He received his education first at Richmond Academy in his home state, and later at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where he graduated "with honors" in 1846.

[5] Jackson was in command of one of the three battalions which fought in the Confederate defeat during the Battle of Santa Rosa Island on October 8, 1861.

[2] Beginning on March 29, he commanded a brigade in the recently created Army of the Mississippi, and led it with distinction during the Battle of Shiloh on April 6–7.

[5] During the late evening attack by Maj. Gen. Braxton Bragg on April 6, Jackson's men and another brigade charged a strong Union position upon a ridge.

[6] During the Kentucky Campaign of 1862, Jackson and his brigade were ordered from Knoxville to Bridgeport, Alabama, where they were to guard Confederate communications along the railways bridges from Chattanooga to Murfreesboro.

[2] An account of Jackson's participation follows: ...his brigade was posted first on the right as part of the reserve and afterward was ordered to report to General Polk, at Duck river, near the Cowan house.

[2]Following the fight at Stones River, Jackson and his men were sent back to Bridgeport and then again to Chattanooga, ordered to defend railroad communications from Atlanta to Tullahoma.

[10] While the Army of Tennessee fell back to Dalton, Georgia, Jackson and his brigade were transferred to Maj. Gen. William H. T. Walker's division on February 20, 1864.

[11] Following the actions at Savannah, Jackson was sent to Branchville, South Carolina, where he was to establish military depots as the quartermaster of the Army of Tennessee.

Several of the state's banks hired Jackson to obtain financial relief from the Georgia General Assembly on behalf of their stockholders, many of whom were returning Confederate officers.