	May 23, 1898(1898-05-23) (aged 77) Savannah, Georgia
Place of burial	Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia
Allegiance	United States of America  Confederate States of America
Service/branch	United States Army  Confederate States Army
Years of service	1846–1847 (USA), 1861–1865 (CSA)
Rank	Colonel (USA) Major General (CSA)
Battles/wars	U.S.-Mexican War American Civil War Battle of Cheat Mountain Atlanta Campaign Franklin-Nashville Campaign Battle of Nashville
Other work	U.S. minister to Mexico, 1885–86

Henry Rootes Jackson (June 24, 1820 – May 23, 1898) was a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

Biography

Jackson was born in Athens, Georgia. He graduated with honors from Yale University, where he was a member of Skull and Bones, in 1839. Before the war, he served as a lawyer, then as colonel of the 1st Georgia volunteers in the Mexican-American War, state judge, as United States Chargé d'affaires to the Austrian Empire from 1853 to 1854, and as Minister Resident to the Austrian Empire from 1854 to 1858.^[1] Jackson was also a poet (his book Tallulah and Other Poems appeared in 1850) and a frequent public speaker. For instance, he delivered an oration on "Courage" to the University of Georgia literary societies in 1848 and a dedication address for the Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah in 1852. Jackson was a prominent lawyer and prosecutor in Savannah. In 1859, he unsuccessfully prosecuted the owners and crew of the slave ship, The Wanderer, probably the last ship to attempt to bring African into the United States for sale as slaves.^[2]

Enlisting in the Confederate army in 1861, he served as a judge in Confederate courts. Promoted in June to brigadier general, he later led troops during the Western Virginia campaign, seeing action at the Battle of Cheat Mountain. In December, he was promoted to major general of state militia for Georgia. Returning to Confederate service in September 1863, he led a brigade during the Atlanta Campaign. He commanded a brigade in William B. Bate's division in John Bell Hood's Franklin-Nashville Campaign. Jackson was captured at the Battle of Nashville and was paroled from Fort Warren, Massachusetts, on July 8, 1865.

After the war, he resumed his law practice and political career, being named as minister to Mexico from 1885 to 1886. He also was a railroad executive, banker, and president of the Georgia Historical Society (1875 – 1898). Jackson died in Savannah, Georgia, and was buried in Bonaventure Cemetery, owned by City of Savannah, located in Thunderbolt, Ga.

See also

• List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)

Notes

References

• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9..
• "Henry R. Jackson". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-13. 

External links

• Former Home of Henry R. Jackson historical marker

United States Ambassadors to Mexico
Minister	Shaler John H. Robinson Wilkinson Poinsett Butler Slacum Ellis Greenhow Ellis Lawrence Thompson Beach Thompson Shannon Slidell Conner Clifford Letcher Greenhow Goss Slacum Smith Conkling Cooper Ward Gadsden Spofford Forsyth Churchwell Mordecai Green Porter McLane de la Reintrie Weller Corwin Shufelt Campbell Otterbourg Rosecrans Nelson Foster Morgan Jackson Manning Bragg Ryan Gray Ransom Clayton
Ambassador	Clayton Conger Thompson Wilson Fletcher Warren Sheffield Morrow Clark Daniels Messersmith Thurston O'Dwyer White Hill Mann Freeman McBride Jova Lucey Nava Gavin Pilliod Negroponte Jones Davidow Garza Pascual Wayne Jacobson