Civil War Death Moon: Accidental Death of Confederate General Blamed by Bright Light

Most of us may not be aware of the significance that moons had throughout history. They played great rolls surrounding harvests and festivals during ancient time. And they've also made many historical marks surrounding cultural customs and even death. 

According to new research, the moon's position during part of the Civil War may have been the cause for the accidental shooting death of a central figure during the war, known as Confederate general Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.

One of the war's turning points was during the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. Lt. Gen Jackson later died of complications from his wounds, depriving Confederate commander Robert E. Lee of his most daring and trusted general two months before the fateful Battle of Gettysburg. Upon hearing Jackson's wounds, which initially forced the amputation of his arm, Lee lamented, "he has lost his left arm; but I have lost my right arm."

As a full moon that night is to blame for the general's death, many historians still wonder how his own troops could misidentify him with the moon shining brightly.

However, astronomer Don Olson of Texas State University and a collaborator believe that the moon's illumination made Jackson only visible as a silhouette.

"When you tell people it was a bright moonlit night, they think it makes it easier to see. What we are finding is that the 18^th North Carolina looking directly toward the direction of the moon as Stonewall Jackson and his party came riding back," Olson said, according to World Science. "They would see the riders only as dark silhouettes."  

It's certainly an intersting theory. What do you think?