374 THE GROUNDSWELL. 



mand of Forrest s old division, with the Texas brigade 

 added. With this fine command, he operated until the close 

 of the war, when he was assigned by General Dick Taylor, 

 on the part of the Confederates, and General Dennis, of the 

 United States Army, as Commissioner for the parole of 

 troops, at Gainesville, Ala., and Columbus, Miss. 



AFTER THE WAR. 



The war closed, and with the same resolute purpose that 

 had always actuated his life, General Jackson engaged in ag 

 riculture. Taking charge of his father s planting interest, 

 he managed two farms, organizing a mixed force of white 

 and colored laborers, and superintending their work with 

 judgment and profit, thus cheerfully exchanging the excite 

 ment of the camp for the quietude of the farm. He went 

 into the new service with ardent, energetic purpose, bringing 

 to bear a quick and observant mind in the new field of em 

 ployment, which has gained for him a distinction in agricul 

 ture not inferior to the fame which he earned for himself in 

 the profession of arms . For three or four years he thus su 

 perintended the culture of cotton in West Tennessee. The 

 life of this gentleman since the war has amply disproved the 

 paragraph contained in one of General Sherman s letters to 

 General Grant, at the close of the war, assigning a reason 

 why liberal terms should be granted on surrender : &quot; For,&quot; 

 said he, &quot; if we do not pursue this course, such men as For 

 rest, Mosby, and Bed Jackson [the subject of this sketch], 

 who know not, or care not, for danger and its consequences, 

 will break off in command of guerrilla parties, and give the 

 country great trouble.&quot; 



In December, 1868, he married Miss Selene Harding, thb 

 daughter of General W. G. Harding, of Belle Meade, near 



