Henry "Kyd" Douglas

>>Esteemed member James Epperson wrote:

One of the more highly regarded Confederate memoirs is that by Henry Kyd Douglas (I RODE WITH STONEWALL), and it is here that we find one of the more compelling "we wish Jackson were here" anecdotes. According to Douglas, on the night of July 1st, his good friend Sandie Pendleton -- also a former staff officer to Jackson, now Ewell's chief of staff -- stated "with much feeling" the now oft-quoted line, "Oh, for the presence and inspiration of Old Jack for just one hour." Douglas places this as occuring after Ewell had determined not to advance on the Federal positions south of the town.

Warning - Douglas's memoir is highly unreliable, embellished with stories contradicted by many other sources, and should be used only with great caution!

- Dave

Robert Bohanan says:

I was wondering if anyone was going to pick up on the Douglas memoirs and his lack of veracity. I have heard at least two well-know Civil War researchers say that instead of I RODE WITH STONEWALL, Douglas should have titled his book, STONEWALL RODE WITH ME.

Robert Bohanan

Let me add my _Amen_ here. Living in the shadow of HKD, it is hard to speak ill of the man, but his memoirs are just too trite sometimes. There is a war-time journal that is still around here, but unfortunately sealed in a plexiglass case which belongs to someone who knows what he has and isn't sharing it. Too bad.

Many old-timers recall HKD in his later years walking the streets of Hagerstown with a rose in his teeth so that everyone would know that he was an aristocrat.

I've also heard the Stonewall Rode with Me line, and I agree whole-heartedly. Dennis Frye did a nice expose' on his _Jackson was almost captured at Boonsboro" story a few years ago.

Tom Clemens