By the Light of the Moon
The turning point of the Civil War in favor of the Union is often said to be the battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. In May of that year another event, the death of Stonewall Jackson, so hurt the Confederate cause that it remains one of the major 'what ifs' of the war. Jackson, a brilliant tactician and leader, had routed Union forces at Chancellorsville on May 2. But he made the fateful decision to continue fighting that night by the light of the full moon. Soldiers on his own side didn't recognize him. Major John D. Barry fired on approaching soldiers he took for enemy. It was Jackson. He died of their friendly fire several days later. Recent scholarship shows the position of the moon on that night would have made him a silhouette.
'I would have chosen for the good of the country to be disabled in your stead,' Lee said to Jackson before he died.
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