Henry R. Jackson

Henry Rootes Jackson (June 24, 1820 – May 23, 1898) was an American lawyer, politician and military officer. He notably served as a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

Jackson was born in Athens, Georgia. In 1839 he graduated with honors from Yale University, where he was a member of Skull and Bones. He was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1840 and served as lawyer and district attorney.^[1] During the Mexican-American War he served in the United States Volunteers, initially being Captain of a volunteer company from Savannah, the Irish Jasper Greens, becoming Colonel of the 1st Georgia Volunteer Regiment when it was organized from his and other companies. The unit was raised in June 1846 for a year, serving in rear areas in Mexico without seing combat, however suffering heavy losses from sickness and climate. It was mustered out in June 1847.^[2] After the war he became co-owner and editor of the newspaper The Savannah Georgian.^[3] He then became a state judge, was named United States Chargé d'affaires to the Austrian Empire from 1853 to 1854 and then Minister Resident to the Austrian Empire from 1854 to 1858.^[4] Jackson was also a poet (his book Tallulah and Other Poems appeared in 1850) and a frequent public speaker. For instance, he delivered an oration on "Courage" to the University of Georgia literary societies in 1848 and a dedication address for the Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah in 1852. Jackson was a prominent lawyer and prosecutor in Savannah. In 1859, he unsuccessfully prosecuted the owners and crew of a slave ship, the Wanderer, the second-to-last ship known to have brought people from Africa into the United States for sale as slaves.^[5]

When the American Civil War began he served as a judge in Confederate courts before joining the Confederate States Army as an aide to Governor Joseph E. Brown. In June he was named brigadier general; leading troops during the Western Virginia campaign. There he saw action at the Battle of Cheat Mountain and later briefly led the Confederate Army of the Northwest. In December he resigned his Confederate commission and was named major general in the state militia of Georgia. He returned to Confederate service in September 1863; in 1864 both heading the Military District of Georgia and serving in the Army of Tennessee. He led a brigade during the later part of the Atlanta campaign, acting as division commander on several occasions. He then got a brigade in William B. Bate's division for the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. Jackson was captured at the Battle of Nashville and was paroled from Fort Warren, Massachusetts, on July 8, 1865.^[6]

After the war, he resumed his law practice and political career, being named as minister to Mexico from 1885 to 1886.^[1] He also was a railroad executive, banker, and president of the Georgia Historical Society (1875 – 1898). Jackson died in Savannah, Georgia, and was buried in Bonaventure Cemetery, owned by City of Savannah, located in Thunderbolt, Ga.

• List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)

• Kurtz, Wilbur G., Jr. (December 1948). "The First Regiment of Georgia Volunteers in the Mexican War". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. XXVII.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• "Georgia Historic Newspapers - The Savannah Georgian". Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Jackson, Henry Rootes". New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.

• Media related to Henry Rootes Jackson at Wikimedia Commons
• Former Home of Henry R. Jackson historical marker
• "Jackson, Henry Rootes" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.