Stonewall's Arm

Back in 1863 Stonewall Jackson, the notoriously brave Confederate General, was shot by his own men . .  . three times in the same arm. Four of his aids were killed in the same accidentally, night-time returning from a scouting mission, mishap. The General survived the attack but his arm did not.

Once it was amputated the arm was carted to a nearby cemetery owned by one of his aids (one that was not killed apparently) and there it was laid to rest. Its master outlived the arm only by 8 days; he survived the amputation but did not the pneumonia that followed. Jackson was not buried with his arm.

Here's a great little piece on the search for the grave of the arm of Stonewall Jackson.  Virginia Quarterly.

post script: the story relates of an iron fence. That is not one in the background.

post script script: it is said that a Marine General dug up the arm, not believing it was there, in 1921. When he was proven wrong he had the arm removed from the wooden box it was in and placed in an iron one and returned to the soil.