I was real proud to serve in the US Army.  The Army 
was my purpose for living, the military gave 
meaning to my life. Being in charge came easy for
me, commanding troops was something that was natural.
  
My first command was in the Mexican War - it seems 
these fellers from Mexico attacked us good guys 
along the Southern border of Texas. We all called 
it quits when my buddy General Scott occupied Mexico 
City in 1847 and a few months later a Peace Treaty 
was signed. The USA got Mexico to add Texas, 
California and New Mexico to the United States as 
US territories. President James Polk then declared 
this WAR over and my job was done, but I stayed on
another four years developing military awareness. 
But I wanted something different, I wanted to go 
HOME to share my skills with my students. For this
reason, I resigned from the Army in 1851 to teach 
at Virginia Military Institute.

I taught at VMI for ten years and during that span, 
my wife died so I re-married.  My new wife was a God 
fearin' woman, so I became a Presbyterian and my 
friends called me "Deacon Jackson".  Things were 
going pretty good for me up until about 1861 - when 
the CRISIS between North and South arose. I wanted 
to see the Union preserved, but I also believed the 
South had a just cause. So, I join the Confederate 
army as a colonel.  

This here is where things get real interesting......