Both pens made from White Oak. This particular White Oak came from the Stonewall Jackson Prayer Tree.
This tree was present at the encampment of Confederate General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s army near Middle River in June 1862 has succumbed to disease and time. The towering white oak that was known locally as Jackson’s Prayer Tree toppled to the ground overnight May 27 2011 in northern Augusta County.
Jackson's army had just completed a string of five military victories, including the battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic, in roughly a month that spring. According to the diary of Jackson's mapmaker, Jedediah Hotchkiss, the general attended a religious gathering on June 15. According to local legend this religious gathering took place under this tree.
The Woodturners of the Virginias, a club of which I am a member, along with their sister club The Central Virginia Woodturners Club was given exclusive rights to this wood by the property owners.
