Description

Shedding new light on a legendary war hero, this picture book profiles the religious devotion of Civil War general Thomas J. Jackson. A professor at the Virginia Military Institute, Jackson broke state law by teaching reading and writing to black citizens attending Lexington Presbyterian Church's Sunday school. He continued his classes even after being threatened with prosecution, because he wanted his students to become better men and women through education.

Years later, after leaving Lexington to join the Confederate army, he still prayed for them and sent money to the school. In turn, his devoted students loved and respected him. Many of them became influential members of the community. One, a Presbyterian minister, honored Jackson with a stained-glass window at his church in Roanoke, Virginia. The window, inscribed with Jackson's last words, still attracts visitors every year who want to witness the influence of Jackson's Sunday school.