review: Beloved Bride, The Letters of Stonewall Jackson to His Wife

author: Bill Potter, the Vision Forum, San Antonio, 2002, 158 pp., ISBN 13 978-1-929241-63-7

reviewed by: T. C. Pinckney                                                                    Vol. XIX, No. 2, February 2006

This is an unusual book for review in The Baptist Banner. I received a copy as a Christmas present and finished reading it literally two minutes before beginning this review.

Beloved Bride is not a history as we normally think of it. You will not find here detailed accounts of battles or political events. It is not even a thoroughgoing treatise on Jackson’s military abilities and accomplishments, although some of them are included for background and setting.

The heart of the book consists of extracts of numerous letters General Jackson wrote to his wife, Anna, between April 1857 (they were married 16 July 1857) and 20 April 1863.

Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own men as he and nineteen companions were returning from a reconnaissance the night of Saturday, 2 May 1863. Anna was finally able to reach his side on Thursday, 7 May. Beloved Bride ends with her account of his last three days. Jackson died at 3:15 p.m., Sunday, 10 May 1863. He and Anna had been married slightly less than six years and had one infant daughter.

On one level the book focusses on the loving relationship between Jackson and Anna, but throughout the more vital interest is Jackson’s relationship to and consistent appeals to God. While occurring within the historical setting, Beloved Bride goes far beyond mere happenings to afford the reader an appreciation of Jackson’s deep commitment to his primary loves: his bride and his God.

I highly recommend this book. It would make a valuable gift, especially to teenage boys and young men. Available from your bookstore or from the publisher 1-800-440-0022 or www.visionforum.com for $11.20 plus $4.50 standard shipping.