eficient in the initiative, the breadth, and
the penetration which are the distinguishing characteristics of great
generals.

In these pages, however, it has been made clear that Jackson's quiet
demeanour concealed a vivid imagination, a fertile brain, and an
extraordinary capacity for far-reaching combinations. After he had
once made up his mind when and where to strike, it is true that his
methods of war were very simple, and his blows those of a
sledgehammer. But simplicity of design and vigour of execution are
often marks of the very highest military ability. "Genius," says
Napier, "is not extravagant; it is ardent, and it conceives great
projects; but it knows beforehand how to attain the result, and it
uses the simplest means, because its faculties are essentially
calculating, industrious, and patient. It is creative, because its
knowledge is vast; it is quick and peremptory, not because it is
presumptuous, but because it is well-prepared." And Swinton's verdict
would have been approved by few of the soldiers of the Civil War. It
was not the verdict of Lee. Significant indeed was the cry of the
great Confederate, the soul of truth as of generosity, when Jackson
was wounded: "Could I have directed events, I should have chosen, for
the good of the country, to have been disabled in your stead." It was
not the verdict of the Southern people. "No man," it was said by one
who knew them well, "had so magnificent prospect before him as
General Jackson. Whether he desired it or not, he could not have
escaped being Governor of Virginia, and also, in the opinion of
competent judges, sooner or later President of the Confederacy."* (*
Hon. Francis Lawley, the Times June 11, 1863.) Nor was it the verdict
of the foe. "Stonewall Jackson," wrote General Howard, commanding the
Eleventh Corps at Chancellorsville, "was victorious. Even his enemies
praise him; but, providentially for us, it was the last battle he
waged against the American Union. For, in bold planning, in energy of
execution, which he had the power to diffuse, in indefatigable
activity and moral ascendency, he stood head and shoulders above his
confreres, and after his death General Lee could not replace him."*
(* Battles and Leaders volume 3 page 202.)

It can hardly be questioned that, at the time of his death, Jackson
was the leader most trusted by the Confederates and most dreaded by
the Federals. His own soldiers, and with them the whole population of
the Sout