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Union Brigadier General James S. Jackson

While several soldiers with Centre connections fought in the Battle of Perryville, one, Union Brigadier General James S. Jackson, was killed in the fighting. Jackson, who would have been a member of the Centre class of 1843, transferred to Jefferson College in Cannonsburg, PA, before graduating.

A Kentucky native, attorney, and Mexican Warveteran, Jackson left Congressin 1861 to enter the military. AnOctober 11, 1862, New York Times article called Jackson"brusque and overbearing. . . a party to numerous quarrels,which sometimes resulted in duels." During the Mexican War Jackson dueled a fellow officer. Because of this incident he was threatened with a court-martial and was forced to resign. The Times also accused Jackson of killing a man in a street fight in Hopkinsville. Early in the war Jackson commanded the 3rd Kentucky (Union) Cavalry Regiment. At Perryville, Jackson commanded the Union 10th Division. The Battle of Perryville was Jackson's first divisional command.

General Jackson was present on the Union left flank when the Confederate attack commenced. Standing between the 105th Ohio Infantry and a battery of artillery, Jackson was, according to one Union captain, "encouraging the men to stand to their places." As the attacking Southerners climbed a hill toward the Union position, Jackson remarked, "Well I'll be damned if this is not getting rather particular." Union Captain Percival Oldershaw confessed that the "regiment fired a volley and fell back, when almost immediately afterward General Jackson. . . was killed, two bullets entering his right breast. . . I found him on his back, struggling to speak, but unable to do so. He died in a few moments." Jackson died on Parsons' Ridge, which is located on the grounds of the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site. A historical marker now stands at the site of his death.

First buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Jackson's remains were eventually re-interred in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where he practiced law prior to the war.