WAR: American Civil War
DATE: 2 May 1863
Event: While returning late at night from reconnaissance forward of his lines, Confederate States of America Lieutenant-General Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson, as a result of a friendly fire (fratricide) incident, is shot by his own men and left with a wound that eventually leads to his death eight days later.
Impact: The Battle of Chancellorsville, considered by many historians to be General Robert E Lee’s greatest victory, was, fundamentally, a direct result of Lee’s risk-taking and Jackson’s aggressive tactics and leadership. It proved, however, a pyrrhic victory given that the South lost one of its greatest, if not most gifted, tactical leaders with the death of Jackson.
War Classic: Zola’s ‘The Debacle’