Stonewall Jackson’s Little Sorrel

History Replays Today has a peak into a detail of the Jackson Statue and the history of a particular horse: Monument Ave’s Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson monument was unveiled on Oct 11, 1919 with a huge to do including a parade with The National Guard, cadets from John Marshall High School, cadets from VMI, and new […]

March 26, 2013; 6:53 AM • by Fan of the Fan

History Replays Today has a peak into a detail of the Jackson Statue and the history of a particular horse:

Monument Ave’s Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson monument was unveiled on Oct 11, 1919 with a huge to do including a parade with The National Guard, cadets from John Marshall High School, cadets from VMI, and new fangled motor vehicles carrying Governor Westmoreland and members of Jacksons family.1 After the main speaker, Colonel Robert E Lee, the grandson of THE Robert E Lee finished, Anna Jackson Preston, Jackson’s granddaughter and William Siever, the son of the sculptor, pulled two cords to reveal the new statue…and…uh…um…nothing happened. The cords were tangled so workman scaled the statue to remove the covering while the anxious crowds waited below.

That wasn’t the only surprise. Onlookers were shocked to see Jackson sitting on a tall, scrawny horse that most said wouldn’t have survived the war. […]

But this injury, which ended Little Sorrel’s life, did not end his work living in Confederate memory. CSA vets had him stuffed so he could continue standing at attention at the Confederate Veterans Home, a few blocks from where the statue stands on Monument. He stayed there until the 1940’s.

PHOTO by Jeff Majer (detail)