<P> Jackson was born in what was then part of Virginia . He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point . He served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican -- American War and distinguished himself at Chapultepec . From 1851 to 1863 , he taught at the Virginia Military Institute , where he was unpopular with his students . During this time , he married twice . His first wife died , but his second , Mary Anna Morrison , outlived him by many years . When Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861 after the attack on Fort Sumter , Jackson followed it and joined the Confederate Army . He distinguished himself commanding a brigade at the First Battle of Bull Run the following month , providing crucial reinforcements and beating back a fierce Union assault . It was there that Barnard Elliott Bee Jr. , allegedly for Jackson 's courage and tenacity , compared him to a `` stone wall '' , which became his enduring nickname . </P>
<P> Jackson was born in what was then part of Virginia . He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point . He served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican -- American War and distinguished himself at Chapultepec . From 1851 to 1863 , he taught at the Virginia Military Institute , where he was unpopular with his students . During this time , he married twice . His first wife died , but his second , Mary Anna Morrison , outlived him by many years . When Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861 after the attack on Fort Sumter , Jackson followed it and joined the Confederate Army . He distinguished himself commanding a brigade at the First Battle of Bull Run the following month , providing crucial reinforcements and beating back a fierce Union assault . It was there that Barnard Elliott Bee Jr. , allegedly for Jackson 's courage and tenacity , compared him to a `` stone wall '' , which became his enduring nickname . </P>
who said there stands jackson like a stonewall
who said there stands jackson like a stonewall
Barnard Elliott Bee Jr.
Barnard Elliott Bee Jr.