Above: The actual bed frame in which Stonewall Jackson died in 1863.
Five miles off of Interstate-95, about an hour into Virginia from the North, lies an unassuming shrine dedicated to the Confederate general Stonewall Jackson. On May 4, 1863, a horse-drawn ambulance carried Jackson, nicknamed for his stubborn bravery at the battle of Manassas, for fourteen hours from the battle of Chancellorsville, to this site—which was then the plantation of Thomas Chandler (himself the father of three Confederate soldiers). Jackson had been shot three times, once in the right palm and twice in the left arm. After making strides toward a full recover, Jackson succumbed to pneumonia on May 10.
Today, the building in which Jackson died has remained frozen in time and turned into a small museum. Gary Kuhls, a 20 year-old history major at Notre Dame, member of the Air Force ROTC, and resident of nearby Fredericksburg, is one of the rangers working at the Jackson Shrine this summer.
While many people talk about the future when they talk about politics, Kuhls is more apt to talk about the past.
“I am always reminded of history when looking at current politics,” he says. “During the election of 2004, I couldn’t help but think of 1876 when [Rutherford B.] Hayes became president after returns were muddled, and they had to compromise to choose a president. When I think about politics, I draw in a lot of the past. I really feel it’s true that the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Kuhls may spend a lot of time immersed in a place stuck in 1863, but he says he stays very attuned to what is going on today.
“Most of the other interns don’t have a TV, so it’s my job to keep everyone up to date,” he says. “Right now, to me, this issue seems to be that we lack a true national identity. People are talking a lot about change, a lot about pride in America. Being in the ROTC, the war really is a top subject. Basically, we need to change the atmosphere from being stale and stagnant toward building things up.
“I would say it is like the late ’70s and early ’80s. In 1980, we were in the middle of stagflation and the Iran hostage crisis. We were not particularly liked around the world. Gas prices today are like the gas line crisis of the late ’70s. There was a real revolution when Reagan was elected, and could Obama or McCain will bring on that kind of revolution? Maybe.”
