Known for his leadership in the Confederate army during the Civil War, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson was more than just a good general.

Rickey E. Pittman, a Civil War reenactor, storyteller, public speaker and musician, tells the story of how Jackson welcomed black families into Lexington Presbyterian Church, teaching about the Christian faith and changing their lives forever. Despite threats from others in the community, Jackson opened up the church to men, women and children of color. The people of the church in Lexington carried on Jackson’s legacy after his death, creating three new churches in the area as well as several throughout southwestern Virginia. One church in Roanoke, Va., can trace its foundation to Stonewall Jackson, whose student, Lylburn Liggins Downing, became the pastor of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian.

The watercolor illustrations by Lynn Hosegood provide historically accurate yet whimsical visual descriptions of Pittman’s heartwarming story. The book highlights another facet of one of the Civil War’s most famous generals, Stonewall Jackson.