Existing comment:
James W. Jackson, c 1823-1861
In February 1861, James W Jackson became the innkeeper of the Marshall House hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, where he lived with his wife and three young children. "His face was remarkable in its expression," observed an acquaintance, "Grim, stern, obstinate determination was stamped emphatically on every feature." Contentious by nature, Jackson was a respected pugilist and had earned the local reputation of being a firebrand secessionist; during the recent presidential campaign, he had cut down a flagpole in nearby Occoquan upon which a Lincoln-Hamlin flag flew. In April, he exuberantly raised a Confederate flag over his hotel. It was the first seen in Alexandria was visible with a field glass from Washington. Given the promises with which Jackson swore to protect his banner, he seemed destined to become the town's first civilian casualty upon the imminent Union advance.
From the original in Special Collections, Alexandria Library, Virginia |