Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861. Although Jackson had opposed secession, he supported the Southern side in the war that followed. Judge West H. Humphreys appointed Jackson to enforce Confederate sequestration law in western Tennessee, placing him in charge of confiscating and selling the property of Union loyalists. Extant newspaper accounts show Jackson auctioned off a wide variety of property, including almonds, pickles, chairs, alcohol, tobacco and dried peaches. Just before the Union recaptured Memphis in 1862, Jackson fled with his family to LaGrange, Georgia. He attempted unsuccessfully to secure a position in the Confederate military judiciary. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Jackson returned to Memphis. Since he had served in the Confederate government, he had to secure a presidential pardon before he could continue the practice of law. Arguing that his role in the Confederate civil service was small, Jackson claimed in his petition that no formal sequestration orders had ever been issued under his tenure. Scholar Terry Calvani has contended these statements in Jackson's application "simply were not true", characterizing them as perjury. President Andrew Johnson initially rejected Jackson's petition, but he granted a second request in 1866.
