The Top Ten Letters

Top ten items selected from the Thomas Jackson collection of letters.

Introduction to This Section

Here is a sample of the rich content covered by the 200+ varied items in the whole Thomas Jackson Collection. These represent the transcriptions of the original manuscripts and in this section some of them have been edited, shortened and highlighted for emphasis. However full scans and transcriptions of all the original letters can be studied in the Entire Resources section of this website.

Thomas Jackson’s eloquent and passionate letters sent to his relatives back in England remain the foundation of this collection. However, there are many other materials (especially newspaper articles and family letters) that give us a far deeper understanding of his personal life and mission.

In total, they provide us with vivid first hand accounts of living through the chaos of the civil war and also the risks, the hopes and the disappointments of leading a life dedicated to the abolition of slavery.

1. Inside A Slave Market

The most important letter in the whole collection. It describes the source of Thomas Jackson’s lifelong motivation for supporting abolition and also is an example of the success of his strategy for getting his reports of the horrors of slavery published in English newspapers. In that way he hoped to generate a climate in which the British public would continue to oppose slavery and not recognize the confederate states even though the lack of cotton was causing great hardships to English businesses.

This letter is also an excellent example of Thomas Jackson’s impressive talents as a writer. Although he appears to have gone to the rural state school with the other working class boys in his village, he has clearly developed a powerful ability to make his case. This skill enabled him to be a powerful advocate throughout his life.

Read Letter 1

2. Arrival in Reading, PA

Newspaper article of 1870-10-09 including an interview with Thomas Jackson vividly describing his challenges following his first arrival in America and attempting to start a rope making business from scratch.
In this gritty and unpromising environment, he located his very first company just past the second lock gate on the right bank (not shown here).

Read Article in Full

3. Preparations for War

Thomas Jackson starts by expressing gratitude that his strategy of writing about slavery for English newspapers was showing results because his letter written on August 20, 1862 (the first letter heading this “Top Ten” section) had been published in the local “Pioneer” newspaper of the town where he grew up.

He then goes on to describe the urgent developments in the war as one of his employees was brought home dead and the confederates were approaching his home in Reading, PA.

Read 3rd Letter

4. Fourteen Pages On War

This 1863-08-20 letter is so important that it is presented here in full but only with edits for grammar and spellings. It is a huge 14 page document packed with incredible details about the preparations both military and personal to survive the expected onslaught of war as the confederate army was not 70 miles away.

Because of the length, you may be tempted to skip much of this content. However if you give it your attention, we believe that this letter will give every visitor a rich firsthand experience of actually living through the Civil War.

Read Fourth Letter

5. Witness to Slavery

Thomas Jackson wrote many letters that included his first hand experiences of working with escaped slaves and the reports that they shared about their past pains and sufferings. This particular letter is filled with details that vividly remind us of the sufferings of slavery from over 150 years ago.

Read Fifth Letter

6. Presidential Election - Black Soldiers

Thomas Jackson’s mind is on elections and that sets him off on an extensive rant against supporters of the “copperhead proslavery party”. He also suspects the English government and British aristocrats are supporting the south with money and influence. Most notably, he reveals that he actually fears for his life if Lincoln does not get reelected.

Read Sixth Letter

7. Jubilation at Lincoln’s Victory - Hatred for Treatment of Slaves

This letter records Thomas Jackson’s jubilation after the election of Lincoln. Even so, he cannot stop venting his hatred for those who did not support him. This poster shows how McClellan played the race card in trying to defeat Abraham Lincoln. Nothing would infuriate Thomas Jackson more than someone who proudly campained against Negro Equality and claimed that voting for Lincoln would result in “universal anarchy, and ultimate ruin.”

Read Seventh Letter

8. Richmond Fallen

At long last, the confederate capital of Richmond has fallen to the northern union forces. This joyful letter reports on the wild celebrations of citizens in the north and the poignant fact that black northern troops were chosen as the first to march into Richmond.

Thomas Jackson still claims that the British aristocracy and the Tory political party were materially supporting the Confederacy for much of the conflict.

Read the Eighth Letter

9. Death & Mourning for Lincoln

A deeply moving and factually detailed account of a local community’s responses to learning of the assassination of Lincoln and responding to his funeral a few days later. “Strong men stood weeping in the streets, and women shrieked with horror at the heinous crime. The poor blacks take it very hard and seem entirely inconsolable. They worshipped the slavery destroying president as more than a man"

Read Ninth Letter

10. Thomas Jackson’s Funeral

In the big scheme of things, Thomas Jackson’s contribution to achieving abolition may be seen as just a drop in the ocean. However it is the nature of society that an irresistible tidal wave of change only occurs when many such “drops” combine together and then all those who contributed their energies to it deserve recognition. Thus, after a life time working to abolish slavery, it seems very fitting that “the flowers on Thomas Jackson’s coffin were placed there by colored citizens from his community”.