li ti S. G. Heiskell, the Author. ANDREW JACKSON EARLY TENNESSEE HISTORY By S. G. HEISKELL, A Tennessean, KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE ILLUSTRATED NASHVILLE, TENN. AMBROSE PRINTING COMPANY 1 91 S COPYRIGHT, 1918 By S. G. HE ISKELL APR -I 1918 ©CI.A494389 O NTE N TS Chapter Page I. Introduction 13-20 II. Tennessee and Its Pioneers — The Wilderness Road and Daniel Boone 21-32 III. Tennessee and Its Pioneer Governments 33-45 IV. Knoxville and General James White, Its Founder 46-60 V. Knoxville, Original Plan, History and News- papers 61-81 VI. William Blount 82-101 VII. John Donelson and the Donelsons 102-120 VIII. Nashville 121-137 IX. The Cherokees 138-158 X. Tennessee — The Constitutions of 1796 and 1834 and the Governors to the death of Jackson 159-169 XI. John Sevier — Chronology . 170,171 XII. John Sevier 172-188 XIII. John Sevier and the Seviers __ 189-211 XIV. John Sevier's Remains Brought Back to Ten- nessee — Mrs. Catherine Sherrill Sevier 212-229 XV. Evan Shelby and the Shelbys 230-240 XVI. King's Mountain and its Battle 241-259 XVII. King's Mountain Years Afterward • _ 260-273 v 'iIII. Sycamore Shoals and its Monument 274-283 XIX. Andrew Jackson — Chronology... 284-287 XX. Andrew Jackson 288-308 XXI. Mrs. Andrew (Rachel Donelson) Jackson 309-328 XXII. Andrew Jackson — The Natchez Expedition and the Affray with the Bentons 329-343 ( i ) Contents Chapter Page XXIII. Andrew Jackson — FortMims, Talluschatches, Tal- ladega, Emuckfau, Enotochopco — Col. John Wil- liams, the 39th Regulars and Battle of Horse- Shoe Bend 344-372 XXIV. Andrew Jackson — The Battle of New Orleans — Speech of Congressman John W. Gaines on the Battle .-- 373-400 XXV. John Reid '. -. 401-421 XXVI. Andrew Jackson — From the Battle of New Or- leans to Election as President 422-428 XXVII. John Overton, John Coffee, W. B. Lewis, and A. S. Colyar 429-448 XXVIII. Memphis 449-464 XXIX. Sam Houston — Chronology 465,466 XXX. Sam Houston 467-484 XXXI. Jackson, Houston and Texas 485-511 XXXII. James Knox Polk, Sarah Childress Polk — Chro- nology 512,513 XXXIII. James Knox Polk and Wife, Sarah Childress Polk 514-533 XXXIV. The Hermitage and President Roosevelt's Visit and Speech 534-553 XXXV. Thr Hermitage and Relics of Jackson 554-578 XXXVI. Andrew Jackson — Two Administrations as Presi- dent, Will, Sarcophagus and Death 579-597 XXXVII. Andrew Jackson— Husband, Father and Friend-. 598-615 XXXVIII. Andrew Jackson — Granddaughter, Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence v.' 6-643 XXXIX. Andrew Jackson — Unveiling of. Equestrian Statue at Nashville and Speech of Congressman John F. House 644-666 XL. Battle of King's Mountain — Address by Bishop E. E. Hoss 667-687 His echoing axe the settler swung Amid the sea-like solitude, And rushing, thundering, down were dung The Titans of the wood; Loud shrieked the eagle as he dashed From out his mossy nest, which crashed With its supporting bough, V And the first sun-light, leaping, Hashed On the wolf's haunt below. Rude was the garb, and strong the frame Of him who plied his ceaseless toil: To form that garb, the wild-wood game Contributed their spoil; The soul that warmed that frame disdained The tinsel, gaud, and glare, that reigned Where men their crowds collect; The simple fur, untrimmed, unstained, This forest tamer decked. The paths which wound mid gorgeous trees, The streams whose bright lips kissed their flowers, The winds that swelled their harmonies Through those sun-hiding bowers, The temple vast — the green arcade, The nestling vale — the grassy glade, Dark cave and swampy lair — These scenes and sounds majestic, made His world and pleasures, there. —AlfordB. Street. PREFACE I expect neither profit nor general fame by my writings ; I consider myself as having been amply repaid without either. — Coleridge, Preface First Edition of The Ancient Mariner and Christabel. This book had its origin in the belief that only a one- sided view of the life and character of Andrew Jackson has been given generally by those who have written about him. and that injustice has been done to Sam Houston and John Sevier in that neither of them has been accorded as high a place in history as their achievements merit. All three are closely connected with the early history of Tennessee, and Jackson and Sevier passed their lives in the State. Houston lived for years in the State, became District Attorney Gen- eral, Member of Congress and Governor, and went to Texas, became its liberator and died there. They were all great men, with great qualities and accomplished great achieve- ments. The writers on Jackson always portray the bold, aggres- sive side of the man, his iron will, his fearlessness of dan- ger, his nerves that were never shaken no matter what the circumstances. They tell us of his great fight in which he crushed the Bank ; of his ringing challenge to the nullifiers of South Carolina ; of his masterly political victories where he defeated the combined influence of Webster, Clay and Calhoun ; and of his two great administrations generally. We are always shown the great, the heroic, the masterful, the ever victorious in him. Everybody admires his quali- ties and victories, and all Tennesseans are proud that he possessed the one and gained the others ; they are the things that make up the greatness of Old Hickory. ( s ) 6 Preface But there was another side that we rarely read about. Jackson was one of the tenderest and most affectionate men that ever lived, and with a strong, romantic strain in his make-up that made him a high-bred, knightly gentleman al- ways in his contact with women and children, and persons in poverty, sickness or distress. As an illustration, volumes are expressed in his act of taking the infant Indian boy lying on his dead mother's breast after the battle of Tal- luschatches, and sending him to the Hermitage, where he was named Lincoya, and there nourished and raised until his death at the age of eighteen ; and when President in not neglecting to ask in his letters home as to Lincoya's health and how he was getting along. Tennesseans and Americans are a home-loving people and will rank Jackson even higher when they come to consider the domestic and tender side of his character. He strongly wished the perpetuation of his name, and his warm affection for his adopted son and, wife, and his unremitting devotion to their children, exhibit qual- ities that make a universal appeal. For the real Jackson to be understood we have to study all sides of him. He was not only a national hero, but a man to whom home and its inmates were the most perfect solace and joy. Sam Houston made Texas possible as an American State, and added to the Republic as grand an area as was ever populated by any race. I have stated in one of the chapters that follow that if Houston had brought about the annexa- tion of Canada to the United States, as he did Texas, there would be statues and monuments to him all over the North. and he would long ago have been ranked with Washington as one of America's immortals, known, and his memory cherished and honored, nation-wide. His fame belongs to Tennessee as well as to Texas, and his services were great and far-reaching enough to render the whole Republic his debtor for all time. V Preface 7 Of John Sevier it is difficult to speak with that modera- tion and dignity becoming the treatment of a historical subject. For 74 years in an Alabama cotton field he lay buried, as though in death he had been outlawed from the State of which in the building in his lifetime he had been the chief cornerstone ; and in the merited odium of those 74 years of disgraceful neglect, all Tennessee shared, and the City of Knoxville with the rest, until the city redeemed it- self, as far as it could, by according to the few bones rem- nant of a great man, a magnificent funeral and sepulchre in its courthouse yard, viewed by thousands standing with uncovered heads. Sevier and his deeds ought to be an ever-frequent and precious memory to every man and woman born or resident upon the soil of the State ; and my prediction is that as historical values become more just and accurate with the flow of the years, his name will blaze and shine on written pages with a glory like those of knights of old immortalized by Sir Walter Scott's pen and Alfred Tennyson's beautiful lyric lines ; and that some son of genius and song will one day come who will write Sevier's name in that Hall of Fame tenanted by Launcelot, Sir Galahad and Arthur, and those other grand spirits, of cen- turies gone by, whose lives illustrate the fine perfume and blossom of our human nature. I make no claim to any great originality of thought or treatment in this book; but I do claim that at least a start is here made toward a more fully rounded conception of Jackson's character, and a very much juster estimate of Houston and Sevier; and that at least one watchman has cried aloud from the housetops that the lives of the pioneers and early people of the State exhibit those primary quali- ties that are indispensable to true character, and to which this generation may well revert and profit much by adopt- ing. 8 Preface This book represents the unremitting labor of one year of myself and stenographers, and the help by sugges- tions and the lending of books, public documents, photo- graphs, old letters, daguerreotypes, and newspapers, by loyal friends whose good will has been a boon all through the undertaking, and to whom I beg to here offer every as- surance of sincere gratitude and profound respect. During the year the daily hours of work were much above the usual hours that men toil, and the undertaking under this high pressure might have become irksome and intolerable had it not been a labor of affection, and therefore a pleas- ure, to paint, however imperfectly, the beginnings and de- velopment of a State in which my family did their part, and to which every Tennessean can proudly point with well- founded patriotic pride. It will be noted that there are frequent and extended quotations throughout the book which some may consider excessive and improper; but in my view, apt, full and re- liable quotations are indispensable to any historical work for several reasons. First, they vary and enliven the current of the text and assure the reader that he is getting the exact sentiment or opinion of the author quoted. Second, it is ethical to give the words literally of an- other writer, and not to acquire his thought or expression by changing a word or phrase here and there, or by trans- posing and slightly varying sentences, thereby committing, to all intents and purposes, literary larceny. Third, it adds to the weight of the book, whatever the eminence or learning of the author doing the quoting, and gives a composite mental picture of the subject treated that to the reader is assuring, satisfying, and illuminating. I have tried to find and to quote for every event treated the testimony of an eye-witness, or person of personal Preface 9 knowledge ; and if none such was to be found, then evidence of a contemporary of the event; and if no contemporary could be found, then the nearest authority in time, whether personal or written; and if evidence from this source also failed then by the oldest tradition. As an illustration of the value of an eye-witness, all of the histories tell of the uniform courtesy of Sam Houston, and this, of course, every one is glad to know; but how much more strongly are we impressed that Houston was naturally a courteous gentleman when we read Colonel John B. Brownlow's account, in Chapter XXXI, of Houston's good breeding, in his reception of Colonel Brownlow when a boy of only fourteen years of age, he called on the Senator at the old Lamar House in Knoxville to pay his respects. Again, the histories generally tell about the funeral of Mrs. Andrew Jackson, and give accounts of it, but what a world of difference between our appreciation of such ac- counts and that of Governor Henry A. Wise, quoted in Chapter XXI, who was present, saw everything that was done, and gives us a fully satisfying statement of what he saw; again, when Colonel Thomas H. Benton, quoted in Chapter XXII, tells of his personal knowledge of the do- mestic life at the Hermitage of Jackson's personal quali- ties, and of the devotion of General and Mrs. Jackson to each other, what more could one want! My thanks are tendered to, Col. John B. Brownlow; Col. Noble Smithson; Calvin M. McClung, great-grandson and Mrs. Lucy G. Rodgers, great- granddaughter of Gen. James White, the founder of Knox- ville; Lloyd Branson; Dr. A. P. White, great-grandson of Gen. James W T hite ; Miss Catherine F. Heiskell for the map of the Little Tennessee River and Cherokee towns ; Mrs. Amy Jackson, widow of Col. Andrew Jackson the third; Frank L. Meek, great-grandson of John Sevier; Seldon R. Nelson, 10 Preface great-nephew of John Sevier; J. U. Kirby, who owns the Sevier country home six miles from Knoxville; Miss Eliz- abeth Avery for the facsimile of Jackson's challenge to Col. Waightstill Avery, of Knoxville; Hon. John Wesley Gaines ; President John H. DeWitt, of the Tennessee Historical Society ; Mrs. Rachel Jackson Law- rence, grand-daughter of Andrew Jackson ; Mrs. Nina Reid Hunter, great-granddaughter of Major John Reid, Jack- son's aid and military secretary; Mrs. Bettie Donelson, regent of the Ladies' Hermitage Association of Nashville ; Miss Mary Rothrock, librarian, Miss Mary Nelson and Mrs. Inez Deaderick, assistants of the Lawson-McGhee Li- brary of Knoxville ; the Congressional Library at Washing- ton ; the Carnegie Library at Nashville ; the Cossitt Library at Memphis; R. B. Rogan; Mrs. R. B. Rogan, of Rogersville, Tennes- see, Mrs. Blanche Laffitte, of Bristol, Tennessee, daughters, and Mrs. T. J. Wallace, of Franklin, Tennessee, grand- daughter, of Major Frederick S. Heiskell; Gen. J. C. J. Williams, grandson of Col. John W T illiams, of the 39th Reg- ulars at the Battle of the Horseshoe, of Huntsville, Tennes- see; Major Henry Crumbliss, of Kingston, Tennessee; Miss Margaret Gist, Historian of King's Mountain Chapter D. A. R., York, South Carolina; Robert Dyas, grandson of Gen. John Coffee, of Collinswood, Tennessee; Dr. Thomas M. Owen, Director Department of Archives and History of the State of Alabama, Montgomery; Miss Zella Arm- strong, of Chattanooga, Tennessee. S. G. Heiskell. Knoxville, Tennessee, March 1, 1918. AUTHORITIES RELIED UPON IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS BOOK Life of Jackson (3 Vols.) James Parton. Life and Times of Jackson (2 Vols.) A. S. Colyar. Life of Andrew Jackson (2 Vols.) Tohn Spencer Basset. History of Andrew Jackson (2 Vols.) Augustus C. Buell. Life and Times of Andrew Jackson (1 Vol.) Thomas E. Watson. Life of Andrew Jackson (1 Vol.) Tohn Reid and John Henry Eaton. Life of Andrew Jackson (1 Vol.) Tohn S. Jenkins. Biography of Andrew Jackson (1 Vol.) Philo A. Goodwin. The True Andrew Jackson (1 Vol.) Cyrus Townsend Brady. Jacksonian Epoch (1 Vol.) Charles H. Peck. Monument to Jackson (1 Vol.) B. M. Dusenbery. Life of Thomas H. Benton (1 Vol.) Theodore Roosevelt. Life of James Monroe (1 Vol.) Daniel C. Oilman. Life of Martin Van Buren (1 Vol.) Edward M. Shepard. Life of Sam Houston (1 Vol.) C. Edicards Lester. Sam Houston and the War of Independance in Texas (1 Vol.) Alfred M. Williams. The True George Washington (1 Vol.) Paul Leicester Ford. The True Abraham Lincoln (1 Vol.) William Eleroy Curtis. Life of John Sevier (1 Vol.) Tames H. Gilmore. Rear Guard of the Revolution (1 Vol.) Tames H. Gilmore. Advance Guard of Western Civilization (1 Vol.) Tames H. Gilmore. Seven Decades of the Union (1 Vol.) Henry A. Wise. Horse Shoe Robinson (1 Vol.) Tohn T. Kennedy. Life of Daniel Boone (1 Vol.) Cecil B. Hartley. Annals of Tennessee to 1800 (1 Vol.) T. G. M. Ramsey. History of Tennessee to 1896 (1 Vol.) Tohn Haywood. History of Tennessee (1 Vol.) Tames Phelan. History of Tennessee (1 Vol.) Good speed Publishing Co. History of Tennessee and Tennesseans (8 Vols.) Hale and Merritt. Notable Men of Tennessee (1 Vol.) 0. P. Temple. Studies, Military and Diplomatic (1 Vol.) Charles Francis Adams. The Peninsular War (5 Vols.) W. F. P. Napier. King's Mountain and Its Heroes (1 Vol.) Lyman' C. Draper. Anecdotes of Public Men (1 Vol.) Tohn W. Forney. Proceedings of the Bar Association of Tennessee (1 Vol.) Reports of the United States Bureau of Ethnology (1 Vol.) Speeches on the Removal of the Indians in Congress April and May, 1830, (1 Vol.) The Cherokee Indians (1 Vol.) Thomas Valentine Parker. Pioneer Women of the West (1 Vol.) Mrs. E. F. Ellet. ( 11 ) 12 Authorities The Cherokees in Pre-Columbian Times (1 Vol.) Prof. Cyrus Thomas. Antiquities of Tennessee (1 Vol.) Gates P. Thurston. American Historical Magazine (9 Vols.) American Historical Review (1 Vol.) Library of Southern Literature (16 Vols.) World's Best Orations (10 Vols.) Winning of the West (6 Vols.) Theodore Roosevelt Perley's Reminiscences (2 Vols.) Ben Perley Poore. Old Times in Tennessee (1 Vol.) Toe C. Guild. Hugh Lawson White (1 Vol.) Nancy N. Scott. Lives and Graves of Our Presidents (1 Vol.) G. S. Weaver. Preservation of the Hermitage (1 Vol.) Mary C. Dorris. History of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (1 Vol.) Daniel A. Tompkins. History of Watauga County, North Carolina (1 Vol.). .John Preston Arthur. Biographical Congressional Directory, 1774-1911 (1 Vol.) Messages of the Presidents of the United States Richardson' s Edition. The History of Memphis (1 Vol.) J. M. Keating. History of Davidson County, Tennessee (1 Vol.) W. W. Clayton. Early History of Memphis (1 Vol.) Tames D. Davis. History of Knoxville (1 Vol.) William Rule. The Annexation of Texas (1 Vol.) Justin H. Smith. Sarah Childress Polk (1 Vol.) Anson Nelson. History of Pioneer Kentucky (1 Vol.) 5. 5. Cotterill. Life of William Blount (1 Vol.) Marcus J. Wright. Bound Volumes of the Knoxville Register , Frederick S. Heiskell and Hugh Brown. Original Letters of Andrew Jackson, loaned by the Jackson and Donelson Families. Speeches of Members of Congress at Various Times in Congressional Record. Old Files of the Nashville American, Nashville Tennessean and Knoxville Journal and Tribune. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. If, in the long ago, before the white man's foot had pressed the soil of Tennessee, a Cherokee chief, conscious of the supremacy of his nation, had stood upon the lofty summit of the Great Smoky Mountains — the eastern border of the State — and turned his eyes westward toward the Mississippi Eiver, he would have gazed upon an inspiring panorama of forest and plain and rolling rivers and grand mountains and lovely valleys, such as is surpassed nowhere on this earth. He would have seen a land known only to a red man's eyes, and in the exultation of pride in his Cherokee blood and the prowess of his Cherokee nation, could have exclaimed, "Be- hold the land of my tribe and kindred, the happy hunting ground of my people given by the Great Spirit forever!" Had the question been asked him how long the Cherokees had owned this fair land, he would have replied that the sun never rose on a day that this land was not their land, their very own. If the Great Spirit had been supremely generous in the land given to the chief and his kindred, that same Great Spirit had also been kind in not revealing to him that buried upon this happy hunting ground were evidences of a skill B ( 13 ) 14 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History and culture better than his, remains of a race higher than his race, that had passed away "and left no rack behind," except speechless relics in mounds and graves and burial grounds — men who had lived- and burned out life's candles centuries before the Cherokee saw the light of day. They were the mound builders whose era we are totally unable to fix. But the Great Spirit was extremely kind to the Cherokee Chief in another way. It held back from him the power to read futurity, to pierce the veil that hides the hereafter from living sons and daughters of men, and did not permit him to foresee that the day would come when this would be his hunt- ing ground no longer, when he would be forced to wander far away across the Great River, and when the pride of the Cherokee Nation would be humbled in the dust by a race whose white skin he had never seen, or even been told about. Sam Houston was the red man's friend as long as he lived, and his friendship never wavered or changed. C. Edwards Lester, who was a friend of Houston when a Senator in Congress from Texas, and who afterwards wrote Houston's Biography, • tells an interesting story of some of the Senator's friends assembling in his rooms in Washington, when the Senator asked if someone present could not recite a part of Charles Sprague's Oration over the fading away of the red man, delivered on the reception of Lafayette, at Boston. One of the assembly recited the part, and Lester says he will never forget the enthusiasm it aroused. This is the part of the oration recited : CHAELES SPRAGUE'S ORATION. "Not many generations ago, where you now sit, circled with all that exalts and embellishes civilized life, the rank thistle nodded in the wind, and the wild fox dug his hole unscared. Here lived and loved another race of beings. Beneath the same sun that rolls over your heads the Indian hunter pursued the panting deer ; gazing on the same moon that smiles for you, the Indian lover wooed his dusky mate. Here the wigwam blaze beamed on the tender and help- less, the council-fire glared on the wise and daring. Now they dipped their noble limbs in your sedgy lakes, and now they paddled the light canoe along your rocky shores. Here Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 15 they warred; the echoing whoop, the bloody grapple, the defying death song, all were here ; and when the tiger strife was over, here curled the smoke of peace. Here, too, they worshiped; and from many a dark bosom went up a pure prayer to the Great Spirit. He had not written His laws for them on tables of stone, but He had traced them on the tables of their hearts. The poor child of Nature knew not the God of revelation, but the God of the universe he acknowledged in everything around. He beheld him in the star that sank in beauty behind his lonely dwelling, in the sacred orb that flamed on him from His mid-day throne, in the flower that snapped in the morning breeze, in the lofty pine that defied a thousand whirlwinds ; in the timid warbler that never left its native grove, in the fearless eagle, whose untiring pinion was wet in the clouds; in the worm that crawled at his feet, and in his own matchless form, glowing with a spark of that light, to whose mysterious source he bent in humble though blind adoration. "And all this passed away. Across the ocean came a pilgrim bark bearing the seeds of life and death. The former were sown for you, the latter sprang up in the path of the simple native. Two hundred years have changed the character of a great continent, and blotted forever from its face a whole, peculiar people. Art has usurped the bow- ers of nature, and the anointed children of education have been too powerful for the tribes of the ignorant. Here and there a stricken few remain, but how unlike their bold, untamed, untamable progenitors.! The Indian of falcon glance and lion bearing, the theme of the touching ballad, the hero of the pathetic tale, is gone ! and his degraded off- spring crawl upon the soil where he walked in majesty, to remind us how miserable is man when the foot of the con- queror is on his neck. "As a race they have withered from the land. Their arrows are broken, thejr springs are dried up, their cabins are in the dust. Their council-fire has long since gone out on the shore, and their war-cry is fast dying out to the un- trodden West. Slowly and sadly they climb the distant mountains, and read their doom in the setting sun. They are shrinking before the mighty tide which is pressing them away; they soon must hear the roar of the last wave, which will settle over them forever. Ages hence the inquisitive white man, as he stands by some growing city, will ponder on the structure of their undisturbed remains, and won- der to what manner of person they belonged. They will live only in the songs and chronicles of their exterminators. Let these be faithful to their rude virtues as men, and pay due tribute to their unhappy fate as a people." 16 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Unraveling the history of the men and women who in- habited Tennessee before the Cherokee is a problem as fas- cinating as it is mysterious, and as difficult as prehistoric problems always are, but into this our limits will not permit us to enter. Why this buried race should have lived and passed into the night of oblivion and left no word behind, to be succeeded by a race not their equal, we cannot know. They died and took the cause and method of their extermination with them. For what purpose w T ere they permitted to live? This is just one of those mysteries connected all down the drifting years with the lives of men that are always pon- dered but never solved. It is only another form of the same old questions — Whence, Wherefore, Whither? If our Cherokee chief had been permitted to reflect on the life and destiny of those who w r ere dead and gone before him, he would not have been able, for want of mental train- ing, to coin his thoughts into the words of Tennyson, but he would still have had those thoughts : "But what am I? An infant crying in the night, An infant crying for the light, And with no language but a cry." No son of man, whether white or black or red or yellow or brown, has ever lived and played his little part across the stage of action, and then departed into the limbo of the un- numbered dead, but has consciously or unconsciously, ex- pressly or in vague, mute yearnings, not co-ordinated or put in words, echoed Tennyson's lines? Those lines are human- ity's universal and never ending cry, men's wail for light and knowledge. It is the gloom that prompts these un- happy lines, the despair that forces the sorrowing wail from the helpless lips of men, that cause them to "Walk thoughtful on the solemn silent shore Of that vast ocean they must sail so soon." If instead of the panorama that was unveiled before him another had been presented to this chief's gaze — that of a great State with its teeming thousands of people, its cities, its commerce, its buildings, its railroads, its everything that makes up the State of Tennessee — his untutored mind would Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 7 have been staggered and pitiful and impotent, and his prayer would have gone up to the Great Spirit to tell him what it all meant. The great State which was to arise upon the crushed prowess of the Cherokee Nation and to follow its immolation upon the altar of human progress, could not have been fathomed by him ; and it is to chronicle how the founda- tions of that State were laid, and of the grand character of those who did the building, that this book is written. The men who laid the foundations of Tennessee were not only physically fearless but morally brave. In their personal and social contact with each other they were frank, truthful, candid and honest, and the times af- forded no tolerance of a physical coward; their everyday lives permitted no polite deception or social doubledealing. They stood for none of that most dangerous form of false- hood — the telling of half-truths. Above everything, the times forced every man to assume full responsibility for all his words and acts, and did not countenance his escaping moral, legal, or physical responsibility, by attributing his wrongful deeds to the influence of others. As a result of this standard, moral cowardice was never or rarely found. The pioneer did not know, and had no desire to learn, the art of laying his failings and weaknesses upon the shoulders of some one else. There was no lack of kindliness, liberality and charity, but in no sense were these qualities permitted to divest a man of full individual responsibility. Every man was expected to do, and did do, his full duty. The times did not produce or respect weaklings, milk-sops or invertebrates. Every effort of legislation, the force of public opinion and the power of personal influence, tended to fasten in the mind of, all the conviction that each must stand for himself, whether his deeds were committed singly or in connection with other men ; and that conditions and environment would not be permitted to exculpate him and incriminate others connected with him. To inculcate any other principle would be to destroy the foundation upon which government rests, to inject a fatal weakness into the moral fiber of people, to render men mere weaklings, and to create hypocrites, char- latans and dissemblers. In looking back over the careers of the men who laid the foundations of Tennessee, and studying 1 8 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History their lives and characters, we can easily see that the conserv- ation and perpetuation of their type of manhood and char- acter is desirable not only for Tennessee but for all the world. As civilization progresses and wealth increases and society becomes more highly organized, there is a tendency to forget the grand primary qualities of the Tennessee pio- neer. The old time virtues are the grand virtues of human character — the virtues of simplicity, candor, kindliness, frankness, courage and truthfulness. The founders of Tennessee wore pioneer clothes and lived in poor houses ; they were not highly educated and generally were not polished in their manners; but in those qualities that have conserved and sustained the best there is in human character in all ages, qualities that imperatively command respect, and which all men believe in and endorse, whether their lives coincide with them or not, qualities to which we are willing to risk our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor, they were chiefs among the grand actors of the world. They were totally unconscious that they were heroes and heroines ; it seems never to have occurred to them that they were making a new and historical departure in the new life of America; that some day everything they did and said would be of interest not only to their descendants, but to the whole country. The settlement of Tennessee and Kentucky was different from any other pioneer movement in America, in that the settlers received no help from any outside source ; the movement had to conquer or die ; the actors must win of their own prowess; there was no compromise; white civil- ization was in daily and deadly combat with the red man's savagery, and both could not occupy the soil at the same time. The grand simple characters of the men and women of that early day ought to be taught in every school of Tennes- see, and we may be permitted to express the hope that the time is not far distant when the Legislature of the State will command by statute that Tennessee history shall be made a major study in every Tennessee school, and shall be taught by the most competent instructors. Candor, loyalty to truth, uprightness of principle, simplicity of life, firm- ness of conviction, thorough personal responsibility, and Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 19 contempt for doubledealing, are all the finest basic elements of character, and are all exemplified in the early records of the State, and every Tennessee child should know them. The State has not been poor in its production of fine characters and great men. The chapters of this book that follow tell of some of the Tennesseans who were great not only in the State but in the Nation. There are scores of .others entitled to be put on Fame's roll-call and their names acclaimed as the years go by. There are hundreds who were great and fine in character, and who would have been great in accomplishment had conditions presented them- selves. There have been men of this last type living all through the history of this State. Tennessee has produced men whose manly and moral make-up is so well-rounded, so chivalrous, so fine in principle, that we involuntarily turn to them as the ideals of practical life — men who are not nar- row in outlook, or small in human sympathy, or Puritanical in profession, or insincere in practice, but big, intellectual, broad, chivalrous and fearless men, who meet foursquare every responsibility that comes, and evade nothing that 'it is their duty to shoulder or to face. Different nations have varying notions of the public service that is greatest. England accepts, generally, mili- tary and naval service, and. her three grandest monuments are to men of this type — to Wellington for the victory at Waterloo, to Nelson for Trafalgar, to Marlboro for Blen- heim. Tennessee has erected no monuments. She has not seen fit to honor her great men in that way. She has given the names of citizens to more than a third of the counties in the State and so memorialized them. In her affections she hands the laurel wreath to Andrew Jackson the soldier and to James K. Polk the civilian ; she crowns Farragut the sailor and Andrew Johnson the defender of the Constitution ; she acclaims Isham G. Harris a great Senator and N. B. Forrest a great cavalry leader ; she writes clown Commodore Maury as a great geographer of the sea, William T. Haskell as greatest among her orators, John Sevier as the chief builder of the State, Sam Houston as an Ajax among lead- ers, and in devoted affection she hails Thomas F. Gailor, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of the State, as one who illus- 20 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History trates intellectual achievement at its loftiest and eloquence at its golden period among men. In fine well-rounded character, admirable in every part, among others of her great sons, Tennessee can point to James D. Porter, twentieth Governor of the State, who served as a Circuit Judge; two terms as Governor; Assist- ant Secretary of State under President Cleveland's sec- ond administration; United States Minister to Chili; Pres- ident of the Peabody College for Teachers, and President of the Tennessee Historical Society. It may be that there are Tennesseeans whose records would be considered greater, but from a personal acquaintance of many years the author submits that there never was a Tennessee char- acter that was finer. Every quality that goes to make up fine manhood was his. He loved his State and unflinchingly performed every duty; despised the very thought of in- sincerity ; lived upon the platform that no man was perfect ; and held a broad charity for the failings of his fellowman. When he died a life went out that could well be set up for other Tennesseans to emulate. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 2 1 CHAPTER II. TENNESSEE AND ITS PIONEERS, THE WILDERNESS ROAD AND DANIEL BOONE. When William Bean planted his cabin in 1769 on Boone's Creek near its junction with the Watauga River, he never dreamed that his humble habitation was to become a land- mark in the future State of Tennessee that would never fade from the record of the State, nor that he as the actual first settler of the State would be as immortal as the State itself. That cabin was planted one hundred and forty-eight years ago, and today, Tennessee with a population of two and a quarter millions, teaches its school-children the story of William Bean and his cabin, and gives him that lofty place in its annals that is ever accorded to first settlers of cities and States. If some genius of the brush would go to Boone's Creek, find the exact spot of that historical cabin, and put on canvas in colors that would not dim a picture of it and its location, and hang it in the Capitol of Tennessee, what an inspiration it would be to all Tennesseans now and to all that may come hereafter ! What an appeal that dumb canvas would make to every eye that gazed upon it! With what intense interest Tennesseans would look, and in its humble construction, see a reflection of more than a century and a half of State history, with its story of the slow but grand work of the pioneers — their courage, their self-denial, their suffering, and, in hundreds of cases, their death! If from his abode in the undiscovered country William Bean can survey the commonwealth of Tennessee, with its every mark of modern life and its stately march keeping step with the progress of the years, his whole being must glow with exultation and proclaim that he was the corner-stone of it all, he the original spring that put it all in motion! We would like to know more about him, how he looked, what brought him to the Watauga, who constituted his family, when he died and where he was buried. About all that we know is that he w r as born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 22 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History and was a member of the Council of Thirteen of the Wa- tauga Association, Captain of a Company of Whig Regu- lators in 1778, of which company John, George and Edmund Bean were members, but their relation to him we do not know ; captain of a company of Washington County Militia in 1780, and appears in the Indian Wars now and then, in one of which his wife was captured and taken aw r ay by the Indians, but was ransomed and brought home after a time. Boone called on him on one of his tr-ips across the State to reach Kentucky, and Robertson made his acquaintance when he came to the Watauga in 1770. His son Russell was the first child with a white skin born in Tennessee. Oh, thou lonely settler in the wilderness of primeval Tennessee, thou unkempt backwoodsman with the flintlock rifle, and heart and nerve of Achilles ! May every son and daughter of the State track thy footsteps and thy virtues, and never forget that in the manhood and character of thy type and class, are to be found the very best that history accords to life in any age of the world ! May the time come when to thee as the representative of the pioneers of Ten- nessee, a monument be erected upon Capitol Hill in the city of Nashville, by which all coming generations may be taught the qualities that redeemed the State from the red man and the wilderness, and fixed it on the flag as a bright star in the constellation of states ! It was thou, and those like thee, stalwart torch-bearers in the onward rush of life and time and men, that made possible "The immortal league of love that binds Our fair broad empire, state with state." The modern world is so far removed in time from pio- neer days, and is so different, that we are prone to forget their virtues and grand achievements. We have grown so fast and are now so big and so many things have taken place on a great scale since our early history, that it seems we haven't time even to look back and give a thought to the memory of those whose labors made Tennessee and the United States possible. Since then we have had the war of 1846 with Mexico, and the great war between the States in 1861, the war with Spain in 1898, and the present world- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History 23 wide w r ar, 1917, with all Europe blazing for nearly four years — all of which obscure the deeds and memories of our ancestors and make us forget. "They wrought in sad sincerity, They builded better than they knew, The conscious stones to beauty grew." We live in a different world, where inventions are so varied, so perfect and so marvelous ; where every man can know and do so many things and live so fast; where life is constantly changing and made new and strange and won- derful, that we have no time — at least we do not take the time — to study the hard and rugged road traveled by those who went before us, and who built for us and whose heirs we are; but new and wonderful as development has made the world, great and glorious as are our modern ways com- pared with pioneer ways, lofty as is our dominion over Na- ture and Nature's powers, the fact remains that human na- ture is always the same, and that the same hopes, ambitions, loves, aspirations, hatreds, charities, and jealousies that animated the men and women of fifty, a hun- dred, two hundred, five hundred, a thousand, or five thousand years ago, animate and move them now. Our ac- tions may differ in particulars and methods may vary, en- vironment may change our daily routine, or, generally, our civilization may not be the same, but the essential elements, the structural characteristics of men and women, are the same. Conditions in pioneer life made the development of the individual more perfect and more strenuous than ours ; that life stretched to the limit every faculty, capability and power wrapped up by Nature in the body of a man — it brought out ail that Nature put there. The individual was the unit of progress, and the great source of progress, and as he developed individually the com- munity developed. The life of the time with a wilderness of nature and savagery surrounding it, evolved to the utmost in the individual his eyesight, his hearing, his touch, his sense of smell, his fleetness of foot, his courage, the steadi- ness' of his nerves in the presence of danger, his endurance of heat, cold and hunger, his capacity to stand suffering 24 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History from knife cuts or gunshot wounds; or, in fine, to live the life of a pioneer. Physical courage was the supreme test of a man. It was not a time or place for cowards or weak- lings, nor was it a time or place for the hypocrite, the trick- ster or the dissembler ; men must be real men and genuine through and through. They lived near to Nature's heart and Nature is never false, and such living made the Heroic Age in the history not only of Tennessee but in every age and land. It made Homer sing of Ajax, Ulysses, Agamem- non, Achilles and Hector ; Virgil sing of Aeneas and his wan- dering travels ; the Middle Ages to love the name of Arthur and his Knights, and all the ages to conjure up in poetry, fiction and song tales of the grand things there always are in a physically perfect and fearless man. COLONEL THOMAS H. BENTON ON THE PIONEERS. Col. Thomas H. Benton lived in Tennessee and entered the army and served in the wars under Jackson, and was acquainted by actual observation with the early people of the State, and in a speech in the United States Senate on February 2, 1830, he made a most eloquent and touching appeal in regard to the sufferings and endurance of the people of Tennessee and Kentucky in the days when they were compelled to defend themselves at all times and in their own ways. He said: "The history of twelve years' suffering in Tennessee, from 1780 to 1792, when the inhabitants succeeded in con- quering peace without the aid of Federal troops; and of sixteen years' carnage in Kentucky, from 1774 to 1790, when the first effectual relief began to be extended, would require columns of detail for which we have no time and powers of description, for which I have no talent. Then was witnessed the scenes of woe and death, of carnage and destruction, which no words of mine can ever paint; in- stances of heroism in men, of fortitude and devotedness in women, of instinctive courage in little children, which the an- nals of the most celebrated nations can never surpass. Then was seen the Indian warfare in all its horrors — that warfare which spares neither decrepit age, nor blooming youth, nor manly strength, nor infant weakness ; in which the sleeping family awoke from their beds in the midst of flames and slaughter ; when virgins were led off captive by savage mon- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 25 sters; when mothers were loaded with their children and compelled to march ; and when, unable to keep up, were relieved of their burthen by seeing the brains of infants beat out on a tree; when the slow consuming fire of the stake devoured its victim in the presence of the pitying friends, and in the midst of exulting demons; when the corn was planted, the fields were ploughed, the crops were gathered, the cows were milked, water was brought from the spring, and God was worshiped, under the guard and protection of armed men ; when the night was the season for traveling, the impervious forest the highway, and the place of safety most remote from the habitation of man ; when every house was a fort, and every fort subject to siege and assault. Such was the warfare in the infant settlements of Kentucky and Tennessee, and which the aged men, actors in the dread- ful scenes, have related to me so many times." ROOSEVELT'S OPINION. In Volume I of "Winning of the West" Roosevelt has this to say about the pioneers of Tennessee: "Thus the backwoodsmen lived on the clearings they had hewed out of the everlasting forest; a grim, stern people, strong and simple, powerful for good and evil, swayed by gusts of stormy passion, the love of freedom rooted in their very hearts' core. Their lives were harsh and narrow, they gained their bread by their blood and sweat, in the unending struggle with the wild ruggedness of nature. They suffered terrible injuries at the hands of the red men, and on their foes they waged a terrible warfare in return. They were relentless, suspicious, knowing neither ruth nor pity ; they were also upright, resolute, and fearless, loyal to their friends, and devoted to their country. In spite of their many failings, they were of all men the best fitted to conquer the wilderness and hold it against all com- ers." THE WILDERNESS ROAD. The men who fought and won the Revolutionary War were part of a population of three million that occupied a strip of territory about one hundred miles wide and extend- ing along the Atlantic Seaboard. Some two hundred miles from the seaboard were the mountains. The unoccupied part was practically an unknown land, a vast unbroken, un- trodden wilderness, and so remained until after the Ameri- can Revolution, when the tide of emigration turned west- 26 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ward, scaled the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies, and settled Kentucky and Tennessee. We naturally wonder and ask how they got there, and to answer this question is to tell the story of the Wilderness Road, which is one of the most prom- inent landmarks in pioneer American history. Emigrants seeking the then West had two routes to choose between, one by floating down the Ohio River from Pittsburg, the other a land route — the Wilderness Road — by Cumberland Gap. Pittsburg had been a military post since 1754, and had about one thousand population in 1785. That route would appear obviously the easiest and the one to select, but it was very dangerous from the Indians along the banks; and it is hard to imagine a more pitiable plight than a boat load of men, women and children floating down the Ohio with noth- ing to protect them from the murderous fire of the Indians. When Colonel Richard Henderson bought Kentucky from the Indians at the treaty of Watauga in 1775, he employed Daniel Boone to blaze the trail into Kentucky. Boone at once prepared to do so, and assembled some companions at Long Island, Tennessee, and they proceeded with their hatchets to blaze the trees; and this was the origin of the Wilderness Road which extended from the Watauga set- tlements by Cumberland Gap to a point in Kentucky where the town of Boonesboro was located, more than two hundred miles distant. The fort at Boonesboro was completed July 14, 1775. But the Wilderness Road was not universally considered to be this road from Watauga to Boonesboro; it was later spoken of by people generally as the road from Cumberland Gap to Boonesboro. Persons going into Kentucky from Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, went by Cumberland Gap and did not touch Tennessee, and this class of emigrants was far greater than those from the Watauga settlements ; hence it is that in the histories the road is generally referred to as the road from Cumberland Gap. The honor of blazing this trail of civilization belongs to East Tennessee and originated, as stated, at the Watauga Treaty when Colonel Henderson had bought Kentucky and wanted to start the stream of emigration over there. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 27 Tennesseans feel a profound interest in this pioneer road also from the fact that James Robertson when he started with his colony of settlers to locate upon the Cumberland, where he afterwards founded the city of Nashville, left the Watauga settlement and proceeded by the Wilderness Road to Cumberland Gap, a distance of about one hundred miles, and thence over that road to a point in Kentucky about north of the City of Nashville, where he turned south and reached his destination on the Cumberland River. His route from Cumberland Gap is laid down by Putnam in his History of Middle Tennessee, and was from the Gap to Whit- ley Station on Dick's River; thence to Carpenter's Station on Green River ; thence to Robertson'sFork on the north side of that stream, down the river to Putnam's Station, crossing and descending that river to Little Barren River; crbssing the Barren at the Elk Lick, passing the Blue Spring and the Dripping Spring to Big Barren River; thence up Drake's Creek to a Bituminous Spring ; thence to the Maple Swamp ; thence to Red River at Kilgore Station ; thence to Mansker's Lick; and thence to the French Lick or Bluffs. With the exception of French Lick and Cumberland Gap, all of the above points are in Kentucky. Robertson made this trip in the winter of 1779-1780, which is known as "the cold winter," one of the most extra- ordinary severity. The cold weather started in early, but fortunately no deaths occurred among his party, and there were no attacks by the Indians. They reached the Cumber- land River in December, 1779, on the south side, and on January 1st, 1780, they crossed to where Nashville now stands. The river was frozen, and he crossed and the cattle were driven over on the ice. This journey by Robertson is historical in Tennessee. He was to meet and did meet another party of emigrants and settlers under Colonel John Donelson who went in boats on the famous journey from upper East Tennessee to the location of Nashville. DANIEL BOONE. It would not be just to the memory of the great pioneer and hunter, who is immortal as the founder of Kentucky, not to say something about his life and final end. He was 28 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History born in Pennsylvania February 11, 1735, and found his way to the Yadkin River, and there became a farmer; but the wilds had an irresistible attraction for him, and it did not make very much difference whether he had company or not, — in his rough and humble way he could commune with Nature and be happy. His physical endurance was marvel- ous and his skill as a hunter wonderful. He was employed by Richard Henderson to seek out the good land in Kentucky before Henderson bought that State, and Boone made several trips there, some before and some after, he blazed the Wilderness Road. With all of his knowledge as to the location of good land in Kentucky, he died poor and was buried in the State of Missouri, then his home, September 20, 1820. Twenty-five years afterwards the remains of himself and wife were disinterred and taken to Frankfort, the Capital of Kentucky, and there buried again on August 20, 1845, with honorable ceremonies. Ken- tucky did right, although slow in doing it, in bringing the remains of her founder back to the Capital of the State, and surpassed Tennessee, which waited nearly seventy-five years to bring the remains of John Sevier back to the State., In, 1795 the Legislature of Kentucky passed an act to make the Wilderness Road from Crab Orchard to Cum- berland Gap, a wagon road thirty feet wide and adver- tised for propositions to do the work. Boone addressed a letter to Gov. Isaac Shelby making his application for the work, although then sixty years old, and the letter is pathetic not only on account of the spelling, but because of his modest claim that he was entitled to the work because he first marked out the road in March, 1775. All Tennes- seans as well as Kentuckians ought to read this letter with intense interest: DANIEL BOONE TO GOV. ISAAC SHELBY. feburey the 11th 1796. "Sir "after my Best Respts to your Excelancy and famyly I wish ti inform you that I have sum intention of undertaking this New Rode that is to be Cut through the Wilderness and I think My Self intiteled to the ofer of the Bisness as I first Marked out that Rode in March 1775 and Never Re'd any- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 29 thing for my trubel and Sepose I am No Statesman I am a Woodsman and think My Self as Capable of Marking and Cutting that Rode as any other man Sir if you think with Me I would thank you to wright mee a Line by the post the first opportuneaty and he Will Lodge it at Mr. John Miler son Hinkston fork as I wish to know Where and When it is to be Laat (let) So that I may atend at the time "I am Deer Sir your very omble sarvent" MARKING OF THE TRAIL. The Daughters of the American Revolution on June 30, 1915, again completed an invaluable piece of work for the preservation of early history. On that date there was un- veiled at Cumberland Gap — the meeting place of Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky — a stone pedestal bearing on its four faces tablets of the Daughters, of the American Revolu- tion of North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. This pedestal was the last of the marking of the trail of Daniel Boone from his North Carolina home to Boonesboro, Kentucky. In making this trail, Boone passed through parts of the four States mentioned, and in East Tennessee through parts of Johnson, Carter, Washington and Sullivan counties. The first Tennessee marker was at Trade near the North Carolina line, the second at Shoun's, the third at Butler, the fourth at Elizabethton, the fifth at Watauga, in Carter Coun- ty, the sixth at Austin Springs in Washington County, the eighth at Old Fort at the south end of Long Island in Sulli- van County, the ninth at Kingsport opposite the center of Long Island, where Boone gathered the men together who were to accompany him while the negotiations at Sycamore Shoals were in progress. The first Virginia marker is at Gate City, Scott County, the second at Clinchport, the third at the Natural Tunnel, the fourth at Dufiield, the fifth at Fort Scott, the sixth at Jonesville, the seventh at Boone's Path, the eighth on the site of Fort Blackmore. The Kentucky markers are, first, at Indian Rock not far from Cumberland Gap, the second at Pineville, the third at Flat Lake in Knox County, the fourth near Jarvis' store, the fifth near Tuttle on the Knox and Laurel County line, the 30 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History sixth at Fairston, the seventh three miles and a half from East Bernstadt in a church yard, the eighth near Livingston, the ninth at Boone's Hollow, the tenth at Roundstone Sta- tion, the eleventh at Boone's Gap, the twelfth at Berea in Madison County, the thirteenth at Estell Station, the four- teenth at Boonesboro. Cumberland Gap is eminently one of the great localities in American history. It was the gateway by which civiliza- tion passed from east to west. Nature performs curious freaks sometimes, and as we look at this break in the Alle- ghany Mountains, we wonder how it came about and what the force was that made the great Alleghany Range bend and dip at this point, as if preparing an easy highway for civilization that sometime was to come. Cumberland Gap ought to be purchased by the United States Government and held and preserved as a park and made one of the most at- tractive spots in America. In all wars it has been a strat- egical point, and should another civil war occur, or American soil be invaded by a foreign foe, would again be so. John Preston Arthur in his History of Watauga County, North Carolina, has suggested that Congress should crown the D. A. R. pedestal at Cumberland Gap with a bronze statue of Daniel Boone clad in hunting shirt, fringed leggins, moc- casins, shot-pouch, powder-horn, hunting knife and toma- hawk, with the figure leaning slightly forward while peer- ing underneath the left hand towards the West, the right hand grasping the barrel of his long flintlock Kentucky rifle with its butt resting on the ground, the figure crowned with a coon-skin cap. And Mr. Arthur correctly says that "Such a statue would identify this historical spot with this historic character, and fix forever the costume, accoutrements and arms of the pioneer of America. It is the most significant and suggestive place in America ; for while Plymouth Rock was the landing place of the Puritans, Jamestown of the Cavaliers, Philadelphia of the Quakers and Charleston of the Huguenots, it was through Cumberland Gap that both Roundhead and Huguenot, Puritan and Cavalier, passed with the sober Quaker, on the way to the Golden West. Boone was their greatest and most typical leader and ex- emplar. He was colonel and private, physician and nurse, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History 3 1 leader and follower, hunter and hunted, as occasion de- manded, but he was never self-seeking or a swindler. His fame is now monumental, for he had no land to sell, no pri- vate fortune to make and his record is one of unsullied pa- triotism. He was simply a plain man but a man all through. He was neither Northerner nor Southerner, Easterner or Westerner, but all combined, and the men, women and chil- dren who followed the glowing footsteps of this backwoods lictor were the ancestors of those who people these United States today, and make it the most enlightened, the most progressive and the most democratic nation in the world." WATAUGA — CUMBERLAND ROAD. The Legislature of North Carolina made provision for laying out a road from Washington Court House to Burke County in North Carolina, which was opened, and the road extended on down to Campbell's Station in Knox County, Tennessee. There guards were provided to escort emigrants and settlers along the road. This road, however, was not sufficient for the travel that was increasing over it, and pro- vision was made for a wider and more level road in its place. This last provision made by the General Assembly of North Carolina in 1787 resulted in a road, the completion of which was announced by Colonel James Robertson in the State Gazette of North Carolina, on November 28, 1788, as fol- lows: "The new road from Campbell's Station to Nashville was opened on the 25th of September and the guard attended at that time to escort such persons as were ready to proceed to Nashville; that about sixty families had gone on, among whom were the widow and family of the late General David- son and John McNairy, Judge of the Superior Court; and that on the first day of October next the guard would attend at the same place for the same purpose." The road from Campbell's Station ran through Roane County to South West Point, now Kingston, Tennessee, and the route of the road to Nashville was largely along the line of the present Tennessee Central Railroad, touching well- known points as Kingston, Post Oak Springs, Crab Orchard, Crossville, Lebanon, Nashville. In 1792 a fort was established at South West Point and 32 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Captain McClellan and a detachment of United States troops were located there to prevent incursions of Cherokee In- dians. This garrison was maintained until 1806 or 1807 when it was moved to a point on the right bank of the Ten- nessee River about six miles from Dayton, Tennessee. The town of Kingston was established by Act of the Ter- ritorial Legislature on October 23d, 1799, on lands of Robert King, and the Act provided that the town should be called Kingston. King lived in a cabin where the present Ex- change Hotel in Kingston is located. Matthew Nelson, who has descendants now living in Knoxville, established a tav- ern in Kingston in 1808. He subsequently became Treas- urer of Tennessee. Haywood says that about July 31, 1795, a wagon road from Knoxville to Nashville was so far completed that a wagon with a load weighing a ton had actually passed over it, and that the commissioners in charge of its construction had entered into a contract for its thorough completion in the month of October and that they had ample funds in their hands for the purpose; that a day or two before this, two wagons arrived at Knoxville from South Carolina having passed through the Mountains by way of the Warm Springs on the French Broad River, so that it could be said that a wagon road had been opened from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and other Atlantic states, by way of Knox- ville to Nashville, over which the stream of population be- gan to flow to such an extent, that it was confidently ex- pected at that time that the new census would show at least sixty thousand inhabitants. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 33 CHAPTER III. TENNESSEE AND ITS PIONEER GOVERNMENTS. The pioneers of Tennessee from the time that William Bean erected his cabin in 1769 to June 1st, 1796, when the State was admitted into the Union, lived under more differ- ent forms of government probably than any other people in a similar period in the history of the world. These govern- ments were : First, The Watauga Association from 1772 to 1777. Second, Governed as a part of North Carolina under the name of Washington County from 1777 to 1784. Third, The State of Franklin from 1784 to 1788. Fourth, Governed again as a part of North Carolina as Washington County, 1788 to 1790. Fifth, The Territory of the United States south of the Ohio River, governed by a territorial Governor and three Judges from 1790 to 1794. Sixth, The Territory of the United States south of the Ohio River governed by a Governor, a Legislative Council and a House of Representatives from 1794 to 1796. Seventh, The State of Tennessee, June 1st, 1796. Submission to these numerous varieties of government proved that the pioneers believed in government and in the supremacy of law. The Watauga Association was a voluntary organiza- tion formed by the people of Watauga in 1772 and based upon the inherent right of the people to govern themselves. They were in the wilderness surrounded by high mountains and protected by neither the Confederation on the one hand, nor North Carolina upon the other — thrown absolutely upon their own resources. The formation of the Associa- tion was a matter of necessity and was not instigated by opposition to any existing form of government, but simply because there must be a government of some kind and this was the simplest form of government. There were five Commissioners, John Carter, Charles Robertson, James 34 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Robertson, Zach Isbill and John Sevier, who seem to have had authority to settle any kind of controversy and make rules and regulations affecting the general welfare. The Articles of Association are not in existence and there is no claim upon the part of any one to be able to state just what the articles were. The best information we have in reference to them is in the petition for annexation to North Carolina which subsequently Was made, and signed by all the men then in the country. These early settlements had a share of escaped crim- inals, law-breakers, horse-thieves and undesirable charac- ters generally, and the pioneers had not only to protect them- selves from the Indians but from the undesirable element in the community. The success with which the Committee of Five handled the situation was wonderful and argues in the pioneers' strong character, intense determination and general civic uprightness. It is difficult in all history to find a stronger argument in favor of any people than the Wa- tauga Association furnishes in behalf of the pioneers of Tennessee. The five Commissioners who constituted the en- tire government were elected by the people and its ses- sions were held at regular periods. Finally the increase of business made necessary a Clerk, and he was employed. The laws of Virginia were taken as a standard by the Com- mission of Five. But with the increase of population of all sorts and kinds, the menace from the Indians and the dangers of frontier life generally, the Watauga settlers concluded to make an application to the State of North Carolina to annex them to that State, and it is through the persever- ance and painstaking search of Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey that the petition for annexation was found and given to the world in his "Annals of Tennessee." He says that he found the petition in an old bundle of papers on an upper shelf in the State Archives at Raleigh, North Carolina, where it had probably been lying for seventy-five years, and that it is in the handwriting of John Sevier. The historical value attached to this petition can hardly be overestimated in the light it throws upon the early history of Tennessee. It will be observed that there are but two signatures to the peti- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 35 tion by mark, which speaks in high terms of the intelligence of the pioneers. Dr. Ramsey says that there is no date on the petition, but that it has endorsed upon it the words: "Received August 22, 1776." PIONEER PETITION TO NORTH CAROLINA. The petition was in the following words: "To the Hon. the Provincial Council of North Carolina : 'The humble petition of the inhabitants of Washing- ton District, including the River Wataugah, Nonachuckie, &c, in committee assembled, Humbly Sheweth, that about six years ago, Col. Donelson, (in behalf of the colony of Virginia,) held a Treaty with the Cherokee Indians, in order to purchase the lands of the Western Frontiers; in consequence of which Treaty, many of your petitioners set- tled on the lands of the Wataugah, &c, expecting to be with- in the Virginia line, and consequently holding their lands by their improvements as first settlers ; but to their great disappointment, when the line was run they w r ere (con- trary to their expectation) left out; finding themselves thus disappointed, and being too inconveniently situated to re- move back, and feeling an unwillingness to loose the labor bestowed on their plantations, they applied to the Chero- kee Indians, and leased the land for the term of ten years, before the expiration of which term, it appeared that many persons of distinction were actually making purchases for- ever; thus yielding a precedent, (supposing many of them, who were gentlemen of the law, to be better judges of the constitution than we were,) and considering the bad con- sequences it must be attended with, should the reversion be purchased out of our hands, we next proceeded to make a purchase of the lands, reserving those in our possession in sufficient tracts for our own use, and resolving to dis- pose of the remainder for the good of the community. This puchase was made and the lands acknowledged to us and our heirs forever, in an open treaty, in Wataugah Old Fields; a deed being obtained from the Chiefs of the said Cherokee nation, for themselves and their whole nation, conveying a fee simple right to the said lands to us and our heirs forever, which deed was for and in consideration of the sum of two thousand pounds sterling, (paid to them in goods) for which consideration they acknowledged them- selves fully satisfied, contented and paid ; and agreed, for themselves, their Whole nation, their heirs, &c, forever to resign, warrant and defend the said land to us, and our heirs &c, against themselves, their heirs, &c. 36 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "The purchase was' no sooner made, than we were alarmed by the reports of the present unhappy differences between Great Britain and America, on which report, (tak- ing the now united colonies for our guide) we proceeded to choose a committee, which was done unanimously by consent of the people. This committee (willing to become a party in the present unhappy contest) resolved, (which is now on our records,) to adhere strictly to the rules and orders of the Continental Congress, and in open commit- tee acknowledged themselves indebted to the united colonies their full proportion of the Continental expense. "Finding themselves on the Frontiers, and being ap- prehensive that, for the want of a proper legislature we might become a shelter for such as endeavoured to defraud their creditors; considering also the necessity of recording Deeds, Wills, and doing other public business; we, by con- sent of the people, formed a court for the purposes above mentioned, taking (by desire of our constituents) the Vir- ginia laws for our guide, so near as the situation of affairs would admit; this was intended for ourselves, and was done by the consent of every individual; but wherever we had to deal with people out of our district, we have ruled them to bail, to abide by our determinations, (which was, in fact, leaving the matter to reference,) otherways we dis- missed their suit, lest we should in any way intrude on the legislature of the colonies. In short, we have endeavored so strictly to do justice, that we have admitted common proof against ourselves, on accounts, &c, from the colo- nies, without pretending a right to require the Colony Seal. "We therefore trust we shall be considered as we de- serve, and not as we have (no doubt) been many times rep- resented, as a lawless mob. It is for this very reason we can assure you that we petition; we now again repeat it, that it is for want of proper authority to try and punish felons, we can only mention to you murderers, horse-thieves and robbers, and we are sorry to say that some of them have escaped us for want of proper authority. We trust, however, this will not long be the case; and we again and again repeat it, that it is for this reason we petition to this Honorable Assembly. "Above we have given you an extract of our proceed- ings, since our settling on Wataugah, Nonachuckie, &c, in regard to our civil affairs. We have shown you the causes of our first settling and the disappointments we have met with, the reason of our lease and of our purchase, the man- ner in w r hich we purchased, and how we hold of the In- dians in fee simple ; the causes of our forming a committee, and the legality of its election ; the same of our Court and Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 37 proceedings, and our reasons for petitioning in regard to our legislature. "We will now proceed to give you some account of our military establishments, which were chosen agreeable to the rules established by convention, and officers appointed by the committee. This being done, we thought it proper to raise a company on the District service, as our propor- tion, to act in the common cause on the seashore. A com- pany of fine riflemen were accordingly enlisted, and put under Captain James Robertson, and were actually em- bodied, when we received sundry letters and depositions, (copies of which We now enclose you,) you will then read- ily judge that there was occasion for them in another place, where we daily expected an attack. We therefore thought proper to station them on our Frontiers, in defense of the common cause, at the expense and risque of our own pri- vate fortunes, till farther public orders, which we flatter ourselves will give no offence. We have enclosed you sun- dry proceedings at the station where our men now remain. "We shall now submit the whole to your candid and impartial judgment. We pray your mature and* deliberate consideration in our behalf, that you may annex us to your Province, (whether as county, district, or other di- vision,) in such manner as may enable us to share in the glorious cause of Liberty; enforce our laws under author- ity, and in every respect become the best members of so- ciety; and for ourselves and constituents we hope, we may venture to assure you, that we shall adhere strictly to your determinations, and that nothing will be lacking, or any- thing neglected, that may add weight (in the civil or military establishments) to the glorious cause in which we are now struggling, or contribute to the welfare of our own or ages yet to come. "That you may strictly examine every part of this our Petition, and delay no time in annexing us to your Province, in such a manner as your wisdom shall direct, is the hearty prayer of those who, for themselves and constituents, as in duty bound, shall ever pray. John Carter Chn. Jacob Brown, Charles Robertson, Wm. Been, James Robertson, John Jones, Zach. Isbell George Rusel, John Sevier, Jacob Womack, James Smith, Robert Lucas, The above signers are the Members in Committee as- sembled. Wm. Tatham, Clerk P. T. 38 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Jacob Womack, Joseph Dunham, Rice Durroon, Edward Hopson, Lew. Bowyer, D. Atty Joseph Buller Andw, Greer, his Joab X Mitchell mark Gideon Morris Shadrack Morris, William Crocket, Thos. Dedmon, David Hickey, Mark Mitchell, Hugh Blair, Elias Pebeer, Jos. Brown, John Neave, John Robinson, John McCormick, Adam Sherrell, Samuel Sherrell, junr. Samuel Sherrell, senr. Ossa Rose, Henry Bates, jun. Jos. Grimes, Christopher Cunningham, sen. Joshua Barten, Sen., Joud. Bostin, sen. Henry Bates, jun., Will'm Dod, Groves Morris, Wm. Bates, Rob't Mosely, Ge Hartt, Isaac Wilson, Jno. Waddell, Jarret Williams, Oldham Hightower, Aibednago Hix, Christopher Cunningham,Charles McCartney, Jas. Easeley, Ambrose Hodge, Dan'l Morris Wm. Cox, John Brown, Jos. Brown, Job Bumper Isaac Wilson, Richard Norton, George Hutson, Thomas Simpson, Valentine Sevier, Jonathan Tipton. Robert Sevier, Drury Goodan, Richard Fletcher, Ellexander Greear, Jos. Greear, Andrew Greear, jun. Teeler Nave, Lewis Jones, John I. Cox, John Cox, jr., Abraham Cox, Emanuel Shote, Frederick Vaughn, Jos. McCartney, Mark Robertson, Joseph Calvit, Joshua Houghton, James Easley, John Haile, Elijah Robertson, William Clark, his John X Dunham, mark Wm. Overall, Matt. Hawkins, David Crocket, Edw'd Cox Tho's Hughes, William Roberson Henry Siler, Frederick Calvit, John Moore, William Newberry, John Chukinbeard, James Cooper, William Brokees, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 39 Tho. Houghton, Julius Robertson, Jos. Luske, John King, Wm. Reeves, Michael Hider, David Hughes, John Davis, Landon Carter, John Barley." The pioneers had been living under the government of the Watauga Association for four years when this petition was presented to the legislature and that body did not put into effect the request for annexation until November 1777 when it formed Washington District, which was the name the pioneers had given to their country, into Washington County, and gave to the County the boundaries of the whole of the present State of Tennessee. At the same session of the Legislature it was provided that a land office should be opened in Washington County with liberal provisions for taking up land. The motives leading the pioneers to seek annexation to North Carolina are set out in the petition quoted; the motive of North Carolina in accepting the annexation was the motive of self-interest through the acquirement of a large territory. Looking back on the situation from our day it is difficult to see how anything but disappointment, dissatisfaction and final rupture, could have been the result of this annexation. The Watauga people were far removed from North Carolina, separated by a high mountain range, had no wealth to tax, with practically no money in circu- lation, a new country to be developed from the very begin- ning. On the other hand, the State of North Carolina, while better developed, was hardly able to take care of itself. The Revolutionary War began shortly after the Declara- tion of Independence in 1776, and the Whig element in North Carolina adhered to the American cause while the Tory element adhered to Great Britain. The State was divided and was under the heel of the British Army which had practically subjugated the entire State. North Caro- lina, therefore, was in no condition to help the Watauga people. In fact, but for the Watauga people the Battle of King's Mountain would have been lost, and North Carolina 40 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History in all probability placed indefinitely in the grasp of Great Britain. Between the two parties to the annexation it would seem that the Watauga people were better able to take care of themselves independently than North Carolina was to take care of herself independently. North Carolina at no time exercised any real control over the Western people.' The annexation was a practical nullity from the start, and the Watauga people saw that there were no benefits to be derived from North Carolina, but they put up with the situation from 1777 to 1784, when, patience ceasing to be a virtue, they organized the State of Franklin which continued in existence until 1788. To show the feeling of North Carolina towards the mountain people it is only necessary to refer to the action of the legislature of that State at the April session in 1784 when it ceded to the United States the Western coun- try, now the State of Tennessee, and gave the government two years in which to decide whether it would accept the gift; North Carolina, during the two years, to retain jur- isdiction over the Territory. ■ It was not at all difficult for the pioneers to see that if North Carolina was so desirous of getting rid of them, that during the two years, they had absolutely less than nothing to expect from that State. The Legislaure at the same session that offered the Ter- ritory to the United States closed the land office in Wash- ington County. No Tennessean who has carefully read the early his- tory of the State can blame the pioneers for establishing the State of Franklin. It was justifiable from any stand- point from which it can be viewed. The mistake was that they ever petitioned the State of North Carolina for an- nexation; if that had never been done then the right to organize the State of Franklin would have been just as unquestionable as their right to organize the Watauga As- sociation; but for all practical purposes they were in the same condition when they organized the State of Frank- lin, and this movement, like their first effort at government, was the product of necessity. King's Mountain forever set- tled the fact that the Watauga people were much better Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 41 able to protect and assist North Carolina, than North Caro- lina was to assist and protect the Watauga people. The Battle of the Alamance, where the patriot Whigs had been scattered to the four winds and about one hundred and sixty of them compelled to take refuge on the Western wa- ters, had so demoralized the situation in North Carolina that the State was absolutely at the mercy of the British Army. John Sevier and Isaac Shelby redeemed North Carolina when they organized the pioneers, and by a bold and mas- terly stroke, went in search of Ferguson and conquered him, instead of waiting for Ferguson to carry out his threat to come to the Western waters and hang the leaders and burn their homes. Annexation had been in force for three years when King's Mountain was fought, and notwithstand- ing the pioneers knew that they had saved North Carolina, they tolerated the weakness of that State and its total in- ability to be of any service to the Western people for four years before they organized, as a matter of necessity, the State of Franklin. Neither the State of Franklin nor any of the men who brought it into existence need any apology for what was done. The little State would have been able to protect itself as a little independent republic until it developed popula- tion sufficient to become a State of the Union, had not in- ternal dissensions among the politicians brought about trouble. These dissensions are indicated sufficiently in the chapters on John Sevier and need not be repeated at this place. Finally, in 1788, when the State of Franklin collapsed, North Carolina resumed nominal control of the Western people, and there was practically no improvement during the next tw)o years, when it was ceded in 1790 to the United States, and became the Territory of the United States south of the Ohio River. The movement to establish the State of Franklin showed North Carolina the necessity of repealing the act of ces- sion to the United States, which was done in 1784, and of showing some interest in the Western people, and, if pos- sible, of crushing the movement for a new State. North Carolina appointed John Sevier Brigadier-General of Wash- 42 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ington County, and established a court in that County, with David Campbell as one of the Judges, but the revolution had started and could not be turned back. The Franklin government was finally established in 1785, and the first Franklin legislature met, which was the first legislative body that ever met on the soil of the State of Tennessee, and the last session of that body was in September, 1787. Prior to this appointment of John Sevier as Brigadier- General there was no Brigadier-General authorized by law to call out the militia of the different counties, or to take charge of any movement on sudden emergencies, like an In- dian attack, and Indian aggressions were continuing from time to time. The act of cession had made political orphans of the Watauga people who were cast off by North Carolina, with Congress to have two years to decide whether or not it would accept them. The State of Franklin was organized as a matter of sheer self-protection. THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT. On July 13th, 1787, the Congress of the United States passed an ordinance "for the government of the Territory of the United States north-west of the River Ohio" and prescribing regulations for that territory. It provided for a Governor appointed by Congress for three years who should reside in the territory and have a free-hold estate of one thousand acres of land ; for a Secretary appointed by Congress who should hold for a term of four years and have a free-hold estate of five hundred acres; also for a Court consisting of three Judges who should reside in the terri- tory and each should have a free-hold estate of five hun- dred acres of land, and they should serve during good be- havior. The Governor and Judges, or a majority of them, were authorized to adopt and publish in the territory such laws as they might think necessary and best suited to the cir- cumstances of the territory, and report them to Congress from time to time, which laws would remain in effect un- less disapproved of by Congress, or, changed by the Leg- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 43 islature which the Ordinance authorized to be elected when the Territory had five thousand free male inhabitants of full age. When it should be ascertained that the Territory- had the five thousand population, a House of Representa- tives was to be elected consisting of one representative for every five hundred free male inhabitants, and so on, pro- gressively, with the number of free male inhabitants, the right of representation should increase until the number of representatives should amount to twenty-five, each rep- resentative to be elected for a term of two years. The House of Representatives was to be a part of the General Assembly or Legislature of the Territory, which was to consist of the Governor, the Legislative Council, and the House of Representatives. The Legislative Council was to consist of five members holding office for five years, selected by Congress out of ten nominated by the House of Representatives. The General Assembly or Legislature had authority to make all the laws for the good government of the territory not repugnant to the Ordinance of 1787. The Ordinance provided also that there should be neith- er slavery nor involuntary servitude in the territory ex- cept as a punishment for crime whereof the party should have been duly convicted. The Ordinance of 1787 was made applicable by Con- gress May 26, 1790, to "the Territory of the United States to the South of the River Ohio" with the exception "that no regulations made or to be made by Congress shall tend to emancipate slaves" in said territory south of the Ohio. Under this ordinance President Washington appointed William Blount Governor and Superintendent of Indian Af- fairs; Daniel Smith, Secretary to the Governor; David Campbell, Joseph Anderson, and John McNairy, Judges; John Sevier, Brigadier General for Washington District; James Robertson, Brigadier General for the Mero District. The Governor was authorized to appoint all military offi- cers below the grade of Brigadier General. The Ordinance of 1787 provided that as soon as there were five thousand free male inhabitants of full age in the territory, upon giving proof thereof to the Governor, they should receive authority with time and place to elect rep- 44 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History resentatives from their counties or townships to represent them in the General Assembly. Proof having been made to him that there were the requisite five thousand inhabitants of the full age in the territory, Governor Blount proceeded to carry out this provision of the Ordinance of 1787 by issuing his proclamation as follows: PROCLAMATION BY WILLIAM BLOUNT, Governor in and over the territory of the United States of America, South of the River Ohio. AN ORDINANCE, giving authority for the election of representatives to represent the people in General As- sembly. PROOF having been made to me, that there are five thousand and upwards of free male inhabitants, of full age, in the said Territory : I DO give authority for the elec- tion of representatives to represent the people in General Assembly; and do ordain, that an election shall be held by ballot, for thirteen representatives, to represent the people for two years in General Assembly, on the third Friday and Saturday in December next, qualified as provided and required by the ordinance of Congress, of July 13th, 1787, for the government of the territory north of the Ohio, and by free male inhabitants, of full age qualified as electors; as also provided and required by the said ordinance, of whom the electors of the counties of Washington, Hawkins, Jefferson, and Knox, shall elect two each for said coun- ties; and the electors for the counties of Sullivan, Greene, Tennessee, Davidson and Sumner, shall elect one for each of those counties. AND BE IT ORDAINED, That the said election for the representatives to represent the people in general as- sembly, shall be held at the Court houses in each county by the Sheriff thereof; and in case of his absence or in- ability, his deputy, or the coroner thereof, with the advice and the assistance of inspectors of the polls, in the man- ner and form as prescribed and directed by the laws of North Carolina, respecting the holding of election in that State. And the said Sheriff or other officer holding the said election, is directed and required to report to the secre- tary's office at Knoxville, as early as may be the name or names of persons duly elected, to represent the representa- tives counties. Done at Knoxville, in the Territory aforesaid, this the 19th day of October 1793. WM. BLOUNT. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 45 The election was duly held and the Territorial Legisla- ture assembled at Knoxville February 24, 1794, and chose David Wilson, Speaker, and Hopkins Lacy, Clerk. The members of the Legislature elected were: David Wilson of Sumner County ; Leroy Taylor and John Tipton of Wash- ington; George Rutherford of Sullivan; Joseph Hardin of Greene; William Cocke and Joseph McMinn of Hawkins; Alexander Kelly and John Beard of Knox; Samuel Wear and George Doherty of Jefferson ; Thomas White of David- son; James Ford of Tennessee. The Legislature nominated the following from which five were to be selected to compose the Legislative Coun- cil : James Winchester, William Fort, Stockley Donelson, Richard Gammon, David Russel, John Sevier, Adam Meek, John Adair, Griffith Rutherford, and Parmenas Taylor. From this number Congress selected Griffith Rutherford, John Sevier, James Winchester, Stockley Donelson, and Parmenas Taylor, and they were duly commissioned by President George Washington. George Rutherford was elected President of the Legislative Council; George Roul- stone, Clerk; Christopher Shoat, Doorkeeper. So the Gen- eral Assembly or Legislature of the Territory was complete- ly organized. The House of Representatives followed the rule of the English House of Commons in permitting a member to sit with his hat on when the House was in session. Rule VIII of the "Rules of Decorum" provides : "He that digresseth from the subject to fall upon the person of any member shall be suppressed by the Speaker." The interest in education of the General Assembly in that backwoods country was very remarkable. It incorpor- ated three colleges which, or their lineal descendants, are in existence to-day, viz. : Greeneville College in Greene County; Blount College, the progenitor of the University of Tennessee, in Knox County; and Washington College in Washington County. 46 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER IV. KNOXVILLE AND GEN. JAMES WHITE, ITS FOUNDER. The period covered by this book — the life of Andrew Jackson, 1767-1845 — forbids any account of Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga, after they had reached the population and dimensions of cities. In 1845, the year of General Jackson's death, Knoxville had between 1,500 and 2,000 population ; Nashville about 8,500 ; Memphis about 8,000, and Chattanooga less than one thousand. Our inter- est in them at that early day is as a part of the developing State, which was a little past the pioneer period ; as to Knox- ville and Nashville especially, the one being founded in 1791, and the other in 1780, our interest is strongly historical. Knoxville is in Latitude 35° 56', Longitude 85° 58' and is the geographical center of the valley of East Tennessee, which contains about 9,200 square miles. The city was named for General Knox, the Secretary of War in Washing- ton's cabinet, as was also the County of Knox in which it is located. The county was formed by ordinance of terri- torial Governor William Blount, from parts of Hawkins and Greene Counties in 1792. Five days after the Governor's ordinance establishing the county, he appointed fifteen Jus- tices of the Peace to constitute the Court of Pleas and Quar- ter Sessions, and the first court was held at the house of John Stone, July 16, 1792. The lawyers admitted to prac- tice in this Court were men who afterwards became distin- guished in Tennessee: Luke Bowyer, Alexander Outlaw, Archibald Roane, Hopkins Lacy, John Rhea, James Reese, and John Sevier, Jr. The Court was prompt in taking steps to open roads from Knoxville, and on January 26, 1793, commissioners were appointed to contract for the building of a log jail 16 feet square, also to erect a courthouse. The pioneer merchants were Nathaniel and James Cowen, and Hugh Dunlap. Goods were brought from Philadelphia and Baltimore overland. It took Hugh Dunlap from December, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 47 1791, to February 1st, 1792, to bring goods to Knoxville by wagon from Philadelphia. In 1795 the United States government gave Knoxville a bi-monthly mail, and George Roulstone, the publisher of the Knoxville Gazette, was the Postmaster. The city was founded, named and laid out in 1791, \>ut it is probable that nothing much was done in the building line until 1792, and this is usually the date given for the founding and laying out of the city. Ramsey says that some of the lots were sold in 1791, but that no considerable im- provement was commenced until February, 1792, when sev- eral small buildings were erected. Some of the writers give 1792 as the date when Colonel Charles McClung surveyed the lots and laid out the town, but there is a document that would seem to settle the question in favor of 1791. This document was published in the Knoxville Gazette of Decem- ber 17, 1791, and every resident of the present city will doubtless read it with intense interest, for it goes back to the very beginning of things in Knoxville, and names are attached to it that will be readily recognized. Families now living here can trace their ancestry to some of the signers. It is of keen historical interest and will bear study : "Knoxville, October 3, 1791. "Articles of agreement made and concluded on this third day of October, 1791, by and between James White, proprietor of the land laid off for the town of Knoxville, of the one part, and John Adair, Paul Cunningham, and George McNutt, commissioners appointed in behalf of the purchas- ers of the lots in the town of Knoxville, of the other part, all of Hawkins County, and Territory of the United States of America South of the Ohio River, WITNESSETH that the said James White do bargain and sell to the subscribers for lots in the said town, 64 lots, each containing one-half acre square, reserving 8 lots which are not to be loted for. The said town to be loted for and drawn in a fair lottery by the said commissioners in behalf of the subscribers, on the third of October aforesaid ; and further, the said James White doth hereby bind himself, his heirs, executors, ad- ministrators, and assigns to make, or cause to be made, a good and sufficient title for each lot to the person drawing the same, as soon as payment is made, agreeable to the terms of sale of said lots. And we the commissioners afore- said, do covenant and agree in behalf of the said purchasers, 48 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History to superintend the drawing of the tickets for the said lots and that we will do equal justice between the parties, with- out fear or affection to any, whether present or absent, and the said James White doth agree that all the lands lying between the said town and the river, one pole in breadth along the river bank excepted and all the land between the town and the creek, as far as the southeast corner of Broad street, with a street thirty-three feet wide around the re- mainder of the town, shall.be commons for the said town. And further that the lots for which payment hath not been made agreeable to the articles of sale of the said lots, sliall be for the use of the said James White, he, when selling them, binding the purchasers to abide by the rules and regu- lations which shall be made by the aforesaid commission- ers. And the said commissioners shall have power to act, and to regulate all matters respecting the said town, until an act of assembly shall be made for the rules and regula- tions thereof. And further it is agreed that any person re- fusing to comply with the rules for building and other necessary expense, shall pay to the said commissioners a sum not exceeding five dollars for such refusal made. The fines shall be collected and applied to the use and benefit of said town. "In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands this third day of October, 1791. Teste : Charles McClung, James Cozby, James White, 1. James W. Lackey, 2. His Excellency, William Blount, 3. James Armstrong, 4. William Davidson, 5. Andrew and J. Belfour, 6. John Hays, 7. Thomas Amis, 8. Jacob Brown, 9. James Knox, 10. James Richardson, 11. William Boyd, 12. Thomas Amis, 13. James Hodges, 14. Hon. Judge Anderson, 15. John Gehon, 16. Ignatius and J. Chisholm, 17. James White, John Adair, Paul Cunningham, Geo. McNutt. Matthew A. Atkinson, 32. Rev. Mr. Carrick, 33. John Stone, 34. Hon. Judge Campbell, 35. Reserved Lot, 36. Reserved Lot, 37. Samuel Hannah, 38. Jacob Carper, 39. George Roulstone, 40. Andrew Green, 41. John Adair, 42. William Lowery, 43. Nathaniel Cowan, 44. Samuel McGaughey, 45. William Henry, 46. William Cox, 47. John Chisholm, 48. John King, Sr., 49. Lewis Newhouse, 50. 3 w CD P 3 a *i 3 3- a 3 ST gi H 5 § s. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 49 John Carter, 18. Peter McNamee, 51. James Cozby, 19. Nicholas Perkins, 52. Thomas King, 20. Daniel Hamblin, 53. Rev. Mr. Carrick, 21. John Hackett, 54. Jacob Carper, 22. Jacob Carper, 55. John Love, 23. Robert Legitt, 56. John Owens, 24. Adam Peck, 57. James Greenway, 25. David Allison, 58. Jacob Carper, 26. James and W. Lea, 59. George Roulstone, 27. John Troy, 60. Reserved Lot, 28. William Small, 61. Reserved Lot, 29. Hugh Fulton, 62. Andrew and J. Belfour, 30. James Miller, 63. John Rhea, 31. Thomas Smith, 64. "We, the commissioners, do certify that the above names are set opposite the numbers agreeable to the lottery as they were drawn. "John Adair, "Paul Cunningham, "George McNutt." "N. B. : Those persons who subscribed for lots are de- sired to pay the purchase money immediately, otherwise their subscription will be deemed void, and the lots disposed for the benefit of the proprietor." Another document following the agreement as to the lots is the act passed by the territorial Legislature in Sep- tember, 1794, establishing Knoxville, and this, also, is of great interest to the present citizens, and follows in full: ACT ESTABLISHING KNOXVILLE. "An act for establishing Knoxville, on the north bank of Holston, and immediately below the second creek that runs into Holston on the north side, below the mouth of French Broad river, and for appointing commissioners for the regulation thereof. "Whereas, In the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one it was found expedient to establish a town on the north bank of Holston, immediately below the second creek that runs into the north side of the same, below the mouth of French Broad, Governor Blount having deter- mined to fix the seat of government on the said spot; and, whereas, a town was accordingly laid out by James White at the above described place, and called Knoxville, in honor of Major General Henry Knox, consisting of the necessary streets and sixty-four lots, numbered from one to sixty- 50 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History four, as will more fully appear, reference being had to the plat of said town. "Section 1. Be it enacted by the governor, legislative council, and house of representatives of the Territory of the United States of America South of the River Ohio, That a town be established on the above described spot of ground, w T hich shall continue to be known, as heretofore, by the name of Knoxville, in honor of Major General Knox, consisting of the necessary streets and sixty-four lots, from number one to sixty-four, agreeable to the plan of the said town, made in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one. "Sec. 2. And be it enacted, that Colonel James King, John Chisholm and Joseph Greer, Esquires, George Roul- stone and Samuel Cowan be and hereby are appointed com- missioners of the said town, with power to regulate the same, and, if necessary, with the consent of the proprietor, to enlarge it. "Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That a correct plan of the said town as originally laid off in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, be made by the commission- ers and lodged in the office of the register of the county of Knox for the benefit of all persons concerned, with their names as commissioners subscribed thereto. And that it be the duty of the said commissioners to designate the first and second corners by the fixture of a stone or stones at each corner, at least eighteen inches in the ground, and six above, and to use good care that the same be not removed or defaced." GENERAL WHITE, FOUNDER OF KNOXVILLE. In no way have men ever gained more certain and last- ing remembrance than by founding cities, and instances have occurred where the founder of a city being uncertain or his identity lost in the early dawn of time, that legend and tradition have ascribed the founding to some man or deity who has thus come down to us clothed in the honors of antiquity. In America, we not only join in that age-old honor the world has always given to men who found cities, but we have, from the beginning of our government, acted upon the idea that we were conferring high honor upon our great men by giving to cities their names. We have called Wash- ington for George Washington; Jefferson City for Thomas Andrew Jackson and Eari,y Tennessee History 5 1 Jefferson ; Houston for Sam Houston ; Jackson for Andrew Jackson; Knoxville for General Knox; Nashville for Gen- eral Nash; Hamilton for Alexander Hamilton; Tyler for John Tyler; Austin for Stephen Austin; and numerous other instances readily suggest themselves. In the National Gallery in London there hangs one of the world's greatest paintings by Turner entitled "Dido Building Carthage," the scene of which represents Dido, the beautiful Queen and her attendants, standing amid the progressing construction of Carthage, which in later years, as a great cosmopolitan city, was to rival Rome herself. Dido laid out the boundaries of Carthage which she founded, by strips cut from a bull's hide, and the city was destined to increase in wealth and population and ter- ritory until it could challenge the Imperial City of Rome to combat upon both land and sea. Mythology tells us that Romulus was nourished by a she wolf, and that he founded Imperial Rome, the Eternal City and Mistress of the World, whose long arms held do- minion over lands and peoples from the Pillars of Hercules on the west to the Persian Gulf on the east, and whose legions bore the eagles, the emblem of her unconquerable power, throughout the world. Romulus and Rome will live, joined together in immortality coequal with the existence of the sons and daughters of men upon the earth. Constantinople will always bear witness that the Em- peror Constantine the Great was its founder, and gave it his name, as well as gave his allegiance to the Cross as the emblem of the religion of the Gallilean ; and it will continue as it has for sixteen hundred years past, in whatever hands fallen, the city of the imperial ruler. Constantine called into existence a city which, while others have flourished or decayed, must live while land and sea and the ambitions of men guide the steps of human destiny. Peter the Great gave his name to St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire which he ordered into ex- istence, and without more to recall him, the great ruler will live on. These are some of the great mythological and historical founders. Men in other lands and ages have founded cities, 52 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History some great and some small, but in no case has the founder ever been forgotten. General James White did not found a Carthage or a Rome or a Constantinople or a St. Petersburg, but he did something that was great in its help to American prog- ress: he made himself the torch-bearer of white civiliza- tion by building Knoxville upon its hills, one of the first cities planned and founded in the Mississippi valley, and thereby wrung from the savage his dominion over the val- ley of East Tennessee, and pushed forward the outposts that led in the deadly combat between the white man and the red. He did more than that. He founded a family that in the one hundred and twenty-five years since he gave Knox- ville its being, has illustrated from generation to genera- tion, all the refined, cultured virtues that have endowed the old families of the south with a prestige and character that no change of conditions, ideals or tendencies, can lower or destroy; and that to the social and business life of Knox- ville where members have lived ever since the city was founded, have given always the best that was in them, which was much. It seems strange that at no time except in the memoir of Hugh Lawson White by Nancy Scott, a great-grand- daughter of Gen. James White, has any attempt been made to put the life of General White in some permanent form by which any one so desiring could become acquainted with the record of the founder of Knoxville. Except in news- paper articles, few in number, there has been no effort made to perpetuate in any detail what General White did in the world ; and what he did is eminently worthy of per- petuating. The City of Knoxville which he founded, is now moving up to 100,000 population, yet that population knows practically nothing about the man that brought the city into being. The author has passed his entire life with the ex- ception of a few of the earliest years in Knoxville, and it is a pleasure to put in book form where it is hoped it will be perpetuated, something about the pure, courageous, man- ly and upright patriot who served his country, his State, and the city which he founded, in the days that tried men's souls. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 53 General James White was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, in the year 1747, and on April 14th, 1770, he mar- ried Mary Lawson, the daughter of Hugh Lawson of North Carolina. These two names, Mary Lawson, and Hugh Law- son, have been continued among the descendants and con- nections of General White down to this day. The following children were born to the couple. Margaret, who married Colonel Charles McClung; Hugh Lawson, who married, first, Elizabeth Carrick; second, Mrs. Ann E. Peyton ; Moses, who married Isabella McNutt; Andrew ; Mary McConnell, who married, first, Dr. Francis May; second, Judge John Overton, who was one of the Supreme Judges of Tennessee and the lifelong friend and adviser of Andrew Jackson; Cynthia, who married General Thomas A. Smith ; Melinda, who married Colonel John Williams. Some of these have descendants now living in Knoxville. General White served his country in the Revolutionary War, and was Captain in the North Carolina militia in 1779-1781. After locating land in and near Knoxville, he returned to North Carolina and moved his family to Fort Chiswell, Virginia, and planted a crop there, and in 1785 he moved his family to the present Knox County, Tennes- see, and settled above the junction of the French Broad and Holston Rivers, from which locality he moved to Knox- ville in 1786. He was a member of the Franklin Legisla- ture and also of the Territorial House of Representatives. While General White had reached the age of thirty-nine years when he came to Knoxville, he had not attained any special prominence or importance either as a man of wealth or in the public service of his country. That his service in the Revolutionary War was faithful goes without say- ing, but that which entitles him to be remembered by poster- ity was done after making his permanent home in this State. Admirers of Governor John Sevier will be glad to know that General White was a loyal friend of the Governor at all times, and never swerved in his friendship and support. When the State of Franklin collapsed in 1788, General 54 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History White was elected a representative of Hawkins County in the Legislature of North Carolina that sat in 1789. He was also a delegate to the North Carolina Convention on November 21 which ratified the Federal Constitution, and thereby made North Carolina one of the sisterhood of States. The friendship between General White and Governor William Blount seems to have been as cordial and loyal as that between the General and Governor Sevier; and Gov- ernor Blount, by virtue of his authority as Territorial Gov- ernor, appointed General White, who was then Captain White, a Justice of the Peace and Major, and selected White's Fort as the seat of government, changing its name to Knoxville. Governor Blount also gave him the appoint- ment of Lieutenant Colonel Commandant. After Knox County was established on June 11, 1792, General White as a Justice of the Peace and member of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, which corresponds to our present County Court, was elected Chairman of the Court, and filled the position for a long time. When the Cherokees started on their expedition to destroy Knoxville and butch- er its inhabitants, General White at the head of forty men took charge of the defense of the town and its people. General White donated the land upon which Blount Col- lege, founded in 1794, was located, and also the land upon which the First Presbyterian Church and the adjoining cemetery now stand. Blount College was located on the block in the City of Knoxville on which Knoxville's first high building — the Knoxville Bank and Trust Company Building — stands, the block being bounded by Gay and State Streets, and Clinch and Church Avenues. When the Convention met to form a constitution for the State of Tennessee, General White was a member of the Convention from Knox County, and was a State Sena- tor in the first Legislature that met in 1796, and was Speak- er of the Senate the next year. One of the fine things in his record which exhibits him as a man of gratitude, was when he resigned his position as Speaker of the Senate and member of that body from Knox County, in order that William Blount, who had been Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 55 expelled from the United States Senate, might step into his shoes as Senator and Speaker, which he did. In 1798 the United States government appropriated $25,880.00 for the purpose of the negotiation of a settle- ment of the boundary between the Cherokees and the whites. Some of the white settlers had crossed what was known as the Experimental Line, and the Federal Government had ordered a removal of the trespassers, and proposed a treaty with the Cherokees to define the boundary. General White was named one of the representatives of Tennessee by Governor Sevier, as shown on the executive journal: "James White, Brigadier-General of the District of Hamilton, commissioned as Agent on the part of the State of Tennessee, with full power to attend the treaty which the President of the United States has authorized to be held with the Cherokees, and there to state the obligations of the United States to extinguish the Cherokee claim to such lands as have been granted to individuals by the State of North Carolina, and in all things to represent the interests of the State of Tennessee." Col. Thomas Butler, and George Walton, Esq., repre- sented the United States in the negotiations with the Chero- kees. Two meetings were held, and the last meeting at Tellico Blockhouse on September 20, 1798, was successful, and the boundary was agreed upon and the treaty provided that it should be marked. The Cherokees received for their ces- sion of territory five thousand dollars, and an annuity of one thousand dollars. General White was re-elected to the Senate in 1801- 1803 and made Speaker. He was made Brigadier-General of the District of Ham- ilton, created by Governor Blount, in 1793, consisting of Knox and Jefferson Counties, and in 1813 in the Creek War he took part as a Brigadier-General in the State of Ala- bama. He died in Knoxville August 14, 1821, and his wife, Mary Lawson, died March 10th, 1819, and they are both buried in the grave-yard of the First Presbyterian Church, which he haTl donated many years before his death. 56 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History A CONTEMPORARY ESTIMATE. The Knoxville Register, published by Frederick S. Heiskell and Hugh Brown, went into mourning upon the death of General White, the founder of the town, and its issue of August 21, 1821, came out in heavy black lines, with a lengthy obituary notice, from which the following is given as a contemporary opinion of the founder : "DIED: — On Tuesday evening last, General James White of this vicinity in the seventy-third year of his age. "General White was one of the earliest settlers in this part of the country and from the first has been its steady friend and benefactor. In its civil, military and ecclesiasti- cal concerns he has taken a distinguished part, and has ac- quitted himself with fidelity and usefulness in the numerous public situations in which he has been called to act. This town particularly has cause to remember him with grati- tude and veneration. He was its founder and patron, and ever watched over its interest with the disinterestedness and affection of a parent. "But however eminent have been the public services of General White, and however honorable the offices with which the gratitude of his fellow citizens has endeavored to reward them, it is principally to his private character that we shall confine our remarks, because it is in his pri- vate character that all classes may contemplate his exam- ple with benefit. "In domestic life he was an affectionate husband and tender father, a humane master and a hearty friend. His disinterestedness was eminent; for amidst many opportuni- ties of amassing property he remained contented with a competency. ... He loved justice, but he also loved peace; and through his good offices many litigations have been amicably settled which without such interference would have been decided only in a court of law." CAPTURE OF MRS. WILSON AND CHILDREN. It will bring conditions of pioneer life very close to General White's descendants in Knoxville to reflect that his sister, Mrs. Joseph Wilson, and her six children, were cap- tured by the Indians in Sumner County, Tennessee, on the night of June 26, 1792, at Zeigler's Station. Hearing of the capture of Mrs. Wilson and her children, General White sent a message to the Cherokees and by paying a ransom procured the release of the mother and five of the children, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 57 and they were returned to their home. But one daughter had been taken to the Creek Nation where she was held for many years, but was ultimately restored to her people. We have no record of what was paid for the release either of Mrs. Wilson and the five children, or for the daughter who had been taken to the Creek Nation. The attack on Zeigler's Station was made by a large force of Creeks, Cherokees and Chickamaugas, and the Sta- tion was burned and Jacob Zeigler was burned to death with it. Four persons were killed and Captain Joseph Wil- son was wounded; two children of Jacob Zeigler and nine other persons were captured. Mrs. Zeigler escaped with one child in the darkness. GENERAL JAMES WHITE TO LIEUTENANT ROBERT RHEA. One hundred and twenty-four summers have come and gone since General White sent the following autograph let- ter to Lieutenant Robert Rhea, the original of which, in the handwriting of General White, is in the possession of his great-great-grandson, Calvin M. McClung, of Knoxville. It is an exact copy of the original in all respects, and is here published for the first time : "Sir : You will Collect Your troop of Horse & take the track of the Horses taken from Caldwells And Do your best to Overtake the thieves & Chastise them & Retake the Horses if possible. You will Continue on duty for this tour not to Exceed ten days (signed) James White. Sept. 9th 1793 Leut. Robert Rhea GENERAL WHITE TO GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON. At the advanced age of sixty-five General White did the duty of a Brigadier General under Major-General Andrew Jackson in the Creek War, and the following letter signed by General White — the body of the letter in the autograph of another and the original being in the possession also of his great-great-grandson, Calvin M. McClung, of Knox- ville, and now published for the first time — indicates the General's activity even at his advanced age. The spelling, 58 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History punctuation and capitalization are all identical with the original : "Hiwassee Garrison Octr 6th 1813 "Major Genl. Andrew Jackson "Sir "I arrived here two days since with a detachment of my Brigade near eight hundred and fifty strong more than four Hundred and fifty Infantry the Ballance Mounted In- fantry say near three hundred and near one hundred Caval- ry all well Armed not a want of more than twenty Guns there is besides this force two hundred men from Genl. Coulters Brigade close by us and a number more coming on — I have formed my detachment into two Battallions the foot in one the Mounted Infantry in another I am directed by Genl. Cock to correspond with you — I am informed by old Mr. Rily the bearer that his son has a Quantity of gun Powder at Huntsville would it not be well to secure it as the Indians are in want who is to assist us in the expidition "there is a Boat load of flour Purchased by Genl. Cook which can be sent to Ditto's landing when it may be want- ing all supplies that can be obtained here will be provided ready to decend the River at the shortest notice" procure all the lead you can as it is not plenty here — Collo. Meigs shows every disposition to give aid to the friendly Indians and encourage the expidition I shall take every opportunity to write and advise you of my strength and situation "I am Sir with Great Respect "James White "Brigadier Genl. — Major Genl. Andrew Jackson." HUGH LAWSON WHITE. Hugh Lawson White, the son of General James White, was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, October 30, 1773, and came to Knoxville in 1781. When he was twenty years old he became private secretary to Territorial Gov- ernor William Blount. In 1801 he was elected Judge of the Superior Court of Tennessee ; in 1807 he was a member of the Tennessee State Senate; in 1809 United States Dis- trict Attorney, and also a member of the State Senate, when he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Er- rors and Appeals and held the position until 1815. On leaving the Supreme Bench he became President of the Bank of Tennessee, and in 1817 was again elected to the State Senate. The list of positions held by him is long, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 59 and testifies the public confidence in his high ability and fine integrity. In 1825 he was elected to the United States Senate to succeed Andrew Jackson. He was elected to the United States Senate three times. White was six years younger than General Jackson, and the friendship between the two dates from White's first entry upon the legal pro- fession, and continued for something like a quarter of a century. At the close of General Jackson's term as Presi- dent in 1837, White was a candidate for President of the United States, and carried the States of Tennessee and Georgia. He was one of the purest men in the public life of his day; neither his personal nor his official character was ever questioned ; his integrity was spotless, and he had the unbounded respect of everyone who knew him. He died April 10, 1840. GEORGE M. WHITE. General James White's grandson, George M. White, now many years deceased, was Mayor of Knoxville in 1852-1853, and afterwards Recorder of the city for so many years that he came to be regarded as one of the city's institutions. He was one of those old time, old fashioned gentlemen, the very salt of the earth, whose type is becoming extinct in American life, and who, in the simplicity of his life and conduct, in a magnificent integrity and uprightness which were elemental with him, and in a whole-hearted devotion to every duty, begot the esteem that caused every citizen of Knoxville to be proud of him, and that furnishes ample ground for his descendants to cherish his memory for all time. TWO JAMES WHITES. There has always been some confusion in Tennessee his- tory over the fact that there were two James Whites of prominence, references to whom being generally construed as being to one and the same person, namely, General James White. There was a James White of Davidson County, who, as far as we know, was no connection of the founder of Knoxville. He was born in Philadelphia June 6, 1749, moved to North Carolina and later to Tennessee, where he married. Davidson County elected him as its representa- tive in the House of the first Territorial Legislature, and 60 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History he took his seat in that body August 25, 1794, and he and William Cocke, afterwards a United States Senator, formed the House Committee on the Judiciary. This James White studied divinity, law, and medicine, and was known as "Doctor White." He introduced a bill into the Legislature to establish a college at Greeneville, which became a law. On September 3, 1794, Dr. White was elected by the two houses of the Territorial Legislature as a delegate to Congress and he took his seat in that body November 18, 1794, and represented Tennessee until he was succeeded by Andrew Jackson December 5, 1796, as the first representa- tive of Tennessee as a State. In 1799 he moved to Louis- iana, became Judge of Attakapas County and died in Louisiana in December, 1809. He was the father of Ed- ward Douglas White, who was a Congressman for five terms from Louisiana and Governor of that State 1835 to 1839, and grandfather of the present Chief Justice of the Su- preme Court of the United States, Edward Douglas White. Dr. White and Governor White, his son, and Chief Jus- tice White, his grandson, were all members of the Roman Catholic Church. CLINCH STREET NOW CLINCH AVE. 47 4fe 46 45 Z7 £ 26 o^ 15 TttE B-Y-trE-N.Jj-AM-ES FIFTH .ST. 3 4- 2 -T-E-- l CHURCH A. V E . 49 44 Q ^ 43 30 23 1 -1 [ t3 a 4 T ? o X { 41 I 40 < z r 25 24 UJ < <0 9 8 1 §58 55 42 : 39 26 23 io V ■ST. NOW CUMBERLAMP AVE. 51 i_42 -f- S2 O - Q o J 31 22 r 2 r 32 21 O R. 60 ! 53 1G1NA r K MO L P LA N [XVI LLl EL 28 I 21 THIRD STREET J < r- 39 -IP) — I 0.. BV3 o^. 45 ! 36 \7S QEN J I OR. 2 Ames white d 56 35 18 3& 17 rf -SECOND ST. WOW JO 19 HILL AVE.. 14 J fe3 50 64 44 47 34 48 33 FRONT STREET NOV/ 1- UJ r 31 18 15 2 < 32 17 16 1 o NT A kVE. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 61 CHAPTER V. KNOXVILLE— ORIGINAL PLAN, HISTORY AND NEWSPAPERS. Knoxville was originally laid off by General James White on a plat that contained 10 streets and 64 lots, which com- prised the entire town. The streets began at the river and running parallel with it were as follows : First, First Street now Front Avenue ; second, Second Street now Hill Avenue ; third, Third Street now Main Avenue ; fourth, Fourth Street now Cumberland Avenue; fifth, Fifth Street now Church Avenue. These streets were approximately one hundred yards distant from each other. Beginning on the east, the first street was Race, after- wards Water now Central Street; second, Arch now State Street; third, Market now Gay Street; fourth, Chestnut now Market Street; and the fifth was Crooked now Walnut Street. The lots were numbered from one to sixty-four, and lot Number 1 was at the southwest corner of Water — Central — and Front Streets, which would be close to the mouth of First Creek, and to the point where Governor Blount and the Indian chiefs negotiated and agreed upon the treaty of Holston. Each lot was one-fourth of a square or block, which would make them about 150 feet square. The beginning of building operations in the town was in the neighborhood of lot Number 1, and the progress was from that point north and west. There is no evidence of building operations east of First Creek for some time after the city was founded, and it is impossible to fix the date when houses were started south of the river. The earliest deeds for lots in this original plan of Knoxville were made by General White in 1792. WHITE'S FIRST ADDITION. In 1795 General White laid out the first addition to Knox- ville which consisted of fifty-six lots. His original plan w r as 62 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History extended north from the present Church Avenue to Clinch Avenue, and contained four blocks with sixteen lots. It extended west two blocks beyond the present Walnut Street, the first street west being New Street now Locust, and the next being West Street now Henley. There were ten blocks west of the original plan containing forty lots; there were fourteen blocks and fifty-six lots altogether in the first Addi- tion, and the blocks and lots were substantially of the same size as in the original plan. COLONEL WILLIAMS AND WILLIAMSBURG. In 1816 Colonel John Williams laid out the plan of Wil- liamsburg which joined on the west General White's first addition, and Williamsburg contained thirty-six lots. It began with West now Henley Street, and its next street go- ing west was High Street now South Broad Street ; the next was Poplar Street, and the next Water now Churchwell Street. Water Street was close to Second Creek. Begin- ning at the river on the south there was a strip of ground not laid off into lots and known as "Hugh Lawson White's land." Williamsburg does not seem to have had a street on its south side fronting the river ; its next street going north was Rock now Front Street; the next Hill Street now Hill Avenue ; the next Spring, now Emmerson Avenue ; the next Market now Main Avenue. General^ described, Williamsburg lay between the pres- ent Main Avenue and Hugh Lawson White's land along the Holston River, and between the present Henley Street and Second Creek. The blocks and lots were not of regular size owing to the shape of the land which was laid out; a majority of the blocks and lots appear, however, to be of the same size as in General White's plans, but some were larger and some smaller than in those plans. HUGH DUNLAP ON THE FOUNDING OF KNOxVILLE. Hugh Dunlap was born in Londonderry County, Ireland, November 5, 1769, and died at Paris, Tennessee, October 10, 1846 ; he came to America at an early age and settled in Tennessee. He was the father of Richard G. Dunlap, the la.doutbyPLAN OF WILLIAMSBURG COL JOHN WILLIAMS. ADJOINING ORIGINAL PLAN OF KMOXVILLE MARKET ^ r G 4- 3 \ J _I ui S X o a! D I U 3 o z u\ h z ul n UJ a h h (0 w a Id / h < / > JPRINCj 5T hJ NOW EME.RJON ilI \z HILL 5T. 18 17 24 25 10 9 a < o } o z Now HILL AVE. 2 1 8 7 ROCK 5T 16 15 22 2\ 14 13 20 19 NOW FRONT STREET. 30 29 34 35 36 i u A Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 63 first child born in Knoxville. He moved to Roane County in 1809, and lived upon a farm which is the present site of Rockwood. In 1825 he settled at Paris in Henry County, Tennessee. In 1842 an agitation was begun for the cele- bration of the semi-centennial anniversary of Knoxville, and this called forth a letter from Hugh Dunlap upon the found- ing of Knoxville, of which the following is a part, the letter being too long to quote in full: "Paris, Tenn., January 19, 1842. "Mr. Eastman. "Dear Sir: In your paper of the 22nd ult. and the 5th inst. I observed arrangements making for the celebration of the semi-centennial anniversary of Knoxville. I am the only man, whom I know to be alive, who was living there when the lots were laid off. It would be a source of un- mixed pleasure to be present at the celebration, if my health and the weather permitted. I could not conceive a higher gratification than to meet at the festive board the children of those adventurous and worthy men who first settled Knoxville, and who were the most endeared to me by the very perils incident to its settlement. "At the treaty of Holston, in 1791, there were no houses except shantees put up for the occasion to hold Govern- ment stores. General James White lived in the neighbor- hood and had a blockhouse to guard his family. At the treaty of the Holston they used river water entirely, until Trooper Armstrong discovered the spring to the right of the street leading from the courthouse to what is now called 'Hardscrabble.' He at that time requested General White, in a jest, to let him have the lot including the spring when a town was laid off; and when the town was laid off the gen- eral preserved the lot and made him a deed to it — these facts were told me by General White himself, for I Was not present at the treaty. I left Philadelphia, with my goods, in December, 1891, and did not reach Knoxville until about the first of February, 1792. I deposited my goods and kept store in the house used by the Government at the treaty, although I believe that the treaty itself was made in the open air. At the time I reached Knoxville, Samuel and Nathaniel Cowan had goods there. John Chisholm kept a house of entertainment, and a man named McLemee was living there. These men, with their families, constituted the inhabitants of Knoxville, when I went there. Governor Blount lived on Barbary Hill, a knoll below College Hill, and between it and the river. 64 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "The principal settlements in the county were on Beaver Creek. All the families lived in forts pretty much in those days; and, when the fields were cultivated, there was al- ways a guard stationed around them for protection. There was a fort at Campbell's Station, which was the lowest set- tlement in East Tennessee. The next fort and settlement were at Blackburn's, west of the Cumberland Mountains; the next at Fort Blount, on the Cumberland River; and then the French Lick, now Nashville. "The land on which Knoxville is built belonged to Gen- eral White. In February, 1792, Colonel Charles McClung surveyed the lots and laid off the town; I do not recollect on what day of the month. It excited no particular inter- est at the time. The whole town was then in a thicket of brushwood and grape-vines, except a small portion in front of the river, where all the business was done. There was never any regular public sale of the lots: General White sold anybody a lot who would settle on it and improve it, for eight dollars; and in this way and at this price, the lots were generally disposed of. "I beg you to excuse the length of this letter. I cannot think of those early times without in some degree living them over again. I understand a distinguished literary gen- tleman of your county is collecting the materials to write the early history of Tennessee. I hope he may not falter in an undertaking where the materials are so rich and the fame so certain. "Very respectfully, "Hugh Dunlap." When North Carolina ceded the territory of the pres- ent State of Tennessee to the United States, Congress by Act passed May 25, 1790, organized the territory under the name of "Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio" and the Honorable William Blount, at that time living in the State of North Carolina, was commis- sioned as Governor of this territory by George Washing- ton August 7, 1790; and part of his title also was "Superin- tendent of Indian Affairs." Daniel Smith was appointed Secretary to the Governor; he married a daughter of John Donelson, and succeeded Andrew Jackson in the United States Senate. The first habitation established in Knoxville was by General James White in 1786, and was called "White's Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 65 Fort," and the locality carried that name until the name of Knoxville was adopted. White's Fort was, like all other residences of the time, log cabins heavily timbered, con- nected together by palisades for protection against the In- dians, and these cabins were proof against rifle and pis- tol fire, which were the weapons generally in use at that time. General White had been a Revolutionary soldier and had received from North Carolina land warrants in pay- ment for his services in the Revolutionary War; and, in company with Robert Love and Frank A. Ramsey, the fa- ther of the historian Ramsey, began an exploration to find desirable land upon which to locate their warrants. General White was taken with the locality where he established his fort, and located it near State Street, between Union and Commerce Streets. Prior thereto, he temporarily lived above the junction of the Holston and French Broad Riv- ers. One is inclined to wonder why he did not locate his fort and the future city at the junction of these two rivers, one of the most beautiful localities in the world. Governor Blount first came into the territory October 10, 1790, and took up his residence at Mr. Cobb's near Washington Court House, established Knoxville as the seat of the territorial government, and first made his residence there in March 1792; and the first house that he occupied was a cabin between the present University and the river. Subsequently he built the frame residence which was the first frame building west of the Alleghaney Mountains at the corner of State Street and Hill Avenue, and which re- mains to-day in the exact shape that it was originally built. This date is not absolutely certain but was probably 1793. It was considered a splendid mansion at the time. Barbara Blount, the Governor's daughter, was married to Major General Edmond P. Gaines, of the United States Army, in this house. The hill on which the University of Tennessee is now located was at one time called "Barbara Hill" in her honor. The Governor's residence passed from him to McClung, and from McClung to M. M. Gaines, both members of prom- inent families in Knoxville, and from Gaines to Judge Sam- 66 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee Histdry uel B. Boyd, in April 1845, he being at that time one of the regular judges of Tennessee who was called, at different times, to preside as a special judge in the Supreme Court of the State. Judge Boyd has numerous descendants in the city of Knoxville, and they constitute one of the fine old families of the city. Not only during Governor Blount's administration, but always afterwards, this residence was the scene of generous hospitality, and in it have been en- tertained probably more prominent men than in any other private residence in Knoxville. The historians are unanimously cordial and highly laudatory in everything that they write about Governor Blount and his family, and all agree that the Governor was a man of handsome, pleasing personality, with fine so- cial qualities, affable and receptive to strangers ; altogether, a most fitting man for the position he occupied. With the exception of John Sevier, he was the most popular man in the territory west of the mountains. His family were of the refined, elevated, courteous type, and worthy of its head. One cannot but wonder why a man of the Govern- or's type, with such a family, would be willing to go to the very limits of the white settlements and live there. His services in building up the territory of Tennessee were great and unqualified, and his name will go down in the history of the State along with John Sevier. He and his wife are buried in the yard of the First Presbyterian Church in Knoxville. BLOUNT'S TREATY. One of the most important acts of Governor Blount during his six years' administration was the treaty made with the Cherokee chiefs at the foot of Water Street (now Central Street) on the river bank, in Knoxville. Governor Blount had been attempting to procure a last- ing peace between the Cherokee Indians and the people of the United States. He had sent Major King with an in- vitation to the chiefs to meet him to consider a treaty, but the Indians had been intimidated by the suggestion from an enemy that Governor Blount intended to assemble them together and have them killed; and it was made necessary Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 67 for General James Robertson, who had their confidence, to go among them, and undeceive them. At first, the In- dians proposed to meet at the junction of the Holston and French Broad Rivers, but they at length yielded to Governor Blount, who preferred to meet at the foot of the present Central Street. The Governor had an eye to the Indian love of cere- monial, color, and dress, so he wore a military hat and a sword, and Trooper James Armstrong was Master of Cere- monies, and the Indian chiefs were brought forward with great ceremony, and each presented to the Governor by his aboriginal name. An interpreter in Indian costume intro- duced each chief to Armstrong, who in turn, presented him to the Governor, and there were forty-one of the chiefs. There were 1,200 other Indians upon the ground, some of whom were women and children. Around the Governor stood his civil and military offi- cers; the Indian braves were decorated with eagle feathers and other decorations of their rank, but were unarmed. The body of the Indians wore the ordinary Indian dress. The Governor made the first speech to his picturesque audience through an interpreter, he standing in their midst, while the Indians sat around upon the ground, silent, but giving close attention. Squollecuttah, Kunoskeski, Auquo- tague, Ninetooyah, are said, by Ramsey, to have been the principal speakers, and that Chuquelatague seemed sullen, and signed the treaty reluctantly. It must have been a diverting spectacle to see Trooper Armstrong present these five to the Governor, and to hear how he pronounced their names. Trooper Armstrong — James Armstrong — had seen service in Europe and was familiar with foreign manners, and seems to have acquitted himself on this occasion to the satisfaction of both the Governor and the Indians; but posterity will never cease to wonder just how he pronounced those five Indian names! Governor Blount's conference with the Indians would furnish some great historical painter a subject worthy of the very best achievements of his art. The picture ought to be painted, and incorporated not only in the histories, but in the school books of Tennessee. 68 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History The Sons of the American Revolution in the courthouse yard at Knoxville, Tennessee, at a point south of General Sevier's monument, have erected a marker, commemorating' the making and signing of this treaty, and on the marker is the following inscription : "Commemorating the Treaty of Holston, signed by Gov- ernor William Blount and 41 Chiefs and Warriors on the site of the home of Governor Blount, corner of Hill Avenue and State Street, Knoxville, July 2, 1791. Erected by the Sons of the American Revolution July 2, 1908." By this treaty peace and friendship was established be- tween the United States and the Cherokee nation, and the Cherokees agreed to deliver to Governor Blount all prison- ers in their possession, and the boundaries between the In- dians and the white men were duly set out. Governor Blount paid the Indians for the territory which they con- veyed, goods, and an annuity of one thousand dollars. The Indians further agreed that citizens of the United States should not be molested in the use of the road from Wash- ington to Middle Tennessee, and should have the navigation of the Tennessee River. Later, on December 27, 1791, a delegation of Chero- kees arrived in Philadelphia to make a claim for a larger annuity than Governor Blount had granted, and a Confer- ence ensued with the President, and an additional five hun- dred dollars a year was agreed upon, to which the Senate consented. THE FIRST BLOCKHOUSE. It is hard, in our day, to conceive the life led by the original inhabitants of Knoxville, when they lived always in the gloom and shadow of an expected Indian attack, or in grief and suffering for those that were slain or scalped. The site of the first blockhouse in Knoxville was in the courthouse yard where the John Sevier monument now stands, and the blockhouse was erected in 1792. On February 5, 1902, at four o'clock in the afternoon, a marker was unveiled by Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, at the request of the Daughters of the American Revolution, by removing an old, torn, United States flag, once used by Admiral Farragut. Exercises were held by the Daughters Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 69 of the American Revolution connected with the unveiling, and Admiral Schley made a short address. Honorable Ben- ton McMillin, Governor of Tennessee, was the orator of the day, and spoke at length. A large crowd was present. Admiral Schley said: "Miss Regent, Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, I may say, my dear Friends : I am very glad indeed to be face to face with you all this afternoon, and am glad to commemorate for this Chapter the First Blockhouse erect- ed in this beautiful city of Knoxville. "The Daughters of the American Revolution are a beau- tiful and lovingly patriotic organization. Its members are magnificent women, and their mothers must have been women conspicuous for their beauty, piety and determina- tion. " 'The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world' we are frequently told, and there is no doubt of it; the ten- der love of mother helps us all. I know it has helped me. I know that the girl whom I courted thirty-eight years ago, and who has been my faithful, sweet wife since, is nearer and dearer to me every day of my life. "The two days I have been among your hospitable peo- ple I will always tenderly regard as sweet souvenirs of my life." Governor Benton McMillin followed Admiral Schley in an extended speech covering the early history of Ten- nessee, the development of the State, and its present wealth and power, and he concluded with a handsome tribute to Admiral Schley in connection with the defeat of Cervera at the Bay of Santiago. Treaties did not always bind those that made them, especially Indian treaties, and in 1793 the little settlement of Knoxville had an experience that for a while looked as if it would end in eliminating the settlement entirely. Governor Blount was unceasing in trying to permanent- ly placate the Indians, something which John Sevier knew could never be done. The Governor entertained in his own house for eight or ten days a Cherokee chief. Finally it became apparent that there would be an attack by the Cherokees and Creeks jointly upon the settlement at Knox- ville in the latter part of 1793. For a time after the Treaty of Holston there was a cessation of violent outbreaks, but 70 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History murders, and horse-stealing and other criminal acts were carried on, demonstrating that between the Indian and the white man there was an irreconcilable issue that could be settled only by the elimination of one or the other from the land ; in the end, the Indian had to go, but the measure of his retaliation upon the white settlers was frequent, atrocious and horrible. The proposed assault upon Knoxville was one of the strongest and most malignant in early Indian history, and was prevented only by differences among the Indians them- selves. The story of this assault is best told by Professor Stephen Foster, who is quoted in part by Ramsey as having read an essay upon it before the East Tennessee Historical and Antiquarian Society, and who, it seems, published it in fuller form in the Knoxville Register of September 21, 1831. Every resident of Knoxville would do well to read in full what Professor Foster says, as it throws a wonder- ful light upon what our ancestors had to meet and conquer in dark pioneer days. MASSACRE AT CAVET'S STATION, SEPTEMBER 2oTH, 1793. "On the road from Knoxville to Major Joseph Martin's is passed Joseph Lonas' on the creek, the formerly cele- brated Cavet's Station. This Cavet's Station was nothing but the log-house dwelling of a family of thirteen persons in the days of Indian havoc and bloodshed. It is eight miles below Knoxville, and seven miles above Campbell's Station. This latter station was one of the chief forts of the coun- try, containing as many as twenty families, and assuming an air and attitude of defense which inspired courage with- in itself, and extended to the savages that prowled around it a salutary respect for the prowess of its interior. "In 1793 a party of Creeks and Cherokees, from 900 to 1,500, crossed the Holston, with the design of burning and sacking Knoxville. They halted upon the question, 'Shall we massacre the whole town, or only the men ?' The Hang- ing Maw was a leading man in the councils of his people. His opposition to the scheme of an indiscriminate mas- sacre was strenuous and weighty. Another circumstance is here related. Van, Cherokee chief, possessed a little cap- tive boy, that was riding behind him. Doublehead became envious at this sight, and picked a quarrel with Van, and to satiate his malice, killed the little boy with a sudden Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 71 stab of his knife. The animosity of these chiefs added hin- drance to delay. And before the plan of procedure could be satisfactorily adjusted, it was found to be too late to arrive at Knoxville before daylight. "Then, to avoid an entire failure of their enterprise, they repaired to Cavet's as affording the readiest and easi- est prey. This establishment they reduced to ashes. Its thirteen tenants were slaughtered except one. Cavet him- self was found butchered in the garden. Several bullets were still lying in his mouth, having been put there for convenience of speedily loading his gun. The day of his slaughter was the 25th of September. "In the meantime intelligence of the contemplated at- tack had arrived at Knoxville, and given to the minds of its citizens that impulse which is only to be looked for on great occasions, when the dignity of a single heroic concep- tion is enough to consecrate danger and death. The num- ber of fighting men in Knoxville was forty. But it was thought preferable to combine this force, and to risk every life in a well-concerted effort to strike a deadly and ter- rific blow on the advancing enemy, at the outskirts of the town, rather than to stand to be hewed down in its center by the Indian tomahawk. "Gen. James White was then advanced a little beyond the prime of manhood, of a muscular body, a vigorous constitution, and of that cool and determinate courage which arises from a principle of original bravery, con- firmed and ennobled by the faith of the Bible. He was the projector and leader of the enterprise. Robert Houston, Esq., from whose verbal statements the substance of much of this narrative is copied, was of the age of twenty-eight, and was a personal actor in the scene. "It was viewed to be manifest to those who were ac- quainted with Indian movements, that the party would come up the back way near the present plantation of Mrs. Luttrell and Henry Lonas, rather than the straighter way now traveled by the stage. The company from Knox- ville accordingly repaired to a ridge on that road, which now may be inspected about a mile and a quarter from Knoxville. This ridge is marked by the irregular and shelving rocks of the road, which passes over it. "On the side of this ridge next to Knoxville, our com- pany was stationed at the distance of twenty steps from each other, with orders to reserve their fire till the most forward of the Indian party was advanced far enough to present a mark for the most eastern man of our party. He was then to fire. This fire was to be the signal to every 72 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History man of our own to take aim wjth precision. This would be favored by the halt thus occasioned in the ranks of the Indians. And these latter, it was hoped, astonished at the sudden and fatal discharge of thirty-eight rifles extended over so long a line, would apprehend a most formidable ambuscade, and would quit all thought of further aggres- sion, and betake themselves to the readiest and safest re- treat. "But to provide for the worst, it was settled before- hand that each man upon discharging his piece, without stopping to watch the flight of the Indians, should make the best of his way to Knoxville, lodge himself in the block- house then standing at the present mansion of Mr. Ethel- dred Williams, where three hundred muskets had been de- posited by the United States, and where the two oldest citizens of the forty, John McFarland and Robert Williams, were left behind to run bullets and load. "Here it was proposed to make a last and desperate strug- gle ; that, by possessing every porthole in the building and by dealing lead and powder through it to the best advantage, they might extort from an enemy nearly forty times their number, a high price for the hazard of all they had on earth that was dear and precious. There were then two stores in Knoxville, Nathaniel Cowan's and James Miller's. "Though the practical heroism of this well concerted and thus far ably conducted stratagem, in consequence of the sudden retreat of the enemy, was not put to the test of actual experiment, yet an incident fraught with so much magnanimity in the early fortunes of Knoxville should not be blotted from the records of her fame. It is an incident on which the memory of her sons will linger without tiring, when the din of party shall be hushed and its strife for- gotten. Those men of a former day were 'made of sterner stuff' than to shirk from danger at the call of duty. And it will be left to the pen of a future historian to do justice to that little band of thirty-eight citizens, who flinched not from the deliberate exposure of their persons in the open field, within the calculated gunshot of fifteen hundred of the fleet- est running and boldest savages. "This expedition on the part of the Indians, though in its issue abortive by their divided councils, was marked with singular daring and despatch. They knew that Col. Sevier, with a detachment of four. hundred mounted rifle- men, ready to ravage their territory, had recently left Knoxville and lay at that moment at Ish's Station on the south side of the river, about ten miles from Cavet's ; that a respectable force lay in garrison at Campbell's station, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 73 and that the above-mentioned forty men were at Knoxville. Here then were three points from which, at a moment's warning, they would be assailed from three different direc- tions at once. But they had formed their plan, that by a movement too quick for discovery and by a ridge not com- monly traveled by our warriors, they would pass the forces at Ish's and Campbell's Stations, seizing the favorable mo- ment of the absence of Sevier's troops, to fall upon Knox- ville entirely unexpected, scalp the inhabitants in their beds, pillage the only two little stores in the place, and in the light of its blazing ruins, make off with their booty, divided into two or three parties, to elude pursuit, prevent delay, and make good their escape. "The above-mentioned disagreement between their prin- cipal chiefs, by the loss of a single hour, like the counsel of Hushai in Absolom's rebellion, frustrated the whole proj- ect, divested this band of its martial prowess, and sent it skulking on its shameful butchery at Cavet's Station. "The circumstances of this massacre will strikingly il- lustrate the Indian mode of warfare, a singular union of cunning, deceit and atrocity, without concert of action or unity of plan. For at the beginning of the attack, Cavet's house contained three fighting men. These plied their ri- fles with such coolness and dexterity that two Indians lay dead and three were wounded. The Indians then made a temporary halt from the fury of their onset, and employed Bob Benge, a man of mixed blood, who spoke English, to offer to the garrison terms of surrender. These were very favorable, namely, that their lives should be spared and they exchanged for as many Indian prisoners then among the whites. No sooner were these terms accepted and the pris- oners beginning to leave the house, than Doublehead and his party fell upon the men and put them to death. He treated the women and children w r ith barbarous indelicacy and then killed them. John Watts, who was the main lead- er of the expedition, interposed and saved one of Cavet's sons, and poor Benge, who first proposed the conditions of surrender, was all the time striving, to no purpose, to check the murderous atrocities of Doublehead. "How different this confused havoc from the measured discipline of the Roman legion where to fight 'extra or- dinem' as Sallust says, that is to overstep the battle line and to fight alone in front of it, was an offense to be pun- ished with capital severity. "When the Indians had accomplished this inglorious deed, they made for a well-known house on Beaver Creek, twelve miles from Knoxville, now owned by Mr. Callaway. 74 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History That house had been occupied by Mr. Luke Lea's father. That gentleman, from an apprehension of danger, had re- moved his family to the present residence of Col. Miller Francis, only a week previous to this terrible morning, and thus happily saved them from becoming the victims of In- dian fury. Some of their bedclothes were still left in the house, and the wheat stacks standing by the barns and sta- bles. The whole was soon a heap of ashes. "The Indians retreated with characteristic speed and address. They sought the fastnesses of Clinch, and by a brisk march they were soon beyond the reach of immediate danger. Danger awaited them still. In three weeks they were bearded out of their own den by Sevier's invasion." INCORPORATION OF THE CITY. On October 27, 1815, the legislature incorporated the inhabitants of the town of Knoxville and on January 30, 1816, the first meeting of the Board of Aldermen was held at the courthouse. Under the act the aldermen elected the Mayor from their number, and the First Board of Al- dermen consisted of Thomas Emmerson, Thomas McCorry, Rufus Morgan, James Park, Thomas Humes, James Dar- dis, and John M. Cullen. Thomas Emmerson was elected Mayor, Anderson Hutchinson, Recorder, and David Nelson, High Constable, and John M. Cullen, Treasurer. Rufus Morgan, James Dardis, and Thomas Humes were appointed on February 20, 1816, a committee to erect a markethouse, which they did, and the dimensions were 26 feet long, 18 feet wide, and the house was located on the present Main Street between Market and Walnut. In January, 1839, an election was held for the election of a Mayor by popular vote, and W. B. A. Ramsey was win- ner, receiving 49 votes to 48 for James Park. Beginning with Thomas Emmerson and coming down to 1845, the Mayors of the City and the time each held office, were as follows : Emmerson, Thos January, 1816. Emmerson, Thos January, 1817. Park, Jas January, 1818. Park, Jas January, 1819. Park, Jas January, 1820. Park, Jas January, 1821. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 75 Mynatt, Wm. C January, 1822. Mynatt, Wm. C January, 1823. Park, Jas January, 1824. Park, Jas January, 1825. Park, Jas January, 1826. Mynatt, Wm. C January, 1827. Strong, Jos. C January, 1828. Strong, Jos. C January, 1829. Strong, Jos. C January, 1830. Strong, Jos. C January, 1831. Mcintosh, Dr. Donald January, 1832. Mcintosh, Dr. Donald January, 1833. Mcintosh, Dr. Donald * January, 1834. Jacobs, Solomon D March, 1834. Jacobs, Solomon D * January, 1835. Heiskell, Fred S * June, 1835. Mynatt, William C November, 1835. Mynatt, William C January, 1836. King, Dr. Jas January, 1837. King, Dr. Jas * January, 1838. Ramsey, Wm. B. A February, 1838. Ramsey, Wm. B. A ** January, 1839. Bell, Samuel January, 1840. Bell, Samuel January, 1841. Hazen, Gideon M January, 1842. Gaines, Matthew M January, 1843. Bell, Samuel January, 1844. Bell, Samuel January, 1845. ^Resigned. **First Mayor elected by a popular vote. KNOXVILLE'S FIRST MAYOR. The new municipality started off well in the election of its first Mayor, Judge Thomas Emmerson, who was born at Lawrenceville Courthouse, Brunswick County, Virginia, June 23d, 1773, and died at Jonesboro, Tennessee, July 22d, 1837. He came to Tennessee in 1800, and succeeded Hugh Lawson White in the spring of 1807 as a Judge of the Su- perior Court and continued on the bench of that Court un- til the fall of 1807, when he resigned. He was elected a Trustee of the East Tennessee Col- lege, the predecessor of the University of Tennessee, in 1807, and later was elected Trustee of the Hampden- Sydney Academy of Knoxville, and the Knoxville Female Academy. 76 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History He was Mayor of Knoxville in 1816-1817. On January 1st, 1910, an act creating the Court of Er- rors and Appeals went into effect, and on July 19, 1819, Judge Emmerson was elected a Judge of this Court as the successor of Archibald Roane, and held the office until 1822 wlhen he resigned and moved his residence to Jones- boro, Tennessee, where he continued the practice of law. In 1833 he bought the Washington Republican and Farmers Journal and published that for four years. He is buried at Jonesboro, Tennessee, in the "Old Cem- etery," and his wife is buried beside him. PIONEER NEWSPAPERS OF KNOXVILLE. The Knoxville Gazette was the first newspaper pub- lished in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the third west of the Alleghany Mountains, and its first issue appeared Novem- ber 5, 1791, at Rogersville, in Hawkins County, where it was published for a time under the name of the "Knox- ville Gazette." It was moved to Knoxville in 1792 and its publication continued until the death of George Roulstone in 1804. Bound copies of the Gazette are in the Tennessee Historical Society at Nashville. George Roulstone came to Tennessee at the suggestion of Governor William Blount and he was afterwards printer to both the territorial and State legislatures. In 1804 George Wilson succeeded Roulstone as the pro- prietor of the Knoxville Gazette and called the paper "Wil- son's Gazette." He continued the publication of it until 1818 when he removed to Nashville which had become the capital of the State. The Knoxville Register is the only one of the Knox- ville pioneer newspapers that attained long life and wide influence. The following account of The Register and its two publishers, Major Frederick S. Heiskell and Hugh Brown, is from The History of Knoxville by William Rule, now and for many years past editor of the Knoxville Jour- nal and Tribune: FREDERICK S. HEISKELL AND HUGH BROWN. "In the year 1816 on the 3d day of August, Major Fred- erick S. Heiskell and Hu. Brown began the publication Frederick S. Keiskell, Father of Tennessee Journalism. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 77 of the Knoxville Register, which continued to be published for a longer term of years than any other paper yet pub- lished in the city. It suspended publication upon the ar- rival of General Burnsicle with the Union army, about the first of September, 1863. Its life was within a few days of forty-seven years, and in the main it was a distinctly honorable career. In this connection a brief sketch of its distinguished founders will be proper. and of interest. Major Heiskell remained one of the proprietors of The Register for about twenty-one years, devoting his whole time, en- ergy and ability to its success. He was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, but when yet a child his parents removed to Shenandoah County, Virginia. He learned the printer's trade in the office of his brother, John Heiskell, in Win- chester, Virginia, and came to Knoxville in December, 1814. After working as a journeyman printer something less than two years, he, in conjunction with Hu. Brown, whose sister he afterwards married, founded The Knox- ville Register, a weekly paper. In 1829 Hu. Brown retired from the paper and Major Heiskell continued its publi- cation until in 1837, when, on account of impaired health, he retired to a farm ten miles west of Knoxville, having sold his interest in The Register to W. B. A. Ramsey and Robert Craighead. While publishing The Register, Major Heiskell was intimately acquainted with Hugh Lawson White, John Bell, Ephraim H. Foster, James K. Polk and other famous men of his time. For years he was a trust- ed friend of Andrew Jackson, and fought his earlier po- litical battles with characteristic vigor. He also knew Henry Clay well and was one of his earnest, sincere supporters. In 1847 he was elected to the State Senate, the only office he ever held, and distinguished himself as an able, conscien- tious and zealous representative of the people's interests. He was always a gentleman in his habits and deportment, and universally recognized as thoroughly incorruptible. He was a public spirited man and took a deep interest in the cause of education. He was one of the trustees of the East Tennessee Female Institute, and for years up to the date of his death, was also one of the trustees of the East Ten- nessee University, now University of Tennessee. While conducting The Register his counsel and influence was ea- gerly sought by men in public life and his advice was al- ways received with consideration. His life was long, stren- uous and useful. He died at Rogersville, Tennessee, in No- vember, 1882. He remained an omnivorous newspaper reader to the last, and at the time of his death left twenty large scrapbooks made up of clippings which he consid- 7S Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ered of value. His partner and brother-in-law, Hu. Brown, was also a superior man. He retired from The Register in 1829, to accept a professorship in the University of Ten- nessee. Under their management the power and influence of The Register was second to no paper in the State. It was a credit to its publishers and to the section of the coun- try in which it circulated. Its proprietors took an active part in the politics of the period and made themselves felt by friends and by foes. "In 1836, contrary to the will and wishes of Andrew Jackson, who had been the most influential man in Ten- nessee politics, and who had decreed that Martin Van Bur- en should be his successor in the Presidential chair, The Knoxville Register supported Hugh Lawson White for that office. He carried the State, his majority, in spite of Jack- son's opposition, being a little more than nine thousand in a total vote of 61,000. In the Eastern division of the State, Hugh Lawson White carried every county with the ex- ception of Greene, Sullivan and Washington, most of them by overwhelming majorities. Four years previous to that, in 1832, Andrew Jackson had carried every one of the counties in East Tennessee. This year, against the influ- ence exerted by The Knoxville Register, he could influence but three counties to vote for Martin Van Buren. This is mentioned as showing the influence of The Register in those days. Some of the men who were at times connected with The Knoxville Register office afterwards became prom- inent in the State. Gen. Felix K. Zollicoffer worked as a printer in the office. He afterwards became, as editor of the Nashville Republican Banner, one of the best known journalists in the South, was elected State comptroller, served in the lower house of Congress, and was killed at Mill Springs, Kentucky, in February, 1862, while gallantly leading a brigade of Confederate soldiers of which he was the commander. ''From John E. Helms, one of the oldest newspaper men in the State, it is learned that Major Heiskell, the founder of The Register, was the president of the first meeting of the Tennessee Press Association. It was held in the old Mansion House, an excellent hotel in its day. It stood upon the grounds upon which the county courthouse now stands. The meeting w!as held about the year 1838." In 1878 the Tennessee Press Association met in Knox- ville and was addressed by Colonel Moses White, one time editor of the Knoxville Tribune, on the subject of Major Heiskell. The Tribune was founded in March, 1876, by Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 79 Colonel Samuel McKinney of Knoxville, as a Democratic daily, to take part in the Tilden and Hendricks campaign, and in 1898 it was bought by E. J. Sanford of Knoxville and combined July 1st, 1898, with the Knoxville Journal, founded in 1884, as the Journal and Tribune, and which has been continued since that date under that name. In his address Colonel White said: "The Knoxville Register, the one which became an in- stitution of Knoxville, was established in August, 1816, by F. S. Heiskell and Hu. Brown. The paper, together with the enterprising founders and its long line of worthy pro- prietors and able editors, demands more than a passing notice. Of its first editors, Heiskell was the active man in political matters, and Brown was the literary and mis- cellaneous editor. Major Heiskell was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, but while he was yet an infant his father moved to Shenandoah County, Virginia. There young Heiskell grew up and acquired a limited education, worked, after he was old enough, on the farm the greater part of the year, and attending a subscription school during the win- ter season. He was installed as a printer's devil in 1810 and served as a printer three years or more, when, after a short respite, he moved to Knoxville, reaching there Christ- mas Day 1814. He obtained a situation as journeyman printer on Wilson's Gazette, then the only paper published in East Tennessee. Hu. Brown was engaged in teaching a Latin school in Knoxville. Heiskell and Brown under the advice and patronage of several of the leading men of Knox- ville, determined to establish a press, and, after the nec- essary preparation and delay, commenced the publication' of The Register in July, 1816. Hu. Brown, the partner and brother-in-law of Heiskell, w!as a finished scholar and a chaste and elegant writer, modest and retiring in his hab- its, and averse to the turmoil and strife incident to political life. He was born in Jonesboro, Tennessee, and was the son of Joseph Brown of that place, a most exemplary Chris- tian gentleman. Birown made the miscellaneous depart- ment of The Register a most attractive feature of the paper. The political department of the paper indicates nothing out of the ordinary routine of newspaper matter from the date of its establishment up to the time of Jackson's candidacy for the Presidency. With that event, however, commenced a struggle which for acrimony, as well as ability on the part of the newspapers throughout the country, has never been surpassed, if, indeed, it has ever been equalled. The bitterness and vituperation indulged in by the friends of 80 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History General Jackson on the one side, and those of John Quincy Adams on the other, is without parallel in American poli- tics, and is within the recollection of many now living. My own estimate of the bitterness and ability which charac- terized these contests is formed no less from what I have heard detailed by the active participants in these stirring scenes, than from the contents of those old papers. The Register with much ability and with ardent zeal, was one of the first, if not the first paper in Tennessee, to espouse the cause of Old Hickory. The defeat of Jackson in his first race added tenfold to the bitterness of his friends, and the friends of Adams, catching the contagion, the contest was renewed in 1828 with unprecedented ardor and fierce- ness. Throughout all of this storm period The Register bore a conspicuous and controlling part in supporting the cause of the iron-willed statesman and patriot. In the Presiden- tial contest of 1836 The Register supported Hugh Lawson White. About this time The Register passed into the hands of that sterling gentleman and chaste writer, W. B. A. Ramsey, and his excellent and upright partner, Robert Craighead. Hu Brown had severed his connection with The Register in 1829 to accept a professorship in the East Ten- nessee University. After he retired from the editorship the whole duties both as political and literary editor de- volved upon Major Heiskell, and under his individual con- trol the paper fully sustained the high character which the two editors had jointly made for it. Major Heiskell, after the sale of The Register, retired to a farm ten miles be- low Knoxville, where he unremittingly engaged in agricul- tural pursuits, only leaving his farm once, in 1847, in re- sponse to the call of his admiring fellow citizens to serve them in the senate of the State. He assumed a bold, inde- pendent stand as a candidate, eschewing all the tricks and by-paths of the demagogue, was elected and made an able and useful member of the senate." Major Heiskell's country home, to which he moved after retiring from The Register, was named by him Fruit Hill, and he there lived until he moved to Knoxville about 1880. On leaving Fruit Hill, it appears that a great number of letters which he had received from the leading men of the State and Nation during his twenty-one years of editing The Register, were put in a box which was placed in the attic of his residence, a large brick house which is still standing. When the author entered upon the writing of this chapter he made an unsuccessful search for this box and Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 81 contents, which, by intention or oversight, had been left in the attic when Major Heiskell and his family moved to Knoxville, but which are now evidently destroyed. These letters would be a perfect mine of historical wealth to a writer of to-day who should attempt to demonstrate the development of Tennessee, and the character, calibre and careers of leading men during its pioneer period and the Jacksonian epoch. The scrap books referred to by Editor Rule are, several of them, still preserved and in the possession of Major Heiskell's descendants. With his coming to Knoxville on Christmas Day 1814, there have been branches of the fam- ily of his name in Knoxville and Knox County, for one hun- dred and three years, and in other parts of East Tennes- see nearly as long; and this long family residence in Ten- nessee, and profound admiration for the Tennessee pioneers as commonwealth builders, and of Andrew Jackson as the State's greatest historical asset, and one of the greatest of the nation, are among the reasons that led the author to undertake the writing of this book. 82 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER VI. WILLIAM BLOUNT. On July 8th, 1797, William Blount, Senator from Ten- nessee in the United States Senate, by a vote of twenty-five to one, was expelled from that body, and was the first Sen- ator ever expelled. That has been one hundred and twenty years ago, and this generation of Tennesseans may know in a general way that a Tennessee Senator was expelled, but few would be able to give any details in reference to it. Senator Blount's prominence in the early history of the State and justice to his memory as well as to Tennessee, whose representative he then was, justifies a later writer of Tennessee history to tell more than is generally known about his life and family, and the cause and procedure of his expulsion from the Senate. William Blount, the oldest of the children of Colonel Jacob and Barbara Gray Blount, was born in Bertie County, North Carolina, on March 26, 1749. Colonel Jacob Blount was twice married, and had eight children by his first wife. His second marriage was with Hannah Baker Salten, by whom he had five children, one of whom was Willie, after- wards Governor of Tennessee for three terms, 1809-1815. Jacob and his son William participated on the side of the patriots in the Battle of the Allamance in North Carolina in 1771, which was really the first battle of the American Revolution. William's brothers, Thomas and Redding Blount, were officers in the military service of* the patriots in the Revolutionary War. Thomas was taken prisoner and carried to England and there confined for a long time. He was afterwards a member of Congress from the Edge- comb District up to his death, in 1812. Willie was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, and afterwards Gov- ernor; he was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1834, and his home was at Clarksville, Tennessee, where he died. WILLIAM BLOUNT, TERRITORIAL GOVERNOR. Photograph of original miniature from life in the possession of his great -great-grand- son John C Febles of Butte, Montana, who had a photograph made for Calvin M. McClung of Knoxville, Tennessee, for whom this two diameter enlargement was made by Knaffl & Brakebill of Knoxville, in June, 1912. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 83 Jacob Blount, the father of the thirteen children, was a man of means, who educated his children in a manner cor- responding to his means and his social position. William Blount married on February 12, 1778, Mary, the daughter of Caleb Grainger, a member of the General Assembly of North Carolina. William was a number of times a member of that body, and in the years 1783, 1784, 1786 and 1787 was a member of the Continental Congress. North Caro- lina sent him as its representative to the Convention which framed the Federal Constitution in 1781, and he was a member of the State Convention of North Carolina which ratified the Constitution in 1789 ; he was a supporter of the act of 1789 conceding to the United States the territory of the present State of Tennessee, and was present as a representative of North Carolina at the treaty with the Cherokees at Hopewell November 28, 1785, and also at- tended at the same place in 1786 the treaties with the Choctaws and Chickasaws. It will be seen from all of this that the Blount family was one of the distinguished and patriotic families in the early days of the Federal Union and of Tennessee, and their record shows that they were men of large capacity and of unfailing confidence and support among the people. Dr. Ramsey, the Tennessee historian, has this to say about William Blount: "He was of an ancient English family of wealth and rank which at an early day emigrated to North Carolina ; the name is often mentioned in the annals of that State during the Revolution. Mr. Blount was remarkable for his dress, courtly manners, benignant feelings and a most com- manding presence. His urbanity, his personal influence over men of all conditions and ages, his hospitality, unos- tentatiously yet elegantly and graciously extended to all, won the affections and regard of the populace and made him a universal favorite. He was at once the social com- panion, the well-bred gentleman and the capable officer." As stated in another chapter, after he had been ap- pointed by George Washington Governor and Indian Com- missioner for the new territory, he came into the territory and took up his official residence at the house of William Cobb, on October 10, 1790, where he proceeded to organize 84 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History the government of the new territory and to make civil and military appointments. In his official capacity he had tre- mendous powers and prepared and promulgated his own orders and laws, and they were entitled "By William Blount, Governor in and over the Territory." Under the ordinance of 1787, when the territory had five thousand free male in- habitants, the Governor was authorized to order an elec- tion for members of a territorial Legislature, and Governor Blount had such an election held, and the first territorial Legislature met in Knoxville August 25, 1794, and remained in session a month and five clays. It was at this session of the Legislature that a college was incorporated at Knox- ville which was named "Blount College" in honor of the Governor, and was the lineal ancestor of the University of Tennessee. The increase of population justifying his action, the Governor convened the Legislature by proclamation, which assembled on June 29th, 1795, to take steps to admit the territory as one of the United States, and on the 11th of July, 1795, an act was passed for the enumeration of the inhabitants which, if they amounted to as much as sixty thousand, the Governor was to issue a proclamation for the election of delegates to form a State Constitution and to meet in convention in the town of Knoxville. The election showed more than sixty thousand inhabitants, and the proc- lamation for an election w T as duly issued and on the 11th of January, 1796, the Constitutional Convention assembled at Knoxville. Governor Blount was elected a member of the Convention, and after the body assembled was chosen Presi- dent. Charles McClung, General James White, Andrew Jackson, General James Robertson and Archibald Roane were also members. John Sevier was elected Governor under the Constitu- tion and at a meeting of the Legislature on the 28th of March, 1796, William Blount and William Cocke were elected United States Senators. Congress, however, declared later that the election of March 28 was premature because the State had not been admitted into the Union, and Blount and Cocke were again elected on the 2d of the fol- lowing August. Willie Blount, thirty years of age, was Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 85 elected by the Legislature a Judge of the Supreme Court. William Blount and William Cocke took their seats as Sena- tors, and Andrew Jackson as Representative, in the second session of the Fourth Congress, which sat from December 5, 1796, to March 3, 1797. On July 3d, 1797, John Adams, President of the United States, sent a message to both houses of Congress which was the basis of Senator Blount's subsequent expulsion from that body, and it is to give Tennesseans a detailed ac- count of this expulsion that this chapter is written. The President's charge against Senator Blount was a letter known as the "Carey letter" written by Senator Blount to James Carey at Tellico Block House, now Monroe County, Tennessee, and a copy of this letter was sent by the Presi- dent with this message ; and in order that the matter may be clear, and the full weight of the charges perfectly un- derstood, the full text of the letter is here given. Senator Blount was not in the Senate Chamber when the message and the accompanying letter were read, but he came in af- terwards, and the question was put to him whether he wrote the letter, and he replied that it was true that he had writ- ten a letter to Carey, but was unable to say whether the copy produced in the Senate was a correct one or not, and he desired time in which to make an investigation. THE CAREY LETTER. "Col. King's Iron Works, April 21, 1797. "Dear Carey: "I wished to have seen you before I returned to Phila- delphia, but I am obliged to return to the session of Con- gress which commences on the 15th of May. "Among other things that I wished to have seen you about was the business Captain Chisholm mentioned to the British Minister last winter at Philadelphia. "I believe, but am not quite sure, that the plan then talked of will be attempted this fall, and if it is attempted, it will be in a much larger way than then talked of, and if the Indians act their part, I have no doubt but that it will suc- ceed. A man of consequence has gone to England about the business ; and if he makes arrangements, I shall myself have a hand in the business, and shall probably be at the head of the business on the part of the British. 86 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "You are, however, to understand that it is not yet quite certain that the plan will be attempted, and to do so will require all your management. I say will require all your management, because you must take care in whatever you say to Rogers or anybody else, not to let the plan be dis- covered by Hawkins, Dinsmoor, Byers or any other person in the interest of the United States or of Spain. "If I attempt this plan, I shall expect to have you and all of my Indian friends with me, but you are now in good business, I hope, and you are not to risk the loss of it by saying anything that will hurt you until you again hear from me. Where Captain Chisholrn is I do not know. I left home in Philadelphia in March, and he frequently vis- ited the Minister and spoke about the subject; but I believe he will go into the Creek Nation by way of South Carolina or Georgia. He gave out that he was going to England, but I do not believe him. Among things that you may safe- ly do, will be to keep up, my consequence with Watts and the Creeks and Cherokees generally; and you must by no means say anything in favor of Hawkins, but as often as you can with safety to yourself, you may teach the Creeks to believe he is no better than he should be. Any power or consequence he gets will be against our plan. Perhaps Rogers, wlho has no office to lose, is the best man to give out talks against Hawkins. Read the letter to Rogers, and if you think best to send it, put a wafer in it and forward it to him by a safe hand; or perhaps, you had best send for him to come to you, and to speak to him yourself re- specting the state and prospect of things. "I have advised you in whatever you do to take care of yourself. I have now to tell you to take care of me too, for a discovery of the plan would prevent the success and much injure all parties concerned. It may be that the Commis- sioners may not run the line as the Indians expect or wish, and in that case it is probable the Indians may be taught to blame me for making the treaty. "To such complaints against me, if such there be, it may be said by my friends, at proper times and places, that Doublehead confirmed the treaty with the President at Philadelphia, and received as much as five thousand dol- lars a year to be paid to the Nation over and above the first price; indeed it may with truth be said that though I made the treaty, that I made it by the instructions of the President, and in fact, it may with truth be said that I was by the President instructed to purchase much more land than the Indians agreed to sell. This sort of talk will be throwing all the blame off me upon the late President, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 87 and as he is now out of office, it will be of no consequence how much the Indians blame him. And among other things that may be said for me, is that I was not at the running of the line, and that if I had been, it would have been more to their satisfaction. In short, you understand the subject, and must take care to give out the proper talks to keep my consequence with the Creeks and Cherokees. Can't Rogers contrive to get the Creeks to desire the President to take Hawkins out of the Nation? for if he stays in the Creek Nation, and gets the good will of the Nation, he can and will do great injury to our plan. "When you have read this letter over three times, then burn it. I shall be in Knoxville in July or August, when I will send for Watts and give him the whiskey I promised him. "I am, &c, WM. BLOUNT." On July 4th, 1797, the Senate passed the following res- olution : "RESOLVED, That so much of the Message from the President of the United States of the third instant, and the papers accompanying the same, as relates to a letter pur- porting to have been written by William Blount, a Senator from Tennessee, be referred to a select Committee, to con- sider and report w r hat, in their opinion, it is proper for the Senate to do thereon ; and that the said Committee have power to send for persons, papers and records relating to the subject committed to them, and that Messrs. Ross, Stockton, Henry, Sedgwick and Read be the Committee." On July 7th, 1797, on motion, the Senate agreed that Senator Blount could be represented by two counsel, and that he be furnished with all copies of papers that he want- ed, and on that same date the Senator notified the Senate that Jared Ingersoll and Alexander J. Dallas would rep- resent him upon his trial. On July 7th, 1797, the House of Representatives sent a message to the Senate by Mr. Sit- greaves, one of its members, as follows: "Mr. President, I am commanded in the name of the House of Representatives, and of all the people of the United States, to impeach William Blount, a Senator of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors; and to acquaint the Senate that the House of Representatives will, in due time, exhibit particular articles against him and make good the same. 88 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "I am further commanded to demand that the said Wil- liam Blount be sequestered from his seat in the Senate ; and that the Senate do take order for his appearance to answer the said impeachment." Pursuant to this resolution Senator Blount was re- quired to give a bond in the sum of twenty thousand dol- lars with two sureties for fifteen thousand dollars each, and the condition of the bond was that Blount should appear before the Senate of the United States to answer charges of impeachment against him to be exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States, and not to depart without leave. Thomas Blount, his brother, and Pierce But- ler were his bondsmen. On July 8th the Senate proceeded to consider the re- port of the Committee to which had been referred the mes- sag of the President. Senator Blount had declined to either affirm or deny that he wrote the Carey letter, as he had a right to do, and thereby threw the burden on the Senate of proving that he wrote it, and that the matter in the letter made him guilty of committing a high crime or misdemeanor. The re- port of the Committee was as follows : "That Mr. Blount having declined an acknowledgement or denial of the letter imputed to him, and having failed to appear and give any satisfactory explanation respecting it, your Committee sent for the original letter, which ac- companies this report, and it is in the following words, viz :" (Here follows the Carey letter above given.) The re- port then proceeds: "Two Senators now present in the Senate have declared to the Committee that they are well acquainted with the handwriting of Mr. Blount, and have no doubt that this letter was written by him. Your Committee have examined many letters written from Mr. Blount to the Secretary of War, a number of which are herewith submitted, as well as the letter addressed to Mr. Cocke, his colleague in the Senate, and to this Committee, respecting the business un- der consideration ; and find them all to be of the same hand- writing with the letter in question. Mr. Blount has never denied this letter, but, on the other hand, when the copy transmitted to the Senate was read in his presence, on the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 89 third instance, he acknowledged in his place that he had written a letter to Carey, of which he had preserved a copy, but could not then decide w T hether the copy read was a true one. Your Committee are therefore fully persuaded that the original now produced was written and sent to Carey by Blount. They also find that this man Carey, to whom it was addressed, is, to the knowledge of Mr. Blount, in the pay and employment of the United States, as their interpreter to the Cherokee Indians, and an assistant in the public factory at Tellico Block House. That Hawkins, who is so often mentioned in this letter as a person w T ho must be brought into suspicion among the Creeks, and if possible driven from his station, is the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the United States among the Southern Indians ; Dinsmoor is agent for the United States in the Cherokee Nation ; and Byers one of the agents in the public factory at Tellico Block House. "The plan hinted at in this extraordinary letter, to be executed under the auspices of the British, is so capable of different constructions and conjectures, that your Com- mittee at present forbear giving any decided opinion re- specting it, except that to Mr. Bilount's own mind, it ap- peared to be inconsistent with the interest of the United States and of Spain, and he was thereby anxious to con- ceal it from both. But, when they consider his attempts to seduce Carey from his duty, as a faithful interpreter, and to employ him as an engine to alienate the affections and confidence of the Indians from the public officers of the United States residing among them; the measures he has proposed to excite a temper which must produce the recoil or expulsion of our Superintendent from the Creek Nation ; his insidious advice tending to the advancement of his own popularity and consequence, at the expense and hazard of the good opinion which the Indians entertain of this Gov- ernment, and of the treaties subsisting between us and them, your Committee have no doubt that Mr. Blount's con- duct has been inconsistent with his public duty, renders him unworthy of a further continuance of his present pub- lic trust in this body, and amounts to a high misdemeanor. They, therefore, unanimously recommend to the Senate, an adoption of the following resolution: "RESOLVED, That William Blount, Esq., one of the Senators of the United States, having been guilty of a high misdemeanor, entirely inconsistent with his public trust and duty as a Senator, be, and he hereby is, expelled from the Senate of the United States." 90 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History On July 8th, 1797, five days after President Adams had sent his message to the Senate, Senator Blount was expelled by a vote of twenty-five to one, Senator Tazewell of Vir- ginia casting the one vote. On July 5th, 1797, Senator Blount wrote from Philadel- phia, where Congress was in session, to the people of Ten- nessee, this letter: "In a few days you will see published by order of Con- gress a letter said to have been written by me to James Carey. It makes quite a fuss here. The people upon the Western waters will see nothing but good in it, for so I intended it, especially for Tennessee." The modern reader who has carefully read the Carey letter and the report of the Committee which recommended Senator Blount's expulsion, will be curious to know just what the letter means, and will be disposed to agree with the extraorinary admission of the Committee that it, the Committee, did not know what the letter meant, as is plain- ly evidenced by their words: "The plan hinted at in this extraordinary letter, to be executed under the auspices of the British, is so capable of different constructions and con- jectures, that your Committee at present forbear giving any decided opinion respecting it, except that to Mr. Blount's own mind it appeared to be inconsistent with the interest of the United States and of Spain, and he was therefore anxious to conceal it from both." One cannot help but winder if the Committee could not decide what the plan was in the letter, and if the let- ter was capable of different constructions and conjectures, how the Committee upon the strength of the letter could find Senator Blount guilty of anything. The Senator's guilt, if guilty at all, depended upon the plan to be carried out in the letter, and the Committee could not decide what the plan was, and did not pretend to have any evidence as to it from any other source. Depending upon the political standpoint and prejudices of the reader, the letter might mean anything, but Americans have always been taught that men cannot be convicted of violation of law upon un- certainties, conjectures, surmises or mere belief — there must be proof of guilt, and in this case there was no proof. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 91 The Carey letter was the sole basis of the Senator's expulsion, and unexplained as it was, the modern reader will conclude without anything from the Senator's side, that the expulsion was rushed through the Senate backed up by the Adams Administration, for some secret political purpose that had not at that time come to light. After the resolution had been adopted expelling Sen- ator Blount, his sureties were discharged from their bond and on July 8th, 1797, he was required to enter into an- other bond of one thousand dollars with two sureties of five hundred dollars each, to make his appearance on July 10, 1797, to answer the articles of impeachment preferred by the House of Representatives. The drop from a twenty thousand dollar to a one thousand dollar bond seems a lit- tle curious and no explanation is available. Governor Blount forfeited this one thousand dollar bond by not appearing on July 10th, and the impeachment proceedings were passed until the next session of Congress. On July 8th, 1797, the House appointed a Committee to prepare articles of im- peachment against Senator Blount and the Committee con- sisted of Mr. Sitgreaves, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Bayard, Mr. Dawson, and Mr. Harper. The second session of the Fifth Congress met at Phila- delphia November 13, 1797, and Joseph Anderson had been appointed as Senator from Tennessee to fill out Senator Blount's unexpired term. On December 4, 1797, the House Committee made its report which contained five articles of impeachment against the Senator, with the testimony upon which it was based. On December 18, 1797, the trial began before the Senate. THE FIVE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT. It will be impossible in so limited space to reproduce in full the articles of impeachment, but the essential charge in each article is as follows: Article 1. That Senator Blount entered into a conspir- acy within the United States to conduct and carry on from the United States a military, hostile expedition against Florida and Louisiana, territories of the King of Spain, 92 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History for the purpose of wresting said territory from the King of Spain, and delivering the same to the King of England, the King of Spain being at that time at peace with the gov- ernment of the United States. Article 2. That Senator Blount in February, March, April, May and June, 1797, conspired to excite the Creek and Cherokee Indians within the territory of the United States to commence hostilities against the King of Spain in Florida and Louisiana, for the purpose of wresting Flor- ida and Louisiana from the King of Spain and delivering them to the King of Great Britain. Article 3. That Senator Blount conspired to alienate and divert the confidence of the Creek and Cherokee In- dians in one Benjamin Hawkins, the principal temporary agent of the United States for Indian Affairs south of the Ohio River, and north of the territorial line of the United States. Article 4. That Senator Blount conspired to engage James Carey to whom the letter had been written, and who had been appointed an interpreter of the United States to the Cherokee Indians and to assist at the public trading house established at Tellico Block House in the State of Tennessee, to assist Senator Bilount in the execution of his alleged criminal conspiracies against the United States. Article 5. That Senator Blount conspired to dimin- ish and impair the confidence of the Cherokee Indians in the Government of the United States and to foment dis- content among said Indians towards said Government in relation to the ascertainment and marking of certain boun- dary lines between the United States and the said Cherokee Indians, he thereby intending the more effectually to ac- complish his purpose of exciting said Indians to commence hostilities against the King of Spain. The House reserving to itself the right at any time af- terwards of submitting any further articles of impeach- ment against the Senator, demanded that he be put to an- swer for his alleged crimes and misdemeanors. The Sen- ate agreed to the five articles of impeachment, and it was upon them that the trial was had. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 93 On December 24, 1797, Jared Ingersoll of counsel for Senator Blount, submitted a plea which is too long to be reproduced here, but the substance of which was that the Senate having expelled Senator Blount, and he being no longer a member of that body, had no jurisdiction over him for any act he might be charged With, it being a plea to the jurisdiction of the Senate, and prayed judgment of the Senate as a high Court of Impeachment whether Sen- ator Blount should be required to further answer the five articles of impeachment preferred against him. To this plea Mr. Bayard, Chairman of the Managers on the part of the House, on January 3, 1799, made a repli- cation which was in substance and effect a demurrer to the plea, and set out that the matters alleged in the plea were not sufficient to exempt Senator Blount from answer- ing the articles of impeachment. To this replication Messrs. Ingersoll and Dallas filed a rejoinder setting out that the matter alleged in the plea was sufficient reason why the Senate as a Court of Im- peachment ought not to hold jurisdiction of the impeach- ment articles, and that the matter in said plea of Senator Bilount not being denied or answ r er made thereto by the House of Representatives, judgment was prayed whether or not the High Court of Impeachment would hold any fur- ther jurisdiction of the impeachment, or take cognizance thereof, and w r hether Senator Blount should make fur- ther answer thereto. These pleadings raised a question of law, pure and sim- ple, that went to the jurisdiction of the Senate over the subject matter, and the merits of the case were not in- volved. The sole question was whether Senator Blount, hav- ing been expelled from the Senate of its own motion, could now be impeached by the House of Representatives, and the impeachment sustained by the Senate, of which body he was no longer a member. On January 11, 1797, the Senate sustained the motion by a vote of 14 to 11 that the plea of Senator Blount was sufficient in law, and that the Senate as a High Court of Impeachment ought not to hold jurisdiction of the impeach- ment and the same was dismissed. The Secretary of the 94 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Senate was directed to notify the House of Representatives that the Senate would be ready to receive the Managers of the House and their counsel on Monday, January 14, 1797, at twelve o'clock to render judgment on the impeachment against Senator Blount. On January 14th the Court was opened and the parties were in attendance ; the Vice Presi- dent of the United States being the President of the Senate, pronounced the judgment of the Court that it would not hold jurisdiction of the impeachment and that it be dismissed. Mr. Sitgreaves, Chairman of the House Committee to prepare the articles of impeachment, stated clearly that the articles were based solely upon the Carey letter, so that the guilt or innocence of Senator Blount is confined to that letter, and taking that letter as the sole basis of the Sen- ator's guilt, we ask the question : First, did the letter justify the House Committee in bas- ing its five articles of impeachment upon it? This question raises the strictly legal aspect of Sena- tor Blount's guilt, as shown by the Carey letter, if he was guilty. The reply to the question in the calm consideration that our day gives to the matter is that the letter does not justify the five articles of impeachment. It is to be borne in mind that all of the five articles charge conspiracy, but it is not charged in any one of them that Senator Blount ever did anything to carry his conspiracies into execution. It is not charged in any of the articles with whom Senator Blount conspired. No man can make a conspiracy himself alone. This omission is very suggestive, because any person so charged would have defended himself, and if such a per- son had been an officer or representative of the English government, the Adams administration might have brought on trouble with that government as serious as it pretended to think Senator Blount's so-called conspiracy was about to bring on with Spain. In law, to make a conspiracy a criminal offense, there must be a clear and definite agreement to do some definite- ly understood unlawful thing. Men may consult about an unlawful thing any number of times, and if there is no agreement to do the unlawful thing, there is no violation of law. In the Carey letter there is not even a pretense Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 95 of any definite plan or undertaking being agreed upon or adopted; there is not a pretense that any definitely under- stood arrangement was to be carried out. There is not a pretense that the minds of whoever the conspirators were agreed upon the unlawful thing to be done. If there was a conspiracy at all, there must have been in it others be- sides Governor Blount who must have acceded to some def- inite plan. Upon the contrary, there are numerous statements in the Carey letter that indicate that nothing had been agreed upon. Here are some illustrations : The Senator said in one place, "I believe, but am not quite sure, that the plan then talked of will be attempted this fall ;" in another place, "You are, however, to understand that it is not yet quite cer- tain that the plan will be attempted ;" in another place, "If I attempt this plan." Again, the letter show r s that nothing was to be done unless satisfactory arrangements were made with England, and there is not a scintilla of evidence that Erigland ever agreed to any arrangement. Again, there is no evidence whatever that Senator Blount incited the Indians to make war on the King of Spain. There is no evidence whatever that Senator Blount ever attempted to put Hawkins out of office. There is no evidence whatever that Senator Blount at- tempted to divert James Carey from his duty as a servant of the United States. There is no evidence whatever that Senator Blount at- tempted to persuade the Indians that the United States had swindled them, and even if there was, this is not a crime. It is common knowledge throughout American his- tory that the Indians have been overreached and swindled by the agents of the United States government, probably not with the knowledge 'and consent of that government, but by the dishonesty of agents who worked to the detri- ment of the Government's wards. Speaking generally, the defect in the five articles is that the House Committee who drew them assumed that the Senator had been guilty of a conspiracy, and then made charges that were not in themselves criminal, but which 96 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History could only be pronounced such by reference to a conspiracy previously assumed to exist. In other words, the Commit- tee pronounced Senator Blount guilty by presumption, and then notified him to clear himself the best way he could. This may be a not very unusual procedure in politics in order to gain a political advantage, but it is not the law of the land and never was. There is not a court in the United States that would permit the allegations in the five charges to stand as an adequate foundation for a charge of conspiracy. We are forced to conclude, therefore, that as a matter of law the five charges preferred by the House absolutely broke down, and it follows that if the Senator was not guilty in law, he could not be guilty at all. His ex- pulsion, therefore, can be charged up as a political out- rage committed by the Adams Administration, members of the Cabinet of w/hich actively aided in the prosecution, and brought all the influence of the administration to bear to expel Senator Blount from the Senate. President Adams had made the charge, and had sent the Carey letter to the Sen- ate; this was an act of his administration which he did not desire should fail, and the administration backed up the prosecution with all of its might. But, as Senator Blount was a representative of this State, Tennessee would like to know not only that he was not guilty in law, but that he was not morally guilty of anything in the Carey letter, and this brings up the question of what the Carey letter meant, if it had any definite or fixed meaning at all. In 1835 Willie Blount, a half brother of the Senator, wrote a vindication of him, which is referred to by Dr. Ramsey in his Annals of Tennessee, but unfortunately that vindication, together with numerous other Blount papers, historical and biographical documents, correspondence and historical library, which Dr. Ramsey had collected for the purpose of writing a second volume of his Annals of Ten- nessee, were all destroyed by fire, and the volume was never written. In reference to this vindication, Dr. Ramsey said : "Governor Willie Blount, the writer of it, was a young- er brother of Senator Blount, was his private and official Secretary, and was thus associated intimately with him in i Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 97 most of the transactions of his public and private life, and who succeeded him in the administration of the duties of Governor over the same people for many years. His char- acter for candor and truth and impartiality will be no- where questioned, and the condition of no one could have been more favorable for the ascertainment of all the facts he mentions or the purposes to which he alludes in his vin- dication of William Blount. At the time I read it the docu- ment was closely examined, even analyzed in all of its bear- ings, its arguments, and its conditions. It was supported by the most irrefragible testimony. I have had some op- portunity in my past life of sifting and comparing contem- porary testimony from which to eliminate historical truth, and I here declare the vindication by Governor Willie Blount of Senator Blount to have been full and particular, not only explanatory and exculpatory in every particular, but per- fectly satisfactory to myself at the time it was before me." Within the limits here necessary it would be impossi- ble to go into a full and detailed statement of the politics of that day involving the relations of the United States, France, Spain, England and the Indian tribes. All of the diplomacy of the day was absolutely rotten upon the part of the three latter nations. Spain was in possession of Florida and Louisiana and was prohibiting free navigation of the Mississippi River. The free navigation of that river was the very life-blood of the people of Tennessee. They then constituted the extreme West of the United States, and were without roads or railroads, and water transpor- tation was their only means of travel. The land of Tennes- see was practically worthless at the time the Carey letter was written. Spain was holding her control of the Missis- sippi River as a club over the head not only of the United States, but of every nation that controlled territory adjoin- ing the Mississippi, and Spain's demands and domination of the River had become intolerable. That Senator Blount should desire that the people of Tennessee might have the great dream of their lives — that is, the right to use the Mississippi as an unrestricted highway — only proves that the Senator was absolutely loyal to the interests of the State that he represented. Tennessee, with its sparse pop- ulation and its total lack of development and the painful poverty of its people at the time the Carey letter was writ- 98 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ten, had very little influence in the Congress of the United States. Tennessee was a kind of step-daughter in the newly formed American Union. It is not difficult to surmise that Senator Blount saw that there was no relief to be expected from Congress for the people of Tennessee in reference to the navigation of the Mississippi. If he saw this, and un- dertook to get relief for his State, instead of being a crim- inal and an outlaw, he would be a patriot, and with this ex- planation the letter written by the Senator to the people of Tennessee on July 5, 1797, becomes clear in which he used the language: "The people upon the Western waters will see nothing but good in it (the Carey letter) for so I intended it, especially for Tennessee;" and this is the sum of the whole matter; and this is why, when he returned to Tennessee after being expelled from the Senate, he was received not as a disgraced and outlawed public official, but with open arms by his fellow citizens. It was through Senator Blount that the first constitu- tional convention of Tennessee adopted the 29th Section of the Bill of Rights as follows: "That an equal participation in the free navigation of the Mississippi River is one of the inherent rights of the citizens of this State; it cannot, therefore, be conceded to any prince, potentate, power, per- son or persons whatever." He was expelled from the Senate July 8, 1797, and Gen- eral James White in two or three months resigned from the Tennessee State Senate of which he was Speaker, in order that Senator Blount might take his place, and the Senator was elected to the State Senate, and made Speaker on De- cember 3, 1797. In five months the people of Tennessee showed their resentment at the Senator's expulsion from Congress in the most emphatic manner in their power, namely, by making him the Speaker of their highest legis- lative body. If we should put the case in its strongest possible light against Senator Blount, and assume that he did enter into an agreement with England by w r hich England was to get the control of Louisiana, and thereby dominate the Mis- sissippi River, and thereby give to the American people free and unrestricted navigation of that river, we hardly Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 99 think that any American citizen would very seriously con- demn him ; but, as a matter of fact, no agreement was ever made. That something of the kind was discussed by Sen- ator Blount and his friends, we assume to be beyond ques- tion. There is not a particle of evidence that the Senator ever contemplated leading a military force out of the United States, and thereby making possible a war between Spain and the United States, and there is not a particle of evi- dence that anything he ever said or did as referred to in the Carey letter, would have brought war or disagreement between the United States and Spain. The modern reader can but see in his expulsion cold-blooded national politics with the wires being pulled by parties evidently in the back- ground for undisclosed purposes, and not because of any violation of law indicated by the Carey letter. HON. MARCUS J. WRIGHT ON WILLIAM BLOUNT. Honorable Marcus J. Wright, now eighty years of age, was a Brigadier General from Tennessee in the Confeder- ate Army, and was appointed by President U. S. Grant as the Confederate member of a Commission of three to take charge of the printing for the Government of the rec- ords of the Civil War; and ever since his appointment he has been in the War Records Department of the United States at Washington. In 1884 he wrote a short Life of Senator Blount — a pamphlet of one hundred and forty- two pages — and in it he gave an account of the charges be- fore the Senate against the Senator, a summary of the tes- timony of the witnesses, the trial and the expulsion, and some account of his life and history generally. To General Wright's book and to Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey is due much of what we know about Senator Blount, and as General Wright is a Tennessean and wrote his Life of Blount as a vindi- cation, a quotation of his own words will be of interest to the large number of Tennesseans who know him per- sonally. In Chapter thirty we find the following: "Under the old Confederation the people of Tennessee had been unaided and unprotected in all of their Indian wars. They had received neither troops nor money. They were isolated and cut off from trade with the East by 1 00 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History mountain ranges, and cut off from New Orleans by Span- ish prohibition ; the United States was either unable or un- willing to secure for them the free navigation of the Miss- issippi River, and in general was little disposed to take notice of their grievances. They entertained no strong af- fection for the old Confederation, and when the new Fed- eral Constitution was submitted to them the first time they rejected it by an almost unanimous vote. Afterwards they did accept it in the hope that the general government would extend them relief. The hope was vain. Monette says : " 'The prevalence of Eastern influence in Congress and in the Cabinet of the United States was strong and swayed the national policy as to measures affecting the Eastern people, and these measures operated no less perniciously upon them than if they had been prompted by interested jealousy in the Atlantic States.' "Putnam says: 'The politicians in the Eastern States said let us secure the fisheries ; what matters it if the navi- gation of the Mississippi is yielded for five and twenty years, or forever?' "* * * If no redress could be had during Washing- ton's administration, still less could any be hoped for under the succeeding administration, which was alike character- ized by its tame submission to foreign insults as by the ferocity of its Alien and Sedition Laws. There was no hope from the government; the people of the West must help themselves or be irretrievably ruined as they were justified at the time in supposing; Governor Blount planned an en- terprise for their relief; we have seen what the plan was. It was to secure them the free navigation of the Mississ- ippi; a right which had been declared in the twenty-ninth section of the Bill of Rights of Tennessee to be 'one of the inherent rights of the citizens of this State.' This provi- sion was inserted at the instance and by the efforts of Gov- ernor Blount in 1796, two years before he was impeached for making an arrangement for carrying it into effect. The people of Tennessee looked to Governor Blount for relief; he had been identified with the early history and govern- ment of the State, and felt it to be his duty to attempt to secure relief. He made the effort and failed. For making this effort he was expelled from the Senate of the United States and impeached. But those who sought to disgrace him were disappointed. What was intended for his humil- iation redounded to his greater honor. If he had been a popular favorite before, he was now regarded as a victim of Eastern selfishness and as a martyr to the cause of the Western people." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 101 A rather amusing 1 incident of the impeachment oc- curred when Senator Blount forfeited his bond of one thou- sand dollars and did not appear for trial before the Sen- ate. Dr. Ramsey says that the Sergeant at Arms, James Mathers, was sent by the Senate to Knoxville to take the Senator into custody and bring him before that body. Math- ers proceeded to Knoxville and served the Senate's process upon Blount, who of course, refused to go. The Sergeant at Arms was entertained as a guest at the Senator's house and courteously received by the State authorities. After staying about Knoxville for a few days he summoned a posse of citizens to assist him to take the Senator back to Philadelphia — but not a man would serve. Sergeant at Arms Mathers was then not long in coming to the conclu- sion that he had better start for home, and a number of citizens rode with him a few miles out of town, bade him goodbye with the greatest courtesy, and assured him with all possible politeness that William Blount could not be taken as a prisoner out of Tennessee. His expulsion not only did not injure him with Ten- nesseans, but it made him more popular than ever, for the people looked upon it, just as the fact was, that he was ex- pelled when he was trying to do something in the service of his State. Later, Willie Blount was elected three times Governor of Tennessee, and William G. Blount, the Senator's son, was elected Secretary of State by the Tennessee Legislature, and later, upon the death of John Sevier, was elected a member of Congress from the Knoxville District. Pleasant M. Miller, the Senator's son-in-law, served as a member of Congress; and another son-in-law, Edmund P. Gaines, was a General in the United States army. Senator Blount died on the first of March, 1800. His wife died on October 7, 1802, and they are buried side by side in the First Presbyterian Churchyard in Knoxville. Six children survived the couple. 102 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER VII. JOHN DONELSON AND THE DONELSONS. In early Tennessee history some of the actors stand out so clearly that the mind's eye can see them with the ac- curacy of a photograph; others are more indistinct, while at the same time performing great service for the cause of the civilization which was being planted in the State. Among those who are indistinct and almost shadowy, ex- cept in his journey by water to Nashville, is Colonel John Donelson. Leaving his water trip out of consideration, Colonel Donelson appears in the merest outlines, yet he was a great man and his record will stand the most critical ex- amination; the closer we look at it the larger it develops. More than that, Colonel Donelson founded the Donelson family of Tennessee, which with its connections in several States, became and is now one of the most influential fam- ilies in the South. But if he had lived the life of a drone, except in making his water journey to Nashville, he would be one of the heroes of history, and his name would be passed down the years along with others who are conceded to have done great things. Colonel John Donelson was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, in 1720, and his father's name was also John Don- elson, who immigrated to America in 1716, and settled in Delaware Bay, at a date that we have been unable to find. Both his father and grandfather appear to have been en- gaged in the shipping business. Colonel Donelson was an educated man, probably one of the best educated of his day, and achieved prominence in Virginia before he concluded to make his home West of the mountains. He was a sur- veyor by profession, and was associated at one time and another with the leading men on the American side in the Revolutionary War. In Virginia, he personally knew George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, all of whom were his personal friends. In Tennessee, he was associated with John Sevier, James Robertson, Isaac Shelby, the two Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 103 Bledsoes, Col. Richard Henderson, and other leaders of the trans-montane movement. He served in the House of Bur- gesses of Virginia, prior to the Declaration of Independ- ence, in 1771-72-73-74 and in 1771 he was appointed Colonel of the Pittsylvania County militia. He was appointed sur- veyor of Pittsylvania County by the Colonial Government. He married Rachel Stockley of Maryland. On June 26th, 1777, a meeting was held at Fort Patrick Henry, near Long Island, in the present Sullivan County, by the Commissioners appointed by Governor -Henry, of Virginia, and a number of Cherokee Chiefs, to establish the line between the State of Virginia and Cherokee ter- ritory. Commissioners of North Carolina also were pres- ent, who were Waightstill Avery, William Sharp, Robert Lanier and Joseph Winston ; and the result of the meeting was the confirmation of the line run by Colonel Donelson some time before. Colonel Donelson's father married Katherine Davis, a sister of the first President of Princeton College. The Colonel had eleven children, some of whom were destined to high positions. The children were as follows : Alexander, who never married ; Elizabeth, who mar- ried Colonel Thomas Hutchins ; Captain John Donelson, who married Mary Purnel, of Snow Hill, Virginia, and who as bride and groom, endured the hardships and deprivations incident to Colonel Donelson's voyage to Tennessee, in his "good boat Adventure;" Mary, who married Captain John Caffrey, and whose descendants are prominent in Louisiana and Mississippi; Jane, who married Colonel Robert Hayes, and they were the parents of Mrs. Robert I. Chester, of Jackson, Tennessee; William, who married Charity Dick- inson, and had a number of children ; Stockley, who mar- ried Elizabeth Glascow; Samuel, who married Mary Smith, and they became the parents of Major Andrew J. Donelson and General Daniel S. Donelson ; Severn, who married Eliz- abeth Rucker, and they became the parents of Andrew, the adopted son of General Jackson ; Levin, who never mar- ried ; Rachel, who married first Captain Lewis Robards and then General Jackson. 104 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History All of Colonel Donelson's children were born in Vir- ginia, and he brought them all to the Watauga region when he came to Tennessee. Just how long he remained in Ten- nessee before he conceived the idea of his marvelous jour- ney by water from Fort Patrick Henry to Nashville, we have been unable to ascertain, but we know from the journal he kept that he started on the journey December 22nd, 1779. This journey involved the distance from Fort Patrick Henry to Knoxville, which is 142 miles; thence by the Tennessee River to the Ohio 635 miles ; thence by the Ohio to the mouth of the Cumberland 15 miles ; and thence by the Cumberland to Nashville 193 miles, or, a total of 985 miles. Considering the craft in which this water journey was taken, the ever present danger from Indians on both sides of all the rivers traversed, the danger from navigation, the escape from which seems miraculous, the drastic labor of poleing boats up stream on the Ohio for 15 miles and up the Cumberland for 193 miles, and the suffering from the extreme cold of the weather, which was one of the severest seasons ever known in Tennessee, this journey becomes one of the marvels of history. One of the most precious documents in all the records of Tennessee, is Colonel Donelson's journal of that voyage, which happily has been preserved and is in the Tennessee Historical' Society at Nashville, and is here printed in full. The reader will observe the total lack of color in the narra- tive, which argues that Colonel Donelson did not look upon his undertaking as anything very remarkable, but there are a thousand things that come to mind we would like to know. Talk about romance, where is there a historical in- cident more filled with romance than this, and how we would like someone to have been on that journey who could have filled in the color in Colonel Donelson's narrative. We are curious to know all about the "Good Boat Adventure," how long and wide it was and the details of construction ; how the voyagers spent their time as the current was bearing them forward to an unknowable destiny in the wilds of Middle Tennessee on the Cumberland River; what Captain John Donelson and bride, Mary Purnel, thought and said of that journey as a wedding trip; and all of the thousand Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 105 and one incidents connected with a life of four months un- der the unprecedented conditions of that voyage. They ar- rived at the end of their journey on Monday, April 24th, 1780. Here is the way Colonel Donelson tells the story : 1779 — Voyage of the Donelson Party. journal of a voyage, intended by god's permission, in the good boat adventure, from fort patrick henry, on holston river, to the french salt springs on cumberland river, kept by john donelson. "December 22, 1779. — Took our departure from the fort, and fell down the river to the mouth of Reedy creek, where we were stopped by the fall of water and most excessive hard frost; and after much delay, and many difficulties, we arrived at the mouth of Cloud's Creek on Sunday even- ing, the 20th of February, 1780, where we lay by until Sun- day, the 27th, when we took our departure with sundry other vessels bound for the same voyage, and on the same day struck the Poor-valley shoal, together with Mr. Boyd and Mr. Rounsifer, on which shoal we lay that afternoon and succeeding night in much distress. "Monday, February 28th, 1780. — In the morning, the water rising, we got off the shoal, after landing thirty per- sons to lighten our boat. In attempting to land on an island, received some damage, and lost sundry articles, and came to camp on the south shore, where we joined sundry other vessels also bound down. "Tuesday, 29th — Proceeded down the river and en- camped on the north shore, the afternoon and following day proving rainy. "Wednesday, March 1st. — Proceeded on, and encamped on the north shore, nothing happening that day remarkable. "March 2d. — Rain about half the day ; passed the mouth of French Broad river, and about twelve o'clock Mr. Henry's boat, being driven on the point of an island by the force of the current, was sunk, the whole cargo much damaged, and the crew's lives much endangered, which occasioned the whole fleet to put on shore and go to their assistance, but with much difficulty baled her out and raised her, in order to take in her cargo again. The same afternoon, Reu- ben Harrison went out a hunting, and did not return that night, though many guns were fired to fetch him in. "Friday, 3rd. — Early in the morning fired a four-pound- er for the lost man, sent out sundry persons to search the woods for him, firing many guns that day and the succeed- 106 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ing night, but all without success, to the great grief of his parents and fellow-travelers. "Saturday, 4th. — Proceeded on our voyage, leaving old Mr. Harrison, with some other vessels, to make further search for his lost son: about ten o'clock the same day found him a considerable distance down the river, where Mr. Ben Belew took him on board his boat. At three o'clock p. m., passed the mouth of Tennessee river, and camped on the south shore, about ten miles below the mouth of Tennessee. "Sunday, 5th. — Cast off and got under way before sun- rise; twelve o'clock, passed mouth of Clinch ; at three o'clock, p. m., came up with the Clinch River company, whom we joined, and camped, the evening proving rainy. "Monday 6th. — Got under way before sunrise : the morn- ing proving very foggy, many of the fleet were much bogged : about ten o'clock lay up for them ; when collected, proceeded down ; camped on the north shore, where Cap- tain Hutchin's negro man died, being much frosted in his feet and legs, of which he died. "Tuesday, 7th. — Got under way very early: the day proving very windy, a S.S.W., and the river, being wide, occasioned a high sea, insomuch that some of the smaller crafts were in danger, therefore came to at the uppermost Chickamauga towfr, which was then evacuated, where we lay by that afternoon and camped that night. The wife of Ephraim Peyton was here delivered of a child. Mr. Peyton has gone through by land with Captain Robertson. "Wednesday, 8th. — Cast off at ten o'clock, and proceed- ed down to an Indian village, which was inhabited, on the south side of the river: they invited us to 'come ashore,' called us brothers, and showed other signs of friendship, insomuch that Mr. John Caffrey and my son, then on board, took a canoe which I had in tow, and were crossing over to them, the rest of the fleet having landed on the opposite shore. After they had gone some distance, a half-breed, who called himself Archy Coody, with several other In- dians, jumped into a canoe, met them, and advised them to return to the boat, which they did, together with Coody, and several canoes, which left the shore and followed direct- ly after him. They appeared to be friendly. After distrib- uting some presents among them, with which they seemed much pleased, we observed a number of Indians on the other side embarking in their canoes, armed and painted with red and black. Coody immediately made signs to his compan- ions, ordering them to quit the boat, which they did, him- self and another Indian remaining with us, and telling us Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 107 to move off instantly. We had not gone far before we dis- covered a number of Indians armed and painted, proceed- ing- down the river, as it were to intercept us. Coody, the half-breed, and his companion sailed with us for some time, and telling us that we had passed all the towns and were out of danger, left us. But we had not gone far until we come in sight of another town, situated likewise on the south side of the river, nearly opposite a small island. Here they again invited us to come on shore, called us brothers, and observing the boats standing off for the opposite chan- nels, told us that 'their side of the river was better for boats to pass.' And here we must regret the unfortunate death of young Mr. Payne, on board Captain Blackmore's boat, who was mortally wounded by reason of the boat running too near the northern shore, opposite the town where some of the enemy lay concealed ; and the more tragical misfor- tune of poor Stuart, his family and friends, to the number of twenty-eight persons. This man had embarked with us for the Western country, but his family being diseased with the small-pox, it was agreed upon between him and the company that he should keep at some distance in the rear, for fear of the infection spreading ; and he was warned each night when the encampment should take place by the sound of a horn. After we had passed the town, the Indians having now collected to a considerable number, observing his help- less situation, singled off from the rest of the fleet, inter- cepted him, killed and took prisoners the whole crew, to the great grief of the whole company, uncertain how soon they might share the same fate : their cries were distinctly heard by those boats in the rear. We still perceived them march- ing down the river in considerable bodies, keeping pace with us unt'l the Cumberland Mountain withdrew them from our sight, when we were in hopes we had escaped them. We are now arrived at the place called Whirl, or Suck, where the river is compressed within less than half its common width above, by the Cumberland Mountain, which juts in on both sides. In passing through the upper part of these narrows, at a place described by Coody, which he termed the "boiling pot" a trivial accident had nearly ruined the ex- pedition. One of the company, John Cotton, who was moving down in a large canoe, had attached it to Robert Cartwright's boat, into which he and his family had gone for safety. The canoe was here overturned, and the little cargo lost. The company, pitying his distress, concluded to halt and assist him in recovering his property. They had landed on the northern shore, at a level spot, and were going up to the place, when the Indians to our astonishment 108 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History appeared immediately over us on the opposite cliffs, and commenced firing down upon us, which occasioned a precip- itate retreat to the boats. We immediately moved off. The Indians, lining the bluffs along, continued their fire from the heights on our boats below, without doing any other injury than wounding four slightly. Jenning's boat is miss- ing. "We have now passed through the Whirl. The river widens with a placid and gentle current, and all the com- pany appear to be in safety, except the family of Jonathan Jennings, whose boat ran on a large rock projecting out from the northern shore, and partly immersed in water, im- mediately at the Whirl, where we were compelled to leave them, perhaps to be slaughtered by their merciless enemies. Continued to sail on that day, and floated throughout the following night. "Thursday, 9th. — Proceeded on our journey, nothing happening worthy of attention today; floated until about midnight, and encamped on the northern shore. "Friday, 10th. — This morning about four o'clock we were surprised by the cries of 'Help poor Jennings' at some dis- tance in the rear. He had discovered us by our fires, and came up in the most wretched condition. He states, that as soon as the Indians had discovered his situation, they turned their whole attention to him, and kept up a most galling fire on his boat. He ordered his wife, a son nearly grown, a young man who accompanied them, and his two negroes, to throw all his goods into the river, to lighten their boat for the purpose of getting her off; himself returning their fire as well as he could, being a good soldier and an excellent marksman. But before they had accomplished their object, his son, the young man, and the negro man jumped out of the boat and left them: he thinks the young man and the negro were wounded. Before they left the boat, Mrs. Jen- nings, however, and the negro woman succeeded in unload- ing the boat, but chiefly by the exertions of Mrs. Jennings, who got out of the boat and shoved her off; but was near falling a victim to her own intrepidity, on account of the boat starting so suddenly as soon as loosened from the rocks. Upon examination he appears to have made a wonderful escape, for his boat is pierced in numberless places with bullets. It is to be remarked that Mrs. Peyton, who was the night before delivered of an infant, which was unfor- tunately killed in the hurry and confusion consequent upon such a disaster, assisted them, being frequently exposed to wet and cold then and afterwards, and that her health ap- pears to be good at this time, and I think and hope she will Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 109 do well. Their clothes were very much cut with bullets, especially Mrs. Jennings ! "Saturday, 11th. — Got under way after having distrib- uted the family of Mrs. Jennings in the other boats. Rowed on quietly that day and encamped for the night on the north- ern shore. "Sunday, 12th. — Set out, and after a few hours' sailing we heard the crowing of cocks, and soon came within view of the town : here they fired on us again without doing any injury. After running until about ten o'clock came in sight of the Muscle Shoals. Halted on the northern shore at the upper end of the shoals, in order to search for the signs Captain James Robertson was to make for us at that place. He set out from Holston early in the fall of 1779, and was to proceed by the way of Kentucky to the Big Salt Lick on Cum- berland river, with several others in company, was to come across from the Big Salt Lick to the upper end of the shoals, there to make such signs that we might know he had been there, and that it was practicable for us to go across by land. But to our great mortification we can find none, from which we conclude that it would not be prudent to make the at- tempt ; and are determined, knowing ourselves to be in such imminent danger, to pursue our journey down the river. After trimming our boats in the best manner possible, we ran through the shoals before night. When we approached them they had a dreadful appearance to those who had never seen them before. The water being high made a terrible roaring, which could be heard at some distance among the drift-wood heaped frightfully upon the points of the island, the current running in every possible direction. Here we did not know how soon we should be dashed to pieces, and all our troubles ended at once. Our boats frequently dragged on the bottom, and appeared constantly in danger of striking : they warped as much as in a rough sea. But, by the hand of Providence, we are now preserved from this danger also. I know not the length of this wonderful shoal : it had been represented to me to be twenty-five or thirty miles ; if so, we must have descended very rapidly, as indeed we did, for we passed it in about three hours. Came to and camped on the northern shore, not far below the shoals, for the night. "Monday, 13th. — Got under way early in the morning, and made a good run that day. "Tuesday, 14th. — Set out early. On this day two boats approaching too near the shore, were fired on by the In- dians ; five of the crew were wounded, but not dangerously. Came to camp at night near the mouth of a creek. After 110 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History kindling fires and preparing- for rest, the company were alarmed on account of the incessant barking our dogs kept up; taking it for granted the Indians were attempting to surprise us, we retreated precipitately to the boats, fell down the river about a mile, and encamped on the other shore. In the morning, I prevailed on Mr. Caffrey and my son to cross below in a canoe and return to the place ; which they did, and found' an African negro we had left in the hurry, asleep by one of the fires. The voyagers then re- turned and collected their utensils, which had been left. "Wednesday, 15th. — Got under way, and moved on peaceably on the five following days, when we arrived at the mouth of the Tennessee on Monday the 20th, and landed on the lower point, immediately on the Bank of the Ohio. Our situation here is truly disagreeable. The river is very high, and the current rapid, our boats not constructed for the pur- pose of stemming a rapid stream, our provision exhausted, the crews almost worn down with hunger and fatigue, and know not what distance we have to go, or what time it will take us to our place of destination. The scene is rendered still more melancholy, as several boats will not attempt to ascend the rapid current. Some intend to descend the Mis- sissippi to Natchez ; others are bound for the Illinois — among the rest my son-in-law and daughter. We now part, per- haps to meet no more, for I am determined to pursue my course, happen what will. "Tuesday, 21st. — Set out, and on this.day labored very hard, and got but a little way: camped on the south bank of the Ohio. Passed the two following days as the former, suffering much from hunger and fatigue. "Friday, 24th. — About three o'clock came to the mouth of a river which I thought was the Cumberland. Some of the company declared it could not be, it was so much smaller than was expected. But I never heard of any river running in between the Cumberland and Tennessee. It appeared to flow with a gentle current. We determined, however, to make the trial, pushed up some distance, and encamped for the night. "Saturday, 25th. — Today we are much encouraged; the river grows wider ; the current is very gentle : we are now convinced it is the Cumberland. I have derived great as- sistance from a small square sail, which was fixed up on the day we left the mouth of the river ; and to prevent any ill effects from sudden flaws of wind, a man was stationed at each of the lower corners of the sheet, with directions to give way whenever it was necessary. "Sunday, 26th. — Got under way early; procured some buffalo meat; though poor, it was palatable. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 1 1 ''Monday, 27th. — Set out again ; killed a swan, which was very delicious. "Tuesday, 28th. — Set out very early this morning ; killed some buffalo. "Wednesday, 29th. — Proceeded up the river; gathered some herbs on the bottoms of Cumberland, which some of the company called 'Shawanee Salad.' "Thursday, 30th. — Proceeded on our voyage. This day we killed some more buffalo. "Friday, 31st. — Set out this day, and, after running some distance, met with Colonel Richard Henderson, who was running the line between Virginia and North Carolina. At this meeting we were much rejoiced. He gave us every in- formation we wished, and further informed us that he had purchased a quantity of corn in Kentucky, to be shipped at the Falls of Ohio, for the use of the Cumberland settlement. We are now without bread, and are compelled to hunt the buffalo to preserve life. Worn out with fatigue, our pro- gress at present is slow. Camped at night near the mouth of a little river, at which place, and below, there is a hand- some bottom of rich land. Here we found a pair of hand millstones, set up for grinding, but appeared not to have been used for a great length of time. Proceeded on quietly until the 12th of April, at which time we came to the mouth of a little river running on the north side, by Moses Ren- froe and his company called 'Red River,' up which they intended to settle. Here they took leave of us. We pro- ceeded up Cumberland, nothing happening material until the 23d, when we reached the first settlement on the north side of the river, one mile and a half below the Big Salt Lick, and called Eaton's Station, after a man of that name, who, with several other families, came through Kentucky and settled there. "Monday, April 24th. — This day we arrived at our jour- ney's end at the Big Salt Lick, where we have the pleasure of finding Capt. Robertson and his company. It is a source of satisfaction to us to be enabled to restore to him and others their families and friends, who were entrusted to our care, and who, some time since, perhaps, despaired of ever meeting again. Though our prospects at present are dreary, we have found a few log cabins which have been built on a cedar bluff above the Lick by Capt. Robertson and his company." The names of the persons who came in this company are given by Capt. Donelson as follows : 112 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History John Donelson, Sr. Mrs. Henry (widow). Thomas Hutchings. Frank Armstrong. John Caffrey. Hugh Rogan. John Donelson, Jr. Daniel Chambers. James Robertson's lady Robert Cartwright. and children. Stuart. Mrs. Purnell. David Gwinn. M. Rounsifer. John Boyd. James Cain. Reuben Harrison. Isaac Neelly. Frank Haney. Jonathan Jennings. Maxwell. Benjamin Belew. John Montgomery. Peter Looney. John Cotton. Capt. John Blackemore. Thomas Henry. Moses Renfroe. Mr. Cockrell. Wm. Crutchfield. Payne (killed). Mr. Johns. John White. Hugh Henry, Sr. Solomon White. Benjamin Porter. This list, however, does not include everyone in the party ; there were women, children and servants not named, and the estimate is that there were about one hundred and sixty persons with him, of whom from thirty to forty were men, who handled and propelled the boat and defended it against Indian attacks. Colonel Donelson had his entire family with him and it was a large family, and he had also a num- ber of servants. Mrs. James Robertson and her five chil- dren were also along. In the party was Mrs. Peyton, the mother of Honorable Bailey Peyton, distinguished in the politics of Tennessee and son of Ephraim Peyton, who ac- companied James Robertson by the overland route with stock from the Watauga to the Cumberland. Robertson's party was to get to the Cumberland first, if possible, and build cabins for the reception of Colonel Donelson's party, com- ing by water. Putnam throws this interesting light on the water trip. "The party of immigrants, who joined Colonel Donelson at the mouth of Clinch, was under the direction and com- mand of Captain John Blackmore : They started from Fort Blackmore on Clinch River. From the statements of Capt. Blackmore, Cartwright and others, we are justified in stat- ing that there were some thirty or forty boats (flats, dug- outs and canoes), in the united fleet, and none of them with Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 1 3 less than two families and their goods on board. Few of these crafts were constructed to stem the current, but rather to float down with the current. In Donelson's boat there were three families." Every school in Tennessee should give careful study to Colonel Donelson's water journey to Nashville. It was a heroic achievement and all ought to be taught to so view it. The school histories of the State should give it ample space to the end that the courage, sacrifices and achievements of some of the founders of the State be known and cherished by every citizen. Unfortunately we forget great things, even when accomplished by our own people on our own soil ; and it is a safe estimate that a very small per cent of school children, who study Tennessee History, could tell anything about the water journey to the City of Nashville. Colonel Donelson selected Clover Bottom as his home, which is a short distance west of the bridge across Stone River on the present Lebanon Pike, and there erected some rude temporary structures to live in until he and his ser- vants could clear land and plant a crop. Later they were attacked by the Indians with disastrous results, and his land was overflown; when Colonel Donelson determined to move into the State of Kentucky, where he had land claims and friends. In 1783, Colonel Donelson and Colonel Martin were commissioned by the Governor of Virginia to hold a treaty with the Cherokees and Chickasaw Indians, and after this treaty was held at Nashville, Colonel Donelson returned to Kentucky, and remained there until 1785, when he went to Virginia, where he had interests, but with the determination to return and move his family back to the Cumberland Set- tlement. Putnam, tells us that while a member of the House of Burgesses in Virginia, he signed an address, which advo- cated the placing American industries upon a footing more independent of the restrictive policy of the mother country, which address was signed by Washington, Jackson, Patrick Henry, Lee, Randolph, Donelson, and other members of the House of Burgesses. 114 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History His death is a mystery, that was never solved. He had started back from Virginia to Kentucky, pursuing the usual route by Cumberland Gap, and on to Davis' Station. It seems that he was joined by two young white men, who were going as they said to Nashville. At one point on the journey Colonel Doneison rode on ahead of the two young men, when they said they heard guns fire, and going to where the sounds came from, found Colonel Doneison shot, but able to travel a short distance further, where they stopped and camped for the night on Barren River. There he died and they buried him. Necessarily, suspicion of murder fell upon the young men, but there was no proof, and they were not prosecuted. It would be impossible in a brief sketch like this to give a just statement of the life, character, and achievements of Colonel Doneison; that would take a volume, and it would be a very happy incident connected with early Tennessee history, if some one would write his life and give us every available detail about a man, who, as we look back and view his achievements, can fairly claim the right to be consid- ered one of the great men of his day and generation. ANDREW JACKSON DONELSON. Andrew Jackson's devotion to his wife, Rachel Doneison Jackson, did not stop with her, but embraced everybody that was anything to her. General Jackson's immediate family were all dead, his father, mother and brothers. Along with other characteristics, he was a man of a decid- edly domestic turn, and very warm in his affections to those he cared for. Numerous members of the Doneison family were objects of his affection, and among these none more than Andrew Jackson Doneison. Andrew Jackson Doneison was the son of Samuel Don- eison and a nephew of Mrs. Andrew Jackson. Samuel Don- eison was Jackson's law partner, who died at the Hermitage suddenly on his return from Nashville, when he stopped in at the Hermitage to see his sister, Mrs. Jackson. He lived three or four miles North of the Hermitage. After his law partner's death, General Jackson took his son, Andrew Jackson Doneison, who was just a child, on horseback to Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 15 the Hermitage and raised and educated him; and he was associated in various capacities with General Jackson for thirty-seven years. The General sent him to West Point, where he graduated, completing the four years' course there in three; also graduated at Cumberland University and at Lexington, Kentucky. While he did not adopt him, the General treated him always as his son. Young Donelson attained rank and title of Major and was on General Jack- son's staff in Florida ; was his private Secretary eight years that Jackson was president, and his wife filled the position of mistress of the White House; and there four of Major Donelson's children were born, the first children born in the White House. He was appointed by President Polk Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Prus- sia; was Charge de Affairs to France and Charge de Af- fairs to Texas; was editor of the Washington Union, and was nominated on the ticket for Vice President of the United States with Millard Filmore, in 1856. He owned a plantation in Mississippi, and died at Memphis, Tennessee, on his way back from his plantation, on June 26th, 1871. He was born August 25th, 1800. His first wife was his cousin, Emily Donelson, daughter of Capt. John Donelson ; and his second wife was also his cousin, Elizabeth Martin, daughter of Capt. John Donelson and widow of Lewis P. Randolph, grandson of Thomas Jefferson. Three of his sons, Daniel S., Martin and William, were born in Berlin, Prussia, when Major Donelson was Minister to Prussia. The following letter exhibits General Jackson at his best as a letter writer on a high plane, and also the kind feeling he entertained for Major Donelson. "ANDREW JACKSON TO CAPTAIN FENTON AT NEW ORLEANS." "Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 20, 1821 "Dear Sir: "My nephew, Lieut. Andrew J. Donelson, whom I have educated as my son will hand you this; he has just finished his education at the Military Academy, is attached to the Engineering corps and visits the lower country to procure and report to me some necessary information relative to the frontier northwest of Louisiana, rendered necessary for its protection and defense, and to visit the fortifications on our 1 16 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Southern borders. I have a great wish that Lieut. Donel- son should become acquainted with you and your amiable family, and have charged him if official duties will permit him, to call and pay his respects to you and your family, and have to ask for him your friendly attention. Lieut. Donelson is young, but I trust you will find him modest and unassuming; possessing as good an education as any of his age in America ; of good moral habits, and entirely clean of all the dissipations too common to the youth of the modern day ; and as such I beg leave to make him known to you and your family. "With a tender of my best regards for you and your family believe me to be with due respect your most obedient servant, "ANDREW JACKSON. "Captain Fennon." On May 24, 1845, General Jackson addressed a letter to Major Donelson at Washington, Texas, where he was the representative of the United States in the matter of the annexation of Texas. This letter, like the one just quoted, illustrates General Jackson's devotion to him : "My dear Major: I rejoice that you will nobly execute your mission and bring the Lone Star into our glorious Union. It will give you such a standing in our country that Colonel Polk can yield to you such an appointment as will be both agreeable and profitable. This he is pledged to do and will do, I had liked to have said, must do. "My dear Andrew, what may be my fate God only knows — I am greatly afflicted — suffer much, and it would be almost a miracle if I should survive my present attack. * * * * How far my God may think proper to bear me up under my weight of afflictions, He only knows. But my dear Major, live or die, you have my blessing and prayers for your welfare and happiness in this world, and that we may meet in a blissful immortality. Jackson is doing well at the academy. He will realize all our best wishes. My whole family, children and all, kindly salute you, your af- fectionate uncle, ANDREW JACKSON." ANDREW JACKSON DONELSON AND THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. Andrew Jackson Donelson was prominent in the coun- cils of the Democratic party during the Jackson and Polk era, but history has not recorded him as a great man, or as having accomplished any great achievement for his coun- try; and in failing to recognize the full measure of his serv- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 1 7 ices in the annexation of Texas, history has not done him full justice. His success in aid of the annexation ought to be a sure title to remembrance by the people of the United States. After Texas had become independent through the victory of Sam Houston at San Jacinto, it knocked more than once at the door of the Federal Union, but was not admitted. Finally Congress passed an act setting forth in the alternative the terms on which annexation could take place, and Major Donelson was sent by President John Tyler to Texas in November, 1844, as the representative of the United States to aid in bringing about the acceptance by Texas of the terms of admission of the United States; and Major Donelson accepted this mission, went to Texas, and stayed there until that State accepted without qualification the terms of Congress. His success was perfect and was so recognized at the time. In a letter to him of January 9, 1845, John C. Calhoun, Secretary of State, paid him this tribute : "I am happy to inform you that the course you have pursued has met the entire approbation of the Executive. The important points were to secure the confidence of the government of Texas and to keep open the question of annexation, in both of which your efforts have been entirely successful." On July 27th, 1845, President Polk wrote to Major Don- elson in Texas : "General Besancon arrived here this evening bearing your despatches announcing the gratifying intelligence that the Convention of Texas had accepted our terms of annexa- tion as proposed to her, without condition or alteration. You have had an important agency in consummating this great event, and it gives me pleasure to say to you that your whole conduct meets the appreciation of your government, as it must of the country. * * * "Congratulating you and the country on the success of your mission, ****** A letter from Major Donelson to Andrew Jackson dated May 28, 1845, at Washington, Texas, throws an interesting light on Sam Houston, his attitude in reference to the an- nexation of Texas, and Donelson's affection for Andrew Jackson : 1 1 8 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "General Houston leaves here in a day or two for the Hermitage with his lady and son, and his friends Mr. Miller and Colonel Eldredge. You will find that the General has redeemed his pledge to restore Texas to the Union whenever the door was opened by the United States and reasonable terms were offered. He thought at first we might have negotiated on Mr. Walker's amendment, but when convinced that there was danger in delay, he has nobly advised the Government and the people to ratify the proposals offered by me, without dotting an i or crossing a t. "You will find Mrs. Houston a most amiable, pious and cultivated lady. When they arrive let Mrs. Donelson know it, to whom I have written requesting her to open her house to the General and suite. * * * "My great wish is to see you again. May Heaven bless the wish, and save your life yet longer for the good of our country, and the happiness of your friends and relations." ANDREW J. DONELSON TO THOMAS RITCHIE. Sam Houston all of his life was on the most intimate terms with Andrew Jackson and with Jackson's coterie of intimate friends, and any expression from those sources in reference to Houston is interesting, especially before Texas had been admitted to the Union, and before Houston had re- established himself politically in the United States after his resignation as Governor of Tennessee, followed by his resi- dence among the Indians. On May 28th, 1845, Major Donelson at New Orleans, ad- dressed a very extended letter to Thomas Ritchie covering a number of topics, and one of them Sam Houston, in which he says: "Our friends here (New Orleans) treated Houston kindly, having invited him to a public dinner, and afforded him an opportunity by public speech to explain his course on the annexation question. He declines the dinner, but makes the speech this evening — after this he goes to Nash- ville by the first good conveyance. "He delivered a temperance speech yesterday evening, gratifying a large audience by an elocution and sentiment that would have commanded applause before the best crit- ics. The truth is Houston is a reformed and improved man. Fortunately married to a lady of fine endowments, com- bining genuine religion with an amiable simplicity of man- ners, natural goodness of heart with a romantic taste, he Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 1 9 realizes in the connection those fruits so happily described by Frederica Brehmer as the effect of a happy union of the sexes. "Chastised by deep affliction, and wonderfully preserved by Providence from the wreck which usually overtakes those who embark on a sea of wild adventure, Houston comes back to his native land with a renovated constitution, and a mind greatly enlarged. He seems determined to atone for the disappointment of his friends, when he exiled himself, and sought an asylum in the hospitality of old King Folly, by dedicating his future life to their service, as the able advo- cate of virtue, and the firm supporter of those great princi- ples which form the basis of the Democratic party. There was never a man more popular than he is now with his countrymen — and this is no small compliment when we look at the trials he has encountered with them and the magni- tude of the interests he has managed for them. It was his policy and tact, maintained against all the obstacles, which envy and recklessness could throw in his way, that destroyed Santa Anna. So also was it his will and judgment that saved the Republic in its civil administration from be-; ing torn to pieces by the spirit of reckless extravagance. ****** "During the whole of his administration he kept at bay all foreign influence; and though always tempted, never swerved once from the road which led to the restoration of Texas to the Republican family. He goes to the Hermitage to carry to its venerable tenant the pleasing tidings of the attainment of all his hopes on this great question, and to pay him the homage which is due to him. Remember that Hous- ton was once a private soldier, then a sergeant, then a lieu- tenant, and in all the stages of his service he received in- struction and friendly aid from Genl. Jackson. He even goes so far as to give Genl. Jackson the credit of the victory of the battle of San Jacinto, saying that it was the result of the principles which he had seen illustrated at the Horse shoe, Emukfau, and Taledega. "With such feelings and an admiration thus formed, it is but natural he should wish to pay a visit to his early friend and benefactor before he sinks, to the tomb ; and I pray that the Almighty may bless his visit to the good of the country, and the happiness of the aged and infirm tenant of the Hermitage." President Polk's feelings toward Sam Houston are shown in a letter from him at Washington City May 6, 1845, addressed to Major Donelson, at Washington, Texas, in which the President uses this language : 120 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "We desire most anxiously that she (Texas) will accept the offer as made to her, and if she does, she may rely upon our magnanimity and sense of justice toward her. We will act in a way that will satisfy her. I hope her people and government will not hesitate. Nothing could give me more pleasure personally, and nothing I am sure would give a vast majority of our people more pleasure, than to see my old friend Houston bring her constitution in his hand as one of our Senators, take his seat in the Senate of the United States next winter. Surely he will not, cannot, hesitate. Make my kind respects to Houston and tell him that I hope to soon welcome the young republic of which he was the founder, into our confederacy of States, and to see him the representative of her sovereignty in our Senate." In Jackson's letter to Major Donelson of May 24, 1845, above quoted, in reference to an appointment by President Polk for Major Donelson, Old Hickory assumes the role of a prophet, and said "this (appointment) he is pledged to do and will do, I had liked to have said, must do," and a good prophet he was. On March 5, 1846, about ten months after- wards, Donelson received from President Polk at Washing- ton a letter which must have been very pleasant reading, for the President says: "I have this day nominated you to the Senate as Extra- ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Prussia. I pre- sume there will be no objection to your confirmation," and on April 20, 1846, Major Donelson called on the President at Washington on his way to assume the duties of the posi- tion of Minister to Prussia. But the President's favor did not stop there ; on August 5, 1848, he nominated Donelson as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the German Confederation. Other parts of this book give the account of the adoption by General Jackson of the son of Severn Donelson, Mrs. Jackson's brother, and the changing of the name of the adopted son, to Andrew Jackson, Jr. Limitations will not permit detailed statements in refer- ence to all members of the Donelson family. It is sufficient for our purpose to say that the family developed from pio- neer days into one of the most distinguished in the South, and has maintained its prestige as one of the highest char- acter, refinement, ability and patriotism. ; Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 121 CHAPTER VIII. NASHVILLE. The city of Nashville has from its very foundation paid homage to James Robertson and John Donelson as its founders, and as the years have gone by these two have become, as every one thought, exclusively enshrined in the hearts of all citizens in that capacity. As stated in an- other chapter, nothing gives a man a higher or more per- manent place in history than to found a city. But for a few years past a strong, enthusiastic and aggressive voice has been heard in the State of North Carolina coming from Dr. Archibald Henderson, a kinsman in the fourth degree, of Colonel Richard Henderson, claiming that not only is Colonel Richard Henderson entitled to be considered along with Robertson and Donelson as founders of Nashville, but that he was actually the original progenitor of the city, and that through his influence and that of the Transylvania Company of which he was President, Robertson and Don- elson first made their way, the one by land and the other by water, in that dreary winter of 1779-80, in which Rob- ertson crossed the frozen Cumberland River on January 1, 1780, to lay the foundations of the future city, and Donel- son, coming by water, finally reached his co-laborer in the great historic undertaking of founding the capital city of Tennessee. Dr. Archibald Henderson has written a num- ber of articles, sketches and pamphlets bearing upon the Transylvania Company and its activities in attempting to buy Kentucky and Tennessee, and get title thereto, and to open the same for the civilization of men of white skin. It is impossible here to go into all the details of Dr. Hender- son's contentions and statements as to the activities of the Transylvania Company and Richard Henderson. We think it best to state some at least of his claims in his own words, and for that purpose we quote from a speech made by him April 27, 1916, in Watkins Hall, Nashville, before a joint meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association and 122 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History the Tennessee Historical Society, upon the subject of "Rich- ard Henderson: The Authorship of the Cumberland Com- pact and the Founding of Nashville." Whether Dr. Hen- derson's contentions for his ancestor shall ultimately be accepted in all their breadth, it is unnecessary here to attempt to decide, but it can be said that everything that he has written upon the subject is profoundly interesting and educational to the people of Tennessee, and it is to be hoped in the interest of historical accuracy and justice, that if the matter is capable of definite and conclusive settle- ment at all, that it will be settled irrevocably one way or the other; and Tennesseans will raise no adverse voice if con- clusive testimony is produced, and it is demonstrated that Henderson has the right to stand as a founder along by the side of James Robertson and John Donelson. In his address at Watkins Hall, Dr. Henderson first gave the facts of the repudiation by the State of Kentucky of the purchase by the Transylvania Company, of the territory of Kentucky from the Indians, by which repudiation the am- bition of Henderson and his associates was crushed in their attempt to found an independent State upon the soil of the "dark and bloody ground." The historic dream vanished and with it went a demonstration of one of the most daring enterprises connected with the colonization of any new coun- try, and we are disposed to believe that eventually Richard Henderson may be shown to deserve to stand in the same class with Cecil Rhodes, James J. Hill and others of like calibre and record, as developers and builders of new coun- tries. Taking up the plan of a colony upon the soil of Tennes- see, Dr. Henderson enters upon an argument for what he considers a more just historical setting for his ancestor. We quote : DR. HENDERSON'S ORATION. "With the bursting of the Transylvania bubble and the vanishing of the golden dreams of Henderson and his asso- ciates for establishing the Fourteenth American Colony in the heart of the trans-Alleghany region all might well have seemed lost. But is Richard Henderson disheartened by this failure of his imperialistic dreams? Does he, as Mr. Roosevelt crassly affirms, 'drift out of history'? No; the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 123 purest and greatest achievement of his meteoric career still lies before him. The genius of the colonizer and the ambi- tion of the speculator, in striking conjunction, inspire him to attempt to repeat on North Carolina soil, along solidly practical lines, the revolutionary experiment which the ex- tension of the sovereignty of the Old Dominion ewer the Kentucky area had doomed to inevitable failure. It was no longer his purpose, however, to attempt to found an inde- pendent colony separate from North Carolina and hostile to the American Government as in the case of Transylvania which had been hostile to the royal government and founded in defiance thereof." * * * "Judge Henderson's comprehensive design of the pro- motion of an extensive colonization of the Cumberland re- gion now moves rapidly towards completion. It is simply a case of history repeating itself. Just as Henderson in his B'oonesboro project had chosen Daniel Boone, the ablest of the North Carolina pioneers, and his companions to spy out the land and select sites for permanent future settlement, so now he chooses the leader as the leader of the new colo- nizing party the ablest pioneer of the Watauga Settlement, James Robertson. Large inducements to assemble and lead this party were indubitably offered by the Transylvania Company to James Robertson. Nothing less than such in- ducements would have influenced Robertson to abandon the comparatively peaceable Watauga Settlement, where he was the acknowledged leader and the Indian agent in the employ of the State of North Carolina, to venture his life in this des- perate hazard of new fortunes." * * * "Meantime, the colonization of the Cumberland insti- gated by Judge Henderson as President of the Transylvania Company and to be engineered by James Robertson, had been delayed: and the party of settlers had failed to start from the Long Island on March 1, as prophetized by Rob- ertson. Colonel Nathaniel Hart, one of the proprietors of the Transylvania Company living at Boonesboro, Kentucky, actively fostered the plans for the expedition by w T ater of Colonel John Donelson, and supplied him with some corn for the journey. 'In Connection With the Early History of Kentucky,' records his son, Colonel Nathaniel Hart, Jr., 'it may not be amiss to state that Cumberland — now Middle Tennessee, was also mainly settled under the auspices of Henderson & Company.' * * * Dr. Archibald Hender- son gives as his authority for this statement a letter written by Colonel Nathaniel Hart, Jr., to Wilkins Tannehill in the Louisville News-Letter, a newspaper, of May 23, 1840. "Meantime the fate of this colony (Cumberland) which he had promoted and upon whose efforts the subsequent fate 124 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History of the Transylvania Company depended, was weighing heavily upon the mind of Judge Henderson. The terrible hardships of this bitter winter ever afterwards known as the Hard Winter, which he had endured in the course of his difficult and dangerous journey to Boonesboro, brought to his mind the thought of equal or greater hardships which Robertson and his party must likewise have borne in their arduous journey overland to the French Lick. But his con- cern was, if anything, greater for the party of men, with many women and children, also destined for the French Lick, who, under the leadership of Colonel John Donelson, had set sail from Fort Patrick Henry, on Holston River, in the good boat Adventure, on December 22, 1779. With pa- ternalistic care and a lively sense of responsibility for the welfare of these two parties which he had himself induced to make the great venture, Judge Henderson proceeds to purchase in Kentucky at huge cost a large stock of corn for the colony at French Lick." "The most memorable entries in Donelson's famous journal are the references to Henderson and Robertson — projector and leader respectively of the Cumberland Set- tlement. Although James Robertson failed to meet Donel- son at the Muscle Shoals or to leave signs there for their guidance, they were met further up the river on Friday, March 31, by the watchful and anxious Henderson. The entry in Donelson's journal demonstrated the wise fore- thought of the promoter of the settlement, read as f ollow r s : 'Set out this day and after running some distance met with Colonel Richard Henderson, who was running the line be- tween Virginia and North Carolina. At this meeting we were much rejoiced. He gave us every information we wished and further informed us that he had purchased a quantity of corn in Kentucky to be shipped to the falls of the Ohio for the use of the Cumberland Settlement. We are now without bread and are compelled to hunt the buffalo to preserve life.' " * * * "The lapse of time now forbids me to pursue further this story of the strenuous struggles and incredible hard- ships of the Cumberland Settlers, who established here a permanent bulwark against the copper-hued savage and laid here forever the foundations of what is now the great and populous city of Nashville. I will content myself with presenting to you one fundamental historical truth as the culmination of this research. This is the question in re- gard to the authorship of the famous Cumberland Compact. The cock-sure Mr. Roosevelt with his habitual dogmatism Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 125 concludes without proof or evidence that the author of that remarkable document was James Robertson. The inherent truth of the situation, if other evidence were not finally con- clusive, demonstrates this to be impossible. The best in- formed writer on this subject, Putnam, who in 1846 discov- ered the original document now jealously preserved in the archives of the Tennessee Historical Society: 'As Richard Henderson and the other members of the Transylvania Land Company were here at this juncture, April, 1780, he, Henderson, was foremost in urging some form of govern- ment.' A brief inspection will demonstrate its character. First of all, the Cumberland Compact is a mutual contract between the co-partners of the Transylvania Company and the settlers upon the land claimed by the company. It is moreover a bill of rights through careful provisions safe- guarding the rights of each party to the contract. The significant feature of the document is that it is an elaborate legal paper which could have been drafted only by one intimately versed in the intricacies of the law and its terminology." * * * "The indisputable facts that Richard Henderson eminent as lawyer and jurist was the only lawyer on the Cumberland in May, 1870, and that his name heads the list of 230-odd signatures to the document known as the Cumberland Com- pact, has led one of the Justices of our own Supreme Court, a deep student of the early history of Tennessee, the Hon. Samuel C. Williams, to state in print that 'without serious doubt' Judge Henderson was the draftsman of the com- pact of government." * * * "It may be the time is not far distant when in this great city of Nashville patriotically signalized by its monu- ments and memorials to James Robertson, sagacious and paternal leader, and to John Donelson, intrepid and suc- cessful pioneer, there shall be erected some adequate memo- rial to the pioneering genius and empire-building imagina- tion of the man who inaugurated and engineered the hazard- ous and arduous enterprise of a settlement at the French Lick, drafted the Cumberland Compact, and his right of title to divide with James Robertson and John Donaldson the honors in the founding of Nashville." In the Tennessee Historical Magazine for September, 1916, in which the above speech is printed in full, there is published as an appendix to the speech, an affidavit signed by W. A. Provine and John H. DeWitt, President of the Tennessee Historical Society, as follows : 126 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History AFFIDAVIT OF W. A. PROVINE AND JOHN H. DEWITT. State of Tennessee, County of Davidson. "We, W. A. Provine and John H. DeWitt, make oath that on April 28, 1916, with Dr. Archibald Henderson, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, we carefully examined the original Cumberland Compact in the custody of the Ten- nessee Historical Society, and compared the same with cer- tain photographic facsimiles of certan pages of writing furnished us as the genuine handwriting of Judge Richard Henderson, of North Carolina, who was President of the Transylvania Company, to wit, a page of the diary of Rich- ard Henderson written in 1775, the original of which is in the Draper Manuscripts at Madison, Wisconsin; a photo- static copy of his memorial to the Legislature of North Carolina in 1784, the original of which is in the archives of the North Carolina Historical Commission, Raleigh, North Carolina, and a pencil tracing of his signature as Judge of the Superior Court of North Carolina, the original of which is in the courthouse at Salisbury, North Carolina. The information as to the nature and location of his papers being furnished us by Dr. Archibald Henderson. While our attention was not given to the subject matter of these writings, nevertheless, we made a very careful comparison of the handwriting with the handwriting of the text of the Cumberland Compact and the name of Richard Henderson as the first signer thereto ; and we are both convinced with- out reservation that the handwriting of the Cumberland Compact and all of the aforesaid documents is one and the same. We especially noted that the signatures of Judge Richard Henderson as traced from the Salisbury courthouse records and as appended to the Cumberland Compact, are identical. "We are convinced from these comparisons that Judge Richard Henderson was the draftsman and author of the original Cumberland Compact. (Signed) "W. A. Provine. "John H. DeWitt. "Sworn to and subscribed before me on this the 30th day of May, 1916. "John H. Lechleiter, Notary Public:' (Seal) This affidavit would appear to demonstrate that Dr. Hen- derson has made out his case in favor of his ancestor so far as the authorship of the Cumberland Compact is con- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 127 cerned, and if he accomplished nothing else for that an- cestor than to prove that he wrote that great historical doc- ument, he would have accomplished a great deal. The Anglo-Saxon instinct is for government and law, and nowhere has this been more thoroughly demonstrated than in the settlements west of the Alleghany Mountains, where the Watauga people formed the Watauga Association under a written compact with each other; where the Cum- berland settlers formed a government under the name of the Cumberland Compact, and where under the trees at Boonesboro, Kentucky, the hardy pioneers organized them- selves in a form of government of their own make. The Cumberland Compact is a very old document, and has been published in Tennessee before, but knowledge of it is exceedingly limited upon the part of citizens of the State, and we republish it in full in order that the present generation may see in it the genius for self-government upon the part of their ancestry, and also in order that de- scendants of those who signed this compact may have the justifiable pride of seeing the names of their ancestors in a great patriotic document. The Compact follows: THE CUMBERLAND COMPACT. "Articles of Agreement, or Compact of Government, entered into by settlers on the Cumberland River, 1st May, 1780." [The first page is lost, and the second torn and defaced, but we can read distinctly as follows, supplying in brackets lost words.] " . . . property of right shall be determined as soon [as] conveniently may be, in the following manner: The free men of this country over the age [of twenty] one years shall immediately, or as soon as may [be convenient] proceed to elect or choose twelve conscientious and [de- serving*] persons from or out of the different stations, that is [to] say: From Nashborough, three; Gasper's, two; Bledsoe's, one ; Asher's, one ; Stone's River, one ; Freeland's, one; Eaton's, two; Fort Union, one. Which said persons, or a majority of them, after being bound by the solemnity of an oath to do equal and impartial justice between all contending parties, according to the best of their skill and 128 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History judgment, having due re[gard] to the regulations of the Land Office herein established, shall be competent judges of the matter, and . . . hearing the allegations of both parties, and [their] witnesses, as to the facts alleged, or otherwise . . . as to the truth of the case, shall have [power] to decide the controversies, and determine who is of right entitled to an entry for such land so in dispute, when said determination or decision shall be forever bind- ing] and conclusive against the future claim of the party against whom such judgment [shall be rendered]. And the Entry Taker shall make a [record thereof] in his book ac- cordingly, and the entry . . . tending party so cast shall be . . . if it had never been made, and the land in dispute ... to the person in whose favor such judg- ment shall . . . "... in case of the death, removal, or absence of any of the judges so chosen, or their refusing to act, the station to which such person 'or persons belong, or was chosen from, shall proceed to elect another or others in his or their stead ; which person or persons so chosen, after being sworn, as aforesaid, to do equal and impartial justice, shall have full power and authority to proceed to business and act in all disputes respecting the premises, as if they had been originally chosen at the first election. "That the entry book shall be kept fair and open by . . . person . . . to be appointed by said Richard Henderson . . . chose, and every entry for land num- bered and dated, and . . . order without leaving any blank leaves or spaces, ... to the inspection of the said twelve judges, or . . . of them, at all times. "That whereas many persons have come to this country without implements of husbandry* and from other circum- stances are obliged to return without making a crop, and [intend] removing out this fall, or early next spring, and it . . . reason . . . such should have the preemp- tion] ... of such places as they may have chosen . . . the purpose of residence, therefore it is . . . be taken for all such, for as much land as they are entitled to for their head rights, which said lands shall be reserved for the particular person in whose name they shall be en- tered, or their heirs ; provided such persons shall remove to this country and take possession of the respective place or piece of land so chosen or entered, or shall send a laborer or laborers, and a white person in his or her stead, to per- form the same, on or before the first day of May, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-one; and also provided such land so chosen and entered for is not entered Jackson Statue, Capitol Grounds, Nashville. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 129 and claimed by some person who is an inhabitant, and shall raise a crop of corn the present year at some station or place convenient to the general settlement in this country. But it is fully to be understood that those who are actually at this time inhabitants of this country shall not be de- barred of their choice or claim on account of the right of any such absent or returning person or persons. It is fur- ther proposed and agreed that no claim or title to any lands whatsoever shall be set up by any person in consequence of any mark, or former improvement, unless the same be en- tered with the Entry Taker within twenty days from the date of this association and agreement; and that when any person hereafter shall mark or improve land or lands for himself, such mark or improvement shall not avail him or be deemed an evidence of prior right unless the same be entered with the Entry Taker in thirty days . . . from the time of such mark or improvement ; but no other person shall be entitled to such lands so as aforesaid to be reserved . . . consequence of any purchase, gift, or otherwise. "That if the Entry Taker to be appointed shall neglect or refuse to perform his duty, or be found by the said Judges, or a majority of them, to have acted fraudulently, to the prejudice of any person whatsoever, such Entry Taker shall be immediately removed from his office, and the book taken out of his possession by the said Judges, until another shall be appointed to act in his room. "That as often as the people in general are dissatisfied with the doings of the Judges or Triers so to be chosen, they may call a new election at any of the said stations, and elect others in their stead, having due respect to the number now agreed to be elected at each station, which persons so to be chosen shall have the same power with those in whose room or place they shall or may be chosen to act. "That as no consideration-money for the lands on Cum- berland River, within the claim of the said Richard Hen- derson and Company, and which is the subject of this As- sociation, is demanded or expected by the said Company, until a satisfactory and indisputable title can be made, so we think it reasonable and just that the twenty-six pounds thirteen shillings and four pence, current money, per hun- dred acres, the price proposed by the said Richard Hender- son, shall be paid according to the value of money on the first day of January last, being the time when the price was made public [and] settlement encouraged thereon by said Henderson, and the said Richard Henderson on his part does hereby agree that in case of the rise or apprecia- tion of money from that ... an abatement shall be 130 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History made in the sum according to its raised or appreciated value. "That when any person shall remove to this country with intent to become an inhabitant, and depart this life, either by violence or in the natural way, before he shall have performed the requisites necessary to obtain lands, the child or children of such deceased person shall be en- titled, in his or her room, to such quantity of land as such person would have been entitled to in case he or she had lived to obtain a grant in their own name ; and if such death be occasioned by the Indians, the said Henderson doth prom- ise and agree that the child or children shall have as much as amounts to their head-rights gratis, surveyor's and other incidental fees excepted. "And whereas, from our remote situation and want of proper offices for the administration of justice, no regular proceedings at law can be had, for the punishment of of- fenses and attainment of right, it is therefore agreed, that until we can be relieved by government from the many evils and inconveniences arising therefrom, the judges or triers to be appointed as before directed, when qualified, shall be and are hereby declared a proper court of jurisdic- tion for the recovery of any debt or damages ; or where the cause of action or complaint has arisen, or hereafter shall commence, for any thing done or to be done, among our- selves, within this our settlement on Cumberland aforesaid, or in our passage hither, where the laws of our country could not be executed, or damages repaired in any other way ; that is to say, in all cases where the debt or damages or demand does or shall not exceed one hundred dollars, any three of the said Judges or Triers shall be competent to make a Court, and finally decide the matter in contro- versy ; but if for a larger sum, and either party shall be dis- satisfied with the judgment or decision of such Court, they may have an appeal to the whole twelve Judges or Triers, in which case nine members shall be deemed a full Court, whose decision, if seven agree in one opinion, the matter in dispute shall be final, and their judgment carried into execu- tion in such manner, and by such person or persons, as they may appoint; and the said Courts, respectively, shall have full power to tax such costs as they may think just and reasonable, to be levied and collected with the debt or dam- ages so to be awarded. "And it is further agreed, that a majority of said Judges, Triers, or General Arbitrators, shall have power to punish in their discretion, having respect to the laws of our coun- try, all offenses against the peace, misdemeanors, and those criminal, or of a capital nature, provided such Court does not proceed with execution so far as to effect life or mem- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 131 ber; and in case any shall be brought before them whose crime is or shall be dangerous to the State, or for which the benefit of clergy is taken away by law, and sufficient evidence or proof of the fact or facts can probably be made, such Court, or a majority of the members, shall and may order and direct him, her or them to be safely bound and sent under a strong guard to the place where the offense was or shall be committed, or where legal trial of such offense can be had, which shall accordingly be done, and the reasonable expense attending the discharge of this duty ascertained by the Court, and paid by the inhabitants in such proportion as shall be hereafter agreed on for that pur- pose. "That as this settlement is in its infancy, unknown to government, and not included within any county within North Carolina, the State to which it belongs, so as to de- rive the advantages of those wholesome and salutary laws for the protection and benefit of its citizens, w T e find our- selves constrained from necessity to adopt this temporary method of restraining the licentious, and supplying, by unanimous consent, the blessings flowing from just and equitable government, declaring and promising that no ac- tion or complaint shall be hereafter instituted or lodged in any Court of Record within this State, or elsewhere, for any thing done or to be done in consequence of the proceed- ings of the said Judges or General Arbitrators so to be chosen and established by this our association. "That the well-being of this country entirely depends, under Divine Providence, on unanimity of sentiment and concurrence in measures, and as clashing interests and opin- ions, without being under some restraint, will most certainly produce confusion, discord and almost certain ruin, so we think it our duty to associate, and hereby form ourselves into one society for the benefit of present and future set- tlers, and until the full and proper exercise of the laws of our country can be in use, and the powers of government exerted among us : We do most solemnly and sacredly de- clare and promise each other, that we will faithfully and punctually adhere to, perform, and abide by this our Asso- ciation, and at all times, if need be, compel, by our united force, a due obedience to these, our rules and regulations. In testimony whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names in token of our entire approbation of the measures adopted." The following or additional resolutions, and further as- sociation, were also entered into at Nashborough, this 13th day of May, 1780, to wit : 132 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "That all young men over the age of sixteen years, and able to perform militia duty, shall be considered as having a full right to enter for and obtain lands in their own names, as if they were of full age ; and in that case not to be reck- oned in the family of his father, mother, or master, so as to avail them of any land on their account. "That w T here any person shall mark or improve land or lands, with intent to set up a claim thereto, such person shall write or mark in legible characters the initial letters of his name at least, together with the day of the month and year on which he marked or improved the same, at the spring or most notorious part of the land, or some con- venient tree or other durable substance, in order to notify his intentions to all such as may inquire or examine, and in case of dispute with respect to priority of right, proof of such transaction shall be made by the oath of some in- different witness, or no advantage or benefit shall be de- rived from such mark or improvement; and in all cases where priority of mark or occupancy cannot be ascertained according to the regulations and prescriptions herein pro- posed and agreed to, the oldest or first entry in the office to be opened in consequence of this Association shall have the preference, and the lands granted accordingly. "It is further proposed and agreed that the Entry Office shall be opened at Nashborough, on Friday, the 19th of May, instant, and kept from thenceforward at the same place, unless otherwise directed by any future Convention of the people in general, or their representatives. "That the Entry Taker shall and may demand and re- ceive twelve dollars for each entry to be made in his book, in manner before directed, and shall give a certificate there- of, if required; and also may take the same fees for every caveat or counter-claim to any lands before entered ; and in all cases where a caveat is to be tried in manner before directed, the Entry Book shall be laid before the said Com- mittee of Judges, Triers, or General Arbitrators, for their inspection and information, and their judgment upon the matter in dispute fairly entered as before directed ; which said Court or Committee is also to keep a fair and distinct journal or minutes of all their proceedings, as well with re- spect to lands as other matters which may come before them in consequence of these our resolutions. "It is also firmly agreed and resolved that no person shall be admitted to make an entry for any lands with the said Entry Taker, or permitted to hold the same, unless such person shall subscribe his name and conform to this our Association, Confederacy, and General Government, unless it be for persons who have returned home, and are Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 133 permitted to have lands reserved for their use until the first day of May next, in which case entries may be made for such absent persons, according to the true meaning of this writing, without their personal presence, but shall become utterly void, if the particular person or persons for whom such entry shall be made should refuse or neglect to perform the same as soon as conveniently may be after their return, and before the said first day of May in the year 1781. "Whereas the frequent and dangerous incursions of the Indians, and almost daily massacre of some of our inhabi- tants, renders it absolutely necessary, for our safety and defense, that due obedience be paid to our respective officers elected and to be elected at the several stations or settle- ments, to take command of the men or militia at such fort or station ; "It is further agreed and resolved that when it shall be adjudged necessary and expedient by such commanding of- ficer to draw out the militia of any fort or station to pur- sue or repulse the enemy, the said officer shall have power to call out such and so many of his men as he may judge necessary, and in case of disobedience may inflict such fine as he in his discretion shall think just and reasonable; and also may impress the horse or horses of any person or per- sons whomsoever, which, if lost or damaged in such service, shall be paid for by the inhabitants of such fort or station in such manner and such proportion as the Committee here- by appointed, or a majority of them, shall direct and order; but if any person shall be aggrieved or think himself unjust- ly vexed and injured by the fine or fines so imposed by his officer or officers, such person may appeal to the said Judges or Committee of General Arbitrators, who, or a majority of them, shall have power to examine the matter fully, and make such order therein as they may think just and rea- sonable, which decision shall be conclusive on the party com- plaining, as well as the officer or officers inflicting such fine ; and the money arising from such fines shall be carefully applied for the benefit of such fort or station, in such man- ner as the said Arbitrators shall hereafter direct. "It is lastly agreed and firmly resolved that a dutiful and humble address or petition be presented, by some per- son or persons to be chosen by the inhabitants, to the Gen- eral Assembly, giving the fullest assurance of the fidelity and attachment to the interest of our country, and obedience to the laws and constitution thereof. Setting forth that we are confident our settlement is not within the boundaries of any nation or tribe of Indians, as some of us know and all believe that they have fairly sold and received satisfac- tion for the land or territories whereon we reside, and there- 134 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History fore we hope we may not be considered as acting against the laws of our country or the mandates of government. "That we do not desire to be exempt from the rateable share of the public expense of the present war, or other con- tingent charges of government. That we are, from our re- mote situation, utterly destitute of the benefit of the laws of our country, and exposed to the depredations of the In- dians, without any justifiable or effectual means of embody- ing our militia, or defending ourselves against the hostile attempts of our enemy; praying and imploring the imme- diate aid and protection of government, by erecting a county to include our settlements, appointing proper officers for the discharge of public duty, taking into consideration our dis- tressed situation with respect to the Indians, and granting such relief and assistance as in wisdom, justice and human- ity may be thought reasonable. "Nashborough, 13th May, 1780." Richard Henderson, Nathaniel Hart, Wm. H. Moore, Samuel Phariss, John Donelson, C, Gasper Mansker, John Caffrey, John Blakemore, Sr., John Blakemore, Jr., James Shaw, Francis Armstrong, Robert Lucas, James Robertson, George Freland, James Freland, John Tucker, Peter Catron, Philip Catron, Francis Catron, John Dunham, Isaac Johnson, Adam Kelar, Thomas Burgess, William Burgess, William Green, Moses Webb, Absalom Thomson, Samuel Deson, Samuel Martin, James Buchanan, Samuel Willson, John Reid, Joseph Dougherty, Charles Cameron, Isaac Rounsavall, James Crockett, John Anderson, Matthew Anderson, Wm. McWhirter, Barnet Hainey, Richard Sims, Titus Murray, James Hamilton, Henry Dougherty, Zach. White, Burgess White, William Calley, James Ray, William Ray, Perley Grimes, Samuel White, Daniel Hogan, Thomas Hines, Robert Goodloe, Thomas W. Alston, William Barret, Thomas Shannon, James Moore, Richard Moore, Samuel Moore, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 135 Solomon Turpin, Isaac Rentfro, Robert Cartwright, Hugh Rogan, Joseph Morton, William Woods, David Mitchell, Thomas Hendricks, John Holladay, Frederick Stump (in Dutch), William Hood, John Boyd, Jacob Stump, Henry Hardin, Richard Stanton, Sampson Sawyers, John Hobson, Ralph Wilson, James Givens, James Harrod, James Buchanan, Sr., William Geioch, Samuel Shelton, David Shelton, Spill Coleman, Samuel McMurray, P. Henderson, Edward Bradley, Edward Bradley, Jr., James Bradley, Michael Stoner, Joseph Mosely, Henry Guthrie, W. Russell, Jr., Hugh Simpson, Samuel Moore, Joseph Denton, Arthur McAdoo, James McAdoo, Nathaniel Henderson, John Evans, Wm. Bailey Smith, Peter Luney, John Luney, James Cain, Daniel Johnson, John Cordry, Nicholas Tramal, Andrew Ewin, Ebenezer Titus, Mark Robertson, John Montgomery, Charles Campbell, William Overall, John Turner, Nathaniel Overall, Patrick Quigley, Josias Gamble, Samuel Newell, Joseph Read, David Maxwell, Thomas Jefriss, Joseph Dunnagin, John Phelps, Andrew Bushony, Daniel Ragsdell, John McMurty, D'd. Williams, John McAdames, Samson Williams, Thomas Thompson, Martin King, William Logan, John Alstead, Andrew Crocket, Russell Gower, John Shannon, David Shannon, Jonathan Drake, Benjamin Drake, John Drake, Mereday Rains, Richard D'odge, James Green, James Cooke, Daniel Johnston, George Miner, George Green, William Moore, Jacob Cimberlin, Robert Dockerty, John Crow, William Summers, 136 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Daniel Jarrot, Jesse Maxey, Noah Hawthorn, Charles McCartney, John McVay, James Thomson, Charles Thomson, Robert Thomson, Martin Hardin, Elijah Thomson, Andrew Thomson, William Seaton, Edward Thomelu, Isaac Drake, Jonathan Jenings, Zachariah Green, Andrew Lucas, his James X Patrick, mark Richard Gross, John Drake, Daniel Turner, Timothy Feret, Isaac Lefever, Thomas Fletcher, Samuel Barton, James Ray, Thomas Denton, Elijah Moore, John Moore, John Gibson, Robert Espey, George Espey, William Gowen, John Wilfort, James Espey, Michael Kimberlin, John Cowan, Francis Hodge, William Fleming, James Leper, George Leper, Daniel Mungle, Patrick McCutchen, Samuel McCutchen, William Price, Lesois Frize (?) (some name in Dutch hiero- glyphics) , Amb's. Mauldin, Morton Mauldin, John Dunham, Archelaus Allaway, Hayden Wells, Daniel Ratletf, John Callaway, John Pleake, Willis Pope, Silas Harlan, Hugh Leeper, Harmon Consellea, Hunphrey Hogan, James Foster, William Morris, Nathaniel Bidlack, A. Tatom, William Hinson, Edmund New T ton, Jonathan Green, John Phillips, George Flynn, Daniel Jarrott, John Owens, James Freland, Thomas Malloy, Isaac Lindsay, Isaac Bledsoe, Jacob Castleman, George Power, Nicholas Counrod, Evin Evins, Jonathan Evins, John Thomas, Joshua Thomas, David Rounsavall, Samuel Hayes, Isaac Johnson, Thomas Edmeston, Ezekiel Norris, William Purnell, William McMurray, James Lynn, Thomas Cox, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 137 Henry Kerbey, Edward Lucas, Joseph Jackson, Phillip Alston, Daniel Ragsdil, James Russell. Michael Shaver, This book having to do only with early Tennessee his- tory, it will not be expected that we enter upon the de- velopment and later career of Tennessee's splendid Capital City located upon the banks of the Cumberland. At the death of General Jackson, 1845, the limits of this book, Nashville was a small municipality of something like 8,000 population, and, as a municipality alone, could not offer very much of interest. But historically it has profound interest for all Tennesseans, who are unanimous in their loyal pride in the Capital of the State which has become the center of the activities of a great church, with great book publishing and printing estaplishments, universities and schools and a literary and educational development, which entitle it to be called the Athens of the South. In 1785 Davidson Acad- emy was chartered. The Legislature of the State in 1806 chartered Cumberland College, which in 1825 became Nash- ville University. In 1818 the "General Jackson" owned by General Wil- liam Carroll and built at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, was the first steamboat to go to Nashville. The trip from New Or- leans to Nashville by boat at that time took 35 days. The first capitol building in which the Legislature met in Nashville in 1812 was on Broad Street nearly opposite the present Post Office, and a post office was opened in the city on April 1, 1796, with Capt. John Gordon as post mas- ter. Nashville has been the witness of as many great his- torical and intellectual contests as any city of the South. Tennessee has no reason to be ashamed of its early orators, statesmen, leaders and educators, very many of whom con- ducted their activities in the Capital City. It was early selected as the permanent Capital of the State, and became the site of the State government, and this brought to it in- fluences, visitors, movements, and powers, that would not otherwise have come, and which have entered so largely into that development which has made the city so fixed in the affections of the people of Tennessee. 138 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER IX. THE CHEROKEES. The combat between the pioneers of Tennessee and the Cherokees was bold and bitter and bloody on both sides, and the white man finally conquered. It is of interest to Tennesseans, therefore, to know something of this tribe that caused their ancestors so much toil and exposure, anguish and death, and who finally, through the persistent policy of Andrew Jackson, a Tennessean, took up their march to- ward the West, where they now are. Unlike many other tribes of American Indians, the Cherokees seemed to prefer a mountain country, and they were the mountaineers of the South, and at one time claimed ownership of more than one hundred thousand square miles which covered all of Kentucky, all of Tennessee except West Tennessee, large portions of North Alabama and North Georgia almost as far down as Atlanta, one-half or more of South Carolina, and the mountain section of North Carolina. This territory constituted the original claim of the Chero- kees. When their final cession was made and they transferred all of their holdings to the United States government, their territory consisted of lower East Tennessee, beginning at Fort Loudon, about one-half of the northern third of Geor- gia, and a small triangle in north-east Alabama. In the days of their greatest power their principal towns were along the headwaters of the Savannah, Hiwassee, Tuckase- gee and a large part of the Little Tennessee. The latter river rises in a spring in North Carolina, breaks through the Smoky Mountains into Tennessee and empties into the Tennessee river at Lenoir City, Loudon County, on the line of the Southern Railway. Telassee was the last Indian town going up the river before getting to the mountains, and it is the site of the present town of Alcoa, in Blount County, Tennessee, where is located the plant of the Knoxville Power Company. u 3 c I * H d . OS "3 ^ 5 5 5 § Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 139 The crest of the Smoky Mountains is the boundary line between North Carolina and Tennessee and is five thousand feet high and above the timber line. It has peaks 6,000 feet high, and one, Clingman's Dome in North Carolina, 6,619 feet. This range is the boundary of the Cherokee Na- tion in Tennessee, and with it the Cherokees were famil- iar in all their history, and in it, around it, and about it, were perfectly at home. Beginning with this range, they lived along the full length of the Little Tennessee. We are justified in thinking that the God whom the Hebrews of old said made the world in six days, must have intended that the Smoky Mountains and the Little Tennessee River should be considered twin master-pieces of His handiwork. Con- nected with no other mountain range in the world is the ele- ment of mystery so pronounced as with the Smoky Range — none so impress the beholder with awe and solemnity. We look upon their vast domes and majestic heights and wonder how they came about, and when, and how it was possible that the Little Tennessee cleft the range in twain, and plowed its way from its initial spring in North Carolina, through Blount, Monroe and Loudon Counties, to its junction with the Tennessee River. In the combat between the mountains and the river — in the struggle of the water to pierce the towering land — there must have been a warfare of countless ages, when the river at last came off conqueror and broke through. Yet how impotent the river looks com- pared With these vast mountains ! As we stand and gaze upon them, the Smokies seem to look down in everlasting silence, as if extending a speechless benediction upon the beautiful river as it wanders along beneath the cold white glory of the East Tennessee stars, with the sheen and glimmer of its waves reflecting the grandeur of the mountains and land- scape, and the splendors of a beautiful land. When dusk comes, the Smokies seem so vast, so mysterious, so passing understanding, so typical of infinity, so inscrutable in mean- ing, with their peaks and crags and towering heights! Who can wonder that the solemn mountains were selected as the place where the Law written upon tablets of stone was handed to Moses! Dread and tireless sentinels telling of Omnipotence and the Infinite, mysterious as life's fathom- 140 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History less mystery ! In pondering the Smokies we can but recall Coleridge's "Hymn Before Sunrise in the Valley of Cha- mouni :" "But thou, most awful Form! Risest from forth thy silent sea of pines, How silently! Around thee and above Deep is the air and dark, substantial, black, An ebon mass ; methinks thou piercest it As with a wedge! But when I look again It is thine own calm home, thy crystal shrine, Thy habitation from eternity! dread and silent Mount ! I gazed upon thee, Till thou, still present to the bodily sense, Didst vanish from my thought: entranced in prayer 1 worshiped the Invisible alone." The Twelfth Report of the United States Bureau of Eth- nology says: "The valley of the Little Tennessee from where it leaves the Smoky Mountains which form the boundary between North Carolina and Tennessee to where it joins the Tennessee River in Loudon County, is undoubt- edly the most interesting archaeological section in the entire Appalachian District. The numerous groups of mounds and other ancient works which are found along the valleys of the principal stream and its tributaries, appear to be in- timately related to one another and are evidently the work of one people." The government excavations along the entire course of the Little Tennessee from Telassee to the mouth of the river, have opened up mounds which were the burial places for the dead, and in which were found, besides Indian bones, relics of various kinds illustrating Indian customs; and graphic representations, pictures and descriptions of these mounds and their contents are published in the Twelfth Report referred to. Chota, which was on the south bank of the Little Ten- nessee, a few miles above the mouth of the Tellico, and be- tween twenty and twenty-five miles from where the Little Tennessee enters the Tennessee River, was the capital of the Cherokee Nation, and also a city of refuge. It was in the present Monroe County, Tennessee. Its population is not stated by any of the historians who have written about Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 141 the Cherokees, but the Ethnological Report quoted says the evidence about it indicates "a somewhat extensive ancient village." Chota being a city of refuge, any person, whether white or red, who had committed a wrong against another, could take refuge in it and be safe from attack, but this exemption did not continue after leaving Chota. The author was born on the Little Tennessee River, five miles from Chota, and ten miles from Fort Loudon, and he naturally thinks the Little Tennessee a gem among rivers, a very queen among waters. It glides like a stream of sil- ver towards the sea from its home beyond the Smokies, and by the magic of its moist touch has carried gladness to the land through centuries without number. It does not count the years in its travels, it cannot gauge its measure- less beneficence, and is mute in its ever-varying panorama of hills and meadows, lofty crags and blooming fields, glo- rious landscapes and scenic splendor. In the long ago it caught the eye of the stalwart Cherokee and enamored him with its charms, folded him to its bosom, and held him as a devotee on its banks for ages; and he, like his ancestry before him, swore by the Great Spirit that as long as life was in him and he could meet a foe on the battlefield, should mortal power drive him from its sparkling waters. Along these waters the daily life of the Cherokee was exhibited at its best. Whence the Cherokee came, and when, no voice tells us. All we know is that sometime in the long misty past, he came to this beautiful river, claimed it as his own, and in defense of his habitation along by it, he challenged John Sevier to mortal combat on many a bloody field ; and never, until 1838, when he voluntarily left it, was he so crushed that he quailed to offer the gage of battle to Sevier again. Ferdinand DeSoto made his way in 1540 from the Atlan- tic Seaboard through Northern Georgia, Alabama and Miss- issippi, and probably touched Tennessee at the southwest corner of the State, where he discovered the Mississippi River. The historians and archaeologists agree that the "Chelaques" mentioned by the chroniclers of DeSoto's ex- pedition were the Cherokees, and since 1540 it is practically certain that no tribe has ever occupied the Appalachian re- 142 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History gion except the Cherokees ; and, hence, it is also practically certain that the Little Tennessee River and the region through which it flows, have been their fixed and permanent home since 1540 up to the period of their removal by the United States government in 1838 — a period of two hundred and ninety-eight years — and how much longer is a matter of conjecture. On November 19, 1761, a treaty was concluded at the end of a bitter war between the whites and the Cherokees at Great Island in the Holston River, also called Long Island, at the present town of Kingsport, and upon the re- quest of the Cherokee chief that an officer might be sent to the Cherokee country to cement the friendship between the two races, Lieutenant Henry Timberlake, a young Virginian in the military service, volunteered to return with the Chero- kees to their towns, and to spend several months there. He afterwards accompanied a delegation of Cherokees to Eng- land, where they were not received by the government, as they had not come by the authority of the United States government, so they returned home. Lieut. Timberlake published his Memoirs in London, and a part of them was the map in this volume which is an exact copy of the orig- inal, and enumerates the different Indian towns and their strength in warriors and the chiefs. Lieut. Timberlake's residence among the Cherokees extended over into the year 1762. Upon the map the bottom is in the direction of the mouth of the river where it empties into the Tennessee at Lenoir City, and the top at the town marked "Telassee" is in the direction of the Smoky Mountains, the dividing line between North Carolina and Tennessee, and is the last Indian town before getting to the mountains, and is the site of Alcoa, as above mentioned. This map is absolutely authentic, and is republished from Lieut. Timberlake's Memoirs by the United States government in the Twelfth Ethnological Re- port. The present village of Morganton is south of Great Island, and between Great Island and Telassee will be found on the map Fort Loudon, Chota, and various other Indian towns. Path ^OM VA, \y TENNESSEE A Draught of the QHEROKE-Ei CouriTR.Y. on the w£jr jide of the twenty four «ou«mwj COMMONLY CALLED O V£ R THE tf/LLS' Jaken by Henry TImberlake When he w/aj ih that countify 'n march 1^4,2. LfKE WUE HtMEi OF THE PRINCIPAL OR HEADMEN OF EACH TOWN AND WHAT NUMBER. OF FlGHTINCr MEN THEY J END TO WAR. M/ALOqUO M>") 24 U~°CR THECOVOf AtTAKULLKUL GREAT IJLAND J TOJKECfEE 55 AttaKULLKULA Ctov ^~- TOHIMOTLEY 9 1 Oftenaco Com in Toova 82 will/nawa*/ Crov TC.NNH.J3EE 2 1 ilxltlt TH£ (/our or HaNACJATI/CKCG j. CnotE I7S ^ANACATUCKCO Km$ 8 QcY qRC Chil,ho\weE IIO Vachtino Cf-oS •5e.TTAC.00 204 CHB.Ui.AH 0,0/ Tallajjez 4 7 CfO\/. dead ZC9. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 143 THE TREATY OF NEW ECHOTA. The treaty of New Echota was negotiated and agreed upon between the United States and the Cherokees at New Echota, Georgia, in December, 1835, and was ratified by the United States Senate by a majority of one on May 23, 1836. The treaty gave rise to a bitter contention between the white friends of the Cherokees and the champions of the Treaty, and the debate in the United States Senate was a very bit- ter and acrimonious one. This treaty was so far-reaching in its results to the United States, the State of Georgia, the Cherokee Indians, and the general Indian policy of the gov- ernment, that it deserves full consideration. It became a burning issue in the politics of the day. and charges and counter-charges were freely made by the rival disputants. It may be well to give some of its leading provisions : First, the land ceded by the Cherokees to the United States was about ten million acres, for which the govern- ment was to pay five million dollars. Second, for five hundred thousand dollars the United States was to convey in fee simple eight hundred thousand acres of land between the west lines of the State of Missouri and the Osage country to the Cherokees. Third, the lands ceded to the Cherokees were at no fu- ture time without their consent to be included within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any State or Territory of the United States. Fourth, all laws and regulations made by the Cherokees for their own government were to be valid, except such as were inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States. Fifth, peace and friendship was to maintain between the United States and the Cherokees, and the latter were not to make war upon their neighbors, and they were to be protected by the United States from trespass by citizens of the United States. Sixth, the Cherokees were to be entitled to a delegate in the House of Representatives whenever Congress should make a provision for the same. Seventh, the United States was to remove the Cherokees to their new home in the West and to provide subsistence for one year. 144 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Eighth, the United States was to pay for the improve- ments made by the Cherokees in the land they were selling to the government. Ninth, the United States was to give two hundred thous- and dollars, the interest of which was to go for the benefit of the orphan and permanent school fund of the Cherokees. Tenth, the Cherokees who had fought for the United States were to be pensioned. Eleventh, the Cherokees were to remove West within two years. There were other provisions in the treaty, but the stipulations set out give a fair idea of the treaty as a whole. On December 29th, 1835, a supplement to the treaty was adopted with three provisions: First, all pre-emption rights and reservations of arti- cles twelve and thirteen of the original treaty were to be null and void. Second, the Senate was to vote additional money to the Cherokees if that body understood that the five million dol- lars given for the land was to include moving expenses. Third, for moving expenses and in the place of reserva- tions and exemptions and of the sum of one hundred thous- and dollars provided in article one of the treaty for spoli- ations, the Senate was to appropriate six hundred thousand dollars. The reader will be interested to peruse the description by George Bancroft in his History of the United States of the country which the United States bought by this treaty from the Cherokees, and which that tribe had occupied as supreme master for so many long years. This is the de- scription Bancroft gives: "The mountaineers of aboriginal America were the Cherokees, who occupied the valley of the Tennessee River as far West as the Muscle Shoals and the highlands of Caro- lina, Georgia and Alabama, the most picturesque and salu- brious region east of the Mississippi. Their homes are en- circled by blue hills rising beyond hills, of which the lofty peaks would kindle with the early light and the overshadow- ing night envelop the valleys like a mass of clouds. There the rocky cliffs rising in naked grandeur defy the lightning and mock the loudest peals of the thunderstorm; .there the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 145 gentle slopes are covered with magnolias and flowering for- est trees, decorated with roving climbers, and ring with the perpetual note of the whip-poor-will; there the wholesome water gushes profusely from the earth in transparent springs; snow-white cascades glitter on the hillsides; and the rivers, shallow, but pleasant to the eye, rush through the narrow vales which the abundant strawberry crimsons and the coppices of rhododendron and flaming azalea adorn. .... The fertile soil teems with luxuriant herbiage on which the roebuck fattens ; the vivifying breeze is laden with fragrance ; and daybreak is ever welcomed by the shrill cries of the social night-hawk and the liquid carols of the mocking-bird." THE GREAT REMOVAL. In the contest between our pioneer- ancestors and the red man our sympathies, of course, go with the men of white faces, but that does not prevent us from also feeling sympa- thy for the Cherokees when in 1838-1839 they took up their last march from their ancestral homes to the western coun- try across the Mississippi River. They had relinquished their claim to the United States government, and the time of their removal had come. Under the orders of General Winfield Scott, United States troops were placed at various points in the Cherokee country, and stockade forts were erected for holding the Indians after they were collected, and preparatory to their last journey toward the setting sun. Soldiers were sent into cabins and coves of the moun- tains everywhere an Indian might be concealed, and they were brought to the stockades. In North Carolina there were stockades in Swain County, Macon County, Gra- ham County, Clay County, Cherokee County, and Murphy County. In Georgia, in Lumpkin County, Gilmer County, Murray County, Pickens County, and Cherokee County. In Tennessee at the present town of Calhoun, on the Hiwassee River, and the Southern Railway, in McMinn County. In Alabama in Cherokee County. Nearly seventeen thousand Cherokees were gathered into these various stockades, and in June, 1838, about five thous- and of them were brought to Calhoun, Tennessee, to Ross's Landing, now Chattanooga, Tennessee, and to Gun- ter's Landing, now Guntersville, Alabama, where they were put upon steamboats, and sent down the Tennessee River 146 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History to the Ohio and thence to the West side of the Mississippi, when the journey was continued by land into the Indian Territory. This removal was in the hot part of the year, and great sickness and mortality ensued among the Indians, so much so that their chief submitted to General Scott a proposition that the balance of the Cherokees be allowed to move themselves in the fall when weather conditions were more favorable. General Scott agreed to this proposition, provided all of the Cherokees should have started on their journey to the west by October 20, 1838, except the sick and the old people who could not move so rapidly. The Chero- kees proceeded to organize for their self -removal, and were cut up into divisions of one thousand each, and there were two leaders in charge of each division, with wagons and horses for their use. This removal aggregated about thir- teen thousand people, including negro slaves. They started on their last march in October, 1838. They had assembled at what is now Charleston, in Tennessee on the Southern Railway, which is across the river from Calhoun, and a few of them went by the river route from Charleston, but nearly all of the thirteen thousand went by land. They had six hundred and forty-five wagons. The sick, old people, small children, their clothing, blankets, cooking utensils, were in the wagons, the rest were on foot or horseback. The Ten- nessee river was crossed at the mouth of the Hiwassee, and the route then lay south of Pikeville, through McMinnville, and on to Nashville on the Cumberland River; thence to Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The Ohio River was crossed near the mouth of the Cumberland ; and thence on through South- ern Illinois until the Mississippi was reached. The weather was bitterly cold when they reached the Mississippi, and many of them died. The river was crossed at Cape Girar- deau and at Green's Ferry, and thence the march was through Missouri and into the Indian Territory. They marched in two detachments. They left Tennessee in Octo- ber, 1838, and reached their destination in March, 1839, covering a period of nearly six months in the worst weather of the year. The number who died on this removal was given in the official figures as sixteen hundred ; the per cent of the five thousand who went under military escort was Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 147 larger, we are justified in believing, from the fact that the Cherokees themselves made the proposition that they would conduct their own removal rather than be conducted by the United States officers, and they lived up to their agreement. A great many died in the stockades before starting on their journey, and James Mooney, in his work, "Myths of the Cherokees," published by the United States Government as the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, estimates that four thousand died altogether as the direct result of the removal. On getting to the Indian Territory, they started to build houses and plant crops. The United States government had agreed to furnish them with subsist- ence for one year after their arrival. Mooney in his "Myths of the Cherokees" relates this in- cident: "Just inside the Tennessee line where the Conasauga River bends again into Georgia is a stone-walled grave with a marble slab on which is an epitaph w T hich tells its own story of the Removal heartbreak. McNair was a white man prominent in the Cherokee Nation whose wife was the daughter of the Chief Vann, who welcomed the Moravian missionaries and gave his own house for their use. The date shows that she died while the removal was in progress, possibly while waiting in the stockade camp. The inscrip- tion with details is given from information kindly furnished bv Mr. D. K. Dunn of Conasauga, Tennessee, in a letter dated August 16, 1890 : " 'Sacred to the memory of David and Delilah A. McNair, who departed this life, the former, on the 15th of August, 1836, and the latter on the 30th of November, 1838. Their children being members of the Cherokee Nation, and having to go with their people to the West do leave this monument not only to show their regard for their parents, but to guard their sacred ashes against the unhallowed intrusion of the white man.' " The removal of the Indians from East Tennessee w r as entrusted by the United States government to the Honorable Luke Lea as Indian Agent. Mr. Lea was one of the leaders in our early history, and was born in 1792 and died in 1851. His family has made history in Tennessee. He grew up near Knoxville, served as a soldier in the Indian wars, and for many years was cashier of the old State Bank at Knox- 148 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ville. When Jackson was in the midst of his difficulties on his way to fight the Creek Indians, Judge Hugh Lawson White, Luke Lea and Thomas L. Williams, started from Knoxville for his encampment to see if they could render him any aid. This was a long and perilous journey through the wilderness, but it was successfully accomplished. They reached the East Tennessee troops at Fort Armstrong on the Coosa River November 13, 1812, and from there pro- ceeded on the morning of November 14, and reached Gen- eral Jackson's encampment on the 18th at twelve o'clock. The result of this trip was that Colonel John Williams, com- mander of the thirty-ninth regiment of the regular army, and a brother-in-law of Judge White, was persuaded by Judge White to go to Jackson's rescue. This journey of Judge White, Mr. Lea and Congressman Williams has never received from the writers on Tennessee history any consideration except the mere statement of the fact that it was undertaken; and by this neglect gross in- jusice has been done to three East Tennesseans who per- formed an extraordinary and very perilous and patriotic duty. Between Knoxville and Fort Armstrong was a wil- derness at that time infested by the Cherokees and the Chickamaugas, two of the bloodiest and most relentless of all Indian tribes. The object of the trip was one of patriot- ism only, namely, to see if aid could be rendered General Jackson. The distance was probably one hundred and fifty miles, and the result of the trip was to procure the sending of the 39th regiment to Jackson's aid, which led the assault on the stockade at the battle of the Horseshoe. A trip of similar danger taken today would be heralded as a feat of heroic courage. A similar feat of personal daring was when Captain John Gordon of the Spies was sent by General Jackson from Fort Strother with a letter to Maurequez, the Governor of Pensacola, Florida. Captain Gordon started on this hazard- ous trip with one companion, who, for some reason, turned back, but the Captain who is designated by Parton in his "Life of Jackson" as "the famous and eccentric spy captain of the Creek war," proceeded on the journey alone to Pen- sacola, delivered Jackson's letter to Governor Maurequez, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 149 had an interview with that Spanish dignitary, and returned alone to Jackson, at Fort Strother. Verily, those were he- roic days in Tennessee ! Would that some Homer might be born to sing of them, or some Chaucer to write, not another Canterbury Tales, but of the journey of the three East Ten- nesseans to the aid of General Jackson, and of the Scotch Gordon to bear the letter to Governor Maurequez ! In 1833 Mr. Lea was elected Member of Congress from the Knoxville District; next, he was land agent for East Tennessee, and Secretary of the State of Tennessee 1835- 1839. At one time he is said to have had in his possession as Indian Agent over $300,000.00 to settle Indian claims at the time of the removal, and that this money was kept in an iron safe at Athens, Tenn. He was thrown from his horse and killed near Independ- ence, Missouri, where he had gone as Special Indian Com- missioner, by appointment of President Filmore. Captain Henry B. Henegar, deceased, whose home was at Charleston, Tennessee, where he passed the greater part of a very useful life, and who left an honorable name behind him, as a young man of about twenty-four years accompa- nied the Removal which started at Charleston in October, 1838. He was requested by a correspondent at Frankfort, Kentucky, to give him an account of the route and trip to the Indian Territory and Captain Henegar replied on Octo- ber 25, 1897. The original of the reply is now in the pos- session of his daughter, Mrs. W. B. Allen, of Dayton, Ten- nessee. CAPTAIN HENEGAR'S LETTER. "Charleston, Bradley County, Tenn., on the Hiwassee River, was the starting point and the place where the Ross party was collected. Gen. Scott was stationed here with the U. S. troops. The spot where my residence now stands was the barracks. The regular soldiers were assisted by several companies of militia but not much difficulty was encountered in collecting them as John Ross' influence was so great that they came in at his request, he having effected a liberal com- promise with the government, the Indians being well paid for all they possessed. John Ross took the contract for their removal, which he afterwards let to Lewis Ross, who was a better business man. There were supposed to be 150 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 10,000 Indians that went from here. They were divided into detachments of 1,000 each; I belonged to the Q. M. depart- ment of the eighth, called Taylor's detachment, assisted Red Watt Adair. The first detachment started from here in October, 1838. There were some five or six days' differ- ence between the start of the different detachments. I left Nov. 10. The Indians all went the same route. We crossed the Tennessee at the mouth of the Hiwassee at Blythe's ferry; went across Walden's Ridge to Pikeville ; thence to McMinnville; thence over to Nashville. After crossing the river there we went to Hopkinsville, Ky., crossed the Ohio River at Golconda ; thence through South- ern Illinois to Green's ferry on the Mississippi River. Our detachment was stopped twenty miles from the river at Gore's encampment for those ahead to get across the Mississippi. After the way was open we went on to the river and commenced to cross and were detained over three weeks, I having charge of those left on the east side. After that we continued our journey through Southern Missouri by way of Springfield ; thence to Fayetteville, Ark. ; thence to the nation, arriving at Park Hill, where John Ross had located himself, on March 25, 1839. The various detach- ments disbanded when we reached the nation, and went to different localities. John Ross retained me in his employ to sell off the public property. We took his family and others out by water, having purchased a steamboat for that purpose. They started from Chattanooga, then called Ross' Landing. His wife died on the way out and was buried at Little Rock, Ark. He was kindly received by the old settlers — that is, the Cherokees who had gone out some years pre- vious, but not by the Ridge party. It was agreed on by the old settlers and Ross' party that they should go into council on the first of June at Double Springs, now Talequah, the capital, and that old lines should be wiped out, and elect new officers by the people and form a new constitution. They met in council as agreed upon, but the old settlers backed out and wanted the Ross party to come under them. This aroused the old grudge between the Ridge and Ross parties, as the latter felt that the former had interfered with the old settlers and had used their influence against them. After remaining in ten or twelve days Ross came home without accomplishing anything. Two days later news came from the mission, a mile away, where Bbudinot lived, that he had been killed. Mr. Ross sent men to ascer- tain the facts in the case. They found him dead, lying be- tween the mission and a new house he was having erected. Boudinot had charge of the public medicines. That morn- ing three Indians called for medicine, and he started for the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 5 1 new house to get it for them. His wife stated that two walked with him and one dropped behind and struck him in the head with a , killing him instantly. Mrs. Boudinot was a white woman and a most excellent lady. She directed Ross' men to hurry back and tell him he had best go to the fort for protection as Standwady, Boudinot's half-brother, was gone to Flint to get Jack and Sam Bell to raise a company to come and kill Ross for revenge, as she did not want any further bloodshed. As custodian of pub-, lie property he felt he could not go to the fort but requested Tom Clark, his principal clerk, to write to Gen. Arbuckle, who was in command at Fort Gibson, to send troops for his protection. The clerk was so excited he could not write. He then directed another; he also failed in the attempt. He himself then wrote it and turning around said, 'Who will take this?' No one replied, and turning to me he said, 'Henegar, will you?' I answered that I would. He then directed me to go to the lot and get the best mule or horse there and get back as soon as I could. I left at 1 o'clock; it was twenty miles to the fort. I struck a gallop and kept it up most of the way. I delivered the letter to Gen. Ar- buckle. He said Tell Ross I cannot send troops there but if he will come here I will protect him.' I again struck a gallop and when about half way back the mule I was riding fell down from exhaustion. I pulled the saddle from him and went to a home close by. There I procured a horse and continued my journey, reaching P. H. at 5 o'clock. When I got there about fifty armed Indians had arrived to protect Ross. By the next morning there were two hundred on the ground. That morning Standwady, Jack and Sam Bell, with their party, came in sight on the prairie, but finding he was outnumbered turned and went around to the mission. We afterwards learned they went in the direction of the fort. By the next day there were 600 of Ross' friends there armed. To them Ross made a speech and said, 'All in favor of pur- suing them make it known.' They all gave a grunt and mounted their horses in pursuit. The Bell party having gone into fort no trouble ensued. "In the meantime it was ascertained that two other signers of the treaty had been killed the same morning in accordance with a secret understanding. Jack Bell was the only signer of the treaty that escaped, he being absent from home. Jack Walker was mortally wounded near his home, eight miles from this place, a few days after the treaty was signed. It was claimed by the Ross party that they had traded away their land without due authority, and it was a law of the general council if any man or set of men should trade away their country without being authorized, that 152 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History they should be killed at any time or place they should be found. Jack Walker was an educated man. His wife was Miss Emily Meigs, a granddaughter of Return J. Meigs, of Revolutionary fame. All the signers of the treaty were men of education and considerable wealth. Boudinot, in particular, was a man of high attainments and generally beloved. The impression is abroad that Ross was an over- bearing and unscrupulous man. I was in his employ for fifteen months and at all times found him to be an honorable, upright man. I am firmly of the opinion he had nothing to do with the putting to death of the signers of the treaty. I overheard Sam Houston say that John Ross was as great a statesman as John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster or Henry Clay. He had been thrown with him at Washington and in their younger days at this place (meaning Charleston) ." PASSAGE OF INDIANS THROUGH ARKANSAS. Everything connected with the removal of the Indians to the west of the Mississippi, whether the great Removal of 1838, or those of earlier dates, is interesting to the people of Tennessee who fought so hard to plant the white man's civilization in this State; and a statement of William E. Pope in his "Early Days in Arkansas" illustrates in a very graphic way the passage of Indians through Arkansas. His statement is as follows : "About the first of November 1832, shortly after my arrival in Arkansas, there passed through Little Rock six or seven thousand Choctaws and Chickasaw Indians from north Mississippi and west Tennes- see, on their way to their new homes in the Indian Territory. The presence of this vast body of Indians with their house- hold goods, cattle and ponies, made a sight never to be for- gotten. These Indians were attended by several United States officers and surgeons. Two days before they reached Little Rock an officer arrived in town and warned the citi- zens of the thieving propensities of the lower class of the Indians, and advised them to close their stores and dwell- ings while they were passing through. With all the dili- gence that could be displayed, many articles of the utmost uselessness to the Indians disappeared from the yards of private residences. This body of Indians was several days in crossing the river, although hurried out of town as rap- idly as possible. They had a great desire to loiter and spy Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 153 around and had to be driven almost like sheep. Most of the males wore only the breech-cloth, leggings and moccasins, the latter profusely ornamented with variously colored beads and porcupine quills. They were, for the most part, a fine looking body of men. The women rode ponies, manwise, and had their papooses slung in the blankets on their backs. These two tribes were attended by their principal chiefs, Pittman Colbert and Greenwood Laflore, a French-Choctaw halfbreecl. These men were well educated and had consid- erable refinement. They were very wealthy and traveled in great style and comfort, had large roomy carriages and numerous baggage wagons, and large numbers of negro slaves. Their state and authority resembled that of the patriarchs of old. * * * The spring of 1833 witnessed the arrival of another large body of Indians bound for the na- tion. These Indians were dreadfully scourged by the rav- ages of cholera, which invaded their ranks when they reached the Mississippi River at Memphis. Large num- bers of them died on the march. It was said that their route westward from the Mississippi was strewn thick with graves." MARKER AT FORT LOUDON. Civilization when it first dared to raise its head in Ten- nessee, was to be baptized in a sea of blood, and crushed with horrors, murders, death, and assassinations as cold as the ice of the farthest North. England was the first country to plant its flag in Tennes- see, and hoist it flying in the breeze from a fort where Eng- lish soldiers were to protect the frontiers, and give the white man his first standing room in the wilderness. England planted a white oasis in this trackless wilderness, which was a gleam of white in the midst of a savagery of red, one little spot set down by the long arm of British power upon which to base the conquest of the imperial Mississippi Valley. This oasis w T as called "Fort Loudon," established in 1756, and captured and destroyed by the Indians in 1760. Both at the time of the building of the fort and its destruction, there was not a white man living elsewhere on the soil of the fu- ture commonwealth of Tennessee. The sad story of Fort Loudon illustrates all the heroic 154 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History and splendid in the character and courage of the white man ; also all the bloodiest and worst in the character and courage of the savage Indians. In fancy we can see the lives of the soldiers and the settlers about the fort who came to it for protection. We can almost feel the daily dread that they felt of horrible things that might happen at any time. We can, in fancy, depict the lonely existence, the deprivation of those comforts which make life tolerable, the isolation, the awful silence in the vast primeval forests. We conclude, when we think of these things, that heroism never mounted to loftier heights, and that the civilization of the white man never had champions upon whom it could more absolutely rely. It was a life and death struggle between two races, and the red man triumphed, and the fort was destroyed, and men, women and children were massacred. One of the bloodiest pages in all the tide of time was then and there written. Friday morning, November 9, 1917, the Tennessee So- ciety of Colonial Dames unveiled a marker at Fort Loudon with impressive exercises. Mrs. James H. Kirkland of Nashville, President of the Tennessee Society, presided, and there were a number of features of interest on the program. The historical address was made by President John H. De- Witt of the Tennessee Historical Society. The marker is of Tennessee stone, containing the inscription : "Fort Loudon constructed by the English in 1756 to help win the Valley of the Mississippi. Captured by the Indians under French influence in 1760." J. C. Anderson, owner of the site of Fort Loudon, do- nated land one hundred feet square for the marker. The address of Mr. DeWitt is too long to be reproduced in full. The following are extracts from it: "One hundred and fifty-seven years ago there was en- acted upon this beautiful spot a tragic drama which termi- nated the first attempt at permanent occupation by the white people in Tennessee. "The dramatic background may best be described by showing that here beside these beautiful streams and majes- tic mountains lived the Overhill Cherokees. One-half mile above the spot where we stand was the town of Toskegee. About two miles further on the same side was the Indian Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 155 town of Tomatley, at the mouth of Ball Play creek. About fifteen miles above was the town of Tennessee. About two miles above Tennessee was Chote. About two miles above Chote was Settacoo. About two miles above Settacoo was Halfway Town. About two miles above Halfway Town was Chalhowey. About five miles above Chalhowey, on both banks of the Little Tennessee, was the town of Tallassee. "Among these mountains, where the chain of the Alle- ghanies and Blue Ridge meet, the Cherokees, a brave, sturdy tribe of Indians, lived. Southeast of their villages were the headwaters of the Savannah River, and down those of the Little Tennessee was the Cherokee path leading southeast- erly to Charleston and the Atlantic Seaboard. They had two other highways, one down their river and up the Emory, then down the South Fork of the Cumberland into the 'Bloody Ground' — the other leading from Chote into Vir- ginia, passing some six miles to the south of Knoxville, crossing the Holston at the islands near Underdown's Ferry, and extending as far as Richmond, Va. These two were called war paths. "Southwesterly among the fastnesses around Lookout Mountain lived the Chickamaugas, and upon the streams and along the villages running from here to the great bend of the Tennessee River, there was easy and frequent communi- cation with these Indians. So they lived for more than a century in this condition of seclusion from the white man." FORT LOUDON ERECTED. "In 1756 Fort Prince George was built on the land of the Catawbas, near Keowee, by Gov. Glenn of South Caro- lina. "In that same year after laborious preparations and in consequence of donations by Prince George himself, and by the colonies of Virginia and South Carolina, Fort Loudon was erected here on the southern bank of the Tennessee River in what is now Monroe County, near the point where the Tellico river runs into the Little Tennessee, more than thirty miles southwest of Knoxville. It was built by Gen- eral Andrew Lewis, the chief engineer of the British troops, under the direction of the Earl of Loudon. This was the first Anglo-American settlement in Tennessee, and its ro- mantic and melancholy story is an introduction to the his- tory of Tennessee. "The expedition consisted of one hundred regular sol- diers of the king and one hundred provincial troops, to- 156 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History gether with about forty artisans, mechanics and farmers, and they carried some two score horses and a number of hunting dogs. The commander of the expedition was the celebrated James Stuart, who had been foremost in defense of the colonies against Indian raids and Negro uprisings; but on account of some differences with the civil authorities he was ranked by Capt. Demere, who though he had a French name was a sturdy Scotchman. "On this rocky ledge, jutting upon the river, overlooking these deep waters bending around it, Fort Loudon was erected. The ridge was cleared of heavy timber within the enclosure and as far away as a rifle shot beyond. A deep ditch was dug across the ridge, extending out across the plain and thence to the river, including about two and a half acres of ground. Within the enclosure a well was dug and walled up. The fort was securely built of heavy logs, square in shape, with blockhouses and bastions connected by palisades, which were trunks of trees embedded in the earth touching each other, and sharpened at the top, with loopholes at the proper places. It was made so secure that with ample provisions any garrison could endure a long siege by many times their number. Ten cannon and two guns called coehorns, said to have been contributed as the result of a donation out of the private purse of Prince George, were mounted upon the ramparts, or platforms. These cannon were probably brought over the mountain on packhorses, as no wagon road had ever been cut through that wilderness. Here, five hundred miles from Charleston, in a place to which it was very difficult at all times, but in case of war with the Cherokees, utterly impracticable, to convey necessary supplies, the garrison was placed, and the Indians invited to the fort. A thriving settlement grew around the fort with the arrival of traders and hunters. They began to cultivate the land. This was the first cultivation of land in what is now Tennessee, and the field around this spot is the oldest land in point of cultivation in our State. "Thus they lived and maintained this lone outpost until signs arose of the terrible tragedy which in August, 1760, terminated this settlement." FORT LOUDON DOOMED. "It was no wonder that Fort Loudon, this far-projected spur of civilization, was the first to notice and suffer from the disaffection of the Indians. The soldiers, making incur- sions into the woods to procure fresh provisions, were at- tacked by them and some of them were killed. Constant danger threatened the garrison. The settlers were drawn Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 157 into the fort. Communication with the settlements across the mountains, from which they derived their supplies, was cut off. Parties of the young warriors rushed down upon the frontier settlements and the work of massacre became general along the borders of the Carolinas. * ***** "All this time the garrison of Fort Loudon had been be- sieged, so that now they were reduced to the dreadful alter- native of perishing by hunger or submitting to the mercy of the enraged Cherokees. The two hundred miles between it and Fort Prince George were so beset with dangers and so difficult was it to march an army through the barren wil- derness, that no further attempt at relief was made. The garrison was near starvation. For a month they lived on the flesh of lean horses and dogs and a small supply of Indian beans, procured stealthily for them by some friendly Chero- kee women. Blockaded and beleaguered night and day by the enemy, with starvation staring them in the face, they threatened to leave the fort and die, if necessary, by the hands of the savages. Then Capt. Stuart, resourceful and brave, summoned a council of war. They agreed to ask for the best terms possible and leave the fort. Stuart slipped down to the consecrated city of Chote, where no Indian dared molest him. He obtained terms of capitulation, which were : That the garrison of Fort Loudon march out with their arms and drums, each soldier having as much powder and ball as the officer shall think necessary for the march, and all the baggage they choose to carry ; that the garrison be permitted to march to Virginia or to Fort Prince George, as the commanding officer shall think proper, unmolested ; that a number of Indians be appointed to escort them, and aid them in hunting for provisions during the inarch ; that such soldiers as were lame or disabled by sickness from marching be received into the Indian towns and kindly used until they recover, and then be allowed to return to Fort Prince George ; that the Indians to provide for the garrison as many horses as they conveniently can for their march, agreeing with the officers and soldiers for payment; that the fort, great guns (cannon), powder, ball and spare arms, be delivered to the Indians without fraud or further delay, on the day appointed for the marching of the troops.' "In pursuance of these stipulations, on August 7, 1760, the white people, after throwing their cannon into the river, with their small arms and ammunition, except what was necessary for hunting, broke up the fort and commenced the march into the settlements in South Carolina. That day they marched fifteen miles toward Fort Prince George. At night they encamped near Taligua, an Indian town, where their Indian attendants all suspiciously deserted them. A 158 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History guard was placed around the camp. At break of day the treachery was revealed. A soldier came running in and told them that he saw a vast number of Indians, armed and painted, creeping toward them. They had hardly time to form to meet the attack before the savages poured in among them a heavy fire, accompanied with hideous yells. The thousands of savages were too many for the two scant com- panies of half-starved regulars and a motley following of settlers with wives and children." :fc ^ * * * * * # 4 s "The story of old Fort Loudon has naturally been in- vested with romantic and melancholy interest. It was the first and last capture and surrender of a fort and massa- cre of the garrison within the limits of Tennessee. For eight years after this destruction there were no settlements attempted within this territory. But in 1768, when William Bean built his cabin near Boone's creek, he began the contin- uous occupation by the white man which developed finally into our great commonwealth. It was, after all, the settle- ment by a few from Virginia and North Carolina along the Watauga, who thought they were in Virginia, that consti- tuted the foundation of our present civilization. A long line of heroes, statesmen, and sturdy citizens has come from the people of those days. "The enmities and rivalries which caused the erection and then the destruction of Fort Loudon, have long since disappeared, and today the glorious descendants of those Frenchmen and British are fighting together, shoulder to shoulder, and heart to heart, for the sake of democracy in Belgium and France." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 159 CHAPTER X. TENNESSEE— THE CONSTITUTION OF 1796 AND OF 1834 AND GOVERNORS TO THE DEATH OF JACKSON. 4 On July 11th, 1795, the territorial government directed an enumeration of the population of the territory to ascer- tain if it contained the sixty thousand population necessary in order for it to become a State, and Governor Blount forwarded the result of the election in the shape of a sched- ule to President Washington in the city of Washington. The following is the schedule : "Territory of the U. States of America South of the River Ohio. Schedule of the aggregate amount of each de- scription of persons, taken agreeably to 'An act providing for the enumeration of the inhabitants of the Territory of the United States of America south of the River Ohio;' passed July 11, 1795. Sua a =.s 21 » . o E 2 CJ Ui CI a £ °> v 2 |s u a c ree whi years a includin families • 3 m ci o CI > a E < ft ft & < X H >< Jefferson County Hawkins County Greene County Knox County Washington County Sullivan County Sevier County Blount County Davidson County. . Sumner County Tennessee County.- 1,706 2,666 1,567 2,721 2,013 1,803 628 585 728 1,382 380 16,179 2,225 3,279 2,203 2,723 2,578 2,340 1,045 817 695 1,595 444 19,944 3,021 4,767 3,350 3,664 4,311 3,499 1,503 1,231 1,192 2,316 700 29,554 112 147 52 100 225 3S 273 6 1 19 973 776 2,472 466 2,365 978 777 129 183 992 1,076 398 10,613 7,840 13,331 7,638 11,573 10,105 8,457 3,578 2,816 3,613 6,370 1,941 77,262 714 ,651 560 ,100 873 715 261 476 96 58 6,504 316 534 495 128 145 125 55 16 517 231 2,562 "I William Blount, Governor in and over the Territory of the United States of America south of the River Ohio, do certify that this schedule is made in conformity with the 160 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History schedules of the sheriffs of the respective counties in the said Territory, and that the schedules of the said sheriffs are lodged in my office. "Given under my hand, at Knoxville, November 28, 1795. "William Blount." It will be observed that the Middle Tennessee counties were opposed to statehood, and the East Tennesse counties largely in favor of it. Governor Blount, General John Sevier and their followers, were all strongly for the new State. Thereupon Governor Blount issued his proclamation an- nouncing the result of the election : "William Blount, Governor in and over the Territory of the United States of America south of the River Ohio, to the people thereof; "Whereas by an act passed on the 11th day of July last, entitled 'An act providing for the enumeration of the inhabitants of the Territory of the United States of Amer- ica south of the River Ohio,' it is enacted, 'that if upon tak- ing the enumeration of the people in the said Territory as by that directed, it shall appear that there are sixty thou- sand inhabitants therein, counting the whole of the free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years,' and excluding Indians not taxed and adding three- fifths of all other persons, the Governor be authorized and requested to recommend to the people of the respective counties to elect five persons for each county, to represent them in convention, to meet at Knoxville, at such time as he shall judge proper, for the purpose of forming a constitu- tion or permanent form of government.' "And whereas, upon taking the enumeration of the in- habitants of the said Territory, as by the act directed, it does appear that there are sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, and more, besides other persons : Now I, the said William Blount, Governor, &c, do recommend to the people of the respective counties to elect five persons for each county, on the 18th and 19th days of December next, to represent them in a convention to meet at Knoxville, on the 11th day of January next, for the purpose of forming a constitution or permanent form of government. "And to the end that a perfect uniformity in the elec- tion of the members of convention may take place, in the respective counties, I, the said William Blount, Governor, &c, do further recommend to the sheriffs or their deputies, respectively, to open and hold polls of election for members of convention, on the 18th and 19th days of December, as Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 161 aforesaid, in the same manner as polls of election have heretofore been held for members of the General Assem- bly; and that all free males, twenty-one years of age and upwards, be considered entitled to vote by ballot for five persons for members of convention ; and that the sheriffs or their deputies, holding such polls of election, give certifi- cates to the five persons in each county, having the great- est number of votes, of their being duly elected members of convention. "And I, the said William Blount, Governor &c, think proper here to declare, that this recommendation is not in- tended to have, nor ought to have, any effect whatever upon the present temporary form of government; and that the present temporary form will continue to be exercised in the same manner as if it had never been issued, until the convention shall have formed and published a constitution or permanent form of government. "Done at Knoxville, November twenty-eight, one thou- sand and seven hundred and ninety-five. "Wm. Blount. "By the Gov.— Willie Blount, Pro Secretary." In this proclamation Governor Blount recommended that an election be held on the 18th and 19th days of Decem- ber 1795 to select five persons from each county to meet in convention in Knoxville, January 11, 1796, for the pur- pose of forming a constitution and organizing a permanent form of government, and accordingly the election was held, and the persons elected assembled on January 11 at Knox- ville, and were as follows : REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COUNTIES. Blount County, — David Craig, James Greenaway, Jos- eph Black, Samuel Glass, James Houston. Davidson County, — John McNairy, Andrew Jackson, James Robertson, Thomas Hardeman, Joel Lewis. Greene County, — Samuel Frazier, Stephen Brooks, Wil- liam Rankin, John Galbreath, Elisha Baker. Hawkins County, — James Berry, Thomas Henderson, Joseph McMinn, William Cocke, Richard Mitchell. Jefferson County, — Alexander Outlaw, Joseph Ander- son, George Doherty, William Roddye, Archibald Roane. 162 Andrew Jackson an Early Tennessee History Knox County, — William Blount, James White, Charles McClung, John Adair, John Crawford. Sullivan County, — George Rutledge, William C. C. Clai- borne, John Shelby, Jun., John Rhea, Richard Gammon. Sevier County, — Peter Bryan, Samuel Wear, Spencer Clack, John Clack, Thomas Buckenham. Tennessee County, — Thomas Johnston, James Ford, William Fort, Robert Prince, William Prince. Washington County, — Landon Carter, John Tipton, Lee- roy Taylor, James Stuart, Samuel Handley. Sumner County, — D. Shelby, Isaac Walton, W. Doug- lass, Edward Douglass, Daniel Smith. These representatives constituted the Constitutional Convention of 1796, and William Blount was elected Presi- dent of the Convention, William Macklin Secretary, John Sevier, Jr., Engrossing Clerk, and John Rhea Doorkeeper. On motion a committee of two representatives from each county was appointed to draft a constitution, and it is nat- ural that every Tennessean should feel profound interest in the personnel of the Committee that made the original draft of the State's first constitution, who were as follows : Blount County — Craig and Black. Davidson County — McNairy and Jackson. Greene County — Frazier and Rankin. Hawkins County — Cocke and Henderson. Jefferson County — Anderson and Roddye. Knox County — Blount and McClung. Sullivan County — Claiborne and Rhea. Sumner County — Shelby and Smith. Sevier County — Wear and John Clack. Tennessee County — Johnston and Fort. Washington County — Tipton and Stuart. Mr. Smith of Sumner was Chairman of the Committee, and on January 27, 1796, a draft of the constitution was reported to the Convention, and on January 28 referred to the Committee of the Whole and was under considera- tion until February 6, 1796, when the constitution was adopted. The Convention was in session twenty-seven days. On February 6, 1796, Chairman McClung of the Committee on the Expense of the Convention reported that beside Andrew Jackson and Ear^y Tennessee History 163 the per diem of the members and officers of the Convention, the expenses were ten dollars for seats for the Convention, and $2.62 for three and one-half yards of oil-cloth for cov- ering the table of the chairman and the secretary. The per diem allowed to members of the Convention and the officers was $1.50 a day for each member and one dollar for every thirty miles traveled to and from the Conven- tion, $2.50 a day to the clerks, and $2.00 to the doorkeeper. The Convention was held in the office of David Henley, Agent of the War Department. President Blount was instructed to forward as early as practicable a copy of the new constitution to the Sec- retary of State in Washington, and was further authorized to issue writs of election in the several counties for the pur- pose of choosing a governor and members of the General Assembly under the new constitution. On February 9, Pres- ident Blount sent to the Secretary of State a copy of the constitution by Joseph McMinn, a Hawkins County man, who was afterwards Governor of the State. Dr. James White of Davidson County was the territorial representa- tive of Tennessee in Congress. It is usual to quote Mr. Jefferson's comment on this constitution that it was "the least imperfect and most re- publican of any of the American States." It remained with- out amendment until the Constitution of 1835 was adopted. FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY. It is interesting to recall the members of the first Gen- eral Assembly of the State. In this list are names that achieved high position subsequently in the councils of Ten- nessee. MEMBERS OF THE SENATE. Tennessee County — James Ford. Sumner County — James Winchester. Knox County — James White. Jefferson County — George Doherty. Greene County — Samuel Frazier. Washington County — John Tipton. Sullivan County — George Rutledge. 164 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Sevier County — John Clack. Blount County — Alexander Kelly. Davidson County — Joel Lewis. Hawkins County — Joseph McMinn. James Winchester was elected Speaker of the Senate; F. A. Ramsey Clerk; Nathaniel Buckingham Assistant Clerk, Thomas Bounds Doorkeeper. MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE. Blount County — James Houston and Joseph Black. Davidson County — Robert Weakley and Seth Lewis. Greene County — Joseph Conway and John Gass. Hawkins County — John Cocke and Thomas Henderson. Jefferson County — Alexander Outlaw and Adam Peck. Knox County — John Menefee and John Crawford. Sullivan County — John Rhea and David Looney. Sevier County — Spencer Clack and Samuel Newell. Sumner County — Stephen Cantrell and William Mont- gomery. Tennessee County — Thomas Johnston and William Ford. Washington County — John Blair and James Stuart. James Stuart was elected Speaker; Thomas H. Williams Clerk; John Sevier, Jr., Assistant Clerk; John Rhea Door- keeper. After the organization of the Senate and House they met in joint convention for the purpose of opening and summing up the returns in the election for Governor, when it was found that John Sevier had been duly elected Gov- ernor of the new State. Judge Joseph Anderson swore Governor-elect Sevier into office. William Blount and William Cocke were elected Sen- ators in the Congress of the United States ; William Mack- lin Secretary of State; John McNairy, Willie Blount and Archibald Roane Judges of the Superior Court of Law and Equity, but John McNairy declined to serve, and Howell Tatum was elected in his place ; Willie Blount also declined and his place was filled by W. C. C. Claiborne; Landon Car- ter was elected Treasurer of Washington and Hamilton Districts, and William Black of the Mero District. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 165 It was at'this session of the General Assembly that Ten- nessee County was divided into Robertson and Montgomery Counties; Washington County was also divided, and out of a part of it Carter County was established. Elizabeth- ton, the county seat, was named in honor of Elizabeth, the wife of General Carter. Grainger County was established April 22, 1796, and named for Mary Grainger, the wife of Governor Blount. On April 8, 1796, President George Washington sub- mitted to Congress the constitution of the new State of Ten- nessee, and it was referred to the proper committee in both Senate and House, and on April 12, 1796, the House Com- mittee reported recommending that the State be declared one of the United States of America. The Senate Commit- tee reported against the admission of the State, but the Senate finally yielded and the act was passed May 31st, 1796, admitting Tennessee into the Union. But Governor Blount and William Cocke having been elected United States Senators before Tennessee became a State, it was necessary to elect them over again. Ac- cordingly, Governor Sevier called the General Assembly to- gether and they were elected a second time to the Senate. Andrew Jackson was elected the State's Representative in Congress, and took his seat at the session of Congress which assembled December 5, 1796. The bill admitting the State into the Union was ap- proved by President Washington June 1, 1796, and is as follows : "WHEREAS, By the acceptance of the deed of ces- sion of the State of North Carolina, Congress is bound to lay out into one or more States the territory thereby ceded to the United States. "BE IT ENACTED, ETC. That the whole of the terri- tory ceded to the United States by the State of North Caro- lina shall be one State, and the same is hereby declared to be one of the United States of America, on an equal foot- ing with the original States, in all respects whatever, by the name and title of the State of Tennessee. That until the next general census, the said State of Tennessee shall be entitled to one representative in the house of represen- tatives of the United States; and in all other respects as 1 66 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History far as they may be applicable, the laws of the United States shall extend to and have force in the State of Tennessee, in the same manner as if that State had originally been one of the United States. "Approved June 1, 1796. "George Washington, President of the United States. "Jonathan Dayton, Speaker of the House of Representatives, "Samuel Livermore, President of the United States. THE GOVERNORS OF THE STATE. Within the limits of this book it is impossible to write a history of Tennessee, or even the history of the State down to the death of General Jackson in 1845. A great many things will have to be merely mentioned, or, at best, an abstract given. Hence it is impossible to give a history of each State administration and only a brief mention of the Governors of the State will be made, with their term of office, the candidates for the office, and the vote each candidate received: John Sevier .... 1796-1801 — No oppostion. Archibald Roane.1801-1803 — No oppostion. John Sevier 1803-1809— In 1803 Governor Sevier was opposed by Governor Roane and the vote stood, Sevier 6,786, Roane 4,923. In 1805 and 1807 Governor Sevier had no opposition. Willie Blount. . .1809-1815— No oppostion. Joseph McMinn. 1815-1821— In 1815 the vote stood: Jos- eph McMinn 15,600; Robert Weakley 7,389; Jesse Whar- ton 7662; Robt. C. Foster 4,184; Thomas Johnson 2,987. In 1817 Gov. McMinn defeat- ed Robert C. Foster by a large majority. In 1819 Gov. McMinn defeat- ed Enoch Parsons by a large majority. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 167 William Carroll. 1821-1827— In 1821 the vote stood Car- roll 42,246; Edward Ward 11,200; Governor Carroll had no opposition in 1823 or in 1825. Sam Houston. . .1827-1829— Defeated Willie Blount and Newton Cannon. Resigned. William Hall April 1829 to October 1829 — Filled out the unexpired term of Sam Houston. William Carroll. 1829-1835 — No opposition. Governor Car- roll served as Governor of Tennessee longer than any other man in the history of the State. Newton Cannon . 1835-1839— The constitution of 1834 hav- ing removed the limit which prohibited any one person from being governor more than three consecutive terms, Gov. Carroll was a candidate against Newton Cannon in 1835 and was defeated by Cannon by 11,000 plurality. In 1837 the vote stood: Can- non 52,600 and Armstrong 32,695. James K. Polk. .1839-1841— Polk defeated Governor Can- non by 3,000 majority. James C. Jones. 1841-1845 — In 1841 the vote stood: Jones 53,586; Polk 50,343. In 1843 the vote stood : Jones 57,491 ; Polk 52,692. In two years after the race of 1841 Jones increased his vote 3,905 and Polk increased 2,359. THE CONSTITUTION OF 1834. On November 27, 1833, the Legislature passed an act providing for the calling of a constitutional convention to consist of sixty members to be elected on the first Thursday and Friday of March, 1834, to meet in the City of Nashville on the third Monday of May, 1834. Pur- suant to this act the election was duly held and the mem- 168 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History bers duly elected, and the convention met on May 19, 1834, and remained in session until August 30, 1834. Ex-Gov- ernor Willie Blount was made temporary Chairman. Wil- liam B. Carter was elected President of the Convention. The Constitution adopted by the convention was sub- mitted to a vote of the people on March 5th and 6th, 1835, and was ratified by a vote of 42,666 to 17,691. This con- stitution remained in effect until the constitution of 1870 was adopted, but it was amended in 1853 so as to provide that the Judges of the Supreme Court should be elected by the qualified voters of the entire State, and the judges of the inferior courts by the qualified voters of the districts where they were to hold court. It was this amendment which also provided that the Attorney General for the State and the District Attorneys were to be elected by the people instead of by the Legislature. In 1865 a convention was held in Nashville in which the constitution was amended so as to prohibit slavery in Ten- nessee. The Constitution of 1834 contained a provision look- ing to the liberal support of education in the State by common schools and otherwise, as follows, in Article XI, Section 10: "Knowledge, learning and virtue being essential to the preservation of public institutions, and a diffusion of the opportunities and advantages of education through- out the different portions of the State being highly con- ducive to the promotion of this end, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly in all future periods of this gov- ernment to cherish literature and science. And the fund called the 'common school fund,' and all the lands and pro- ceeds thereof, dividends, stocks, and all other property of every description whatever heretofore by law appropri- ated by the General Assembly of the State for the use of common schools, and all such as shall hereafter be ap- propriated, shall remain a perpetual fund, the principal of which shall never be diminished by legislative appro- priation, and the interest thereof shall be inviolably ap- propriated to the support and encouragement of common schools throughout the State, and for the equal benefit of the people thereof; and no law shall be made author- izing said fund or any part thereof to be diverted to any other use than the support and encouragement of common Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 169 schools; and it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to appoint a Board of Commissioners for said fund and who shall make a report of the condition of the same from time to time under such rules and regulations and re- strictions as may be required by law; provided, that if at any time hereafter a division of the public lands of the United States or of the money arising from the sale of said lands shall be made among the individual States, the part of such land or money coming to this State shall be devoted to the purpose of education and internal improve- ment and shall never be applied to any other purpose." The very conservative temper of this Convention may be seen in the opening addrss of President Carter where he says: "The great principle which should actuate each individual in this Convention is to touch the constitution with a cautious and circumspect hand, and to deface that instrument, formed with so much wisdom and foresight by our ancestors, as little as possible," and this voice of the President prevailed generally in the changes made in the Constitution of 1796, there being only a few extensive changes. 1 70 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XI. JOHN SEVIER— CHRONOLOGY. 1745 — September 23, born Rockingham County, Virginia. 1761 — Married Sarah Hawkins. 1772 — Appointed Captain in the Virginia Line by Lord Dunmore. 1772 — Went on a visit to Evan Shelby at King's Meadow, now Bristol, Tennessee, and visited Wautauga settlers. 1773 — Located on North Holston and ran a mercantile bus- iness. 1778 — Left Watauga to which he moved from Holston and located on the Nollichucky. 1779 — April 10 — Organized with Evan Shelby successful expedition against the Chickamaugas. 1780 — August 14 — Married Miss Catherine Sherrill. 1780 — Took part in the Battle of King's Mountain. 1780 — December 16 — Defeated the Indians at the Battle of Boyd's Creek. 1780 — Defeated the Indians on the Chota Expedition and burned their houses and destroyed their stock. 1780 — Commissioned by Governor Nash of North Caro- lina Colonel Commandant of Washington County. 1781 — Legislature of North Carolina by resolution asked Sevier and Shelby to return to North Carolina in the defense of that colony. 1781 — March — Moved against Erati Cherokees in Smoky Mountains. 1781 — In November, with Shelby, joined Marion's com- mand in South Carolina. 1782 — Made successful expedition against the Chicka- maugas. 1785 — Appointed Brigadier-General of Washington Dis- trict by the Legislature of North Carolina. 1785-1788— Governor of the State of Franklin. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 7 1 1788 — Arrested and taken to Morganton, N. C, on a charge of treason, where he was rescued by his friends. 1789 — Elected to the North Carolina Senate from Greene County. 1789 — Disabilities of treason removed, and he became a member of the Senate. 1789 — Reinstated as Brigadier-General of Washington District. 1790 — First member of Congress west of the Alleghanies. 1790 or 1791 — Moved from Nollichucky to six miles south of Knoxville. 1791 — February — Appointed Brigadier General of the United States. 1793 — Conducted the Etowah Expedition against the In- dians, it being the last military service rendered by him, and the only expedition or campaign for which he ever received compensation from the government. Etowah is the site of the present city of Rome, Georgia. 1798— July 19 to June 1, 1800— Brigadier General United States Army. 1796-1801 — Governor of Tennessee three terms. 1803 — December 30 — Valentine Sevier, his father died 100 years old. 1803-1809 — Governor of Tennessee three terms. 1811-1815 — Member of the United States Congress. 1813 — Presented a sword by the Legislature of North Carolina. 1815 — Appointed by President Monroe on a mission to Ala- bama to settle the boundary between the Creek Indians and the white settlers. 1815 — Re-elected to Congress, but died before he knew of his re-election. 1815 — September 24 — Died near Fort Decatur, Alabama. 1889 — June 18 — Remains brought back to Tennessee, and buried in the courthouse yard, at Knoxville. 1 72 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XII. JOHN SEVIER. The Sevier family is French in origin, and is "Xavier" in French, but was Anglicized to "Sevier" when the grand- father of John Sevier settled in London and there mar- ried. He had a son Valentine who, it seems ran away from home and came to America about the year 1740. Valen- tine Sevier was the father of John Sevier, and he had some dissipated habits. He landed at Baltimore, where he later married Miss Joanna Good, and he and his wife settled in Rockingham County, Virginia, where he cultivated a farm, and where John Sevier was born September 23, 1745. The family moved to Fredericksburg, where John attended school for two years, and later came back to Rockingham County and opened up a store and traded with the Indians. John Sevier also went to school at Staunton. After arriv- ing at the age of usefulness in the store, he worked with his father, and in 1761, before he was seventeen years old he married Miss Sara Hawkins. He laid out the village of New Market, and kept a store there for some time. In 1771 he is said to have visited the Western waters — the Hol- ston, Watauga and Nollichucky — on a prospecting and trading expedition with goods, and it is certain that he went there in 1772. In 1772 he was appointed a Captain, in the Virginia line by Lord Dunmore, and Evan Shelby was also a Captain in the Virginia line, and had settled at King's Meadows, Bristol, Tennessee, and he invited young Sevier to visit him, which he did and during that visit, General Shelby and his son, Isaac, and Sevier, all rode horseback down to the Watauga, and became acquainted for the first time with James Robertson, who had been lo- cated there about one year. In 1773, Captain Sevier started with his family to the Western waters, and with him came his father and moth- er, his brothers, Robert, Joseph and Abraham, and sisters Polly and Catherine. His brother Valentine was already GOVERNOR JOHN SEVIER. Photograph from miniature in the possession of his great -grand-son Daniel Vertner Sevier, of Jacksonville, Texas, who sent the miniature to Calvin M. MeClung of Knoxville, Tennessee, who had it photographed by Knaffl & Brakebill of Knoxville, in January, 1918. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 73 there. They reached their new home December 25, 1773, which was located on the North Holston River, where Se- vier conducted a mercantile business for a length of time that does not clearly appear. He then moved to the Wa- tauga, and lived there for a length of time which also does not clearly appear, but it is certain that in 1778 he moved from the Watauga to Mount Pleasant, on the Nollichucky River, and there spent the remainder of the time until he moved with his family six miles south of Knoxville in 1790 or 1791. He conducted his farm on the Nollichucky with slave labor. His father, Valentine Sevier, died December 30, 1803, one hundred years old. Sevier, like Andrew Jack- son, was a good business man, and was successful in ac- cumulating property, both after he came to Tennessee, as well as in Virginia, and had he not spent his fortune in equipping expeditions against the Indians, and keeping open house, he would have died a wealthy man for his day, and not, as he did, practically broken up. He was at Watauga fort when it was attacked by the Indians in July 1776, and it was upon this occasion that Catherine Sherrill, who afterwards became his wife, made her historical run to get over the palisade from which she jumped, and was caught by Captain Sevier. The as- sault of the Indians was successfully repulsed, and a num- ber of them killed. With this defense of Fort Watauga began the career of John Sevier as a patriot, soldier, and Indian fighter, that was not to cease until 1815, when he died on a mission connected with the Creek Indians, in the State of Alabama. In 1775 he was elected Clerk of the first Court, and the next year was made a delegate to the North Carolina Con- vention at Halifax. He served on Colonel Christian's ex- pedition against the Cherokees, and was later appointed Lieutenant-Colonel for Washington County, which had been created out of all of the territory west of the moun- tains. Sevier's relations to the people of the Western waters were probably never duplicated anywhere. It did not take the mountain men long to discover that he was a natural leader in whom they could absolutely confide, and we prob- 1 74 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ably could not do better than to adopt the opinion of Roose- velt, who is usually none too enthusiastic about Sevier, but whose opinion, nevertheless, in this instance, is a magnifi- cent tribute to him. Roosevelt says : "Sevier, who came to the Watauga early in 1772, near- ly a year after Robertson and his little colony had arrived, differed widely from his friend in almost every respect save high-mindedness and dauntless, invincible courage. He was a gentleman by birth and breeding, the son of a Huguenot, who had settled in the Shenandoah Valley. He had received a fair education, and though never fond of books, he was, to the end of his days an interested and in- telligent observer of men and things, both in America and in Europe. He corresponded on intimate and equal terms with Madison, Franklin, and others of our most polished statesmen; while Robertson's letters, when he had finally learned to write them himself, were almost as remarkable for their phenomenally bad spelling as for their shrewd common sense and homely straight-forward honesty. Se- vier was a very handsome man ; during his lifetime he was reputed the handsomest in Tennessee. He was tall, fair- skinned, blue-eyed, brown-haired, of slender build, with erect military carriage and commanding bearing; his lithe, finely proportioned figure being well set off by the hunting shirt which he almost invariably wore. From his French forefathers he inherited a gay, pleasure-loving tempera- ment that made him the most charming of companions. His manners were polished and easy, and he had great nat- ural dignity. Over the backwoodsmen he exercised an al- most unbounded influence, due as much to his ready tact, invariable courtesy, and lavish, generous hospitality as to the skill and dashing prowess which made him the most renowned Indian fighter of the southwest. He had an eager, impetuous nature, and was very ambitious, being almost as fond of popularity as of Indian fighting. He was al- ready married and the father of two children when he came to the Watauga, and, like Robertson, was seeking a new and better home for his family in the west. So far his life had been as uneventful as that of any other spirited young borderer; he had taken part in one or two unim- portant Indian skirmishes. Later he was commissioned by Lord Dunmore as Captain in the Virgina line." WHY HE CAME WEST. In nothing that has been written about John Sevier, and the amount written has not been large, is there an Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 75 adequate explanation of why he took up with the moun- tain men, unless it be his love of adventure. While very- young during his business ventures in Virginia, he was evi- dently very successful, and he is reputed to have been a man of independent means for that day. There is no evidence of his making money an object after he came to the Wa- tauga ; on the contrary, it was a constant loss, and he final- ly died a poor man; his home, hospitality, pocketbook, horses and stock, appear to have all been at the disposal of his friends, and he kept practically open house for every- body. This course would naturally make him an exceed* ingly popular man, and it also made him a poor man, and finally broke him up. He was by birth and breeding a higher type of man than those he settled among. His prospects were flattering in Virginia, where he had be- come in good circumstances, hence we can find no osten- sible reason for his leaving Virginia and coming to Ten- nessee, except the love of excitement, adventure and lead- ership. Sevier's participation in the Battle of King's Mountain is told in that part of this book treating of King's Moun- tain. In 1780 he was commissioned by Governor Nash of North Carolina Colonel Commandant of Washington County. In all, he is credited with participating in thirty-five battles, and achieving thirty-five victories; many of these battles were, of course, skirmishes with the Indians, but there were four that were serious military achievements, and they were at Boyd's Creek, Chota, against the Erati Cherokees and at Etowah, and in all of these he exhibited every quality that goes to make up a great military leader. The battle at Boyd's Creek, on December 16, 1780, was one of the most severely contested battles in our pioneer history, and was followed up by the Chota Expedition, which was greatly successful, and in which he was joined by Colonel Arthur Campbell with troops from Virginia, and Major Martin, with troops from Sullivan County. They burned the villages and houses of the Cherokees and de- stroyed their stock. Ramsey says that every Indian town between the Tennessee and the Hiawasee was reduced to 1 76 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ashes. They continued on down with their troops until they came to the Chickamauga towns, or Lookout towns, near where Chattanooga now is, and burned towns and villages, and killed cattle, hogs, and other stock, and spread devastation over the whole face of the country. From the Chickamauga towns they proceeded on down to the Coosa country, where the destruction of towns, houses, grain and stock continued. Returning by Chota, a conference was held with the Cherokees, and the terms of peace were agreed upon, upon which they turned the face of the army towards home, and marched back towards the Watauga. The leaders then sent a message to the Cherokees: "Chiefs and Warriors: "We came into your country to fight your young men ; we have killed many of them, and destroyed your towns. You know you began the war by listening to the bad coun- sels of the King of England and the falsehoods told you by his agents. We are now satisfied with what is done, as it may convince your nation that we can distress you much at any time when you are so foolish as to engage in war against us. If you desire peace, as we understand you do, we, out of pity to your women and children, are dis- posed to treat with you on that subject. "We therefore send you this by one of your young men who is our prisoner, to tell you if you are disposed to make peace, six of your head men must come to our Agent, Major Martin at the Great Island within two moons, so as to give him time to meet them with the flag-guard on Holston River at the boundary line. And to the wives and chil- dren of those of your men who protested against the war, if they are willing to take refuge at the Great Island until peace is restored, we will give a supply of provisions to keep them alive. "Warriors, listen attentively! If we receive no answer to this message until the time already mentioned expires, we shall then conclude that you intend to continue to be our enemies; we will then be compelled to send another strong force into your country that will come prepared to remain in it, to take possession of it as a conquered country, without making you any compensation for it. "Signed at Kai-a-tee, the 4th January 1781. "By Arthur Campbell, Colonel, "John Sevier, Colonel, "Joseph Martin, Agent and Major of Militia." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History 177 The punishment inflicted by the Chota Expedition and this communication kept the Indians quiet for a while, but it was not a permanent peace, and Sevier was always on the outlook for Indian murders and outrages, and he so continued until his final expedition against the Indians at Etowah, now Rome, Georgia, which was the last in which he was engaged. But in difficulty of achievement, and brilliancy of re- sults, Sevier's expedition against the Erati Cherokees is one of the greatest in all history. This expedition was car- ried out in March, 1781, and consisted of about one hun- dred and fifty men going against twelve hundred of the Erati, whose homes were in almost inaccessible parts of the Great Smoky Mountains, where they had been visited by very few white men. It is one of the wildest mountain sections of the world, and to penetrate it from the east would seem an utter impossibility. On the Watauga there was only one white man who knew anything about the home of the Erati. This was Isaac Thomas, with whom as a guide Sevier set out on his expedition over mountain tops and through valleys ; and across rivers and mountain torrents for a distance of two hundred miles, he made his way, and finally came to the towns of the Erati. Consid- ering the great distance he had to go, the nature of the country he had to travel, the mountains and gorges he had to cross, the wide, unbroken wilderness he had to traverse, the strength of the Indians he was seeking to assault, the expedition is simply wonderful, and it is probable that there was not a man living in pioneer America except John Sevier who would have undertaken it, but he did undertake it, and he brought it to a brilliant and successful conclusion. It took a leader of iron will and most adventurous disposi- tion and great courage that did not know what fear was, to carry out such an expedition. SWORDS OF SEVIER AND SHELBY. On January 18, 1781, at its first session after the Bat- tle of King's Mountain, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed a resolution that a sword and pistol should be presented to Isaac Shelby and John Sevier, each, in rec- 1 78 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ognition of what they had accomplished at King's Moun- tain. For -some reason, unexplained, this resolution of 1781 was never carried into effect until July 17, 1813, when Governor Hawkins of North Carolina wrote to Sevier this letter : "Executive Office, North Carolina. "Raleigh, 17 July, 1813. "Sir:— "In compliance with a resolution of the General As- sembly of the State passed at their last session, I have the honor of tendering you the sword which this letter ac- companies as a testimonial of the distinguished claim you have upon the gratitude of the State for your gallantry in achieving with your brothers in arms the glorious victory over the British forces commanded by Colonel Ferguson at the Battle of King's Mountain on the memorable 7th Octo- ber, 1780. This tribute of respect, though bestowed at the protracted period, will not be considered the less honorable on that account when you are informed that it is in unison with a resolution of the General Assembly passed in the year 1781, which from some cause not well ascertained, it is to be regretted was not complied with. "Permit me, sir, to make you an expression of the high gratification felt by me at being the favored instrument to present to you in the name of the State of North Carolina this testimonial of gratitude, this meed of valor, and to remark that, contending as we are at the present time with the same foe for our just rights, the pleasing hope may be entertained that the valorous deeds of the heroes of the Revolution will animate the soldier of the existing war, and nerve his arm in laudable emulation to like achievements. I beg you to accept an assurance of the just consideration and respect with which I have the honor to be, sir, "Your obedient servant, "William Hawkins. "General John Sevier." At the time this letter was written General Sevier was a member of Congress from the Knoxville District, and was in Washington, and made reply: "With that memorable day" (alluding to October 7, 1780) "began to shine and beam forth the glorious pros- pects of our American struggle. . * * * In those trying days I was governed by love and regard for my common country and particularly for the State I then had the honor of serving, and in its welfare and prosperity I shall never . Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 179 cease to feel an interest. I was then ready to hazard every- thing dear to man to secure our independence; I am now as willing to risk all to retain it. * * * It is to be la- mented that the heroes and fathers of our Revolution have fallen into the arms of old age and death, and that so few of th'em remain to benefit the country by their advice or their services in the field. * * * Our country must be- come acquainted with the arts of active warfare, and then I am proud in thinking they will become better soldiers than those of any other nation on the globe, and we will soon be able to meet the enemy at every point." The Battle of King's Mountain must have given North Carolinians a very high estimate of Sevier and Shelby, for, on February 13, 1781, less than five months after the bat- tle was fought, the General Assembly of North Carolina, in session at Halifax, passed the following resolution: "Resolved : That Colonel Isaac Shelby of Sullivan Coun- ty and John Sevier, Esquire, of Washington County be in- formed by this resolve which shall be communicated to them, that the General Assembly of this State are feelingly impressed with the very dangerous and patriotic services rendered by the inhabitants of the said counties, to which their influence has in great degree contributed. And it is earnestly urged that they would practice a continuance of the same active exertion; that the state of the country is such as to call forth its utmost powers immediately in order to preserve its freedom and independence." Right at this time Sevier was unable to respond to this request, being engaged in protecting the mountain set- tlements from the Cherokees; but on September 16, 1781, following, General Greene wrote to Sevier informing him of conditions near Yorktown, and asking that he bring a body of riflemen as quickly as possible to Charlotte, North Carolina ; and Sevier at once raised two hundred riflemen on horseback, and marched them across the mountains, and joined his forces with those of General Marion on the San- tee and co-operated with Marion. In 1785 the Legislature of North Carolina created Sevier Brigadier General of Washington District. COMPROMISE BETWEEN SEVIER AND SHELBY. In 1787 the feeling was high between the adherents of North Carolina and the supporters of the State of Frank- 180 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History lin, and it became evident that unless something was done a civil war might result, to prevent which negotiations of some kind or another should be opened and their merits tested. It was finally settled that General Evan Shelby, Jr., who had the confidence of the North Carolina govern- ment should be the negotiator for that State, and accord- ingly a conference was held at the house of Samuel Smith on March 20, 1787, to see if the difficulties could be ac- commodated. At this conference Governor Sevier repre- sented the State of Franklin. Sevier and Shelby were both men of the most interpid courage, patriotism, high char- acter and sound judgment, and it did not take the two long to reach the agreement that a temporizing policy was the wisest policy for the moment, and that opportunity be given for the situation to work itself out, as they both thought it would do. Men of less wisdom and stamina might have entered the conference in a hot-headed state of mind, each determined to have his own way, the results be what they might, but Sevier and Shelby acted upon large, high principles, and while their compromise did not actually settle anything, for the time being, it did have the result of letting the situation settle itself, which it did by the next year, so weakening the sentiment for the State of Frank- lin as to cause the peaceable downfall of that government. It is rare in history that two men stand out so vividly for political wisdom and sound judgment at a time when any other line of conduct might have brought on civil war. The entire story of what took place between Sevier and Shelby, and the agreement reached is told by General Shel- by in a communication to Governor Caswell of North Caro- lina. GENERAL SHELBY TO GOVERNOR CASWELL. "Sullivan County, March 21st, 1787. "Dear Sir: — Your letter and the packets which you were pleased to forward by your son, I have received, and the commissions to the several counties belonging have been forwarded, except those to the county of Greene, yet in my hands, not well knowing who to direct them to. The proclamations have been disposed of accordingly. I have held a conference with Mr. John Sevier, Governor of the Franklin people. The enclosed is a copy of what was there Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 181 concluded between him and me. It is submitted to the leg- islature. The people of Franklin have lately held an As- sembly for their State, and have passed a bill for opening an office for to receive entries for the lands included be- tween French Broad and Tennessee Rivers. Also, they have laid a land and poll tax on the people. Conformable to the commissions for the peace sent up, courts of pleas, etc., have been held in the counties of Washington, Sulli- van and Hakwins, without any opposition. Many people are firmly attached to North Carolina; others are as ob- stinate against it ; however, it is to be hoped that time and reflection will restore them friendly to North Carolina. "The animosities arising from difference of opinion in governments among our people here have run high. To quiet the minds of the people, and preserve peace and tran- quility till something better could be done, was the rea- son that induced me to hold a conference and conclude on the articles enclosed. I would be much rejoiced if, as you mention, you would think, in earnest, to come and live among us. You might do much here. CONFERENCE AT SMITH'S. " 'At a conference held at the house of Samuel Smith, Esquire, on the 20th day of March, 1787, between the Hon- ourable Evan Shelby, Esquire, and sundry officers, of the one part, and Honorable John Sevier and sundry officers, of the other part. Whereas, disputes have arisen concern- ing the propriety and legality of the State of Franklin, and that sovereignty and jurisdiction of the State of North Carolina over the said State and the people residing therein. " 'The contending parties, from the regard they have to peace, tranquility and good decorum in the Western country, do agree and recommend as follows: " 'First. That the courts of justice do not proceed to transact any business in their judicial departments, except the trial of criminals, the proving of wills, deeds, bills of sale, and such like conveyances ; the issuing of attachments, writs and any legal process, so as to procure bail, but not to enter into final determinations of the suits, except the parties are mutually agreed thereto. " 'Secondly, That the inhabitants residing within the limits of the disputed territory are at full liberty and dis- cretion to pay their public taxes to either the State of North Carolina or the State of Franklin. " 'Thirdly. That this agreement and recommendation continue until the next annual sitting of the General As- sembly of North Carolina, to be held in November next, and 182 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History not longer. It is further agreed, that if any person, guil- ty of felony, be committed by any North Carolina justice of the peace, that such person or persons may and shall be received by the Franklin sheriff or gaoler of Washing- ton, and proceeded against in the same manner as if the same had been committed by and from any such authority from under the State of Franklin. It is also recommended, that the aforesaid people do take such modes and regula- tions, and set forth their grievances, if any they have, and solicit North Carolina, at their next annual meeting of the General Assembly, for to complete the separation, if thought necessary by the people of the Western country, as to them may appear most expedient, and give their mem- bers and representatives such instructions as may be thought most conducive to the interest of our Western World, by a majority of the same, either to be a separate State from that of" North Carolina, or be citizens of the State of North Carolina. " 'Signed and agreed, on behalf of each party, this day and year above written. "'Evan Shelby " 'John Sevier.' " ARREST OF SEVIER. The State of Franklin arose in 1785, and perished in 1788, and during the three years of its existence, John Sevier was its Governor; and it is in connection with the State of Franklin that he was arrested and taken to Mor- ganton, North Carolina, and there rescued by his sons and friends. The history of the State of Franklin, and the causes of its existence will be given in another part of this volume; this chapter concerns only the personal fortunes of John Sevier, and the Seviers. The arrest of Sevier came about in this way: Two sets of Courts were claiming each to be the duly authorized Courts in the territory of the State of Franklin, one set having officers appointed by the State of North Carolina, and the other officers appointed by the State of Franklin, and this of course, brought to an acute issue the authority of the respective Courts. An execution had been issued in 1787 and placed in the hands of the sheriff to be levied upon the estate of Governor Sevier, and the sheriff acting under the authority of the State of North Caro- lina, upon the strength of this execution, levied upon some Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History 1 83 of Governor Sevier's negroes to satisfy it, and moved them from Sevier's farm to the house of John Tipton, who was a supporter of North Carolina and a personal enemy of Sevier's. At the time this levy was made Sevier was on the frontier of Greene County, defending the inhabitants against the incursions of the Indians. Upon receiving the information that his negroes had been levied upon, he re- turned at once and raised 150 men in Greene, Sevier and Blount Counties, and marched to Tipton's house to get pos- session of his negroes. Tipton had in his house not more than fifteen men at the time. Sevier had a small cannon with him, and it is due to his leniency and forbearance that Tipton's house was not blown into atoms, and every man in it killed. From Sevier's standpoint, the levy upon his negroes had been a gross outrage, and his action was to redress what he considered an outrage. This incident is one of the finest things in Sevier's entire record. When he reached Tipton's house, where there were only fifteen men, and he himself had one hundred and fifty men and a small cannon, he had Tipton completely in his power either to kill him, or to shoot his house to pieces, or to take him prisoner and put handcuffs on him, or to subject him to any indignity he saw fit. The difference between the two men cannot be better illustrated than by this forbearance on Sevier's part, when he had Tipton at his mercy, and Tipton's attempt to humiliate Sevier by having handcuffs put on him only a few days later, when he and a party captured Sevier and got possession of his person. Although smarting under the outrage of having his property levied upon, which had been brought about by John Tipton through personal dislike and jealousy of Sevier's popularity, Sevier virtually gave Tipton his life and liberty, and Tipton was never man enough to recognize the forbearance with which Sevier had acted towards him. Phelan in his History of Tennessee compares the char- acter of Sevier and Tipton in this way: "The two men can scarcely be compared. Tipton was indeed a brave man, but he lacked intellectual force. Envy of Sevier's popularity was the ruling motive of his char- acter. He was vindictive, relentless, and even malignant. 184 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History One of the last acts of his official life was an attempt to destroy the reputation for honesty of Sevier, at that time Governor of Tennessee. He lacked the ardent generosity and fiery impetuosity of the latter, though his anger was quickly and easily inflamed. He felt peculiarly fitted for command and the leadership of great enterprises. He had experienced the bitterness of seeing Sevier year after year, called to take the lead in all civil as well as military crises. His hatred of Sevier was Indian-like in its intensity, and his threat to have him shot, after the collapse of the State of Franklin, was made with the determination of having it carried out. He was deterred only by appeals to his reason and his self-interest. He always thought of Sevier only as one who had warped his career and reaped the reward which else would have fallen to his own share. After Rob- ertson's departure, there was none who could have contest- ed the leadership of the frontier with Tipton but Sevier. "When Sevier, upon receipt of his commission as Brig- adier-General of the newly erected district, stood upon the steps of Jonesboro courthouse and advised the people to return to their allegiance, Tipton stood firm to the cause of the new State. But when Sevier, yielding to the dictates of his own inclinations and the persuasions of his friends, returned to the cause which it was popularly supposed he had deserted, Tipton wavered. When Sevier was elected Governor of the new State, his rage knew no bounds. He allowed himself to be hurried into extremities of resistance to the new government which frequently caused the shed- ding of blood and possibly loss of life. He held court at Buffalo near Jonesboro, under the authority of the parent State. On one occasion, he entered the courthouse at Jones- boro, captured the records, and turned the justices out of doors. He broke up a court sitting at Greeneville, under the authority of the new State. He had a personal alter- cation with Sevier on the streets of Jonesboro. " Sevier's refusal to blow up Tipton's house and kill all of those in it, and his declining to make war by armed force on his fellow citizens, has been taken by all the historians who have written on the subject to demonstrate that he never at any time was willing to raise his hand against a fellow citizen, even if that fellow citizen might be, as in the case of Tipton, a jealous, unscrupulous enemy. A heavy snowstorm ensued, while Sevier had Tipton in his power, and not desiring to shed the blood of any citizen, by de- grees Sevier's determination to get back his negroes yielded, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 185 and declining- to make any further contest over the matter, he and his men withdrew from before Tipton's house. By so doing, he prevented civil war west of the mountains. There is no doubt that if he had chosen to resist North Caro- lina, and challenge that State to send an army across the mountains to enforce her laws, that he could have whipped her, and have kept the State of Franklin in existence by force of arms ; he could have either killed or captured Tip- ton, who was the only open and outspoken enemy he had; therefore, the historian who writes Sevier's life, and who adequately paints his forbearance under overwhelming provocation, must concede that his conduct at the end of the last year of the State of Franklin was magnificent, pa- triotic, and great ; that history tells of few men whose moral sublimity towers greater than his ; and it would be difficult to find in history a nian w r hose conduct was more intoler- able than that of John Tipton, whose patent jealousy and egregious vanity led him to believe that he was big enough to be a competitor of John Sevier in the affections of the mountain men. The levying on Sevier's negroes was merely a trick to attempt to bring Sevier into opposition to North Carolina, and thereby brand him as a traitor, and this was done. The date of Sevier's appearance at Tipton's house with his men is not certain, but it was sometime during the month of February 1788. The term of office of Governor Caswell as Governor of North Carolina expired, and Gov- ernor Samuel Johnson succeeded him, and personal ene- mies and politicians, desirous of getting rid of Sevier, kept up misrepresentations of his acts and doings to Governor Johnson, until finally the Governor issued instructions to Judge Campbell as follows : "Hillsborough, 29 July, 1788. "Sir : It has been represented to the Executive that John Sevier, who styles himself "Captain-General of the State of Franklin," has been guilty of high treason in levying troops to oppose the laws and government of this State and has, with an armed forced put to death several good citizens. If these facts shall appear to you by affidavit of creditable persons you will issue your warrant to appre- hend said John Sevier, and in case he cannot be sufficiently 186 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History secured for trial in the District of Washington, order him to be committed to public goal." Judge Campbell, to whom the Governor had directed his order, refused to execute it, but Judge Spencer, who held, by authority of the State of North Carolina, in con- junction with Judge Campbell, a court at Jonesboro, issued a warrant against Sevier charging him with high treason, and he was finally apprehended by Tipton and a party with him at the house of Mrs. Brown, where he had stayed all night. This was about sun-up and Sevier opened the door, and addressing Colonel Love, who was with John Tipton's party, said: "I surrender to you." Tipton had a pistol in his hand, and swore he would shoot Sevier, but finally qui- eted down, and ordered Sevier to get his horse to go to Jones- boro. On reaching Jonesboro, Tipton ordered handcuffs to be put on Sevier, and he there left him, with directions to the officers in charge to take him to Morganton, North Carolina. Sevier sent word to his wife to send him some money and some clothes, which she did, and he and the officers in charge started to North Carolina. A few days afterwards, Sevier's son John, his brother Joseph, George North, James Cozby, Jesse Green and William Matlock, followed after and found Sevier at a tavern, got him, and started back to East Tennessee. Colonel Love travelled with them until in the afternoon, and before he left, he got the handcuffs taken off. More than one narrative has been given as to how the rescue of Governor Sevier was effected. One of the versions is that the Court at Morganton was in session, and the Governor was being tried, and that a great crowd was in and around the courthouse, but later, and apparently bet- ter information is that this account is erroneous, and the following, given by the Governor's son John, who was with the rescuing party, seem to be the real facts of the case : "Immediately after the fall campaign of 1788, Colonel Sevier was arrested and taken to North Carolina. Gour- ley and French guarded him, and French shot at him. When they delivered their prisoner to the jailer at Morganton, who had fought at King's Mountain, he knocked off the irons from his hands, and told him to go where he pleased, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 187 not, however, to leave the place. Joseph Sevier, the Col- onel's brother, John Sevier, Jr., George North, Doctor James Cozby, Jesse Green, and William Matlock, went after the Colonel; when within a few miles of Morganton they stopped one night with Uriah Sherrill, brother-in-law to Colonel Sevier, from whom they learned that the Colonel was not confined, and treated with great lenity. Next morn- ing they rode into town altogether, no Court sitting, the sheriff absent, went to the tavern, and there found Colonel Sevier in company with Major Joseph McDowell and told him frankly that they had come for him, and that he must go. After tarrying an hour or two without any fear from the jailer or any one else, Colonel Sevier ordered his horse, and all started off before noon, in the most open and pub- lic manner, and returned home. They did not know but that the sheriff might possibly follow them, when he heard of Colonel Sevier's return, but he did not." The effect of the arrest and handcuffing of Governor Sevier was what might naturally be expected among the mountain men : it made him more popular and his friends more devoted than ever. At the first election following, he was chosen from Greene County to the State Senate of North Carolina, and in 1789 he went to Fayetteville, North Carolina, to take his seat, which was at first refused, but a resolution was finally passed to restore him to all the rights of full citizenship, which was strongly opposed by John Tipton, who was also a member of that body; and Governor Sevier was sworn in as a member of the Senate. He was reinstated as Brigadier-General of Washington District. Acts were passed confirming the Acts of the Courts of the State of Franklin, and legalizing marriages under that government. On the 21st of November, 1789, after North Carolina had ratified the Federal Constitution, John Sevier and James Robertson were appointed by George Washington Brigadier-Generals, the one of the Watauga District, and the other of the Cumberland District, and in 1790 General Sevier was elected the first Member of Congress west of the Alleghanies, and he took his seat as a Member of Congress from North Carolina on June 16, 1790. If he had a com- petitor in the race for Congress, his name has not come down to us. 188 Andrew'Jackson and Early Tennessee History On February 25th, 1790, North Carolina ceded to the United States all of her territory west of the Alleghanies, and it was accepted by Congress on April 2d, and by August 7th this territory with all other south of the Ohio River, was constituted into the "Territory Southwest of the River Ohio/' Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 189 CHAPTER XIII. JOHN SEVIER AND THE SEVIERS. In 1790 or 1791 John Sevier moved from his home on the Nollichucky to a farm six miles south of Knoxville on the Martin Mill Road. The last, and one of the most important military cam- paigns carried on by him against the Indians was the Etowah Campaign in 1793, Etowah being where the pres- ent city of Rome, Georgia, is located. General Sevier's army consisted of six or seven hundred mounted men, a part of which were troops from Washington District com- manded by Colonel John Blair, and from Hamilton District under Colonel Christian. It was in this fight that Hugh Lawson White got the reputation of having killed the Indian Chief, King-Fisher. White was a member of the expedition, and he and some comrades leveled their guns on King-Fisher, and all fired, and the Indian fell. The town was set on fire and the In- dians repulsed. Sevier's victory was complete. On this expedition he was acting as Brigadier General of the United States, and by virtue of that fact he and his men were com- pensated by the United States government. This was the last military service ever rendered by Sevier, and was the only one for which he ever received any compensation from the government. His official report to Governor Blount was as follows : SEVIER'S OFFICIAL REPORT. "Ish's Mill, 25th October, 1793. "Sir: — In obedience to an order from Secretary Smith, I marched in pursuit of the large body of Indians, who, on the 25th of last month, did the mischief in Knox County, near the Grassy Valley. For the safety and security of our army, I crossed at one of the upper fords, on the Tennessee river, below the mountains. We then bent our course for Hiwassee, with expectations of striking the trail, and be- fore we reached that river, we discovered four large ones, 190 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History making directly into the mountains. We proceeded across the Hiwassee, and directed our march for Estanaula, on the Coosa River, at which place we arrived on the 14th instant, discovering on our way further trails leading to the afore- said place. We there made some Cherokee prisoners, who informed us that John Watts headed the army lately out on our frontiers; that the same was composed of Indians more or less from every town in the Cherokee nation ; that from the Turkey's town, Sallyquoah, Coosawaytah, and sev- eral other principal ones, almost to a man was out, joined by a large number of the Upper Creeks, who had passed that place on their return, only a few days since, and had made for a town at the mouth of Hightower River. We, after refreshing the troops, marched for that place, taking the path that leads to that town, along which the Creeks had marched, in five large trails. On the 17th inst., in the afternoon, we arrived at the forks of the Coosa and High- tower Rivers. Colonel Kelley was ordered, with a part of the Knox regiment, to endeavor to cross the Hightower. The Creeks and a number of Cherokees, had entrenched themselves to obstruct the passage. Colonel Kelley and his men passed down the river, half a mile below the ford, and began to cross at a private place, where there was no ford. Himself and a few others swam over the river ; the Indians discovering this movement, immediately left their entrench- ments, and ran down the river to oppose their passage, ex- pecting, as I suppose, the whole intended crossing at the lower place. Capt. Evans, immediately, with his company of mounted infantry, strained their horses back to the upper ford, and began to cross the river. Very few had got to the south bank, before the Indians who had discovered their mistake, returned and received them furiously at the rising of the bank. An engagement instantly took place, and be- came very warm, and, notwithstanding the enemy were at least four to one in numbers, besides the advantage of situa- tion, Captain Evans, with his heroic company, put them in short time entirely to flight. They left several dead on the ground, and were seen to carry others off both on foot and horse. Bark and trails of blood from the wounded were to be seen in every quarter. Their encampment fell into our hands, and a number of their guns, many of which were of the Spanish sort, with their budgets, blankets and match coats, together with some horses. We lost three men in this engagement, which is all that have fell during the time of our route, although this last attack was the fourth the enemy have made upon us, but in the others, repulsed with- out loss. After the last engagement we crossed the main Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 191 Coosa, where they had thrown up some works and evacu- ated; they suffered us to pass unmolested. We then pro- ceeded on our way down the main river, near the Turnip Mountain, destroying, in our way, several Creek and Chero- kee towns, which they had settled together on each side of the river, and from which they have all fled, with apparent precipitation, leaving almost everything behind them. Neither did they, after the last engagement, attempt to annoy or interrupt us on our march, in any manner what- ever. I have great reason to believe their ardour and spirit were well checked. The party flogged at Hightower, were those which had been out with Watts. There were three of our men slightly wounded, and two or three horses killed; but the Indians did not, as I have heard of, get a single horse from us the time we were out. We took and de- stroyed near three hundred beeves, many of which were of the best and largest kind. Of course, their losing so much provision must distress them very much. Many women and children might have been taken; but, from motives of hu- manity, I did not encouarage it to be done, and several taken were suffered to make their escape. Your Excellency knows the disposition of many that were out on this expedition, and can readily account for this conduct." Tennesee was admitted into the Union as a State on June 1st, 1796, and Sevier was elected the first Governor, and was duly sworn in, and presented to the Legisalture the fol- lowing very brief inaugural address : "Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives : The high and honorable appointment conferred upon me by the free suffrage of my countrymen, fills my breast with gratitude, which, I trust, my future life will manifest. I take this early opportunity to express, through you, my thanks in the strongest terms of acknowledgment. I shall labour to discharge with fidelity the trust reposed in me; and if such my exertions should prove satisfactory, the first wish of my heart will be gratified. "Gentlemen — accept of my best wishes for your indi- vidual and public happiness ; and, relying upon your wisdom and patriotism, I have no doubt but the result of your delib- erations will give permanency and success to our new sys- tem of government so wisely calculated to secure the lib- erty, and advance the happiness and prosperity of our fellow citizens. John Sevier." To illustrate the conciliatory disposition of Governor Sevier it may be cited that he proceeded to issue commis- sions to civil and military officers in the different counties 192 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History of the State, among them the magistrates of Washington County, and one of the magistrates named was John Tipton. Sevier's admirers of this day could wish that he had not done this. Tipton was not a man to be admired, and, with •the exception of his personal courage, he had few qualities that called for respect. The Governor's last message to the General Assembly was in September, 1799, and is one of the longest, if not the longest, that he ever addressed to that body while Governor, and is given in full : GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE. "Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the Senate, and Gentle- men of the House of Representatives: "It is with peculiar satisfaction I have the honour, this day, of meeting your august body in this House, where I have the pleasure of informing you the State is blessed with peace and quietude — the fields of the husbandman abund- antly supplied with the fruits of the earth — our harvests have yielded to the labourer ample satisfaction for his toils, and the other crops of grain are equally proportionate. "The laws and regular decorum, so far as come .within my knowledge, I have reason to believe, are duly observed and supported throughout the government. Emigration and population are daily increasing, and! I have no doubt, under the propitious hand of Providence, your patronage, the wise and wholesome laws you, in your wisdom, may think proper to enact, that our State will become more and more respect- able and conspicuous, and the citizens enjoy all that happi- ness and comfort this human life, in an ordinary course, will afford them. The poor and distressed claim the first share of your deliberations, and I have not the smallest doubt your attention will be duly directed to that, and every other object worthy of legislative consideration. Among other things, gentlemen, permit me again to remind you, that the landed estates of your constituents, in general, ap- pear to be verging onto a very precarious and doubtful situation, and should a timely interference be neglected, it may become a subject of very great regret. I, therefore, beg leave to recommend, so far as may be consistent with the cession act, public and good faith, that you provide, in the most ample manner, for the security and peaceful en- joyment of all such property as may appear to be in jeop- ardy. Governor John Sevier. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 193 "Gentlemen of the Senate, and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: "I now proceed to enjoin on you the great necessity of promoting and encouraging manufactories, and establishing warehouses and inspections of various kinds. It will give a spring to industry and enable the agricultural part of the community to export and dispose of all the surplus part of their bulky and heavy articles. Providence has blessed this State with a soil peculiarly calculated for the production of wheat, hemp, flax, cotton, tobacco, and indigo; it abounds with ores and minerals, and has navigable rivers, amply sufficient to enable us to export to the best of markets. This being the case, gentlemen, you may readily conceive how essentially necessary it will be for the encouraging and pro- moting of all the advantages enumerated, for you to lend your early legislative aid and patronage. With respect to the affairs of Europe, I am not able to give you much satis- factory information. The public prints seem to furnish con- tradictory accounts, but so far as I am capable of judging, our affairs with France assume a less threatening aspect than heretofore, and I have the fullest confidence that the Executive of the General Government will use the greatest and wisest exertions to promote and secure the peace, safety and dignity of the United States. "Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives : "I am deeply and sensibly impressed with the honor con- ferred on me by my fellow citizens, in being selected a third time, to preside as the Chief Magistrate of the State. I earn- estly wish I possessed greater abilities and talents to en- able me to discharge the important duties, trust and con- fidence they have reposed; but rest assured, so far as T am enabled, nothing will be lacking or neglected in me, that will tend towards the interest, welfare and safety of the State. Before I close this address, I cannot forbear requesting a harmony of measures in your councils, and that you unite in endeavoring to promote our dearest rights and interests, and I have the fullest hope that, by your wisdom and policy, you may secure to our country the advantages and respect to which it is entitled and has a right to enjoy. "September 19th, 1799. John Sevier." The custom of the day was that the General Assembly, through its Speakers, should send to the Governor a written response to his message, and as such procedure is entirely novel to this generation of Tennesseans, the response of 194 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Speaker A. E. Outlaw of the Senate, and of Speaker William Dickson of the House, is also given in full : "To his Excellency, John Sevier, Governor of the State of Tennessee: "Sir: It is with peculiar satisfaction the Senate and House of Representatives received your communication an- nouncing to them that our State is crowned with the bless- ings of peace and quietude; that the toils of the husband- man are amply rewarded with abundant crops ; that the laws, throughout the State, are well and duly executed ; that emigration and population are daily increasing ; and we beg leave now to assure you that, under the directing hand of All-seeing Providence, nothing on our part shall be wanting to increase the respectability of our rising State, and pro- mote the welfare and happiness of our constituents. "Receive, sir, our assurances that the matters and things contained in your communications, and recommended to us as objects of legislative attention, shall meet with that due investigation and deliberation that the importance of the different subjects requires. "We beg leave, now, sir, to express our gratification of being the witnesses of your being once more called, by the unanimous suffrage of the freemen of Tennessee, to the seat of the Chief Magistrate of the State, and expressing our public confidence that you will continue to execute those duties, which appertain to your office, with that firmness, judgment and impartiality which have heretofore charac- terized the Chief Magistrate of Tennessee. "A. E. Outlaw, S. S. "Wm. Dickson, Jun., S. H. R." In 1803 Governor Sevier was re-elected Chief Executive of the State, and by re-election continued as Chief Executive until 1809. From 1811 to 1815, he was a member of the United States Congress from Tennessee. PHELAN'S ESTIMATE OF SEVIER. James Phelan, deceased, was a university man, studied at Leipzig, Germany, wrote and published a History of Ten- nessee in 1888, and "Philip Massinger and His Plays," in 1878, was a member of Congress from the Memphis Dis- trict, and Editor of the Memphis Avalanche. He gave in his History of Tennessee an estimate of Sevier which is a very strong presentation of the claim of Sevier's friends Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 195 that while the work of his life was in limited territory — the State of Tennessee — he was entitled by his achievements to go down in history as one of the great men of the United States ; and concurring in this opinion of Sevier, a quotation is presented from Mr. Phelan : "John Sevier is the most prominent name in Tennessee history, and within these limits and upon this field he is the most brilliant military and civil figure this State has ever produced. Jackson attained a larger fame up.on a broader field of action, and perhaps his mental scope may appear to fill a wider horizon to those wmo think his statesmanship equal to his generalship. But the results he accomplished affected the history of Tennessee only in so far as it formed a part of the United States. Sevier, however, was purely a Tennessean. He fought for Tennessee, he defined its bound- aries, he watched over and guarded it in its beginning, he helped form it, and he exercised a decisive influence upon its development. It is safe to say that without Sevier the his- tory of Tennessee would in many important respects not be what it now is. "He came of a Huguenot family named Xavier, though h& immediate ancestors were from England, and the infu- sion of French blood gave him all the vivacity, impetuosity, ardent sympathies, and suave bearing which are popularly supposed to be characteristic of that nation. In personal appearance he was rather tall, erect, and even when young inclined to robustness. He had the quick flash of eye and the hasty temper of the impetuous character. He excelled in the manly accomplishments of the age and surroundings in which he lived. As a horseman he had no equal, and he was fond of showing his craft to the best advantage by riding an animal of temper and mettle. In the art of Indian warfare he had no equal, and he never met a reverse. Mad Anthony Wayne was not a greater terror to the Indians of the Miami than was Sevier to the Indians of the Cumber- land and the Tennessee. His rule of tactics was extreme caution in the absence or concealment of the enemy, reck- less impetuosity in their presence. Governor Blount on one occasion declared that 'his name carried more terror to the Cherokees than an additional regiment would have done.' To his men he evinced that suave cordiality and well-judged familiarity characteristic of all the great captains of the world. His enthusiasm, his personal daring, his resolute quickness, his knightly disposition, made him the idol of his soldiers and his neighbors. His tenderness to his wife and 1 96 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History his generosity to his children were proverbial. His house was always open, and nearly all of his expeditions against the Indians were partly at his own expense or the expense of the family. He was popularly known as 'Nollichucky Jack/ and the grim mountaineers worshipped him with an extravagance of adoration. They loved him with a warm, almost intense, personal regard which had grown from the time when with Robertson he successfully defended the Wa- tauga fort against the largest band of Indians that had ever invaded the settlement, to the time when he crushed them at Boyd's Creek. Sevier was not skilled in the learning of books, but of the life around him, he was a thorough master. He could read the woods and the rivers, and the minds and the thoughts of men, and he knew how to use his knowledge. This was sufficient. But it must not be thought he lacked the rudiments of an education. He could write well and forcibly, and though a 'spelling bee' of the present day might put him to the blush, he could spell as well as the average. His chief claim to a higher order of ability is jus- tified by his clear vision, of the present needs of his people, and of the future requirements of the State whose greatness he foresaw. He was one of the Committee of Five in the Watauga Association. He saw the necessity of a union be- tween Watauga and North Carolina until the former had sufficient strength to maintain itself against outward en- croachments. He wrote the petition for annexation, and he secured its adoption by the Congress of North Carolina. He saw the necessity of keeping the British troops from the young settlements. If Ferguson had once passed the Appa- lachian chain, he would have been met with fire and sword. His very mode of warfare made maifest his statesmanship. Of all the men of his time, he alone foresaw and had a deter- minate idea of the limits of the future State. He foresaw and denounced the ruinous restrictions with which Jay's proposition in reference to the navigation of the Mississippi would cripple the commerce of the Mississippi valley and of the young State about to be formed between North Carolina and the Great River. He recognized what should be the logical enlargement of the three original settlements. He realized the necessity of a sure and compact growth, and he advocated only such purchases from the Indians as could be secured by settlement when purchased. He was fre- quently termed by the Indians 'Treaty Maker,' and he fig- ured in every treaty of importance which was made until the appearance of Andrew Jackson upon the stage of his- tory." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 197 JOHN HILLSMAN, ESQ., ON SEVIER. Of the limited amount that has come down to us in writ- ten form from the contemporaries of Sevier, easily the most authentic and interesting- is the statement of John Hillsman, Esq., now on file in the Tennessee Historical So- ciety at Nashville. The statement was taken down in 1849 at Mr. Hillsman's residence near Knoxville, in the presence of the Reverend Elbert Sevier, a grandson of Sevier. Mr. Hillsman was a merchant and trader in Knoxville, and was personally acquainted with him, and made the statement here quoted. This is one of the very few expressions in ref- erence to him by any one of Sevier's contemporaries. Mr. Hillsman said : "John Sevier was a very handsome man, probably the handsomest in the State — he had a noble bearing — really military, though very conciliating, without haughtiness. He was a native of Virginia, lived in early life near New Mar- ket, in Virginia, and at many places in Tennessee. He was always engaged in public service and can hardly be said to have had a home. As to himself he was at home every- where ; in Congress, the Legislature, in court, on the streets, on parade, marching, or in the tents or wild woods — little difference to him. He had a large family and is said to have owned much property — but whatever he had was at the service of his friends and for the promotion of the Sevier Party, which sometimes embraced nearly all the population. He knew how to get along with the people better than any man I ever knew. His house, his camp, his provisions, horses, means, were open to all his friends. . . . "Sevier was certainly a great soldier, a brave man, and most remarkable for his success in his Indian wars. What Judge Haywood has said of his Indian battles and victories and influence among savages, is true, so far as it goes — but the half is not told, for I have heard Sevier and many of his soldiers state a great many incidents of equal interest with those in Haywood's His'ty. — which ought to have been in the history of East Tennessee and Sevier's Indian Wars." MOVES SIX MILES SOUTH OF KNOXVILLE. The date on which Sevier, who had been appointed Brigadier-General, moved from the Nollichucky to the point whre he made his home six miles south of Knoxville, cannot 1 98 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History be stated with accuracy, but it was in 1790 or 1791, and he located on what is now known as the Martin Mill Pike, on the right hand, going from Knoxville, and about one mile before reaching Neubert Springs. His home consisted, as country homes generally did at that time, of a cabin, and J. U. Kirby, who is the present owner, says that there was the Governor's cabin, and three others, disconnected, and a smokehouse. The property passed out of the hands of the Governor and his heirs, and at the time Dr. J. G. M. Ram- sey wrote his "Annals of Tennessee," it was owned by George W. Kirby, the father of J. U. Kirby, who sold it to the latter in 1868. A large spring bursts forth from the foot of the hill on which the residence is located, and the cut of the kitchen in this volume correctly reproduces that structure. The kitchen has never been torn down, and its walls and chimney are just as they were when General Se- vier and his family occupied the premises. The date he left his country home and moved to Knox- ville is also uncertain, but it was after he had been elected Governor of Tennessee, and therefore he lived in the coun- try some five or six years. When he moved to Knoxville he occupied a large frame building with an ell at the south- west corner of the intersection of Cumberland Avenue and Water Street, now called Central Street. Just how long he lived at this house is uncertain, but we know that it was while living here that he started to build what was at the time regarded as a splendid residence on the corner of Cum- berland Avenue and Crooked Street, now Walnut. The history of the Governor's purchase of this site should be interesting to all Tennesseans, and especially to admirers of the Governor. James White laid off the City of Knoxville in 1791, and on April 5, 1797, he sold to Governor Sevier, one block, bounded by Cumberland Avenue, Market Street, then called Prince Street, Main Avenue and Crooked Street, now called Walnut Street, one entire block, containing four lots, Num- bers 53, 54, 59 and 60, of equal dimensions, and in the aggre- gate containing two acres and thirty poles. Lot Number 59 was where the Park residence now stands. Lot Number 54 was at the corner of Cumberland Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1 99 and Market Streets where the Virginia Flats are located. Lot Number 53 was at the corner of Main and Prince Streets where there is a frame dwelling house, and lot Number 60 was at the corner of Main and Crooked, now called Walnut Street, where the residence of the late Colonel J. Y. John- ston stands. Each of these lots occupied one-quarter of the block. Governor Sevier began the erection of a brick residence on Lot Number 59, and built up to the first floor that part nearest Cumberland Avenue, and then stopped, and after- wards moved back to his country home, at a date that is not clear. He was at this time, in embarrassed financial cir- cumstances. The Governor held the four lots bought from General White until April 25, 1801, when, for a consideration of one thousand dollars he sold them to George Washington Sevier, his oldest son by his second wife, and on April 28, 1807, the Governor and his son, George Washington Sevier, conveyed the lots in consideration of $2,600.00 to James Dunlap, of Wateree, South Carolina, and the acknowledg- ment of the deed was taken before John N. Gamble, Deputy of Charles McClung, County Court Clerk of Knox Coun- ty, at the July session of the Court, 1808, and it was reg- istered by Robert Craighead, Deputy of Samuel G. Ramsey in the Knox County Register's Office. On April 7, 1809, for a consideration of $5.00, James Dunlap, of Wateree, South Carolina, conveyed the four lots to William Herbert, Executor of John Dunlap, deceased, and the deed bore a recital as follows: "Whereas, John Sevier and George W. Sevier did, by their indenture bearing date 28th day of April, 1807, con- vey to said James Dunlap the hereinafter described prem- ises in part payment of a debt due from the said John Sevier to the estate of John Dunlap, deceased; and "Whereas, it is the intention of the said James Dunlap to re-convey the same to William Herbert, Executor of the said John Dunlap, who, as such, is entitled thereto." On April 15, 1809, William Herbert, of Alexandria, Dis- trict of Columbia, as surviving executor of John Dunlap, 200 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History deceased, gave a power of attorney to John Mclvor, of Alex- andria, District of Columbia, to convey the four lots, and on February 20, 1812, John Mclvor as attorney in fact, in consideration of $1,100.00 conveyed them to James Park. James Park was born in Balleighan, Manor Cunning- ham, Donegal County, Ireland, April 14, 1770, and came to the United States in 1796, and settled in Knoxville in March, 1798. He was a merchant, and w r as mayor of Knoxville from 1818 to 1821, and from 1824 to 1826. He died in Knoxville September 19, 1853, and the property purchased from John Sevier and his son descended to James Park, Jr., who is known to the citizens of Knoxville as Dr. James Park, now deceased. The coming of James Park from Ireland to Knoxville brought some of the best Scotch- Irish blood, and was the means of founding a family of the highest worth in Tennessee and the South. De- scendants of Scotch-Irishman James Park are in many States of the Union, and, as a rule, they are Presbyterians and a high type of men and women; they have held in various States public positions which argues the estima- tion of their fellow citizens. James Park, Jr. — Dr. James Park — was born in the house he died in — the one John Sevier commenced to build — on September 18, 1822, and died July 14, 1912. He was one of the grand old men of Tennessee, whose memory is among the choicest possessions of everybody who knew him. He had in an eminent degree the Scotch-Irish char- acteristics, high integrity, fairmindedness, respect for law, consideration of the rights of others, and devotion to fam- ily and friends. He was the old type of American citizen which seems to be passing away, and w r hich will leave a void when the type is gone. Dr. Park had every personal virtue that any other man ever had, and his life illustrates the strong, honorable, fearless and upright citizen and gen- tleman. May his memory long survive! At the time Governor Sevier was commissioned by President Monroe to attempt to settle the Creek boundary lines in Alabama, he was living at his country home south of Knoxville, and his family was living there when he died. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 201 SEVIER'S MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN. John Sevier was twice married, the first time to Miss Sarah Hawkins, in 1761, who died in January or February 1780. We have been able to find nothing about the family of Sarah Hawkins, and the impression of the writers about her is that she was a school-mate sweetheart of Sevier's. His second marriage w r as to Miss Katherine Sherrill, on August 14th, 1780, who survived him. Only seven or eight months passed between the death of the first Mrs. Sevier and the marriage to Miss Sherrill, which seeming haste was caused, doubtless, by the fact of Sevier having so many young children at home, who needed someone to take the place of their mother. By his first wife he had ten children, as follows : a. Joseph, born in 1763, who married an Indian woman, and whose son, Reverend Jack Sevier, once attended a Meth- odist Conference in Knoxville. Gideon Morgan, a son of Col. Gideon Morgan, who com- manded the friendly Cherokees at the battle of the Horse Shoe, married one of Joseph Sevier's daughters. b. James Sevier, the second-son of John Sevier, was born October 25th, 1764, and married Miss Nancy Conway, of Washington County, Tennessee, on March 5th, 1789, and died January 21st, 1847. He was Clerk of the Court of Washington County forty-seven years, and he and his fa- ther lived on their respective farms on the Nollichucky River about eight miles from Jonesboro. James and Nancy Conway Sevier had eleven children, viz: 1. Elizabeth Conway, born July 9, 1790. 2. Sarah Hundley, born July 22, 1792. 3. Marie Antoinette, born May 12, 1794, died 1796. 4. Minerva Grainger, born May 30, 1796. 5. Pamelia Hawkins, born March 15, 1798. 6. Susanna Brown, born June 25, 1800. 7. Elbert Franklin, born September 17, 1802. 8. Elbridge Gerry,' born March 19, 1805. 9. Clarissa Carter, born April 9, 1807. 202 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 10. Louisa Maria, born December 16, 1811. 11. Mary Malvina, born April 4, 1814. The marriages of these children were: 1. Elizabeth, married James S. Johnston, March, 1810. . 2. Sarah Hundley, married Hugh Douglass Hale, Janu- ary 16, 1810, and their children were Lemuel Johnston, Sarah Amanda, Laura Evelina and Franklin Sevier. The mother of Frank L. Meek of Knoxville, was a Hale, and he is therefore a great-grandson of Governor Sevier. 3. Minerva Grainger, married John Nelson April 30, 1816. 4. Pamelia Hawkins, married Alexander M. Nelson May 6th, 1817, and they had one son, Alexander M. Nelson. She died in 1822. 5. Susanna Brown, married Richard B. Purdom Novem- ber 26, 1818, and they had a son, James Alexander Purdom. 6. Elbert Franklin married Matilda Powell August 9, 1832. 7. Elbridge Gerry, married Mary Caroline Brown No- vember 13, 1827. He was Circuit Court Clerk of Roane County, Tennessee, 1833-1836. His children were Thomas Brown, Henry Clay, Rowena Jane, James, Elbert Frank- lin, John Elbridge, Charles Bascomb, Samuel Conway, and Mary- James Sevier lived at Kingston, Roane County, and was one of the leading lawyers at the Bar of East Tennes- see. Charles Bascomb Sevier is now living at Harriman, Tennessee, and his daughter, Mary Katherine Sevier, is a teacher in the Knoxville High School. 8. Clarissa Carter Sevier married John Jones May 7, 1822, and was' the grandmother of Thomas E. Jones and great-grandmother of Derrell Jones, of Knoxville. 9. Louisa Maria Sevier married James H. Jones Octo- ber 16, 1827. 10. Mary Malvina Sevier married James Stuart July 2, 1829, and they had a daughter Mary, who married John Howell, of Knoxville, and who now lives in Knoxville. c. John Sevier, Jr., was born Juiie 20th, 1766, and mar- ried Sophia Garrett, and they had a daughter, Anna Sevier, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 203 who married Henry Hoss, and their son, Elijah Embree Hoss, is now Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Tennessee. d. Elizabeth Sevier, married W. H. Clark, and had one child, who was called Sarah Hawkins Clark, who married General James Rutherford Wyly, a grandson of Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, of King's Mountain fame. It would seem that Elizabeth Sevier Clark died while her daughter was very young, as that daughter was raised in the home of Governor John Sevier, and his second wife, Katherine Sher- rill Sevier, and married General Wyly at the Sevier home. e. Sa?°a Sevier, born July, 1770, married Judge Benjamin Brown. f. Mary Ann, born 1771 or 1772, and married Joshua Corlin. g. Valentine, born about 1773. h. Richard, born 1775. i. Rebecca, who married Mr. Waddell. j. Nancy, who married Walter King. By Katherine Sherrill, his second wife, Sevier had eight children, as follows : k. George Washington Sevier, who was Circuit Court Clerk of Overton County, and held positions in the army : Ensign, Second Infantry, March 26th, 1804 ; Second Lieuten- ant, August 22nd, 1805; First Lieutenant, May 31, 1807; Captain Rifle, May 3rd, 1808; Lieutenant Colonel, July 6th, 1812; Colonel First Rifle, January 24th, 1814. He mar- ried Katherine Chambers and had eleven children: 1. George Washington Sevier, 2nd, who married Sarah Knox. 2. Katherine Sherrill Sevier, married A. W. Putnam, who wrote a history of Middle Tennessee. 3. William C. Sevier. 4. Thomas K. Sevier. 5. Cornelia V. Sevier. 6. John Vertner Sevier. 7. Eliza Sevier. 8. Marion F. Sevier. 9. Laura J. Sevier. 204 Andrew Jackson and Earl v Tennessee History 10. Putnam Sevier. 11. Henry Clay Sevier. 1. Samuel. m. Ruth, who married first Colonel Richard Sparks, and upon his death, Daniel Vertner. RUTH SEVIER. Ruth Sevier was born at Plum Grove, John Sevier's residence on the Nollichucky, and grew up with something more than the ordinary experiences of a girl of the fron- tier life of that day. She exhibited a very strong interest in Indian character, and became acquainted not only with a number of the chiefs, but some of the warriors who, from time to time, came to her father's house. At one time a number of Indians lived for some three years at Sevier's residence, and Ruth learned from them to speak the Chero- kee language. Her first husband was Richard Sparks who at four years of age had been captured by Indians and raised by them, and given the name of Shawtunte, which was changed after his release for that of Richard Sparks. He was a playmate of Tecumseh and his brother, the Proph- et, two of the most resolute and dangerous enemies the United States had among the Indian tribes. Shawtunte re- mained in the family of Tecumseh until he was about six- teen years of age, and after being released, went to Ken- tucky, thence to the settlements in East Tennessee on the Holston and Nollichucky Rivers.) His mother recognized him by a mark that she remembered. John Sevier took him up and made use of his knowledge of the country in which he had lived, and finally obtained for him an appoint- ment in the Army. He married Ruth, who taught him how to read and write. He received the appointment of Colonel in the United States Army, and was stationed at Fort Pickering on the Mississippi in 1801-2. He was after- wards stationed with his regiment at New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Fort Adams; Mrs. Sparks accompanied him to each one of these posts. He remained for some ten years in the southern military district, and, his health becom- ing infirm, he made application to the War Department to be allowed to return to Tennessee, which was granted, and Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 205 he afterwards went to Staunton, Virginia, where he died about 1815. Mrs. Sparks entered into a second marriage with Daniel Vertner of Mississippi, near Port Gibson. She died in 1834 while visiting at Maysville, Kentucky. She never had any children. n. Katherine, who married first Archibald Rhea, and, second, Mr. Campbell. o. Polly Preston, who married William Overstreet Sep- tember 18th, 1806. p. Joanna Goocle, who married Mr. Windle. q. Eliza Conway, who married Major William McClellan, of the United States Army, on August 9th, 1810, and they had five children: John, Ann, Katherine, Mary Jane and Lida. r. Robert. COLONEL JOHN B. BROWNLOW ON REV. ELBERT F. SEVIER, SON OF JAMES SEVIER. Colonel John B. Brownlow gives some interesting remin- iscences of Elbert F. Sevier : "I remember the Reverend Elbert F. Sevier, grandson of Governor John Sevier, who was a tall, slim man, fully six feet, and, physically, bore a strong resemblance to the portraits of Governor John Sevier; his head, according to my recollection, being very much like that of his grand- father. Originally it was his purpose to be a lawyer, but he "got religion" at a Methodist campmeeting, and became a preacher, and was considered one of the most eloquent orators of the Southern Methodist Church, so attractive as a preacher that people from other churches would go to hear him preach. He was stationed in Knoxville at the Church Street Methodist Church. This was about, accord- ing to my recollection, 1850. The church stood on the same spot where the Church Street Methodist Church now stands, but that building was torn down to put up a better one. The records of the church would show the year that he was there. "There was a time when Alabama was in this (Hol- ston) Conference, -and in Alabama he met and married a lady who had considerable means ; she w r as, for that time, considered rich, and it was with her money he was en- abled to buy the lot and build the house which was later 206 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History the residence of Judge Robert J. McKinney, of the Supreme Court of Tennessee. Judge McKinney bought it from him. It is on Main Street, and was, at that time, the finest house in Knoxville. "His wife whom he had married in Alabama, and his eldest daughter, Sarah, died within a few hours of each other, in 1854, of the cholera, and were buried in the same grave, in the old Gray Cemetery, in Knoxville. I was at the funeral. "At the time of this funeral the population of the town was estimated at about two thousand, and in two or three days after that, there were not more than five hundred peo- ple left in Knoxville. They had fled into the mountains, from the cholera. They had gone in private conveyances, had emptied the livery stables, (there were two of them) , and the people unable to ride, walked. "Reverend Seveir did not stay in Knoxville long after his wife died. He went to Chattanooga, and that was his home the balance of his life. His second wife was a daugh- ter of Rev. Jesse James of the Methodist Church, and a sister of E. A. James of Chattanooga, who was on the Dem- ocratic electoral ticket for the State at large for Tilden and Hendricks, in the Presidential election of 1876. Sevier died in Chattanooga. JOHN SEVIER'S BROTHERS AND SISTERS. John Sevier had four brothers, and two sisters, as fol- lows: Colonel Valentine Sevier, Captain Robert Sevier, Joseph Sevier, Abraham Sevier, Catherine Sevier, Polly Sevier. COLONEL VALENTINE SEVIER. Colonel Valentine Sevier was born in Rockingham Coun- ty, Virginia, in 1747, and was a sergeant at the battle of Point Pleasant, and commanded a company at Thicketty Fort, Cedar Springs, Musgrove's Mill and King's Mountain. He rose in the militia to the rank of Colonel. He moved to Red River, where Clarksville now stands, and his home was there attacked by the Indians. He died at Clarksville Feb- ruary 23d, 1800, his widow surviving him until 1844, in her Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 207 one hundred and first year. He was the first Sheriff of Washington County and a Justice of the Peace of that County. Colonel Sevier had five sons and several married daugh- ters who, with their husbands, lived with him; three of his sons were of age sufficient to serve in the militia and bear arms, and these three, Robert, William and Valentine, on or about January 18, 1792, accompanied by John Price and two or three others, started in boats from Colonel Sevier's home near the present city of Clarksville to serve under James Robertson in defense against the Indians on the Cumberland. The distance they had to travel was about forty miles. They were fired upon by the Indians as their boats went up the river, and the three Seviers were killed, or died from their wounds. Price escaped, but the young man who was with him was scalped, and all the provisions on the boat were taken. Colonel Sevier gave an account of the Indian assault upon his residence in November 1794, in a letter to his brother John. VALENTINE SEVIER TO JOHN SEVIER: "Clarksville, December 18, 1794. "Dear Brother: The news from this place is desperate with me. On Tuesday, the 11th of November last, about twelve o'clock, my station was attacked by about forty In- dians. On so sudden a surprise they were in almost every house before they were discovered. All the men belong- ing to the station were out, only Mr. Snyder and myself. Mr. Snyder, Betsy, his wife, his son John, and my son Joseph, were killed in Snyder's house. I saved Snyder so the Indians did not get his scalp, but they shot and toma- hawked him in barbarous manner. They also killed Ann King and her son James, and scalped my daughter Rebecca ; I hope she will recover. The Indians have killed whole families about here this fall. You may hear the cries of some persons for their friends daily. "The engagement commenced by the Indians at my house continued about an hour, as the neighbors say. Such a scene no man ever witnessed before. Nothing but screams and roaring of guns, and no man to assist me for some time. The Indians have robbed all of the goods out of every house, and have destroyed all of my stock. You will write our ancient father this horrid news; also my son Johnny. 208 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History My health is much impaired. The remains of my family are in good health. I am so distressed in my mind that I can scarcely write. Your affectionate brother until death, "Valentine Sevier." ROBERT SEVIER. Captain Robert Sevier, a brother of John Sevier, mar- ried Kezia Robertson, the daughter of Major Charles Rob- ertson of the Watauga Settlement, and he was shot while acting as Captain in his brother's regiment at King's Moun- tain, and died the next day after the battle, and was buried at Bright's, on the way home. His grave cannot now be identified. He left a widow and two sons, Charles Sevier and Valentine Sevier. In 1852, Andrew Johnson, then a member of Congress from the First Congressional District of Tennessee, intro- duced a bill granting a pension to the descendants of Cap- tain Robert Sevier, but it failed of passage. Charles Sevier married Elizabeth Witt, of Green Coun- ty, and had fourteen children. He moved to West Tennes- see and bought a farm about four miles from Jackson, and took part in the battle of New Orleans as a Major in a West Tennessee regiment, and was promoted by Jackson for gallantry in that battle. He has had several descend- ants who have been in the different American wars. Robert Russell, grandson, was a soldier in the Mexi- can War and in the Confederate Army. Charles H. Sevier, a grandson, was a surgeon in the Confederate Army. John Bickle Sevier, a grandson, was a drummer in the 7th Tennessee, Confederate. Lieutenant Robert Sevier, great-grandson, was in the United States Navy until within a few years ago. VALENTINE SEVIER. Valentine Sevier, the younger son of Captain Robert Sevier, was Clerk of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Ses- sions and of the Circuit Court of Green County for fifty- two years. He married Nancy Dinwiddie, and had twelve children. His son, Captain Robert Sevier, entered West Point Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 209 in 1824, and graduated in the class with Jefferson Davis in 1828. He served in the Black Hawk War of 1837. Another son, Joseph Sevier, served in Company G, First Confederate Cavalry, and was killed at Peach Tree Creek, near Atlanta, July 22, 1864. His grandson, Charles Sevier, served in the Confederate Navy. His grandson, W. Valentine Sevier, was Captain in Col. James Ashby's regiment, Confederate. His grandson, Valentine Sevier Nelson, a graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, is now in the United States Navy, where he has served for more than thirty years. He served on Dewey's flagship at the battle of Ma- nilla Bay. Valentine Sevier has descendants now living in Knox- ville, who are the children of Judge Thomas A. R. Nelson, deceased, who was a member of the Supreme Court of Tennessee in 1871, by his second wife, who was Miss Mary Jones, and they are Charles Nelson, Selden Nelson, Mrs. Jack Williams, and daughter, Mrs. Mary Williams Merriweather ; also, Mrs. William G. Brownlow, Jr., and Miss Ella Wil- liams, whose descent is through Isabel Sevier, a daughter of Valentine. SEVIER AND JACKSON FOR STATUARY HALL. Tennessee has not yet placed her two representatives in Statuary Hall of the House of Representatives in Wash- ington, and all Tennesseans hope that this will be accom- plished without further delay. The Legislature of the State has selected John Sevier and Andrew Jackson for Statuary Hall, by a Resolution passed February 19th, 1913, which was House Joint Resolution No. 35, of that Session. The resolution was duly adopted and is as follows : WHEREAS, the committee appointed by the last Gen- eral Assembly to take under consideration "The matter of placing the statues or effigies of two illustrious sons of Tennessee in Statuary Hall in the National Capitol," and to make return of their action in the premises to this Gen- eral Assembly, have acted as authorized and instructed in Senate Joint Resolution No. 28 of the Fifty-Seventh Gen- eral Assembly, and have handed in their report to the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the House, which said report is in the words following, to wit: 2 1 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "To the Honorable, the Fifty-Eighth General Assembly of the State of Tennessee: "WHEREAS, by Senate Joint Resolution No. 28, adopt- ed June 23, 1911, and approved June 27, 1911, the Senate of the State of Tennessee, the House of Representatives concurring, appointed a committee of nine to take under consideration the matter of placing effigies or statues of two illustrious sons of Tennessee in Statuary Hall in the National Capitol, and to make due and proper return of their action in the premises, together with their conclu- sion and recommendation to this, the Fifty-Eighth, Gen- eral Assembly of the State of Tennessee; now, therefore, we, the undersigned, being a majority of the committee of nine thus appointed, and all of its members now surviv- ing, do hereby report that we have taken said matter un- der full and careful consideration, and have, after such consideration, reached the conclusion that a just recogni- tion of the high and honorable achievements of the citizens of the State that have ennobled its history, and that of the nation, and left their inspiring memories to succeeding ages, renders it befitting and desirable that the State should be represented in the National Statuary Hall by statues of two of its illustrious sons; and that, after careful consid- eration of the names of the many distinguished citizens of the State whose deeds are enrolled upon its historic annals, in the opinion of the committee, the two illustrious sons of the State, whose statues should be thus placed in Statuary Hall as the most fitting representatives of its his- tory and its traditions and its contributions to the history of the nation, are John Sevier, chief builder of the com- monwealth and its first Governor, and Andrew Jackson, the first President which it gave to the nation ; and we do accordingly recommend that appropriate steps be taken, in such manner as to this General Assembly may seem proper, to the end that suitable statues of the said Sevier and Jackson shall be made as soon as conveniently may be, and installed by the State of Tennessee in the Statuary Hall of the House of Representatives of the United States with appropriate ceremonies. "Respectfully submitted, "James B. Frazier, Chairman, "Edward T. Sanford, "A. A. Taylor, "W. K. McAlister, "T. C. Gordon, "William A. Collier, "Geo. C Porter, Secretary, "Committee." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 2 1 1 And, whereas, said report being seen and understood by this General Assembly, the Senate concurring herein, and it appearing to the satisfaction of the House that a proper selection of the two illustrious sons of the State of Tennessee whose statues or effigies should be placed in the Statuary Hall, or Hall of Fame, in the Capitol at Wash- ington, has been made and reported by said committee, to- wit : The names of John Sevier and Andrew Jackson ; there- fore : Be it resolved by this General Assembly, the Senate concurring as aforesaid, That the action on the part of said committee be received, endorsed, ratified, and approved, and that the same be made and declared the act and pur- pose of this General Assembly; and WHEREAS, it is not apparent what further steps should be taken at this time in this matter for want of proper information on the subject; therefore: Be it further resolved, That a committee of three — to- wit: Col. George C. Porter, Robert T. Quarles and Judge Robert Ewing, members and representatives of the State Historical Society — be constituted and appointed, and that said committee is hereby authorized, instructed, and direct- ed at a date as early as practicable, to ascertain what kind and charcter of material said statues or effigies should be, whether of marble or bronze, whether life or heroic size, etc., and what would be the actual or approximate cost, to- gether with the placing of same in position in said Statuary Hall, and to make due return of their action in the prem- ises to this General Assembly; and to this end, Be it further resolved, That said committee be here- by authorized and empowered to make publication of this object and purpose, and to obtain such drawings, casts, and exhibits from artists, sculptors, and designers as may be of aid and benefit to said committee in procuring this information for this General Assembly. Be it further resolved, That all further action herein be held up until the coming in of said report. 212 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XIV. JOHN SEVIER'S REMAINS BROUGHT BACK TO TENNESSEE— MRS. KATHERINE SHERRlLL SEVIER. On March 25th, 1889, the Legislature of Tennessee passed Joint Resolution Number 13, which was approved by Governor R. L. Taylor on April 1st, 1889, as follows: BE IT RESOLVED by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee that a joint Committee of three on the part of the Senate, and three on the part of the House, be appointed, whose duty it shall be to procure the removal of the remains of that illustrious and great man, ex-Gov- ernor John Sevier, from Alabama, and cause the same to be interred in the National Cemetery at Knoxville, Ten- nessee, and that five hundred dollars be appropriated for said purpose, said amount to be included in the General Appropriation Bill, and that said Committee be directed to open a private contribution or subscription list allow- ing any persons to subscribe such amounts as they see fit to be used by said Committee in the erection of a monument on the Capitol grounds at Nashville to his memory. And that the Governor and Speaker of the Senate and the Speak- er of the House shall be members of said Committee, by virtue of their office. Adopted March 25, 1889. > B. J. Lea, Speaker of the Senate. W. L. Clapp, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Approved April 1, 1889. Robert L. Taylor, Governor. This resolution was never carried out precisely accord- ing to its provisions. Governor Sevier's remains were brought back to Tennessee, but they were interred in the courhouse yard at Knoxville, and a monument was erect- ed, but it was over the remains there laid to rest; in all other respects the resolution was made effective. The identification of the location of Governor Sevier's grave was made in December 1874, as shown by the cor- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 213 respondence that follows. It will be remembered that the Governor was in Alabama by appointment of President James Monroe on a mission connected with the Creek In- dians, and that he died September 24th, 1815, and was buried at once on the east bank of the Tallapoosa River at an Indian village called Tuckabatchee, near Ft. Deca- tur in Macon County. The correspondence shows how the location of his grave was rescued from oblivion; and it also shows the long neglect of the people of Tennessee to bring back! to the State which he virtually founded the re- mains of one of the finest characters in history. It is hard- ly too much to say that if there had been no John Sevier there would have been no State of Tennessee, at least not for many years after the State came into existence. COLONEL WILLIAM GARRETT TO DR. J. G. M. RAMSEY: "Bradford, Coosa Co., Ala. Dec. 16, 1874. To "Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, "Presdt. Historical Society of Tenn. "Dear Sir: "The reading in your 'Annals of Tennessee' of the life and death and burial of Gov. John Sevier, one of the found- ers and the first Governor of my native State, induced me to seek for specific information as to his last resting place, that if possible and desired it might be identified. "To this end I addressed to the Hon. Littleberry Strange, an old citizen of Macon Co. (which includes Fort Deca- tur where Gov. Sevier was buried) and an ex-judge of the circuit court of this State — he was originally from North Carolina — asking for information which I had been ad- vised he possessed. "In reply I received from him a letter, a copy of which I enclose, which I reckon contains authentic information on the subject referred to. And I send this letter to you, that you as President of the Historical Society of Tennes- see may make of it such use as you see fit : also that it may be filed among the archives of the Society. "In this connection I will remark that Fort Decatur is some miles from Tuckabatchee Towns, on the opposite side of the Tallapoosa River, upon a high point, where the ridge juts into the river. The Montgomery R. R. to West Point passes around the point which makes the place easy of ac- cess. 214 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "I will be most happy to co-operate in any way in any movement to identify the grave of Gov. Sevier, at this time, if it is desirable; and I shall be glad, in that event, to hear from you on the subject. "It will be a privilege to meet citizens of my native be- loved State around his grave that we may do further honor to his memory. "With kind salutations and many wishes for your health & happiness, "I remain yrs truly, "William Garrett." LITTLEBERRY STRANGE TO COLONEL WILLIAM GARRETT. "Tuskegee, Ala Dec 5 1874 To "Col Wm Garrett Bradford, Coosa Co. Ala. : "My dear Sir :— "Your favor of the 27th ultimo is before me and con- tents noted, and to which it affords me much pleasure to reply. "In the summer of 1834, forty years ago, soon after I had attained manhood, I was living near Fort Decatur in this county (Macon). "There came to my humble home Capt. William Walker and his nephew John Harbinson, both of whom I had known for years. Capt. Walker was at that time, a man of sixty years ; Harbinson was in the prime of life, say forty years old, both were native Tennesseans. "They stated they were going to hunt the grave of John Sevier. Sometimes they called him Governor, sometimes Gen'l Sevier. "Mr. Harbinson stated that he was present when Sevier died and said that he assisted in burying of the remains. He further stated that before the grave was filled that he took from the fire a post oak log or stump with a charred end, and that he placed it at the head of the grave, the charred end downward. He said that he had no doubt that the exposed end had long since decayed (which he found to be true) but that if we could find the charred end in the ground, that would identify the spot. "We went to the place where he stated Gov. Sevier was buried ; we commenced and continued digging until we struck a hard substance in the surface. "We dug up the substance, and found it to be the charred end of a post oak log or stump, some two or two and a half Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 215 feet long. Mr. Harbinson identified that as the place where lay the remains of Gov. Sevier. "Capt. Walker took a light wood knot, some two feet long, placed it in the hole from which we had taken the charred end of the post oak log and said that there he in- tended to place a marble slab. "In 1836 Capt. Walker went with Gen'l Jessup to Flori- da, to the Seminole War, where he died without carrying out his noble purpose of placing the marble slab at the head of the grave of John Sevier. "Capt. Walker was a noble man; he was a patriot; he loved his country; he loved the noble dead, and for these qualities I esteem him. "And that his noble purpose might be carried out — he and Harbinson both being dead — I — for the purpose of car- rying out his intention, and for the further purpose of as- suring posterity of the location of the last resting place of a noble man — I, in 1841, procured marble slab and stone and placed them at the head and foot of the grave of Gov. John Sevier, and I have no doubt that these stones mark the true spot. I should have further stated that Harbin- son stated that, on the day that Sevier died, he, as the accredited agent of the Government, was on duty; that he had been to Tuckabatchee to attend a council; that on his way to camp, Sevier was taken sick, and died at the ford of the river, some two miles from camp ; that the remains were brought to camp for burial. "This is, I believe, about all the information that I have upon the subject to which your letter refers. "I hope all this may answer some good purpose and in some sort supply a broken link in the history of the State of Tennessee. "I remain your friend, "Littleberry Strange.", DR. J. G. M. RAMSEY TO COL. WILLIAM GARRETT. "Knoxville, Tenn., Dec 24, 1874 To the "Hon. Mr. Garrett, Bradford, Coosa Co., Ala. : "I take great pleasure in acknowledging receipt of your several favors of recent date. "One of these letters the Historical Society of Tennes- see values most highly, as it contains interesting sketches of so many of our pioneer citizens who have done honor to our native Tennessee; another of them, we appreciate still more, as the means of identifying the spot where, after 216 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History the achievements of a life, the remains of our great Cap- tain and worthy civilian, John Sevier, repose in the quiet of the grave. "He needs no monument, but it is a great satisfaction to know the place which grateful and admiring countrymen from Tennessee and elsewhere may visit and recognize as our Mecca, and to which hereafter our pilgrimage may be made. "Your communications will be published and the orig- inals deposited at Nashville in our collection of historical data. "It remains for me to present, officially, the thanks of the Historical Society of Tennessee for this labor of love which you have undertaken and so well executed ; I shall also add that at our next meeting* I shall be proud to pro- pose your name for honorary membership. "Should our Executive Committee take further action on the subject of still other honors to the remains of the memory of the great Tennessean, we will avail ourselves of the generous offer you make of participating in the same. "I have the honor to be, my dear Sir, most respectfully, your ob'ent servant "J. G. M. Ramsey." REMOVAL OF THE REMAINS OF GOVERNOR SEVIER TO TENNESSEE. On June 15th, 1889, Governor R. L. Taylor, General Laps McCord, Gen. Frankle, Col. Jesse Sparks, Col. W. W. Eckles, Col. W. Green, Col. Granville Sevier, and Col. Joe Hardwick, members of his staff, and the Honorable W. L. Clapp, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Ten- nessee, left Nashville on the mission of bringing back Gov- ernor Sevier's remains to the State. In the party also w r as Judge James Sevier, and brother, of Kingston. When the party arrived at Montgomery, Alabama, on the morning of the 16th, they were met by Governor Seay and staff, and a regiment of Alabama State troops. A special train left Birmingham that morning carrying the two Governors, their staffs, the State troops, relatives of Governor Sevier, a number of citizens of Tennessee, W. C. Campbell, under- taker on the part of Alabama, Samuel Newman, undertak- er on the part of Tennessee, and Lloyd Branson, of Knox- ville, to make photographs of the disinterment. The des- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 2 1 7 tination of the train was Governor Sevier's grave, which was near Fort Decatur, in the middle of a cotton field. The little plot in which the grave was located was surrounded by an iron fence, and at the west end of the enclosure there was firmly fixed, in the ground a headstone about two feet wide, and two inches thick, and two feet in height, which bore this inscription: "John Sevier. Died September 24, 1815." In the southeast corner of the enclosure was a sloe-tree — a small bitter plum tree — which seemed to be one of the features marking the spot. In the sloe-tree was a nest of wasps which were driven out by a lighted piece of news- paper applied to the nest. Governor Taylor and Governor Seay took positions at either end of the south side of the grave, when Governor Seay addressed Governor Taylor and the others present as follows : "Your Excellency, Tennesseans and Alabamians: "Nearly a century and a half ago friendg'presiding at birth swore a human being to the cause of human liberty — a more solemn invocation than that which called Han- nibal to the destruction of Rome, and akin to that which gave Samuel to the Lord. "For seventy long years — from 1745 to 1815 — John Se- vier gave his life to the republic, and here on this spot, seventy-four years ago he was laid to rest. Imagine this starved scene — the soldier's funeral! The war-whoop of the Indian had scarcely died away ; by the open grave stood the few surviving soldiers, and here and there the stal- wart form of a silent friendly savage; the startled hare, and the frightened squirrel wondered at the strange cor- tege that brought him to his last resting place. Silently and kindly nature has kept him since. Seventy-four years, and this guardianship has not been broken, for Alabama has adopted for his grave the benediction of Prentiss for that of LaFayette : 'Let no cunning sculptor or the orna- mental marble deface with its mock dignity the patriotic grace; but rather let the unpruned vine, the silent flower, and the free song of the uncaged bird, and all that speaks of freedom and of peace, be gathered about it.' "But now, very justly, not for Mr. Sevier's sake, nor for his fame, but for the sake of the Republic, and for the education and inspiration of her sons, Alabama sur- renders these sacred relics to Tennessee. Take all that is 218 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History left of him, convey these remains kindly and gently to his own dear mountains of Tennessee, and under their pro- tecting shadows beside the Holston, let your monument lift its proud head that men may know that loyalty to man's best interests is never unrewarded. "We of Alabama hold Tennessee in deepest affection. She is the frontier from which came Andrew Jackson and his band of brave Tennesseans, and before Jackson, came Sevier. These and their brave followers made possible the civilization that we to-day enjoy." Governor Taylor responded to Governor Seay: "Your Excellency, Alabamians and Tennesseans : "I had not expected to speak until I had delivered the dust of this hero to his native State, and had consigned it to long rest in the bosom of the soil he loved so well; but I cannot allow the opportunity to pass for thanking Alabama on behalf of Tennessee for the most gracious and comprehensive reception that has been granted us at the hands of the Governor and so many of the representative citizens of this commonwealth. "General Sevier came to Tennessee from Virginia when but a boy and took up his residence on the banks of the Watauga which, as its name signifies is "beautiful water." Sevier was one of the heroes of his age, and of his coun- try, and in the dark days of the Revolution at King's Moun- tain, he defeated a regiment of the Army of Great Birtain, and by so doing aided materially in the establishment of our independence. "We receive this sacred dust from Your Excellency and from your people, and we take it back with us to lay it away tenderly under the soil which he loved so well. And from the mountain, under the shadow of which he made his first home in Tennessee, we will carve out a monument to the memory of him who literally millions will rise up and call blessed. Sevier was the greatest of the chieftains of Ten- nessee. Let him rest in peace." When Governor Taylor had finished speaking, one of the laborers engaged for the occasion, cut down the sloe- tree, and from it two sticks were cut, one for each of the Governors, and the remainder was given over to relic hunt- ers. The work of disinterment then proceeded. When the grave had been opened to a depth of some two and a half feet, the pick of one of the laborers struck a hollow place, and the crust through which the pick had passed began Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 2 1 9 to cave in. A hollow was opened showing an arch, or sound crust of earth. When this arch was entirely removed, it showed a vault or hollow in clay, almost flinty hard, shaped like an old-styled home-made coffin, small at the head, broad at the shoulders, and tapering toward the feet. The party about the grave closed in and watched with intense interest the work of the laborers, and the formation of solid earth around where the coffin originally laid, but which now, reduced to dust, left only a hollow space. The hand- some metallic case which was brought to receive the re- mains, was placed beside the grave, and the bones that were found in the grave placed in it, which was all that was left of John Sevier, the founder of the State of Tennessee. Some nails which held the coffin together were found, and were old fashioned hand-made nails. The casket was placed on a wagon and with military escort and the Second Regi- ment Band playing the Dead March, the cortege took its way to the railway station, and reached Montgomery at three o'clock in the afternoon on its way back to the City of Knoxville, where the re-interment was scheduled to be made on June 19. ■ THE RE-INTERMENT. If the City of Knoxville, in common with the whole State of Tennessee, had been guilty of profound indiffer- ence as to Governor Sevier being buried in a cotton field in Alabama for seventy-four years, it determined as far as it was humanly possible, to atone for its indifference, and make a magnificent demonstration on the re-interment of his remains. Elaborate preparations were made, and it was estimated that thirty thousand people stood upon the streets of Knoxville and watched the procession which es- corted the remains from the depot to the courthouse yard where they were to be buried. The procession consisted of bands of music, various military companies, carriages with pall-bearers, the funeral car, carriages with descend- ants of Governor Sevier; carriages with Governor Taylor and his staff, city officials, county officials, and many civic and fraternal organizations, constituting a very imposing demonstration in honor of the dead Governor. 220 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History The courthouse yard is at the southwest corner of the intersection of Gay Street and Main Avenue and ten thou- sand people gathered in the yard and streets, which is all that could stand there. The splendid casket containing the remains had been wrapped in a silken banner loaned by the Reverend J. H. Frazee. The program of exercises was sim- ple: Invocation. By Rev. Dr. Thomas W. Humes. Music. Address. By Governor Robert L. Taylor. Memorial Oration. By Hon. W. A. Henderson. Music. Poem. By Capt. J. R. McCallum. Reinterment Ceremony conducted by Reverend Dr. James Park. On the Speaker's stand was the Committee of Arrange- ments, Governor Taylor and his staff, Col. W. A. Hender- son, who delivered the Memorial Oration, the great-grand- children of Governor Sevier and scores of prominent citi- zens. Ten thousand people uncovered their heads when the kind, beneficent face of the Reverend Dr. Humes was ob- served as he arose and opened the exercises with prayer. A more impressive ceremony was never held before in the history of the world, and each of the ten thousand present felt that at last justice was being done to one who made it possible for the ceremony to be held that day — one who laid the foundations of the State, and called civilization into being west of the Alleghany Mountains. After all of the program had been carried out except the religious service, Reverend Dr. James Park took charge of that service, which was solemn, dignified and profoundly moving. The casket was lowered into its windoWless and final home and a huge marble slab placed over the sepulcher, and this was magnificently decorated with flowers. Doctor Park said in part: "By authority of the General Assembly of Tennessee, his mortal remains having been exhumed from their rest- ing place in the State of Alabama, have to-day been brought under honorable escort to Knoxville, the first capital of Q '^ fc o < V J u* a 1 rtj. — •"* W 3 1 B ;' v " j? ^ 7 2 "-> £ o * - ', 2 B" O. 25? *.. ■ *" to o i •"•9 M* >5 £■ > S o" 3 e> » 3 e> p i • a ft" S «1 ^SSSr' Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 221 Tennessee, and the site of his residence, to find sepulcher in our midst, and so glorify our soil, and await the glories of the Resurrection Day. "And here, with patriotic pride in his heroic days in the time of war, and profound veneration for his high serv- ice in time of peace, we commit his mortal remains to the grave, 'earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.' "And may the people of this great State who owe so much to John Sevier for his unselfish service in times that tried men's souls, do him justice, and yourselves and the commonwealth honor by erecting such a monument as shall keep his name and fame and illustrious example in ever- lasting memory." Dr. Park then offered an earnest, solemn prayer, which completed the exercises, and the reinterment of Governor John Sevier in the State of Tennessee was at an end. The Tennessee Historical Society of Nashville made its contribution towards the re-interment by sending a life- sized oil portrait of Gov. Sevier, and also the sword given him by the State of North Carolina, both of which belong to that Society. The sword was sheathed in a much-worn scabbard, with a handle made of gold and ivory. On one side of the handle were engraved the words: "From the State of North Carolina to John Sevier ;" on the other side : "King's Mountain, 7 October, 1780." The full Committee which went to Alabama to bring back the remains of Governor Sevier consisted of Governor R. L. Taylor, and Messrs, McCord, Schubert, Whitthorne, Boyd, Hardwick, Sparks, Wells, Frankle, Eckles, Sevier, Dickson, Pearcey, Crump, and Weakley, of his staff; and Honorable Andrew Patterson, Judge George L. Maloney, and Messrs. Andes, Berry, Dofoson, Hearne, Stonedeck, Clapp, Lee, Gibbs, Ledgerwood, Newman, Osborne, Cooper, Lloyd Branson and S. M. Frame. Judge James Sevier of Kingston, a grandson of Gov. Sevier, was present at the re-interment; also, Mrs. M. H. Sevier, of Memphis, a granddaughter of the Governor, and her two daughters, Miss Sallie M. Sevier and Mrs. Wiggan. The movement to build a monument over the remains was started several days before the re-interment. On June 15, 1889, a committee which had before been appointed and 222 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History organized with the Honorable George Brown as Chairman, to devise means for erecting a monument, held a called meeting with a large attendance present, and Judge Brown presiding. It was resolved that a committee be appointed to wait upon the people of Knoxville and receive subscrip- tions to a monument fund, and the Committee consisted of James D. Cowan, A. J. Albers, W. W. Woodruff, Honorable J. M. Thornburg, General R. N. Hood, Honorable 0. P. Temple, C. E. Lucky and R. R. Swepson. The Committee proceeded actively to work, and with- out difficulty procured contributions from the following contributors: F. H. McClung, W. W. Woodruff, James D. Cowan, R. S. Payne, C. J. McClung, J. M. Meek, C. M. Mc- Clung, J. C. J. Williams, George Brown, R. M. Rhea, R. C. Jackson, Perez Dickinson, R. R. Swepson, R. N. Hood, E. E. McCroskey, William Rule, J. W. Caldwell, C. E. Luckey, Alex Summers, J. R. McCallum, S. T. Logan, 0. P. Tem- ple, M. L. Ross, Cullen and Newman, M. J. Condon, Cone, Shields and Company, John S. Van Gilder, D. D. Anderson, Joseph T. McTeer, D. A. Carpenter, W. H. Simmonds, M. P. Jarnagin, Chapman-White-Lyons Company, Betterton and Company, J. C. Luttrell, F. K. Huger, Leon Jourolmon, John J. Craig, Frank A. Moses, H. H. Taylor, J. W. Gaut, Charles Weller, Jerome Templeton, D. M. Rose, William M. Rhea, James O'Conner, W. L. Trent, W. A. Galbraith, John L. Hudiburg, James Comfort, S. R. Ogden, J. F. Bow- man, E. T. Wiley, J. E. Lutz and Company, T. H. Heald, Martin J. Condon, J. W. Scott, Brandau, Kennedy and Mc- Teer, John B. Minnis, J. W T . Yoe, J. C. Ford, C. H. Jennings and John McNutt. The last subscriber, John McNutt, was over eighty years of age, and his business was that of selling apples on the streets of Knoxville. He remembered seeing Gov. Sevier. A large additional sum was raised before the erection of the monument. MRS. KATHERINE SHERRILL SEVIER. Accompanying the Committee which went to Alabama to bring back Governor Sevier's remains was a reporter of a Knoxville daily paper, who concluded not only to re- Governor of the State of Franklin, times Governor of the State of Tennessee 4 times elected to Congress. West face: North face: East face: The First Governor of Tennessee JOHN SEVIER "Nolliehucky Jack" September 23, 1744 -September 24, 1815 Pioneer soldier, statesman and one of the founders of the Republic. South face: Projector and Hero of King's Mountain 35 Battles, 35 Victories His Indian War-cry "Here they are, come on boys, come on." Governor John Sevier's Tomb, Court House Yard in Knoxville. The typical pioneer He conquered the wilderness And fashioned the State. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 223 port the disinterment, but, if possible, to find the grave of Mrs. Katherine Sherrill Sevier, and his letter is reproduced just as it appeared in his paper, the Knoxville Journal: (Special to The Journal.) "Birmingham, Ala., June 19, 1889. — Your correspond- ent heard a rumor to the effect that the wife of Governor John Sevier was buried in or near Russellville, Alabama, and today finds him in that village for the purpose of con- firming that rumor. His purpose has been fulfilled, and the rumor has proven true. In an almost desolate local- ity, in the northern part of the town of Russellville, is what your reporter might call the ruins of a burial ground. De- sertion and neglect are apparent in every portion of it. The rock walls which surround the family enclosure are crumbling and decaying. Dead leaves of nearly a century's falling, have made it impossible to describe the shape of the grave in this dismal, neglected graveyard, and the towering oaks render the place dismal by day and murky by night. So strange a feeling creeps over one here at the sight of this clammy spot that he is more anxious to go away than he was to visit it. Your correspondent had the company of a grandson of the great ex-Governor, as well as his society and his otherwise backwardness assumed the form of resignation to the end of an unnatural superstition on visiting such a murky locality. "Dr. Daniel B. Sevier accompanied your correspond- ent to the spot where his grandmother was buried nearly fifty years ago. The grave is laid near an ordinary country road, which runs through a desolate cemetery, which is not fenced in and young oak rises from the midst of the dead leaves which have fallen nearly a century, and a simple headstone, about ten feet distant, marks the spot where the better-half of the great Revolutionary patriot sleeps. It has this inscription : 'Katherine Sevier, wife of Gov- ernor John Sevier, of Tennessee, Died October 7, 1836. Age 82 years.' "In the interview with Dr. Daniel B. Sevier, a grand- son of the early patriot and of the first Governor, your cor- respondent learned that the widow of the Governor, after his death, either from preference, or other motive, decided to live with her son, Dr. Sam Sevier, the father of Dr. Se- vier, who in 1836 decided to move to Russellville, Ala. His decision was of course carried into effect, and June 10th, 1836, found him located in that place, having brought with him his mother, the wife of the first Governor of Tennes- see. It was his intention to allow her to spend the remain- 224 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History der of her peaceable days in this healthy, secluded valley, but they proved to be short, for she died in October of this same year, being in the 82nd year of her age, and she was buried in the presence of her grandson. "At the spot mentioned before, at the neglected spot, she now lies, coincident with the ceremony attending the re- interment of her husband upon the location selected by the patriotic citizens of her native State, and unless the ladies of Tennessee realize the fact that his gentle mate was perhaps the inspiration, at least partly, of many of his most gallant deeds, the cause of temperance in his warm war blood after his return from successive exploits and of cool- er judgment that befitted him for the latter duties of the statesman, her bones, already resolved, like those of her husband, into dust, will remain there forever." But while her grave is generally unknown to the world, historjr has not forgotten Katherine Sherrill Sevier, and her name will live as long as that of her husband, and he will live in the minds of Tennesseans until time ceases. We are all, therefore, interested in the wife of Governor Sevier, whose life demonstrates a grand type of woman. Col. John B. Brownlow kindly sent the author while this book was being written, an old volume entitled "Pioneer Women of the West" by Mrs. E. F. Ellet, published in 1852. Mrs. Ellet states in her preface that the sketch of Mrs. Sevier in the book was written by A. W. Putnam of Nashville. This is the same A. W. Putnam who married a daughter of George W. Sevier, and who wrote "The His- tory of Middle Tennessee," which is recognized as a stand- ard authority. Mr. Putnam personally knew Mrs. Kather- ine Sevier, and therefore is an eye-witness with personal knowledge of what he writes. In 1849, when the Tennes- see Historical Society was organized he was elected as its first Vice President. We think, therefore, the reader will thank us for quoting what Mr. Putnam has to say about Mrs. Sevier, and in his own words : "After the death of Governor Sevier on the Tallapoosa, in 1815, where he had gone to cement peace and establish the boundary with the Creek Indians, Mrs. Sevier removed to Overton County, in Middle Tennessee, where most of her children resided. She selected a most romantic and secluded spot for her own retired residence. It was upon Andrew Jacksox and Early Tennessee History 225 a high bench, or spur, of one of the mountains of that coun- ty, a few miles from Obeds River, with higher mountains on either side. There were some ten or fifteen acres of tillable land and a bold, never-failing spring issuing from near the surface of the level tract, which cast its pure cold w r aters down the side of the mountain, hundreds of feet into the narrow valley. In a dense wood near that spring, and miles distant from any other habitation, did her sons erect her log cabins for bedroom, dining-room and kitchen, and others for stable and crib. She resided for years at 'The Dale' with the General's aged body-servant, Toby (who had accompanied him in all his Indian campaigns), his wife, Rachel, and a favorite female servant and boy. Seldom did she come down from her eyrie in the moun- tain. The aged eagle had lost her mate. She made her nest among the lofty oaks upon the mountain heights, where she breathed the air and drank the water untainted and undisturbed, fresh and pure, and nearest to the heavens. "We have visited her in that chosen spot. 'The Gov- ernor's Widow' could never be looked upon as an ordinary country woman. Whoever saw her could not be satisfied with a single glance — he must look again. And if she stood erect, and her penetrating eye caught the beholder's, he judged at once there was in that mind a consciousness of worth and an acquaintance with notable events. He would wish to converse with her. She used language of much .expressiveness and point. She never forgot that she was the widow of Governor and General Sevier; that he had given forty years of his life to the service of his country, and in the most arduous and perilous exposure contributing from his own means far more than he ever received from the public treasury ; and yet he never reproached that coun- try for injustice, neither would she murmur nor repine. "At times she was disposed to sociable cheerfulness and humor, as one in youthful days, and then would she relate interesting anecdotes and incidents of the early settlement of the country, the manners and habits of the people, of the 'barefoot and moccasin dance' and 'spicewood tea par- ties.' Her woman's pride, or some other feminine feeling, induced her to preserve, with the utmost care, an imported or bought carpet, of about twelve by fifteen feet in size, which had been presented to her as the 'first Governor's wife,' and as the first article of the kind ever laid upon a 'puncheon' or split-log floor west of the Alleghany Moun- tains. Whenever she expected company upon her own in- vitation, or persons of character came to pay their respects to her, the Scotch carpet was sure to be spread out, about the size of a modern bedquilt. But as soon as company de- 226 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History parted, the ever-present and faithful servants, Suzy and Jeff, incontinently commenced dusting and folding, and it was soon again boxed up. Three times were we permit- ted the honorable privilege of placing our well cleaned boots upon this dear relic from the household of the first Govern- or of Tennessee, and of admiring the pair of ancient and decrepit branch-candlesticks as they stood on the. board over the fire-place. "The bucket of cool water was ever on the shelf at the batten-door, which stood wide open, swung back upon its woden hinges ; and there hung the sweet water-gourd ; and from very love of everything around, we repeatedly helped ourselves. The doors, the floors, the chairs, the dishes on the shelves — yea, everything seemed to have been scoured. There was a lovely cleanness and order, and we believe, 'godliness with contentment.' "She was remarkably neat in her person, tidy, and par- ticular, and uniform in her dress, which might be called half-mourning — white cap with black trimmings. She had a hearth-rug, the accompaniment of the favorite carpet, which was usually laid before the fire-place in her own room, and there she commonly was seated, erect as a statue — no stooping of the figure, so often acquired by indolence and careless habit, or from infirm old age — but with her feet placed upon her rug, her workstand near her side, the Bible ever thereon, or in her lap, the Governor's hat upon the wall — such were the striking features of that mountain i hermitage. "There was resignation and good cheer — there was hos- pitality and worth in that plain cottage; and had not the prospect of better fortune, and attachment to children mar- ried and settled at a distance, induced her own sons to re- move from her vicinity, she ought never to have been urged to come down from that 'lodge in the wilderness.' But her last son having resolved to move to Alabama, she consent- ed to go with him, and pass her few remaining days in his family. "She departed this life on the 2d October, 1836, at Rus- sellville, in the State of Alabama, aged about eighty-two." The readers, especially those in Tennessee, naturally would like to learn as much as possible of what became of Governor Sevier's children, and his brothers and sisters, and a statement about them is in the Life of Jefferson D. Goodpasture, written by his two sons : "Governor Sevier located two grants for something over 57,000 acres of land in Overton County, now Overton and Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 227 Clay. On this vast domain many members of his family settled. After his death * * * his widow, the cele- brated 'Bonnie Kate/ moved to The Dale, now known as the Clark place, in Clay County. It was in a romantic and secluded spot, upon a high bench, among the hills of Obeds River. Around her, but not with her, were her brother, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, sons and daughters. Mrs. Matlock, a sister of Governor Sevier, was the mother-in- law of Valentine Matlock, one-time sheriff of Overton Coun- ty; and George W. Sevier, a son, was circuit court clerk. Her brother, John Sherrill, lived near the mouth of Wolf River, as did her son, Dr. Sam Sevier, who afterwards removed with her to Alabama. Of the Governor's broth- ers, Abram lived about ten miles north of Livingston, and Joseph near the mouth of Ashburn's creek. Among his sons and daughters there were Catherine Campbell, whose second husband was Archibald Ray; Joanna Windle and Valentine Sevier, who lived on Iron's Creek; Mary Over- street, who lived on Obeds River; George W. Sevier, who lived on Sulphur Creek, and afterwards removed to Nash- ville ; Sarah Brown, who lived at the James McMillan place ; and Ann Corlin, who lived on Ashburn's Creek." IS HER SEPULCHRE FINAL? Governor Sevier lay buried in the soil of Alabama from September 24, 1815, to June 19, 1889, nearly seventy-four years. Mrs. Katherine Sherrill Sevier also found a resting place in Alabama but for a period longer than her husband — from October 2d, 1836, to 1917 — eighty years. She has not the same overwhelming claim upon the gratitude of Tennessee that her husband had, but her claims are great, both historical and personal. She was the wife of John Sevier, and in the Indian Wars which brought the savag- ery of the savage to her very cabin door, she did the part of a heroine, and showed a courage that never quailed and a devotion to neighbors and settlers on the Nollichucky and Watauga, as great, in a woman's way, as that supreme devotion of "Chucky Jack" who gave himself and his for- tune to subdue the Red Man, and make possible a white man's civilization west of the Alleghany Mountains. In Statuary Hall in the Capitol at Washington we hope to see the day when marble effigies of Andrew Jackson and John Sevier shall constitute Tennessee's contribution 228 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History to the National Hall of Fame; but what a grand and in- spiring dream it is that some day we may see "Bonny Kate's" marble effigy standing in Statuary Hall beside her husband, so that generations yet to come may see the great- est couple — husband and wife — that ever took their heroic way across the pages of history! Search the world over and all the written words that tell of nations dead and gone, call forth from the tombs of buried heroes every spirit that ever glorified humanity by glorious deeds, and none can stand upon more inspiring heights, or extort to the uttermost the supreme affection of men and women, as can that man and wife whom the mountains of East Tennessee gave to civilization and the world ! By the Act of Congress establishing Statuary Hall, each State is allowed in it two representatives only — whether sons or daughters. Illinois has put Frances E. Willard there. But with Jackson and Sevier there for Tennessee, why cannot we have a Statuary Hall in our Capitol at Nash- ville, and after bringing back the remains of "Bonny Kate" and interring them beside her husband in the courthouse yard at Knoxville, place her statue in our Statuary Hall? Or, if not that, why not erect out of marble from the moun- tains whence they came a splendid monument on Capitol Hill in Nashville to John and Katherine Sherrill Sevier? It is a cloud upon the manhood and a humiliation upon the womanhood of Tennessee that John Sevier's wife sleeps her last sleep in the soil of another State. SEVIER'S MONUMENT AT NASHVILLE. Down to the time that the monument was erected to Governor Sevier in the courthouse yard at Knoxville after his remains were brought back to Tennessee, it was gen- erally, indeed almost universally, thought that no monu- ment had ever* been erected to the Governor in Tennessee; but this is a mistake. In the old City Cemetery at Nash- vill is a granite shaft about twelve feet high erected by Colonel A. W. Putnam, one-time President of the Tennes- see Historical Society. This monument was erected about 1856 at the personal expense of Colonel Putnam, and on the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 229 eastern face is carved a wreath and crossed swords, and un- der these are an Indian tomahawk and a bunch of arrows. The monument bears the following inscription : SEVIER Noble and Successful Defender of the early Settlers of Tennessee, The first and for Twelve Years Governor Representative in Congress Commissioner in many Treaties with the Indians. He Served His Country Forty Years Faithfully and Usefully And in that service died. An Admirer of Patriotism and Merit Unrequited Erects This. On the base is inscribed the names of the workmen SHELDON AND HAM NASHVILLE, TENN. 230 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XV. EVAN SHELBY AND THE SHELBYS. General Evan Shelby Died December 4, 1794. Aged Seventy-four years. Here lies the body of Letitia Shelby Died September 6, 1797, aged 52 years. These two inscriptions recall General Evan Shelby, one of the great heroes of pioneer days in America, who is buried in East Hill Cemetery in Bristol, Tennessee, and his wife, Letitia Shelby, who is buried at Charlottesville, Vir- ginia. The light upon the record of General Evan Shelby is not that clear white light that we desire so much in con- nection with historical characters we admire; all that we know, which is not a very great deal, about General Shelby leads to the conclusion that he was one of the strongest and finest characters of the early days in Virginia and Ten- nessee. He was a Welshman by birth and descent, and was born in Wales in 1720, and when small was brought by his father to America and settled in Maryland near the North Mountain. Much the larger part of what we know about him comes from his great-grandson, Dr. Charles Todd, and the statements here made are based upon what Dr. Todd has said about his great-grandfather. General Shelby possessed a strong mind, and an iron constitution, and was possessed of great perseverance and high courage. He took part in the French and Indian Wars, which commenced in 1754, and was appointed Captain in the Provincial Army that was sent against Fort DuQuesne ; he fought in a number of battles in Braddock's war. In 1772 he removed to the Western waters, and he located at King's Meadow, in what is now Bristol, Tennessee, and there engaged in the raising of cattle. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 231 In 1774 Lord Dunmore, of Virginia, directed an ex- pedition against the Indians, and instructed General An- drew Lewis, who in 1756 constructed Fort Loudon in what is now Monroe County, Tennessee, to raise four regiments for the purpose, and on September 11, 1774, the regiments were in motion and reached Point Pleasant, on the Ohio River and there fought the Battle of Point Pleasant, also called the battle of Kanawha. General Shelby was Cap- tain, and his son, Isaac Shelby, was Lieutenant of a com- pany of fifty Tennesseans, in which James Robertson, Val- entine Sevier, and John Sawyers were sergeants. They left upper East Tennessee and travelled twenty-five days through an unbroken wilderness and took part in this bat- tle, in which Colonel Lewis was killed, and the command of the regiment devolved on General Shelby. The battle last- ed all day, and resulted in a treaty by which the Indians sur- rendered all of their lands south of the Ohio River. This action was the entry of the pioneers into a series of conflicts, skirmishes and battles that lasted for years, and in which they were finally victors; and therefore the names of the fifty men in Captain Evan Shelby's company should if possible be perpetuated. They are: James Shelby, John Sawyers, John Findley, Henry Span, Daniel Mungle, Frederick Mungle, John Williams, John Camack, Andrew Torrence, George Brooks, Isaac Newland, Abram Newland, George Ruddle, Emanual Shoatt, Abram Bogard, Peter Forney, William Tucker, John Fain, Samuel Vance, Samuel Fain, Samuel Handley, Samuel Samples, Arthur Blackburn, Robert Handley, George Armstrong, William Casey, Mack Williams, John Stewart, Conrad Nave, Richard Burk, John Riley, Elijah Robertson, Rees Price, Richard Holliway, Jarrett Williams, Julius Robison, Charles Fielder, Benjamin Graham, An- drew Golf, Hugh O'Gullion, Patk. St. Lawrence, James Hughey, John Bradley, Basileel Maywell, and Barnett O'Gullion. James Robertson and Valentine Sevier, Jr., come down to us credited with saving from destruction the force that had gone to Point Pleasant to repulse the Indians. 232 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Robertson and Sevier got up early on the morning of October 10, 1774, and went out to hunt, and discovered the Indians prepared to make an attack, and they aroused their companions, and the battle was on. Cornstalk and Logan commanded the Indians. The whites lost probably more than the Indians in this battle, their losses being placed at seventy-five men killed or mor- tally wounded, and one hundred and forty slightly wound- ed. It is probable that the loss of the Indians was not so great, but the Indians were broken by their defeat, and peace was made by treaty. All of the chiefs came to the council where the treaty of peace was being considered except Logan, and he was communicated with through ; a messenger. To this messenger Logan made a speech, and the messenger took it down, and it has been recited as one of the finest pieces of Indian eloquence on record. It is well worth recording again. LOGAN'S SPEECH. "I appeal to any white man to say if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not? "During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his camp, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, my countrymen pointed as I passed and said : 'Logan is the friend of the white man.' I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring in cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the relatives of Logan, not even sparing my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living crea- ture. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it, and have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country I rejoice at the promise of peace; but do not' harbour the thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear; he will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? No one!" That battle was one of the most severely contested in all the warfare with the Indians, and the number on each side was more nearly equal than in any other battle where white men and Indians were engaged. General Shelby was appointed in 1776 by Governor Pat- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 233 rick Henry of Virginia a Major in the army commanded by Colonel Christian against the Cherokees. In 1777 he led an expedition of Tennesseans against the Chickamauga Indians on the Tennessee River, and cap- tured and destroyed their towns and crops and killed their cattle. His son, Isaac Shelby, is credited with furnishing the army transportation and supplies for this expedition on his personal credit. In 1779, the line between Virginia and North Carolina having been determined, and General Shelby having been included in the State of North Carolina, he was appointed by Governor Caswell of North Carolina a Brigadier Gen- eral, and was the first officer of that grade west of the mountains. NO MONUMENT MARKS HIS GRAVE. Time came when Bristol, Tennessee, was to be enlarged and needed new streets, and the street was opened through the cemetery where General Shelby was buried, and we will let an old citizen of Bristol tell what was done, in his letter to the author: "About the year 1870, when Fifth Street, Bristol, Ten- nessee, was opened, it became necessary to remove the bodies in a small cemetery adjoining the First Presbyterian Church. In this cemetery were the remains of General Evan Shelby. Interested parties removed the remains of their own dead, but General Shelby's bones were taken up and placed in a common box and were locked up in the city calaboose but a few steps away for safekeeping. Just how long they remained there, I do not know. I was just a boy of thirteen years, and remember distinctly of having the skull in my hands. The bones were then reinterred in the East Hill Cemetery, which is located in the States of Virginia and Tennessee. General Shelby's remains now sleep in the soil of old Virginia, and his grave is now cov- ered with the same iron slab that was placed on his grave when he was first buried." A flood of unhappy reflections surge over us as we read this pitiful story. All our pride of race and of the achieve- ments of the great dead the w r orld over, dissolves into empty nothingness, and we are face to face with the gloomy vision of the utter littleness of man. All of the splendor of life, and the sweet prestige of place and power, find an ignoble 234 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History end in a boy of thirteen years handling a resurrected skull, and that skull once a part of one who loved and fought for his fellowman. Forgotten his long and weary tramps through the unbroken wilderness ; forgotten his battles that the savagery of the Red Man might be crushed, and the progress of the white man prove triumphant; forgotten his willingness to lay down his life, and his four great sons theirs along with him, that frontier women might not be outraged, nor their children burned at the stake; forgot- ten all his grand and fearless manhood that vied with Achilles, the Homeric Greek, in all that proves the heroic in man ; and without a friend to decently care for his bones, taken from their resting place of nearly a century, and placed in a common box, and locked up in a city prison, sooner or later to be buried again ! Alexander Pope's lines cover the bitter story: "How loved, how honored once, avails thee not ; To whom related, or by whom begot; A heap of dust alone remains of thee ; 'Tis all thou art, and all the proud shall be." And if the mighty Wizard of Avon, the gentle Shake- speare, who rare Ben Johnson said was "not of an age, but for all time," could have passed that city prison in Bris- tol, in 1870, he would have doubtless recalled the scene his genius penned for the world where the grave-digger threw up the skull of "Poor Yorrick;" or, he might have applied to General Evan Shelby, "in death a hero and in life a friend," those other bitter lines : "Oh, mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low? Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?" And if these words' of his he did not think sufficient to illuminate the utter pitifulness of the prison scene before him the mighty Wizard could have called back the wisdom of his melancholy Dane, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, where he apostrophizes his dear friend, Horatio: "To what base uses may we return, Horatio? Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alex- ander 'Til we find it stopping a bung-hole?" Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 235 No monument marks General Shelby's burial place, and no more inspiring opportunity could be offered to the Daughters of the American Revolution to take in hand, as they have so successfully done in various other instances, the erection of a monument over his grave. He, himself, did grand service for pioneer America, and his sons did even more than he; he founded a family that, historically, is one of the great American families ; his descendants can point to patriotic acts all along the line of their ancestry, from the French and Indian Wars, down to the time when the ascendency of the white man was no longer disputed, and when his aims, aspirations and ideals dominated the western world, and the red man had taken up his retreat to practical extinction. GENERAL SHELBY'S SONS. So far as the records show, General Shelby had four sons, namely: Col. Isaac Shelby, Gen. Evan Shelby, Jr., Capt. Moses Shelby, and James Shelby, and in order that the contribution of the Shelby family to pioneer history may be understood, it will be necessary to set out the record of each of these. Colonel Isaac Shelby was born near the North Moun- tain, Maryland, where his father first located as an immi- grant on coming from Wales abount the year 1735 — Colonel Shelby's birthday being December 11, 1750. The exact date when his father moved to King's Meadows, Bristol, Tennessee, is not clear, but we find Isaac Shelby raising and herding cattle there in 1771, and it is probable that the Shelby family moved there in that year. In 1774 Isaac Shelby received a commission from Colonel William Pres- ton, the County Lieutenant of Fincastle, and it is upon the occasion of the receipt of the commission that the anec- dote has come down to us that his father thinking Isaac, who had remained seated in the presence of the Colonel, was not showing the proper respect to Colonel Preston, said, "Get up, you dog, you, and make your obeisance to the Colonel!" Whereupon Isaac arose and extended the proper courtesy. He was Lieutenant in his father's company in the battle of Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774, and he re- 236 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History mained upon garrison duty there until July 1775. Follow- ing this he was engaged in surveying land for Henderson and Company in Kentucky, and in 1776 he was commis- sioned a Captain, and in 1777 Commissary of Supplies for the frontier garrisons; he rendered service as Commissary also for the Continental Army. Showing his calibre and nerve, in the year 1779, he pledged his personal credit for the supplies for his father's troops on the expedition to crush the Chickamauga Indians, and this was the second time he pledged his personal credit to equip an army, the first being in conjunction with John Sevier in borrowing money to equip the expedition to King's Mountain. In 1779 he was elected a member of the Virginia Leg- islature, and the same year appointed a Major by Governor Thomas Jefferson. In 1780, receiving the message from Col. Charles McDowell begging for aid against the enemy, Shelby raised two hundred men and engaged the enemy at Thicketty Fort, Cedar Springs, and Musgrove's Mill. These engagements led up to the Battle of King's Mountain, and the Colonel's part in that battle is shown in the chap- ter devoted to King's Mountain. The Legislature of North Carolina passed a resolution extending thanks and a sword to both Colonel Shelby and John Sevier. After King's Mountain, upon the request of General Greene, Shelby and Sevier took five hundred men to join the General and they participated in a number of engagements before returning to Tennessee. About this time he was elected a member of the North Carolina Legislature, and became a member of that body. In 1782 he was again elected a member of the North Carolina Legislature, and in 1783 he left Tennessee to make his home in Kentucky, where he lived until the time of his death. In April 1782, he married Susanna, the daughter of Captain Nathaniel Hart, and he settled near Stanford, Kentucky. He was a member of the first convention to secure the separation of Kentucky from Virginia, and in May, 1792, he was chosen as the first Governor of Kentucky, and served a four years' term. He was three times upon the Demo- cratic electoral ticket, and supported Thomas Jefferson. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 237 When the War of 1812 broke out, he was again elected as Governor. In recognition of their services to the country at the Battle of the Thames, the Congress of the United States voted a gold medal to Major General William Henry Har- rison and one to Isaac Shelby, and by resolution approved April 4, 1818: "Resolved that the thanks of Congress be and they are hereby presented to Major General William Henry Harri- son and Isaac Shelby, late Governor of Kentucky, and through them to the officers and men under their com- mand, for their gallantry and good conduct in defeating the combined British and Indian forces under Major Gen- eral Proctor on the Thames in Upper Canada on the 5th of October 1813, capturing the British Army with their baggage, camp equipage and artillery. And that the Pres- ident of the United States be requested to cause two gold medals to be struck, emblematical of this triumph and pre- sented to General Harrison, and Isaac Shelby, late Gov- ernor of Kentucky." In 1818 President James Monroe appointed him Sec- retary of War, but he declined to serve, on account of his age. In 1818 he was associated with Andrew Jackson as a Commissioner in treating with the Chickasaw Indians for the cession by them of West Tennessee, and his mis- sion was successful. He died on July 18, 1826. General Evan Shelby, Jr., fought as a Major in the regiment of his brother, Colonel Isaac Shelby, at the Bat- tle of King's Mountain, and received DePeyster's sword on his surrender. He served as a volunteer at the battle of the Cow Pens, and in 1781 under his brother in South Car- olina. He settled on Red River where Clarksville is now located, and on January 18, 1793, he was killed by the In- dians while in a boat on the river. Phelan records that Evan Shelby, Jr., was made Brigadier General of the North Carolina Militia, and the problem of settling the trouble in- cident to the rise of the State of Franklin was devolved upon him as a representative of North Carolina. He en- tered upon negotiations with Governor John Sevier, and on March 20, 1787, he and the Governor agreed upon ar- ticles of compromise which in effect recognized both the 238 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History State of Franklin and the State of North Carolina, in the territory west of the mountains. Captain Moses Shelby served as Captain in Colonel Isaac Shelby's regiment at King's Mountain, and was twice wounded in that battle, and he served at the siege of Sa- vannah, Ga., in 1779, and at the battle of the Cow Pens, and at the capture of Augusta in 1781. He settled in Mis- souri where he died on September 17, 1828, at the age of seventy-two. James Shelby was a captain in the command of Gen- eral George Rogers Clarke, and was killed by the Indians. General Evan Shelby Sr.'s wife, Mrs. Letitia Shelby, died seventeen years before her husband, and there is no positive information whether General Shelby married again, but the tradition is that he did, after his children were all grown, and moved away to various States. It is rare in American history to find a man giving not only his own services, but those of four sons in the mili- tary service of his country, but that is what General Shel- by did. At the Battle of King's Mountain there were seven Seviers engaged on the side of the mountain men. This, the record of the' Seviers, is probably unparalleled in the history of the country. THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE SEVIERS AND THE SHELBYS. One of the things in our early history that we love to linger over is the long unbroken friendship between the Sevier and Shelby families. Those early days constitute the heroic era in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina, and the task before the leaders called forth mar- velous courage, patience, patriotism and devotion — every great and lofty quality human nature can exhibit under circumstances of danger, terror, blood and slaughter. Twin jewels in Tennessee's history are the two families named, and never, in all the records of men, have any families shown more resplendently every quality that both exalts and adorns human nature. While General Evan Shelby, Sr., was twenty-five years older than John Sevier, they were personal friends in Vir- ginia, before either of them moved to Tennessee, and both Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 239 were Captains in the Virginia line. It was upon Shelby's invitation that Sevier came to King's Meadows at Bris- tol, Shelby's home, and this visit led to Sevier's becoming a citizen of Tennessee. In 1772, General Shelby, Isaac Shelby and John Sevier went on horseback to the Watauga, to the home of James Robertson, and that was the first time either of the three had met Robertson, and they were en- tertained at his home. At this time General Shelby was past fifty years of age, Isaac was twenty-one and John Sevier twenty-six. When Samuel Phillips bore Major Patrick Ferguson's war-like message to Isaac Shelby, it was John Sevier that Shelby rode forty or fifty miles to see and consult and to devise ways and means to destroy Ferguson's forces. When the time came to fight the Battle of King's Moun- tain, and money had to be supplied to equip the expedition of the mountain men, it was John Sevier and Isaac Shelby who jointly made themselves responsible to John Adair, Entry-taker of Sullivan County, North Carolina, for $12,735, which Adair had in his possession, and which belonged to North Carolina, and which he loaned to Shelby and Sevier for the purpose of equipping the expedition. When Evan Shelby, Jr., had been appointed Brigadier- General of the North Carolina militia, and there had been put in his hands the delicate negotiations of making peace between North Carolina and the young State of Frank- lin, of which John Sevier was Governor, he and the Gov- ernor met at the house of Samuel Smith on March 20, 1787, and, old and faithful friends that they were, it did not take them long to agree upon a compromise that brought peace to the disturbed border. A critical search of the lives of the Seviers and the Shelbys in every available source of information fails to discover the slightest trace of antagonism, jealousy, or rivalry, or, anything but loyal friendship through years of warfare and danger that were capable of testing the iron in the make-up of the best of men; and hence it is that in the Pantheon of Tennessee's good and great and strong, in the Hall of our Immortals, where we transmit their 240 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History memory to the posterity of all coming years, we can, in the swelling pride of a great Commonwealth, proclaim to the world our exultation in the records which the Seviers and Shelbys gave to the history of the world in what was then the outpost of civilization in the valley of East Tennessee. s-S a .A S a ■S • ■"3 .S Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 241 CHAPTER XVI. KING'S MOUNTAIN AND ITS BATTLE. It was a significant inscription on the monument erect- ed by the three Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution at Sycamore Shoals, commemorating the as- sembling of the mountain men there to cross the Unakas to fight Ferguson. It must have been a very animated and interesting scene on that September v25th, 1780. It is im- possible to tell just how many persons were there. It would be very entertaining to know all that was done by the as- sembled soldiers and citizens. It must go without saying that the dress of both the women and the men was a pioneer dress of make and fabric. There must have been shoeing of horses, and final consultations between friends and fam- ilies, and numbers of women and children and horses and dogs, and great bustle and animation over the departure. The Watauga River which this assemblage was to render historical in the annals of Tennessee flowed by. Roane Mountain was in the distance; and stretching away is the beautiful Watauga Valley. The fort is there, and John Sevier on a fine horse, such as he always rode, and ''Bon- nie Kate," and the Reverend Samuel Doak, in his white stockings, and, let us hope, minus that intolerable skull- cap with which his appearance has been disfigured in the picture that has come down to us. Nowhere on earth is a September morning more divinely perfect than at Syca- more Shoals, in Carter County, Tennessee, and nowhere has nature more lavishly poured out her beauties. Isaac Shelby has done his part, and has brought two hundred and forty men, John Sevier has brought two hun- dred and forty men, and Colonel Campbell has brought two hundred men, and before the grand start was made for the mountains, the glad spectacle was observed of Arthur Campbell coming with two hundred more from Washing- ton County, Virginia. There were about one hundred and sixty of Colonel McDowell's men there. These mountain men were not troubled with baggage; each man's entire 242 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History equipment was a blanket, a tin cup, a wallet of parched corn meal mixed with maple sugar, and now and then a man had a skillet or a bowie knife. The weapon was the Deckard rifle with its thirty-inch barrel. It was on Tues- day, the 26th of September, 1780, that the Reverend Sam- uel Doak made some stirring remarks, such as would be ex- pected upon a war-like occasion like that, and which he closed with the words of the quotation on the D. A. R. monument, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.'.' A few beeves were started with the march as food for the army. But how came these men to assemble at Sycamore Shoals? To answer this question we must advert to one Patrick Ferguson, who signed his official communications, "Major 71st Regiment," and who was in the service of His Majesty George III, King of the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland and Defender of the Faith. Major Ferguson mistakenly assumed that a threat made by him would strike terror to the hearts of the mountain men in the western country, and accordingly he sent a prisoner, one of the mountain men, Samuel Phillips by name, and a relative of Colonel Isaac Shelby, to take a message to the men of the western waters of Watauga, Nollachucky, and the Holston, and that message was about as bloody and warlike as words could make it. He instruct- ed Phillips to say that "if they did not desist from their opposition to the British arms, he would march his army over the mountains and hang their leaders, and lay their country waste with fire and sword." But this threat wrought results that Major Ferguson was far from ex- pecting. Instead of striking terror, it aroused the lion in the men of the mountains. Instead of humbly submitting, they determined not only to cross the mountains, but to kill Ferguson and to exterminate Jiis army, and they did both. Samuel Phillips, the bearer of the message, will live as long as the memory of Ferguson lives who sent it, and as long as the memory of Isaac Shelby lives who received it. Phillips lived near Isaac Shelby, and of course went direct to him to report Major Ferguson's words, and Shel- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 243 by at once started on horseback on a trip of forty or fifty miles to a horse race near Jonesboro to see John Sevier, and with him to concert measures that were to be carried out. Shelby wrote in 1823 : "I went fifty or sixty miles to see Colonel Sevier, who was the efficient Commander of Washington Coun- ty, North Carolina, and to inform him of the mes- sage I had received, and to concert with him measures for our defense. After some consultation we deter- mined to march with all the men we could raise, and to attempt to surprise Ferguson by attacking him in his camp, or at any rate, before he was prepared for us. We accordingly appointed a time and place of rendezvous. "It was known to us that some two or three hundred of the militia had been under the command of Colonel Mc- Dowell, and were driven by the success of the enemy from the lower country and were then on the western waters, and mostly in the County of Washington, North Carolina. I saw some of their officers before we parted ; Colonel Se- vier engaged to give notice to these refugees, and to bring them into our measure. On my part I undertook to pro- cure the aid and co-operation of Colonel William Campbell of Washington County, Virginia, and the men of that coun- ty, if practicable." Colonel Shelby does not state, nor is it of any historical value to know, which of the two suggested that they should not wait for Ferguson to come to the western waters, but that they go across the mountains and whip him on his own ground. We do know that Shelby went to the horse- race and concerted with Sevier measures for the common defense, and that taking the aggressive, and carrying the fight to Ferguson was the result of the conference. If we were left to guess at the matter, we would probably guess that Sevier was the one who first made the sugges- tion to go after Ferguson. We know that Sevier intro- duced into America the tactics of quick, sharp, decisive assault, not waiting for the enemy to come, but going after the enemy before he arrived; in this kind of warfare he shines as one of the greatest figures in the military annals of any country. His counterpart was Napoleon's Marshal, Murat, who never waited for an enemy to come to him. It was a bold thing for the mountain men to stake their skill, courage, and endurance against Major Fergu- 244 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History son's well-trained and well-equipped force, but they did not hesitate a moment, and after the force arrived in North Carolina, within striking distance of Ferguson, when the officers directed that any man who did not wish to enter the fight should step to the rear, not a man moved, not one declined to fight. On the trip across the mountains, there were two deserters, James Crawford and Samuel Cham- bers, from whom Ferguson obtained the information that it would "be unnecessary for him to go after the moun- tain men, that they were coming after him, and that he must fight on the defensive, and not on the aggressive. It must be borne in mind that not a man who went to King's Mountain was paid for his service or expected any pay. North Carolina's conduct with the western people excites almost any sentiment except admiration and re- spect. The mountain men went simply because they did not propose to yield allegiance to George III, and Patrick Ferguson was George Ill's representative, and they made up their minds that Patrick Ferguson should die ; but some- body had to feed the army and provide equipment, and here again, as in many other instances, the grand lib- erality and patriotism of John Sevier and Isaac Shelby showed itself. John Adair was Entry-taker in Sullivan County and had in his official possession $12,735.00, which belonged to the State of North Carolina. Sevier applied to him for the money, and guaranteed that he and Isaac Shelby would be bound for its repayment. Adair's answer was worthy of the man and of the occasion. The money in his hands was practically all the money there was in that territory. He said to Sevier: "Colonel Sevier, I have no right to make any such disposition of this money; it belongs to the impoverished treasury of North Carolina, but if the country is overrun by the British, liberty is gone — let the money go too. Take it. If by its use the enemy is driven from the country, I can trust that country to jus- tify and vindicate my conduct — take it." This money was repaid, just as any one would expect who knew Isaac Shel- by and John Sevier, and the historian of Tennessee, Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, ran across the receipt in a deserted house in Knoxville: Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 245 "Received January 31st, 1782, of Mr. John Adair, En- try-taker in the County of Sullivan, $12,735.00, which is placed to his credit on the Treasury books. "Per Robert Lanier, 12,735 Dollars. "Treas. Salisbury Dist." The history of two British officers always generates a profound interest in American readers : one General Pack- enham, who met his death at the hands of Andrew Jack- son's soldiers at the Battle of New Orleans, and the other Major Patrick Ferguson, in His Majesty's service at King's Mountain. Patrick Ferguson was a Scotchman, born in Aberdeen- shire in 1744, entered the British Army as a cornet at the age of fifteen, serving in the wars of Flanders and of Ger- many, saw active duty, and always acquitted himself as a gallant and determined soldier. He was a military man by nature and preference, and a bright, intellectual man, capable of honoring the profession of arms. He served a while at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and while in America he heard a great deal of the skill of Americans in the use of the rifle. Being a man of inventive genius, he invented a breechloading rifle with which he could shoot with more precision than with the old kind. He was a fine marksman, and ranked as one of the best, if not the very best, in the British Army, and was equally skilful in the use of the rifle or the pistol. He gave exhibitions of his skill and ac- curacy in shooting. He was sent to America to take part in the Revolutionary War in 1777, and joined the Brit- ish Army under Sir Henry Clinton, and participated in the Battle of Brandywine. In personal appearance he was not commanding, being of middle stature, and of slender make, but he seems to have had great personal magnetism. He was a born command- er and absolutely fearless. In all the history of battles no commander ever behaved more gallantly than did Ferguson at the Battle of King's Mountain, and while succeeding generations rejoice that he was defeated, there are none, we take it, but who sincerely admire his conduct on that battlefield. When Colonel Shelby wrote his first letter to Colonel William Campbell of Washington County, Virginia, ask- 246 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ing him to join in the expedition that he and Sevier had agreed upon, Colonel Campbell declined. Colonel Shelby's letter was sent by his brother, Captain Moses Shelby, who also brought the answer. Campbell said that he was going to the southern border of Virginia to oppose the advance of Lord Cornwallis when he moved from North Carolina into the State of Virginia. Shelby immediately wrote a second letter to Campbell, and sent this by the same messenger, Captain Moses Shel- by, and at the same time, he wrote a letter to Colonel Ar- thur Campbell, a brother-in-law of Colonel William Camp- bell, informing him of what Ferguson had threatened to do, and telling of Colonel McDowell and his party being driven from North Carolina, and compelled to take refuge with the mountain men in East Tennessee. The two Camp- bells conferred on the gravity of the situation, and agreed that they would co-operate with Shelby and Sevier, and they sent a message to Colonel Cleveland of Wilkes County, North Carolina, to inform him that the western men were coming. In the fight at King's Mountain, the Seviers and the Shelbys did their full part. Seven Seviers took part in the battle. John Sevier had two sons, Joseph, the oldest who was about eighteen years old, and James, his second son, who was sixteen years of age, lacking from the 7th to the 25th of October, both privates; he also had four brothers. Captain Valentine Sevier, and Captain Robert Sevier, who was shot in battle and died on the way home, and Abra- ham and Joseph Sevier, both privates. Colonel Shelby had two brothers, Major Evan Shelby and Captain Moses Shel- by in the battle. Captain Shelby was wounded. The battle was fought on October 7th, 1780, in the af- ternoon, and just one week before that, namely, on Octo- ber 1st, 1780, Major Ferguson, who evidently was becom- ing a little nervous about whether he could successfully repulse the mountain men, issued an address as follows : "To the Inhabitants of North Carolina : "Denard's Ford, Broad River, "Tryon County, October 1, 1780. "Gentlemen : Unless you wish to be eaten up by an in- undation of barbarians, who have begun by murdering an Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 247 unarmed son before the aged father, and afterwards lopped off his arms, and who by their shocking cruelties and ir- regularities give the best proof of their cowardice and want of discipline — I say, if you wish to be pinioned, robbed and murdered, and see your wives and daughters in four days abused by the troops of mountain men — in short, if you wish, or deserve to live, and bear the name of men, grasp your arms in a moment and run to camp. "The Back Water men have crossed the mountain; Mc- Dowell, Hampton, Shelby and Cleveland are at their head, so that you know what you have to depend upon. If you choose to be degraded forever and ever by a set of mon- grels, say so at once, and let your women turn their backs upon you, and look out for real men to protect them. 'Tat. Ferguson, Major 71st Regiment." We cannot endorse everything that Major Ferguson sets out in his communication, but we must admit that in his capacity for using striking phrases, and appealing to the fears of men, he had very pronounced efficiency. Another evidence that Ferguson was not certain of vic- tory against the mountain men is that on Friday morning October 6, he sent an appeal to Lord Cornwallis at "Char- lotte for help : "My dear Lord : A doubt does not remain with regard to the intelligence I sent Your Lordship. They are since joined by Clark and Sumter, and of course are become an object of some consequence. Happily their leaders are obliged to feed their forces with such hopes and so to flatter them with accounts of our weakness and fear that if necessary, I should hope for success, but, numbers compared, that must be doubtful. "I am on my march toward you, my route leading from Cherokee Ford north of King's Mountain. Three or four hundred good soldiers, part dragoons, would finish the business. Something must be done soon. This is their last push in this quarter, etc. "Patrick Ferguson." When the mountain men were within a mile or two of King's Mountain, a boy by the name of John Pounder, was met, riding in great haste, and, upon suspicion of his mission, was captured and searched, and upon him was found a dispatch from Ferguson to Lord Cornwallis, in- dicating anxiety as to his situation, and calling for help 248 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History to be sent him as soon as possible. This boy told the moun- tain men that Ferguson was wearing a checked shirt or duster, over his uniform. For some reason not explained, Ferguson changed his course and instead of joining Cornwallis at Charlotte, took his position on the top of King's Mountain, to await the coming of the mountain men, and he there made some very vigorous boasts about the force and power it would take to drive him from that mountain. An English military critic said that King's Mountain was a strong position to defend with a bayonet, and a weak position to defend with a rifle. The top of the mountain was without trees, and Ferguson's army, therefore, was vis- ible from all sides. The slopes leading to the top were heavily timbered, and the mountain men could shoot from behind trees, and have ample protection, and this fact is the key to their success in the fight. Ferguson was ac- customed to rely upon the bayonet, and his men made some brilliant bayonet charges down the sides of the mountain, but were unable to end the battle in that way. The moun- tain men picked his men off, one by one, until finally their strength was so depleted that they were able to make a charge up the sides and gain a footing on the top, from which they could meet the British face to face and man to man. It is not the purpose here to give a detailed descrip- tion of the battle, which has been very ably done by L. C. Draper and Theodore Roosevelt. The purpose here is to lay before the reader those conditions leading up to the bat- tle, and conditions at the battle, which made victory pos- sible for the mountain men, in the face of the location of Ferguson's force, which seemed to be absolutely invulner- able. The number of men engaged on the two sides cannot be stated with absolute accuracy. Among the mountain men it was probably from nine hundred to nine hundred and fifty, and Major Ferguson's force was something like eleven hundred. But this nine hundred to nine hundred and fifty men did not constitute all of the available forces the moun- tain men had. At Quaker Meadows, the home of Colonel Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 249 Charles McDowell, three hundred and fifty North Carolina militia under Colonel Benjamin Cleveland joined the moun- tain forces. COL. BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. Colonel Cleveland was a rough pioneer with kindly instincts, if let alone, but in the acrid warfare between Whig and Tory in North Carolina, he being an uncompro- mising Whig leader, led a perilous life, and if written in full his life would make very interesting reading. Like Ajax, the son of Telamon, he did not know r what fear was. He was more than six feet in height, and at the Battle of King's Mountain he weighed two hundred and fifty pounds, and had immense physical strength and power. He was a dead shot with a rifle, rode a horse well, and while he had little education, he was a man of naturally strong mind. His hatred of Royalists and Tories was unrestrained, and amounted to a consuming passion. He and his Whig friends, during the short period of the domination of Royalists and Tories in North Carolina, suffered much, and the iron en- tered their souls deep ; and when it came the time of him and the Whigs to wreak vengeance, there was no limit to his ferocity. Like all family quarrels and civil wars, the strife between Whig and Tory in North Carolina was the very bitterest. Murders, house-burnings, destruction of stock, cropping of ears, and every species of cruelty and recrimination were indulged in. There were fine streaks in Colonel Cleveland, rough and extreme as he frequently was. History has generally given the verdict that he did not give his enemies very much worse than they tried to give him. For a number of years before he died he became so large and unwieldy that he could not mount a horse, and he died while eating his breakfast, in October, 1806, in his sixty-ninth year. His daughter married General Thom- as J. Rusk who was a United States Senator from Texas for ten years. Colonel Cleveland is buried on his old plan- tation in North Carolina. BITTERNESS BETWEEN WHIGS AND TORIES. Ordinarily when soldiers fight in battle there is no per- sonal ill will between the contending forces, therefore, kill- 250 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ing a man in battle has never been considered murder in its usually accepted meaning; but at the Battle of King's Mountain, the element of personal hatred and ill will en- tered the contest everywhere, and men fought and killed because they personally hated and wanted to kill the op- posing forces. In "Horse Shoe Robinson" John P. Kennedy gives a vivid picture of this personal animosity at the battle: "All hopes of escape being thus at an end, a white flag was displayed in token of submission, and the remnant of Ferguson's late proud and boastful army, now amounting to between eight and nine hundred men, surrendered to the assailants. "It has scarcely ever happened that a battle has been fought in which the combatants met with keener individ- ual exasperations than in this. The mortal hatred which embittered the feelings of Whig and Tory along this bor- der here vented itself in the eagerness of conflict, and gave the impetus to every blow that was struck — rendering the fight from beginning to end relentless, vindictive and bloody. The remembrance of the thousand cruelties prac- ticed by the Royalists during the brief Tory dominion to which my narrative has been confined, was fresh in the minds of the hardy men of the mountains who had pur- sued their foe with such fierce animosity to this, his last stage. Everyone had some wrong to tell, and burned with an unquenchable rage of revenge. It was therefore with a yell of triumph that they saw the symbol of submission raised aloft by the enemy, and for a space the forest rang with their loud and reiterated huzzas. "Many brave men fell on either side. Upon the slopes of the mountain, and upon its summit the bodies of the dead and dying lay scattered among the rocks, and the fee- ble groans of the wounded mingled with the fierce tones of exultation from the living. "The Whigs sustained a grievous loss in Colonel Wil- liams, who had been struck down in the moment of victory. He was young, ardent, and brave ; and his many soldierlike virtues combined with a generous, amiable temper had ren- dered him a cherished favorite with the army. His death served still more to increase the exacerbation of the con- querers against the conquered. "The sun was yet an hour high when the battle was done. The Whigs were formed in two lines on the ridge of the Mountain, and the prisoners, more numerous than their captors, having laid down their arms were drawn Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 251 up in detached columns on the intervening ground. There were many sullen and angry glances exchanged during this period of suspense between victors and vanquished ; it was with a fearful rankling of inward wrath that many of the Whigs detected in the columns of the prisoners some of their bitterest persecutors." On October 6th it was concluded that there should be selected picked men who were well mounted, and who had the best rifles, and nine hundred and ten were chosen, and, shortly after nine o'clock at night started on an all night ride to get Ferguson, and some footmen followed the horse- men, and reached King's Mountain in time to take part in the battle, making probably nine hundred and fifty men alto- gether in the battle. There was not a bayonet in the ranks of the mountain men. The battle began at about three o'clock in the afternoon, and the period of its duration is variously given from fifty to sixty-five minutes. Ferguson had two horses killed under him, and his last move before he dropped from his horse was directely toward a portion of Colonel John Sevier's men, and he thus became a clear mark for their guns, and several fired, when he fell from his horse with six or seven bullets in him. Gilleland was one of Se- vier's men, and had been shot when he saw Ferguson ad- vancing, and tried to kill him, but his gun snapped, and he called out to Robert Young of the same regiment, "There's Ferguson — shoot him!" "I'll try and see what Sweet-Lips can do," replied Young as he drew his rifle, taking sharp aim and fired. A number of Sevier's men claimed the honor of having killed Ferguson, and it is very likely that they all told the truth, from the number of bullets that entered him. It seems to be absolutely certain that he was killed while he was in the region of Sevier's men. One Robert Young was grantee, owner and resident of the land now the Reservation of the Mountain Branch Na- tional Soldiers' Home, just west of Johnson City, and the probability is that he was the same Robert Young who shot Major Ferguson. In the official report it was given that in the battle 28 Americans were killed, 60 wounded. Ramsey places Fer- guson's losses at 225 killed, 180 wounded, 700 taken pris- 252 AndreV Jackson and Early Tennessee History oner, and 1,500 stands of arms, and horses and wagons load- ed with supplies. THE DRESS OF THE MOUNTAIN MEN. The modern military leader, accustomed to the equip- ment of our day, would look with unfeigned interest upon a regiment of men clad in the attire of the mountain men that fought and won at King's Mountain. They would look very curious with their coonskin caps, or an old hat with a buektail around it, and with a rifle, and, it may be, a toma- hawk or a scalping knife. The trappings of their horses — where they had trappings — might have been stained with some glaring color, like red or yellow, and the hunting shirt which was worn by both officers and men, probably had fringes about it or was tasseled, and was gathered at the waist by some kind of ornamental belt. Undeniably they were picturesque. And equally certain it is that this costume, so highly prized by our pioneer ancestors, has passed away, and is to be met with only in old pictures and engravings of that early day. Ramsey quotes from Mr. Custis an interesting photograph of the hunting shirt: ''The hunting shirt, the emblem of the Revolution, is now banished from the national military, but still lin- gers among the hunters and pioneers of the Far West. This national costume was adopted in the outset of the Revolu- tion and was recommended by Washington to the Army in the most eventful period of the War of Independence. It was a favorite garb with many of the officers of the line. The British beheld these sons of the mountain and the for- est thus attired, with wonder and admiration. Their hardy looks, their tall, athletic forms, their marching in Indian file with the light and noiseless step peculiar to their pur- suit of woodland game, but, above all, to European eyes, their singular and picturesque costume, the hunting shirt, with its fringes, wampum belts, leggins and moccasins, the tomahawk and knife; these, with the well known death- dealing aim of these matchless marksmen, created, in the European military, a degree of awe and respect for the hunting shirt which lasted with the War of the Revolution. And should not Americas feel proud of the garb, and hail it as national, in which their fathers endured such toil and privation in the mighty struggle for independence — the march across the wilderness — the triumphs of Saratoga Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 253 and King's Mountain? But a little while, and of a truth, the hunting shirt, the venerable emblem of the Revolution, will have disappeared from among the Americans, and will be found only in museums, like ancient armour, exposed to the gaze of the curious." Dr.Ramsey wrote his "Annals of Tennessee" in 1852, and he tells us that the hunting shirt, while largely gone out of use, was still worn in his day. He says : "In Tennessee, the hunting shirt is still worn by the vol- unteer, and occasionally forms the costume of the elite corps of a battalion or regiment. It once constituted, very commonly, a part of the citizen's dress. It is now seldom seen in private life, though admirably adapted to the come- liness, convenience and comfort of the farmer, hunter and pedestrian. In all of the early campaigns of the West and in the war of 1812, the soldiery uniformly wore it. Many of them did so in the war with Mexico, but the volunteer's hunting shirt is evidently going out of use." THE RETURN HOME. After the battle was over, the mountain men feared pursuit by Lord Cornwallis, and on the next day they start- ed on the return trip home, loaded down with the care of seven or eight hundred prisoners and all the arms and military plunder captured from Ferguson. The prisoners and the plunder were started to a place of safety in Vir- ginia. Sevier and the Tennesseans began the march across the mountains. Campbell, Shelby and Cleveland passed through Hillsboro, North Carolina, where General Gates had his headquarters, and to him they made the official re- port of the battle, and signed it, and it will be observed how free the report is from apportioning the honors of the victory to any one of the Colonels in the fight: OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE BATTLE. "A Statement of the proceedings of the Western Army from the 25th of September, 1780, to the reduction of Major Ferguson, and the army under his command. "On receiving intelligence that Major Ferguson had ad- vanced as high up as Gilbert Town, in Rutherford County, and threatened to cross the mountains to the Western wa- ters, Col. William Campbell with four hundred men from 254 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Washington County, of Virginia; Col. Isaac Shelby, with two hundred and forty men from Sullivan County, North Carolina, and Lieutenant-Colonel John Sevier, with two hundred and forty men from Washington County, North Carolina, assembled at Watauga on the 25th of Septem- ber, where they were joined by Col. Charles McDowell, with one hundred and sixty men from the counties of Burke and Eutherford, who had fled before the enemy to the West- ern waters. "We began our march on the 26th, and on the 30th we were joined by Col. Cleveland, on the Catawba River, with three hundred and fifty men from the counties of Wilkes and Surry. No one officer having properly the right to the commander-in-chief, on the first of October we despatched an express to Major General Gates, informing him of our situation, and requesting him to send a general officer to take command of the whole. In the meantime, Col. Camp- bell was chosen to act as commandant till such general offi- cer should arrive. "We reached the Cow Pens on the Broad River in South Carolina, where we were joined by Col. James Williams, on the evening of the 6th October, who informed us that the enemy lay encamped somewhere near the Cherokee Ford of Broad River, about thirty miles distant from us. By a council of the principal officers, it was then thought advis- able to pursue the enemy that night with nine hundred of the best horsemen, and leave the weak horses and footmen to follow as fast as possible. We began our march with nine hundred of the best men about eight o'clock the same evening, marched all night, and came up with the enemy about three o'clock, p. m. of the 7th, who lay encamped on the top of King's Mountain, twelve miles north of the Cherokee Ford, in the confidence that they could not be forced from so advantageous a post. Previous to the at- tack, in our march, the following disposition was made : "Col. Shelby's regiment formed a column in the center on the left; Col. Campbell's another on the right; part of Col. Cleveland's, headed by Major Winston and Col. Se- vier's, formed a large column on the right wing; the other part of Col. Cleveland's regiment composed the left wing. In this order we advanced, and got within a quarter of a mile of the enemy before we were discovered. Col. Shelby's and Col. Campbell's regiment began the attack, and kept up a fire on the enemy while the right and left wings were advancing forward to surround them. The engagement lasted an hour and five minutes, the greatest part of which time a heavy and incessant fire was kept up on both sides. Our men in some parts where the regulars fought, were Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 255 obliged to give way a small distance two or three times, but rallied and returned with additional ardour to the attack. The troops upon the right having gained the summit of the eminence, obliged the enemy to retreat along the top of the ridge where Col. Cleveland commanded, and were there stopped by his brave men. A flag was immediately hoisted by Captain Dupoister, the commanding officer, (Ma- jor Ferguson having been killed a little before) for a sur- render. Our fire immediately ceased, and the enemy laid down their arms — the greater part of them loaded — and surrendered themselves to us prisoners at discretion. It appears from their own provision returns for that day, found in their camp, that their whole force consisted of eleven hundred and twenty-five men, out of which they sustained the following loss: Of the regulars, one major, one captain, two lieutenants and fifteen privates killed, thir- ty-five privates wounded. Left on the ground, not able to march, two captains, four lieutenants, three ensigns, one surgeon, five sergeants ; three corporals, one drummer, and fifty-nine privates taken prisoners. "Loss of the tories, two colonels, three captains, and two hundred and one privates killed; one major and one hundred and twenty-seven privates wounded and left on the ground not able to march ; one colonel, twelve captains, elev- en lieutenants, two ensigns, one quartermaster, one adju- tant, two commissaries, eighteen sergeants and six hun- dred privates taken prisoners. Total loss of the enemy, eleven hundred and five men at King's Mountain. "Given under our hands at camp. "William Campbell, "The loss on our side — "Killed— 1 colonel, 1 major, 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, 4 ensigns, 19 privates. 28 total killed. "Wounded — 1 major, 3 captains, 3 lieutenants, 53 privates. 60 total wounded." Isaac Shelby, Benjamin Cleveland. 256 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History An incident in the battle which all Tennesseans and ad- mirers of the Sevier family should never forget, is the con- duct of young Joe Sevier, then about eighteen years old, who heard that his father, Colonel John Sevier, had been killed in battle, which report doubtless arose and was circu- lated because Captain Robert Sevier had been shot, and finally died. Joe kept firing on Ferguson's men when prac- tically everybody else had stopped, and some of the soldiers told him to stop, and Joe replied with tears running down his cheeks : "The damn rascals have killed my father, and I'll keep on shooting until I kill every of of them." Colonel t Sevier, about that time, came up, and his son dis- covered the mistake and ran up and threw his arms around his father's neck, and, of course, did not shoot any more. Another incident which occurred after the battle, and which will interest North Carolinians generally, and espe- cially those who had ancestors in the fight, was the ride of twelve miles of Margaret Ewart Adams on an unruly stal- lion to the battlefield of King's Mountain in search of her husband, William Adams, who fought in the American army. She was the great-great-grandmother of Miss Mar- garet Gist, Historian of King's Mountain Chapter, Daugh- ters of the American Revolution, of York, South Carolina. Mrs. Adams and William Adams were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians and Whigs to the core. The day of the bat- tle, she being at home alone with only one colored servant, and knowing of the engagement, was, of course, very much concerned for the safety of her husband. Failing to re- ceive any news that day of the result of the battle, her anxiety increased to such an extent that the next morning she resolved to go to King's Mountain, twelve miles dis- tant. She had the old negro servant on the place to saddle the only riding animal left, the balance of the stock having been hid in the swamp to put them out of the way of the Tories, and this animal was a stallion which she had the courage and determination to ride, and did ride, to the battlefield ; and to her great joy she there found her hus- band safe and unhurt. With other good women of the neigh- borhood she proceeded to do all that was in her power to help take care of the wounded. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 257 This dangerous and picturesque ride of this fearless and patriotic North Carolina woman deserves a better fate than to pass into oblivion, and it is introduced here not only to attempt to memorialize her and her ride, but to add a touch of attractive color to the narrative of the events of that day which so profoundly concerned both North Caro- lina and Tennessee. THE STORM YEARS AFTER. On July 1st, 1822, Colonel George W. Sevier published in the Nashville Gazette four letters written by Colonel Isaac Shelby to Governor John Sevier which touched upon the battle of King's Mountain, and Colonel Campbell's part in that battle, and these letters, doubtless without such an in- tention on the part of Colonel Sevier, raised a storm, and entered into the politics of the day in the State of Ken- tucky. The controversy that arose from the letters is in- teresting historically. On January 1, 1880, Colonel Shelby wrote to Governor Sevier the first letter in reference to King's Mountain, in which he said: "The Legislature of Virginia, shortly after the defeat of Ferguson upon King's Mountain in 1780, voted an ele- gant horse and sword to be presented to Colonel William Campbell as a testimony of the approbation which his coun- try bore towards him on account of the part that he had borne in that memorable affair. The horse was delivered to him, but owing to neglect or some other cause, the sword was not presented to him before he died. I am lately in- formed that the friends of Colonel Campbell not long since have made application to the Legislature of that State for the sword — that they voted the sum of 1,500 crowns for the purchase of the most elegant sw r ord that could be procured in France, and through our Minister in Paris a most su- perb sword was obtained which was presented by the gov- ernment of Virginia to young John Preston, a grandson of Colonel Campbell, as an honorable reward due to the mem- ory of his ancestor. "Now, sir, what did Campbell merit more than you and I did? It is a fact well known, and for which .he apologized to me the day after the action, that he was not within less than a quarter of a mile of the enemy at the time they surrendered to you and myself. But I do not mean to de- 258 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History tract from the honors of the dead, yet it is a fact I have told to many, both before and since his death." On February 24th, 1810, Colonel Shelby wrote a second letter to Governor Sevier in which he said : "At the time I wrote to you on this subject I had but just heard of the fine sword given by the State of Virginia to a descendant of the late Colonel Campbell, and for a moment I felt a degree of indignation and resentment that my country had attributed the achievement of the victory of King's Mountain to a man who had little share in the action, and it determined me to address a letter to you on the occasion. * * * It may be fairly stated that the great body of the men that crossed the mountains on that expedition were raised and embodied by your and my own united exertions." On August 12, 1812, Colonel Shelby, being at that time a candidate for Governor of Kentucky, wrote a third letter to Governor Sevier in w T hich he said : "I shall be elected Governor by a majority of at least ten thousand votes. Among other falsehoods that were cir- culated against me, it was said that I was not in the ac- tion at King's Mountain, and by some that I was only a Lieutenant, or some inferior officer on that occasion, and this story had gained some credit among better informed people. The object of this letter is to request you to be so obliging as to state to me in a letter as early as con- venient, the station in which I commanded in the expedi- tion against Ferguson. You know that the expedition was concerted by you and myself and that it took some address to induce Campbell and his men to join us." The publication of these letters aroused the descendants of Colonel Campbell and they made answer in the public prints of the day, and a newspaper controversy followed, and each side produced statements from survivors of the King's Mountain battle, which were duly given to the public. In April 1823, Colonel Shelby published a pamphlet re- viewing the controversy in full, and made the additional charge as follows : "About ten o'clock on the day after the battle I was standing alone about forty yards south of the spot where Colonel Campbell came to me after the surrender, enjoy- ing the warmth of the sun — for I had been very wet the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 259 day before, and was exposed to the cold dew of the moun- tains all night — when I saw Colonel Campbell leave the line of guards that surrounded the prisoners and walk slowly toward me, with his sword under his arm, till he came near touching me; he then in a lower tone of voice than usual, and with a slight smile on his countenance made the fol- lowing expression : 'Sir, I cannot account for my conduct in the latter part of the action.' " In a letter to Colonel Shelby dated January 17, 1810, Governor Sevier said : "It is true Colonel Campbell was not within one-quarter of a mile when the enemy surrendered to yourself and me. Without detracting from the merits of Colonel Campbell, there were other officers in the battle of King's Mountain that merited as much notice from their country as himself." In another letter dated August 27, 1812, to Colonel Shel- by Governor Sevier said: "It is well known you were in the heat of the action. I frequently saw you animating your men to victory; at the surrender you were the first field officer I recollect to have seen. I have no doubt you must recollect Colonel Campbell was some considerable distance from that place at that time, and that you and myself spoke on that subject the same evening." Further details of the controversy need not be given, and the reader who is curious enough to pursue it further can do so in the different histories written of King's Moun- tain. That a controversy of this kind would raise a very active and even virulent quarrel goes without saying, and so this one turned out to be. 260 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XVII. KING'S MOUNTAIN YEARS AFTERWARD. The Battle of King's Mountain was fought on Saturday, October 7, 1780, and the Americans on Sunday began their march homeward; there was little time, therefore, for the burial of the dead and caring for the wounded. There were two very urgent reasons why they started so soon on their journey: the first was, that for two days and nights they had had very little to eat, neither horses nor men, and the second, the news that Colonel Tarleton was on his way, and they were not ready for a second battle. For the disposal of the many dead, pits were dug and the slain placed in them, with blankets thrown over them, and covered with earth, the work of burial for both American and British being very hurriedly performed; and besides that, some of the bodies were not found and therefore not buried at all; as a result, the smell of flesh and blood soon attracted wolves to King's Mountain where they had access to the unburied bodies and scratched up those that were depos- ited in the shallow graves; vultures began to scent the bodies, and they came and took part with the wolves, and history records that long after that men hunting wolves went to King's Mountain. Knowing these conditions it is not sur- prising that everybody except the wolf hunter avoided King's Mountain, and that it grew to be a heavily wooded, avoided, deserted spot. The fact that human bones were there that had never had a burial, and others that had been scratched up by the wolves, was a barrier against its be- coming a place to visit. Major Ferguson was also buried on the mountain, and his remains lie there to-day, and in reference to his burial, Draper, who generally is the most thorough and accurate of all the historians of King's Mountain, gives a tradition of long standing: "It was probably where he was conveyed, and breathed his last, that he was buried — on the southeastern declivity of the mountain, where his mortal remains, wrapped, not Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 261 in a military cloak, or hero's coffin, but in a raw beef hide, found a peaceful sepulture. "The tradition in that region has been rife for more than fifty years, that Ferguson had two mistresses with him, perhaps nominal cooks — both fine looking young wom- en. One of them, known as Virginia Sal, a red haired lady, it is related, was the first to fall in the battle, and was buried in the same grave with Ferguson, as some assert; or, as others have it, beside the British and Tory slain; while the other, Virginia Paul, survived the action; and after it was over, was seen to ride around the Camp as un- concerned as though nothing of unusual moment had hap- pened. She was conveyed with the prisoners at least as far as the Burke Court House, now Morganton, North Caro- lina, and subsequently sent to Lord Cornwallis' army." And so the situation remained for almost thirty-five years, until 1815, when Dr. William McLean, of Lincoln County, North Carolina, caused a day to be set apart and the human bones on the Mountain to be reinterred, and at his own expense caused a monument of dark slate rock to be erected which bore inscriptions which are now hardly legible as follows: On the east side: "Sacred to the memory of Major Wil- liam Chronicle, Captain John Mattocks, William Robb, and John Boyd, who were killed at this place on the 7th of Octo- ber, 1780, fighting in defense of America." On the west side: "Colonel Ferguson, an officer of his Brittanic Majesty, was defeated and killed at this place on the 7th of October, 1780." Dr. McLean made an address upon this occasion. In 1855, which was seventy-five years after the battle, a celebration was had commemorating the effect of the vic- tory there and its being universally considered the turning point of the American Revolution ; addresses were made by the Honorable George Bancroft, the American historian, and General John H. Preston. The King's Mountain Battleground Association in 1880 caused another monument to be erected. This association was composed of prominent patriotic citizens of both North and South Carolina. The cost of the monument was twenty- eight hundred dollars, of which the Legislature of North Carolina contributed one thousand dollars, and the Legis- 262 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History lature of South Carolina one thousand dollars, and the bal- ance was personal contributions. This Association also ac- quired the title to the battlefield, which contains thirty-nine and a half acres of land. The monument was unveiled on October 7, 1880, the one hundredth anniversary of the bat- tle. It is built of granite, with a base eighteen feet square, and a height of twenty-eight feet; the top of the shaft is two and one-half feet square, and is large enough to receive an addition, or to have erected upon it a statue. At the un- veiling, a Centennial celebration was held, where thousands of people assembled, and an address was made by the Hon- orable John W. Daniel, at one time Governor and United States Senator of Virginia, and poems read by Paul Ham- ilton Hayne and Mrs. Clara Dargan McLean. Sometime after this, Major A. H. White, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, caused a square granite pillar to be erected at his own expense, at the spot where Ferguson fell, and also provided a similar marker at the place where Ferguson was buried. CONGRESSIONAL MONUMENT. To King's Mountain Chapter, Daughters of the Amer- ican Revolution, of York, South Carolina, is due the credit for the erection of the thirty thousand dollar monument by the United States government on the King's Mountain bat- tlefield, which was completed and dedicated on Friday, October 8, 1909, one hundred and twenty-nine years and one day after the battle was fought. The following letter will be read with interest by the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution throughout the United States : MISS MARGARET A. GIST TO THE AUTHOR. "York, S. C, July 21, 1917. "Your letter requesting information and pictures of the King's Mountain monument erected in 1909 has been referred to me by Mr. A. S. Sally, the Secretary of our Historical Commission. I am the historian of the King's Mountain Chapter D. A. R., and shall take pleasure in giv- ing you the desired data. I am sending you by registered mail a postcard with some facts concerning the monument; Monuments on King's Mountain. 1. Granite pillar erected by Major A. H. White, Rock Hill, South Carolina, at his personal expense. 2. Centennial Monument erected by North and South Carolina and private individuals and unveiled October 7, 1880. 3. Monument erected by United States Congress and dedicated with imposing ceremonies in 1909. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 263 I send also a copy of the Yorkville Enquirer of October, 1909, giving a full account of the dedication of the monu- ment, copiously illustrated, with addresses by Dr. Snyder, Representatives Finley and Webb, et al. The idea of hav- ing the United States government erect this monument originated with the King's Mountain Chapter, and was car- ried out entirely through the untiring interest and efforts of Representative D. E. Finley of the Fifth Congressional District of South Carolina, and of Representative A. Y. Webb, of North Carolina. In the Enquirer Mr. Finley gives a history of the King's Mountain monument — a copy of which I send you — and there is also an address on "Three Great Battles." It may be of interest to state that Mr. Fin- ley was for eighteen years a representative of his District in Congress, and had been re-elected for the tenth term in August 1916, when his death occurred January 1917. He was my brother-in-law. I think you will find in the material sent all that you could find on the subject. The paper is a valuable historical document, and I am glad to be able to furnish you with a copy. "Very truly yours, "(Miss) Margaret A. Gist, "Historian King's Mountain Chapter D. A. R., York, S. C." Some time prior to 1903 one or more members of the King's Mountain Chapter, D. A. R., took up the matter with their Congressman, Honorable D. E. Finley, of pro- curing an appropriation from Congress to erect a monu- ment. On October 8, 1909, Congressman Finley made pub- lic in the Yorkville, S. C, Enquirer a full statement of how the movement to erect the Congressional monument was finally brought to a successful conclusion. He said : "The old King's Mountain Battleground Association had become disorganized, and it was necessary that the same be reorganized in order to perfect the title. The late Judge I. D. Witherspoon, one of the two or three survivors, took this matter in charge and the reorganization as car- ried out embraces in its membership the membership of the King's Mountain Chapter D. A. R., of Yorkville, South Carolina, the owners of the battlefield at this time. At the first session of the 58th Congress, after consultation with Representative E. Y. Webb of North Carolina, who has al- ways been greatly interested in all that pertains to the history of this most important battle, on February 8th, we prepared and introduced identical bills in the House of Rep- 264 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History resentatives. The bill introduced by me is numbered 11,958, and the one introduced by Mr. Webb is numbered 11,959. Mr. Speaker Cannon, while always friendly, could not see his way clear at that time to let the measure pass. So that nothing came of these bills in the 58th Congress. "In December 1905, the first session of the 59th Con- gress, identical bills were introduced by Representative Webb and myself. At the same time, there was pending in the House, two other bills, one for the erection of a mon- ument on the battlefield of Princeton, in the State of New T Jersey, and the other, a bill to provide a suitable memorial of the landing of the Pilgrims on Cape Cod. Speaker Can- non, after being importuned by the advocates of the three bills, finally promised that he would let these three bills pass. When I was asked by a member of the committee as to whether I wished the bill introduced by me, which was identical with that introduced by Mr. Webb, to be re- ported, I stated that Mr. Webb and myself were jointly interested, and had worked together, and while I had the right to have the bill introduced by me reported, for the reason that the battlefield, proper, was over the line in South Carolina, yet in order to be entirely fair, I sug- gested that the committee report a bill in the nature of a substitute for the bill introduced by Mr. Webb, and the one introduced by me. Accordingly this was done, and Repre- sentative Thomas, of North Carolina, a member of the Com- mittee on the Library, made the report, April 10th, 1906. The bill as reported carried thirty thousand dollars. The three bills mentioned were passed by unanimous consent at the first session of the 59th Congress. The bill for King's Mountain was called up by Mr. Webb." The mountain range called King's Mountain is ten or twelve miles long, and at the battlefield is not over seventy- five feet high. The foundation of the monument is a cube twenty-four feet each way, and the base is thirteen and one-half feet each way, and is of granite, and upon it stands a shaft eighty-four feet four inches high. There are four panels containing the names of those who spilled their blood in the battle, and they are as follows : East Panel: "Killed— Col. James Williams, Major Wil- liam Chronicle, Capt. Wm. Edmundson, Capt. Jno. Mattocks, 1st Lieut. Wm. Blackburn, 1st. Lieut. Reege Brown, 1st. Lieut. Robt. Edmundson, Jr., 2nd. Lieuts. John Beatie, James Carry, Nathaniel Dryden, Andrew Edmundson, Humberson Lyon, Nathaniel Gist, James Phillips, Privates Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 265 John Bicknell, John Boyd, John Brown, David Duff, Pres- ton Goforth, Henry Henigar, Michael Mahoney, Arthur Pat- terson, Wm. Rabb, John Smart, David Sisle, Wm. Steele, Wm. Watson, Unknown." "Mortally Wounded — Capt. Robt. Sevier, 1st. Lieut. Thos. McCullough, 2nd. Lieut. James Laird, Private Moses Henry." "Wounded — Lieut. Col. Frederick Hambright, Major Mician Lewis, Major James Porter, Captains James Dysart, Sam'l Estey, Minor Smith, 1st. Lieuts. Robt. Edmundson, Jr., Samuel Johnson, Samuel Newell, J. M. Smith, Privates Benoni Danning, Wm. Bradley, Wm. Bullen, Jno. Childers, John Chittem, Wm. Cox, John Fagon, Fredic Fisher, Wm. Giles, Gilleland, Wm. Gilmer, Chas. Gordon, Israel Hat- ter, Robt. Henry, Leonard Hyce, Jas. Kilcor, Robt. Miller, Wm. Moore, Patrick Murphey, Wm. Robertson, Jno. Skeggs, Thirty-six unknown." North Panel : On the north side the beautiful bronze tab- let bearing the following inscription: "To commemorate the victory of King's Mountain October 7th, 1780, erected by the government of the United States to the establishment of which heroism and patriotism of those who participated in this battle so largely contributed." South Panel: On the south, the beautiful bronze tablet containing an inscription in beautiful and well chosen words commemorative of the valor and patriotism of those en- gaged in this great struggle : "On this field the patriot forces commanded by Col. Wm. Campbell attacked and totally de- feated an equal force of Tories and British Regular Troops. The British Commander, Col. Patrick Ferguson, was killed and his entire force was captured after serving heavy loss. This brilliant victory marked the turning 'point of the Amer- ican Revolution." West Panel: On the w r est side a beautiful bronze tablet perpetuating the history of the commanders of the forces, and the localities from which their brave followers were as- sembled, and the commanders of each: "American forces, where organized : "Washington County, Virginia, Col. Wm. Campbell. "Washington County, N. C, (now Tennessee) , Col. Jno. Sevier. "Sullivan County, N. C, Col. Isaac Shelby. 266 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "Ninety-Six District, S. C, and Rowan County, N. C, Col. James Williams. "Wilkes and Surrey Counties, N. C, Col. Benjamin Cleveland and Major Joseph Winston. "Lincoln County, N. C, Lieut. Col. Frederick Hambright and Major Wm. Chronicle. "Burke and Rutherfordton Counties, N. C, Major Joseph McDowell. "York and Chester Counties, S. C, (then part of Cam- den district), Col. Edward Lacy and Col. William Hill. "Georgia, Major Wm. Candler. "Reserves: Col. Jas. Johnson. "Note: Col. Chas. McDowell, the regular commander of the Burke and Rutherfordton County regiment was ab- sent from the battle on a special mission to General Gates. "British forces — Commanders: Major Patrick Fergu- son (K), Captain Abraham De Peyster." The monument is erected to the south of the spot where Ferguson fell. THE DEDICATION. The dedication of the Congressional monument on Octo- ber 7, 1909, was a great event in both North and South Carolina, and ten thousand citizens from the two States showed their interest in the occasion. There are five dif- ferent highways that lead to and across King's Mountain Battleground from different directions, and on the day of the dedication these highways were crowded with vehicles of every description, and hundreds of pedestrians on foot. Governor W. W. Kitchen of North Carolina and Gov- ernor Martin F. Ansel of South Carolina, United States Senators Lee S. Overman of North Carolina and E. D. Smith of South Carolina, Congressmen R. N. Page of the Seventh North Carolina District and D. E. Finley of the Fifth South Carolina District, many prominent members of the Daugh- ters of the American Revolution, and other distinguished men and women, were present. Seven companies of Nation- al Guard were encamped on the battleground. Hundreds of citizens occupied tents in which they spent the night pre- ceding the dedication. Governor Martin F. Ansel presided. The Centennial Lyric that was used for the 1880 celebra- tion, and written by Mrs. Clara Dargan McLean, was sung by a choir that had been especially trained for the occa- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 267 sion. The orator of the day was Dr. Henry N. Snyder, Pres- ident of Wofford College, S. C. Congressman E. Y. Webb of North Carolina and D. E. Finley of South Carolina spoke upon the subject "The United States." A greeting was sent from Mrs. Matthew T. Scott, President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Senator Overman and Senator Smith made addresses, and also Governor Kitch- en of North Carolina. The speeches, as was to be expected, exhibited a high type of oratory, and were reported in full in the Yorkville Enquirer of October 8, 1909 ; but only a small part of each can be given here. Dr. Snyder was the orator of the day, and he closed a masterly address with these words : "But Shelby, Sevier, Campbell, Cleveland, McDowell, Winston, Hambright, Lacy, Hill and Williams, with the men under them, had done far more than destroy Ferguson. Their victory sent Cornwallis from Charlotte back to Winns- boro, all but panic-stricken, freed the up-country of the horror and oppression of Tory rule, brought a new hope, courage and faith to the patriotic cause everywhere, and became the turning point of the Revolution, made York- town's glad day a near possibility. There may have been other battles in which more men were engaged, but none counted for more in its deep and far-reaching influence than that one which was here fought one hundred and twenty- nine years ago. It gave us the Imperial Republic and this glad hour." Congressman D. E. Finley, in part of his oration, said : "On the 7th of October 1780 the patriot forces came up with Ferguson encamped on this spot. I shall not under- take a description of the battle. It is sufficient for my pur- pose to say that the British were surrounded on all sides by the patriot forces and after hours of fighting, the fiercest and bloodiest of the Revolutionary War, Ferguson was slain, and his entire force either killed or captured. A detailed account of this battle would be simply a narrative of the unrivaled courage and heroic deeds of the great leaders whose names are to adorn this marble shaft, and the deeds of their equally brave and heroic forces. "The United States to commemorate their acts and deeds on this heroic spot has, by Act of Congress, ordered the erection of this monument; these men are worthy of all 268 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History honor. The people of the United States are proud of the history they have made. "It has been truthfully stated that the battle of King's Mountain led to the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. After the battle of King's Mountain the gloom which had settled over the country lifted. After this, the American arms prospered as never before. * * * "It is interesting to compare our country to-day with what it was one hundred and twenty-nine years ago. Then we numbered three million inhabitants, scattered along the Atlantic Coast, from Georgia to the St. Lawrence River, thirteen colonies in all. Now, we number forty-six States, not including our territories, and a population that exceeds ninety million. Then we were a poor and struggling people. Now, the wealth of the United States equals that of any two nations of the world. Then we had not made good our claim to independence. Now, in all that makes a people truly great, the United States is the foremost and most powerful nation in the world. "What we are to-day as a people and as a nation we owe to the patriot fathers, and along with those who did the most for the cause of independence, the heroes of the Bat- tle of King's Mountain take high rank." Congressman E. Y. Webb of the Eighth Congressional District, closed his oration with these words : "All this wonderful progress, this marvelous growth, these phenomenal inventions and discoveries have taken place in our glorious Republic, whose foundation was laid in the storm and stress of a battle, the anniversary of which this concourse of people are here to commemorate to-day. This, therefore, is holy ground, and on approaching it one should feel instinctively that he should remove his hat and unlatch his shoes ; for here took place the decisive battle which sealed the destiny of unborn millions. God bless and keep the spirits of the stainless heroes who here fought and yielded their lives in such a country's noble cause! Brave, simple men ! Pure in motive, patriotic 'in action, gallant in battle, and glorious in death! "This magnificent shaft but feebly expresses our admira- tion of their deathless deeds, for could the loving and pa- triotic hearts before me to-day erect a monument in keeping with their sentiments, it would rise to the statue of pure gold and pierce the clouds, beyond the flight of bird or eagle ! "But yonder lofty lonely mountain peak will stand for- ever as a twin sentinel of the splendid government tribute in granite, to point the spot where American liberty first Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 269 received its full inspiration, and drew its first full breath of life. "Let us emulate the lives of these noble men who fought and died and are buried here, bj^ placing our country's cause above every cause save that of God and home, let us re- consecrate our lives to this beautiful Republic, and deter- mine to make the land they won for us a garden of peace, of happiness, and of religious liberty!" Mrs. McLean's Centennial Lyric, composed for the cele- bration of 1880, was sung by a trained choir at this dedi- cation : "Here upon this lonely height, Born in storm, and bred in strife, Nursed by Nature's secret might, Freedom won the boon of life. Song of bird and call of kine, Fluttering life on every tree, Every murmur of the wind, Impulse gave to Liberty! Then she blew a bugle blast, Summoned all her yoemen leal, 'Friends, the despot's hour is past — Let him now our vengeance feel!' Rose they in heroic might, Bondsmen fated to be free, Drew the sword of Justice bright, Struck for God and Liberty ! Come, ye sons of patriotic sires, Who the tyrant's power o'erthrew, Here where burned their beacon fires, Light your torches all anew, 'Til this mountain's glowing crest, Signalling from sea to sea, Shall proclaim from East to West, Union, Peace and Liberty!" Bands of music discoursed throughout the exercises, and the celebration closed with the vast crowd singing the long meter doxology. The dedication was an immense success, and in every way worthy of the monument and this histori- cal event which it represented. Viewed as battles are now — contests between thou- sands or hundreds of thousands or even millions of men — the battle of King's Mountain was a small skirmish, as there were less than one thousand men on the American 270 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History side, and not many more on the British ; but naturally we are intensely interested in the effect of this battle, which was so small in the number of men engaged ; and searching the authorities who have written about it, it is exceedingly interesting for Tennesseans, Virginians, North Carolinians and South Carolinians, to read the estimates placed upon it. Thomas Jefferson said: "That memorable victory was the joyful annunciation of that turn of the tide of success which terminated the Revolutionary War with the seal of independence." In his "Field Book of the Revolution" Lossing says: "No battle during the war was more obstinately contested than this ; it completely crushed the spirits of the Loyalists, and weakened beyond recovery the royal power in the Caro- linas." Washington Irving in his "Life of Washington" ex- pressed the opinion that "the Battle of King's Mountain, inconsiderable as it was in numbers, encouraged and turned the tide of southern warfare. The destruction of Fergu- son and his corps gave a complete check to the expedition of Cornwallis. He began to fear for the safety of South Carolina, liable to such sudden eruptions from the moun- tains, lest, while he was facing to the north, these hordes of stark-riding warriors might throw themselves behind him and produce a popular combustion in the province he had just left; he resolved, therefore, to return with all speed to that province and provide for its security." Bancroft expressed this opinion : "The victory at King's Mountain, which, in the spirit of the American soldiers was like the rising at Concord, and in its effects, like the success at Bennington, changed the aspects of the war. The Loyal- ists of North Carolina no longer dared arise. It fired the patriots of the two Carolinas with fresh zeal ; it encouraged the fragments of the defeated, scattered American army to seek each other and organize themselves anew. It quick- ened the North Carolina Legislature to earnest efforts; it encouraged Virginia to devote her resources to the country south of her border. The appearance on her frontiers of a numerous enemy from settlements beyond the mountains, whose very names had been unknown to the British, took Cornwallis by surprise, and their success was fatal to his intended expedition. He had hoped to step with ease from one Carolina to the other, and from those, to the conquest of Virginia ; and he had now no choice but to retreat." Theodore Roosevelt in "The Winning of the West" sums it up in this manner : "The mountain men had done a most Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 271 notable deed. They had shown in perfection the best quali- ties of horse-riflemen, the hardihood and perseverance that had enabled them to bear up well under fatigue, exposure and scantly food. Their long, swift ride, and the suddenness of the attack took their foes completely by surprise. Then, leaving their horses, they had shown in the actual battle such courage, marksmanship, skill in woodland fighting, that they had not only defeated, but captured an equal number of well armed, well lead, resolute men in a strong position. The victory was of far-reaching importance, and ranks among the decisive battles of the Revolution. It was the first great success of the Americans in the south, the turn- ing point in the southern campaign, and it brought cheer to the patriots throughout the Union. The Loyalists of the Carolinas were utterly cast down and never recovered from the blow, and its immediate effect was to cause Cornwallis to retreat from North Carolina, abandoning his first inva- sion of that State. "The expedition offered a striking example of the in- dividual initiative so characteristic of the backwoodsmen. It was not ordered by any one authority ; it was not even sanctioned by the central or State governments. Shelby and Sevier were the two prime movers in getting it up ; Campbell exercised the chief command ; and the various other leaders with their men simply joined the mountaineers as they happened to hear of them, and came across their path. The ties of discipline were of the slightest. The com- manders elected their own Chief, without regard to rank or seniority; in fact, the officer who was, by rank, entitled to the place, was hardly given any share in the conduct of the campaign. The authority of the Commandant over the other officers, and of the various Colonels over their troops, resembled rather the control exercised by Indian chiefs over their warriors, than the discipline obtaining in a reg- ular army. But the men were splendid individual fighters who liked and trusted their leaders, and the latter were able, resolute, energetc and intelligent. 'The mountaineers had come out to do a certain thing — to kill Ferguson and scatter his troops. They had done it, and now they wished to go home. The little log huts in which their families lived were in daily danger of Indian attack, and it was absolutely necessary that they should be on hand to protect them. They were, for the most part, very poor men, whose sole sources of livelihood were the stock they kept beyond the mountains. They loved their coun- try greatly and had shown the sincerity of their patriot- ism by the spontaneous way in which they risked their lives 272 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History on this expedition. They had no hope of reward ; for they neither expected nor received any pay except in liquidated certificates worth two cents on the dollar. Shelby's share of these certificates as Colonel throughout 1780 and 1781 was sold by him for 'six yards of middling broad- cloth,' so it can be readily imagined how little each private got for the King's Mountain expedition." But, above all others, we appreciate an opinion of the Battle of King's Mountain from our own historian, Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, author of "The Annals of Tennessee." Dr. Ramsey's ancestors were among the first settlers in Ten- nessee and they helped to found, build, defend, and develop the State. He wrote his "Annals" in 1852, and he died in the City of Knoxville in 1884, aged 88 years. He says : "The expedition against Ferguson was chivalric, in the extreme. It was undertaken against a distinguished, skilful leader, at the head of a large force, which could easily have been doubled. It was composed of raw and undisciplined troops, hastily drawn together, against fearful odds, and under the most appalling discouragments. "The expedition was also eminently patriotic; when it was projected disaster and defeat had shrouded the South with an impenetrable cloud of despondence and gloom. Ruined expectations and blasted hopes hung like a pall over the paralyzed energies of the friends of America. "The expedition, moreover, was entirely successful. The first object of it, Ferguson, was killed and his whole army either captured or destroyed. This gave new spirit to the desponding Americans, and frustrated the scheme of strengthening the British Army by the Tories in its neigh- borhood. "The whole enterprise reflects the highest honor upon the patriotism that conceived and the courage that executed it. Nothing can surpass the skill and gallantry of the offi- cers; nothing the valor of the men who achieved the vic- tory. The whole history of the campaign demonstrates that the men who undertook it were not actuate'd by any appre- hension that Ferguson would undertake the execution of his idle threat against themselves. For to these mountaineers nothing than such a scheme would make prettier game for their rifles; nothing more desirable than to entice such an enemy from his pleasant roads, rich plantations and gentle climate with his ponderous baggage, valuable armory, and the beautiful spoils of his Loyalists into the very center of their own fastnesses; to hang upon his flank, to pick up Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 273 his stragglers, to cut off his foragers, to make short and desperate sallies upon his camp, and finally to make him a certain prey, without a struggle, and without a loss. "Nor was it the authority or influence of the State that led to this hazardous service. Many of them knew not wheth- er to any, or what, State they belonged. Isolated by moun- tain barriers, and in consequent seclusion from their east- ern friends, they were living in the enjoyment of primi- tive independence where British taxation and aggression had not reached. It was a gratuitous patriotism that incited the backwoodsmen. In those days to know that American liberty was invaded, and that the only apparent alternative in the case was American independence, or subjugation, was enough to nerve their hearts to the boldest pulsations of freedom, and ripen their purposes to the fullest determina- tion of putting clown the aggressor." 274 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XVIII. SYCAMORE SHOALS AND ITS MONUMENT. Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga River in Carter County was the original center of the long, hazardous and heroic efforts of our forefathers to lay the foundation of the new commonwealth which was later established as Ten- nessee, and to spread the dominion of the paleface over a territory greater than some Old World empires, and inhab- ited by red savages. Nowhere in all the world can there be found a spot where historical events of more profound or far-reaching significance had their start, or which finally attained to a development which gave to a new and feeble Republic a territory as great as the Valley of the Mississ- ippi and the States later carved out of it. It was a grand and inspiring occasion brought about by Sycamore Shoals Chapter of Bristol, John Sevier Chap- ter of Johnson City, and Bonnie Kate Chapter of Knoxville, Daughters of the Revolution, on June 14, 1910, when three thousand auditors were assembled at Sycamore Shoals, and listened to the praises of those who one hundred and thirty years and more before, made history on that very spot, and did their part in the Revolutionary battle for freedom and liberty. The Daughters of the Revolution are everywhere grandly performing their avowed mission of honoring and helping to keep alive and green the memories of our Revo- lutionary sires. Those sires laid the foundation of the Re- public in which we live, and their valor defended it, and their blood was poured out that it might endure; and the result of their sufferings and hardships advanced the des- tiny of the human race to higher planes, and made possible the new principle that self-government is the only govern- ment fitted for American manhood and character. In Tennessee the Daughters of the American Revolution can have the additional satisfaction of knowing and cele- brating the deeds of their forebears before the Declaration of Independence of 1776, as well as after, and can claim and Ho- st « • w 3 ° 1 o i ? v Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 275 prove that those same forebears lighted the camp fires of civilization in a wilderness of red barbarism, when no organized government backed them up, and when flintlock rifles and scant ammunition were their only war materials, and when successful combat could be waged only by being absolutely fearless of death. The occasion of July 14, 1910, celebrated two events before the Declaration of Independ- ence of 1776, and one afterwards. The three Chapters men- tioned each contributed, and secured from Washington and Carter Counties contributions for the erection of a monu- ment at Sycamore Shoals, on the spot where the first set- tlers' fort west of the Alleghanies was erected in 1770 ; upon which spot also was negotiated the treaty under which Tran- sylvania was acquired from the Cherokees on March 19, 1775, and where also the soldiers who fought the Battle of King's Mountain assembled as a rendezvous preparatory to starting on the trip across the mountains to fight Fergu- son. The monument is constructed on an Indian mound, on a site donated by Mrs. J. C. Thomas, who was then the owner. The triangular base of the monument is of gray Tennessee marble, four feet each way. The shaft is nine feet high, and is made of river rock cemented together. A three-sided monument was selected to typify the three events that have been mentioned; also to typify the three Colonels who took part in the Battle of King's Mountain, namely: Colonel William Campbell, Colonel Isaac Shelby, and Colonel John Sevier ; and also to typify the three Chap- ters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, whose joint efforts brought about its construction. There are four inscriptions on this monument. On the shaft is a bronze tablet : To the memory of the patriots Who met here September 25, 1780, on their way to King's Mountain, under William Campbell, Isaac Shelby and John Sevier. The inscriptions on the three faces of the base are these : 276 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History 1780 1909 Erected by John Sevier Bonnie Kate Sycamore Shoals Chapters D. A. R. September 26, 1909. The sword of the Lord and of Gideon. Fort Watauga First (Settlers' Fort) Built west of the Alleghanies 1770 Here was negotiated the treaty under which Transylvania was acquired from the Cherokees March 19, 1775. The program of the celebration opened with a prayer and the singing of "America," by one thousand voices, followed by a trio of little boys, descendants of the three Colonels who led the men across the mountains, unveiling the monument. These boys were Robert Asher Gray, a descendant of Colonel William Campbell; Carter Crymble, a descendant of John Sevier; and Evan Shelby, a descend- ant of Isaac Shelby, this boy coming from Memphis to par- ticipate in the ceremonies of the occasion. Shelby Thomas and Margaret Robertson, both descendants of Colonel Camp- bell, and Samuel Doak, descendant of the preacher who offered the prayer upon the departure of the soldiers for King's Mountain, were also present; and the Reverend David A. Carter, of San Antonio, Texas, a great-great- grandson of John Sevier, made a brief address. United States Senator and former Governor Robert L. Taylor was the orator of the occasion, and Mrs. J. H. McCue, Regent of the Sycamore Shoals Chapter; Miss Mamie Arnell, Re- gent of John Sevier Chapter, and Mrs. Joseph W. Sneed, Regent of the Bonnie Kate Chapter, made brief talks. The audience of three thousand persons present came from Ten- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 277 nessee, Southwest Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Special trains were run for the occasion, and telegrams were received from a number of Chapters of the Daughters of the Revo- lution throughout the country, showing the great interest they felt in the unveiling. The John Sevier Chapter, D. A. R., of Johnson City, has gone further than to help erect the monument at Sycamore Shoals, and, by the aid of the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railroad, has erected a number of substantial markers along the route taken by the King's Mountain soldiers across the mountains, this route following for a consider- able distance the line of the railroad. The fort at Sycamore Shoals commemorated by the mon- ument was an absolute necessity for the white man in 1770 when it was erected. At that early date there were very few pioneers on the Wautauga, and for such as were there some forted protection was necessary, and saved the lives, first and last, of hundreds of men, women and children. The time ought never to come in Tennessee when its people forget that such a structure was built, and which rendered indispensable protection in those early days. The Transylvania Purchase from the Cherokees was one of those monumental events in our early days that ought to be known by all Tennesseans. Colonel Richard Hender- son had sent Daniel Boone to search out good lands in Ken- tucky and Tennessee, and report what he found. James Robertson accompanied Boone from North Carolina on one of his trips, and this was Robertson's introduction to East Tennessee. In time Robertson became well acquainted with the nature of the Cherokee Indian, and he gave Boone a hint that the Cherokees were very fond of highly colored clothing, showy ornaments and whiskey, and Boone took this hint to Colonel Richard Henderson, who thereupon organized in North Carolina a company for the purchase of the State of Kentucky and part of the State of Tennessee, and this terri- tory he proposed to call "Transylvania." The purchase was consummated at Sycamore Shoals on March 19, 1775, as stated in the inscription on the monument. In the Company making the purchase there were, besides Colonel Henderson, 278 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Thomas Hart, John Williams, James Hogg, Nathaniel Hart, David Hart, Leonard H. Bulloch, John Luttrell, and William Johnston, and of these, Colonel Henderson and Nathaniel Hart, accompanied by Daniel Boone, went to the various Cherokee towns, and proposed a council for the purchase of Indian lands by Henderson's company. Accordingly, on the 17th of March, 1775, the Indians came together at the Watauga Fort, in numbers said to be twelve hundred war- riors, and settlers said to be two hundred and fifty men, women and children also came, until a very animated and variegated crowd was present on a very pregnant histori- cal mission. The greatest chieftains of the Cherokees were there, and among them Oconostota and Atta-Culla-Culla, and among the whites were Colonel Henderson, James Robertson and John Sevier. There were feasting and dancing and numerous sports, and whisky and bright goods and trinkets and gaudy jewelry, and every- thing that could attract the eye and taste of the Cherokee. The goods were brought across the mountains, and, with the whisky, completely conquered the Indians. But there was one long-headed old chief, said to have been Oconostota, who, while he liked Colonel Henderson's whisky and the bright cloth and the trinkets, held back and refused to sell. Haywood says that he made a very animated and pathetic speech. He began with the very flourishing state in which his Nation once was, spoke of the encroachments of the white people from time to time upon the retiring and expir- ing nations of Indians who left their homes and the seats of their ancestors to gratify the insatiable desires of the white people for more land. Whole nations had melted away in their presence like balls of snow before the sun, and scarcely left their names behind, except as imperfectly recorded by their enemies and destroyers. It was once hoped that they would not be willing to travel beyond the mountains so far from the ocean, on which their commerce was carried on, and their connections maintained with the nations of Europe. But now that fallacious hope had van- ished, they had passed the mountains and settled upon the Cherokee lands and wished to have their usurpations sanc- tioned by the confirmation of a treaty. When that should Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 279 be done, the same encroaching spirit would lead them upon other lands of the Cherokees. New cessions would be applied for, and finally the country w 7 hich the Cherokees and their forefathers had so long occupied would be called for; and the small remnant which may then exist, once so great and formidable, will be compelled to seek a retreat in some far distant wilderness, there to dwell but a short space of time before they would again behold the advancing banners of the same greedy host, who, not being able to point out any further retreat for the miserable Cherokees, would then proclaim the extinction of the whole race. He ended with a strong exhortation to run all risks and incur all conse- qences, rather than submit to any further dilacerations of their territory, but he did not prevail, and the cession was made. The flight of the years has proven that the Indian who made this speech had the inspiration of a prophet. A young Indian is said to have advanced the argument that if they sold Kentucky to Colonel Henderson it would be set- tied by white men, and that it would not be long until the white man in Kentucky would prove a barrier against the Shawnees, Mingoes, Senecas and the Delawares, who were the enemies of the Cherokees, and lived further north than Kentucky. Oconostota was out-voted, and was compelled to give his assent and to sign the treaty. It is impossible to tell, at this distance, what consideration was paid by Colonel Henderson for this immense purchase of land, and it is highly probable that no one except those white men imme- diate parties to the transaction ever knew. The considera- tion is said to have been ten thousand pounds sterling, which is equivalent to fifty thousand dollars, and this was paid in merchandise. It may be put down as exceedingly question- able whether the merchandise was worth fifty thousand dollars. R. S. Cotterill, author of "History of Pioneer Kentucky," published in 1917, gives this account of the Treaty: "In the spring of 1775, the wagons laden with goods de- signed for the Cherokees by the Transylvania Company made their slow way across the Carolina mountains toward the appinted rendezvous on the Watauga River. The heav- ily laden wagons with their extraordinary cargo and their 280 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History guard of two impassive warriors created much comment as they passed through the scattered settlements. The re- port got abroad and spread like wildfire that a new attempt was to be made to cross the Cumberlands and settle Ken- tucky. "Premonitions of such things caused Henderson to take precautions that the treaty should be fair and just, and that the Indians should fully understand the nature of it all. All halfbreeds among the Indians were required to attend and assist at interpreting. Moreover, the best lin- guists among the Indian traders, including Ellis Harlan, Isaac Rogers, Thomas, Benjamin and Richard Paris ; and Thomas Price were present and rendered active aid. "Sev- eral men of note in the 'settlements' were there, among which number was Isaac Shelby, later to become first Gov- ernor of Kentucky. He was making plans for moving to Kentucky, and more than suspected that Henderson was after the same lands as himself. "From the time the contracting parties met until their departure, twenty days were consumed, but not all these were spent in business. The actual treaty making seems to have taken up about five days while the remaining time was passed in feasting and revelry. On the first day Hen- derson and his companions called upon the Indians to show their title to the Kentucky lands. This the chiefs did, and Henderson satisfied himself by a most careful investigation that the Cherokees alone of all the people of that time were the rightful owmers of the land. On the second day there came up the question of what lands Henderson wished to buy from the Indians. The Cherokees showed themselves unwilling to part with any lands except those lying to the north and east of the Kentucky River. This region Hender- son promptly refused to buy for the quite sufficient reason that Virginia had already bought it and was at that moment in possession. The Indians, unable to comprehend the ethi- cal principle which prevented them from selling the same property as often as they pleased, were much incensed at Henderson's attitude, and, led by Dragging Canoe, they withdrew and broke up the conference. However, the lure of the 'white man's goods' was too much for the Indian character, and the following day found the Indians pre- pared to renew the conference. Henderson renewed his de- mands, and the Indians finally agreed to them, though not without many complaints of the fewness of the goods to be given in exchange. It was at this juncture that Dragging Canoe, in an impassioned address, warned the white men that they had secured a 'dark and bloody ground,' a phrase Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 281 that was to become widely famous. The region demanded by Henderson and yielded by the Indians lay between the Kentucky and the Cumberland rivers. On the fourth day nine deeds, one for each of the proprietors, were prepared and laid before the Indians for signing. The interpreters were present and read the documents to the chiefs, word for word, until they declared they thoroughly understood them. Then the chiefs signed. One of the interpreters, Vann, as a result of a slight altercation with Henderson, at the last moment counseled the Indians to reject the treaty, but his advice fell on unheeding ears. "The expense of the twenty days of treaty making was by no means small, and was met by the Transylvania Com- pany. They furnished beeves, flour, corn, and other provi- sions for the entire assembly. To the credit of the com- pany no liquor was given the Indians until the negotiations were completed. Hardly was the treaty signed, however, before the chiefs got gloriously intoxicated. The action of Henderson throughout is not open to criticism. There will not be found in history a treaty more fairly negotiated or more religiously observed." Colonel Henderson and his associates contemplated the establishment of a separate government in the territory bought, but in 1776 they addressed a petition to the Conti- nental Congress in which they requested that Transylvania might be made one of the United Colonies, "Having their hearts warmed with the same noble spirit that animates the Colonies" — they said, "and moved with indignation at the late ministerial and parliamentary usurpations, it is the earnest wish of the proprietors of Transylvania to be con- sidered by the Colonies as brethren engaged in the same great cause of liberty and mankind." After the purchase by Colonel Henderson and his asso- ciates, the Watauga Association, which held under a lease of eight years the land occupied by the white settlers, wanted to obtain a fee simple title to these lands, and two days after Henderson's purchase they succeeded, for a con- sideration of two thousand pounds sterling, in buying their homes in fee simple ; and it was in reference to these lands and this purchase that Oconostota said to Daniel Boone, "Young man, we have sold you a fine territory, but I fear you will have some difficulty in getting it settled." He was 282 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History a man of great power, was deep and treacherous, and for many years was one of the most powerful enemies the white man had in the long contest with the Indians. He lived to see the day when his own prophecy had come true, and when the Cherokee nation had been crushed by John Sevier. The deed by which the Watauga Association procured a fee simple title to the homes of the settlers is on record in the Register's Office of Washington County, Tennessee, and the conveyance is to Charles Robertson, who afterwards is- sued conveyances to all of those who had settled on land and were building a home. This deed is a very interesting document, and Ramsey gives it as follows : "LAND RECORDS OF THE WATAUGA PURCHASE." "THIS INDENTURE made on the 19th day of March, 1775, by Oconostota, chief warrior and first representative of the Cherokee Nation, or tribe of Indians, and Atta-Culla- Culla and Savanucah, otherwise Coronoh, for themselves, and the rest of the whole nation, being the aborigines and sole owners by occupancy from the beginning of time, of the lands on the waters of Holston and Watauga Rivers, and other lands thereunto belonging, of the one part, and Charles Robertson of the settlement of Watauga of the other part, WITNESSETH." The consideration was "The sum of two thousand pounds, lawful money of Great Britain in hand paid." The deed embraced "all that tract, territory or parcel of land on the waters of Watauga, Holston and Great Can- away, or New River; beginning on the south, or southwest side of Holston River six English miles from Long Island in said River ; thence a direct line, nearly a south course to the ridge which divides the waters of Watauga from the waters of Nonachuckeh ; thence along the various courses of said ridge nearly a southeast course to the Blue Ridge, or line dividing North Carolina from the Cherokee lands; thence west along the Virginia line to Holston River ; thence down the meanders of Holston River to the first station, including all the waters of Watauga, part of the waters of Holston, and the head branches of New River, or Great Canaway, agreeable to the bounds aforesaid, to said Charles Robertson, his heirs and assigns. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 283 "And also the said Charles Robertson, his heirs and assigns shall and may peaceably and quietly have and hold, possess and enjoy said premiess without let, trouble, hin- drance or molestation, interruption or denial, of them, the said Oconostota, and the rest, or any of said nation. "Signed in the presence of "John Sevier, "Oconostota, his X mark (Seal) "William Bailey Smith "Attacullecully, his X mark, (Seal) "Jesse Benton, "Tennesy Warrior, his X mark (") "Tillman Dixon, "Willinawaugh, his X mark (") "William Blevins, "Thomas Price, "James Vann, Linguister." During the pendency of the conference at Sycamore Shoals, Parker and Carter, whose store had been robbed by Indians, attended and demanded as pay for their loss, Car- ter's Valley, to which the Indians assented, if some addi- tional consideration was given, which was done. Still another deed was made by the Indians at Sycamore Shoals to Jacob Brown in consideration of ten shillings, and this deed embraced a very large amount of the very best land in Washington and Greene Counties. Still another deed was made, and neither the amount of land nor the consideration was stated. It is evident that the settlers thought that the con- ference at Sycamore Shoals was the accepted time for straightening out land titles with the Indians, and under the stimulating and exciting environment, the negotiations seem to have passed off in a very pleasant and friendly way, and never afterwards, so far as history records, was a charge made by the Indians that in this treaty they were swindled by the white man. 284 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XIX. ANDREW JACKSON— CHRONOLOGY. 1767 March 15 — Born in North Carolina? South Carolina? 1784 Fall — Begins the study of law. 1787 May — Admitted to practice law in North Carolina. 1788 August 12 — Duel with Col. Waightstill Avery at Jonesboro. 1788 Spring — Appointed Public Prosecutor for Tennessee. 1791 November — Married Mrs. Rachel Donelson Robards, at Natchez, Mississippi. 1796 January 11 — Member first Constitutional Conven- tion of Tennessee. 1796 Elected Representative in Congress from Tennessee. 1797 November 22 — Appointed by Governor Sevier Sen- ator from Tennessee, vi^e William Blount, re- signed. 1798 June — Resigns from Senate. 1798 Elected a member of the Superior Court of Law and Equity. 1801 Elected Major General of Tennessee militia. 1804 Makes his home at the Hermitage in a log house. 1804 July 24 — Resigns from the Superior Court. 1805-6 Entertains Aaron Burr. 1806 May 30— Duel with Charles Dickinson. 1812 June 25 — Offers services of Tennessee Volunteers to. the United States government in the war of 1812. 1813 January 7 — Starts for New Orleans with Tennessee militia. 1813 February 15 — Arrives at Natchez. 1813 March 25 — Starts home from Natchez. 1813 September 4 — Wounded in affray with Thomas H. and Jesse Benton. 1813 October 11 — Starts with his command for the Creek War. 1813 November 3— Battle of Talluschatches, Creek War. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 285 1813 November 9— Battle of Talladega, Creek War. 1814 January 22 — Battle of Emuckfau, Creek War. 1814 January 24 — Battle of Enotocopco. 1814 March 27 — Battle of the Horseshoe, Creek War. 1814 April 19 — Appointed Brigadier General United States Army. 1814 May 1 — Appointed Major General United States Army, vice William Henry Harrison, resigned. 1814 August 10 — Had treaty with Creeks signed. 1814 September 9 — Starts first Florida campaign. 1814 December 2 — Arrives at New Orleans for the de- fense of the city. 1814 December 16 — Declares martial law in New Orleans. 1814 December 23 — First battle in defense of New Or- leans. 1815 January 1 — Second battle in defense of New Or- leans. 1815 January 8 — Wins battle of New Orleans. 1815 March 5 — Causes the arrest of Judge Dominick A. Hall, United States District Judge at New Or- leans. 1815 March 13 — Abrogates martial law at New Orleans. 1815 March 24— Fined $1,000.00 by Judge Dominick A. Hall for contempt of court, which Jackson paid the same day, and which was refunded by Con- gress with interest in 1842. 1815 May 15 — Arrives at Nashville from New Orleans. 1817 December 26 — Enters upon second Florida campaign. 1818 April 28 — Causes the execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister. 1819 February 8 — House of "Representatives in Congress sustains Jackson's conduct in the Florida cam- paign. 1819 January and February — Visits Eastern cities. 1819 February — Spain cedes Florida to the United States. 1821 Appointed by President Monroe Governor of Florida. 1821 May 31 — Resigns from the army. 1821 July 17 — Takes possession of Florida as Governor, and it becomes a territory of the United States. 1821 October — Resigns as Governor of Florida. 286 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History 1822 July 20 — Nominated for President by the Legisla- ture of Tennessee. 1823 Offered and declined mission to Mexico. 1823 October — Elected to the United States Senate from Tennessee. 1823 Built church for Mrs. Jackson near Hermitage. 1824 March 4 — Nominated for President by the Pennsyl- vania Convention. 1824 November — Receives plurality of electoral votes for President. 1825 February 9 — Defeated for President in the House of Representatives in Congress by John Quincy Adams, who received the vote of thirteen States, Jackson seven, William H. Crawford of Georgia four. 1825 LaFayette visits the Hermitage. 1825 October — Resigns from the United States Senate. 1825 October — Renominated for President by the Legis- lature of Tennessee. 1826 or 1827 Communion Sunday, date uncertain, prom- ises Mrs. Jackson to join the church when out of politics. 1828 November — Elected President of the United States. 1828 December 22— Death of Mrs. Jackson. 1829 January 17 — Leaves Hermitage for his inauguration. 1829 March 4 — Inaugurated President. 1830 April 13 — Offers toast: "Our Federal Union, it must be preserved," at Jefferson's birthday dinner. 1830 December 7 — Recommends that the Southern Indians be removed to the Indian Territory. 1832 July 10 — Vetoes bill re-chartering the Bank of the United States. 1832 November — Re-elected President of the United States. 1832 December 10 — Issues proclamation to nullifiers of South Carolina. 1833 June 26 — Harvard College confers the degree of LL. D. 1833 September 23 — Orders withdrawal of deposits from Bank of the United States. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History 287 1834 March 28 — Censured by Senate by resolution for removing public deposits from the Bank of the United States. 1835 December 29 — Treaty with the Cherokee Indians for their removal to Indian Territory. 1835 January 8 — Proclaims the payment in full of the na- tional debt of the United States. 1837 March 16 — Resolution passed in the Senate expung- ing 1 the resolution of censure of 1834. 1837 March 4 — Issues farewell address to people of the United States. 1839 Becomes a member of the Presbyterian Church built by him near the Hermitage for Mrs. Jackson. 1843 June 7— Made his last will. 1845 June 8 — Sunday, at 6:00 p. m. died. 1845 June 10 — Buried by the side of Mrs. Jackson at the Hermitage. 288 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XX. ANDREW JACKSON. Seven ancient cities — Athens, Argos, Smyrna, Rhodes, Colophon, Salamis in Cyprus, and Chios — each claimed and contended for the honor of being the birth-place of poor old blind Homer. Two American commonwealths — North Caro- lina and South Carolina — have contended and contend today for the honor of having been the birth-place of Andrew Jackson, who, at the time of his birth had as helpless an out- look upon life and the world, as any offspring of any immi- grant that ever landed on our shores. The controversy be- tween North Carolina and South Carolina is of many years' standing, and the issue between the two States reached its most pronounced stage when James Parton, an Englishman, wrote a Life of Jackson in 1858, and secured the services of General Walkup, of North Carolina, to make an investi- gation and secure proof as to Jackson's birth-place. It was but natural that General Walkup should wish the fact to be found in favor of North Carolina, but however he may have felt, that was the result, and Parton adopted his views, and was the first to take a bold and pronounced stand in favor of the proposition that Jackson was born in North Carolina. It must be said that down to the publication of Parton's Life, the general current of biographies and writings on the subject of Jackson's birthplace was in favor of South Caro- lina.- The last, and probably the strongest contender in this controversy, is Secretary A. S. Salley, Jr., of the Historical Commission of South Carolina, who prepared a paper of thirty-one printed pages, published as a part of Brady's "The True Andrew Jackson," wherein Secretary Salley sets forth the argument in favor of the Palmetto State. This argument is too long to be here reproduced in full, so it is presented in condensed form, and for the sake of clearness, his various contentions will be numbered : Andrew Jackson on Sam Patch, a magnificent white horse presented to him by citizens of Pennsylvania. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 289 Secretary Salley says: 1. Andrew Jackson always claimed that he was born in South Carolina. 2. On December 24, 1830, Jackson wrote a letter to J. R. Pringle, Intendant of Charleston, South Carolina, where he speaks of Charleston as "the emporium of my native State." 3. On D'ecember 9, 1832, he wrote a letter to Joel R. Poinsett, who was born in Charleston, South Carolina, wherein he speaks of "our native State." 4. On December 10, 1832, one day after he wrote the let- ter to Mr. Poinsett, he issued a proclamation to the nulli- fiers of South Carolina, and addressed them as "Fellow citi- zens of my native State." 5. On June 24, 1833, he wrote another letter to Poinsett, and again used the expression in reference to South Caro- lina, "my native State." 6. On January 13, 1843, at the Hermitage, he wrote a letter to Governor Hammond of South Carolina wherein he refers to "the Legislature of my native State, South Caro- lina." 7. In his last Will and Testament he bequeaths to An- drew Jackson, Jr., "the large silver vase presented to me by the ladies of Charleston, South Carolina, my native State." All of this is conclusive as to the State he thought he was born in, and we naturally inquire, in a controversy of this kind, as to what weight should be given to a man's opinion and statement as to his birth-place. Ordinarily, such a statement is accepted as conclusive, unless evidence strong, convincing and overwhelming is presented to show that he is in error. It is difficult to rebut Secretary Salley's proposi- tion that as bright a youth and young man as Jackson was, it is preposterous to say that he could be in error as to his birth-place. The early biographers take Jackson's view, also. 8. The first of these was the biography published in 1817 by Major Reid, who was Jackson's aid at the Battle of New Orleans, and for years in personal contact with him, and Reid put his birth-place as South Carolina. 290 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 9. General James Gadsden, in 1824, published a pam- phlet entitled "Sketches of the Life and Public Services of General Andrew Jackson," and stated that Jackson was a native of South Carolina, and was born on the 15th of March, 1767, at the Waxhaw settlement, about forty-five miles above Camden, and was the youngest of three sons. 10. In 1834 William Cobbett published a biography of Jackson, and gave South Carolina as his birth-place. 11. In 1843 Amos Kendall, who was a member of what was called Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet," published in serial form a part of a biography of Jackson, and gave South Caro- lina as his birth-place, and included a map with the biogra- phy, showing the spot in South Carolina where he was born. 12. On June 18, 1845, the Charleston, South Carolina, "Courier" published a sketch of Jackson's life, and credited the birth-place to South Carolina. 13. On June 27, 1845, George Bancroft, the historian, delivered his oration in Washington City on Jackson, and said: "South Carolina gave a birth-place to Andrew Jackson. On its remote frontier, far up on the forest clad banks of the Catawba, in a region where the settlers were just begin- ning to cluster, his eyes first saw the light." 14. On December 19, 1820, a Special Committee of the Legislature of South Carolina, to which Committee had been referred the matter of the presentation to the Legislative Library of South Carolina, by James Thonaldson, of a bust of General Jackson, made a report, in which was used the following language : "With so many themes of admiration and causes of grati- tude in the history of the General, we, as Carolinians, have the still more happy reason for gratulation that he, whose nativity has been the cause of rivalry for contending States, is acknowledged as our own." This report was spread upon the Journal of the House, and published in the Acts of the General Assembly of South Carolina, and thereby given weight and publicity. 15. J. Boykin, the Surveyor of South Carolina, in 1820, surveyed the Lancaster District, whicl} joins the Waxhaw Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 291 District, under a contract with South Carolina, and pre- pared a map, and on that map locates "Genl. A. Jackson's birthplace." This map was engraved for Mill's Atlas of South Carolina, published in 1825. 16. Eugene Reilly, surveyor and engineer, published a map in 1820, and it also locates "Genl. Jackson's birth- place," and puts it at the spot where Boykin put it. 17. In 1858 the Lancaster Ledger (South Carolina) published an article in wjiich it used this language : "Many years ago it was mooted whether General Jack- son was born in this State or just over the line in North Carolina. Colonel James H. Witherspoon, then a prominent citizen of this district, and intimate friend of Jackson, ad- dressed him a letter of inquiry as to his birth-place. The reply of General Jackson was full and particular. He states that he was born in the Waxhaws in South Carolina, on a place belonging to Major Crawford. This letter is now in the hands of James H. Witherspoon, Esquire, son of the late Colonel James H. Witherspoon, to whom it was ad- dressed." Secretary Salley's argument was dated at Columbia, South Carolina, August 25, 1905. The author has in his possession two Lives of General Jackson, one of which is by John S. Jenkins, A. M., pub- lished in 1852, in which Mr. Jenkins states that Jackson was born in the Waxhaw settlement about forty-five miles above Camden, South Carolina, near the boundary line of North Carolina; the other is by Philo A. Goodwin, Esquire, entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1833 in the Clerk's office of the Southern District of New York, in which Mr. Goodwin says that Jackson was born at Waxhaw T , District of Marion, in the State of South Carolina. The argument advanced by Parton on the strength of the testimony secured by General Walkup, is based upon the memory of old men and women in 1858, repeating what they had heard their ancestors say about the place of Jack- son's birth. General Walkup's evidence was secured about ninety years after Jackson's birth and this evidence is hearsay and it may or may not be correct. The candid in- vestigator who is without State pride in the settlement of the question, will probably conclude that the weight of the 292 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History evidence is on the side of South Carolina, and this is the conclusion of the author. Without in any sense dogmati- cally asserting that the evidence for South Carolina is con- clusive, the probabilities, we might say the strong prob- abilities, are in favor of South Carolina's claim. As an illustration of the strength or weakness, as the reader may look at it, in favor of North Carolina, General Walkup secured a statement from an old man by the name of Benjamin Massey, who said that he heard Mrs. Lathan, who claimed to have been present at the birth of General Jackson, say that she as a child of seven years, went with her mother to Mrs. Jackson at the time of the birth, and that Mrs. Jackson was then at McCamie's house in North Caro- lina. This presents the question as to the weight to be given to the statement of an old man who quotes a woman who made a statement about a matter that she says occurred when she was seven years old. At the time of Jackson's birth, the Waxhaw settlement was sparsely settled, and practically a wilderness, and it is very improbable indeed that the residents had a very accurate idea where the line between North and South Carolina ran, and that unless they had some special reason or motive for investigating and ascertaining its location, it remained with them a mere matter of guess work, and not a reliable fact. The reader will observe that the weight of the case made by Mr. Salley for South Carolina is based upon the idea that a man is generally a reliable witness as to his birth- place, and upon the maps made by Boykin and Reilly, both of whom were surveyors. It is to be observed, however, that as far back as 1820, fifty-three years after General Jackson's birth, that there was a dispute as to the State of his birth, but from that date to the publication of Parton's biography in 1858 — thirty-eight years — General Jackson's statement that he was born in South Carolina seems to have been generally accepted, and any further discussion over his birth-place dropped, until Parton raised the question again in 1858. But, wherever born, the testimony is absolutely con- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 293 elusive that Jackson came into the world the child of the deepest poverty, and that his father never got title to the tract of land on which he lived, and that he is now buried in the Waxhaw church yard in an unmarked grave, and that Jackson's mother is buried no one knows where. After the General became President, he had an inves- tigation made for his mother's grave, but without results. His brother Robert died of the small pox, and so Andrew Jackson, emigrant, had only a boy of fourteen out of a family of five, to perpetuate his name, and this fourteen year old boy destined for "Fame's eternal camping ground," had a future that appeared so forlorn that, like the Ancient Mariner, he was "Alone, alone, all alone! Alone on the wide, wide sea." Tarleton, in May, 1780, made a raid into the Waxhaw settlement and killed one hundred and thirteen of a detach- ment of militia which he found there, and wounded more than that. This was generally called "Tarleton's Massa- cre" and created flaming excitement all over the State, and drove the citizens from their homes until Tarleton's com- mand departed. It was about this time that the British officer commanded Andrew to clean his boots, which he refused to do, and the officer struck the boy with his sword, the blow being partially warded off by his hand, but which left a gash both on Andrew's head and hand. This, and a series of events at this period, gave Andrew Jackson a taste of real warfare, and begot an intense hatred of the British which was amply justified by the treatment that they gave him and his family, and "the people of South Carolina. Mrs. Jackson died probably of ship fever in a prison ship, or by exposure to ship fever, while waiting on prisoners on the ship. Corwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, and this was practically the end of the Revolutionary War, though not entirely so. The formal declaration of peace was de- clared in April 1783. The first work we read of Andrew doing was as a saddler ; and the evidence seems to be beyond question that he taught school, though for what length of time, and where, 294 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History may be questioned. We would infer from this that his education may have been somewhat better than he is gen- erally credited with at that time of his life. He began to read law in Salisbury in 1786 with Spruce McKay, one of the ablest lawyers in North Carolina at that day. He was about eighteen years old when he began to study law; he read and studied with John McNairy and Crawford in McKay's office. We have been unable to find any information as to the connection, if any, of Crawford, the law student, to Jackson, but the probabili- ties are that he was Jackson's cousin. He received a license to practice law at the age of twenty, and about one year elapsed between that time and his crossing the mountains to make his home in Tennessee. JACKSON'S NORTH CAROLINA LICENSE, 1787. State of North Carolina. — ss. To the Justices of the several Courts of Pleas and Quar- ter Sessions within the State : Whereas, Andrew Jackson, in Rowan County in the State aforesaid, gentleman, hath applied to us, the judges of the superior court of law and equity. The said gentleman hath applied to plead and practice as an attorney in the several county courts in the same State; and whereas the said Andrew Jackson hath resided in the said State for the space of two years last past, and is sufficiently recommended to us as a person of unblemished moral character, and, upon examination had before us, appears to possess a competent degree of knowledge in the law for the purpose aforesaid, We, therefore, in pursuance of the power and authority committed to us by the act of the general assembly in that case made and provided, do hereby admit the said Andrew Jackson to plead and practice as an attorney in the said sev- eral courts of pleas and quarter sessions within the said several courts, with all and singular the privileges and mol- uments which of right appertain to attorneys and practi- ces of the law in the same; he, the said Andrew Jackson, taking the several oaths appointed by law for his qualifica- tion : given under our hands and seals the twenty-sixth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and in the twelfth year of our independence. Sam'l Ashe (seal) Jno. F. Williams (seal) Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 295 State of North Carolina, Anson County — S3. October Sessions, 1787. These may certify that Andrew Jackson, Esquire, pro- duced the within commission authorizing him to practice as an attorney within the several county courts within this State before the justices of the county court of Anson, etc., and was qualified in due form. Certified, etc., Mich C. Auld, C. C. , At Johnsonville, Randolph County, North Carolina, on Tuesday morning, December 11, 1787, Jackson, then a few months past twenty years of age, entered the court house and produced a license from the Judges of the Superior Court of Law and Equity, authorizing him to practice as an attorney in the several county courts, and he took the oath prescribed by law. It is not known how long he re- mained in Johnsonville or Randolph County, but he was certainly there at the March court, 1788, as shown by the entry on the minutes of that Court as follows : "On motion of Andrew Jackson, Esquire, attorney for Absolom Tatum, it is ordered that Adam Tate, Esquire, Coroner of Rockingham County, be fined 50 Lbs. Nisi for failing to return a writ of Fiere Facias against John May, sheriff of said County, at the instance of Absolom Tatum, and that Sciere Facias issue accordingly." The Justices before whom Jackson qualified to practice law at Johnsonville were: John Arnold, Zebidee Wood, John Lane and Arnold Hill. These four justices were members of the County Court which was held in North Carolina at that date four times a year. There is very little known of where he lived, or what he did, or how he got along, during this year, but the next certain information we have about him is when he, and a number of other emigrants assembled at Morganton, North Carolina, to start to Jonesboro, Tennessee. One of these was John McNairy, who Was Jackson's friend, and who was appointed Judge of the Superior Court of the Western District, which then meant the present State of Tennessee, and Jackson was appointed Public Prosecutor; Thomas Searcy, a friend of Jackson's was appointed Clerk of the Court. They traveled by horseback across the mountains and reached Jonesboro, and with that we are confronted 296 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History with another of those controverted questions about Jack- son's early life, namely: how long did he remain at Jones- boro, before going to Nashville to make his final destina- tion there? Generally the statement is made by the bi- ographers and historians that he reached Nashville in Oc- tober, 1788, and Colonel A. S. Colyar in the first volume of his Life of Andrew Jackson accepts this date as correct, frankly stating, however, that "There is much circum- stantial evidence tending to show that Jackson and Mc- Nairy remained in East Tennessee two years, but I (Colonel Colyar) have in my possession a letter of Judge McNairy, written in 1827, showing that he and General Jackson reached Nashville in October, 1788. This is the extract from the letter: "'Nashville, 7th May, 1827. " 'Dear Sir : You desired me to state my knowledge of the private character of General Jackson as it respects his conduct in connection and intermarriage with Mrs. Jack- son. " 'General Jackson and myself have been acquainted for more than forty-five years ; part of that time we lived to- gether, and the balance in the immediate neighborhood of each other. We moved together from North Carolina to this State, and arrived at Nashville in October, 1788/ " It will be observed that this letter was written by Judge McNairy thirty-nine years after the date he says he and Jackson arrived in Nashville. It appears to be certain that Jackson was admitted to practice law in Sumner County in January, 1789, evidenced by this entry upon the Sumner County Court record: "January 12, 1789. Andrew Jackson, Esquire, produced his license as an attorney at law in Court and took the oath required by law." On October 6, 1790, another entry shows that he was again in Sumner County: "October 6, 1790. Andrew Jackson, Esquire, proved a bill of sale from Hugh McGary to Gaspar Mansker for a negro woman which was O.K." Chancellor John Allison, of Nashville, does not agree, by any means, with Colonel Colyar as to the date of arrival. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 297 In Chancellor Allison's book "Dropped Stitches in Tennes- see History" he says : "Jackson did not arrive at Nashville until the fall of the year 1789 or the spring of 1790 — most probably the latter. He settled in Jonesboro in what was then Washing- ton County, North Carolina, and is now Washington County, Tennessee, in the early part of the Spring of 1788." * * * "On the old record books of the minutes of the pro- ceedings of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions kept at Jonesboro will be found the following entry: " 'State of North Carolina, Washington County, Monday, the twelfth day of May, Anno Domini, seventeen hundred eighty-eight. Andrew Jackson, Esquire, came into Court and produced a license as an attorney with a certificate sufficiently attested of his taking the oaths necessary to said office, and was admitted to practice in this County Court." * * * "These old court records at Jonesboro disclose the fact that Jackson was in the town and in attendance on the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions at its November term, 1 788 " * * * "The Court records for the years 1788 and 1789 kept in Washington, Sullivan, Greene and Hawkins Counties, es- tablish the fact that Jackson was practicing law in those Courts during the two years mentioned." Chancellor Allison also gives from the same record at Jonesboro, November term, 1788, a copy of a bill of sale as follows : "A bill of sale from Micajah Crews to Andrew Jackson, Esquire, for a negro woman named Nancy, about eighteen or twenty years of age, was proven in open Court by the oath of David Allison, a subscribing witness, and ordered to be recorded." Chancellor Allison was born and raised at Jonesboro, Tennessee, and became a resident of Nashville only after he was Secretary of the State of Tennessee in 1885-1889. He published his "Dropped Stitches in Tennessee History" in 1897. In reference to the arrival of Andrew Jackson in Jones- boro he says that he made it his business to investigate the facts as to Jackson's early life at Jonesboro, and his ar- rival there, and that he talked to aged native-born citizens who personally knew Jackson, and had also heard much 298 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History concerning him ; and he quotes these aged citizens as saying that when Jackson arrived in Jonesboro he was riding one horse and leading another ; that the horse he was riding was a race horse ; that he had a pair of holsters buckled across the front of his saddle, and that on the led horse, were a shot gun, a "pack" and a well filled pair of saddle bags, while following after him was a goodly pack of fox hounds. Chancellor Allison gives as his authority for this in- ventory of Jackson's possessions in Jonesboro three old gen- tlemen who knew Jackson personally, namely : Major Bird Brown, Abraham Taylor, and John Allison. He says that the price of such a slave as that descirbed in the bill of sale to Jackson was about three hundred dol- lars. It was at Jonesboro, on August 12, 1788, that Jackson wrote the challenge to Colonel Waightstill Avery to fight a duel, a fac simile of which is published in this volume. That the reader may know that this fac simile is absolutely authentic, the author states that the original is now in the possession of descendants of Colonel Avery, who keep it in a bank box at Morganton, North Carolina, and a photo- graph from which this fac simile was made, was given to the author by a member of the Avery family. The chal- lenge grew out of differences arising between Colonel Avery and Jackson in the trial of a suit in Court at Jonesboro in which both parties lost their temper, and Jackson then and there wrote the challenge on the blank leaf of a law book, and himself delivered it to Colonel Avery. Gen. John Adair acted as second to Colonel Avery. The duel was fought, neither party was injured, they made friends, and that ended the matter. In just thirty-five days after Tennessee became a State in the Union Jackson received from Governor John Sevier a license to practice law in the new State. The Governor issued the license in these words : "STATE OF TENNESSEE JOHN SEVIER, GOVERNOR IN AND OVER THE SAME. (SEAL) To All Who Shall See These Presents, Greeting : Know ye, that I do license Andrew Jackson, esquire, to Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 299 practice as an Attorney at Law in the several courts of law and equity in the State aforesaid, with all the privileges and emoluments thereof, or right pertaining. Given under my hand and seal at Knoxville the 5th day of July 1796. (Signed) John Sevier. By the Governor, William Mclin, Secretary." Jackson was elected the first member of Congress from the new State. Congress met after his election December 5, 1796, and we find him in Philadelphia, ready to take his seat and to attend the opening of the body. As March 4, 1797, was to witness the final retirement of General Washington from the Presidency, the House of Rep- resentatives concluded that a farewell address to the Presi- dent should be drawn up, and a Committee of five was ap- pointed to prepare it, and on December 11, 1796, the address was in due form, and considered by the members of the House. Jackson voted with those who opposed the address, and in all of his subsequent political life, this vote was used, or attempted to be used, to his detriment. Sixty-seven rep- resentatives voted in favor of accepting the address, and twelve against it. It is not difficult to account for Jackson's vote against the address to Washington. Jackson was a strong endorser of the extreme wing of the Jeffersonian party, and Washing- ton, in sentiment, was far removed from that party. Jay's treaty was bitterly resented by the people West of the moun- tains for the reason that it did not grant the free navigation of the Mississippi River, and that river, in the absence of public highways, was the outlet of the trans-montane coun- try, and the entire Mississippi Valley. The free navigation of the Mississippi River was the rock on which the political fortunes of territorial Governor William Blount was w r recked ; everything that Blount did, for which he was ex- pelled from the Senate, had that end in view. Again, Washington's administration toward Tennessee after it became a State, was just about the same as the con- duct of North Carolina when the Western country — now Tennessee — was an appendage of the Old North State. North Carolina never exhibited or had any affection for the 300 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Western people, but let them fight their own battles with the Indians as best they could. Washington's administra- tion did the same thing, and if the civilization and upbuild- ing of the State of Tennessee and other parts of the Missis- sippi Valley, had depended on the good will or assistance of that administration, those sections of the country would very slowly have been built up. It is true Tennessee had become a State, but she was a step-child in the family of States. Again, throughout the original thirteen States, and in the colonies before they became States, a feeling that while Washington was a patriot in the Revolutionary War and fought successfully for the freedom of the colonies, that at heart he was not in sympathy with the personal fortunes of the great mass of the people ; that he was not the friend of the poor man, or the average man. It is not difficult to see, therefore, that in the light of these conditions, a man like Andrew Jackson who had sprung from the bottom round of life, and who possessed will power that feared nothing and stopped at nothing, should resent anything favorable to Washington or his ad- ministration, and so he voted against the adoption of the very flattering address which it was proposed should be sent to him. Another indication of Jackson's political views was when he voted against an appropriation of money for Savannah, Georgia, that had been nearly destroyed by fire; this, evi- dently on the principle that the government had no author- ity to make such an appropriation; and it took the people of the United States decades to get to the point where they could feel justified in stretching the powers of Congress so as to authorize such appropriations. Jackson voted against an appropriation for fourteen thousand dollars to purchase furniture for the new Presi- dential mansion ; also against the removal of the restriction requiring the expenditure of public money to be strictly for the object for which it was appropriated. The latter vote was highly honorable, and if in the whole history of this republic the expenditures of public money had been in line with that vote, and just as honest as Jackson was himself in spending public money, hundreds of millions would have Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 301 been saved to the people of the country, and that corruption in office which has been so frequently the heritage of the American people would very largely have been eliminated. It is well known in Tennessee that John Sevier became practically a bankrupt by spending his private fortune for the equipment of soldiers against the Indians in the pro- tection of the settlers of Tennessee. It was in connection with the repayment of Sevier by Congress for one of his expeditions that Jackson delivered the only speech he made while a member of Congress. Hugh Lawson White, who was a member of Sevier's expedition when the Indian chief, King-Fisher, was killed, sent a petition asking for compensation for his services. The Secretary of War made a report on Mr. White's petition, dodged the question, and said that it was for the House of Representatives to decide whether or not the danger w r as great enough to justify Se- vier in calling out and equipping his troops on the expedition in which King-Fisher was killed. This gave Representative Jackson a chance to make his first speech, and we feel certain that Tennessee readers would like to read this first speech. Jackson said : "I do not doubt that by a recurrence to papers presented, it will appear evident that the measures pursued on this occasion were both just and necessary. When it was seen that war was urged upon the State ; that the knife and toma- hawk were held over the heads of women and children ; and that peaceable citizens were murdered, it was time to make resistance. Some of the assertions of the Secretary of War are not founded in fact, particularly with respect to the expedition having been undertaken for the avowed purpose of carrying the war into the Cherokee country. Indeed, those assertions are contradicted by a reference to General Sevier's letter to the Secretary of War. I trust it will not be presuming too much when I say that from being an in- habitant of the country, I have some knowledge of this busi- ness. From June to the end of October, the militia acted entirely in the defensive, when twelve hundred Indians came upon them and , carried their Station, and threatened to carry their seat of government. In such a state of things, would the Secretary upon whom the executive power rested in the absence of the Governor, have been justifid had he not adopted the measure he did of pursuing the enemy? I be- lieve he would not. I believe that the expedition was just 302 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History and necessary, and that the claim of Mr. White ought to be granted. I therefore propose a resolution to the following effect : " 'RESOLVED That General Sevier's expedition into the Cherokee Nation in the year 1793 was a just and neces- sary measure and that provision ought to be made by law for paying the expenses thereof.' " It was proposed to refer the matter to the Committee on Claims, and in opposition to this proposition Representative Jackson said : "I own that I am not very w r ell acquainted with the rules of the House, but from the best idea I can form, this would be a very circuitous mode of doing business. Why now re- fer it to the Committee on Claims, when all the facts are stated in this report, I know not. If this is the usual mode of doing business, I hope it will not be referred." The claim of young White was not considered further that day, but on the next day it came up again, and Repre- sentative Jackson called up his resolution offered the day before, and made his second speech to the house. "Already," said he, "rations found for the troops of this expedition have been paid for by the Secretary of War, and I can see no reasonable objection to the payment of the whole expense. As the troops were called out by the supe- rior officer they had no right to doubt his authority. Admit a contrary doctrine, and it will strike at the very root of subordination. It would be saying to the soldiers : " 'Before you obey the command of your superior officer, you have a right to inquire into the legality of the services upon which you are about to be employed, and until you are satisfied, you may refuse to take the field.' This, I believe, is a principle which cannot be acted upon. General Sevier was bound to obey the orders which he had received to un- dertake the expedition. The officers under him were obliged to obey him. They went with the full confidence that the United States would pay them, believing that the United States had appointed such officers as would not call them into the field without proper authority. If even the expedi- tion had been unconstitutional, which I am' far from believ- ing, it ought not to affect the soldier, since he has no choice in the business, being obliged to obey his superior. Indeed, as the provisions have been paid for, and as the rations and payroll are always considered 'a check upon .each other, I Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 303 hope no objection will be made to the resolution which I have moved. "By referring to the report it will be seen that the Secre- tary of War has stated that to allow the prayer of this peti- tion would be to establish a principle that will aply to the whole of the militia in that expedition. If this petitioner's claim is a just one, therefore, the present petition ought to go to the whole, as it is unnecessary for every soldier em- ployed on that expedition to apply personally to this House for compensation." James Madison made a speech on Jackson's side, and it was referred to a Committee of Five of which Jackson was made Chairman, who reported in favor of the amount being paid to Hugh Lawson White, and that the sum of $22,816.00 be appropriated for all the troops on the expedition, which .was carried into effect. After Congress adjourned on March 3, 1797, we hear nothing more of Jackson in the House of Representatives. Senator Blount having been expelled, Governor Sevier appointed Jackson to serve out the unexpired term in the United States Senate, and the new Senator got back to Phil- adelphia in the fall of 1797, and on the 22nd of November was sworn in. He took no part in the proceedings of the Senate, and in April, 1798, he went back to Nashville and tendered his resignation to the Governor. It was while serving as a member of the House that he made the acquaintance of Edward Livingstone, then a mem- ber from New York, which acquaintance ripened into a life- long friendship that was never broken nor even shaken. After resigning from the Senate, the Legislature elected him in 1798 a member of the Superior Court of Law and Equity at a salary of six hundred dollars, and he held this position for six years, and never wrote an opinion. The newly elected Judge received from the State at the hands of Governor Sevier his judicial commission. "STATE OF TENNESSEE JOHN SEVIER, GOVERNOR IN AND OVER THE SAME To All Who Shall See These Presents, Greeting, Know Ye, that Andrew Jackson, esquire, of Davidson County, Mero District, was on the 20th inst. December, by joint ballot of the Houses of the Legislature, duly elected 304 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History one of the Judges of the Superior Court of law and equity in and for said State, agreeably to the constitution thereof ; and that in pursuance of the said constitution, I, the said John Sevier, do hereby commission the said Andrew Jack- son one of the Judges of the Superior Courts of law and equity aforesaid, to have and to hold the said office of one of the Judges of the Superior Courts of law and equity dur- ing good behavior, with all the powers and privileges or rights thereto pertaining. Given under my hand and seal at Knoxville this 22nd December, 1798. By the Governor, (Signed) John Sevier. William Mclin, Secretary. Judge Jackson did not take the oath of office until the March term of the court, as evidenced by the following cer- tificate from J. W. Aiken, Clerk of the Superior Court, to- wit: "STATE OF TENNESSEE WASHINGTON DISTRICT, MARCH TERM, 1799 I, James Aiken, Clerk of the Superior Court of law of Washington District, in the State aforesaid, do certify that the Hon'ble Andrew Jackson appeared in open Court and produced the within Commission and took an oath to sup- port the Constitution of the United States, State of Tennes- see and also the oath of office required by law. Given under my hand this 4th day of March A. D. 1799, and in the 23rd year of our Independence. (Signed) J. W. Aiken." ENDORSED "THE COMMISSION OF THE HON'BLE AND'W JACK- SON." In 1801 Archibald Roane was Governor, and the office of Major General of Militia became vacant, a position which was eagerly sought. The office was filled by the field officers, and on the day of the election it was found that Judge Jack- son and General Sevier had an equal number of votes, and it was left for the Governor to vote off the tie, which he did, by voting for and electing Jackson. General Sevier was credited with having won thirty-five battles, and at the time of the election Jackson had never fought a battle, and Sevier was very much chagrined over his defeat. In addition to that, charges were bruited about that certain parties had procured fraudulent issues of land warrants, and that Gov- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 305 ernor Sevier had dealt in some of these fraudulent warrants. At the expiration of Roane's term, Sevier became a candi- date for Governor and defeated him by a vote of 6,786 to 4,923, and while the campaign was going on, Jackson made public the charge against Sevier of dealing in fraudulent land warrants. This, of course, brought on great bitterness, and the matter was referred to the Legislature while Sevier was Governor, but no final action was taken against the Governor — the matter was allowed to die. Charges and counter-charges passed between Sevier and Jackson, with a challenge or two to fight a duel, made by Jackson and accepted by Sevier, but the friends of the two never allowed an actual shooting to occur between them. These differences occurred while Jackson was a Judge of the highest Court of the State, and Sevier the Governor of the State. On July 24, 1804, Jackson resigned as Judge. On the purchase of Louisiana, he wanted to be appointed Governor of that new territory, but did not succeed in his aspiration. He was now out of office, having resigned the position of Representative in Congress, Senator in Congress, and Judge of the highest Court in the State. He turned his attention strictly to business matters and evidently made up his mind to make a fortune. He had, during the years previous to his resignation, been buying up land which in- creased in value, so that the probabilities are that at this time, he was a man of very substantial means for that day. It is impossible to tell just how many thousands of acres he owned, but it is clear that he w r as a wealthy land owner. He is credited with owning one hundred and fifty slaves at this time, and he probably bought and sold slaves. He accepted slavery as an existing institution, just as every man in Tennessee at that time did, so that his own- ing or buying and selling slaves, was nothing more than was to be expected under existing conditions. He went into the business of raising fine stock, and was very successful. He became a merchant, and his credit in Philadelphia and other eastern cities, was gilt edged. He was one of the most successful and progressive farmers of the day, and dis- played a business capacity that was surprising. He was a devoted friend of the race track, raced his own horses, 20 306 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History bet on horse races, made wagers on chicken fights, and very probably gambled some with cards, but his gamb- ling was merely an incident in his career. He was devoted to the game of billiards. These pastimes were the order of the day, and nothing was thought of a man who participated in them. No man can be justly criticised who does not rise above his environment and the conditions about him; men who successfully attempt to elevate the conditions of their day are rare. Mankind has settled down to the opinion that a man who lives up to the average virtue and principles and conduct of his day and time, is entitled to the respect even of later years when different standards are demanded. In 1917 the race track has been abolished in Tennessee, fighting chickens is not recognized as a proper thing to do, gambling has been put under the ban of the law. Jackson did all of these things — and so did practically everybody else at that day who had any proclivity at all in the direction of sports, excitement or diversion. Jackson fought a duel and killed Charles Dickinson. Dueling was one of the accepted customs not only at the date of the duel with Dickinson, but for years afterwards. Men who were opposed, in principle, to duels, dared not re- fuse to accept a challenge when one was sent them. The brand of cowardice was put on any man who refused to fight on the Field of Honor, and so dueling retained its life for years by reason of the moral cowardice of men who in principle, were opposed to it. It is surprising to the reader of today to learn the curious logic on which dueling was based. A simple illustration will make it plain: A man has done a wrong to another, for which that other feels that he must demand redress, so the injured party challenges the wrong-doer to fight. Under the rules of dueling each party selects a friend who is known as his "second," and the seconds regulate the condi- tions of the duel. The seconds prescribe the distance be- tween the parties in the duel, and all the other conditions. They meet on the Field, and at the word given, they proceed to fight. The fight may be with rifles, pistols, swords or bowie knives; the injured party may be slain, and the party committing the original wrong, be the victor, killing Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 307 his antagonist. The logic of dueling justified this situation where the party doing the original injury does a second and greater injury by taking the life of the person first injured. From the standpoint of reason, logic and sense, all of this, of course, is preposterous. The party originally injured receives a death wound, the original wrong-doer goes un- 'hurt, the original wrong is not vindicated or expiated. One justification offered for dueling was that it was just as fair for one as it was for the other, but this is manifestly untrue. Some men are braver than others, some better shots, some cooler, some more careless of life, some more vicious; no two men ever lived who had an exact equality of those qualities necessary to fight a duel. In every duel, therefore, inequalities that made success more certain for one than the other, existed; and the deficiency of success- ful dueling qualities was just as likely to be upon the side of the man who was the original injured party, as upon the other. Finally the absurdity of the logic of the duel began to be accepted by men, moral courage became stronger, and the duel was abolished in Tennessee by act of the Legis- lature. General Jackson's first country home was at Hunter's Hill, but he moved from there to the adjoining tract of land on which he built a two-story log house, and called it the "Hermitage," in which he entertained AarOn Burr. The mansion which he built in 1819, and which was considered a grand home at that time, was burned in 1834, and promptly rebuilt as it stands today, in care of the Ladies' Hermitage Association of Tennessee. Burr was entertained at the Hermitage twice, and ban- quets were tendered to him by the citizens of Nashville. It is difficult for the reader of today to see in the conduct of Aaron Burr anything more reprehensible than the con- duct of Sam Houston, with the backing of Andrew Jack- son, in going to Texas while in a condition of revolution against Mexico, and assisting the Texans to throw off the Mexican yoke and annex themselves to the United States. The reader can hardly help thinking that politics was the cause of the condemnation of Aaron Burr, and that the 308 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History charge was made, like other political charges, to get an advantage, and to crush an opponent. Governor William Blount was expelled from the United States Senate when the sum total of his guilt was an attempt to benefit the people of Tennessee, and the whole Mississippi Valley, by- bringing about the free navigation of the Mississippi River. Mrs. Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 309 CHAPTER XXI. MRS. ANDREW (RACHEL DONELSON) JACKSON. The element of romance is woven into the warp and woof of Tennessee history in all departments of the life of the people from the earliest pioneer days. The romance of the pioneer days was like all life of the time : thrilling, ven- turesome, novel, inspiring, and often glorious ; and romance and fiction writers need not go elsewhere to find material that makes a universal appeal to men and women. To prove this, let us go back to the flotilla of rude water craft that started on December 22nd, 1779, from Fort Pat- rick Henry, under the command of Col. John Donelson, on a journey of reckless daring by water to Nashville, Ten- nessee. The craft were loaded with men, women and chil- dren, who were to constitute the first settlers of the State at Nashville. Among them was a young girl about thir- teen years old, the daughter of Col. Donelson, Rachel by name, whom Destiny, hungry for a victim to make unhappy, was to lead on to a life with unspeakably sad incidents in it, and which, while at times covered with clouds and storms, was always wholesome and upright and pure. The life of Rachel Donelson suggests that aged query that the sons and daughters of men have been asking ever since the days of the bliss and fall of Eden, namely: "Is the game of life worth the candle?" The imagination could not in 1779 picture the young girl of thirteen, becoming in 1828 an issue in a national election, upon whom all the artillery of party politics, firing hate and slander and denunciation and obloquy and perjury, was turned, in order to defeat her husband for president. Not by her will or by reason of any real wrong she had done was she made a sacrifice, in order that John Quincy Adams might, if possible, be re- elected President of the United States, but a sacrifice she was made. The politics of the day spared nothing and no- body. General Jackson's enemies controlled three-fourths of the newspapers of the country, and Mrs. Jackson was 310 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History held by them to be legitimate game by which to control voters, if they could do it. Rachel Donelson was born in Virginia in 1767, and was only a few months younger than General Jackson, and came to the Watauga region with her parents and family. It is one of the traditions over which we love to linger that she steered "the good boat Adventure" on the river journey to Nashville, when Indian attacks made it necessary for the men on board to use their guns in defense. The tradi- tions in the Donelson family give us delightful glimpses of the girl and young lady down to the time she married Cap- tain Louis Robards in the State of Kentucky, where her family had moved in the year 1781. Her nature as a child was lovable and genial, and threw life and sunshine all about her. She was the baby in her father's family and petted and humored, but never spoiled. She was of the brunette type, not very tall, but well built. As she grew and developed, she was mentally Jceen and bright, naturally cheerful and wlitty, an entertaining talker who told a story well, and of course was popular ; she had talent as a musi- cian, could sing and was very companionable among friends. A friend of a later day asked the question, "Can't you pic- ture this happy hearted pioneer with all the promise of the future and life itself bubbling over in her breast?" Like all of the women of the West of that day, and like a great majority of American women generally, she did not have extensive education. Schools were scarce in those pioneer days. She did not spell correctly always, and her grammar was open to criticism, but the same remark applied also to the general run of men. Blut the child, the girl, the woman, was sound to the core in every quality that makes for true, pure, upright and devoted womanhood. After her family moved to Kentucky, in 1781, she met Captain Louis Robards, who had been a captain in the Revo- lutionary War, as had his brother also, and whose family had moved to Kentucky, where Captain Robards took up land for the script with which he was paid for his services in the Revolutionary War. All accounts represent him as educated, handsome, polished in manners and conversation, and possessed of those attributes supposed to attract women ; Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 3 1 1 and all accounts also are unanimous in representing him as high tempered and jealous. He was one of those men w r ho could not get along with any woman very long at a time, and naturally he and his wife had many unhappy episodes brought about by his temper and jealousy, and for no sub- stantial cause on her part. Pursuing the policy of letting an eye witness, if one could be found, tell of episodes or characteristics, in his own language, the author will quote in full the narrative of Judge John Overton, in reference to the troubles of Cap- tain Robards and his wife, the connection of General Jack- son therewith, and the subsequent marriage of General Jackson and Mrs. Robards ; and also quote in full the state- ment of Mrs. Elizabeth Craighead, who was a life-long friend and neighbor of Mrs. Jackson. These narratives were made public in the presidential election of 1828 when the Adam's newspapers were applying to Mrs. Jackson all manner of offensive epithets, and when it became necessary for the Democrats and General Jackson to go into his private and domestic affairs, and make public all the facts leading up to his marriage. To the credit of the American people, be it said, that this is the only instance in our his- tory where politics made such a course necessary. An ap- proach to it was in the presidential election of 1884, when Republican newspapers charged Grover Cleveland with be- the father of an illegitimate child, which charge Mr. Cleve- land answered, by telling his friends to "tell the truth" about it, and which frank answer took all of the sting out of the charge and Cleveland was elected. This was fol- lowed up by the Democrats making a similar charge against James G. Blaine, who ran against Cleveland, which sent investigators to the tombstones in a cemetery in the State of Maine to ascertain the date of a child's birth and death, there buried. Since the 1884 campaign it seems to be the wish of both political parties to keep up out of the mud. NARRATIVE OF JUDGE OVERTON. "In the fall of 1787, I became a boarder in the family of Mrs. Robards, the mother of Lewis Robards, in Mer- cer County, Kentucky, Captain Robards and his wife then lived with old Mrs. Robards. 312 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "I had not lived there many weeks before I understood that Captain Robards and his wife lived very unhappily, on account of his being jealous of Mr. Short. My brother, who was -a boarder, informed me that great uneasiness had existed in the family for some time before my arrival. As he had the confidence and good will of all parties, a portion of this confidence fell to my share, particularly the old lady's, than whom, perhaps, a more amiable woman never lived. The uneasiness between Captain Robards and the lady continued to increase, and with it great distress of the mother, and considerably with the family generally; until early in the year 1788, as well as now recollected, I understood from the old lady, and perhaps others of the family, that her son Lewis had written to Mrs. Robards' mother, the widow Donelson, requesting that she would take her home, as he did not intend to live with her any longer. Certain it is that Mrs. Robards' brother, Samuel Donelson, came up to carry her down to her mother's, and my impression is, in the fall or summer of 1788. I was present when Mr. Samuel Donelson arrived at Mrs. Ro- bards', and he started away with his sister; and my clear and distinct recollection is that it was said to be a final separation at the instance of Captian Robards; for I well recollect the distress of old Mrs. Robards, on account of her daughter-in-law, Rachel, going away, and on account of the separation that was about to take place, together with the circumstance of the old lady's embracing her affection- ately. In unreserved conversations with me, the old lady always blamed her son, Lewis, and took the part of her daughter-in-law. "During my residence in Mrs. Robard's family, I do not recollect to have heard any of the family censure young Mrs. Robards on account of the difference between her hus- band and herself; if they thought otherwise, it was un- known to me; but recollect frequently to have heard the old lady and Captain Jouett, who married the eldest daugh- ter of the family, at that time, express the most favorable sentiments of her. "Having finished my studies in the winter of '88-9, it was determined to fix my residence in the country now called West Tennessee. Previously to my departure from Mrs. Robards', the old lady earnestly entreated me to use my exertions to get her son, Lewis, and daughter-in-law, Rachel, to live happily together. "Their separation for a considerable time had occa- sioned her great uneasiness, as she appeared to be much attached to her daughter-in-law, and she to her; Captain Lewis Robards appeared to be unhappy, and the old lady Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 313 told me he regretted what had taken place, and wished to be reconciled to his wife. Before I would agree to con- cern myself in the matter, I determined to ascertain Cap- tain Robards' disposition from himself, and took occasion to converse with him on the subject, when he assured me of his regret respecting what had passed ; that he was con- vinced his suspicions were unfounded; that he wished to live with his wife, and requested that I would use my exer- tions to restore harmony. "I told him I would undertake it, provided he would throw aside all nonsensical notions about jealousy, for which I was convinced there was no ground, and treat his wife kindly as other men. He assured me it should be so; and it is my impression now that I received a message from old Mrs. Robards to Mrs. Lewis Robards, which I delivered to her on my arrival at her mother's, where I found her some time in the month of February, or March, 1789. The situation of the country induced me to solicit Mrs. Donelson to board me, good accommodatins and board- ing being rarely to be met with, to which she readily as- sented. "Mr. A. Jackson had studied the law at Salisbury, N. C, as I understood, and had arrived in this country in com- pany with Judge McNairy, Bennet, Searcy, and perhaps David Allison, all lawyers seeking their fortunes, more than a month or two before my arrival. Whether Mr. Jackson was at Mrs. Donelson's when I first got there in March, 1789, I cannot say; if he was, it must have been but a little time. My impression now is that he was not living there, and having just arrived, I introduced him into the family as a boarder, after becoming acquainted with him. So it was we commenced boarding there about the same time; Jackson and myself, our friends and clients, occupying one cabin and the family another, a few steps from it. "Soon after my arrival, I had frequent conversations with Mrs. Lewis Robards, on the subject of living happily with her husband. She with much sensibility, assured me that no effort to do so should be wanting on her part; and I communicated the result to Captain Robards and his mother, from both of whom I received congratulations and thanks. "Captain Robards had previously purchased a preemp- tion in this country on the south side of Cumberland River, in Davidson County, about five miles from where Mrs! Donelson then lived. In the arrangement for a reunion be- tween Captain Robards and his wife, I understood it was agreed that Captain Robards was to live in this country instead of Kentucky ; that until it was safe to go on his own 314 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History land, which was yearly expected, he and his wife were to live at Mrs. Donelson's. Captain Robards became reunited to his wife some time in the year of 1788. Both Mr. Jack- son and myself boarded in the family of Mrs. Donelson — lived in the cabin room and slept in the same bed. As young men of the same pursuits and profession, with but few others in the country with whom to associate, besides sharing, as we frequently did, common dangers, such an intimacy ensued as might reasonably be expected. "Not many months elapsed before Robards became jeal- ous of Jackson, which I felt confident was without the least ground. Some of his irritating conversations on this sub- ject, with his wife, I heard amidst the tears of herself and her mother, who were greatly distressed. I urged to Robards the unmanliness of his conduct, after the pains I had taken to produce harmony, as a mutual friend of both families, and my honest conviction that his suspicions were groundless. These remonstrances seemed not to have the desired effect. As much commotion and unhappiness pre- vailed in the family as in that of Mrs. Robards in Ken- tucky. At length, I communicated to Jackson the unpleas- ant situation of living in a family wlhere there was so much disturbance, and concluded by telling him that we would endeavor to get some other place. To this he readily as- sented ; but where to go we did not know. Being conscious of his innocence, he said he would talk to Robards. "What passed between Captain Robards and Jackson, I do not know, as I was absent somewhere, not now recol- lected, when the conversation and results took place, but re- turned soon afterward. The Whole affair was related to me by Mrs. Donelson, the mother of Mrs. Robards, and, as well as I recollect, by Jackson himself. The substance of their account was, that Mr. Jackson met Captain Robards near the orchard fence, and began mildly to remonstrate with him respecting the injustice he had done his wife, as well as himself. In a little time Robards became vio- lently angry and abusive, and threatened to whip Jack- son ; made a show of doing so, etc. Jackson told him he had not bodily strength to fight him, nor would he do so, feeling conscious of his innocence, and retired to his cabin, telling him at the same time that, if he insisted on fighting, he would give him gentlemanly satisfaction, or words to that effect. Upon Jackson's return out of the house, Cap- tain Robards said he did not care for him nor his wife — abusing them both ; that he was determined not to live with Mrs. Robards. Jackson retired from the family, and went to live at Mansker's station. Captain Robards remained several months with his wife, and then went to Kentucky Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 3 1 5 in company with Mr. Thomas Cruthers and probably some other persons. "Soon after this affair Mrs. Robards went to live at Colonel's Hay's, who married her sister. After a short absence, I returned to live at Mrs. Donelson's, at her earnest entreaty — every family then desiring the association of male friends as a protection against the Indians. This took place, to the best of my recollection, in the spring of 1790. "Some time in the fall following there was a report afloat that Captain Robards intended to come down and take his wife to Kentucky. Whence the report originated I do not now recollect, but it created great uneasiness both with Mrs. Donelson and her daughter, Mrs. Robards — the latter of whom was much distressed, as she was convinced, after two fair trials, as she said, that it would be impossible to live with Captain Robards; and of this opinion was I, with all those I conversed with who were acquainted with the circumstances. Some time afterward, during the win- ter of 1791, Mrs. Donelson told me of her daughter's in- tention to go down the river to Natchez, to some of their friends, in order to keep out of the way of Captain Robards, as she said he had threatened to 'haunt her.' Knowing as I did, Captain Robards' unhappy, jealous disposition, and his temper growing out of it, I thought she was right to keep out of the way, though I do not believe that I so ex- pressed myself to the old lady or to any other person. "The whole affair gave Jackson great uneasiness, and this will not appear strange to one as well acquainted with his character as I was. Continually together during our attendance on wilderness courts, whilst other young men were indulging in familiarities with females of relaxed morals, no suspicion of this kind of the world's censure ever fell to Jackson's share. In this, in his singularly deli- cate sense of honor, and in what I thought his chivalrous conceptions of the female sex, it occurred to me that he was distinguished from every other person with whom I was acquainted. "About the time of Mrs. Donelson's communication to me respecting her daughter's intention of going to Natchez, I perceived in Jackson symptoms of more than usual con- cern. I determined to ascertain the cause, when he frankly told me that he was the most unhappy of men, in having innocently and unintentionally been the cause of the loss of peace and happiness of Mrs. Robards, whom he be- lieved to be a fine woman. In this I concurred with him, but remonstrated on the propriety of his not giving him- self any uneasiness about it. It was not long after this be- fore he communicated to me his intention of going to Natchez 3 1 6 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History with Colonel Stark with whom Mrs. Robards was to descend the river, saying that she had no friend or relation that would go with her or assist in preventing Stark and his family and Mrs. Robards from being massacred by the Indians, then in a state of war and exceedingly trouble- some. Accordingly, Jackson, in company with Mrs. Ro- bards and Colonel Stark, a venerable and highly esteemed old man, and friend of Mrs. Robards, went down the river from Nashville to Natchez, some time in the winter or spring of 1791. It was not, however, without the urgent entreaties of Colonel Stark, who wanted protection from the Indians, that Jackson consented to accompany them; of which I had heard before Jackson's conversation with me already alluded to. "Previously to Jackson's starting, he committed all his law business to me, at the same time assuring me, that as soon as he should see Colonel Stark and family and Mrs. Robards situated with their friends in the neighborhood of Natchez, he would return and resume his practice. He descended the river, returned from Natchez to Nashville, and was at the Superior Court in the latter place in May, 1791, attending to his business as a lawyer and solicitor general for the government. About, or shortly after this time, we were informed that a divorce had been granted by the Legislature of Virginia, through the influence, princi- pally, of Captain Robards' brother-in-law, Major John Jouett, who was probably in the Legislature at that time. "This application had been anticipated by me. The divorce was understood by the people of this country to have been granted by the Legislature of Virginia in the winter of 1790-1791. I was in Kentucky in the summer of 1791, remained at old Mrs. Robards', my former place of residence part of my time, and never understood other- wise than that Captain Robards' divorce was final, until the latter part of the year 1793. In the summer of 1791, Gen- eral Jackson went to Natchez, and, I understood, married Mrs. Robards, then believed to be freed from Captain Ro- bards, by the divorce in the fall of 1791. They returned to Nashville and settled in the neighborhood of it, where they have lived ever since, beloved and esteemed by all classes. "About the month of December, 1793, after General Jackson and myself had started to Jonesborough, in East Tennessee, where we practiced law, I learned for the first time that Captain Robards had applied to Mercer Court, in Kentucky, for a divorce, which had then recently been granted, and that the Legislature had not absolutely granted a divorce, but left it for the court to do. I need not express Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 3 1 7 my surprise, on learning that the act of the Virginia Leg- islature had not divorced Captain Robards. I informed General Jackson of it, who was equally surprised ; and dur- ing our conversation, I suggested the propriety of his pro- curing a license on his return home, and having the mar- riage ceremony again performed, so as to prevent all future caviling on the subject. "To this suggestion, he replied, that he had long since been married on the belief that a divorce had been obtained, which was the understanding of every person in the coun- try ; nor was it without difficulty he could be induced to be- lieve otherwise. "On our return home from Jonesboro, in January, 1794, to Nashville, a license was obtained, and the marriage cere- mony performed. "The slowness and inaccuracy with which information was received in West Tennessee at that time will not be surprising, when we consider its insulated and dangerous situation, surrounded on every side by the wilderness, and by hostile Indians, and that there was no mail established till about 1797, as well as I recollect. 'Since the year 1791, General Jackson and myself have never been much apart, except when he was in the army. I have been intimate in his family, and from the mutual and uninterrupted happiness of the General and Mrs. Jackson, which I have at all times witnessed with pleasure, as well as those delicate and polite attentions which have ever been reciprocated between them, I have been long confirmed in the opinion, that there never existed any other than what was believed to be the most honorable and virtuous inter- course between them. Before their going to Natchez, I had daily opportunities to being convinced that there was none other; before being married in the Natchez country, after it was understood that a divorce had been granted by the Legislature of Virginia, it is believed there was none." STATEMENT OF MRS. CRAIGHEAD. "Mr. Craighead and myself came to this country about forty-two years ago, and Mrs. Donelson, the mother of Mrs. Jackson, and family, came and settled at the Clover Bottom in Davidson County, Tennessee, the same year. With the family of Mrs. Donelson, I was well and intimately acquainted — indeed, my family had a knowledge of the Don- elson connection for about seven years. The whole family were respectable, and I lived in habits of intimacy with Mrs. Donelson during her life, and with Mrs. Jackson 3 1 8 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History nearly forty years. The character of Mrs. Donelson, the mother of Mrs. Jackson, was without blemish, and her standing in society was inferior to that of no lady in the country. She respected religion while she lived and died in the hope of a happy hereafter. "Mrs. Jackson, then Mrs. Robards, was brought to this country from Kentucky by one of her brothers a few years after the family had settled themselves here, in conse- quence, as I understood, of the cruel treatment of her hus- band, who was said to be a man of jealous disposition and vicious habits. This was manifested by the suspicions he entertained of the improper conduct of his wife. At the time she lived with him, at the house of his mother in Ken- tucky, an attorney of the name of Short, also boarded with the old lady. With regard to the unhappy difference which took place between Robards and his wife, it was believed that it arose from the circumstance of Short's living in the same family with Mrs. Robards and showing her perhaps a little more than ordinary politeness. James Brown, my brother, who is now at Paris in France, came to this coun- try shortly after Mrs. Robards arrived from Kentucky, and, speaking of her, deeply regretted her misfortunes. He said that he believed her to be a chaste and virtuous woman, and gave as a reason for thinking so, that he was intimate with Mr. Short, and had conversed with him particularly in re- spect to Mrs. Robards — that he assured him in the strong- est and most solemn terms that Mrs. Robards was a worthy, virtuous woman, and that the suspicions of her husband were entirely unfounded, cruel and ungenerous. "Mrs. Robards, after having been driven from her moth- er-in-law's by the cruel treatment of her husband, Captain Robards, lived with her mother, Mrs. Donelson, several years, and conducted herself with the greatest propriety, entirely withdrawing herself from all places of public amusement, such as balls, parties, etc. About two years after his wife left Kentucky Robards 'came to this country for the purpose of being reconciled to her. He made every acknowledgment, and appeared to be quite penitent for his past conduct, stating, as I understood at the time, that he did not blame his wife for leaving him and coming to live with her mother. Shortly after his arrival, by the in- terference of friends and acquaintances, she agreed to live with him on condition that he would settle himself in her mother's neighborhood, to which he gave his consent and actually purchased a tract of land. After they became re- conciled, Mrs. Donelson for the first time took into her house as boarders several young gentlemen, there being Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 3 1 9 then few if any regular boarding houses or taverns, among whom were Judge Overton and General Jackson. Having agreed to live together, Robards went back to Kentucky for the purpose of moving his property to this country. Upon his return, having found General Jackson in the family, his jealousies appeared to revive. This was more particularly manifested towards General Jackson in consequence, I sup- pose, of his gay, sprightly disposition and courteous man- ners. From my acquaintance with Mrs. Jackson I have no hesitation in stating it as my firm belief that his suspicions were entirely groundless. No lady ever conducted herself in a more becoming manner during the whole of that period. I have lived in a few miles of Mrs. Jackson ever since that time (with the exception of about two years), and have been intimate with her, and can say that no lady maintains a better character or is more exemplary in her deportment or more beloved by her friends and neighbors. "Elizabeth Craighead." When the election news of 1828 made it certain that General Jackson was elected President, Mrs. Jackson made one comment that has lived down to our day, and will con- tinue to live along with the memory of Andrew Jackson. She said, "Well, for Mr. Jackson's sake, I am glad ; for my own part, I never wished it." She was at that time sixty- one years old and not in good health, and died on December 22d, following the election in November. We do not have to travel very far or search very deep to find the reason why one American woman did not care to be the "first lady in the land," and preside at the White House. Her health was one thing, but another and far more influential thing was that having been made a party defendant, so to speak, in a presidential election, with all of its virulence and in- famy, and knowing that in the White House she would be "in that fierce light that beats upon a throne," the woman shrank back, and who could blame her for so doing. Bring- ing her into the presidential election of 1828 was one of the many infamous things in American politics, and from fur- ther assaults upon her personal appearance, education and character she was saved by the Grim Reaper that took her into a country where presidential politics are not supposed to be. General Jackson's devotion to her was supreme. He built her a church in a few hundred yards of the Hermitage, 320 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History and always and everywhere showed her an affection that caused general admiration. After the battle of New Or- leans, she went by steamboat with the adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jr., to New Orleans, and there in the midst of the most select society in America, at that time, and when Jack- son was living in a blaze of martial glory, his devotion to her was as pronounced as ever. Whatever might be her de- fects of education, or otherwise, her husband did not see them, and he showed to the world that to him she was the first and best woman in the world. This devotion to his wife is one of the things that has brought "Old Hickory's" mem- ory down to us portrayed in colors that will endure. GOVERNOR WISE COMES TO TENNESSEE. In August, 1828, a young man twenty-two years old, with a law license in his pocket, left his home on the eastern shore of Virginia, on his way to Nashville, Tennes- see, to be married, and, as he then thought, to be there set- tled for life. The young man was Henry A. Wise, who afterwards held various high positions, and was Governor of Virginia. On October 8th, following, he was married in Nashville to the daughter of Dr. 0. Jennings, the Presby- terian pastor of Andrew Jackson, and as General and Mrs. Jackson were warm friends' of Dr. Jennings, the General promptly commanded that the bride and groom should spend their honeymoon at the Hermitage, which invitation was accepted, and they went to the Hermitage the next day. Henry A. Wise, the bridegroom, was born in Virginia, De- cember 3, 1806, and died at Richmond, Va., September 12, 1876. He was a Democratic member of Congress from Virginia 1833-1844; United States Minister to Brazil 1844- 1847 ; elected on the Anti-Know-Nothing ticket Governor of Virginia, and served 1856-1860 ; opposed Secession, but fol- lowed his State into the Confederacy, and became Brigadier- General in the Confederate Army. In his political career, Governor Wise was generally Democratic, but he never wore the party harness closely, and was accustomed to criticise men and measures on his own side whenever he thought criticism was due. He was Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 32 1 a man of high intellectual power, had a college education, was bold and self-reliant in all of his actions, and there is probably due him more for the overthrow of the Know- Nothing party than any other one man in America. His canvass for Governor of Virginia was for the purpose of crushing Know-Nothingism, and he succeeded, and the party died after Wise was elected Governor, and has never been resurrected since. When he was about sixty-five years of age, with a long, active and distinguished public career behind him, and with a maturity of experience that made his opinions valuable, he wrote a book entitled, "Seven Decades of the Union," which covers the period in our national life from 1790 to 1862, and which contains historical matter not to be found in any other work. The book is unique in the penetrating light it throws upon many men and events in the period it covers ; it speaks from personal knowledge and actual obser- vation. He was a close observer and admitted to confiden- tial relations in Tyler's administration, and was on intimate terms with General Jackson and his family. The opinions of Governor Wise, therefore, of General Jackson and Mrs. Jackson and their household at the Hermitage, give us with photographic accuracy just what he saw there in the happy days of his honeymoon as the guest of "Old Hickory." Considering Governor Wise's book as the very highest and best authority as to the Hermitage and its inmates, free quotations will be made from it. In getting material for this work we have consulted some twenty thousand pages of books, magazines and pamphlets, as well as old news- papers and letters, for the purpose of finding out, if possi- ble, the real Andrew Jackson, the real Rachel Donelson Jackson, the real Hermitage, and what went on there, and Governor Wise's picture of them all is the best. And to ascertain how accurate his picture is, let the reader peruse carefully everything he says, and note the details of the scene he lays before us of life at a country home near Nash- ville eighty-nine years ago. Governor Wise's book was published in 1872, and is out of print. The author knows of but three copies of it, one in the Congressional Library at Washington, and one in the 322 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Lawson McGhee Library at Knoxville, and one belonging to the author. Another edition ought to be brought out by somebody, and in order that at least the part here quoted may be revived, it will be laid before the reader just as Governor Wise wrote it. GOVERNOR WISE ON GEN. AND MRS. JACKSON. "His presence immediately struck us by its majestic, commanding mien. He was about six feet high, slender in form, long and straight in lim'b, a little rounded in the shoulders, but stood gracefully erect. His hair, not then white, but venerably gray, stood more erect than his per- son; not long, but evenly cut, and each particular hair stood forth for itself a radius from a high and full-orbed head, chiseled with every mark of massive strength ; his brow was deep, but not heavy, and underneath its porch of the cranium were deep-set, clear, small, blue eyes, which scintillated a light of quick perception like lightning, and then there was no fierceness in them. His cheek-bones were strong, and his jaw was rather 'lantern;' the nose was straight, long and Grecian; the uper lip, the only heavy fea- ture of his face, and his nasal muscle somewhat ghastly and ugly, but his mouth showed rocklike firmness, and his chin was manly as that of Mars. His teeth were long, as if the alveolar process had been absorbed, and w r ere loose, and gave an ugly, ghastly expression to his nasal muscle. His chest was flat and broad. He was unreserved in conversa- tion, talked volubly and with animation, somewhat vehement and declamatory, though with perfect dignity and self-pos- session. He evidently wished to impress himself upon his visitors, but without any air of affectation, and his intent manner asserted his superiority. He hesitated not to dis- sent from any remark or opinion which called for contra- diction; but he was extremely polite, though positive, in the extreme. He knew Dr. Wylie, and had the highest re- spect for his character and reverence for his religious pro- fession of the Presbyterian faith. We were not awed by his presence, but intently studied him, and we augured his greatness from his looks and words, which drew us close up to him. "We arrived at the Hermitage to dinner, and were shown to a bridal chamber magnificently furnished with articles which were the rich and costly presents of the city of New Orleans to its noble defender. 'Had we not seen General Jackson before, we would have taken him for a visitor, not the host of the mansion. He Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 323 greeted us cordially, and bade us feel at home, but gave us distinctly to understand that he took no trouble to look after any but his lady guests; as for the gentlemen, there were the parlor, the dining-room, the library, the sideboard and its refreshments ; there were the servants, and, if any- thing was wanting, all that was necessary was to ring. He was as good as his word. He did not sit at the head of his table, but mingled with his guests, and always preferred a seat between two ladies, obviously seeking a chair between different ones at various times. He was very easy and graceful in his attentions; free, and often playful, but always dignified and earnest, in his conversation. He was quick to perceive every point of word or manner, was gra- cious in approval, but did not hesitate to dissent with cour- tesy when he differed. He obviously had a hidden vein of humor, loved aphorism, and could politely convey a sense of smart travesty. If put upon his metal, he was very positive, but gravely respectful. He conversed freely, and seemed to be absorbed in attention to what the ladies were saying, but if a word of note was uttered at any distance from him audibly, he caught it by a quick and pertinent comment, without losing or leaving the subject about which he was talking to another person — such was his ease of sociability without levity or lightness of activity, and without being oracular or heavy in his remarks. He had great power of attention and concentration, without being prying, curt, or brusque. Strong good sense and warm kindness of manner put every word of his pleasantly and pointedly in its right place. He conversed wonderfully well, and at times pro- nounced incorrectly and misused words ; and it was remark- able, too, that when he did so it was with emphasis on the error of speech, and he would give it a marked prominence in diction. ''The first or second evening of our stay, Mr. Lee had drawn around him his usual crowd of listeners ; but we were the more special guest of Mrs. Jackson. She was a descend- ant of Colonel Charles Stokely, of our native county, Acco- mack, Virginia, and we had often seen his old mansion, an old Hanoverian hip-roofed house, standing on the seaside, not far from Metompkin ; and she had often heard her mother talk of the old Assawaman Church, not far above Colonel Stokely's house, pulled down long before our day, endowed with its silver communion-service by our great- grandfather, George Douglass, Esq., of Assawaman. Thus she was not only a good Presbyterian, whose pastor's daugh- ter was the bride, and she a Presbyterian too, but the groom was from the county of her ancestors, in Virginia, and could 324 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History tell her something about traditions she had heard of the family from which she sprung. With pious devotion to her mother's family, she desired to have a talk with us partic- ularly, and formed a cosy group of quiet chat in the north- east corner room leading to the garden. The room had a north window, diagonal from the door leading to the gar- den. At this door her group was formed, fronting, in a semicircle, this north widow of the room, the garden door on our right. First, on our right, next the window, was old Judge Overton, one of General Jackson's earliest and best friends. He was a man who had made his mark in law and politics, but was not pious and was a queer-looking little old man. Small in stature, and cut into sharp angles at every salient point, a round, prominent, gourd-like, bald cranium, a peaked, Roman nose, a prominent, sharp, but manly chin, and he had lost his teeth and swallowed his lips. 'There was danger,' as Mr. Phillip Doddridge once said of his own nose and chin, 'of their coming together, for many sharp words had passed between them!' Next to him, on his left, sat General Jackson, his hair always standing straight up and out, but he in his mildest mood of social suavity ; on his left the Reverend Dlr. Jennings, one of the sweetest men in society, very distinguished as a lawyer first, and then as a divine, with a rare sense of humor which even his religious zeal could not always repress, and yet awfully earnest and severe against all levity; on his left was Mrs. Jackson, a lady who, doubtless, was once a form of rotund and rubicund beauty, but now was very plethoric and obese, and seemingly suffered from what was called phthisis, and talked low but quick, with a short and wheezing breath, the very personation of affable kindness and of a welcome as sincere and truthful as it was simple and tender; on her left was ourself, responding to her every inquiry about things her mother had handed down concerning the Stokely family. On our left sat Henry Baldwin, the son of Judge Baldwin, of the Supreme Court of the United States, one "Of the groomsmen, a gentleman of fine culture, good sense, and taste ; and on his left was sweet Mary , one of the bridesmaids. Thus the dramatis personae sat in the scene. "General Jackson was elected- President in the fall of 1828. His domestic life had been scanned and scourged, and his beloved and honored wife had been most malig- nantly reviled and tortured by the forked tongues of his political opponents. She was happy in his love, and never aspired to the splendor of his fortune in life. She had fled to his manhood for protection and peace, and had been Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 325 sheltered and saved by his gallant championship of the cause of woman. He, and he alone, was her all, and of him it may be truly said that, in respect to 'wassail, wine, and woman,' he was one of the purest men of his day, and that, too, in an age of rude habits and vulgar dissipation among the rough settlers of the West. He was temperate in drink, abstemious in diet, simple in tastes, polished in maners, ex- cept when aroused, and always preferred the society of ladies, with the most romantic, pure, and poetic devotion. He was never accused of indulging in any of the grosser vices, except that in early life he swore, horse-raced, and attended cock-fights. As for the wife of his bosom, she was a woman of spotless character, and an unassuming, consist- ent Christian : yet political rancor bitterly assailed her, and not content with defamation, endeavored to belittle her by the contemptuous appellation of 'Aunt Rachel,' and held her up to ridicule for 'smoking a corn-cob pipe.' She did prefer that form, not for the pleasure of smoking, but because a pipe was prescribed by her physician for her phthisis ; and she often rose in the night to smoke for relief. In a night of December, 1828, she rose to smoke, and caught cold whilst sitting in her night clothes ; and the story is that her system had been shocked by her overhearing reproaches of herself whilst waiting in a parlor at the Nashville Inn. She had said to a friend, upon the election of her husband, 'For Mr. Jackson's sake, I am glad ; for my own part, I never wished it. I assure you I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God than to live in that palace in Washington.' She was not allowed to live 'in that palace in Washington.' Be- fore the day of her husband's inauguration at the White House she was taken by her God to that 'house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.' " Between two and three months after Governor Wise and his bride had left the Hermitage and gone back to Nash- ville, Mrs. Jackson was suddenly taken ill, and in a little while died, and the Governor paints the picture of the funeral : "Preparations were being made in Nashville to give him and his lady a grand reception and celebration of the anniversary of this his lucky day, and all eyes were bent towards the Hermitage to see the conquering hero, the then President, come with his cherished wife at his side, wlien lo ! a messenger on 'the White Horse' was seen, riding fast, to announce that his partner was — dead. She was no longer the afflicted, deserted one, whom he had championed and 326 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History married and lived with in holy and lawful wedlock. She was no longer his angel bosom partner; she was no longer a target for this world's fiery darts of detraction — she was a saint. The day's gladness wias turned to earthly mourn- ing, and the day of the funeral came instead of the day of feasting. "Dr. Heiskell, of Winchester, Virginia, was just starting as a young physician in the neighborhood of the Hermitage, and was the first to minister to her relief, and attended until two eminent physicians were called in from Nashville. From him we learned that she had caught cold, and pleuritic symptoms supervened upon her constitutional nervous af- fections. She was sitting smoking her corncob pipe when she caught her last malady. "The day of burial came and we witnessed the solemn scene. This we can confidently testify that more sincere homage was done to her dead than was ever done to any woman in our day and country living. Thousands from the city and from all the country around flocked to her fun- eral. The poor white people, the slaves of the Hermitage and adjoining plantations, and the neighbors, crowded off the gentry of town and country, and filled the large garden in which the interment took place. She had been a Hannah and a Dorcas to every needy household. She had been more than mistress, a mother to her servants and depend- ents; and the richest and best were proud of the privilege of her sincere and simple friendship. She was, without question, loved and honored by high and low, white and black, bond and free, rich and poor, and that love was so unaffectedly expressed by a wail so loud and long that there was no mistaking its grief for the loss, not of the departed one, but of the living left behind her. From that same door of the northeast room of the house near which the happy bridal party sat but a few months before, her coffin was borne to the grave dug in the garden for her remains. "Following the pall-bearers came General Jackson, with his left hand in the arm of General Carroll, holding his cane in his right hand, not grasping it with the hand over the head, nor with the thumb up, but with the back of the hand up, and holding the point of the cane forward as he would have held a sword, and where he stopped at the pile of clay, its point rested on the clods. "The body was let down, 'dust to dust' was said, the grave was filled up and shaped into the common mound which covers poor mortality, and General Jackson was led away by General Carroll back to the northeast room. The crowd followed, and we got in near to the chief mourner. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 327 Arriving fairly into the room, and pausing for a few mo- ments, he looked around him, and raising his voice, said: « 'Friends- and neighbors, I thank you for the honor you have done to the sainted one whose remains now repose in yonder grave. She is now in the bliss of heaven, and I know that she can suffer here no more on earth. That is enough for my consolation; my loss is her gain. But I am left without her, to encounter the trials of life alone. I am now the President-elect of the United States, and in a short time must take my way to. the metropolis of my country; and, if it has been God's will, I would have been grateful for the privilege of taking her to my post of honor and seating her by my side; but Providence knew what was best for her. For myself, I bow to God's will, and go alone to the place of new and arduous duties, and I shall not go without friends to reward, and I pray God that I may not be allowed to have enemies to punish. I can forgive all who have wronged me, but will have fervently to pray that I may have grace to enable me to forget or for- give any enemy who has ever maligned that blessed one who is now safe from all suffering and sorrow, whom they tried to put to shame for my sake!" May the author be pardoned if he joins Governor Wise in rescuing from oblivion his kinsman, Dr. Heiskell, who was the first physician to attend Mrs. Jackson? His full name was Dr. Henry Lee Heiskell, and he was born in Winchester, Virginia, March 16, 1803, and graduated in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1828. Gen- eral Jackson appointed him Assistant Surgeon in the United States Army on July 13, 1832, and he served in the Seminole War in 1835-1837. On July 7, 1838, he was appointed a surgeon in the army with the rank of Major and was as- signed as Assistant to Surgeon-General Lawson. On June 9, 1842, he married Elizabeth Gouveneur of New York, granddaughter of President James Monroe. He died Au- gust 12, 1855. MRS. JACKSON'S CHURCH. General Jackson built a church for his wife in 1823, on the Hermitage Farm, a short distance from the Mansion, and Mrs. Jackson joined the church in 1824 when she was fifty-seven years old. From time to time, down to her death in December, 1828, she urged General Jackson to join her church, and his answer has come down to us. He told her 328 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History that he could not join the church then, for if he did, it would be said all over the country by his enemies that he had joined for political effect, but that when he was clear of politics, he would join the church, and he made his word good. There is no one thing in the life of "Old Hickory" more characteristic than this; and for nothing do we ac- cord him more sincere respect. The reason given to his wife demonstrates that there was no hypocrisy in his make- up, and that he would not place himself in the attitude where his enemies could charge hypocrisy on him, however sin- cere his joining the church might be. He went out of the presidential office in 1837, and in 1839 joined the Her- mitage Church. After the death of Mrs. Jackson the church was not able to sustain itself, although it had been incor- porated into the Presbytery; but after the General joined, it was reorganized and rendered effective church service down to the time of his death. Only one funeral has ever been preached in the Her- mitage Church, and that was the funeral of Colonel An- drew Jackson, III, who was born and raised at the Her- mitage; graduated at West Point; was a Colonel in the Confederate Army, serving at Vicksburg, and died at Knox- ville, Tennessee, December 16th, 1906. It would seem per- fectly in accord with the fitness of things that a Jackson or a Donelson should be buried from the Hermitage Church. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 329 CHAPTER XXII. ANDREW JACKSON— THE NATCHEZ EXPEDITION AND THE AFFRAY WITH THE BENTONS. The War of 1812 began with the declaration of hostili- ties by the United States June 12, 1812, and on June 25th, through Willie Blount, Governor of Tennessee, General Jackson offered to the President his services as Major Gen- eral of Tennessee militia and twenty-five hundred Tennes- see volunteers. On July 11 the Secretary of War replied and accepted the offer and in his reply to Governor Blount, he paid Jackson the compliment of saying, "In accepting their services the President cannot withhold an expression of his admiration of the zeal and ardor by which they are animated." On October 21st, Governor Blount was request- ed by the government to send fifteen hundred of the Ten- nessee volunteers to the aid of General Wilkinson at New Orleans, and on November 1st Governor Blount ordered General Jackson to comply with the government's com- mands. Jackson now entered upon the military career for which he thought himself fitted by nature and for which he ar- dently wished. At the time he defeated John Sevier for Major General of the Tennessee militia by the casting vote of Governor Willie Blount, he had taken little if any part in military matters, and this, connected with the fact that Sevier had been a military man all of his lifetime, intensi- fied the bitterness of Jackson's victory over him. Jackson's military ambition and the success that he achieved as a commander of troops was finally to land him in the White House, and not only to make him President of the United States, but a maker of Presidents ; the era of his dominat- ing influence being known as "the Jackson era," and em- bracing the time when Tennessee was politically the most influential State in the Union, a position that the State had never achieved before, and has never since. We are nat- urally interested, therefore, in Jackson's first communica- 330 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History tion to his troops on this occasion, it being the first of the many addresses in his military career that he made to men under his command. This is his inital military address : JACKSON TO THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS RENDEZVOUED AT NASHVILLE. "In publishing the letter of Governor Blount,* the Major General makes known to the valiant volunteers who have tendered their services, everything which is necessary for them at this time to know. In requesting the. officers of the respective companies to meet in Nashville, on the 21st inst., the Governor expects to have the benefit of their ad- vice in recommending the field officers, who are to be se- lected from among the officers who have already volun- teered; also to fix upon the time when the expedition shall move, to deliver the definite instructions, and to commis- sion the officers in the name of the President of the United States. Companies which do not contain sixty-six rank and file are required to complete their complement to that num- ber. A second lieutenant should be added where the com- pany contains but one. "The Major General has now arrived at a crisis when he can address the volunteers with the feelings of a soldier. The State to which he belongs is now to act a part in the honorable contest of securing the rights and liberties of a great and rising republic. In placing before the volunteers the illustrious actions of their fathers in the war of the Revolution, he presumes to hope that they will not prove themselves a degenerate race, nor suffer it to be said that they are unworthy of the blessing which the blood of so many thousand heroes has purchased for them. The theater on which they are required to act is interesting to them in every point of view. Every man of the western country turns his eyes intuitively upon the mouth of the Mississ- ippi. He there beholds the only outlet by which his produce can reach the markets of foreign nations or of the Atlan- tic States. Blocked up, all the fruits of his industry rot upon his hands; open, and he carries on a commerce with all the nations of the earth. To the people of the western country is then peculiarly committed, by nature, herself, the defense of the lower Mississippi and the city of New Orleans. At the approach of an enemy in that quarter the whole western world should pour forth its sons to meet the invader and drive him back into the sea. Brave volunteers, it is to the defense of this place, so interesting to you, that you are now ordered to repair. Let us show ourselves con- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History 331 scious of the honor and importance of the charge which has been committed to us. By the alacrity with which we obey the orders of the President let us demonstrate to our brothers in all parts of the Union that the people of Tennes- see are worthy of being called to the defense of the Republic. "The Generals of Brigade attached to the Second Di- vision will communicate these orders to the officers com- manding volunteer companies with all possible dispatch, using expresses, and forwarding a statement of the expense to the Major General. "Andrew Jackson, "Major General Second Division T." "November 14, 1812." Each volunteer was expected to furnish his own rifle, ammunition, camp equipment and blankets, for which it was expected that the government would make an allowance subsequently. The General gave a description of the uni- form permissible for the men to wear. The expedition was organized as follows : Andrew Jack- son, Major General, commanding; John Coffee, Colonel in charge of a regiment of cavalry ; William Hall, Colonel one regiment of infantry; Thomas H. Benton, Colonel one regi- ment infantry; William B. Lewis, Major and quartermas- ter; William Carroll, subsequently General and Governor of Tennessee, Brigade Inspector; and John Reid, Aide and Secretary to the General. The troops comprised men from some of the very best families in Tennessee. Jackson wrote to the Secretary of War: "I have the pleasure to inform you that I am now at the head of 2,070 volunteers, the choicest of our citizens, who go at the call of their country to ex- ecute the will of the government, who have no constitu- tional scruples ; and if the government orders, will rejoice at the opportunity of placing the American eagle on the ramparts of Mobile, Pensacola, and Fort St. Augustine, effectually banishing from the southern coasts all British influence." On February 15, 1813, after traveling a thousand miles by water in thirty-nine days, the expedition came to Natchez where Colonel John Coffee and his cavalry who had taken the land route, had already arrived. The expedition never got any further than Natchez for the reason that General 332 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Wilkinson, who was in command at New Orleans, and was Jackson's superior officer, wrote Jackson that the govern- ment had provided neither quarters nor provisions for the expedition at New Orleans ; hence there was nothing to be done except employ the waiting time in drilling the vol- unteers, and making trained soldiers out of them. So things went on, until the latter part of March, when the General received an order from the War Department as follows: "War Department, February 6, 1813. "Sir: The causes of embodying and marching to New Orleans the corps under your command having ceased to exist, you will, on the receipt of this letter, consider it as dismissed from public service, and take measures to have delivered over to Major General Wilkinson all the articles of public property which may have been put into its pos- session. "You will accept for the corps the thanks of the Presi- dent of the United States. "I have the honor, etc., "Major General Andrew Jackson. "J. Armstrong." And so this was to be the end of all the ambitious hopes of the General and volunteers to serve their country ! Never in all military history were hopes more utterly dashed to pieces. The little army was five hundred miles away from home, and the overland route back was through a wilder- ness; there were one hundred and fifty men on the sick list, and only eleven wagons at hand. Verily, it was a very trying test for the Major General, but he rose fully equal to it and demonstrated that power of will, that masterful- ness which characterized all of his future life, and which eventually made him one of the great characters in Amer- ican history. Jackson's will power was the source of all of his success, and it never failed him. The man's magnificent confidence in himself, his courage which never knew what fear was, his devotion to the cause in hand that never wav- ered — these qualities made him the accepted leader of the American people from 1825 until his death in 1845, and generated a confidence of the people that was both wonder- ful and supreme. It did not take Jackson a minute to decide that he would disobey the orders of the Secretary of War: he would not Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 333 disband his men, he would not turn over his equipment to Major General Wilkinson, he would retain this equipment, he would hold his men together under his command, he would march them back to Tennessee, and disband them in the City of Nashville whence the expedition started; and he did all of this, and the world has admired him for it ever since, and acclaimed him as a man among men. On the road h&me, the greatest problem was what to do with the sick men ; Jackson himself gave up his horses that were in the expedition for his personal use, and trudged along over the weary miles like a common soldier, cheer- ing his men up as he went along. No wonder that on this expedition he was given the title "Old Hickory" by his men; he showed the materials within him and the men thought hickory was the best symbol for them. On May 22, 1813, the little army was drawn up in Nashville, and commanded to disburse to their homes, and so the expedi- tion ended, from a military standpoint. But there was a financial story to follow. In order to procure equipment for the return trip, General Jackson gave orders on the quartermaster's department at New Or- leans to the men who furnished him horses and wagons and provisions necessary for the trip home, and these orders were repudiated by the quartermaster's department, there- by making Jackson personally responsible for them to the extent of about twelve thousand dollars, which somebody must pay, and for which Jackson was primarily responsi- ble. Suit was threatened at Nashville, and Thomas H. Ben- ton right then was about to go to Washington to procure an appointment in the regular army of the United States, and he undertook on this trip to get the government to pay off these orders, and was finally successful in his mission, and also successful in getting a commission as Lieutenant Colonel in the new southern army which w r as then being or- ganized. The Secretary of War gave an order to General Wilkinson at New Orleans to pay for such transportation as General Jackson w r as entitled to on this return trip. It is perfectly safe to say that it was this very kind service rendered by Benton to Jackson which saved Jack- son, if not from bankruptcy, at least from very serious finan- 334 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History cial embarrassment, that was the source of the affray be- tween Jackson and Thomas H. Benton and his brother Jesse, after the former got back to Nashville. The difficulty with the Bentons was brought about by General Jackson, and was one of the most serious mistakes he made in all of his career, and one which nearly cost him his life. It originated in his attempt to carry out his threat which he had made to horsewhip Thomas H. Benton. The facts leading up to the affray with the Bentons were these : William Carroll, Brigade Inspector of the Natchez ex- pedition, was challenged by Jesse Benton to fight a duel for a cause that no historian has seen proper to state. Sur- mises of the cause have been indulged in but we have no evidence. On coming to Tennessee Carroll had established a hardware store in Nashville, as a branch of the hardware house in Pittsburg conducted by his father and Albert Gal- latin. Albert Gallatin had sent a letter of introduction of young William Carroll to General Jackson, which made Jackson at once his friend. On receiving the challenge to the duel, Carroll went out to the Hermitage and asked Gen- eral Jackson to be his second, to which the General de- murred. Carroll, by way of argument, said that a clique had been formed to run him out of Nashville. General Jackson thereupon accompanied him back to Nashville, and called on Jesse Benton to accommodate the situation if he could, in a friendly way, and thought he had succeeded when he left the conference with Benton ; but later Benton refused to withdraw his challenge, so there was nothing for Carroll to do but fight, and Jackson agreed to become his second on the field of honor. The very strong probabilities are that Jesse Benton was persuaded by Jackson's enemies not to accept the apolo- gy from Carroll which Jackson bore to Benton, in order that out of the trouble which was sure to follow the duel, Thomas H. Benton might be induced to take part, and be the means of killing Jackson, which was the thing his ene- mies wanted, but down to that time did not know how to bring about. The duel came off, and a part of Carroll's thumb was shot off, and Jesse Benton received a flesh wound in a part Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 335 of his body that caused a great many jests among the peo- ple of Nashville afterwards; and of course the news, dis- torted, garbled, magnified, and false as to Jackson's part in the duel, was communicated to Thomas H. Benton, who got furiously angry. That anger was very natural, con- sidering that he was just returned home from a trip to Washington where he had practically saved Jackson from bankruptcy ; and on his return to find that Jackson, on the field of honor, had done as Jackson's enemies reported to Benton, very naturally excited Benton to the highest pitch of rage. To Jackson's credit be it said that he accepted the hostile words that Benton said about him at first with very considerable forbearance, and did not assume the aggres- sive, or take steps that might lead to difficulty until his pa- tience could stand it no longer. Before Benton started to Washington in Jackson's in- terest, the two men had been on good terms, but not such intimate terms as would without more have excited Ben- ton to great rage on learning that Jackson had been a sec- ond in a duel in which Jesse Benton took part. It was the overwhelming favor kindly and voluntarily done Jackson on the trip to Washington, intensified by the aggravating account given to Benton by Jackson's enemies, that en- raged Colonel Benton. When Jackson made the threat to horsewhip Colonel Benton, that threat had to be carried out, or Jackson be branded with fear of attempting it; so on September 4, 1913, General Jackson, accompanied by Colonel Coffee, approached Benton standing in front of the City Hotel in Nashville, and drawing a cowhide, started to carry his threat into execution, and this, of course, pro- duced war. Colonel Coffee and Stokely Hayes helped Gen- eral Jackson, and Jesse Benton, his brother. The fight was carried on from the front back into the hotel. Shots were exchanged, dirks were drawn, General Jackson from a shot was felled to the floor, and Thomas H. Benton, in back- ing away, fell down a pair of steps. The wonder is that all of the combatants were not killed. The exact facts of the part taken by each of the several combatants cannot be given; the statements afterwards made by some of them were contradictory and confused. The two Bentons were 336 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History armed with pistols, heavily loaded, and Colonel Coffee had a pistol. General Jackson was able to be taken home, and his wound was very serious, and gave him trouble for a long time afterwards. General Jackson never made a state- ment about the affair or talked about it. The ball was taken from his shoulder by two surgeons in Washington City July 14, 1832, nineteen years after Benton fired the shot. BENTON LEAVES TENNESSEE. After this fight with Jackson, Benton was appointed Lieutenant Colonel in the regular army of the United States, and left Tennessee, and at the close of the war went to Missouri, and made it his home down to the time of his death on April 10, 1858, in the city of Washington. He never met Jackson after the fight until 1823, when both were members of the United States Senate, and friendly relations were resumed between them. Benton served "Missouri for thirty years in the United States Senate — from 1820 to 1850 — and was elected to Congress in 1852 — and became one of the great men of the Union, ranking with Webster, Clay and Calhoun. After Jackson became President, he was the leading advocate of his administration on the floor of the Senate, and continued a warm friend of Jackson until the latter's death, in June 1845. As time goes forward, and the historians come to criti- cally examine the record of Colonel Benton, his great nat- ural intellectual power, his vast learning connected with government and public affairs, his limitless industry, his perfect fearlessness, his lofty patriotism, his indomitable will and integrity of character, his place among American statesmen will not be lessened, but magnified, and he will be recognized as one of the greatest men America has ever produced. BENTON'S STATUE IN ST. LOUIS.. k After his death a statue was erected to Colonel Benton in the city of St. Louis, and General Frank P. Blair was the speaker selected to deliver the oration at the unveiling. General Blair and Colonel Benton are the two citizens of Missouri whose statues have been presented by that State Statues of Sam Houston and Thomas H. Benton, Statuary Hall, Capitol, Washington, D. C. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 337 to the United States, and are in Statuary Hall at Washing- ton. Benton's statue was presented by Missouri to the gov- ernment on February 4, 1899. Blair was the Democratic nominee for vice president on the ticket Seymour and Blair in 1868. No man was better fitted to speak of Colonel Benton and in his oration at the unveiling, he said : "To-day you raise from the grave and give to the light the form and features of that model of an American Sen- ator whose patriotism entitled him to all the honors that the Roman Cato merited in the eyes of his government. There never lived a man with more instinctive patriotism than Benton. He was a man of strong, sometimes of un- ruly, passions, but his paramount passion was love of coun- try. Let me open my reminiscences of this strong man of intellect and impulse with a proof of his title to this proud position. I will first touch upon an important transaction with which his public life commenced. "After glorious service in the war with Great Britain in which Benton acted as the aide of General Jackson, a bloody feud arose between them, growing out of a duel in which the brother of the former was wounded by the friend of Jackson whom he attended as a second. This resulted in hatred which time made inveterate. With men of such deter- mination, who had refused all explanation at first, who would have no arbitrators but their weapons, no approach to reconcilation seemed possible. The thought, even, was not welcome to either until a conjecture arose which threat- ened the safety of the country. Both then perceived that their joint efforts were essential to the good of the coun- try, and without a w r ord spoken, without the slightest inti- mation from either that friendly relations would be wel- comed, the Senator began his labors in the service of the President and went to him to know how his co-operation could be made most effective in defense of the Union. Not a word about by-gones passed between them. The 1 memory of the quarrel was blotted out by the danger which men- aced the country. The old intimacy was revived in their devotion to the public cause. Cordial, unfettered, mutual attachment sprung up, and not a cloud remained of the black storm where rage was once welcomed as promising to end all differences in a common destruction. Patriotism, the ruling passion in both bosoms, exorcized from both every particle of anger, pride and the cherished antagonism of years. * * * "I trust I may not be thought to tread on ground too 338 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History holy in alluding to the gentle care, the touching solicitude with which he guarded the last feeble pulse of life in her who was the pride and glory of his young ambition, the sweet ornament of his mature fame, the best loved of his ripened age. These are the complete qualities which enable us to know him as he was : "Lofty and sour to those who loved him not, But to those men who sought him, sweet as summer." SPEAKER CHAMP CLARK ON THOMAS H. BENTON. No man in public life is more qualified to speak of Thom- as H. Benton than the Honorable Champ Clark of Missouri, the present Speaker of the House of Representatives in Congress; and no other opinion of Colonel Benton could receive a wider or more unqualified acceptance. Speak- er Clark was born in 1850 in Kentucky, and Benton died in 1858 and was buried in Missouri. The Speaker moved in 1875 to Missouri and developed in that State among the memories and traditions of Benton, and among a people who were supremely proud of their great Senator. In a thoughtful and well considered sketch of Colonel Benton's life, Speaker Clark uses this language : "He was not so magnetic a leader as Clay, so great an orator as Webster, or so profound a logician as Calhoun; but in range and thoroughness of information he over- topped them all. A short time before Senator George Fris- bie Hoar's death, I happened to sit beside him in a street car. I said: 'Senator, which knew the more, Thomas Hart Benton or John Quincy Adams?' With a twinkle in his eye, he replied: 'Both! If left to them to decide!' After a moment's reflection he added: 'Perhaps that is not a fair statement. The subjects of their researches were so different that it is difficult if not altogether impossible to compare them. Thomas H. Benton knew more about our domestic affairs than any other man that ever lived, while John Quincy Adams knew more about our foreign affairs than any other man that ever lived.' Most assuredly a high tribute to both. It was not only the wide scope of his in- formation, but his thoroughness that renders his great book an accepted authority on every subject with which it deals. I have quoted it scores of times, in Congress and out, and I have heard others quote it more frequently, and I have never yet heard the accuracy of his statement of facts ques- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 339 tioned. He wrote his book partly because it was impossi- ble for him to be idle, for a more industrious man never lived; partly to earn some much-needed money, for, not- withstanding innumerable opportunities to grow rich, he remained poor — proof positive of his integrity — but chief- ly to vindicate his own career and General Jackson's to pos- terity. A more honest, honorable, truthful, courageous, pa- triotic man never lived. These high qualities appear every- where in his book, as do also his stupendous egotism, his bitter animosities, and his intense love of friends. He was an omnivorous reader — a learned man; he possessed an iron constitution; was sober and economical of his time; he was an active participant in tremendous events and was not at all bashful about claiming the lion's share of the credit; but there is everywhere apparent in his narrative a desire to be entirely just to those of whom he speaks. He left out of his book many whom he disliked except where he was compelled to mention them in the roster of the Senate or in the roll-calls." BENTON'S ESTIMATE OF JACKSON. Colonel Benton published his "Thirty Years' View" cov- ering the workings of the American government for the period that he represented the State of Missouri in the United States Senate — from 1820 to 1850 — and the book came from the press in 1854. There are two volumes com- prising about fifteen hundred pages, and it is a stand- ard authority upon the matters it covers. The book is long since out of print, and the number of copies of it in the United States is very limited. Therefore, his candid and mature opinion of Andrew Jackson is known to but few people at this time. Considering that he and General Jack- son had the savage encounter narrated above, the author believes that the present generation of Tennesseans and all others who are interestcl in Andrew Jackson, will ap- preciate the reproduction of an extended quotation from Colonel Benton's one hundred and sixty-fifth chapter, where he sums up his opinion of Jackson; and that Tennesseans will coincide with the opinion that this chapter — the con- cluding chapter of the first volume — establishes his claim to greatness more thoroughly than anything the great Mis- souri stateman ever did in all of his long and eventful life connected with public affairs. 340 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Benton repeatedly said in the course of his life that it was he, and not his brother Jesse, who shot General Jackson, but that unhappy combat never diminished his loyalty to Jackson. What a great picture it would make — one worthy to be hung in the Senate Chamber at Washington where they both served — a picture of Jackson on his death-bed, when he called Major Lewis to his bedside, pulled his head down so that he could whisper in his ear, and said, "Tell Colonel Benton that I am grateful even to my dying day!" And he had cause for gratitude. And Benton had cause for grat- itude to Jackson. The two in co-operation were the great- est two that ever acted together in the civil department of the United States government, and with Van Buren in Jackson's cabinet, what a combination it was. It was Ben- ton who gave notice long beforehand that the day would come when the United States Senate would expunge from its Journal the resolution of censure on Jackson, and it was Benton who made the motion which carried, that the words of censure be expunged. Therefore, what Benton's opinion of Jackson was, pub- lished nine years after Old Hickory's death, can be ac- cepted as an absolutely reliable portrait — as reliable as ever given by any writer, contemporary or later. We quote : "The first time that I saw General Jackson was at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1799 — he on the bench, a judge of the then Superior Court, and I a youth of seventeen, back in the crowd. He was then a remarkable man, and had his ascendant over all who approached him, not the effect of his high judicial station, nor of the senatorial rank which he had held and resigned; nor of military exploits, for he had not then been to war; but the effect of personal qualities ; cordial and graceful manners, hospitable tem- per, elevation of mind, undaunted spirit, generosity, and perfect integrity. In charging the jury in the impending case, he committed a slight solecism in language which grated on my ear, and lodged on my memory, without dero- gating in the least from the respect which he inspired ; and without awakening the slightest suspicion that I was ever to be engaged in smoothing his diction." "His temper was placable as well as irascible and his reconciliations were cordial and sincere. Of that, my own . Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 341 case was a signal instance. After a deadly feud, I became his confidential adviser; was offered the highest marks of his favor and received from his dying bed a message of friendship, dictated when life was departing, and when he would have to pause for breath. There was a deep-seated vein of piety in him, unaffectedly showing itself in his reverence for divine worship, respect for the ministers of the gospel, their hospitable reception in his house, and con- stant encouragement of all the pious tendencies of Mrs. Jackson. And when they both afterwards became members of a church, it was the natural and regular result of their early and cherished feelings. He was gentle in his house, and alive to the tenderest emotions ; and of this, I can give an instance, greatly in contrast with his supposed char- acter, and worth more than a long discourse in showing what that character really was. I arrived in his house one wet chilly evening, in February, and came upon him in the twilight, sitting alone before the fire, a lamb and a child between his knees. He started a little, called a servant to remove the two innocents to another room, and explained to me how it was. The child had cried because the lamb was out in the cold, and begged him to bring it in — which he had done to please the child, his adopted son, then not two years old. The ferocious man does not do that! and though Jackson had his passions and his violence, they were for men and enemies — those who stood up against him — and not for women and children, or the weak and helpless : for all whom his feelings were those of protection and sup- port. His hospitality was active as well as cordial, embrac- ing the worthy in every walk of life, and seeking out de- serving objects to receive it, no matter how obscure. Of this I learned a characteristic instance in relation to the son of the famous Daniel Boone. The young man had come to Nashville on his father's business, to be detained some weeks, and had his lodgings at a small tavern, towards the lower part of town. General Jackson heard of it; sought him out ; found him ; took him home to remain as long as his business detained him in the country, saying, 'Your father's dog should not stay in a tavern, where I have a house.' This was heart! and I had it from the young man himself, long after, when he was a State Senator of the General Assembly of Missouri, and, as such, nominated me for the United States Senate, at my first election, in 1820 ; an act of hereditary friendship, as our fathers had been early friends." ********* "He had a load to carry all of his life, resulting from a temper which refused compromises and bargaining, and 342 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History went for a clean victory or a clean defeat, in every case. Hence, every step he took was a contest; and, it may be added, every contest was a victory. . I have already said that he was elected a Major General in Tennessee — an election on which so much afterwards depended — by one vote. His appointment in the United States regular army was a con- quest from the administration, which had twice refused to appoint him a Brigadier, and once disbanded him as a volun- teer general, and only yielded to his militia victories. His election as President was a victory over politicians — as was every leading event of his administration. "I have said that his appointment in the regular army was a victory over the administration, and it belongs to the inside view of history, and to the illustration of government mistakes, and the elucidation of individual merit surmount- ing obstacles, to tell how it was. Twice passed by to give preference to two others in the West (General Harrison and General Winchester), once disbanded, and omitted in all the lists of military nominations, how did he get at last to be appointed Major General? It was thus. Con- gress had passed an act authorizing the President to accept corps of volunteers. I proposed to General Jackson to raise a corps under that act, and hold it ready for service. He did so; and with this corps and some militia, he defeated the Creek Indians, and gained the reputation which forced his appointment in the regular army. I drew up the ad- dress which he made to his division at the time, and when I carried it to him in the evening, I found the child and the lamb between his knees. He had not thought of this resource, but caught at it instantly, adopted the address, with two slight alterations, and published it to his division. I raised a regiment myself, and made the speeches at the general musters, which helped to raise two others, assisted by a small band of friends — all feeling confident that if we could conquer the difficulty — master the first step — and get him upon the theater of action, he would do the rest himself. This is the way he got into the regular army, not only un- selected by the wisdom -of government, but rejected by it — a stone rejected by the master builders — and worked in by an unseen hand, to become the cornerstone of the temple. The aged men of Tennessee will remember all of this, and it is time that history should learn it. But to return to the private life and personal characteristics of this extraordi- nary man. "There was an innate, unvarying, self-acting delicacy in his intercourse with the female sex, including all woman- kind; and on that point my personal observation (and my opportunities for observation were both large and various) , Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 343 enables me to join in the declaration of the -belief expressed by his earliest friend and most intimate associate, the late Judge Overton, of Tennessee. The Roman general won an immortality of honor by one act of continence ; what praise is due to Jackson, whose whole life was continent? I re- peat, if he had been born in the time of Cromwell, he would have been a Puritan. Nothing could exceed his kindness and affection to Mrs. Jackson, always increasing in propor- tion as his elevation, and culminating fortunes, drew T cruel attacks upon her. I knew her well, and that a more ex- emplary woman in all the relations of life, wife, friend, neighbor, relative, mistress of slaves — never lived, and never presented a more quiet, cheerful and admirable management of her household. She had not education, but she had a heart, and a good one ; and that was always leading her to do kind things in the kindest manner. She had the Gen- eral's owri warm heart, frank manners and hospitable tem- per; and no two persons could have been better suited to each other, lived more happily together, or made a house more attractive to visitors. She had the faculty — a rare one — of retaining names and titles in a throng of visitors, addressing each one appropriately, and dispensing hospital- ity to all with a cordiality which enhanced its value. No bashful youth, or plain old man, whose modesty sat them down at the lower end of the table, could escape her cordial attention, any more than the titled gentlemen on her right and left. Young persons were her delight, and she always had her house filled with them — clever young women and clever young men — all calling her affectionately 'Aunt Rachel.' I was young then, and was one of that number. I owe it to cherished recollections, and to cherished con- victions — in this last notice of the Hermitage — to bear this faithful testimony to the memory of its long mistress — the loved and honored wife of a great man. Her greatest eulogy is in the affection which she bore her living, and in the sorrow with which she mourned her dead. She died at the moment of the General's first election to the Presidency; and everyone that had a just petition to present, or chari- table request to make, lost in her death, the surest channel to the ear and to the heart of the President. His regard for her survived, and lived in the persons of her nearest relatives. A nephew of hers was his adopted son and heir, taking his own name, and now the respectable master of the Hermitage. Another nephew, Andrew Jackson Donel- son, Esq., was his private secretary when President. The Presidential mansion was presided over during his term by her niece, the most amiable Mrs. Donelson ; and all his con- duct bespoke affectionate and lasting remembrance of one he held so dear." 344 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XXIII. ANDREW JACKSON— FORT MIMS, TALLUSCHAT- CHES, TALLADEGA, EMUCKFAU, ENOTOCHOPCO, COL. JOHN WILLIAMS, THE 39TH REGULARS, AND THE BATTLE OF HORSE SHOE BEND. Andrew Jackson owes to the Indian chief Tecumseh the opportunity to convince the people of Tennessee and the federal administration at Washington, that he was pos- sessed of military ability sufficient to justify the claim of his friends that he had in him the elements of a great commander, and that he would so develop if put in command of troops and placed in front of an enemy. Tecumseh was one of those Indian chiefs who approached being a great man. Among the thousands of Indians in America, there were only a very few who stood out clearly above the gen- eral average of Redmen. Tecumseh was a born leader and never looked upon the white man with a friendly eye; he felt and claimed that his race had been robbed. By birth he was a Shawnee, his physical proportions were fine, and he was an orator who could sway his hearers ; he knew how to depict the wrongs of the Redmen.' He conceived the idea of uniting all the Indian tribes and ejecting the white man from the land. This was his own conception, and had no connection with the war of 1812. He went up and down the land among the tribes preaching war on the whites, in- jected the element of religion into his campaign, and worked the Indians up to a religious frenzy; and the result of his machinations was one of the most horrible massacres in all history, that at Fort Mims, in southern Alabama, on August 30, 1813. In the fort were five hundred and fifty- three men, women and children, of whom four hundred met then and there a bloody, horrible death. The drum sounded within the fort for dinner on that 30th of August, 1813, and, suspecting no danger, the gates were opened, and at the sound of the drum the Indians rushed within the enclosure. It was a one-sided fight, a bloody Indian Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 345 massacre. At sundown corpses, mangled and scalped, were everywhere within the walls of the fort. The details of this massacre shocked and astounded everyone who heard it, and brought to the battlefield Andrew Jackson, who was just out of his combat with the Bentons, and was nursing his wound caused by Colonel Benton's pistol bullet. Fort Mims led Jackson, by way of New Orleans, to the Presi- dency of the United States. On September 18, 1813, a public meeting was held in Nashville to consider this awful event. The Legislature of the State passed an act on September 24th with the follow- ing caption: "An act to repel the invasion of the State of Tennessee by the Creek Indians and to afford relief to the citizens of the Mississippi territory, and other purposes." By this act the Governor was authorized to organize and march immediately any number of men not exceeding 3,500 to any place in the Creek Nation of Indians; to supply the troops with provisions and ammunition and arms at the expense of Tennessee until the general government should make provision for them ; to borrow money from any source in an amount not exceeding three hundred thousand dollars, and the revenue of the state was pledged to meet any sum that the governor might borrow. Section 3 provided that in the event the general gov- ernment refused to pay the troops called out under the act for their services, as other similar troops were paid by the government, then said troops should be paid by the State of Tennessee in the same manner the United States pays similar troops. General Jackson's wound was beginning to heal and on the 25th of September he called his soldiers to meet on the 4th of October at Fayetteville, in Lincoln County, and on the 26th he sent Colonel John Coffee with 500 cavalrymen to the frontier of Alabama for its protection, and on the 4th of October Colonel Coffee reached Huntsville. The 4th of October, the day set apart for the soldiers to rendezvous at Fayetteville, was one month from the time the General had been shot by Colonel Benton. Fayetteville, the place of rendezvous, was about eighty miles from Nash- ville, and on the 4th of October the General found that his 346 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History physical condition would not permit him to be present, so he forwarded an address which was read to the soldiers. GENERAL JACKSON TO THE VOLUNTEERS AT FAYETTEVILLE. "We are about to furnish these savages a lesson of ad- monition; we are about to teach them that our long for- bearance has not proceeded from an insensibility to wrongs, or an inability to redress them. They stand in need of such warning. In proportion as we have borne with their insults, and submitted to their outrages, they have multi- plied in number, and increased in atrocity. But the measure of their offenses is at length filled. The blood of our women and children, recently spilt at Fort Mims, calls for our vengeance; it must not call in vain. Our borders must no longer be disturbed by the warwhoop of these savages, and the cries of their suffering victims. The torch that has been lighted up must be made to blaze in the heart of their own country. It is time they should be made to feel the weight of a power, which, because it was merciful, they believed to be impotent. But how shall a war so long for- borne, and so loudly called for by retributive justice, be waged? Shall we imitate the example of our enemies, in the disorder of their movements and the savageness of their dispositions? Is it worthy the character of American sol- diers, who take up arms to redress the wrongs of an in- jured country, to assume no better models than those fur- nished them by barbarians? No, fellow-soldiers; great as are the grievances that have called us from our homes, we must not permit disorderly passions to tarnish the reputa- tion we shall carry along with us. We must and will be victorious; but we must conquer as men who owe nothing to chance, and who, in the midst of victory, can still be mindful of what is due to humanity! "We will commence the campaign bj» an inviolable at- tention to discipline and subordination. Without a strict observance of these, victory must ever be uncertain, and ought hardly to be exulted in, even when gained. To what but the entire disregard of order and subordination, are we to ascribe the disasters which have attended our arms in the North during the present war? How glorious will it be to remove the blots which have tarnished the fair char- acter bequeathed us by the fathers of our Revolution ! The bosom of your general is full of hope. He knows the ardor which animates you, and already exults in the triumph which your strict observance of discipline and good order will render certain." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 347 The General himself reached Fayetteville on the 7th of October. On October 11th word came from Coffee that the Indians were on the move. At three o'clock Jackson had started to Huntsville, and at eight o'clock had arrived there. He established a fort which he called Fort Deposit on Thompson's Creek. Now began experiences that would have shattered the resolution of any other man. It was a fight to feed the army, and a losing fight, for a long time. The question of supplies became the one question of the hour. Andrew Jack- son's iron soul never exhibited itself more powerfully than in this Indian warfare down to, and including, the battle of the Horseshoe. He wrote letters everywhere, to every- body whom he thought could secure or expedite provisions to his relief. He told his correspondents that he dreaded famine more than he did the Creek Indians. He left Fort Deposit on October 25, and in a few days came to the Coosa River, within a few miles of the town of Talluschatches, an Indian town where an Indian force was assembled. On November 2 General Coffee was directed to destroy this town, which he did, and on November 3d, Coffee reported to Jackson that 186 Indians were killed and 84 prisoners of women and children were taken. He lost of his horsemen five killed and forty-one wounded. The cavalry were under Col. Alcorn, the mounted riflemen under Col. Cannon, and the advance parties under Capt. Hammond and Lieut. Patterson. General Jackson made a report to Governor Blount on November 4. GENERAL JACKSON'S REPORT. "We have retaliated for the destruction of Fort Mims. On the 2d I detached General Coffee, with a part of his brigade of cavalry and mounted riflemen, to destroy Tal- lushatches, where a considerable force of the hostile Creeks was concentrated. The General executed this in style. An hundred and eight*six of the enemy were found dead on the field, and about eighty taken prisoners, forty of whom have been brought here. In the number left there is a suffi- ciency but slightly wounded to take care of those who are badly. I have to regret that five of my brave fellows have been killed, and about thirty wounded; some badly, but none I hope mortally. Both officers and men behaved with the 348 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History utmost bravery and deliberation. Captains Smith, Bradley and Winston are wounded, all slightly. No officer is killed. So soon as General Coffee makes his report I shall enclose it. If we had a sufficient supply of provisions we should in a very short time accomplish the object of our expedition." The punishment inflicted by Coffee on the Creeks in this battle was severe, but more was to follow at the Battle of Talladega where a number of friendly Indians were be- leaguered in a fort upon the site of which the present town of Talladega, Alabama, with a present population of about 6,000, is located. Between the battle of Talluschatches and November 8, General Jackson and his men had been busy erecting a fort which he called Fort Strother. On Novem- ber 8, he started on his way to the battle of Talladega, and on the 9th the battle was fought and the friendly Creeks who were shut up in the fort were relieved. Jackson, in his report, said that two hundred and ninety Indians were left dead on the field and that many more left traces of blood as they fled. Jackson's army lost fifteen men killed, eighty-five wounded, two of whom subsequently died. The advance party was under Col. William Carroll and consisted of the companies of Captains Dederick, Caperton and Bled- soe. The reserve was under Lieut.-Colonel Dyer, and con- sisted of the commands of Captains Smith, Morton, Axune, Edwards, and Hammond. It was on this expedition that General John Cocke was ordered under arrest by General Jackson and tried by court- martial which unconditionally acquitted him of all charges made against him by Jackson. This was a very unhappy episode which was probably brought about by designing enemies poisoning Jackson's mincl against Cocke. The charges were that Cocke had failed to bring provisions for the support of Jackson's army, and had not co-operated with Jackson as he should have done. After this hunger and famine became vastly more dan- gerous to Jackson's army than the red man, and mutiny among the soldiers raised its head. We cannot go into all the details of this gloomy period, but it may be summarized by the statement that it brought out the iron that was in Jackson's constitution, and a will that did not know how Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 349 to yield. Finally, General Jackson was left in the wilder- ness with only one hundred and nine men, and it looked like the expedition must be given up, notwithstanding what had been so successfully accomplished. The Indians and British were in a combination, and it was overwhelmingly necessary that the Indians as an ally of the British should be crushed; but the situation confronting Jackson looked very much like it was not going to be done. He waited to see what help he was going to get from Governor Blount to whom he had appealed for support, and finally received the Governor's answer, which, in effect, advised him that the campaign had failed and for him to give up the struggle and return home. CAPTAIN JOHN GORDON OF THE SPIES. It was one of the thrilling moments of this period of mutiny when General Jackson announced in the presence of his troops, "If only two men will stay with me, I will stay here and die in the wilderness," that Captain John Gordon, Gordon of the Spies, one of the most gallant men of the army, promptly responded, "General, I will stay with you and die in the wilderness," and then turned among the men looking for volunteers also to remain, and one hundred and nine pledged themselves to stand by Jackson. Colonel A. S. Colyar on pages 134, 157, 208, and 299 of the first volume of his life of Jackson, gives Captain Thomas Kennedy Gordon by mistake for Captain John Gordon, but upon his attention being called to the error by Mrs. W. M. Woolwine of Nashville, promptly acknowledged the error, and promised to correct it if a second edition of his Life of Jackson should be published. He wrote Mrs. Woolwine this letter : "Nashville, Tennessee, February 24, 1906. "My Dear Mrs. Woolwine : . I have your letter in refer- ence to the mistake I made in writing 'The Life and Times of Andrew Jackson,' in which I gave Captain Thomas Kennedy Gordon credit as Captain of the Spies in the Indian wars of 1812 and 1815. "I wish to say it was a mistake. When I prepared the first draft of my book, I gave the credit to Captain John Gordon, and designated him as Captain of the Spies. An 350 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History esteemed friend wrote me that it was not Captain John Gor- don who was known as the Captain of the Spies, but Captain Thomas Kennedy Gordon. Coming, as this did, from a most reputable source, I accepted it, and in the second draft (re- vision) of the work, I changed it. "This I greatly regret, as I now know from a full investi- gation that the soldier known as the 'Captain of the Spies' was Captain John Gordon, and I authorize the Lippincott Company to make the correction in future publications. "Verv truly yours, "A. S. COLYAR." "If I publish a second edition, I will correct it. Please pardon the use of a pencil ; while it is not respected as the pen is, it is more accommodating to old age." Gordon's record in the Indian Wars and in connection with General Jackson, is one of the finest of that period, and it is not a matter of wonder that his descendants glory in the gallantry, courage and knightly qualities of their ancestor, and want him to be given that which historically is his due. He was a descendant of the "Black Gordon" clan of Scotch Highlanders, born in Virginia July 15, 1763, and was among the early settlers at Nashville, and took part in defense of the settlement against the Indians. He was the first post- master of Nashville and served from April 1, 1796, to Octo- ber 1, 1797. GOV. BLOUNT TO GEN. JACKSON. "Nashville, December 22, 1813. "Dear Sir: "I am incapable of willingly saying or doing anything to injure the service, or that which would injuriously affect the reptuation of deserving men, or the standing of an able and patriotic hero and general ; but, as a friend to my Gov- ernment, most ardently desirous that every step taken in this quarter may promote the good of the service, and the standing of those who deserve well of their country, I do not see what important good can grow out of your continu- ing at an advanced post, in the enemy's country, with a hand- ful of brave men. Would it not, under all circumstances, be most likely to be attended with good consequences for you to _ return to the frontier of Tennessee, and, with your patri- otic force, defend our frontier, where provision can be read- ily afforded on better terms to Government, bringing with you your baggage and supplies ; and there, on the frontier, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 35 1 await the order of the Government, or until I can be author- ized to reinforce you, or to call a new force? At this time, I really do not feel authorized to order a draft, or I would, with the greatest of all pleasure I could feel, do it. Were I to attempt it in an unauthorized way, it would injure, as I think, the public service, which I would rather die than do. I ■ could not positively assure the men that they would be paid. "I send you a copy of the President's message, and am gratified to see the handsome terms he uses in speaking of you and of General Coffee's battles. He seems to mean something about Pensacola, and to effect his object best, a new force should certainly be organized. Many who are now, and have been, on the campaign, would go again on that business, if they are pleased with the President's decision respecting their term of service, under the late or- ders. I shall, from what I have said about the propriety of your return to the Tennessee frontier, feel bound to send a copy of this to the War Department, for the information of Government, and by way of apology for offering such an opinion to an officer in the service of the United States. "I am, with highest respect and most sincere regard, "Your friend, "WILLIE BLOUNT. "Major General Andrew Jackson, United States Service, Creen Nation." To this letter General Jackson wrote a reply which in forcibly presenting a situation that was dark and gloomy, and that called for almost superhuman courage and will power to surmount, is one of the greatest documents in the history of any State. All Tennesseans should read it, and learn not only the iron character of its author, but his intel- lectual power. History may be challenged to find a greater character than Jackson presented at this dark period of the Creek war. GEN. JACKSON'S REPLY TO GOV. BLOUNT. "Had your wish that I should discharge a part of my force, and retire with the residue into the settlements, as- sumed the form of a positive order, it might have furnished me some apology for pursuing such a course, but by no means a full justification. As you would have no power to give such an order, I could not be inculpable to obeying, with my eyes open to the fatal consequences that would attend it. But a bare recommendation, founded, as I am satisfied it must be, on the artful suggestions of those fireside patriots, 352 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History who seek in a failure of the exposition an excuse for their own supineness, and upon the misrepresentations of the dis- contented from the army, who wish it to be believed that the difficulties which overcame their patriotism are wholly in- surmountable, would afford me but a feeble shield against the reproaches of my country or my conscience. Believe me, my respected friend, the remarks I make proceed from , the purest personal regard. If you would preserve your reputation, or that of the State over which you preside, you must take a straightforward, determined course, regardless of the applause or censure of the populace, and of the fore- bodings of that dastardly and designing crew who, at a time like this, may be expected to clamor continually in your ears. The very wretches who now beset you with evil counsel will be the first, should the measures which they recommend eventuate in disaster, to call down imprecations on your head and load you with reproaches. Your country is in danger; apply its resources to its defense. Can any course be more plain ? Do you, my friend, at such a moment as the present, sit with your arms folded and your heart at ease, waiting a solution of your doubts and definitions of your powers? Do you wait for special instructions from the Secretary of War, which it is impssible for you to receive in time for the dan- ger that threatens ? How did the venerable Shelby act un- der similar circumstances, or, rather, under circumstances by no means so critical? Did he wait for orders to do what every man of sense knew — what every patriot felt to be right? He did not; and yet how highly and justly did the Government extol his manly and energetic conduct! And how dear has his name become to every friend of his coun- try! "You say that an order to bring the necessary quota of men into the field has been given, and that, of course, your power ceases ; and, although you are made sensible that the order has been wholly neglected, you can take no measure to remedy the omission. Widely different, indeed, is my opin- ion. I consider it your imperious duty when the men, called for by your authority, founded upon that of the Government, are known not to be in the field, to see that they be brought there ; and to take immediate measures with the officer who, charged with the execution of your order, omits or neglects to do it. As the executive of the State, it is your duty to see that the full quota of troops be constantly kept in the field for the time they have been required. You are responsible to the Government, your officer to you. Of what avail is it to give an order if it be never executed, and may be diso- beyed with impunity? Is it by empty mandates that we can hope to conquer our enemies, and save our defenseless fron- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History 353 tiers from butchery and devastation? Believe me, my valued friend, there are times when it is highly criminal to shrink from responsibility, or scruple about the exercise of our powers. There are times when we must disregard punc- tilious etiquette, and think only of serving our country. The enemy we have been sent to subdue may be said, if we stop at this, to be only exasperated. The commander in chief, General Pinckney, who supposes me by this time pre- pared for renewed operations, has ordered me to advance and form a junction with the Georgia army; and upon the expectation that I will do so are all his arrangements formed for the prosecution of the campaign. Will it do to defeat his plans, and jeopardize the safety of the Georgia army? The general Government, too, believe, and have now not less than five thousand men in the heart of the enemy's country ; and on this opinion are all their calculations bottomed ; and must they all be frustrated, and I become the instrument by which it is done? God forbid! "You advise me to discharge or dismiss from service, until the will of the President can be known, such portion of the militia as have rendered three months' service. This advice astonishes me even more than the former. I have no such discretionary power ; and if I had, it would be im- politic and ruinous to exercise it. I believed the militia who were not specially received for a shorter period were en- gaged for six months, unless the objects of the expedition should be sooner attained ; and in this opinion I was greatly strengthened by your letter of the 15th, in which you say when answering my inquiry upon this subject, 'the militia are detached for six months' service;' nor did I know or suppose you had a different opinion until the arrival of your last letter. This opinion must, I suppose, agreeably to your request, be made known to General Roberts' brigade, and then the consequences are not difficult to be foreseen. Every man belonging to it will abandon me on the fourth of next month ; nor shall I have the means of preventing it but by the application of force, which under such circumstances, I shall not be at liberty to use. I have labored hard to recon- cile these men to a continuance in service until they could be honorably discharged, and had hoped I had, in a great measure, succeeded ; but your opinion, operating with their own prejudices, will give a sanction to their conduct, and render useless any further attempts. They will go; but I can neither discharge or dismiss them. Shall I be told that, as they will go, it may as well be peaceably permitted? Can that be any good reason why I should do an unauthor- ized act? Is it a good reason why I should violate the order of my superior officer, and evince a willingness to defeat the 354 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History purposes of my government? And wherein does the 'sound policy' of the measures that have been recommended con- sist? Or in what way are they 'likely to promote the public goodZ' Is it sound policy to abandon a conquest thus far made, and deliver up to havoc, or add to the number of our enemies, those friendly Creeks and Cherokees, who, relying on our protection, have espoused our cause and aided us with their arms? Is it good policy to turn loose upon our defense- less frontiers five thousand exasperated savages, to reek their hands once more in the blood of our citizens? What! retrograde under such circumstances ! I will perish first. No, I will do my duty; I will hold the posts I have estab- lished, until ordered to abandon them by the commanding general, or die in the struggle ; long since have I determined not to seek the preservation of life at the sacrifice of reputa- tion. "But our frontiers, it seems, are to be defended, and by whom? By the very force that is now recommended to be dismissed — for I am first told to retire into the settlements and protect the frontiers ; next to discharge my troops ; and then, that no measures can be taken for raising others. No, my friend; if troops be given me, it is not by loitering on the frontiers that I seek to give protection ; they are to be defended, if defended at all, in a very different manner — by carrying the war into the heart of the enemy's country. All other hopes of defense are more visionary than dreams. What, then, is to be done? I'll tell you what. You have only to act with the energy and decision the crisis demands, and all will be well. Send me a force engaged for six months, and I will answer for the result; but withholding it, and all is lost — the reputation of the State, and yours, and mine along with it." If anything could arouse the Chief Executive of the State, this letter was capable of doing it, and it had that effect on the Governor, who became active and loyal and made this part of his career one of his very best. He set about raising twenty-five hundred men to rendezvous at Fayetteville on January 28, 1814, and the situation began to look better. On January 15, 1814, we find Jackson at Fort Strother with nine hundred recruits which had been brought to him as the result of his incessant appeals, letter writing and other in- fluences he had put in motion, to bring men to his support. Believing that these recruits would be less dissatisfied in action and motion than in sitting around camp, General Jack- son undertook what he called an "excursion" of twelve days, Colonel John Williams, Commander 39th Regulars, Battle of the Horse Shoe. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 355 in which was fought the battle of Emuckfau on December 22, 1813, in which Sandy Donelson, Coffee's aide and brother- in-law, was killed. Two days later the battle of Enotocho- pco was fought, on December 24, 1813. Coffee estimates the loss of the Indians at two hundred killed and seventy wounded, four of whom afterwards died. The battle of Emuckfau was fought by General Coffee's brigade consisting of the regiments of Colonels Sittler, Car- roll and Higgins, and Captain Ferrill's company of infantry, numbering 930 men, joined by 300 friendly Indians under Chief Jim Fife. At Enotochopco there w T ere engaged the regiments of Colonels Perkins, Carroll and Stump, supported by artillery under Lieutenant Robert Armstrong and Captain William Russell's company of Spies. On February 6, 1814, the welcome information was brought to General Jackson that the 39th regiment of the United States infantry, six hundred strong, had arrived at Fort Strother.j Colonel John Williams's regiment was brought to the help of General Jackson through the influence of Judge Hugh Lawson White, who heard of the precarious situation of Jackson in the wilderness. White was a broth- er-in-law of Colonel Williams, who was getting ready to take his regiment to New Orleans under orders from the Secre- tary of War; but he agreed to the wisdom of the course sug- gested by Judge White. In addition to Colonel Williams's force a troop of dragoons came from East Tennessee. COL. JOHN WILLIAMS. Colonel John Williams, who so gallantly came to the help of Jackson by procuring a change of his instructions from the Secretary of War to take his regiment to New Orleans, was a great contributing factor in winning the Battle of the Horseshoe. He was born in Surry County, North Carolina, January 29, 1778; completed preparatory studies; Captain in the Sixth United States Infantry from April, 1799, to June, 1800; studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina, and was admitted to the bar in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1803, and there began practice; Captain of regular troops in the War of 1812 and Colonel of a regiment of East Tennessee 356 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History mounted volunteers in the expedition against the Seminoles in Florida, 1812-1813; Colonel of the 39th United States In- fantry June 18, 1813, and subsequently served under Gen- eral Jackson in the expedition against the Creek Indians in Alabama; elected to the United States Senate as the suc- cessor of George W. Campbell resigned, to fill the unexpired term from October 10, 1815, to March 3, 1817 ; again elected to the United States Senate for the full term and served from March 3, 1817, to March 3, 1823; charge d'affaires to the Central American Federation December 29, 1825, to Decem- ber 1, 1826; elected to the State Senate of Tennessee; de- clined appointment as Justice of the Supreme Court of Ten- nessee, and died h&ar Knoxville, August 10, 1837. In 1825 before John Quincy Adams had been inaugurated President of the United States, he wanted to offer the posi- tion of Secretary of War to Colonel Williams, but was dis- suaded therefrom by Henry Clay who used the argument that the President-elect Adams needed strength in the State of New York and that the Secretary of War should come from that State. A singular coincidence happened when Major Gideon Hazen Williams, a great-grandson of Colonel John Wil- liams, married Marguerite Adams, a great-great-grand- daughter of John Quincy Adams, eighty-nine years after President-elect Adams wanted to appoint Colonel Williams Secretary of War. John Quincy Adams mentions the fact of his desire to appoint Colonel Williams in his diary. The 39th regiment commanded by Colonel Williams was organized under the Act of Congress of January 29, 1813, and on May 17, 1815, was consolidated under the Act of Con- gress of March 3, 1815, with the 1st, 17th, 19th, 24th and 28th regiments of infantry, to form the 3rd regiment of in- fantry; and so the 39th regiment that took part in the Battle of the Horseshoe and became historical in Tennessee, was merged out of existence. The following is the roster of the officers of the 39th during its short life from January 29, 1813, to May 17, 1815, namely: Colonel, John Williams, 18 June, 1813, to 17 May, 1815; Lieutenant Colonel, Thomas H. Benton, 18 June to 17 May, 1815 ; Majors, L. P. Montgomery, 29 July, 1813, to 27 March, 1814; William Peacock, 29 July, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 357 1813, to 17 May, 1817; Uriah Blue, 13 March, 1814, to 17 May, 1815. Captains: George Hallam, 29 July, 1813, to May, 1814; Henry Henegar, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815 ; John Jones, 29 July, 1913, to 1 May, 1824; John B. Long, 29 July, 1813, to 20 April, 1815; John Phelan, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815; William Walker, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815; Thomas Stuart, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815; Benjamin Keynolds, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815 ; John Phagan, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815 ; James Davis, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815 ; A. H. Douglas, 29 July, 1813, to 1 September, 1814; Samuel Wilson, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815; Ben- jamin Wright, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815, died 30 Janu- ary, 1860 ; Barnard M. Patterson, 29 July to 15 June, 1815 ; James Gray. First Lieutenants: Daniel Lauderdale, 29 July, 1813, to 11 January, 1814; James Sharp, 29 July, 1813, to 1 June, 1814 ; Nathaniel Smith, 29 July, 1813, to 17 January, 1837 ; Robert M. Somerville, 29 July, 1813, killed 27 March, 1814, in the battle of the Horseshoe ; Joe L. Denton, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815 ; Wyly Martin, 9 August, 1813, to 21 July, 1823 ; Jesse 0. Tate, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815 ; Joseph R. Henderson, 17 January, 1805, to 21 September, 1814; Davidson McMillan, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815; Guy Smith, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815 ; Ashley Stanfield, 29 July, 1813, to 1 December, 1814 ; James Leath, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815; Benjamin Duncan, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815; James McDonald. Second Lieutenants : Michael C. Molton, 29 July, 1813, killed 27 March, 1814, in the battle of the Horseshoe; Samuel Houston, 24 March, 1813, to March 1, 1818, the first Governor of Texas, United States Senator, and died 25 July, 1863; M. W. McClellan, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815; Thomas C. Hindman, 29 July, 1813, to 30 June, 1816; Jacob K. Snap, 29 July, 1813, to 17 October, 1814; Norfleet Drotch, 25 March, 1814, to 14 March, 1815 ; Andrew Greer, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June^ 1815; Isaac Pangle, 29 July, 1813, to 26 No- vember, 1814; Simpson Payne, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815; Randolph Quarles, 29 July, 1813, to 15 June, 1815; 358 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History M. F. DeGraffenreid, 26 March, 1814, to 31 October, 1817; Cornelius N. Lewis, 2 March, 1814, to 18 February, 1815. Third Lieutenants: Ellis Thomas, 29 July, 1813, to 8 March, 1814; Joseph S. Jackson, 29 July, 1813, to 31 Decem- ber, 1813; Robert B. Harney, 21 June, 1814, to 15 June, 1815; Andrew Cowan, 25 July, 1814, to 15 June, 1815; George W. Somerville, 25 April, 1814, to 24 January, 1815 ; Edward Jones, 21 June, 1814, to 15 June, 1815; Anthony Dearing, 21 June, 1814, to 15 June, 1815; Anthony Palmer, 1 June, 1814, to 15 June, 1815; William A. Covington, 21 June, 1814, to 15 June, 1815; Dicks Alexander, 17 March, 1814, to 15 June, 1815; Joseph Dennison, 5 November, 1813, to 26 November, 1814, died 14 January, 1815; J. M. Arm- strong. Ensigns: John McHenry, 29 July, 1813, died March, 1814; Joel Parrish; Thomas Easten; J. H. Anderson. Surgeon's Mate : John H. Read, 29 July, 1813, to 1 Octo- ber, 1814. In a letter written from Fort Strother, February 8, 1814, to Major John Reid, General Jackson said : "Colonel Williams of the 39th regulars has received or- ders from General Flournoy to repair with his command to New Orleans. I have detained him for orders from General Pinckney ; if he is taken from me my main prop is gone, and I will have to risk my character and the public service with raw, inexperienced troops, commanded, perhaps, by raw, inexperienced officers." In another letter from Fort Strother on February 21, 1814, to Major William B. Lewis, General Jackson said: "I am truly happy in having the Colonel (Williams) with me. His regiment will give strength to my arm and quell mutiny." Illustrating the utter uncertainty of life, the whirligig of human affairs, it transpired that in 1823 when Colonel John Williams' term expired as United States Senator, it was necessary for the opposition to find somebody with whom to defeat him, and as a last resort, General Jackson himself was taken up as a candidate for that purpose, and succeeded in an election held by the Legislature of Tennessee then sit- ting at Murfreesboro. It is unnecessary here to go into the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 359 details of the differences between General Jackson and Colonel Williams after the Battle of the Horseshoe. It is sufficient to show the origin of these differences, to say that Colonel Williams thought that after he had procured a change in the orders of the Secretary of War and gone such a distance through the wilderness to the help of General Jackson, who was then in the midst of his troubles with mutinous troops in Alabama, and had led the assault over the breastworks with the 39th regiment in the Battle of the Horseshoe, that the services of his regiment were not ade- quately recognized by the General in his report of the battle to Willie Blount, Governor of Tennessee. General Jackson's entry into the race for United States Senator before the Legislature was brought about by Judge John Overton, who was attending the session of the Legisla- ture at Murfreesboro attempting to defeat Colonel Williams for re-election to the Senate. The strength of a number of candidates was tested, and it was found that none of them could defeat Williams. Judge Overton concluded that it could only be done by General Jackson himself. He took a night ride from Murfreesboro to the Hermitage and arrived when the General was at breakfast, and laid the situation be- fore him. He argued that it would never do for Colonel Williams to be elected to the United States Senate as he was pledged to William H. Crawford of Georgia for the Presi- idency, and as General Jackson at that time was being put forward by his friends also for the Presidency. The Judge pressed his argument that it would be fatal to Jackson's candidacy for President for Tennessee to send a Crawford man to the Senate. General Jackson yielded and consented to the use of his name, and Judge Overton returned at once to Murfreesboro, and on a ballot being taken General Jack- son was elected by seven votes. After his defeat for the Senate in 1823 Colonel Williams consented in 1825, upon the urgent solicitation of his friends, to be a receptive candidate for the State Senate from Knox and Anderson counties. His opponents were active, while Williams maintained his position that he was merely a recep- tive candidate and would not actively attempt to secure his 360 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History election, and in the race he was defeated by Colonel Ander- son by a* few votes. In 1827 he became an active candidate for the State Senate and Colonel Anderson was again his opponent. The race produced much excitement and both his political friends and enemies were very active, and some bitterness became manifest. Judge Hugh Lawson White took the stump for Colonel Anderson and there was a joint canvass. between him and Colonel Williams. One of the issues in the canvass was to the disadvantage of Colonel Anderson. In the Legisla- ture of 1825 there was a spirited contest as to the location of the permanent capitol of the State. Three cities entered the contest — Knoxville, Murfreesboro and Nashville — for the coveted prize. Colonel Anderson did not vote in the elec- tion. It w r as alleged that he had three brothers, one living in Knoxville, one in Murfreesboro and one in Nashville, and his failure to vote was because he did not want to offend either of them and hence it was averred that he failed to represent his immediate constituents. In any event, what- ever the cause, Colonel Williams was overwhelmingly elected. While in the State Senate Colonel Williams sought the passage of a bill to authorize an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States from a decision of the Supreme Court of Tennessee which held that a treaty between the United States and the Indians then living in Tennessee, in respect to certain lands, was superior in title to a grant from the State of North Carolina prior to the Cession Act of 1789. His speech in the Senate in support of the bill was published in the December 5, 1827, issue of the Knoxville Enquirer, and exhibited him as an able and profound lawyer. The speech occupied seven columns of the Enquirer and went very thoroughly into the question of the 'original ownership of land by uncivilized tribes. The speech was worthy of the United States Senate of w T hich he had been a member for eight years. If such a speech were made in the Legislature of Tennessee today, it would.be a revelation of brains and statesmanship such as State Legislatures very rarely witness anywhere in the United States. LOCATION OF TROOPS AND PLACES. Wagons, packhorscs and wounded in centre. Colonel Copeland. East Tennessee Militia. Colonel Cheatham. Rear Guard. Emuckfau — old battle ground. New Youcau — burnt before. High hills. Angle at which Montgomery fell. Plan of battle of Horse Shoe Bend sent by General Jackson with his report of the battle to Governor Blount of Tennessee. 1. Coffee Cavalry. in 2. Cherokees. 11 3. Indian Village. 12 4. High grounds. 13 5. Breast Works. 14 6. Island. 15 7. Advanced Guard. 16 8. Hill and Artillery. 17 9. Regulars. O. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 361 At the time of the election to the State Senate, there were only three voting precincts in Knox County, namely, Campbell Station, Knoxville and Gibbs', and great crowds would assemble at the polls. An incident occurred at the Knoxville voting place that is' worthy of note to show the fidelity and loyalty of one of Colonel Williams' old family servants by the name of Job. Job attended the Knoxville precinct, and was assiduous all day long in hunting up Wil- liams men, and when one was found willing to be carried, he would place the voter on his shoulders with his feet in front and carry him to the polls where the voter deposited his bal- lot. This was done all day long to the great amusement of spectators at the polls. But Job's enthusiasm did not stop with this. That night, after it became known that Colonel Williams was elected, he took down his fiddle and the current report was that he played all night long in manifestation of his joy at the result of the election, and that he tested the full physical strength of his wife in getting her to dance while he played. THE BATTLE OF THE HORSESHOE. By the end of February Jackson's new army numbered five thousand men and the next move was one which was to crush the Creek nation and to remove the danger of warfare by them for all time to come. This finishing blow was ad- ministered at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Colonel Wil- liams and Major Lemuel Purnell Montgomery, after the battle opened, were the first two on top of the log fortifica- tions behind which the Indians fought, and Major Mont- gomery was shot dead. They were followed by Sam Hous- ton, who was shot with an arrow. Colonel Albert James Pickett in his history of Alabama gives the following as the record of Colonel Montgomery : COLONEL ALBERT JAMES PICKETT ON MAJOR MONTGOMERY. ''Major Lemuel Purnell Montgomery was born in Wythe County, Virginia, in 1786. He was a relation by consan- quinity of the gallant general of that name who fell at the storming of Quebec. His grandfather, Hugh Montgomery, of North Carolina, a man of fortune and talents, commanded 362 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History a Whig company during the Revolution which he equipped and supported at his own expense. With this company he fought the British and Tories with great success. He was a member of the convention which formed the Constitution of the State of North Carolina, and not long afterwards, one of the counties of that State was named in honor of him. The father of Major Montgomery, also named Hugh, was a man of talents and having removed to Virginia, was a mem- ber of the Senate of that State. At Snow Hill in Maryland he married a lady whose maiden name was Purnell, which was the middle name of her son, the brave Major who fell at the Horse-Shoe. The father removed from Virginia to East Tennessee near Knoxville." "Major Montgomery completed his education at Wash- ington College, Tennessee, studied law with Judge Trimble of Knoxville, and established himself in that profession at Nashville, where in four years his attainments, eloquence, zeal, fearless independence and popular bearing rendered him a formidable rival of the able Felix Grundy. During this period he was frequently placed at the head of parties of armed horsemen, and with them he scoured the dark gorges of the Cumberland Mountains in pursuit of desperate banditi who had long pillaged the people in the valleys. At length he was appointed by Madison as Major of the 39th Regiment which he gallantly led to the breastworks of the Indians at the Horse-Shoe. He was the first man that mounted the breastworks, and, while waving a sword and animating his men, a large ball shot from the rifle of a Red Stick, entered his head and instantly killed him. When the battle was ended Jackson stood over his body and wept. He exclaimed, 'I have lost the flower of my army.' " "At the time of his death Major Montgomery was only 28 years of age. His eyes were keen and black, his hair was of a dark auburn color, his weight was 175 pounds, his height was six feet and two inches, his form was admirably proportioned, and he was altogether the finest looking man in the army." "Major Montgomery's father gave the town site of Jacksboro, the county seat to Campbell County, Tennessee, and he is buried north of Jacksboro on a prehistoric mound. Montgomery, Alabama, was named for Major Montgomery. His mother was related to the Donelsons." Colonel Gideon Morgan was in command of the friendly Cherokee Indians in the battle, who were the mortal and traditional enemies of the Creeks. After the battle General Jackson expressed profound Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 363 gratitude to Colonel Williams for the invaluable aid the 39th had rendered, saying to him : "Sir, you have placed me on the high-road to military fame." The flag that Ensign Houston bore in the battle is now in the city of Knoxville in the possession of a grand-daughter of Colonel John Williams, and was made by the wife of Chancellor Thomas L. Williams who went with Hugh Law- son White and Luke Lea to Jackson in the wilderness to ascertain what assistance could be rendered him in his troubles when mutiny was in his camp. Mrs. Williams was a grand-daughter of General James White, the founder of Knoxville, and daughter of Charles McClung, and sister of Hugh L. and Matthew McClung, of Knoxville. The senti- ment ''By obedience, unanimity, coolness and bravery the soldier ensures safety to his standard," was worked by needle on the blue folds of the flag. Fortunately the report of the Battle of Horse-shoe Bend has been preserved in Jackson's own words, and is in the Tennessee Historical Society at Nashville in the handwriting of General Jackson. The map with which he accompanied the report is herewith reproduced in fac simile. The Amer- ican Historical magazine issued at Nashville, which pub- lished a large number of the manuscripts of the Tennessee Historical Society, in the October, 1899, number, says that General Jackson's report of the Battle of Horse-shoe Bend was found in a building used by Governor Willie Blount as an office in Clarksville, Tennessee, and when the building was torn down, this report and many other valuable papers came to light. The report was presented to General W. A. Quarles who gave it to his nephew, R. T. Quarles, who pre- sented it to the Tennessee Historical Society. "H. Williams, 31st March, 1814. His Excellency Willie Blount: "Sir: I am just returned from the expedition which I advised you in my last I was about to make to the Talla- poosa ; & hasten to acquaint you with the good fortune which attended it." "I took up the line of march from this place on the morn- ing of the 24th inst. ; & having opened a passage of fifty-two & a half miles, over the ridges which divide the waters of the two rivers, I reached the bend of the Tallapoosa, three miles 364 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History beyond where I had the engagement of the 22nd January & at the southern extremity of Newyouka on the morning of the 27th. This bend resembles in its curvature that of a horse-shoe, & is thence called by that name among the Whites. Nature furnishes few situations so eligible for de- fense ; & barbarians have never rendered one more secure by art. Across the neck of land which leads into it from the North, they had erected a breast-work, of the greatest com- pactness & strength, from five to eight feet high, & prepared with double rows of portholes very artfully arranged. The fiture of this wall, manifested no less skill in the projectors of it than its construction : an army could not approach it without being exposed to a double & cross-fire from the en- emy who lay in perfect security behind it. The area of this peninsula, thus bounded by the breastwork, includes, I con- jecture, eighty or a hundred acres." "In this bend the warriors from Oakfurkee, Oakchoya, Newyouka, Hellabee, the Fish-ponds, & Eufaula towns, ap- prised of our approach, had collected their strength. Their exact number cannot be ascertained; but it is said, by the prisoners we have taken, to have been a thousand. It is cer- tain they were very numerous ; & that relying with the ut- most confidence upon their strength, their situation, & the assurances of their prophets, they calculated on repulsing us wth great ease." "Early on the morning of the 27th having encamped the preceding night at the distance of six miles from them, I de- tailed Genl. Coffee with the mounted men & nearly the whole of the Indian force, to pass the river at a ford about three miles below their encampment, & to surround the bend in such a manner that none of them should escape by attempt- ing to cross the river. With the remainder of the forces I proceeded along the point of land which led to the front of their breastwork ; & at half past ten oclk A. M. I had planted my artillery on a small eminence, distant from its nearest point about eighty yards, & from its farthest, about two hundred & fifty; from which I immediately opened a brisk fire upon its centre. With the musketry and rifles I kept up a galling fire whenever the enemy shewed themselves behind their works, or ventured to approach them. This was con- tinued, with occasional intermissions, for about two hours, when Capt. Russell's company of spies & a part of the Chero- kee force, headed by their gallant Chieftain, Col Richard Brown, & conducted by the brave Col. Morgan, crossed over to the extremity of the peninsula in canoes, & set fire to a few of their buildings which were there situated. They Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 365 then advanced with "great gallantry towards the breastwork. & commenced firing upon the enemy who lay behind it." "Finding that this force, notwithstanding the determined bravery they displayed, was wholly insufficient to dislodge the enemy, & that Genl. Coffee had secured the opposite banks of the river, I now determined upon taking possession of their works by storm. Never were men better disposed for such an undertaking than those by whom it was to be af- fected. They had entreated to be led to the charge with the most pressing importunity, & received the order which was now given with the strongest demonstrations of joy. The effect was such, as this temper of mind, foretold. The regular troops, led on by their intrepid, & skillful com- mander Col. Williams, & by the gallant Major Montgomery were presently in possession of the nearer side of the breast- work ; & the militia accompanied them in the charge with a vivacity & firmness which could not have been exceeded & has seldom been equalled by troops of any description. A few companies of Genl. Doherty's Brigade on the right, were lead on with great gallantry by Col. Bunch — the advance guard, by the adjutant genl., Col. Eitter, and the left extrem- ity of the line by Capt. Gordon of the spies, & Capt. Mc- Murry, of Genl. Johnston's Brigade of West Tennessee militia." "Having maintained for a few minutes a very obsti- nate contest, muzzle to muzzle, through the port-holes, in which many of the enemy's balls were welded to the bayonets of our muskets, our troops succeeded in gaining possession of the opposite side of the works. The event could no longer be doubtful. The enemy, altho many of them fought to the last with that kind of bravery which despiration inspires, were at length entirely routed & cut to pieces. The whole margin of the river which surrounded the peninsula was strewed with the slain. Five hundred & fifty seven were found by officers of great respectability whom I had ordered to count them; besides a very great number who were thrown into the river by their surviving friends, & killed in attempting to pass it, by Genl. Coffee's men, stationed on the opposite banks. Capt. Hammonds who with his com- pany of spies occupied a favourable position opposite the upper extremity of the breastwork, did great execution; & so did Lieut. Bean, who had been ordered by Genl. Coffee to take possession of a small Island fronting the lower ex- tremity." "Both officers and men who had the best opportunities of judging, believe the loss of the enemy in killed, not to fall short of eight hundred, & if their number was as great as 366 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History it is represented to have been, by the prisoners, & as it is be- lieved to have been by Col. Carrol & others who had a fair view of them as they advanced to the breastworks, their loss must even have been more considerable — as it is quite cer- tain that not more than twenty can have escaped. Among the dead was found their famous prophet Monahoee — shot in the mouth by a grape shot ; as if Heaven designed to chas- tise his impostures by an appropriate punishment. Two other prophets were also killed — leaving no others, as I learn, on the Tallapoosa." "I lament that two or three women & children were killed by accident." "I do not know the exact number of prisoners taken; but it must exceed three hundred — all women & children except three or four." "The battle may be said to have continued with severity for about five hours ; but the firing & the slaughter continued until it was suspended by the darkness of the night. The next morning it was resumed, & sixteen of the enemy slain who had concealed themselves under the banks." "Our loss was twenty-six white men, killed, & one hun- dred and seven wounded. Cherokees, eighteen killed, & thirty six wounded, friendly Creeks 5 killed & 11 wounded." "The loss of Col. Williams' regt. of Regulars is seventeen killed and fifty five wounded ; 3 of whom have since died. Among the former were Maj. Montgomery, Lieut. Somer- ville, & Lieut. Moulton, who fell in the charge which was made on the works. No men ever acted more gallantly or fell more gloriously." "Of the Artillery company, commanded by Capt. Par- ish, eleven were wounded ; one of whom, Lieut. Gaines, has since died. Lieutenants Allen & Ridley were both wounded. The whole company acted with its usual gallantry. Capt. Bradford, of the 17th U. S. Infantry, who acted as Chief Engineer, & superintended the firing of the cannon, has en- titled himself by his good conduct, to my warmest thanks." "To say all in a word the whole army who achieved this fortunate victory, have merited by their good conduct, the gratitude of their country. So far as I saw, or could learn there was not an officer or soldier who did not perform his duty with the utmost fidelity. The conduct of the militia on this occasion has gone far towards redeeming the charac- ter of that description of troops. They have been as orderly in their encampment & on their line of march, as they have been signally brave in the day of battle." "In a few days I shall take up the line of march for the Hickory ground, & have everything to hope from such troops. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 367 "Enclosed I send you Genl. Coffee's Brigade report. I have the honor to be with great respect Your obt st ANDREW JACKSON, Major Genl." GENERAL COFFEE'S ACCOUNT. General Coffee at Fort Williams wrote an account of the Horseshoe on April 1 : "We found the enemy enforted in the bend of the river, with a very strong breastwork. Before we reached them, six miles, I was detached with seven hundred mounted men, and six hundred friendly Indians to cross the river three miles below, and take possession of the opposite side of the river, to prevent the enemy from crossing, and escaping our army when attacked. All our plans were executed to great advantage indeed. Just as I had formed my men in line, about a quarter of a mile from the river, the cannon of our army in front commenced firing; and before one Indian crossed the river we had possession of the bank. The great- er part of the enemy fought with savage fury, while others of them ran in all directions, throwing themselves into the river, and attempting to swim over ; but not one escaped in that way." "The battle commenced at half after ten in the morning and continued until night. Our cannon played on their breastwork near two hours, together with a great discharge of small arms, when our men charged their walls by storm, which was done with great vigor and success. Before we stormed their works, the friendly Indians had got in the rear of the enemy, which prevented them from flying back to their buildings. They stood the charge to admiration, and it was not unusual for the muzzles of the guns of both parties to meet in the portholes, and both fire at the same time. But the enemy was obliged to fly to the river ; when all the remaining part, that had not been killed before, were shot in the water, except a few that hid under the banks of the river, whom our men continued to find and kill until it be- came too dark to see. Perhaps fifteen or twenty swam out that night, which is all that escaped. The slaughter was greater than all we had done before. We killed not less than eight hundred and fifty or nine hundred of them, and took about five hundred squaws and children prisoners. The Hickory Ground is the next object; but how soon, we cannot tell. Our horses are worn down, and I fear will all die. 368 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History I will only add that things are quite different here to what they were in our former army. All is now content — no murmuring to be heard." COLONEL GIDEON MORGAN, COMMANDER OF THE CHEROKEES, TO WILLIAM G. BLOUNT, SECRETARY OF STATE IN NASHVILLE. The Colonel Gideon Morgan who commanded the friendly Cherokees at the battle of the Horse-shoe, has numerous de- scendants living in Tennessee and especially in and near Knoxville. Colonel Morgan addressed a letter to Secretary of State William G. Blount giving an account of the battle, which is one of the clearest and best written of any in ref- erence to the engagement Colonel Morgan was shot but fortunately not fatally. His letter follows : 'Tort Williams, April 1, 1814. "You have been informed of our departure from Fort Strother and arrival at this place on the 21st March. On the 24th General Jackson took up his line of march for To- hopeka, or fortified town on the Tallapoosa, commonly called the 'Horseshoe' — on the evening of the 28th he encamped about six miles northwest of it — the army next morning was divided into two divisions. The horse and Indians com- manded by General Coffee crossed the river two miles below the town with directions to line the bank in the w T hole extent of the bend by the Cherokees and friendly Creeks — while the horse acted as a guard upon the high ground to defend our rear from an attack from the Oakfuskee Indians, who were expected from below. This precaution was, however, unnecessary as their w 7 hole force had been concentrated the day before. General Coffee had arrived on the opposite shore, about half a mile below the town, wiien General Jack- son's approach before the fortification was announced by the discharge of artillery, and in quick succession that of a brig- ade of infantry. The Cherokees immediately rushed to the point assigned them, which they did in regular order, and in a manner honorable to themselves — that is, the bank was in no place left vacant, and those fugitives who had taken to flight fell an easy prey to their vengeance." "The draft which Lieutenant Rece incloses will give you a better description of the place than I can, to which I refer. The breastwork was composed of five large logs, with two ranges of portholes, well put together. Artillery had no ef- fect, more than to bore it wherever it struck; nature had Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 369 done much, but when completed by art, the place was for- midable indeed. The high ground which extended about midway from the breastwork to the river was in some man- ner open, but the declivity and flat which surrounded it was filled with fallen timber, the growth of which was very heavy, and had been so arranged that every tree afforded them a breastwork, forming a communication or cover to the next, and so on to the river bank, in which caverns had been dug for their security and our annoyance. The breastwork in its whole extent was lined by savages, made desperate from their situation. The Thirty-ninth was drawn up on the left in a line extending from the center to the river bank ; the right was occupied by the militia, the artillery on an eminence 200 yards in rear of the breastwork, on which it kept up a steady and well-directed fire, though without effect." "In this manner the battle became stationary for some time, say one hour, when the Cherokees crossed the river by swimming and brought from the opposite shore a number of canoes, in which they crossed under cover of the town and their own guns; they halted under cover of the bank, and the canoes were sent back for reinforcement. Understand- ing General Jackson was about charging the breastworks in its whole extent, I rode with all possible dispatch to inform Major Montgomery, who commanded the left of the Thirty- ninth, on the river above. On my return about 150 or 200 Cherokees had crossed and were then warmly engaged with the hostile Creeks. I then crossed with Major Walker and 30 others and ascended the high ground, which the Cherokees were then in possession of. We were warmly assailed on every quarter except our rear, where we only kept open by the dint of hard fighting. The Cherokees were continually crossing, and our number increased in about the proportion in which the Creeks were diminished, who lay prostrate in every quarter. Their numbers were vastly superior to ours, but were occupied in maintaining their breastworks, which they appeared determined never to surrender. About one hour after my arrival on the summit I received a wound in the right side of my head which had like to have terminated my existence. I, however, in a short time recovered, and heard the heavenly intelligence that the Thirty-ninth had charged and were then in possession of the breastworks. This was an arduous undertaking, and the cool, deliberate manner in which it was effected reflects the highest credit on this bulwark of our army." "I shall not attempt a description. In the detailed official account justice no doubt will be done them. The fight commenced seventeen minutes after ten and continued 370 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History without intermission until dark; the next morning some were killed who, it appears, were determined never to quit^ their enchanted ground. On counting their dead, 557 were found on the field, many I know perished in crossing, and numbers were sunk in the river. The whole loss in killed could not be less than 700 or 800. The loss of the Thirty- ninth, 72 killed and wounded. Major Montgomery, Lieuten- ant Sommerville, and Lieutenant Moulton w r ere among the former. The loss of the Cherokees, 18 killed and 35 wounded, many badly. The Cherokees have been permitted to return to their homes." CELEBRATION OF THE BATTLE. On August 6, 1907, the Legislature of Alabama passed an Act creating a commission of seven members composed of the Governor of the State, the Director of the Department of Archives and History, and five others, to be appointed by the Governor, authorized to prepare plans and details for the appropriate celebration on or about March 27th, 1914, of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Horse-shoe Bend which occurred on March 27, 1814. On March 3, 1909, this commission presented a memorial to the Congress of the United States praying Congress to establish a military park on the battle field of Horse-shoe Bend. On March 27th, 1914, what was called a preliminary anniversary was held on the field of the battle, and on July 4, 1914, a second celebration was held continuing all day and embodying a very elaborate program. His Excellency Emmet O'Neal, Governor of Alabama, presided at the exer- cises and delivered the address of welcome, and distin- guished people from a number of States made addresses. Descendants of General John Coffee, Colonel John Williams and Colonel Gideon Morgan, all of w T hom took part in the battle, were presented to the audience, and among these was Miss Marion Sevier Rogers of Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, who was a great, great, grand-daughter of Governor John Sevier of Tennessee. Mrs. Nora E. Miller, of Dadeville, Alabama, was also presented, by whom the site was given for the monument to be erected by the United States Govern- ment. Presentation was made to the Governor of the deed to Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 371 the land on which the battle of Emuckfau was fought Janu- ary 22, 1914. Hon. John Trotwood Moore of Nashville read an orig- inal poem on Andrew Jackson. FORT JACKSON. General Jackson established Fort Jackson at the junction of Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers in the Holy Ground and there received deputations of Indians looking to a treaty of peace. On April 20th, 1814, General Thomas Pinckney, a Major General of the regular army, reached Fort Jackson and took command, and General Jackson's forces took up the march to Fayetteville, Tennessee, where they were dismissel from the service and the General started to his home. In May, 1814, General Harrison had a misunderstanding with the Secretary of War which led to the General's resig- nation, and General Jackson was appointed in his place a Major General of the army of the United States. After his appointment as a Major General he was or- dered by the War Department to make a treaty with the Creeks, which was done on August 10, 1814. The Treaty of Fort Jackson contained nine articles of which the following is an abstract: Article 1. The United States demanded as an equiva- lent for the expense incurred in prosecuting the war to its termination a boundary of Creek territory set out and de- scribed in this article. Article 2. The United States guaranteed to the Creek Nation the integrity of all their territory eastwardly and northwardly of the territory ceded. Article 3. The United States demanded that the Creeks abandon all communication with any British or Spanish post, garrison, or town, and that they should not admit any commercial agent among them except such as might be licensed by the United States. Article 4. The United States demanded an acknowl- edgement of the right to establish military posts, trading houses, and to open roads in the territory guaranteed to the Creeks. 372 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Article 5. The United States demanded the surrender of all persons and property taken from citizens of the United States and the friendly Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws and Choctaws, and that the United States would cause to be re- stored to the Creeks all property taken from them since their submission. Article 6. The United States demanded the surrender of all of the prophets and instigators of the war who had not submitted to the arms of the United States, if ever they should be found within the territory guaranteed to the Creek Nation. Article 7. The United States agreed to furnish gratui- tously the necessaries of life until the corn crops of the Creeks were considered sufficient to yield them a supply. Article 8. A permanent peace should ensue from the date of the treaty forever between the Creeks and the United States, and between the Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws and Chickasaws. Article 9. If in running the line east from the mouth of a creek named the settlements of the Kinnards should fall within the territory ceded to the United States, the line should be changed so as to exclude the said settlements from the ceded territory. After the treaty of Fort Jackson General Jackson's next move was to successfully defend Fort Bowyer at Mobile Bay from an assault by the British fleet, and he then moved on to New Orleans which he was to successfully defend in a battle which has been the wonder of every historian who has written about it. Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 373 CHAPTER XXIV. ANDREW JACKSON— THE BATTLE OF NEW OR- LEANS, SPEECH OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN W. GAINES ON THE BATTLE. Edward Pakenham, the Commander of the British force at New Orleans which Andrew Jackson defeated in twenty- five minutes in the early morning of January 8, 1815, was a/ brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington — the Duke having married his sister — was thirty-seven years old, had served in the army twenty years, and was appointed Commander on the recommendation of Wellington. He had a great rec- ord in the Peninsular war under Wellington, and, at the Bat- tle of Salamanca in Spain, July 2, 1812, commanded the Third Division, known as the "Fighting Third,' and by his handling of that Division won the battle. After this battle Wellington wrote about him: "Pakenham may not be the brightest genius, but my partiality for him does not lead me astray when I tell you that he is one of the best we have." His first independent command was at New Orleans to which point he sailed from Portsmouth, England, in Novem- ber, 1814, and took charge of the British forces before New Orleans on Christmas Day following. The British made three distinct assaults on Jackson's army, the first on the night of December 23, 1814, the second on the morning of January 1, 1815, and the third, which is called the Battle of New Orleans, on the morning of January 8, 1815. Charles Francis Adams says in one of his Military Studies that Pakenham in England even more than in Amer- ica, is an almost forgotten military character. The reason for this in England is not difficult to ascertain. The Eng- lish regarded the War of 1812 as a small affair compared to the Napoleonic wars, and so it was. Bonaparte taxed Eng- land's finances and man power to the limit. Pakenham lost the battle of New Orleans and met with that oblivion which is the usual portion of the unsuccessful — whether generals 374 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History or others. But even if he had won the battle he would have acquired no special distinction in the English mind; as they were accustomed to express themselves in contemptuous terms of the backwoods Americans as soldiers and fighters. But there is every reason why the Americans should re- member General Pakenham at his full measure of ability and leadership ; for to do otherwise is to lessen the claims of Jackson to military distinction because of winning the Battle of New Orleans. History would accord no Credit to Jackson for having defeated a military pigmy or novice, and Paken- ham was neither ; he had won solid fame in the bloody Penin- sular War. Those twenty-five minutes of marvelous success on Jan- uary 8, 1815, won the Presidency for Jackson, and a fame that at this time — one hundred and two years afterwards — shows no sign of lessening. If the telegraph or ocean cable had been in use in those days there would have been no Battle of New Orleans, and Jackson's fame as a Commander would have risen no higher than the Battle of the Horseshoe. On December 24, 1814, the envoys of the United States and Great Britain at Ghent signed a treaty of peace between the two nations, and on the 26th of December, Henry Carroll, one of the Secretaries of the American envoys, started for the United States with a copy of the treaty, and on January 2, 1815, sailed from Portsmouth, England, for New York, where he landed on Saturday, February 11th, 1815, at the Battery. The next day, Sunday, he started for Washington, where he arrived on Tuesday night, and went at once to Sec- retary of State, James Monroe, and the two proceeded to President James Madison, who was living at the time in a private residence, the White House having been burned by the British a few months before. General Jackson arrived at New Orleans December 2, 1814, and found there a city of about twenty thousand popu- lation made up of Spaniards, French Creoles and Americans ; all the elements but the Americans lacking enterprise and loving pleasure and luxury. The city was not rich as the cotton and sugar trade which subsequently became the basis of its wealth, was not then developed. As it was on the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 375 frontier, it was like frontier towns generally, the resort of the floating and the criminal population of the country. Two weeks after General Jackson's arrival, or about the middle of December, the following troops were what he had to rely upon to defend the city : two regiments of regular troops numbering about eight hundred ; Major Planches' vol- unteers of about five hundred ; two regiments of State militia poorly equipped; a battalion of free negroes; altogether about two thousand men. The schooner Carolina and the ship Louisiana were anchored in the river, but neither of them manned. Commodore Patterson and other naval of- ficers were in the city ready for such services as they could render. General Coffee was en route with his men from Pensacola. General Carroll had raised a force of volunteers in Tennessee, and was floating down to New Orleans, with only about one-tenth of his men equipped with arms. For- tunately there was a boat load of muskets being transported to New Orleans by water, and General Carroll took these and drilled his men while floating on the water. These muskets had been shipped by boat at Pittsburg. General Thomas and General Adair were also on their way down the Mississippi with two thousand Kentuckians, poorly provided for and lacking almost every equipment necessary for a mil- itary campaign. They had the good fortune to overtake a boat load of flour en route and supplied themselves with bread. There were six gunboats on Lake Borgne. The English force had been rendezvoused in Negril Bay at the Island of Jamaica and on the day the force sailed for Lake Borgne near New Orleans it consisted of fifty armed vessels, some of the strongest and most powerful in the English navy, with Sir Alexander Cockrane, the Admiral, in command of the fleet. Rear Admiral Sir Edward Cod- rington was next in command. Another fleet from Bordeaux was on the ocean en route to join Admiral Cockrane at Lake Borgne. Captain Percy with his squadron from Pensacola was also to join. The English land forces were under the command of Major General John Keane and consisted of about twenty thousand men made up of English regulars, 1,500 marines, two negro regiments taken from the West Indies, and ten thousand sailors. This force with its fifty 376 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ships carrying a thousand guns was a very formidable enemy for Jackson and his little, poorly equipped army to meet. The English regulars were from the battlefields of the Penin- sular War where they had fought triumphantly under the Duke of Wellington. England was attempting by tihis formidable expedition to take possession of Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley, and to join the English army from Canada, thereby to hold the grandest section of the globe. Lake Borgne was a small arm of the Gulf of Mexico where Jackson had six gunboats to aid in the defense of the city. This lake leads by a channel into Lake Pontchartrain, by which latter lake entrance would be given into New Orleans from the upper side, and thereby afford a rear attack on Jackson's army, and this was one of the plans of campaign of the English. The defense of Lake Borgne, therefore, became vitally necessary to Jackson, but, unhap- pily, the six gunboats were taken by the English naval forces. The loss of the gunboats, of course, created conster- nation in the city and all kinds of rumors were afloat. Gen- eral Jackson thought it necessary to issue an address to the citizens which he did on December 15th. JACKSON'S ADDRESS. "To the Citizens of New Orleans : "The Major General commanding has, with astonishment and regret, learned that great consternation and alarm per- vade your city. It is true the enemy is on our coast, and threatens an invasion of our territory ; but it is equally true, with union, energy, and the approbation of heaven, we will beat him at every point his temerity may induce him to set foot upon our soil. The General, with still greater astonish- ment, has heard that British emissaries have been permitted to propagate seditious reports among you, that the threat- ened invasion is with a view of restoring the country to Spain, from a supposition that some of you would be willing to return to your ancient government. Believe not such incredible tales — your government is at peace with Spain — it is the vital enemy of your country, the common enemy of mankind, the highway robber of the world, that threatens you, and has sent his hirelings among you with this false report to put you off your guard, that you may fall an easy prey to him ; — then look to your liberties, your property, the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 377 chastity of your wiyes and daughters — take a retrospect of the British army at Hampton and other places, where it has entered our country, and every bosom which glows with pa- triotism and virtue will be inspired with indignation, and pant for the arrival of the hour when we shall meet and re- venge those outrages against the laws of civilization and humanity. "The General calls upon the inhabitants of the city to trace this unfounded report to its source, and bring the propagator to condign punishment. The rules and articles of war annex the punishment of death to any person holding secret correspondence with the enemy, creating false alarms, or supplying him with provisions; and the Geenral an- nounces his unalterable determination rigidly to execute the martial law in all cases which may come within his province. "The safety of the district intrusted to the protection of the General, must and will be maintained with the best blood of the country ; and he is confident that all good citizens will be found at their posts, with their arms in their hands, de- termined to dispute every inch of ground with the enemy; that unanimity will pervade the country generally; but should the General be disappointed in this expectation, he will separate our enemies from our friends — those who are not for us are against us, and will be dealt with accord- ingly." General Jackson's next move was the one which made possible his wonderful defense of the city of New Orleans — the placing of the city under martial law, which is always a last measure. Martial law was proclaimed on December 16 by the following PROCLAMATION. "Major General Andrew Jackson, commanding the sev- enth United States military district, declares the city and environs of New Orleans under strict martial law, and or- ders that in future the following rules be rigidly enforced, viz: "Every individual entering the city will report to the ad- jutant-general's office, and, on failure, to be arrested and held for examination. "No persons shall be permitted to leave the city without a permission in writing, signed by the General or one of his staff. "No vessels, boats or other craft will be permitted to leave New Orleans or Bayou St. John without a passport in writing from the General or one of his staff, or the com- 378 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History mander of the naval forces of the United States on this station. "The street lamps shall be extinguished at the hour of nine at night, after which time persons of every description found in the streets or not in their respective homes, with- out permission in writing, as aforesaid, and not having the countersign, shall be apprehended as spies and held for ex- amination." It was one of Jackson's characteristics that he never failed at any time in his career to meet an emergency boldly and exactly as it should be met for successful resistance; he never failed to assume responsibility, and the phrase "I will be responsible" was one that was frequently on his lips. The man's moral fearlessness was just as great as his physi- cal courage, and neither ever wavered. On the 18th of December General Jackson reviewed his troops and had Edward Livingstone, his aide, to read them an address which is one of the most celebrated addresses of his career ; it will be noted that the address contains something directed to each particular portion of his troops. It will repay careful perusal. JACKSON TO HIS TROOPS. "To THE embodied militia. — Fellow Citizens and Sol- diers : The general commander in chief would not do jus- tice to the noble ardor that has animated you in the hour of danger, he would do justice to his own feelings, if he suffered the example you have shown to pass without public notice. Inhabitants of an opulent and commercial town, you have, by a spontaneous effort, shaken off the habits which are created by wealth, and shown that you are resolved to deserve the blessings of fortune by bravely defending them. Long strangers to the perils of war, you have embodied yourselves to face them with the cool coun- tenance of veterans; and with motives of disunion that might operate on weak minds, you have forgotten the dif- ference of language and the prejudices of national pride, and united with a cordiality that does honor to your under- standing as well as to your patriotism. Natives of the United States! They are the oppressors of your infant political existence with whom you are to contend; they are the men your fathers conquered whom you are to oppose. Descendants of Frenchmen! natives of France! they are English, the hereditary, the eternal enemies of your ancient Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 379 country, the invaders of that you have adopted, who are your foes. Spaniards ! remember the conduct of your allies at St. Sebastians, and recently at Pensacola, and rejoice that you have an opportunity of avenging the brutal inju- ries inflicted by men who dishonor the human race. "Fellow-citizens, of every description, remember for what, and against whom you contend. For all that can ren- der life desirable — for a country blessed with every gift of nature — for prosperity, for life — for those dearer than either, your wives and children — and for liberty, without which, country, life, property, are no longer worth posses- sing; as even the embraces of wives and children become a reproach to the wretch who would deprive them by his cow- ardice of those invaluable blessings. You are to contend for all this against an enemy whose continued effort is to de- prive you of the least of these blessings ; who avows a war of vengeance and desolation, carried on and marked by cru- elty, lust, and horrors unknown to civilized nations. "Citizens of Louisiana! the General commanding in chief rejoices to see the spirit that animates you, not only for your honor but for your safety ; for whatever had been your con- duct or wishes, his duty would have led, and w r ill now lead him to confound the citizen unmindful of his rights with the enemy he ceases to oppose. Now, leading men who know their rights, who are determined to defend them, he salutes you, brave Louisianians, as brethren in arms, and has now a new motive to exert all his faculties, which shall be strained to the utmost in your defense. Continue with the energy you have begun, and he promises you not only safety, but victory over the insolent enemy who insulted you by an affected doubt of your attachement to the Con- stitution of your country. "TO THE BATTALION OF UNIFORM COMPANIES — When I first looked at you on the day of my arrival I was satisfied with your appearance, and every day's inspection since has confirmed the opinion I then formed. Your numbers have increased with the increase of danger, and your ardor has augmented since it was known that your post would be one of peril and honor. This is the true love of country ! You have added to it an exact discipline, and a skill in evolutions rarely attained by veterans ; the state of your corps does equal honor to the skill of the officers and the attention of the men. With such defenders our country has nothing to fear. Every thing I have said to the body of militia applies equally to you — you have made the same sacrifices — you have the same country to defend, the same motive for exer- tion — but I should have been unjust had I not noticed, as 380 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History it deserved, the excellence of your discipline and the mar- tial appearance of your corps. "To the men of color : — Soldiers ! From the shores of Mobile I collected you to arms — I invited you to share in the perils and to divide the glory of your white countrymen. I expected much from you, for I was not uninformed of those qualities which must render you so formidable to an invading foe. I knew that you could endure hunger and thirst and all the hardships of war. I knew that you loved the land of your nativity, and that, like ourselves, you had to defend all that is most dear to man. But you surpass my hopes. I have found in you, united to these qualities, that noble enthusiasm which impels me to great deeds. "Soldiers! The President of the United States shall be informed of your conduct on the present occasion, and the voice of the Representatives of the American nation shall applaud your valor, as your General now praises your ardor. -The enemy is near. His sails cover the lakes. But the brave are united; and if he finds us contending among ourselves, it will be for the prize of valor, and fame its noblest re- ward." The day after General Jackson's review of his troops, General Coffee arrived with his mounted men, many of whom by reason of sickness, fatigue and exposure, were unable to take part in the defense of the city. Coffee's men were the best marksmen in Jackson's army. After Coffee, Colonel Hinds arrived with his Mississippi Dragoon^, and on December 22 General Carroll came in, supplied with mus- kets. The first clash between the English and Jackson was on the night of December 23, and Jackson brought on the fight. Historians generally agree that this aggressive move- ment by Jackson is the finest evidence of his military ability, and really saved New Orleans. The English believed that the Americans would not fight except when attacked, and Jackson did not wait for an attack. They gained the im- pression by this that his army was strong enough to risk taking the aggressive ; and from other sources also had the idea that he was in command of a very strong force. Not expecting an attack at night, the English were totally un- prepared for it, and the moral effect in Jackson's favor was overwhelming. The English forces attacked consisted of about sixteen hundred men, to be strengthened by large Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 381 numbers the following day and until the entire English force was located for an assault upon Jackson's lines. The British lost forty-six killed, 'one hundred sixty-seven wounded, sixty-four prisoners. The American loss was twenty-four killed, one hundred fifteen wounded, seventy- four missing. Among the Americans killed was Lieutenant Lauderdale, Who had fought with Jackson in the Creek war. The fight began at half past seven o'clock and continued one hour and forty-five minutes. Jackson's report of this battle gives credit to each of the Divisions under his com- mand. GENERAL JACKSON'S REPORT. "The best compliment that I can pay to General Coffee and his brigade is to say they behaved as they have always done while under my command. The seventh, led by Major Peire, and the forty-fourth, commanded by Colonel Ross, distinguished themselves. The battalion of city militia, commanded by Major Planche, realized my anticipations, and behaved like veterans. Savary's volunteers manifested great bravery; and the company of city riflemen, having penetrated into the midst of the enemy's camp, were sur- rounded, and fought their way out with the greatest hero- ism, bringing with them a number of prisoners. The two field pieces were well served by the officer commanding them. All my officers in the line did their duty, and I have every reason to be satisfied with the whole of my field and staff. Colonels Butler and Piatt, and Major Chotard, by their in- trepidity, saved the artillery. Colonel Hayne was every- where that duty or danger called. I was deprived of the services of one of my aids, Captain Butler, whom I was obliged to station, to his great regret, in town. Captain Reid, my other aid, and Messrs. Livingston, Duplessis and Davezac, who had volunteered their services, faced danger whenever it was to be met, and carried my orders with the utmost promptitude. Colonel Dellaronde, Major Villere of the Louisiana militia, Major Latour of engineers, having no command, volunteered their services, as did Drs. Kerr and Flood, and were of great assistance to me." Promptly on the following day General Jackson put every available hand to work deepening and widening the Roderiguez canal, and throwing the dirt upon one side, be- hind which his men were located, and where he intended to make, and did make, his final and successful stand against 382 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History " the English assault. Every available tool in New Orleans for digging and moving earth was brought into requisition, and as a result, the Roderiguez canal comes down in history as one of the celebrated means of defense in a great battle. After the night attack it is said that Jackson did not sleep until the night of the twenty-seventh, but devoted heart, soul, and every particle of his vital energy, in getting ready for the next attack. Major General Sir Edward Pakenham arrived on De- cember 25th to take charge of the British forces, with Ma- jor General Samuel Gibbs with him as second in command, and the English expected a great deal from Pakenham's leadership. On December 27th, the Carolina, which had do'ne such effective service, was shot out of existence by the British artillery, and the British guns were then trained upon the Louisiana, which saved itself only by changing its position half a mile. On New Year's Day, 1815, about ten o'clock in the morn- ing, after a very heavy fog had raised, the English artillery of about thirty pieces opened fire upon the American line, and the second drama in the attack and defense of New 7 Orleans commenced. This attack, of course, was under the command of General Pakenham. The fight continued until about noon when the British fire slackened, and upon count- ing up the casualties at the end of the fight, it was found that the British had thirty killed and forty wounded, and the Americans eleven killed and twenty-three wounded. The Kentuckians numbering 2,250 reached New Orleans January 4th, unequipped and unprepared to render effective service in the defense of the city. The historians record that only one man in ten was well armed, and only one in three was armed at all. The final battle in defense of New Orleans occurred on the morning of January 8, 1815, and opened with a rocket sent up as a signal for the attack about six o'clock, just as the fog was lifting. The twenty-five minutes of the battle that followed was a tremendous twenty-five minutes, and pregnant with vast results in the history of Andrew Jack- son and the people of the United States. During this twen- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 383 ty-five minutes General Pakenham was killed, leading his men in grand style. General Gibbs followed, meeting his death gallantly serving Great Britain. General Keane was painfully, but not fatally wounded. Jackson won, and the American Presidency and immortality were his reward. The British lost seven hundred killed, fourteen hundred wounded, and five hundred prisoners. The Americans lost eight killed and thirteen wounded. For the purpose of acquainting this generation of Ten- nesseans with all of the generals, officers, regiments and commands at the battle of New Orleans, which Tennesseans have always felt that they won, we set out, as far as ascer- tained, a full statement of those engaged: Generals Jack- son, Coffee, Carroll, Thomas, Adair, Humbert, Morgan and Major Hind and his Mississippi dragoons. Battery Number One, Camp Jackson, was manned by the United States Artillery, Captain Humphreys, and Vol- unteer Dragoons, Major St. Genie; Battery Number Two by artillery under Lieutenant Norris of the Navy; Battery Number Three by the Barataria Smugglers, Captains Dom- inique and Beluche; B'attery Number Four by Lieutenant Crowley of the Navy; Battery Number Five, by Colonel Perry; Battery Number Six by volunteer artillerists under General Flanjeac and Lieutenant Bertel; Battery Number Seven by regular artillery under Lieutenants Spotts and Chaveau; Battery Number Eight by a detachment of mili- tia; extreme right occupied by the "New Orleans Rifles." Other points in line of defense by the 7th Louisiana Militia, Major Pierre; Major Planche's New Orleans companies; Major Lacortes colored regiment; Major Daquin's second regiment of color; detachment of the 44th Regiment under Captain Baker; General Carroll's Tennesseans supported by General Adair's Kentuckians and General Coffee's Ten- nesseans. The western bank : General Morgan's Louisiana troops; Colonel Cavelier's 2nd Louisiana militia and the 1st Louisiana regiment of militia and Kentuckians under Colonel Davis and Major Arnaud. Fort St. Philip, on Jan- uary 9, the day of the bombardment by the enemy was garrisoned by Major Overton. 384 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History BOOTY AND BEAUTY. In the story of the battle of New Orleans a great deal has been written about "Booty and Beauty" as the reward by the British troops in the event the city had been taken ; and that this was the expectation of at least some of the En- glish troops, and that the town would have been looted and women despoiled, seems absolutely certain if the conduct of the soldiers who had served under Wellington in Spain is to be taken as a standard of their conduct in New Orleans. There is no evidence, however, that General Pakenham, wmo served with the Duke of Wellington in Spain ever counte- nanced such unspeakably infamous conduct by English sol- diers, but the soldiers themselves are convicted upon the historical testimony of the Duke of Wellington and of Major General Sir W. F. P. Napier, an English General. On page 227, part II of his "Naval War of 1812," Roose- velt quotes Wellington as follows in reference to the con- duct of his soldiers : "It is impossible to describe to you the irregularities and outrages committed by the troops. They are never out of sight of their officers, I might almost say, out of sight of the commanding officers of the regiments, that outrages are not committed. . . . There is not an outrage of any description which has not been committed on a people who have uniformly received them as friends." "I really believe that more plunder and outrages have been committed by this army than by any other that ever was in the field." "A detachment seldom marches . . . that a murder, or a highway robbery, or some act of outrage is not committed by the British soldiers composing it. They have killed eight people since the army returned to Portugal." "They really forget everything when plunder or wine is within reach." Major General Sir W. F. P. Napier, K. C. B., took part in the Peninsular War waged between the French on the one side, and the British, Spanish and Portugese on the other, and which lasted from 1807 to 1814. Wellington com- manded the British forces and General Napier served under him. General Napier published a history of the Peninsular War in five volumes, and in the preface said that he was an eye witness to many of the transactions related in this history; his statements, therefore, must be accepted as con- clusive as to the conduct of the British soldiers in the war. After the British had captured the city of B'adajos he says on page 377 of Volume 3 : Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 385 "Now commenced that wild and desperate wickedness which tarnished the luster of the soldiers' heroism. All, indeed, were not alike for hundreds risked and many lost their lives in striving to stop the violence ; but the madness generally prevailed, and as the worst men were leaders here, all the dreadful passions of human nature were displayed. Shameless rapacity, brutal intemperance, savage lust, cru- elty and murder, shrieks and piteous lamentations, the hiss- ing of fires bursting from the houses, the crashing of doors and windows and the reports of muskets used in violence, resounded for two clays and nights in the streets of Bada- jos! On the third, when the city was sacked, when the soldiers were exhausted by their excesses, the tumult rather subsided than was quelled." On page 411 of Volume 4 he says : "This storm seemed to be a signal from hell for the perpetration of villainy which would have shamed the most ferocious barbarians of antiquity. At Rodrigo intoxication and plunder had been the principal object. At Badajos lust and murder were joined to rapine and drunkenness, but at San Sebastian the direst, the most revolting cruelty was added to the catalogue of crimes — one atrocity of which a girl of seventeen was the victim, staggers the mind by its enormous, incredible, indescribable barbarity. The resolu- tion of the troops to throw off discipline was quickly made manifest. A British staff officer was pursued with a volley of small arms, and escaped with difficulty from men who mistook him for the Provost-Marshal of the Fifth Division ; a Portugese Adjutant who endeavored to prevent some wick- edness was put to death in the market place, not with sud- den violence from a single ruffian, but deliberately by a number of English soldiers; and though many officers ex- erted themselves to preserve order, and many men were well-conducted, the rapine and violence commenced by vil- lains spread; the camp followers soon crowded into the place and the disorder continued until the flames following the steps of the plunderer put an end to his ferocity by destroying the whole town." On page 415 of Volume 4, he says : "San Sebastian was a heap of smoking ruins and atroci- ties degrading to human nature had been perpetrated by the troops. A detailed statement of these crimes was pub- lished and signed by the municipal and ecclesiastical bodies, the consuls and principal persons of San Sebastian who solemnly affirmed the truth of each case. . . . The ab- 386 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History horrent case of the young girl was notorious ; so were many others." Jackson was now famous. On February 8th, 1815, Governor John Sevier was a member of Congress from Tennessee, and he wrote to his son: "The Orleans mail has arrived with the news of Jack- son's success in repulsing the enemy, which has occasioned much rejoicing in this place; and we have received as many congratulations as though we had been in the action. In consequence of the news the city was very brilliantly illu- minated last night, and a constant firing nearly all the night afterwards. Our army of Tennessee is more talked of here than half the world besides. I expect the Wellingtonians begin to think somewhat differently of the Americans, and find they are to meet some trouble before they conquer them." Governor Blount of Tennesee w T as a life-long friend of Jackson, and on January 27, 1815, Jackson wrote him a let- ter on the result of the battle. general jackson to governor blount. "Headquarters, New Orleans, January 27th, 1815. "Sir: I enclose you a paper that contains my address and general orders to the brave army I had the honor to command on the 8th instant. In addition I have to state that the prisoners taken on the retreat of the enemy state their whole loss, including killed, wounded, and missing, is estimated at six thousand five hundred, and that Keane is dead of his wounds. When the numbers are known that were in action on our side, and those badly armed, it will not be accredited, and particularly when the loss of the enemy is compared with my loss, which in killed, since the landing of the enemy, does not exceed fifty-six. The uner- ring hand of Providence shielded my men from the showers of balls, bombs and rockets; when, on the other hand, it appeared that every ball and bomb from our lines was charged with the mission of death. The spirit of the Brit- ish in this quarter is broken; they have failed in every at- tempt. They bombarded Fort St. Phillip for nine days, throwing upwards of one thousand large bombs, exclusive of small ones, with no other effect than killing two and wounding seven ; five of the latter so slightly that they are reported for duty. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 387 "Mr. Shields, purser of the navy, brave and full of enterprise, got a few volunteers, and with four small boats pursued them as they were embarking, took a transport and burned her, several small boats, and one hundred and odd prisoners. For the want of force he was compelled to parole a number ; bringing with him in all seventy prison- ers, including two officers. They have lost all their valuable officers and the flower of their army. This argument will have greater weight at Ghent than any other, and I view it as the harbinger of peace. When you see the bravery of your countrymen you must feel proud that you govern such a people! They are worthy to be free. General Coffee's brigade for the whole time literally lay in a swamp, knee deep in mud and water, and the whole of General Carroll's line but little better. Still they maintained their position, without a murmur. Three thousand stands of arms more than I had on the 8th would, in my opinion, have placed the whole British army in my hands. But the Lord's will be done. Yours, etc., Andrew Jackson. "P. S. — I have had but few minutes of ease, and for some days bad health, but am better. "P. S. — The picket guard state that they lost sight of the last sail of the British at half after eleven o'clock A. M. ; and Louisiana may again say her soil is not trodden by the sacrilegious footsteps of a hostile Briton. They were steer- ing for Ship Island. Where destined from thence uncer- tain." General Jackson had repulsed the British, but for a short space after the battle he had no official information that peace had been declared between Great Britain and the United States, and, therefore, he continued New Orleans under martial law, which created a great deal of discontent and excitement among the people. The General ordered the arrest of Mr. Louaillier for publishing in the Louisiana "Courier" an article which Jackson considered in violation of martial law, and Mr. Louallier was placed in confine- ment; he employed P. L. Morel as his lawyer who at once made application to Judge Dominick A. Hall, District Judge of the United States Court, for a writ of habeas corpus as follows : "Louis Louaillier, an inhabitant of this district, mem- ber of the House of Representatives of the State of Louis- iana, humbly showeth — 388 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "That he has been this day illegally arrested by F. Ame- limg, an officer in the forty-fourth regiment, who informed your petitioner that he did arrest your said petitioner agree- able to orders given to him (the said F. Amelung) by his excellency Major General Jackson ; and that your said peti- tioner is now illegally detained pursuant to said orders. "Wherefore your petitioner prays that a writ of habeas corpus be issued to bring him before your honor, that he may be dealt with according to the Constitution and the laws of the United States. "P. L. Morel, Attorney for the petitioner." This petition was duly sworn to and Judge Hall en- dorsed upon it: "Let the prayer of the petition be granted, and the petitioner be brought before me at eleven o'clock tomorrow. "March 6th. Dom A. Hall." Thereupon Mr. Morel addressed notice of the granting of this writ of habeas corpus to General Jackson : "To his excellency Major General Jackson: "Sir: I have the honor to inform your excellency that, as counsel, I have made application to his honor Dom. A. Hall, Judge of the District Court of the United States, for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of Mr. Louaillier, who conceived that he was illegally arrested by order of your excellency; and that the said writ has been awarded, and is returnable tomorrow, 6th instant, at eleven o'clock, A.M. "I have the honor to be your excellency's most humble and obedient servant, "P. L. Morel, Counsellor at Law." Upon receipt of this notice General Jackson proceeded promptly to enter upon a new kind of combat to that in which he had been so recently engaged. He at once ad- dressed a communication to Colonel Arbuckle as follows : "'New Orleans, March 5th, 1815. "Seven o'clock P. M. "Headquarters, Seventh Military District: "Having received proof that Dominick A. Hall has been aiding and abetting and exciting mutiny within my camp, you forthwith order a detachment to arrest and confine him, and report to me as soon as arrested. You will be vigi- lant ; the agents of our enemy are more numerous than was expected. You will be guarded against escapes. "A. Jackson, Major General Commanding." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 389 "Dr. William E. Butler is ordered to accompany the de- tachment and point out the man. "A. Jackson, Major General Commanding." Judge Hall and Mr. Louallier were made prisoners in the barracks. On Saturday, March 11, General Jackson concluded to give Judge Hall his liberty, but to send him out of the city, which was done and a guard of five of Jackson's men took the Judge five miles above New Orleans. On Monday, March 15th, official information was re- ceived at New Orleans from the United States government that peace had been declared, and Louaillier was turned loose and Judge Hall allowed to return to the city. It now became Judge Hall's turn to operate on General Jackson, and on March 22 it was ordered by the Judge that General Jackson show cause, on the 24th, why he should not be attached for contempt of court in disregarding the writ of habeas corpus in the matter of Louis Louaillier. The city was no longer under martial law, the United States District Court had resumed its jurisdiction, and it was necessary for General Jackson to defend himself against the charge of contempt; and so on March 31, General Jackson appeared in Court and was fined one thousand dollars to be paid to the United States, which the General promptly paid by a check on a New Orleans bank, and so the matter ended at the time; but all through Jackson's political career after that his difference with Judge Hall was one of the staple arguments urged by the opposition to show that he was not such a man as should be entrusted with the power of the President of the United States. In 1842 Congress refunded this fine with interest aggregating twenty-seven hundred dollars. After the payment of this fine General Jackson remained in New Orleans a short time closing up business connected with supplies furnished to his army in the city, and then left for the Hermitage. On arriving at Nashville he was given a banquet on May 22d, and the Governor of the State presented the sword voted him by the State of Mississippi the year before. On January 8, 1908, the Honorable John W. Gaines of Nashville, who represented the Nashville- District in Con- 390 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History gress from March 4, 1897, to March 4, 1909, introduced a bill in the House of Representatives making- an appropria- tion of five thousand dollars to locate, mark, and protect the graves of American soldiers killed in the several battles at New Orleans in 1814-1815; and, thereupon, there arose in Tennessee an earnest and extended investigation and dis- cussion by interested persons through various channels to ascertain, especially, the names of the eight who were killed in the battle of January 8, 1815. The Quartermaster Gen- eral of the United States army by communication of De- cember 23, 1907, informed Mr. Gaines that the remains of soldiers who fell at the battle of New Orleans and others of the Civil War were buried at Chalmette National Ceme- tery, located on the New Orleans battlefield, about three miles east of the city. In the investigation and discussion referred to there developed a difference of opinion whether six or eight men were killed on January 8, but the probabilities are that there were eight, and while their names cannot be given with a certainty that is beyond question, it may be said that seven of the eight were Tennesseans as follows : James Kirkpatrick, of Sumner County; David Harper, of Sumner County; James Henry Smith, of Maury County; James Moore, of Maury County; John Thompson, of Bedford County; William Smith, of Davidson County ; Clement Hancock. The investigation did not develop the name of the eighth man with certainty, and there were several different suggestions as to who he was. Mr. Gaines' bill did not become a law, but its introduc- tion had the merit of causing to be rescued from oblivion and placed upon their country's roll of honor and fame, the names of at least seven of those who are entitled to be re- membered always. Mr. Gaines did some valuable work while a member of Congress in defending the fame of Andrew Jackson by cor- recting unfounded statements and accusations on the floor of the House, whether emanating from sectional prejudice Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 391 or ignorance, and on each 8th day of January for a number of years — the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans — he was accustomed to address the House on some phase of the life, character or career of Andrew Jackson; and on the 8th day of January, 1907, he spoke on the Battle of New Orleans, as reported in the Congressional Record : HONORABLE JOHN W. GAINES' SPEECH. "Mr. Chairman : Ninety-two years ago to-day Andrew Jackson and his raw troops defeated, at New Orleans, and drove the English army finally, I hope, from the jurisdiction of the United States. It is a coincidence that we are to-day engaged in the consideration of a bill 'making appropria- tion for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1908.' ''It is not my purpose now, Mr. Chairman, to speak of the patriotic deeds of Andrew Jackson, nor to elaborate the history of the great battle of New Orleans, but I have some pertinent and timely matter that I wish to read to the House. My main purpose to-day is to call the attention of this House to the fact that this is the ninety-second anni- versary of that great event, and that the American Con- gress in 1815 passed a resolution of thanks to General Jack- son and his troops, and ordered a gold medal to be given him at the public expense. "I will ask the clerk to read that resolution. "The Clerk read as follows : " 'Resolutions expressive of the thanks of Congress to Major General Jackson and the troops under his command for their gallantry and good conduct in the defense of New Orleans. " 'Resolved, etc., That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby, given to Major-General Jackson, and, through him, to the officers and Soldiers of the Regular Army, of the militia, and of the volunteers under his com- mand, the greater proportion of which troops consisted of militia and volunteers suddenly collected together, for their uniform gallantry and good conduct conspicuously displayed against the enemy from the time of his landing before New Orleans until his final expulsion therefrom, and particularly for the valor, skill, and good conduct on the 8th of January last in repulsing, with great slaughter, a numerous British army, of chosen veteran troops, when attempting, by a bold and daring attack, to carry by storm the works hastily thrown up for the protection of New Orleans, and thereby 392 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History obtaining a most signal victory over the enemy, with a dis- parity of loss on his part, unexampled in military annals. " 'Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause to be struck a gold medal, with devices emblematical of this splendid achievement, and presented to Major-General Jackson as a testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of his judicious and distinguished conduct on that memorable occasion. " 'Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause the foregoing resolutions to be communi- cated to Major-General Jackson in such terms as he may deem best calculated to give effect to the objects thereof. " 'Approved February 27, 1815. (30th Cong., 3d sess., resolution 10.)' "Mr. Gaines of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, on January 21, 1815, General Jackson had 'read at the head of each of the corps composing the line below New Orleans' an address, and amongst other things he spoke of this marvelous victory which prompted the Congress to unanimously pass this res- olution of thanks. General Jackson, in this address to his troops, in part said: " 'On the 8th of January the final effort was made. At the dawn of day the batteries opened and the columns ad- vanced. Knowing that the volunteers from Tennessee and the militia from Kentucky were stationed on your left, it was there they directed their chief attack. " 'Reasoning always from false principles, they expected little opposition from men whose officers were not even in uniform, who were ignorant of the rules of dress, and who had never been caned into discipline. (Italics his.) "'Fatal mistake! A fire incessantly kept up, directed with a calmness and unerring aim, strewed the field with the bravest officers and men of the column which slowly advanced according to the most approved rules of European tactics, and was cut down by the untutored courage of American militia. " 'Unable to sustain this galling and unerring fire, some hundreds nearest the intrenchments called for quarter; the rest, retreating, were rallied at some distance, but only to make them a surer mark for the grape and canister shot of our artillery, which, without exaggeration, mowed down whole ranks at every discharge, and at length they precipi- tately retreated from the field. ' 'Our right had only a short contest to sustain with a few rash men, who, fatally for themselves, forced their en- trance into the unfinished redoubt on the river. ; 'They were quickly dispossessed, and this glorious day terminated with a loss to the enemy of their commander Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 393 in chief and one major-general killed, another major-gen- eral wounded, and the most experienced and bravest of their officers and more than 3,000 men killed, wounded and missing, while our ranks, my friends, were thinned only by the loss of 7 of our brave companions killed and 6 dis- abled by wounds — wonderful interposition of heaven! Un- exampled event in the history of tear. " 'Let us be grateful to the God of battles, who has di- rected the arrows of indignation against our invaders, while he covered with his protecting shield the brave de- fenders of their country. " 'After the unsuccessful and disastrous attempt, their spirits were broken, their force was destroyed, and their whole attention was employed in providing the means of escape. This they have effected, leaving their heavy artil- lery in our power, and many of their wounded to our clem- ency. The consequences of this short, but decisive, cam- paign are incalculably important. The pride of our arro- gant enemy humbled, his forces broken, his leaders killed, his insolent hopes of our disunion frustrated, his expecta- tion of rioting in our spoils and wasting our country changed into ignominious defeat, shameful flight, and a reluctant acknowledgment of the humanity and kindness of those whom he had doomed to all the horrors and humiliation of a conquered state.' "I have before me, Mr. Chairman, the speeches deliv- ered in the House in February, 1815, touching upon this resolution and upon this wonderful military feat of our forces. Mr. Troop of Georgia, reported the resolution. He said: " 'That he congratulated the House on the return of peace; if the peace be honorable, he might be permitted to congratulate the House on the glorious termination of the war. He might be permitted to congratulate them on the glorious termination of the most glorious war ever waged by any people. To the glory of it General Jackson and his gallant army had contributed not a little. I cannot, sir, per- haps language cannot, do justice to the merits of General Jackson and the troops under his command, or to the sensi- bility of the House, I will therefore forbear to trouble the House with the usual prefatory remarks; it is a fit subject for the genius of Homer. " 'But there was a spectacle connected with this subject upon which the human mind would delight to dwell — upon which the human mind could not fail to dwell with peculiar pride and exultation. It was the yeomen of the country marching to the defense of the city of Orleans, leaving their wives and children and firesides at a moment's warning. 394 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History On the one side, committing themselves to the bosom of the mother of rivers ; on the other, taking the route of the trackless and savage wilderness for hundreds of miles. Meeting at the place of rendezvous ; seeking, attacking, and beating the enemy in a pitched battle ; repulsing three des- perate assaults with great loss to him; killing, wounding, and capturing more than 4,000 of his force, and finally com- pelling him to fly precipitately the country he had boldly invaded. The farmers of the country triumphantly victo- rious over the conquerors of the conquerors of Europe. 'I came, I saiv, I conquered,' says the American husbandman, fresh from his ploiv. " The proud veteran who triumphed in Spain and car- ried terror into the warlike population of France Was hum- bled beneath the power of my arm. The God of Battles and of Righteousness took part with the defenders of their coun- try, and the foe was scattered before us as chaff before the wind. It is, indeed, a fit subject for the genius of Homer, of Ossian, or Milton. " 'That militia should be beaten by militia is of natural and ordinary occurrence; that regular troops should be beaten by militia is not without example; the examples are as numerous, or more numerous, in our own country than in any other; but that regular troops, the best disciplined and most veteran of Europe, should be beaten by undisci- plined militia, with the disproportion of loss of a hundred to one, is, to use the language of the commanding general, almost incredible. The disparity of the loss, the equality of force, the difference in the character of the force, all com- bine to render the battle of the 8th of January at once the most brilliant and extraordinary of modern times. Nothing can account for it but the rare merits of the commanding general and the rare patriotism and military ardor of the troops under his command. " 'Glorious, sir, as are these events to the American arms, honorable as they are to the American character, they are not more glorious and honorable than are the immedi- ate consequences full of usefulness to the country. If the war had continued the men of the country would have been inspired with a noble ardor and a generous emulation in defense of the country; they would have struck terror into the invader, and given confidence to the invaded. Europe has seen that to be formidable on the ocean we need but will it. Europe will see that to be invincible on land it is only necessary that we judiciously employ the means which God and nature have bountifully placed at our disposal. The men of Europe, bred in camps, trained to war, with all the science and all the experience of modern war, are not a Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 395 match for the men of America taken from the closet, the bar, the court-house, and the ploiv. If, sir, it be pardonable at any time to indulge the sentiments and feelings, it may be deemed pardonable on the present occasion.' "Mr. Robertson, a Member of Congress from Louisiana — and I dare say an ancestor of the present Member from Louisiana of the same name, the Hon. Sam Robertson — said : " 'Mr. Speaker, representing alone on this floor an inter- esting part of our country, saved by heroism unmatched from horrors which cannot be described, I shall be excused for expressing my admiration of General Jackson, his great achievements, and the splendid battles which we now com- memorate.' "He then spoke of the fidelity of the Louisiana French to Jackson in this crisis. Many of them that came under the command of General Jackson were French or of French descent, and it was expected that they would not faithfully fight. Yet they not only did that, but this same Congress passed a resolution of thanks specially to the people of Louisiana for the great assistance they gave General Jack- son on this occasion. "Mr. Robertson then continues in describing Jackson's army and his rough breastworks : " 'Hasty levies of half-armed, undisciplined militia from the interior of our vast continent, from the banks of the Tennessee, the Cumberland, and the Ohio, traversing ivide and trackless regions, precipitate themselves to the scene of conflict, resolute to defend their distant brethren from the dangers with which they are menaced. There the hardy sons of the West, with the yeomanry of the adjacent terri- tory and the invaded State, with a handful of regulars and a few armed vessels, constituted that force from which the tremendous armament of our enemy was to experience the most signal overthrow the world has ever witnessed. But Jackson was their leader, and though inexpert in scientific warfare, they were animated by something more valuable than discipline, more irresistible than all the energy which mere machinery can display; they were animated by patri- otism, by that holy enthusiasm which surmounts all diffi- culties and points the way to triumph. Happy if a parallel to their conduct may be found. It must be looked for in the achievements of those who, like themselves, fought for the liberties of their country. History records, to the consola- tion of freemen, that the Poles, unarmed and ignorant of tactics, beat the veteran troops of Frederick and Catherine in many pitched battles, never less than three times their numbers, but their leader was Kosciusko. In the early 396 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History stages of the Revolution the peasantry of France, under Custine and Du Mourier, repulsed from their soil the disci- plined thousands of the Duke of Brunswick; but it was not the Poles nor the Frenchman; it tvas love of country. It was the cause.' "He speaks of the 8th of January in these words : " 'On the 8th of January, a day destined to form an era in history, this army of invincibles, led on by gallant chiefs, advanced to the charge with firm step, according to meth- ods most approved — trenches hastily thrown up, defended by what they considered a mob, a vagabond militia, prom- ised an enterprise destitute alike of hazard and of honor. They were met by an incessant and murderous sheet of fire ; intrepidity stood appalled, their generals slain, the ditch filled, the field strewed with the dying and the dead; a miserable remnant of their thousands fled back to their intrenchments. The battle closed, a battle whose character, from the nature of the troops engaged and the disparity of loss, is the most wonderful, whose effects are as impor- tant as any that was ever fought. And now we are invited to the contemplation of a scene which reflects immortal honor on the inhabitants of New Orleans and, by contrast, eternal shame on the enemy. " 'The dead were interred, the agonies of the dying were assuaged, the wounded relieved; that ■property ivhich ivas to have been given up to plunder was willingly yielded to their tvants, and the very individuals, the marked victims of their licentiousness, vied with each other in extending to them every proof of tenderness and humanity.' "Mr. Speaker, I am reminded in reading that paragraph of one of the things that made the troops under Jackson fight so. The enemy said victory meant 'booty and beauty' to them. It meant not only plunder, but invasion of all that is sacred to you — wife and daughters — and yet so hu- mane were the soldiers of Jackson — the Tennesseans, the Kentuckians, and the Mississippians — who fought that bat- tle, and the people of New Orleans, that they cared for the wounded and they buried the dead, and Jackson secured before the battle ended a suspension of the fight in one place to attend to this humane duty. Mr. Chairman, just a few steps more in this great debate about this resolution and then I am done. "The Chairman. The time of the gentleman has ex- pired. "Mr. Clark of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, I ask unani- mous consent that the gentleman's time be extended ten minutes. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 397 "The Chairman. The Chairman would state to the gentleman that the time is controlled by the gentleman from Iowa and the gentleman from Virginia. "Mr. Hay. I yield the gentleman ten minutes. "Mr. Gaines of Tennessee. Mr. Ingersoll, from the great State of Pennsylvania on this occasion said: " 'Mr. Speaker, I regret that these resolutions require any amendment. I am persuaded, however, that their final passage will be unanimous. The House will excuse me, I hope, if I indulge myself in a few observations on this occa- sion. I speak impromptu, sir, without premeditation — I have found it impossible to think — I have been able only to feel these last three days. The unexpected, the grateful ter- mination of the glorious struggle we have just concluded, is calculated to excite emotions such as can be understood by those only who can feel them. " 'For the first time during this long, arduous, and try- ing session we can all feel alike — we are all of one mind — all hearts leap to the embraces of each other. Such a spec- tacle as that now exhibited by the Senate and House of Rep- resentatives of the United States of America was never pre- sented to the world before. " 'While the Senate are ratifying a treaty of peace, the House of Representatives are voting heartfelt thanks to those noble patriots, those gallant citizen-soldiers Who have crowned that peace with imperishable luster. The terms of the treaty are yet unkown to us. But the victory at New Orleans has rendered them glorious and honorable, be they what they may. They must be honorable under such a ter- mination of the war. " 'Those commissioners who have afforded us such sig- nal credentials of their firmness heretofore, can not possibly have swerved. The Government has not betrayed its trust. The nation now can not be discredited. It has done its duty and is above disgrace. " 'Within five and thirty years of our national existence we have achieved a second ackonivledgment of our national sovereignty. " 'In the war of the Revolution we had allies in arms, re- inforcements from abroad on our own soil, and the wishes of all Europe on our side. " 'But in this late conflict we stood single-handed. Not an auxiliary to support us, not a bosom in Europe that dared beat on our behalf, not one but what was constrained to stifle its hopes, if it entertained any in our favor. The treaty signed at Paris on the 30th of last May placed us in a situation of the utmost emergency.' 398 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "Mr. Chairman, peace had been agreed to before the battle of New Orleans had been fought, but Jackson did not know it, nor did the English generals ; otherwise this battle would not have been fought. "Mr. Chairman, I must be brief. I love to read after those old statesmen — the old patriots. It is well for us to quit reading a whole lot of modern trash and 'go away back up the creek,' and read the words of patriots who were un- bought and unpurchasable, who would not sell their inde- pendence, their own thoughts, their own belief, their influ- ence, or their power of speech for pelf or power (Applause.) Hence I have read these resolutions and from those old speeches of 1815, which you seem to enjoy. "The victory of Jackson and his troops, to use a short expression, 'set up' this country, and, as one of these speak- ers said, made it a 'sovereign' in the eyes of the world. This, Jackson's victory, has compelled the world to respect American arms — the Stars and Stripes — as no other one military act has done. "Blefore this, I should have said, there was only one known soldier who deserted from Jackson's army. He went over and told the English where he thought the weak places in Jackson's forces were, and I find in a little red-backed book somebody sent me today, entitled 'An Official and Full Detail of the Battle of New Orleans,' by Maj. B. M. Davis, a footnote that states that as a fact, as follows : " 'This man was the only deserter from Jackson's army. He told Sir Edward where the weakest parts of the Ameri- can lines were, having nothing but Tennessee and Kentucky militia to defend it. The principal column attacked that point. After the defeat they railed at the deserter and hung him.' "No one can blame the English for that hanging. It is rather remarkable enough were left alive to make a good job of it. "I read now, Mr. Chairman, from a fellow-citizen from the city of Nashville, Col. iVrthur S. Colyar, who has re- cently written a book entitled 'The Life and Times of An- drew Jackson.' This splendid old man — statesman, lawyer, patriot, and author — son of a King's Mountain hero, still survives and will be out to-night, I dare say, at the Her- mitage Club, Nashville, where the Ladies' Hermitage Asso- ciation, which takes care of the 'Hermitage,' where Jackson lived and died, will celebrate the victory of New Orleans, as they do annually. "Indeed, he will not only be out tonight, but I dare say he will be out tomorrow, for he is still an active practitioner Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 399 at the Nashville bar, though about 84 years of age. Here is what he says about this marvelous victory of Jackson : " 'The battle of the 8th of January is a mystery. It is difficult to believe the w ell-established facts.' "That is what Jackson himself said when he reported only six killed on the 8th of January. "Colonel Colyar continues : " 'Historians have been slow to admit the facts as they are. In these chapters I am undertaking to account for this marvelous triumph by untrained militia over one of the best armies England ever sent into the field, and I trust my readers will not be impatient to have me reach that memo- rable day in our history, because to know and be satisfied about the result of the 8th and the complete triumph of General Jackson, contending with more than double his number, and how it was done, the whole facts must be given, though it may seem tedious. No writer that I have found has satisfactorily accounted for this marvelous chapter in war. Jackson, by a generalship that has no counterpart, whipped this great battle before he got to it. If I take what may seem to be more time than is necessary in reaching the final struggle, let it be remembered that nothing like it is recorded in history. " 'Two thousand dead British and less than a dozen men lost on the American side is the wonder in war's record, the loss from the time of landing being more than 3,000.' "Colonel Colyar then quotes at length from Jackson and New Orleans, by Walker, who graphically describes Jack- son's troops between December 28, 1814, and the 1st of January, 1815, when the two armies were confronting each other on a level plain, as follows : " 'These wily frontiersmen, habituated to the Indian mode of warfare, never missed a chance of picking up a straggler or sentinel. Clad in their dusky, brown home- spun, they would glide unperceived through the woods and, taking a cool view of the enemy's lines, would cover the first Briton who came within range of their long, small-bored rifles. Nor did they waste their ammunition. Whenever they drew a bead on any object it was certain to fall. The cool indifference with which they would perform the most daring acts would be amazing.' "Mr. Chairman, those men fought with flintlock guns, with shotguns, and with squirrel rifles, such as they could hurriedly gather together in Tennessee and Kentucky and Mississippi, and accomplished this wonderful victory over the pride of British troops. "How much, Mr. Chairman, since then the burden has 400 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History increased upon the American people! We have been bene- fited by the fruits of that great victory as individuals and as a nation. We have millions and millions of money with which to buy and make the greatest, strongest, and most dangerous guns and men of w T ar. How much greater now, in time of peace, is the responsibility on us to avoid war. Our ability is greater now to do so than ever before. Let us be actually at peace with all the world ; speed the day by our example and by our teachings to at least a gradual removal of the causes of war — thus bar all its evils at a near clay. Let us aid other countries that have been strug- gling so long at the mouth of the cannon and in front of the bloody bayonet for the same glorious principles and priv- ileges which Jackson and his troops on the 8th day of Jan- uary fought for, and that w r e, their children, are enjoying here today, but which we can aid others to get without blood- shed. (Applause.)" Major John Reid. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 401 CHAPTER XXV. JOHN REID. Major John Reid who was aide and military secretary to General Jackson through the Indian wars and at the bat- tle of New Orleans and until his death January 18, 1816, was born in Bedford County, Virginia, in 1784, and re- ceived a classical education. He read law, and moved to Tennessee, then a sparsely settled wilderness, in 1807, and located in Rutherford County. Two years later, in 1809, he married and moved to Franklin, in Williamson County, and entered the practice of law. The war began and steps were taken to prepare for General Jackson's expedition to Natchez, Mississippi ; upon the recommendation of Colonel Thomas H. Benton who lived in Franklin, and who was serving on General Jackson's staff, young Reid was ap- pointed aide and military secretary, and his appointment signed by General Jackson, was in the handwriting (of Colonel Benton. He was ensign of 1st Infantry April 21, 1806; 2nd Lieutenant December 9, 1807; resigned January 31, 1809; Captain of 44th Infantry July 15, 1814: trans- ferred to 1st Infantry May 17, 1815; 1st Major Decem- ber 23, 1814 for gallant conduct at New Orleans; died January 18, 1816. On December 14, 1813, he wrote to his mother in Virginia in reference to his proposed military duties. MAJOR REID TO HIS MOTHER. "Well, what do you think of my going to the wars. Gen- eral Jackson has lately been ordered from here with fifteen hundred men to New Orleans, and has appointed me an aide. He will join the army under General Wilkinson which I think will move against West Florida. The men are all ready and we expect to leave Nashville on Christmas Day. I beg you will not suffer yourself to be made uneasy on account of my going. The detachment will hardly be kept South during the summer season and I will probably re- turn in the spring; that is, if I go, which depends upon my ability to arrange my affairs in time, and the state of my 402 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History health, not yet fully restored. The appointment is the only one I would have accepted as it is the only one (as my duties will principally be those of military secretary to the General) that I feel competent to discharge creditably. Betsy (his wife) is as busy as a bee and is not crying." On January 15, 1814, Major Reid again writes to his mother from Franklin : "You will doubtless be surprised to find this letter dated as above, as you had probably begun to look for one from New Orleans or Pensacola. General Jackson embarked at Nashville on the 10th inst. with fourteen or fifteen hun- dred infantry. The cavalry which goes by land and amounts to six or seven hundred left this place a few days ago, the whole force making about two thousand men, or five hun- dred more than the President called for. I had expected to join the General near the mouth of the Cumberland where he would remain a while to take in supplies ; but having experienced a slight relapse of my late illness, I was advised that it would be entirely too hazardous for me to venture upon the river in so severe a season. When I see such a number of the 'choice spirits of the country' (as Burr calls them), going, I am ashamed to stay behind; perhaps Providence designs better for me than I can now see or understand." He notified General Jackson of his inability to go, to which Jackson replied : GENERAL JACKSON TO MAJOR REID. "I regret exceedingly the indisposition that prevents you from accompanying me. I anticipated much benefit from your aid. This has been severe weather upon the health of us all, and an exposure before yours is reinstated might be fatal, and your talents not only now lost to me, but forever to your country. The risk of this to gratify my wishes would be more than I could ask. I was fearful from your appearance when you left me that you would not be able to proceed with me on the present campaign. Be careful of your health. We have just commenced a war that will call into requisition our best talents. Save your constitution and health; you may yet be a valuable shield to your country's defense. I will, with the assistance of Major Hayne, endeavor to get along until I can find some one for your place ; if I cannot find one whose abilities and disposition satisfy me, I shall make no appointment." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 403 The expedition left Nashville January 7, 1813, and pro- ceeded to Natchez, and was there ordered by the War De- partment to be disbanded, which General Jackson refused to do, as shown in the chapter on the Natchez expedition, and marched his soldiers in a body back to Nashville, where he disbanded them. On August 2, 1814, Major Reid wrote his mother an- other letter. MAJOR REID TO HIS MOTHER. "It is believed that we shall soon have war with the Creeks. The Governor has been directed to have a large force in readiness to march at a moment's notice, and General Jackson has issued his orders accordingly. He will in case of hostilities be united with a similar force from Georgia and from the Mississippi Territory, in the aggregate about seven thousand men, and will be able to strike a blow that will not soon be forgotten or recovered from." Under date of September 12, 1814, he writes: "The expedition against the Creek Nation so much talked of has not yet been ordered out. General Jackson the other day got his arm shot to pieces in an affray with Colonel Benton. It was a desperate affair, half a dozen per- sons being engaged in it, but fortunately no one was killed. I left the General yesterday. He appeared in good spir- its and thinks he will soon recover. He is resolved at all hazards to lead the troops against the Creeks if ordered out. I fear his condition is more critical than he supposes it to be." The massacre at Fort Minis occurred on August 30, 1814, but it was not known in Nashville until September 18, and that information, of course, started a frenzied ac- tivity to raise an army and send to the Creek Nation. Un- der date of October 4, 1814, Major Reid writes his father: MAJOR REID TO HIS FATHER. "The whole State is under arms. Nothing is now seen but the movement of troops, nor heard but the beating of drums. The infatuated Creeks who have committed so many unpunished depredations upon the defenseless fron- tiers have, by an unparalleled atrocity, at length thorough- ly aroused the government. They recently attacked the Fort 404 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History in the Mobile River containing four or five hundred per- sons, men, women and children, and put them to indiscrim- inate slaughter, scarcely one escaping. Five thousand troops are marching from the State under General Jackson. They will unite somewhere in the Creek Nation with three thou- sand from Georgia. I have been at the General's headquar- ters in Nashville until a few days ago, when I came home to complete my preparations to join him on the march. I start tomorrow. I go with him in the capacity of an aide." The Major's letters from this date on through the bat- tle of New Orleans afford valuable light upon the conduct of the war. He wrote various letters to his wife, the first of which was dated October 24, 1814, at Camp Deposit. MAJOR REID TO HIS WIFE. "We shall leave the encampment to-day for Ten Isl- ands on the Coosa, distant about sixty miles. From thence if we are not stopped by the enemy or stavation (I dread the latter much more than the former), we shall move with all practicable dispatch to the confluence of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa. The hostile Creeks are fully appraised of our coming, and yet show no signs of falling back. We expect a battle with them in a few days. The General de- clares that he will not retreat nor survive a defeat. There- fore, look soon either for very good or very bad news. All I fear is famine. Our expected supplies have not arrived and we have only two days' rations. The country cannot support us. * * * We are cutting our way over moun- tains almost as difficult as the Alps, but difficulties only seem to stimulate the General." On November 4, 1814, from Ten Islands, he wrote his wife: "At last we have had a battle with the Creeks. A de- tachment under the command of General Coffee attacked them at Talluschatchie where they were concentrated in force, yesterday morning. They made a desperate resist- ance, but were utterly routed. One hundred and eighty-six were found dead on the ground ; two hundred were doubt- less slain. We lost five killed and forty wounded. I rode over the field of battle, the first I ever beheld ; it is impos- sible to conceive so horrid a spectacle." On November 11, 1814, from Fort Strother, he again wrote his wife: Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 405 "We have had a general engagement and obtained a decisive victory. It took place on the morning of the 9th. The enemy attacked us about daylight with great fury. By nine o'clock all was over. Had it not have been for a blunder of the militia, in retreating, when they were or- dered to advance, the Creeks might have been destroyed to a man. Two hundred and ninety of them were left dead that we counted, and many others were no doubt killed and were not found. As far as we followed their retreat, the route was traced with their blood. We lost fifteen killed, eighty-four wounded, two of whom have since died. I will write your father more particularly when I get an oppor- tunity ; but it is now within an hour of day, and I have not slept a wink in the course of the night, having been kept up writing for the General. * * * ■ We have been a week without corn for our horses, and two days without food for ourselves, except a little that some of us were prudent enough to reserve." The battle of Talladega is the one referred to in this letter. On November 21, 1814, Major Reid wrote from Hunts- ville, Alabama, to Major Abram Maury, his father-in-law, at Franklin: MAJOR REID TO MAJOR MAURY. "I arrived here this morning to see the contractors, and shall set out on my return before day. The General came with me as far as the river; tomorrow we shall leave there together on our return to Fort Strother. "For ten days we have been tarnishing our laurels; scarcity and starvation produced mutiny and rebellion. Gen- eral Jackson never effected anything so great as when he counteracted it. It became necessary, however, to send back the greater part of the troops to Camp Deposit, and that he, himself, should hasten here to see that effectual meas- ures are taken for future supplies. You have no concep- tion of our privations, and of the ungovernable spirit of the men made desperate by want. Eveiy one despaired but the General, and I believe he experienced, without ex- pressing it, for the first time in his life, the humiliating sense of despondency. But if the spirit with which a man meets and overcomes difficulties is the true test of great- ness, he is the greatest man living. I had intended to have written you circumstantially of the late battle and of all of our affairs, but whatever time I apply to my own pur- poses I must filch. Last night I slept not one hour, hav- 406 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ing to write to the Governor, the Secretary at War, the contractors, and about forty orders." It was under the distressing conditions brought about by want of supplies that caused a part of the troops to break away from control, and to start to march on their way home, when General Jackson placed himself with a gun in the road, and declared that he would kill the first man who advanced another step. Parton, in the first vol- ume of his Life of Jackson, tells this incident as follows : "He (Jackson) seized a musket and rode a few paces in advance of the troops; his left arm was still in a sling. Leaning his musket on his horse's neck, he swore that he would shoot the first man that attempted to proceed. Mean- while, General Coffee and Major Reid, suspecting that something extraordinary was occurring, ran up and found their General in this attitude, with the column of mutineers standing in sullen silence before him; not a man dared stir a foot forward. Placing themselves by his side they awaited the result with intense anxiety. Gradually a few of the troops who were still faithful were collected behind the General, armed, and resolved to use their arms in his support. For some minutes the column of mutineers stood firm to their purpose, and it only needed one man bold enough to advance to bring on a bloody scene. They. wa- vered, however, at length abandoned their purpose and agreed to return to their duty. It afterwards appeared that the musket which figured so effectually in this scene was too much out of order to be discharged." General Jackson entered upon what he called an "ex- cursion" into the Creek country, and it brought on two bat- tles, one at Emuckfau, January 22, 1814, and the other at Enotocopco, January 24, 1814. Major Reid gives an ac- count of the latter battle in a letter to his father: MAJOR REID TO HIS FATHER. "We were marching in regular order in three columns as usual, prepared to form to battle in a moment, should we be attacked either in front, flanks, or rear. We had reach- ed the creek Enotacopco, and the advance guard had passed over, together with the three columns of men armed, and the wounded. The General and myself rode leisurely down to the water's edge. He remarked to me, 'Now, if they at- tack us they can have no advantage.' We rode slowly into Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 407 the creek and had just reached the opposite side when fir- ing began. The General heard it with the utmost com- posure. He turned to me with a look as though what he wished most was about to happen, and directed me to hurry to the wounded who were a short distance in advance, and have a line formed to protect them ; and to turn the left column back upon the enemy, whilst he proceeded to the right wing for a similar purpose. Thus engaged, what was the General's astonishment to behold the rear guard on the other side of the creek precipitately give way, occupy- ing all of its passes, and bringing consternation with them. It was a dreadful moment, the enemy rapidly approach- ing, following us with their cries and pouring forth a de- structive fire, and increased the confusion. But upon this bank and just across, was a small and select band of young men, whom nothing but dishonor should terrify ; T mean the artillery company known as the General's life-guard. Their piece was at the water's edge when the firing com- menced. They immediately hauled it to a slight eminence and formed about it with their muskets. There for a few moments they stood the whole brunt of the battle. The General, in the meantime, was everywhere, and by his ex- ample and words of encouragement, finally restored some- thing like order. A large force was sent across the creek, and such fighting as then ensued has rarely been seen. Our men would not take trees or attempt to conceal themselves. They ran right on, and wanted only the sight of the enemy, then fired upon him, or charged him with the bayonet; in less than half an hour the Indians gave way and fled in every direction. Our loss in the two actions was twenty- four killed and seventy-six wounded. The enemy left one hundred eighty-nine on the field." The battle of Enotocopco was followed by the Battle of the Horseshoe where the power of the Creek nation was crushed beyond reviving, and Major Reid, at the invita- tion of General Jackson, accompanied the General to Nash- ville, and in a letter to his mother says he had never seen anything so splendid as the General's reception at Nash- ville; that the citizens seemed anxious to compensate him by the profusion of one day for all he had done and suf- fered for eight long months ; that it gave him great pleasure to see the wrinkles in the General's face, so deeply fur- rowed by exposure and affliction, at length curl into an expression of complacency and self-enjoyment; that every- 408 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History body was anxious to see him at the head of the Northern Army. Major Reid's next movement was to become a candidate for Congress to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of the Honorable Felix Grundy, and he asked General Jack- son for permission to await the result of the Congressional election, to which the General replied granting the permis- sion, and giving some valuable history connected with his command at Fort Bowyer. GENERAL JACKSON TO MAJOR REID. "I with pleasure indulge your request. That you may be elected is my prayer, although it will be with regret that I part with you, for it is thought that w r e are to have a pretty hot time here. We have lately measured our strength with the British and gave them a severe mauling. On the 12th inst. (September) their vessels hove in sight for Mo- bile Point where Fort Bowyer stands. On the 13th they landed troops on the Point in the rear of the Fort; on the 14th sounded the channels, when the land force attempted with the artillery to batter down the Fort from the rear, but a few shots silenced them. At four p. m. on the 15th they approached with two ships and two brigs, anchored abreast of the fort and opened all of their guns upon it. Ours replied and at seven o'clock the foremost ship was si- lenced, and the second so much crippled that, w r ith the two brigs, she drew off. All the guns of the fort then played upon the abandoned ship. She was set on fire and blown up. It was the Hermes, 24 to 28, 32 pound carronades. She lost all of her crew but twenty. She was commanded by Sir William H. Percy, son of the Duke of Northumber- land. You see how we treat the sons of Lords here. The other ship was the Charon, which lost eighty-five men. The brig Sophia w r as much shattered, but her loss is not known. The name of the other brig is not recollected by the de- serters. Lieutenant-Colonel Nichols commanded the land forces, but was taken back and went on board the Charon, where he lost an eye by a splinter. We shall have no more proclamations for a while from him or the Right Honor- able Sir William Henry Percy, son of the Duke of North- umberland. Had I only one thousand men here now I would put an end to that hotbed of war, Pensacola." Major Reid was defeated for Congress. He entered the race only upon the strong importunities of friends, and not Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 409 through any voluntary wish of his own to become a mem- ber of Congress. On August 24, 1814, General Jackson wrote Major Reid from Mobile, dating his letter "eleven o'clock at night." GENERAL JACKSON TO MAJOR REID. "At five o'clock this evening through a confidential chan- nel, I received information of the arrival and disembarka- tion of two or three hundred British troops at Pensacola, with large quantities of arms and ammunition and ord- nance stores; that the Orpheus with fourteen sail of the line, large transports and ten thousand men were to reach there this day ; that large transports with twenty-five thou- sand of Lord Wellington's troops had arrived at Bermuda, and that the Emperor of Russia had offered England fifty thousand troops to aid her in Spain and conquer and subdue America ; and that in one month Mobile and all the Southern country was to be in possession of the British. They do not think of the number of bloody noses there will be before this happens. But without immediate aid our feeble forces must bend before one so overwhelming ; I have called into service the full quota authorized by the Secretary of War. I hope the Tennesseans will do honor to themselves. I have order- ed that every Indian in my district be enrolled as a soldier and put under pay; this will alone deter them from joining the enemy. I had intended to forward short patriotic ad- dresses but have not time and must request you to have it done in my name; we must act with energy and effect or rest assured that our liberties will go down as suddenly as the Empire of Napoleon. I am very anxious about your coming." Major Reid started November 22d on the journey to join General Jackson, and learning that the General had gone to New Orleans, he turned his course toward that city as fast as he could travel, and after reaching there wrote to his wife under date of December 20, 1914: MAJOR REID TO HIS WIFE. "I arrived here yesterday worn completely down by ex- posures and privations. I will not attempt to describe my experiences on the way. It rained incessantly almost from the moment of leaving home, swelling the smallest water- courses into rivers, and rendering the roads a perfect quag- mire. One of my horses was founded in the Choctaw Na- 410 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History tion and I was compelled to leave him behind. Another, the black, was one morning found dead in the stable. I was then one hundred and fifty miles from Natchez without any means of procuring another; I was forced to use the pack animal and contrived by slow marches to reach Lake Pont- chartrain, taking the road, or, rather, the path down Pearl River, to save distance. "On my arrival at the Lake, I heard that the British who were near the Rigolets, which opens into it, had, after a desperate fight, destroyed or taken our gunboats stationed near Cat and Ship Islands. No time was to be lost, and leaving everything behind except my portmanteau, I jumped into an open boat with Captain Morrell of the Navy who was also hastening to Orleans. It was near night when we set out and we expected to reach port in six hours, but, unfortunately, the compass which we counted upon obtain- ing from the brig then stationed upon the Lake, we failed to procure, and we were compelled to continue our trip by the aid of a few stars which faintly glimmered through the clouds. The wind now suddenly arose, the sky became wholly overcast, and we were left helpless in the dark. After tossing about until after midnight, we cast anchor and waited for morning. Day came and with it an in- crease in the wind which blew with great violence in our faces, and drove us twenty miles westward of our destina- tion. In a word, our situation became so perilous that even Captain Morell was alarmed. For two whole days and nights we were at the mercy of a terrible gale in an open boat, exposed to intense cold and freezing rain, without a single blanket to cover us, or anything to eat or drink. On the third day, the Captain, finding no prospect of a change of wind, decided to run in upon the shore in the hope that when we struck we might possibly effect our escape. While attempting this, the wind unexpectedly changed ; sails were set, and we finally reached port, half frozen and nearly starved, but thankful to Providence for bringing us through such extreme dangers. I had rather encounter the risks of a battle than repeat such a voyage. Poor Jack! (his servant). There was never so complete a picture of hor- ror and despair as his countenance furnished. I write in a hurry not yet having properly settled in quarters. It is the coldest weather almost ever known here. I have no fire and my fingers are benumbed. "P. S. There never was such a state of enthusiasm as the ardour of the General has inspired in this city. It is under martial law and every man capable of bearing arms is in the ranks." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 4 1 1 On December 23d, 1814, he wrote again to his wife: "As mentioned in the conclusion of my last letter, the city is transformed into a camp, martial law having been established by the General's order. Everybody is under arms. This state of things is justified by the urgency of the moment. The capture of the gunboats on Lake Borgne was looked upon as a certain prelude to an attack upon the city. I am astonished at the resistance made when I con- sider the disparity of forces. There were one hundred and six of the enemy's boats, lashed two and two together, with a platform for their cannon above, attacking one little flotilla from every quarter ; it was an exciting scene as de- scribed by gentlemen of respectability who were in tree tops on the shore. They reported our ships, and particu- larly that in which Captain Jones was, as frequently for several minutes involved in a blaze of fire. "Notwithstanding the proximity of the enemy and the exertions made to obtain correct information, we remain wonderfully ignorant of his strength, movements, and prob- able intentions. An hundred rumors are afloat. At one time, the approach is by the Lake, at another, by the River, and again by land. The General seeks to be prepared for it at every point. Lord Hill is said to be in command of the enemy's forces. "The notorious Lafitte came in yesterday. He talks with great apparent frankness and, I believe, with truth of the enemy's projects. He tells the General to keep an eye fixed on the lower plantations. "The ardour with which all orders of men here are now animated, offers a striking contrast with the apathy which prevailed before the General's arrival, and is a splendid illustration of what one man is capable of effecting. The spirit which he has been enabled to impart is looked upon by all as a certain pledge of that resistance which will be made when the city is attacked." On the 30th of December, 1814, he wrote again : "I am glad that I am alive. On the 23d, a little while after I closed my last letter, news arrived that the enemy in considerable force had landed from the Lakes seven miles below the city. The moment the General heard of it he began to make preparations for attacking him in his first position. About five o'clock p. m. he got off with about fifteen hundred troops, reaching the vicinity of the enemy at seven o'clock p. m. He immediately made his disposi- tions for battle. Commodore Patterson, who had fallen down the river in the Schooner Caroline, afforded such co- 412 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History operation as the situation might admit, opened fire on their camp. At the same time General Coffee attacked them on their right, while General Jackson who had advanced up the levee, assailed them in their strongest position near the river. The contest was maintained for nearly two hours and with the utmost fury on both sides. It was difficult to see anything but the flashing of the guns, while the din was dreadful. At length a deep fog arose, made denser by the smoke from the field, and it became nearly impos- sible to distinguish friend from foe. The General thought it prudent to withdraw the troops. We lay for the night near the battle ground, and the next morning fell back to a strong position two miles nearer the city, and proceed- ed immediately to entrench. We have been in full sight of each other ever since. An attack was made day before yesterday to drive us from our position, which is an old ditch running for nearly a mile between the river and a cypress swamp, behind which we have thrown up an earth- en embankment; but it signally failed. They are now mak- ing preparations for another attack. They can easily be seen erecting platforms for their heavy guns. We are under arms day and night while skirminshing goes on contin- ually." Major Reid's description as an eye-witness of the bat- tle of January 8, 1815, will prove interesting, and a letter in which he gives the description is dated "Camp, four miles below New Orleans, January 9" and is addressed to his wife: MAJOR REID TO HIS WIFE. "I snatch a few moments from the little time which is allowed me for sleep to inform you that the long looked for attack by the enemy has at length been made, and re- pelled in a manner glorious to the American name. At reveille yesterday, I say yesterday because it is now past midnight, the enemy having completed his preparations, advanced upon us in two heavy columns on our right and left, under cover of bombs and Congreve rockets, to carry our works by storm. In a moment our men were at their posts, and displayed there all the firmness and delibera- tion to have been expected from veterans inured to war. For an hour the most tremendous fire of small arms was kept up, I am sure, that was ever witnessed on the Ameri- can continent; twice the enemy were repulsed from our first entrenchments, and twice returned to the assault. At length, cut to pieces, they were forced to retire from the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 413 field, leaving it covered with the dead and the dying. Their loss cannot be estimated at less than 1,200 or 1,500, in- cluding prisoners, of whom we have about 300. Ours was inconsiderable, being less than ten killed and about the same number wounded. "But while I mention the glorious result I must also inform you of an unfortunate occurrence which at the same time took place on the other side of the river, and has, I fear, defeated all the effects of our success on this side, and injured the safety of New Orleans. The enemy had, with infinite labor, succeeded on the night of the 7th in carrying their boats across the land from the Lake to the river. The General, to provide against the consequences of such a movement, established several batteries on the. other side of the river, and stationed General Morgan there with the Louisiana militia to which he afterwards added four hundred Kentuckians. The enemy simultaneously with their advance upon our lines, threw over in their boats a considerable force to the other side of the river. Thev immediately advanced upon the works there, and in the very moment in which they might have been repulsed, and the whole expedition defeated, the Kentuckians inglorious- ly fled, drawing after them the other forces, and leaving that fortunate position in the hands of the enemy. As soon as day dawns, I expect them to open their batteries upon us from that side of the river, against which we have no protection, and drive us from our present lines, or slaughter us within them. The cowardice of a single corps may thus have defeated the wisest plans and the highest display of valor in all the rest. At no moment was our situation ever so critical. God can only foresee the result. * * * I believe that Lieutenant-General Pakenham, who was the commander in chief, is killed, though if it is so, it is endeav- ored to be kept a secret. There are strong reasons for be- lieving it true." On January 20, 1815, he again wrote to his wife: "I have good news to tell you. The enemy after six and twenty days of fighting have at length grown weary and retired to their boats. They decamped very quietly night before last, leaving eighty of their wounded, includ- ing two officers, in their field hospitals, fourteen pieces of cannon, and a large quantity of ammunition. Whether they intend to make a dash at some other point or abandon the expedition altogether we do not know." The battle of New Orleans was finished for all time; the city was saved, the enemy was gone, and Major Reid 414 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History could start for home, which he did, and from Natchez, Miss- issippi, on April 20, 1815, he wrote to his mother: MAJOR REID TO HIS MOTHER. "We are thus far on our way home. We left New Or- leans on the 6th amid the lamentations and benedictions of men, women and children. It is impossible for you to imagine the gratitude and kindness which all classes and ages show to the General. He is everywhere held as the savior of the country. All the way up the coast he has been feted and caressed. He is regarded as a prodigy and the women and children and old men line the road and gaze at him as they would at an elephant, or some other strange animal. This sort of attention makes him feel very awk- wardly. He pulls off his hat and bows graciously, but as though his spirit was humbled and abashed. He arrived this morning and is now at church, whither I have been prevented accompanying him by a great deal of business which must be transacted before we leave this place. Of all persons living who are not professed Christians, he cer- tainly feels most like one, if I may judge from the man- ner in which he often expresses himself to me in his re- tired and private moments. Nothing seems to shock his feelings more, nothing will he bear with less patience, than the least word uttered in disrespect of the Christian re- ligion. "We shall probably reach home by the tenth of next month, and perhaps in a short time afterwards, set out for Washington City. If we do, we will pass through Vir- ginia and make you a visit. I am satisfied you will be pleased with the plain and frank manner of this really great man, but you may probably like him most on account of his kindness to me. Hasty in his temper, he certainly has the best and most glorious heart in the world. "Tonight the town will be illuminated, and tomorrow there is a dinner, and in the evening a ball to be given Mr. Jackson. This we may expect in almost every little town through which he passes. They are ceremonies he would gladly dispense with, if it could be done without seeming to slight the kind intentions and grateful feelings of the citizens." After reaching home General Jackson and his party were unable to start on the trip to Washington until the first week in October, and reached the residence of Major Reid's father near Lynchburg, Virginia, November 8th. Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Reid and the children were in the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 415 party, and remained at Major Reid's father's, while the General and the Major went on to Washington, where they arrived on the 17th. REID'S LIFE OF JACKSON. As early as this date in the career of General Jack- son, the writing of his life w T as under consideration by him and his friends, and it finally came about that Jackson authorized Major Reid to undertake the preparation of his biography, and the Major entered upon the task. Encour- agement for the undertaking was received from every quar- ter, as was to have been expected. General Jackson was now a national hero, and it was in the order of things that the American people should want to know everything there was to learn about the man who had repelled the English at New Orleans. The proposed Life by Major Reid was to be an octavo volume of four hundred pages, illustrated, and sold at five dollars a copy. Before any part of the book was written, thirty thousand dollars was offered for the copyright, and General Jackson gave the enterprise his en- dorsement in these words: JACKSON'S ENDORSEMENT. "Major Reid having made known to me his intention of publishing a history of the late campaign in the South, I think it very proper that the public should be made ac- quainted with the opportunities he has had of acquiring •full and correct information on the subject which he pur- poses to write. He accompanied me as Aide-de-Camp dur- ing the Creek War and continued with me in that capacity after my appointment in the United States Army. He had and now has charge of my public papers and has ever pos- sessed my unlimited confidence. The opportunities he has enjoyed, improved by the talents he possesses, will, I doubt not, enable him to satisfy the expectations of his friends." In the matter of having a history of his life written in his life time. General Jackson was to go down to his grave, after repeated efforts, a disappointed man. Reid was the first to enter upon the undertaking with his consent. Years later Amos Kendall, who had been Postmaster General in his administration as President, was given possession of 416 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History his official papers, documents and personal letters, with which to write the life, and Kendall failed, and these pa- pers were then turned over to General Frank P. Blair, who also failed, although both were warm personal friends and political supporters of General Jackson in the days of his power; and after General Blair's death his sons ob- tained possession of the papers, and, without right or au- thority to do so, gave them to the Congressional Library of the United States. The visit of General Jackson and Major Reid to Wash- ington was an exceedingly pleasant one, and they were both treated, of course, with the most distinguished consid- eration. They returned to Virginia on December 15, 1815, to the home of Major Reid's father, and after staying there a few days, the General and his family started homeward, and reached the Hermitage in early February, 1816. Major Reid remained behind to start his work, and had completed the first four chapters when he suddenly sickened and died on January 18, 1816, in his thirty-second year. General Jackson wrote him twice on his way to the Hermitage, and in the first of his letters, dated January 2d, he used this language: "Although with my family, I have to-day felt lost. I have felt that my bosom friend is absent from me." In the second letter, dated January 15, 1816, he used this language: "You will please recollect that I left the mare, Fanny, for your use and your property. I intend, if an opportunity offers to send you two draft horses as soon as I reach home. * * * I need not say to you that my anxiety for the success of your book is great. There are many weighty reasons that create this anxiety. * * * Should you find any difficulty in getting it printed on your own account, write me, and I will procure the means." Major Reid's Life of Jackson, left uncompleted, was finished by John H. Eaton, one time United States Senator from Tennessee, Secretary of War, and Minister to Spain. The first edition appeared in 1818. The modern reader and historian does not accredit the book with either great authority or strength by reason of its lack of detail; it is hardly too much to say that except for its purporting to be a Life of Jackson, written in part by his aide and mil- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 417 itary secretary and finished by a member of his cabinet, the book is too general to be accepted as a real biography. Major Reid's father wrote General Jackson of the Ma- jor's death, and in a letter written from the Hermitage and dated February 8, 1816, Jackson made this reply: GENERAL JACKSON TO MAJOR REID'S FATHER. "Your letter of the 24th ultimo containing the unwel- come information of the sudden and unexpected death of my dear and much esteemed friend, Major John Reid, reached me yesterday. I came home on the first day of this month; on the second, received a number of letters that had reached Nashville. The first I opened was from Major Reid, of date the 10th January, among other things advising me of his and his family's good health. The next I opened was one from the postmaster at New London of date the 21st of January stating that on the day preced- ing he had accompanied the remains of my friend to his grave. The shock that this produced is more easily judged of than explained, having just before finished the read- ing of his letter of the 10th. It is wrong to murmur at the decrees of Heaven. The Lord's will be done. But such the frailty of human nature that it will repine at the un- timely loss of dear and valuable friends, and it is difficult to prevent exclaiming, Why were they not spared a lit- tle longer? I can well figure to myself the distress of his wife, parents and brethren. He was their darling. They, like myself, knew his value as a husband, as a son, as a brother, and as a man. We mourn for the dead, but must endeavor to comfort and cheer the living. "On receipt of the melancholy intelligence I lost not a moment in writing to Major A. Maury, his father-in- law. I have no doubt, if his health will permit, that he will immediately go to his daughter. The interest of his dear little family must be attended to, and the book must be finished for their benefit. If none of his friends or ac- quaintances in Virginia will undertake to complete the work, I will get some persons whose talents and integrity can be relied on. "It is all-important to me that all papers of a public nature and all others pertaining to my offices, be care- fully preserved. Whoever finishes the work must have free access to the originals, or copies must be made out and furnished them. The original papers must be sent to me, well bound up, the expense of which I will pay. In the event of none of his friends or acquaintances in Virginia 418 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History undertaking to complete the work, please send on all the papers, books and manuscripts contained in the trunk, and Major Maury and myself will endeavor to have the book finished by some competent person, and will see that the proceeds are applied to the benefit of his family. "I will depend upon your care of the papers until a safe opportunity offers for their conveyance to me. If Mrs. Reid returns to this country, let the trunk with the papers be sent on with her. The filly I left was a present from me to Major Reid as a small token of my esteem. If Major Maury goes on, horses, etc., will be forwarded. Please write me at once and give me information whether any of Major Reid's friends will undertake finishing the book. Young Mr. Steptoe, I am told, is a young man of good edu- cation, and competent to the task. Give me a statement of the progress of the work. Any labor or information in my power shall be freely bestowed to have the work com- pleted. "Make a tender of Mrs. Jackson's and my best wishes to your father, mother, and family, and Mrs. J. Reid, and the dear little children. Say to them we sincerely regret and feel the loss they have sustained in Major Reid. Our exertions will not be wanting to render his family any serv- ice in our power. Accept assurance of our friendship and esteem. "Andrew Jackson. "Mr. Nathan Reid, Jr." Mrs. Jackson also sent a very kind letter to Mrs. Sophia Reid, whose name she spelled "Reade." The author has corrected the spelling, capitalization and punctuation, but in all other respects the letter is reproduced just as Mrs. Jackson wrote it. MRS. ANDREW JACKSON TO MRS. SOPHIA REID. "Tennessee State, April 27, 1816. "My dear Madam : — I received your friendly and af- fectionate letter of March 25. I never wished for any- thing more sincerely than to hear from you at the time your letter came to hand. You will scarcely believe when I declare to you that I was as much distressed the day I left your house as if you had all been my nearest relations. Oh my! will you pardon me for not writing you? I fully intended it the next day, and nothing prevented it but my writing so bad a hand. Mrs. E. Reid did not call on me as she passed above some distance, say twenty miles. How Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 419 sincerely I have sympathized in your sorrows. It has not been in the power of an absent friend to soothe or relieve one sorrowful hour, or rest assured it would have been done. There is none exempt from trouble and the Great Dispenser of all who holds the destiny of nations in His hands, sees and knows what is best for us. Let us, my friend, resign to His will. Your son was an honor to his friends and country, a bright gem plucked from among them, but alas, he is gone the ways of all earth. I cannot describe my feelings on the day I left your house. Dear Maria ! Often did I see her in my imagination, so strong- ly was it impressed on my mind to say something to her in that most solemn hour, but she was in the hands of her God, who is altogether mercy and goodness. . I have writ- ten to Mrs. Reid at her father's but have received no an- swer as yet. General Jackson has been from home since sometime in February, through the Mobile, and all that section of the 7th District. He was three weeks in New Orleans. I frequently have letters he will return to Ten- nessee in May — he says to me his health is something bet- ter than usual. Alas, my dear madam, have you heard of this dreadful epidemic that has swept away nearly one- third of our citizens? So many instances of men and their wives going together, six and seven out of some families. Nothing would give me more pleasure on earth than to see you all once more except to see Mr. Jackson. Remem- ber me to Mrs. Harris and all of her family, Captain Reid and your family, and accept for yourself my prayers that happiness may visit your abode once more, a gleam of joy sent on your evening hours is my wish. "Rachel Jackson. "To Mrs. Sophia Reid." That Major John Reid has never received the historical recognition due him in connection with the career of An- drew Jackson, is the conclusion that every student of Jackson's life must inevitably reach ; and this is the con- clusion, also, of at least some of his direct descendants. In a letter to the author of December 13, 1917, Mrs. Nina Reid Hunter, of Nashville, a great-granddaughter of Major Reid, with a pride fully justified by the life, character and career of her great-grandfather, says of him : "That he was a remarkable man everything that I know of him indicates. Major Langhorne says: 'It was but re- cently the writer heard General 0. 0. Clay refer to hav- ing met at Mr. Steptoe's three of the most remarkable men 420 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History he had ever seen: Mr. Jefferson, General Jackson, and his aide, Major Reid.' So it is a great happiness to me to send you what I have pertaining to him; it is very little, but I would it had been more. If my father had never lent Colonel Terrall his papers, I feel confident that he would now have some adequate place in General Jackson's his- tory." That the publication in permanent form of Major Reid's papers, lent to W. G. Terrell by Judge Frank T. Reid, father of Mrs. Hunter, would have given Major Reid "an adequate place" in General Jackson's history, as Mrs. Hunt- er suggests, does not admit of controversy; and nothing is more conclusive of this than the permanent place in Jack- son's history held by Major W. B. Lewis, through his good fortune in having his letters and writings to and about Jackson, published by Parton in his Life of Jackson. Major Lewis will live in history just as long as Jackson lives — their lives, for historians, are inseparable — and Major Lew- is's descendants owe eternal thanks to James Parton, who in the preparation of his book, came to Nashville where Major Lewis lived, in search of original documents, let- ters, newspapers, and first-hand information of every kind. Parton was a newspaper man, with a keen and accurate appreciation of historical values, and possessed wonder- ful skill in making men and women live, move, breathe and talk on the pages of his history. He lost no time in getting in touch with Major Lewis and procuring from him in written form, and thoroughly considered, after ex- haustive investigation of the endless stores of historical data in his possession and his personal memory of scenes he had lived through, far-reaching national events he had helped to plan and bring to pass, great men he had met and intimately knew, statements that Parton wanted and incorporated in his Life of Jackson. Major Lewis gave to history that which no other man in America could have given, and he knew that in writing for Parton, he was writing for posterity. The great, scrupulous and accurate care he took in depicting the time and events that he had lived through, shows that he appreciated what he was doing, both for Andrew Jackson's ultimate historical standing, as well as his own. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 42 1 Major Lewis did not move across the pages of Jackson's history with any great consequence until after Jackson became President of the United States. As stated in an- other part of this book, Lewis did all that any other one man did, and possibly more, to make Jackson President, but his great influence was exerted afterwards, and his for- tune has been that as Jackson's confidential friend, letter- writer and officer, he wrote letters and received letters that posterity delights to read, and he was careful to preserve them ; so that when Mr. Parton asked his help, he w T as amply prepared to give help that was invaluable for Parton's needs. Major Reid, on the other hand, was in contact with Jackson and took part in his life and career only during the Indian wars, the battle of New Orleans and a short time afterwards. He died young, when it is clear that he had not developed to their limit, the intellectual and moral powers that were in him. Everything that he wrote indi- cates great strength and great reserve forces. Jackson never had an abler Secretary. He did not have as wide a field in which to exercise his ability as Major Lewis, but Reid made no mistakes, and the author's purpose in pub- lishing in this chapter his letters, is to give the people of Tennessee an opportunity to estimate the man, and there- by give him "some adequate place in Jackson's history," that his granddaughter, Mrs. Hunter, correctly thinks he is entitled to. The letters here published are only a part of Major Reid's papers turned over to W: G. Terrell by Judge Frank T. Reid, but they are enough to indicate what the people of Tennessee have heretofore been ignorant of — the calibre and capacity of Major John Reid. 422 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XXVI. ANDREW JACKSON— FROM THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS TO ELECTION AS PRESIDENT. General Jackson arrived in Nashville from New Orleans May 15, 1915, in bad health, and the supposition would nat- urally be that he w r ould devote much time to building up his constitution, but such was not to be the case. In Octo- ber he started on horseback by way of Southwest Point, Knoxville and Lynchburg, to Washington. In Lynchburg a banquet was tendered him at which Thomas Jefferson, then seventy-two years old, was a guest. Jefferson offered a toast, which, by implication, applied to Jackson, and was highly honorable to the hero of New Orleans: "Honor and gratitude to those who have filled the measure of their country's honor." On November 17 he arrived in Wash- ington, and then began banquets, festivities, speeches and hero-worship, which were to be his delightful portion the rest of his life. The people seemed to spontaneously agree that the victory at New Orleans had made him the national American hero. In Washington it was agreed at a con- ference between the President, General Jacob Brown and General Jackson, that the army should be reduced to ten thousand men, and that General Brown should command the northern division, and General Jackson the southern, and, hence, Jackson was to retain his position in the army. He did not start home until 1816, and from there went to New Orleans, where he was received in enthusiastic, grand fashion, and he got back to the Hermitage the fol- lowing October. Down to this time the Caucus had governed the nom- inations for President, and it was to govern the nomina- tion of the successor of President Madison whose term ex- pired on March 4th, 1817, but this nomination was the be- ginning of the end of the reign of the Caucus. While not very loud at first, nor very widespread, nor very unani- mous, suggestions were made at one time and another, and Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 423 in one place and another, and the thought was in the minds of men who probably did not express it, that the victor of New Orleans was good presidential timber, and that it would not be a bad idea to land him in the White House. Just what Jackson thought of his being President, even as late as 1821, is very strikingly disclosed in a letter of Judge Brackenridge, Jackson's secretary in Florida, quoted by James Parton in the second volume of his Life of Jackson, where Brackenridge uses this language : "I shall never forget the evening in Pensacola, 1821, when, in the presence of Mr. Henry Wilson and some other gentlemen, he took up a New York newspaper in which he was mentioned as a probable candidate for the office of President of the United States. After reading it, he threw it down in anger: 'Do you think,' he said, 'that I am such a d — d fool as to think myself fit for President of the United States? No sir,' I know what I am fit for. I can command a body of men in a rough way ; but I am not fit for Presi- dent.' " New work was being prepared in Florida by the Sem- inoles, fugitive Creeks, free negroes, and escaped slaves, and General Jackson was to enter upon one of the most vexatious portions of his life. Florida was in his division as Major General of the army, and it was his duty to con- duct all military operations in that section; he undertook to suppress all disorder, outrages and uprisings in Florida, and in doing so approved the execution of Alexander Ar- buthnot and Robert C. Ambrister. It is not necessary to go into details connected with the Arbuthnot and Ambrister cases, but merely to state that he appointed a court of four- teen officers of which Major General E. P. Gaines of Ten- nessee was President; Arbuthnot was tried April 28, 1818, on the charges of inciting the Creek Indians to war against the United States, acting as a spy for the British govern- ment, and inciting the Indians to murder. The Court found the prisoner guilty and sentenced him to be hung, and this sentence was affirmed by General Jackson. Ambrister was next tried, found guilty, and sentenced by the Court to be shot; and on April 29, 1818, the Commanding General approved the sentences in both cases, and they were carried out. Promptly this action by General Jackson became a 424 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History political issue, and the storm arose promptly and furiously, and never until the day of his death did the charge cease that the two men had been illegally executed by order of General Jackson. On January 12, 1819, one of the great- est debates ever held in the House of Representatives of Congress was carried on for twenty-seven days in Com- mittee of the Whole, in discussion of Jackson's action. Res- olutions were offered condemning the execution of Arbuth- not and Ambrister, and some great speeches were made, but Jackson triumphed, and by a substantial majority. Four resolutions were before the Committee as follows: Resolution to disapprove the execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister: ayes, 54; noes, 90. Resolution for a law prohibiting the execution of cap- tives by a commanding General: ayes, 57; noes, 98. Resolution that the seizure of Pensacola was contrary to the Constitution : ayes, 65 ; noes, 91. Resolution that a law be passed forbidding the invasion of foreign territory without authority from Congress : ayes, 42; noes, 112. In the Senate these same matters were referred to a Committee of which Senator Lacock of Pennsylvania was Chairman, and this Committee made an extended investi- gation and reported on February 24, 1819, adversely to Jackson. The session expired nine days later and the re- port was never considered by the Senate. General Jackson prepared a document called his "Memo- rial," defending himself against the adverse report of Sen- ator Lacock's Committee, and going into details in refer- ence to himself and his connection with Florida affairs. But further action was not to be taken, for on February 22, 1819, the treaty was signed by which Spain conveyed Flor- ida to the United States. Just before the end of that session of Congress on March 4, an act was passed providing a government for Florida and vesting all military, civil and judicial power in such person or persons as the President of the United States might appoint, and to be exercised in such manner as the President might direct. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 425 President Monroe appointed Jackson Governor of Flor- ida, pursuant to this act, at a salary of five thousand dol- lars per annum, and at the same time appointed two judges, two district attorneys, two secretaries, three collectors, and a marshal. General Jackson set out for Florida by way of New Orleans and finally, after vexatious delay, arrived there on July 17, 1821. Florida was formally transferred to the United States by the Spanish Governor, the Spanish flag was lowered, the American flag raised in its place, and Andrew Jackson once again held a civil office, and entered upon his duties as Governor of the newly acquired Terri- tory of Florida. It is hardly necessary to say that Gen- eral Jackson never regarded himself as a success in civil office, and he resigned practically every one he ever held before the expiration of the term. ' He was disappointed as Governor because the President had appointed so many officers who were to serve under him, and he had no oppor- tunity to reward by official appointment some of his old, true, and lifelong friends; and so it came about, as was to have been expected, that he resigned as Governor in October 1821, and was back at the Hermitage on the 3d of November. After his return his friends began the serious agitation of his candidacy for President as the successor of Monroe, and he was brought before the people by some of the ablest and most adroit politicians of that day, among them Major William B. Lewis, who was Jackson's friend and neigh- bor, and who did as much if not more to make him Presi- dent, than any other one man in America. On July 20, 1822, the Tennessee Legislature nominated him for Presi- dent; in October, 1823, the Legislature elected him to the United States Senate; March 4, 1824, he was nominated for President by a Pennsylvania State Convention; and at the November election, 1824, received a plurality of the electoral votes for President. It was in this Presidential race that the Caucus received its death wound; there were six can- didates for President. William H. Crawford of Georgia, and Albert Gallatin of Pennsylvania, were nominated by the Caucus respectively for President and Vice President. When the election came on Crawford received the electoral 426 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History votes of Georgia, Virginia, five votes from New York, one from Maryland, and two from Delaware, a total of forty- one; Henry Clay received the electoral vote of Kentucky, fourteen ; Missouri three, Ohio sixteen, New York four, a total of thirty-seven. John Quincy Adams received the elec- toral vote of Maine nine, New Hampshire eight, Vermont seven, Massachusetts fifteen, Connecticut eight, Rhode Isl- and four, New York twenty-six, Delaware one, Maryland three, Louisiana two, Illinois one, a total of eighty-four. Andrew Jackson received the electoral vote of New York one, New Jersey eight, Pennsylvania twenty-eight, Mary- land seven, North Carolina fifteen, South Carolina eleven, Tennessee eleven, Louisiana three, Mississippi three, Ala- bama five, Indiana five, Illinois two, a total of ninety-nine; so Jackson received the highest electoral vote and the high- est popular vote. The election was thrown into the House of Representatives where the vote is taken by States, and in this election Henry Clay's influence was thrown to John Quincy Adams, thereby electing him, and giving rise to the charge of "bargain, intrigue and corruption" by Jackson. In the House of Representatives the vote stood for Adams thirteen States, Crawford four States, Jackson seven States, which elected Adams. Mr. Adams appointed Henry Clay Secretary of State, and this was the basis of the charge of bargaining, intrigue and corruption between Adams and Clay. A few days after the inauguration of John Quincy Adams, and the appointment and confirmation of his cabinet, General Jackson and his family started for the Hermitage, and in October 1825, Jackson resigned from the Senate, and in the same month of the same year, the Legislature of Tennessee again nominated him for President in the elec- tion of November 1828. Hugh Lawson White was elected to serve his unexpired term as Senator by the Legislature. Between that time and the Presidential election of 1828 General Jackson was a private citizen — that is, as private as one of his wide fame could be. The movement of the Legislature to make him President at the next election be- gan to spread, and attained momentum and force that final- ly became irresistible and swept everything before it. In Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 427 that election the respective tickets were Jackson and Cal- houn against Adams and Rush, and personalities consti- tuted the chief weapon of the contest, not sparing even Mrs. Jackson herself. It was in this election that the statement published in another chapter of this book was made public by Judge John Overton in reference to the marriage of General and Mrs. Jackson; but with all the denunciation, abuse, and vil- lification that was hurled at him, Jackson received 178 elec- toral votes, and Adams 83; for Vice President Calhoun re- ceived 171 votes out of 261 ; in Tennessee Jackson and Cal- houn received every vote cast except something less than three thousand. The hero of New Orleans was now at the loftiest sum- mit of the ambition of an American citizen, and had at- tained a position which enabled him to make his wife Mis- tress of the White House, a place aspired to by every Amer- ican woman. Of course Mrs. Jackson knew that her marriage to the General was an issue in the election, and that she had been denounced by the opposition newspapers all over the Union, and who can blame the poor woman for expressing the opinion which she gave: "Well, for Mr. Jackson's sake, I am glad; for my own part I never wished it." Of course, the people of Nashville determined to have a grand banquet and celebration in honor of the unparalleled triumph of Tennessee's great hero, and General Jackson accepted the invitation to be present. On December 17th Mrs. Jackson had an attack of illness, but on the 22d she was improved and the General thought he could attend the banquet in Nashville the next day, but that night, when it was thought that her improvement was real, and that the General could take a little rest, and hope began to re- vive in the household, she uttered a loud cry and all at once thought that the end had come, and so it proved. The woman who had been the issue in an American Presiden- tial campaign, and for thirty-seven years had been the faith- ful, devoted wife of a great man, whom the voters had just 428 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History decreed should be their Chief Executive for four years, gave up the ghost, and was dead. The Hermitage in the twinkling of an eye was changed into a house of mourning, and the great banquet arranged for the next day in Nash- ville was never held. General Jackson left the Hermitage for his inaugura- tion January 17, 1829, and was accompanied by Andrew Jackson Donelson, his nephew, who was to be his Private Secretary; by Mrs. Andrew Jackson Donelson, who was to preside at the White House ; by Henry Lee who had helped in the campaign, and who expected an appointment; and by Major Lewis, his friend. They left Nashville Sunday afternoon by steamboat to go down the Cumberland and up the Ohio River to Pitts« burg, and thence to Washington. On March 4th, General Jackson took the oath of office, administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; drove thence to the White House to begin the duties of Chief Ex- ecutive, which were to continue until March 4, 1837. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 429 CHAPTER XXVII. JOHN OVERTON, JOHN COFFEE, W. B. LEWIS, AND A. S. COLYAR. No history of Andrew Jackson would be complete, wheth- er as elaborate as Parton's, with its two thousand pages, or compressed into one volume like this, that did not con- tain some statement of the lives and careers of John Over- ton, John Coffee and William B. Lewis, who were Jack- son's lifelong devoted friends and confidential advisers, and of Col. A. S. Colyar, who published Jackson's biography in 1904. The friendship of the first three was so extraor- dinary, loyal and unbroken, that it can be safely said there are few parallels in American history, while Col. Colyar's biography makes a very strong plea of greatness for Jack- son. JUDGE JOHN OVERTON. John Overton was born in Louisa County, Virginia, April 9, 1766, and Jackson was born in 1767. Overton acquired a good education, probably considerably self-taught. It ap- pears that he taught school for a period, and with the pro- ceeds of his teaching bought books, which would argue that his family were not people of very much means. He, him- self, was too young to enter the Revolutionary War, but he had two older brothers who w r ere soldiers under "Light- horse Harry Lee." Overton moved to Kentucky where an older brother was then living, and he entered the practice of law, but the date of his going to Kentucky we do not know. Land titles at that early day were the chief staple of litigation, and young Overton entered promptly and thoroughly into that branch of law, and appears to have acquired the confidence as a land lawyer of those who knew him. Judge John M. Lea, now deceased, formerly of Nashville, a son-in-law of Judge Overton, tells us that while in Kentucky, young Overton often called into requisition as a land surveyor, the services of Daniel Boone who had founded Kentucky, and opened 430 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History that great State to the entrance of the white man's civiliza- tion. From Kentucky Overton moved to Nashville, where he arrived in the autumn of 1789, apparently with consider- able means for a man who had been a practicing lawyer for so short a time. Autumn of 1789 is the partially ac- cepted date, though disputed by some, on which Andrew Jackson arrived in Nashville; but, whatever the date of his arrival, he and Overton became friends at once, and both boarded with the Widow Donelson, the mother of the future Mrs. Andrew Jackson, and had their office and sleep- ing apartments in a cabin near the cabin in which Mrs. Donelson and her daughter lived. From 1789 to 1804 John Overton pursued his profession in Nashville, and down to that time he had held no public office whatever, except the position of Supervisor of Revenue, under a commission from George Washington. In June 1804, Andrew Jackson, who had been one of the judges of the Superior Court of Tennessee, resigned, and in July following John Overton was appointed in his place, and by that appointment start- ed a career as a judge that did not end until 1816. He held the position until the Superior Court was abolished by act of the Legislature taking effect January 1st, 1810, and in 1811 he was appointed by the Legislature one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals, which suc- ceeded the Superior Court. He succeeded David Campbell in the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals, and served upon that bench five years, until April 11, 1816, when he re- signed, and was succeeded by Robert Whyte, who was elect- ed May 22, 1816. While a Judge of the Superior Court, Judge Overton's associates on the bench were David Campbell, Hugh L. White, Thomas Emmerson, Samuel Powell, and Parry W. Humphreys. His associates in the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals were Hugh L. White, W. W. Cook, and Archibald Roane. During his career on the bench Judge Overton is cred- ited through his opinions with laying the foundation of the Land Law of Tennessee. His decisions have stood unre- versed and as recognized authority since that time. All the authorities who write about him, eulogize him as one Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 43 1 of the finest judges of that period, and agree that his opin- ions are characterized both by learning and ability, as well as the most patient care that he gave to every case that came before him for investigation and adjudication. His mental qualities seem to have been exactly such as to fit him for a judicial position, and, with it all, he was absolute- ly fair, just, honorable, patient, and courteous, and left be- hind him a name that his descendants can very justly boast of and applaud. All branches of law in Tennessee were in a formative period while Judge Overton was on the bench, and it is generally thought that the great burden of litigation was land cases, but this is denied by no less an authority than William F. Cooper, who was for eight years Chancellor of the Chancery Division in which Nashville, his home, is, and was for eight years a Judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, from 1878 to 1886. Judge Cooper edited and published a new edition of Tennessee Reports, and in the preface to this Edition, written July 6th, 1870, says : "The value of our earlier decisions, owing, no doubt, to the rarity of the volumes of late years, has been greatly underrated. 'There were giants in those days,' both at the bar and on the bench, and the important cases were argued with great ability, and usually decided correctly." "There seems to be an impression that our earlier books are filled with land cases, of great moment in their day, but of little use at present. This is a mistake, as will be obvious to any one who considers how small a part of our Digests, even of Mr. Meigs's admirable Digest, who lin- gered over these cases with a fondness that belonged to a past generation, is thus occupied. The number of land cases bears no proportion to the number of cases in other branches of the law. Besides, many of these cases, even where they turned upon points of purely local legislation, embrace ques- tions of practice, evidence and general principle still of daily use." TENNESSEE COURT SYSTEMS. In the first volume of Overton's Tennessee Reports, the following history is given of the different Court systems of Tennessee: "The first judicial system in this State, for the final de- cision of causes, was known as the District, or Superior 432 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Court system, which went into effect in April, 1796, and was composed of three judges until the fall of 1807, when another judge was added. This system continued until Jan- uary 1st, 1810, when a Court of Errors and Appeals was established, consisting at first of two judges; afterwards, in 1815, increased to three judges; again, in 1823, to four judges, and in 1824 for a few months, to five; then reduced to four again, which continued to be the number of judges until the courts were reorganized under the Constitution of 1834. During the entire period, with the exception of the period from 1831 to 1834, and subsequently under the Constitution of 1834, the judges were of equal grade, with- out any chief justice or presiding officer. In 1831 the Leg- islature Created the office of Chief Justice, and elected the Hon. John Catron, one of the then justices, to that posi- tion. By the Constitution of 1834, the court of last resort was styled the Supreme Court, and the designation is re- peated in the Constitution of 1870. Under the Constitution of 1834, the court was composed of three judges." The first and second volumes of Tennessee Reports are known as "Overton's Reports" — Judge John Overton, Jack- son's friend. But, as a matter of fact, Judge Overton did not publish these reports. They are in two volumes, the first having 535 pages, and the second 436 pages, and in the two there are 596 cases reported. The title of the volumes is as follows: "Tennessee Reports or Cases Ruled and Ad- judged in the Superior Courts of Law and Equity and Federal Courts for the State of Tennessee. By John Over- ton, late one of the Judges of the Superior Courts of Law and Equity, and now one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals in that State." In an advertisement prefixed to the report Thomas Emmerson, who was one of the Judges of the Superior Court with Judge Overton, makes this statement: "Having been presented by Judge Overton with the cases collected by him while at the bar and on the bench of the late district courts, the editor, in compliance with the earn- est and repeated solicitations of many gentlemen, both of the bench and bar, now submits a portion of them to the public in their original dress, deeming it unsafe to venture on any alteration, lest thereby a different view of the cases might be presented." Following this comes this endorsement: Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 433 "We, the undersigned do approve of the publication of cases entitled 'Tennessee Reports, or cases ruled and ad- judged in the Superior Courts of Law and Equity, and Fed- eral Court for the State of Tennessee,' taken and collected by John Overton, one of the Judges of the Superior Courts of Law and Equity for that State; believing such a publi- cation will contribute in the highest degree to the peace and happiness of society, by ascertaining legal principles. (Signed) "David Campbell, John M'Nairy, Jos. Anderson, Archibald Roane, Willie Blount, William C. C. Claiborne, Ho. Tatum, Andrew Jackson, H. L. White, Samuel Powell." So came into existence the two volumes of Overton's Reports. Many years later an. Attorney General for the State was appointed, who printed the decisions of the Su- preme Court, and these printed reports now aggregate 136 volumes, and they cover every phase of judicial opin- ion in the development of the State of Tennessee, beginning with pioneer days, going through the period of the Battle of New Orleans and of the Mexican War and of the Civil War, down to 1917, a space of one hundred and twenty- one years, during which years Tennessee has had three Con- stitutions, that of 1796, that of 1834, and that of 1870. OTHER LABORS. But Judge Overton's career was not confined to the prac- tice of law or his services upon the bench. I have referred in the chapter of this book on Memphis to his being the founder of that city, and have there told something of that achievement on the part of him and his associates. Eminent as his professional and judicial services were, and lasting as will be his memory as the founder of Memphis, I hold to the opinion that future generations will place his niche in the temple of fame higher because of the fact that he was practically the discoverer and largely the developer of An- drew Jackson as a presidential possibility, and that he did as 434 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History much to bring about the election of Jackson as President as any other one man in America, and that whatever of good Jackson accomplished for the American people, Judge Over- ton is entitled to participate in and share. The friendship between the two men began, as here- tofore stated, in 1789, when they both first came to Nash- ville. I feel that the reader will pardon my quoting in full two very handsome tributes paid to Judge Overton by Colonel J. M. Keating, deceased, for many years editor of the Mem- phis Appeal, in his "History of Memphis" : "They were the complement of each other; they had settled in Nashville about the same time (1789) and were immediately drawn into a friendship as earnest and endur- ing as that of the fabled Damon and Pythias. When the fierce and vindictive opponents of Jackson invaded the sanc- tity of his home and attempted to besmirch the character of one of the most chaste, noblest, truest^, and most sensitive of women, John Overton, w'ith a reputation without a stain, and that had never been questioned, went to the aid of his friend- with the beautiful gift of a strong attachment, the sincerity of which had never been marred by a favor asked for, or received. He promptly defended Jackson, and in a clear and forcible statement attested the moral purity of his friend amid all the demoralization and temptations of frontier life, and bore witness to the purity of that wife, the loss of which left Jackson afterwards a bankrupt, in- deed. The friendship of these men for each other is one of the most touching episodes of. their time in Tennessee. Overton was a close student, loved books, and surrounded himself with all of those evidences of culture that are the resources of intellectual and refined natures. He was a man of the closet, Jackson a man of action. In the words of one who knew them well, 'each regarded the other as supreme in the role in which he essayed to act.' " Before his death, Judge Overton's loyalty to Jackson was such that he destroyed the hundreds of letters that Jackson had written to him upon every subject of public affairs, and he sent word to Jackson that he had done this. When the time came around for Jackson to be a candi- date a second time for the Presidency, Colonel Keating says this : Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 435 "To be re-elected was to be endorsed by the people; to be defeated, was to be condemned. It was not, therefore, a time for men to play fast and loose, even in a little fron- tier town where the voters were few, and their effect upon the national destiny must be trifling, if anything. The force of example counted for much in such an emergency, and Overton, who was the first, perhaps, to mention the Presidency to Jackson, was determined, in the teeth of de- clining powers of mind and body, to second and sustain the man he admired, and to secure him the coveted endorse- ment of the people whom he had served with a singleness of purpose and unselfish fidelity. There is no other and similar example of friendship such as here laid bare, in the whole range of American history. Judge Overton was a man who, by right of ability and social position might have aspired to any place in the gift of the American people, but he preferred his friend, even to himself, and he spoke, and wrote, and worked for him to the latest day of his life." The most critical period in Andrew Jackson's career, after the Battle of New Orleans, was the investigation by Congress of his actions in Florida, which involved the exe- cution of Ambrister and Arbuthnot, and about which the politics of the day were hot and bitter. Henry Clay made probably the greatest speech of his life in his denunciation of Jackson in this matter, and then it was that Judge Over- ton came to the relief of his friend, and over the signature of "Aristides," published a very able defense of Jackson both under the law of nations, as well as the peculiar cir- cumstances surrounding Jackson in Florida. Jackson was triumphantly acquitted, but the efforts of none of his friends, in either the Senate or the House, approached in strength, power, cogency, learning, and ability, the defense made by Judge Overton. Having been triumphantly vindicated by Congress, Jack- son became even more popular than he had ever been since his victory at New Orleans. In closing this sketch of Judge Overton, I feel that his firm affection for Andrew Jackson should, if possible, be laid before the reader in his own words. To that end is quoted in full a letter by him to his nephew, who had accompanied General Jackson to Florida as a part of his family, and who, on account of ill health, had determined 436 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee .History not to return to Tennessee. This letter has never been published but once, and that was in a paper on Judge Overton by Judge John M. Lea, read before the Tennessee Bar Association at its meeting at Lookout Inn, Chatta- nooga, in July, 1891. The letter is as follows: "Nashville, February 23, 1824. "My dear Nephew : Yours of the twenty-fifth inst. has been received, and I am gratified that you are regaining your health. "Our inestimable friend, General Jackson, is rising rap- idly throughout the Union. The Enquirer, of Richmond, has softened its tone, and admits that Jackson is the strong- est man of the South and West, and even the Intelligencer publishes short things in his favor. My dear young friend, you can judge how gratifying it must be to me in my de- clining years to reflect upon the course I have taken in regard to this man. Previously to the sitting of the Legis- lature in 1821, it forcibly st.ruck me that he ought to be the next President, and by proper means might be made so. To prepare the public mind, pieces were thrown out in Wil- son's paper. They were thought lightly of, but that made no difference with me. The Legislature met, and then I communicated to a leading member my views, which he gave into, communicated them to Grundy, who at first seemed a little surprised, but gave into the measure of rec- ommending him by our Legislature, which was done unani- mously. The resolutions were preceded by a speech which I wrote for a member. Caucusing was denounced, and Jackson's case put directly to the people of the United States. The Nashville resolutions I drew persevering in the same line of thought. They were well received, and followed step by step in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and even New York is now struggling to adopt the same. In all this I declare to you I never mentioned one word to Jackson. He knew as little about it as he did when his defense of the Seminole campaign commenced by the publication of "Aristides/ which arrested the impending fatal stroke. Thus it is that in all ages the real and sufficient causes of the greatest events are ever hid even from the impartial and scrutinizing historian. We commenced our career together, we slept, eat, and suffered together, and I always entertained the same view of his talents and character, and I have the con- i solation to think that I have never been mistaken in him. What opinion he entertains of me, I know not. I have my part to play, marked out, I believe, by Providence, and he has had his part, and it may seem strange, but it is true, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 437 that we have never consulted as to any preconcerted plans in all our lives. "We all want to see you, and rest assured that Jackson is nearly certain of being President. Your relation, "JOHN OVERTON." GENERAL JOHN COFFEE. The Legislature of Tennessee honored the memory of General John Coffee by giving to Coffee County his name, but this honor is known to but comparatively few people in Tennessee. General Coffee was worthy of a greater honor than having a county named for him, and it is not credit- able to Tennesseans that one of the finest characters in the State's history is rapidly progressing towards utter forget- fulness. In reviving the name and deeds of General Coffee, the Tennessee Historical Society, through its President and its publication, "The Tennessee Historical Magazine," is doing a great and patriotic service. In the December, 1916, number of the magazine, the letters of General Coffee to his wife, written in the years 1813-1815, with an introduc- tion by President John H. DeWitt of the Historical Society, are published, which bring vividly before us Jackson's cav- alry leader; and from this source and other sources con- sulted in making up this sketch, we learn some interesting facts of his life. General Coffee was a Virginian by birth, born June 2, 1772, and died July 7, 1833, on his farm about three miles north of Florence, Alabama, where he is buried. His father moved from Virginia to North Carolina, and served in the Revolutionary War from that State. In April, 1798, John Coffee and his mother settled on the Cumberland River a few miles from Nashville, where he followed the occupation of merchant and surveyor. He was considered a well educated man for that day. He mar- ried Mary Donelson, a niece of Mrs. Andrew Jackson. This marriage naturally brought about a friendship between Coffee and Jackson, a friendship that never wavered down to Jackson's death. They were partners in business, but the venture was not successful, and in 1807 Coffee retired from the mercantile business and went back to surveying. 438 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History On his marriage to Mary Donelson in October, 1809, Cap- tain Donelson gave his daughter a farm on Stone's River, in Rutherford County, and there they lived all through his military service, and until he left Tennessee and went to Alabama in 1819. While living in Rutherford County, Gen- eral Coffee was elected Clerk of the County Court of that county. Mrs. Coffee died in December, 1871, and was the mother of ten children : Mary Donelson Coffee (1812-1839), who married An- drew Jackson Hutchings; John Donelson Coffee (1815- 1837), who married Mary N. Brahan; Elizabeth Graves Coffee (1817-1838); Andrew Jackson Coffee (1819-1891), who married Elizabeth Hutchings and was an officer in the war with Mexico; Alexander Donelson Coffee (1821-1901), who was first married to Ann E. Sloss, then to Mrs. Camilla Madding Jones; Rachel Jackson Coffee (1823-1892), who married A. J. Dyas; Katherine Coffee (1826-1881) ; Emily Coffee (1828-1829) ; William Coffee (1830-1903), who mar- ried Virginia Malone; Joshua Coffee (1832-1879). Alexan- der Donelson Coffee and William Coffee were officers in the Confederate Army. He entered military service in 1812. In 1806 he fought a duel with McNairy, growing out of his friendship for Gen- eral Jackson. His military career as a cavalry leader is one of the best to be found in the cavalry service of any country. During his military service he wrote many letters to his father-in-law, Captain John Donelson, which are pre- served in the Tennessee Historical Society, and were pub- lished in the American Historical Magazine for the month of April, 1901. Mrs. A. D. Coffee of Florence, Alabama, and Robert Dyas, of Nashville, General Coffee's grandson, and son of Mrs. Rachel Coffee Dyas, furnished to the Tennessee Historical Society the letters of General Coffee to his wife, Mary. These letters to his wife make delightful reading, and exhibit a brave, true, strong man putting upon paper his devoted affection for the wife and child, who plainly are to him the dearest objects upon earth. General Jackson said of John Coffee that he was a great military commander, but was so modest that he did not know it. Coffee's first mili- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 439 tary experience was with the Natchez Expedition in 1812, led by General Jackson, which was countermanded by the Secretary of War, and Jackson ordered to disband his troops at Natchez, Mississippi, which he refused to do, and marched them back to Tennessee and disbanded them in the City of Nashville. It was in the year 1812 that Coffee raised a troop of cavalry numbering six hundred and seventy of which he was elected Colonel, to go with Jackson's army. Coffee's regiment assembled at Franklin, and made the over- land route to Natchez, starting January 19, and arriving at Natchez February 16. We feel, in studying the life and career of General Coffee, like we were taken back to the Homeric age when men of great size and physical strength and dauntless courage were actors, and whose deeds great blind Homer has sent down to us more than two thousand years, and which we to-clay admire as greatly as did their contemporaries. Coffee and his cavalry were the ever relia- able right arm of Jackson ; they never failed, they never quailed; at command they were up and moving, and never stopped until the conquest was complete. Seeing him in action, one would be moved to cry: "This indeed is Ajax, The bulwark of the Greeks!" That Jackson loved him, and he loved Jackson, history amply proves. In a letter to the author dated December 6, 1917, Robert Dyas, the grandson above referred to, says: ROBERT DYAS TO THE AUTHOR. "Dear Sir: "My friend, Mr. DeWitt, has sent me your letter of De- cember 1st, and it gives me pleasure to answer your in- quiries to the best t of my ability. "A copy of Colyar's Life of Jackson is not available here, and I do not recall whether the epitaph of Gen'l Coffee is quoted correctly or not, but my impression is that it is. In a few days I can send you a correct copy, but I will have to write to Florence, Ala., for it. "General Coffee's monument stands in the family bury- ing ground about three miles north of Florence — it is in a perfect state of preservation — and I will also send you a photograph of it. 440 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "Yes — General Jackson wrote the epitaph. I have in my possession the original in the handwriting of the Gen- eral himself. I cannot tell you the circumstances under w r hich it was written or just when, nor can I say just when the monument w r as erected, but I presume it was done shortly after his death. From many papers in my posses- sion it is very evident that the two men were dose per- sonal friends before the occurrence of the stirring events that gave such fame to both, and before General Coffee married a niece of Mrs. Jackson. It is to be presumed that this close personal friendship and intimate association led to the writing of the epitaph. As an evidence of the great affection General Coffee had for General Jackson, two of his children were named for the General and his wife, An- drew Jackson Coffee and Rachel Jackson Coffee. "General Jackson willed to Andrew J. Coffee the sword presented to him by the city of New Orleans, and you have no doubt read the will. His admonitions to the young man are well worth re-reading just at this time when such stress is being laid on patriotism. You will be interested in ex- amining the original on file in Davidson County. "Anne Royal published 'Letters from Alabama' in 1818, and the only copy I know of belongs to Mr. J. S. Walker, of Nashville. He has let me have it for a time, and it is in a safe in Florence just at present. No doubt he will be glad to let you have it if you so desire. I will return it in a few days. "If I can assist you in any way it will give me pleasure to do so when called on. "Sincerely, Robert Dyas." We would like very much to know when, and how it came about, that General Jackson wrote the great epitaph on Coffee's tombstone. We can imagine no finer tribute that he could have paid the old cavalry leader. "Sacred to the Memory of GENERAL JOHN COFFEE, Who departed this Life 7th day of July 1833, Aged 61 years. "As a husband, parent and friend, he was affectionate, tender, and sincere. He was a brave, prompt, and skillful general; a distinguished and sagacious patriot; an unpre- tending, just and honest man. To complete his character, religion mingled with these virtues her serene and gentle influence, and gave him that solid distinction among men Tomb of General John Coffee near Florence, Alabama. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 441 which detraction cannot sully, nor the grave conceal. Death could do no more than to remove so excellent a being from the theater he so much adorned in this world, to the bosom of God who created him, and who alone has the power to reward the immortal spirit with exhaustless bliss." We would also like to know the personal appearance of the man as an acquaintance might describe him, and fortu- nately, we have just such a-description by Anne Royal, in a book written in 1818 from Huntsville, Alabama, and en- titled "Letters from Alabama." Mrs. Royal says : "Last evening I had the pleasure of seeing the renowned soldier and companion of General Jackson. This hero, of whom you have heard so much, is upward of six feet in height, and proportionately made. Nor did I ever see so fine a figure. He is thirty-five or thirty-six years of age. His face is round and full, and features handsome. His complexion is ruddy, though sunburned; his hair and eyes black, and a soft serenity suffuses his countenance. His hair is carelessly thrown one side in front, and displays one of the finest brows. His countenance has much animation while speaking, and eyes sparkle, but the moment he ceases to speak it resumes its wonted placidness, which is a char- acteristic of Tennesseans. In General Coffee I expected to see a stern, haughty, fierce warrior. You look in vain for that rapidity with which he marched and defeated the In- dians at Talleschatches, nor could I trace in his counte- nance the swiftness of pursuit and sudden defeat of the Indians again at Umuckfaw, much less his severe conflicts at the head of his men at New Orleans. He is as mild as the dewdrop, but deep in his soul you may see very plain that deliberate, firm, cool, and manly courage which have crowned him with glory. He must be a host when he is aroused. All these Tennesseans are mild and gentle, ex- cept when they are excited, which it is hard to do ; but when they are once raised, it is victory or death." MAJOR WILLIAM B. LEWIS. From the time following the Battle of New Orleans when General Jackson first began to be talked about as a Presi- dential possibility, to March 4, 1829, when he was inaugu- rated President, no man in America had more to do with bringing that inauguration about than William Berkeley Lewis. From March 4th, 1829, to March 4th, 1837 — two full Presidential terms — no man in America had more to 442 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History do with shaping the views, utterances and line of action of Andrew Jackson, than this same William Berkely Lewis; and thereby hangs the intensely interesting story of the career, ability and devotion of Jackson's chief quartermaster in the Creek War, his lifelong, confidential friend — in fact, his other self. The career of Major Lewis is probably the only one of its kind in our history. A Virginian by birth, his home in Tennessee was two miles from Nashville, on the road to the Hermitage, where he had a fine estate. He was one of the best educated men of his day in Tennessee, and was devoted to Jackson not only politically but personally. He was a brother-in-law of John H. Eaton, United States Senator from Tennessee and Secretary of War in Jackson's cabinet, they having mar- ried sisters. Of no other man in history can it be more justly said that loyalty to his friends was the key to his whole life and character; of no other man can it be more truthfully said that with opportunities of personal advance- ment that could have brought him any political preferment in Tennessee he might wish, he was content to remain in the background, working unseen, unheard by the public, but with an effectiveness and power that would have been astounding had they been made fully known. ' If what Major Lewis wrote was blotted out of Jack- son's life and career, there would be gaps and chasms in the history of that career that could not be filled by the writings of anybody else, and without which many things connected with Jackson and his life could not be understood. General Jackson's trust in Major Lewis was perfect, his dependence upon him in very many ways complete, and as a result, no one had more influence over him. Politicians behind General Jackson, his personal and confidential friends, called his "Kitchen Cabinet," had an easier task than such friends behind great leaders usually have, which is to cultivate popularity for their leader, and see that it is permanent and trustworthy. In Jackson's case his popular- ity did not need cultivating — it sprang full-grown, robust and aggressive, out of the Battle of New Orleans, and lived on and crushed all opposition until the old leader closed his eyes and passed across the border at six o'clock in the after- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 443 noon of June 8th, 1845. All the "Kitchen Cabinet" had to do was to see that nothing occurred that was so monstrously or phenomenally bad that would revolutionize the sentiment for, or kill the popularity of even "Old Hickory." It got to be a saying in Jackson's day that his popularity would stand anything, and it is a fact that at no time after he got fully started on his career, did the friendship of the great mass of the people cease or even show signs of w r aning. Major Lewis's intellectual equipment, temperament, and diplomatic sagacity were the perfect complement of the Jacksonian qualities, and the two together, working in thor- ough harmony and understanding of each other, constituted about as ideal a combination to insure political success as could be conceived. Lewis was always brainy, thoughtful, thorough in knowledge of facts, parliamentary in discussion and retort, but firm and unwavering, and with the keen ear and sense of an able and astute politician as to what would do, and what would not do for emergencies and measures as they arose. Jackson's first message was written at Major Lewis's home, in a conference of the General, Major Lewis, and Henry Lee, and was changed very little from the first draft of the message when they all got to Washington for the inauguration. When the opposition newspapers made their various on- slaughts on Mrs. Jackson and her marriage to the General, it was the alert and able William B. Lewis who was sent to Natchez, then called "the southern country," where the first marriage took place, to collect the testimony of witnesses . as to conditions and circumstances there connected with the marriage, and as to the lives led by General and Mrs. Jackson there both before and after the marriage. This mis- sion, important, delicate and necessary, in view of the news- paper charges, occupied six months, and Major Lewis's re- port was made the basis of the defense and answer by Gen- eral Jackson and the organization of the Democratic party ; and Mrs. Jackson was very cordial and grateful to him in the expression of her thanks for the great service rendered her under such embarrassing circumstances. 444 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History After the inauguration, when the Major proposed to return to Tennessee, General Jackson would not hear of it, and insisted not only upon his remaining in Washington, but that he take up his residence as one of the family at the White House, which he did. He was appointed by the Gen- eral an Auditor of the Treasury. In all those emergencies where absolute fidelity, sound judgment and perserverance were required, Major Lewis was Jackson's selection to take them in hand, and Lewis never faltered or hesitated, and was very rarely unsuccess- ful in their management. When things looked gloomy in the Creek War, and the army was not half fed, it was Lewis who was sent back to Tennessee to raise and forward sup- plies, which he accomplished fo Jackson's satisfaction. But it was on his deathbed where Jackson's dependence on Major Lewis was most clearly shown. General Jackson's death occurred about six o'clock in the afternoon, and Major Lewis got there only a few' hours before, and Jackson said to him : "Major, I am glad to see you, you had like to have been too late," and the Major remained with him until death came. No one would expect one of Jackson's character, ca- reer and great antagonisms, where the extreme loyalty of friends was indispensable, to die without sending fare- well messages to some of those loyal friends, and such mes- sages Jackson sent; of all the friends around him during his last several hours of life, he chose William B. Lewis as the bearer of the messages which he sent to Frank P. Blair, Thomas H. Benton, Sam Houston, and others. The message to Benton is said to have been this: "Tell Colonel Benton that I am grateful in my dying moment." All Tennesseans should hope that these were Jackson's words, and if they were, it was a message greatly honorable for Jackson to send, and for Thomas H. Benton to receive, and for William B. Lewis to carry — Jackson, the greatest popular leader America ever produced, thanking the Senator who tow T ered like Ajax in fighting Jackson's battles in the Senate, send- ing his thanks by a loyal and great friend — it is difficult to think of a more inspiring scene than this. The student of Jackson's history finds it difficult to dis- criminate between Jackson and Lewis in letters or docu- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 445 ments put forth in Jackson's interest; Major Lewis recast and reviewed the public letters that General Jackson wrote, and it is difficult to see how he could have gotten along with- out him. Whatever may be our opinion of politics and poli- ticians, we are bound to sound a note of admiration when we come to consider the loyalty and friendship of Major Lewis to Old Hickory. General Jackson was not a man to handle details and bring things to pass by a combination of men or influences that had to be worked up or sought out. He had neither the patience, the skill, nor the sagacity for that kind of work; he was a great personality — one of the very greatest in all of the history of the world. In his personality lay his vast, overshadowing, dominating influ- ence. If he had been deprived of the services of such men as Major Lewis, Amos Kendall, Frank P. Blair, and Edward Livingstone, even his great popularity would have been dis- sipated by mistakes of management, and inability to pac- ify personal and political differences in the different States, and bring them all in orderly procession and concentrated power in line for the success of Andrew Jackson and the Democratic party. It is rare that a dominating personality ever has the qualities embodied in all or any of the men just named whom General Jackson kept around him; and when we see a co-ordination of such a personality and the prowess of Jackson's personal friends, we feel that there is nothing to be surprised at in the success of the Democratic party when they all were at the head of it. So complete a sacrifice of his brains, judgment and energy to the interest of one man, as Major Lewis made to the interests of General Jackson, is a thing to be wondered at; and we close this appreciation of the Major with the statement that he and General Jackson working together constituted the greatest two in American politics that ever joined their services. Jackson had friends who came into his career and went out again hostile to him; others who started with him and de- serted him; others who betrayed him outright; others who were lukewarm in their support; but Major Lewis was not one of any of these classes. He started with Jackson when Jackson's career opened, and he parted with Jackson only when the breath went out of his body, and when the old hero 446 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History was sending messages by him to friends who helped to make his great career. COLONEL A. S. COLYAR. Col. A. S. Colyar, whose full name was Arthur St. Clair Colyar, made his entrance upon the stage of this world in Washington County, Tennessee, a few miles west of Jones- boro, on June 23, 1818; he was born in a cabin on the banks of the Nolichucky River. His grandfather was one of the pioneers in the settlement at Jonesboro. His father was Alexander Colyar, and he seems to have been a river man ; he married a daughter of a brother of "Bbnny Kate" Sher- rill, who became the second wife of John Sevier. Alexander Colyar lived en the Nolichucky until his son was nine years of age, who, up to that time, appears to have had school instruction from a tutor. For reasons that are not clear, Alexander Colyar deter- mined to leave the Nolichucky, and, crossing the mountains, settled in Franklin County, and there set to work farming. His means were limited and his family large, consisting of ten girls and three boys. Colonel Colyar, as soon as he was grown, taught school and began the study of the law, and was admitted to the bar. He lived for a while in Manchester, Coffee County, but returned to Franklin County, and his practice extended to the courts in a number of counties. In a work on Jackson, our interest in Colonel Colyar is especially strong because he wrote a "Life of Jackson," be- ginning to write it when he was eighty years of age, and its publication occurring when he was about eighty-five. It consisted of two volumes of some nine hundred pages. To say that Colonel Colyar was a profound admirer of Andrew Jackson is to say something that is well known to the legal profession, public officials, and educated men gen- erally in Tennessee. 'Being connected by family ties with "Bonny Kate," wife of John Sevier, Colonel Colyar was also a profound admirer of the first Governor of Tennessee, and never hesitated to eulogize him as one of the State's greatest benefactors. His "Life of Jackson" is practically a very strong law- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 447 yer's brief to prove that Andrew Jackson was one of the greatest men of the Republic. In 1858 Colonel Colyar opened a law office in Nashville, and moved there in 1866. In politics he was an old line Whig of a very pronounced type, and when the Civil War came on he was as pronounced a Union man as was Andrew Jackson when he fired his proclamation at the nullifiers of South Carolina; but the majority in Tennessee being in favor of Secession, Colonel Colyar, like hundreds of Union men in the South, Robert E. Lee being one of them, went with his State, and was elected a member of the Confederate Congress, and served his term. He was a delegate from Ten- nessee to the Whig Convention that met in Baltimore in 1860, and was under instructions to vote for the nomination of John Bell for President, but he declined to do so, and voted for Sam Houston for the nomination, and gave as his reason for so doing, that he believed that Sam Houston could be elected, and that his election would save the Union. After the close of the Civil War, Colonel Colyar affiliated with the Democratic party, but was not always in line with some of the principles of the party, as, for example, the tariff, he being a protectionist. He was charged with incon- sistency in this and some other political matters, and he was accustomed to make the reply that "he was as good a Democrat as one could make out of an old line Whig." Prior to the Civil War, Colonel Colyar became interested in the development of coal properties in Marion, Grundy, and Franklin Counties, and conferred monumental benefits upon Tennessee in the development of industries of that kind. The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, which today is one of the great coal and iron corporations of America, was developed from the Sewanee Mining Com- pany, the name of which was changed to the Tennessee Coal and Railroad Company, and finally to the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company. Colonel Colyar sold his inter- est in this latter Company for a large sum of money with which he bought the controlling interest in the Nashville American in 1881, and he became the editor of that paper, and so continued until 1884, when he went back to the prac- 448 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History tice of the law. As editor of the American, he was a protec- tionist. Colonel Colyar was not a specialist in the law, but tried cases in all the Courts, and was a power in whatever court he appeared. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1878, but failed of the nomination, that prize going to Albert S. Marks, who was his cousin, and who had been Chancellor, and who was duly elected Governor. Public spirited always, free from the taint of graft or scandal, bold in every word and act, he was, before his death, probably the representative Tennessean. Even men who did not agree with him on public matters conceded his great intellectual capacity, and his power in impressing his views upon men. He died in 1907 at the age of 89 years. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 449 CHAPTER XXVIII. MEMPHIS. When Hernando De Soto discovered the Mississippi River from the Chickasaw Bluffs in May, 1541, he was doubtless the first white man that ever set his foot in what later became the City of Memphis. It is a far cry from that distant day more than three centuries and a half ago, and from that primeval wilderness along side of that fearful rolling flood, to the year 1917, when the great and splendid modern city of Memphis, with between 150,000 and 200,000 population, now sits like a queen, with every grace and charm of beauty, on the spot where the intrepid Spaniard first viewed the lordly Father of Waters ; and what a Father of Waters the Mississippi is, with a length of 2,896 miles and tributaries aggregating 28,965 miles, making 31,861 miles of rivers which it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. De Soto crossed the river on a raft, and plunged into the wilderness on its western shore, and made his way to the highlands of White River, wandering about for a year, marching through forests and swamps and canebrakes. He finally came back to the Missisippi again with his band of explorers to what is known as Chicot, Arkansas, and here he died and w T as buried; but subsequently the body was taken up and found its final grave in the bosom of the "River of the Holy Ghost," which he named the Mississippi, and "which still," says Bancroft, "rolls its magnificent current over the place of his burial, a fitting monument for his re- mains, as it is for his renown." His soldiers finally found their way back to Cuba. De Soto's expedition had been a failure ; no gold was discovered nor the Fountain of Youth. His march indicated a want of design, and a wandering about and a lack of apparent objectiveness, which may be explained upon the theory of a man searching for something which he thinks is as liable to be found in one place or section as another. He died with the El Dorado still a figment of his brain. He did not spare his army, and there w T as no mili- 450 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History tary character to his method of exploration. He had at- tained fame in Peru, and, while his quest in North America was a failure, he gained an immortality more lasting than the fame attained in Peru, by his discovery of the Missis- sippi river. His name and that of the great inland sea will be linked together as long as the great river rolls its waters towards the Gulf. Memphis is located 454 miles from St. Louis, and 818 miles from New Orleans, and is the largest city in Tennes- see, and, with a few exceptions, the largest on the Missis- sippi River. It owes its origin to John Overton, who was its founder, and who, if he had no other title to fame, his place in history would be secure. The man who founds a city, and especially such a city as Memphis has become, will be known and admired and eulogized as long as time lasts. On April 25, 1789, John Rice, then a citizen of North Car- olina, owned a grant in the land office of Hillsboro, North Carolina, it then being commonly known and called "John Armstrong's office," for 5,000 acres of land, beginning about one mile below the mouth of Wolf River on the Chickasaw Bluffs on one of which Memphis now stands. The land was surveyed on December 1st, 1786. In order that this generation may peruse the document upon which millions and millions of dollars of property is based in Memphis, we quote the grant in full : THE JOHN RICE GRANT. State of North Carolina. No. 283. "To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting: "Know ye, that we, for and in consideration of the sum of ten pounds for every hundred acres hereby granted, paid into our treasury by John Rice, have given and granted, and by these presents do give and grant unto the said John Rice. a tract of land containing five thousand acres, lying and being in the Western District, lying on the Chickasaw Bluff. Beginning about one mile below the mouth of Wolf River, at a whiteoak tree, marked J. R., running North twenty de- grees, east two hundred and twenty-six poles; thence due North one hundred and thirty-three poles; thence North twenty-seven degrees, West three hundred and ten poles to a cotton wood tree ; thence due East one thousand three hun- dred and seventy-seven and nine-tenths poles to a mulberry Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 45 1 tree; thence South six hundred and twenty-five poles to a stake; thence West one thousand three hundred and four and nine-tenths poles to the beginning, as by the plat here- unto annexed doth appear, together with all woods, waters, mines, minerals, hereditaments and appurtenances to the said land belonging or pertaining: to hold to the said John Eice, his heirs and assigns forever — yielding and paying to us such sums of money yearly, or otherwise as our General Assembly from time to time shall cause. This grant to be Registered in the Register's Office of our said Western Dis- trict within twelve months from the date hereof; otherwise the same shall be void and of no effect. In testimony whereof, we have caused these our letters to be made patent, and our great seal to be hereunto affixed. Witness Samuel Johnson, Esquire, our Governor, Captain General and Commander in Chief, at Halifax, the twenty- fifth clay of April, in the XIII year of our Independence, and of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty- nine. By his Excellency's command. SAM JOHNSON. J. Glasgow, Secretary. State of North Carolina, Western District. By virtue of a warrant from the State Entry Taker, No. 382, dated the twenty-fourth day of June, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, I have surveyed for John Rice five thousand acres of land, lying on the Chickasaw Bluff; beginning about one mile below the mouth of Wolf River, at a whiteoak tree, marked J. R. Running North twenty degrees, East two hundred and twenty-six poles; thence due North one hundred and thirty-three poles; thence North twenty-seven degrees, West three hundred and ten poles to a cotton wood tree ; thence due East one thou- sand three hundred and seventy-seven and nine-tenths poles to a mulberry tree; thence South six hundred and twenty- five poles to a stake; thence West one thousand three hun- dred and four and nine-tenths poles to the beginning. Surveyed December 1st, 1786. ISAAC ROBERTS, D. S. But there was another grant for 5,000 acres of land known as the "John Ramsey Grant," which began at the Southwest corner of John Rice's Grant. The battle between these two giants in Memphis was long and hard fought and uncertain, but was finally settled. This grant also is given in full. 452 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History THE JOHN RAMSEY GRANT. No. 19,060. Recorded May 10th, 1823. The State of Tennessee. To all to whom these presents shall come — Greeting: Know ye that in consideration of Warrant No. 383, dated the 24th day of June, 1784, issued by John Armstrong, Entry Officer of claims for the North Carolina Western lands, to John Ramsey, for five thousand acres, and entered on the 25th day of October, 1783: by No. 383, there is granted by the State of Tennessee, unto the said John Ram- sey and John Overton, assignee, etc., a certain tract or par- cel of land, containing five thousand acres by survey, bear- ing date the first day of March, 1822, lying in Shelby County, eleventh District, ranges eight and nine, sections one and two, on the Mississippi River, of which to said Ramsey four thousand two hundred and eighty-five and five- seventh acres, and to said Overton seven hundred and four- teen and two-seventh acres, and bounded as follows, to-wit: Beginning at a stake on the bank of said river — southwest corner of John Rice's five thousand acre grant, as proces- sioned by William Lawrence in the year 1820 — running thence south eighty-five degrees, east, with said Rice's south boundary line, as processioned aforesaid, one hundred and seventy-five chains to a poplar marked R ; thence South 200 chains to an elm marked F. R. ; thence West, at sixty-two chains, crossing a branch bearing south, at seventy chains crossing a branch bearing southwest, at one hundred and nineteen chains crossing a branch bearing south, and at one hundred and sixty chains a branch bearing south — in all two hundred and seventy-three chains to a cotton wood marked F. R. on the bank of the Mississippi river, thence up the mar- gin of said river, with its meanders, north seven degrees, east eleven chains, North one degree East five chains and thirty-five links, North ten and a half chains, North eight degrees, East fourteen chains, North twenty-two degrees, East eleven chains and sixty-three links, north eighty-six de- grees, east four chains and sixty-three links, north twenty- nine degrees, east seven chains and ten links, north four de- grees, west three chains and twenty-seven links, north five degrees, east six chains, north ten degrees, east three chains north thirty-one, east sixteen chains, north four degrees, east thirteen chains and seventy links, north fourteen degrees, east thirteen chains and nineteen links, north twenty-six east thirteen chains and eight links, north forty-three, east seven and one-half chains, north thirty, east twenty-two chains and thirty-eight links, north forty, east one chain and eight links, north fifty-three, east one chain and twenty-four links, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 453 north forty-nine, east three chains, north thirty-three, east five chains and eighty links, north forty-seven, east seven- teen chains, north thirty-six, east four chains and thirty- four links, north forty-nine degrees, east six chains and fifty-seven links, north thirty-nine degrees, east thirty-three and one-half chains ; thence north thirty-six degrees, east twelve and one-half chains to the beginning, with the hered- itaments and appurtenances: TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, the said tract or parcel of land, with its appurtenances, to the said John Ramsey and John Overton and their heirs forever. In witness whereof, William Carroll, Governor of the State of Tennessee, hath hereunto set his hand and caused the great seal of the State to be affixed, at Murfreesboro, on the thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord, 1823, and of the independence of the United States the forty- sev- enth. By the Governor. WIILIAM CARROLL. Daniel Graham, Secretary. John Rice moved from North Carolina to Tennessee and engaged in his business of trading, and he was finally killed by the Indians in 1791. He left a will conveying the Rice Grant to his brother, Elisha Rice. The will was in his own handwriting, but without witnesses. John Overton bought the Rice Grant for $500.00 from Elisha Rice, May 24, 1794, and to make certain that he was getting a good title, he took a quit-claim deed from all the brothers of John Rice, four in number, who would inherit from him in case of his death without will. By the law of North Carolina at that time, brothers inherited to the exclu- sion of sisters. Overton at once conveyed an undivided half interest in the grant to General Andrew Jackson, and the presumption is that the original purchase was made both for Jackson and himself. General Jackson at different times sold three-eighths of his one-half interest, and the title finally settled down thus : Judge Overton one half ; William Winchester one-eighth; General Jackson one-eighth, and General James Winchester one-fourth, one-half his own property, and the other half as trustee for a deceased broth- er. Later General Jackson sold his remaining one-eighth to John C. McLemore, who married a niece of Mrs. Jackson.' The town was laid off into lots with streets, parks and pub- 454 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History lie squares, in the early part of 1819, but the sale of lots was not very encouraging. The owners were liberal and far- seeing in the parts set aside for public use, comfort and pleasure. On April 20th, 1829, the following proceedings were had in the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Shelby County : PETITION FOR DIVISION. "To the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, for the County of Shelby, in the State of Tennessee, sitting at their April Session, 1829 : "We, the undersigned, respectfully represent to your Worships that we hold different undivided interests in sun- dry unsold lots in the town of Memphis, and in a tract of twelve hundred acres. We pray the Court to appoint the lawful number of Commissioners to divide the said town lots, and the said land, between us agreeably to a plat of the same that will be exhibited to the Commissioners by our agents, according to law, our respective interests in said property being as follows, viz : John Overton owns one-half ; John McLemore owns one-eighth ; the heirs of Geeral James Winchester own one-fourth; and the devisees of Wm. Winchester, of Baltimore, own one-eighth ; and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, etc. April 20th, 1829. (Signed) JOHN OVERTON. JOHN C. McLEMORE. By their attorney in fact, Wm. Lawrence. GEORGE' WINCHESTER. WILLIAM WINCHESTER. By their attorney in fact, M. B. Winchester. On Monday, 20th July, 1829, the Commissioners, who had been appointed by the Court to divide and set apart the interest of the respective owners in severalty, having re- ported, and their report having been ratified by the Court, the Court decreed that John Overton owned a one-half in- terest; John McLemore one-eighth interest; William Win- chester, and George Winchester, as the devisees of William Winchester, deceased, one-eighth interest, and the estate of General James Winchester two-eighths. It was the eastern part of the 5,000 acres of the Rice Grant that was laid off into lots; and the town was named "Memphis" by General James Winchester. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 455 In the ''Portfolio," published in Philadelphia, 1820, there is a well written advertisement of the prospects- of the new town, and every feature that could attract purchasers and settlers was very persuasively set forth. The authorship of this advertisement is attributed to General Jackson. Memphis was incorporated in 1826, but the election for municipal officers did not occur until 1827, in which year the original charter was amended by the legislature. The corporate year of the new municipality began in March, 1827, and Marcus B. Winchester was the first mayor. Mayor Winchester was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, and educated in Maryland. He entered the army in 1812, serving on his father's staff, and was taken and held a pris- oner in Quebec for nearly a year. Later on, he served with his father at New Orleans; and finally, in 1815, came to Memphis and entered into business with A. B. Carr, and the firm became the rival in business of Isaac Rawlings, w r ho succeeded Winchester as Mayor of Memphis, after the latter had served two years in that position. Mayor Win- chester is credited with having made a good mayor, and he seems to have had the unlimited confidence of everybody. He served in the army with the rank of Major. Curiously enough, he contracted the first miscegenation marriage, and, as far as history shows, the last, ever in Tennessee. The facts in this strange episode in Mayor Winchester's life are related by James D. Davis in his "Early History of Mem- phis," published in 1873, at which time Davis was one of the oldest citizens of Memphis, and could write of men and events connected with the founding of Memphis and its early days, from personal knowledge. Davis tells the story as follows : "Col. Thomas H. Ben- ton, who afterward distinguished himself as the veteran United States Senator from Missouri, and who commanded a regiment under Jackson at New Orleans, brought with him on his return a beautiful French quadroon girl, with whom he lived some two or three years, when, in view, per- haps, of his future greatness, he concluded to turn her adrift and get married. He did so but not without providing liber- ally for her, giving her property and money, which was placed in Winchester's hands for safe-keeping. This brought those attractive persons together, and the conse- 456 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History quence was a great error, but Winchester could not think of remedying it in the way Benton had done. He concluded to pursue the opposite course, and therefore took "Mary" to Louisiana, w T here the laws permitted intermarriage of the races, and there formally married her. If Winchester thought that this act would modify the asperity of popular feeling against him, he was greatly mistaken, for it in- creased in virulency tenfold. . . . Poor Mary tried, by acts of charity, liberal donations to religious purposes, ex- emplary and unobtrusive deportment and all other conceiv- able means, to allay the intense hatred, but it only had the effect to increase, if possible, its vindictiveness." Davis first published this statement of Mayor Winches- ter's marriage in the Memphis Appeal, in 1873, and that paper in the same issue made the following comment : "In another place we publish an inimitable story, writ- ten by one of the oldest citizens of Memphis. The narrative is distinguished by its naive simplicity and truthfulness. It tells of facts which every old citizen was cognizant, and of prejudices that lost their force long before Major Win- chester died. He came here before a social system existed, and when people's prejudices against Creoles were incorri- gible. It was in 1851 or '52 that Major Winchester, for the last time, appeared before the people. A staunch Demo- crat, he defeated for the Legislature in this county, in which the Whig party was dominant, a gentleman as courtly and polished and as worthy a citizen as himself. This compet- itor of Major Winchester was Col. John Pope. There was never a member of any community more esteemed while he lived, or more honored At his death, than Major Marcus B. Winchester, the most graceful, courtly, elegant gentleman that ever appeared upon Main Street, and the 'dress pro- claimed the man.' " The Tennessee Legislature of 1822, in all probability in consequence of this marriage, passed an act prohibiting such alliances in these w r ords : "The intermarriage of white persons with negroes, mu- lattoes, or persons with mixed blood descended from a negro to the third generation, inclusive, or their living together as man and wife in this State, is hereby prohibited." At the time of Mayor Winchester's marriage, such an alliance was permissible at New Orleans, and there was no statute in Tennessee against it, and nothing in the State's Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 45 7 Constitution of 1796, nor in the Constitution of 1834, but the State's third Constitution, that of 1870, contained a pro- vision in the exact words of the statute of 1822. There is no evidence that John Rice, the first owner of the site of Memphis, ever visited the Chickasaw Bluffs, but Col. J. M. Keating, for many years editor of the Memphis Appeal, in his great and authoritative History of Memphis, says that it is more than likely that he did, as he was a trader who perhaps made trips to Natchez, as Andrew Jack- son and General Wilkinson did, a few years later. While there were others interested in the proposed town, John Overton is really due the credit for making Memphis a city, and but for him the town that had such a struggle for existence for a number of reasons, would have probably dis- appeared from the map of the State. The faith of John Overton never wavered, and there is no evidence that any one of the original purchasers of the site ever got discouraged or pulled back. This was a faith that could move mountains ; it was a faith that actually did build, ultimately, a great city. That imagination was limit- less that could at that day look forward and see located upon the Chickasaw Bluffs a city of wealth and splendor. J. J. Rawlings, a relative of Mayor Isaac Rawlings, says : "Memphis had a hard struggle for its existence that but few of its present population know of; for years after the first attempt of its'people to make a town, it was antagonized by several neighboring villages which thought their chances for becoming a city much superior. Randolph, a town five miles above, on the Mississippi River, was its main rival, and it succeeded in getting largely the advantage of Mem- phis in trade. Randolph was backed by a large portion of our own county. The settlement on Big Creek, the most populous and w r ealthy settlement in Shelby County, did most of its business with Randolph for several years ; in fact, the people of that section of the county had stronger induce- ments for trading at Randolph than at Memphis. They were equally as near Randolph, and had better roads, unob- structed by small unbridged streams. W T hen they came to Memphis they had to come by water. They came down Big Creek and Wolf River in boats, canoes, skiffs, and small flat boats, loaded in a supply sufficient for five or six months, and carried it back in boats. Randolph began to boast of 458 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History the advantages it had obtained over Memphis in a business way, and threatened to wipe her off of the map of Tennes- see ; it really thought its chances for a town were much supe- rior to those of Memphis, and that Memphis would finally go down." But Randolph was not the only rival of Memphis ; there was Fort Pickering and South Memphis, but they were all finally annexed or wiped out. Memphis had in 1819 a population of 53; in 1827, 500; and in 1830, 663 ; the United States Census shows that Shel- by County had in 1820 a population of 364 ; in 1830, 5,648 ; and in 1840, 14,721. . The first bank organized in Memphis was the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank, chartered in 1833, of which Mayor M. W. Winchester was one of its early Presidents. The first epidemic of yellow fever was in 1828. The first cotton planted in Tennessee was by Col. John Donelson who, in 1780, planted a half acre on his farm on Stone's River. The first steamboat that ever went by Memphis on the Mississippi River w T as the steamer "New Orleans," built at Pittsburg, 116 feet long, 20 feet wide, and the engine a 34- inch cylinder, and the boiler of adequate proportions. This steamer was the first boat to carry cotton on the Mississippi, which was loaded at Natchez on the maiden trip of the ves- sel, and shipped to New Orleans. But, while Overton and Jackson hacl bought the Rice Grant and were thus the owners of the site of the City of Memphis, the Chickasaw Indians were to be reckoned with, who claimed title to all that part of Tennessee between the Tennessee River and the Mississippi, one of the richest por- tions of the globe for agricultural purposes. It is curious that the Chickasaws did not occupy this fertile section, al- though they claimed title to it, but they used it only as a hunting ground. Ramsey in his "Annals of Tennessee," says : "Vague and uncertain claims to several portions of the territory were asserted by as many several tribes, but no part of the present Tennessee was held by the actual and permanent occupancy of the Indians, except that section embraced by the segment of a circle of which the Tennessee River is the periphery, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 459 from the point where it intersects the North Carolina line to that where this stream enters the State of Alabama. This was settled by the Cherokees. All of Tennessee, beside this, was uninhabited, though a portion of it was claimed or occu- pied as hunting grounds by the Shawnees, Chickasaws, Choc- taws, and the Cherokees." But whether the claim of the Chickasaws was valid or not, they made it and had made it long before Memphis was founded, and in order that their claim might be wiped out in a manner that would leave no question, President James Monroe commissioned General Jackson and Isaac Shelby, Governor of Kentucky, to negotiate a treaty with the Chick- asaws for the extinguishment of their title to all of the lands claimed by them in Tennessee and Kentucky w r est of the Ten- nessee River. General Jackson had just returned from Flor- ida, and on October 30, 1818, he wrote to Judge Campbell that he was "so weak as to be unable to hold a pen for some time after my arrival at the treaty ground. We arrived here on the 29th, and found everything wrong; an agent unac- quainted with the Indians, the geography of the country, or even what were the wishes of the government, and not one-half of the Nation notified of the place of meeting." De- lay was had in order to collect the Indians together. Finally the negotiations began, and naturally offers and counter- offers were made and considered, but finally an agreement was reached by which the Chickasaws were to receive $20,- 000.00 in cash each year for fifteen years; also, some spe- cific sums to certain individuals, and some reservations to certain members of the Chickasaws, and some annual sums to the chiefs of the tribe. The treaty was signed October 19, 1818. In 1833 the Chickasaws sold all of their remain- ing land in Mississippi, 6,422,400 acres, for $3,646,000.00. After the cession of their lands, under the guidance of gov- ernment agents, they removed to the Indian Territory. In January, 1819, the cession of West Tennessee by the Chickasaws was ratified by Congress. Shelby County was organized on May 1st, 1820, and at that time embraced what is now known as Fayette and Tip- ton Counties. Russell Bean, the first white born in Tennes- see, was elected Patrolman of the County, and he disappears from history from that time forward. 460 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History This generation of readers knows a great deal about Andrew Jackson, and something about John Overton, but practically nothing about the Winchesters, who were among the original owners of Memphis, and John C. McLe- more, who bought Andrew Jackson's remaining one-eighth interest. General James Winchester was a Revolutionary soldier and an officer in the War of 1812. He was born in Carroll County, Maryland, February, 1752, and entered the army in 1776. He rendered valiant service in the Revolutionary War, and was taken prisoner, and exchanged after a year's confinement in an English prison ship. He rendered service and was present at a number of the most important battles of the Revolutionary War, and at the surrender of Corn- wallis. After the close of the Revolutionary War, he settled in Sumner County, Middle Tennessee, and was elected Speak- er of the first Senate of the State. In 1812, he entered the service of his country again, as a Brigadier-General, and joined Andrew Jackson, who was then in command at Mo- bile, only a short time before the Battle of New Orleans, in which battle he fought, and after which he resigned his com- mission and went to his farm in Sumner County, where he died, July 26, 1826. It was through General James Winches- ter that William and George Winchester, his brothers, pro- cured their interests in the original site of Memphis from Andrew Jackson. Our interest in John C. McLemore is accentuated by rea- son of the fact that he was a nephew, by marriage, of An- drew Jackson, having married a niece of Mrs. Jackson. John C. McLemore was born in North Carolina, and came to Nash- ville in 1806. He was a land surveyor by profession, and a life-long friend, supporter, and adviser of Andrew Jackson. His wife was a daughter of Col. John Donelson; he died in 1864, leaving behind him the record of a long, honorable and useful life. The limits of this book confine us to matters during the life of Andrew Jackson, who died in 1845, up to which time the history of Memphis was the history of every other small pioneer town, emphasized, however, in its early days by a citizenship that included a good many bad men, such as are Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History. 461 to be expected in every river town in pioneer days. Mem- phis had her full share of troubles of this kind, but finally conquered her outlaws. This sketch of Memphis, therefore, is necessarily a sketch of its pioneer days, but would not be complete did we not say something about ''Old Ike" Rawlings, one of the strong- est and most virile characters in the history of the State. There were three business houses in Memphis at that early date, Winchester and Carr, Henderson and Fern, and Isaac Rawlings, and the rivalry was intense between Isaac Rawl- ings, "Old Ike," and Winchester and Carr, Winchester being Marcus R. Winchester, the first Mayor of Memphis, one time postmaster and president of the first bank organized in the city. Phelan, who was a member of Congress from the Memphis District, and published his "History of Tennes- see" in 1888, pays "Old Ike" this tribute: "This singular and almost grotesque figure made one of the best mayors w T ho ever presided over Memphis, from M. R. Winchester to D. P. Hatton. He was long known as the model mayor. Rawlings was vain, stubborn, self-willed, im- perious, impatient of contradiction, conservative to a fault. But he was also honest, clear-minded, law-abiding, deter- mined to be obeyed, and economical ; he took the duties of his position in earnest, and rigorously enforced the law, pre- served order, looked after the disbursement of the public funds with scrupulous care and was remarkably energetic." He was elected mayor of Memphis three times, and was a candidate to represent Shelby County in the Constitutional Convention of 1834, but was defeated, as he w r as a Whig. He was carried in an easy chair to cast his vote for Harrison and Tyler, and when the news came that they were elected he said, "Now, I can die happy," and died soon thereafter. Davis, in his "Early History of Memphis," says: "To say that Isaac Rawlings made a good mayor would be but an indifferent compliment; he superintended all of the work, and paid out the money as though it was coming from his own pocket." And this is probably the greatest tribute that Davis could have paid him. In this good year of 1917, every intelligent American knows that it is in municipal govern- ment that the people of the United States have proven them- selves a failure. Our Federal Government is the wonderful 462 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History success of all ages ; our State governments have been con- ducted, as a rule, wisely and fairly economically ; our county governments are controlled largely by farmers who have evinced conservatism in the handling of public money under their control; but it is in the city governments where the most corrupt and audacious influences and conduct have been exhibited, and which have loaded American municipalities down with hundreds of millions of bonded debts that they will never pay while time lasts. The worst exhibition of American character has been in the government of cities. Fraud, graft, thieving, double-dealing, trickery, every spe- cies of dishonesty, treachery and perjury, are all exhibited in municipal government, American cities are accustomed to get probably fifty to seventy-five per cent, in actual value for the money that they spend. Municipal officers do not treat public money with anything even approximating the care in its expenditure that they treat their own. It may be that human nature is built that way and that they cannot help it, but we hope not. And so it is that when Davis says that "Old Ike" Rawlings paid out the money of the strug- gling municipality of Memphis as if it were his own, he puts "Old Ike" on an elevation upon which very few public offi- cials in America deserve to stand. If, by recalling "Old Ike's" record, the author can incite any public official what- ever to more conscientious handling of public money, he will feel that by this one service alone this book has not been written in vain. As something of a counterpart of "Old Ike," the oppor- tunity is here afforded to say that Colonel John S. VanGil- der, who was elected Mayor of the City of Knoxville three times, and held that office in 1870, 1871, and 1872, deserved the same great tribute paid by Davis to "Old Ike." Colonel VanGilder, while he was mayor, handled and paid out the money of the City of Knoxville and otherwise conserved the city's interests with the same care and business efficiency that he did his own, which in a long, active, business life in Knoxville, achieved for him the highest standing as a bank- er, public official, business man and gentleman. Virtues like those of "Old Ike" are rare at this day, and his crowning virtue of official fidelity and perfect honor, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 463 make a great object lesson for the City of Memphis. Mem- phis would honor itself, and confer valuable instruction upon its voting population, and instill a grand lesson into the minds of its school children, if its citizenship, in some prom- inent place in the city, would erect a monument to "Old Ike" and inscribe upon it words indicating that official honor and integrity were the guides of his life, and that his record was one the modern city was proud of, and wanted its citi- zens to emulate and follow. Abstract moral lessons are all well enough ; academic teaching of official honesty and in- tegrity amount to something; but the way by which man- kind is most deeply impressed with the beauty and nobility of correct principles is by seeing them carried out in the life of some citizen who has held public position. We re- peat, Memphis would honor itself and elevate its citizenship by making "Old Ike" the exemplar of personal and official fidelity in the city's public affairs. A like hint might be given to the City of Knoxville, the metropolis of East Tennessee, and the strong, great charac- ter of John S. VanGilder might be held up to this and all other generations of Knoxville citizens as a type of man worthy of being cited as an example to the municipality. Knoxville's record, here and there, has been marked with things John S. VanGilder never would have done or toler- ated in others. He is a shining example of fidelity to the city in the spending of its money, as also, of those old-fash- ioned virtues which constitute the foundation of human character: integrity, lack of dissimulation, truth, candor, kindliness and a regard for the rights of others. Colonel VanGilder was an old-fashioned man who narrowly missed being a great man, which was in substance the same tribute paid by the New York World to Mayor Gaynor of New York at the time of his death. Colonel VanGilder exem- plified his old-fashioned virtues in all of his actions as mayor of Knoxville; and, as in the case of Memphis and "Old Ike," if the citizens of Knoxville, irrespective of politics, class, wealth or color, would erect a monument to John S. Van- Gilder as a typical representative of the virtues that a mayor ought to possess, they would do themselves an honor, and would inaugurate a current of thought upon the sub- 464 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ject of official fidelity that would work out vastly to the bene- fit of the municipality. Davis tells a story that will interest and appeal to mill- ions of American people in reference to Abraham Lincoln. He says that in the summer of 1831, an up-bound steamer on the Mississippi River stopped at Wappanocha, on the opposite side of the river from Memphis, to replenish its stock of wood. A young man who was a passenger left the steamer and went ashore. He asked Colonel Furgason, a surveyor, for work, saying that he had been to New Orleans on a flat boat, and while returning had the misfortune to be robbed of all his money. Colonel Furgason gave him a job of cutting cord wood, at which he worked until he had a sum that was sufficient to carry him back to Illinois, where his home was. During this period he was an inmate of the Colonel's house. It was just thirty years later that the young man who cut the cord wood was elected President of the United States. It is hardly necessary to point the moral of the story. It is simple and patent and of immense power. American life sometimes leads from the flat-boat to the Presidency; at other times it leads, as in the case of Aaron Burr, from the Vice-Presidency to going down to death in poverty in New York City. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 465 CHAPTER XXIX. SAM HOUSTON— CHRONOLOGY 1793 March 2 — Born Rockbridge County, Virginia. 1806 His father died, leaving a widow, six sons and three daughters. 1806 (Probably) Came with his mother and family to Blount County, Tennessee. 1813 Enlisted 39th Regiment Tennessee Regulars. 1814 Joined, with his regiment, Jackson's Army in the Creek Campaign. 1814 August 27th — Fought under Jackson at the Battle of the Horseshoe, and was wounded three times — once with an arrow, in the thigh, and twice with balls in the shoulder. 1814 Returned to his mother's home to recover from wounds. 1815 Made First Lieutenant, 1st Regiment in the regular army. 1817 Assigned to Adjutant-General's office in Nashville. 1817 Appointed Sub-agent to the Cherokees under Gen- eral Return J. Meigs. 1818 May 18th — Resigned his position as First Lieutenant in the Army. 1818 Began studying law at Nashville. 1818 Admitted to the bar and opened an office at Lebanon, Tennessee. 1819 Appointed Adjutant-General of Tennessee. 1819 Elected Prosecuting Attorney for Davidson County, Tennessee, when he removed to Nashville. 1821 Elected Major-General Tennessee Militia. 1823 Elected a Member of Congress from the Ninth Ten- nessee District. 1825 Elected to Congress for a second term. 1827 Elected Governor of Tennessee by a majority of 12,000 over New T ton Cannon and Willie Blount. 466 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 1829 January — Married Miss Eliza Allen of Sumner County. 1829 April 16 — Resigned as Governor. 1830 Accompanied delegation of Cherokees to Washing- ton. 1832 Had personal difficulty with Congressman Stans- 'berry of Ohio. 1832 December 10th— Entered Texas. 1834 Elected Commander-in-Chief of the Provisional Army of Texas. 1836 February — The Massacre at the Alamo. 1836 Re-elected Commander-in-Chief. 1836 Massacre at Goliad. 1836 April 21st— Battle of San Jacinto. 1836 September 1st — Elected first President of the Repub- lic of Texas. 1840 May 9th— Married to Miss Margaret Moffette Lea. 1841 Elected a second time President of the Republic of Texas. 1845 October 14 — Texas became a part of the United States. 1846 Elected to the United States Senate. 1853 Elected second term to United States Senate. 1859 Elected Governor of Texas. 1861 Resigned as Governor of Texas. 1862 July 26th — Died, aged seventy years. General Sam Houston. From oil painting in the State Capitol, Austin, Texas. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 467 CHAPTER XXX. SAM HOUSTON. Sam Houston was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, March 2, 1793, and was of Scotch-Irish descent. His father, Samuel Houston, saw service in the Revolutionary War in General Daniel Morgan's brigade, and at the close of the Revolution was appointed Major and Assistant Inspector General of frontier troops. He died in 1806, leaving a widow with six sons and three daughters. Samuel Houston was a man of large frame and fine presence, like his son, the hero of San Jacinto. Sam Houston's mother was of large physique and great strength of character. Nothing .could possibly illustrate her character better than that after her husband's death, and when Sam Houston was thirteen years of age, she de- termined to sell out her land in Virginia, and to cross the Alleghany Mountains and settle in Blount County, Tennes- see, which at that time was the furthermost outpost of civ- ilization and on the dividing line between the territory of the red and the white man. At this time, with all of the modern facilities of travel, it is hard to conceive of a woman in 1806, with nine children, undertaking a journey of two hundred miles through the wilderness from Rockbridge County, Virginia, to Blount County, Tennessee. The mod- ern reader could desire nothing better than a detailed state- ment of that wonderful woman's journey and how she ac- complished it. Sam Houston must have inherited enough of his unlimited capacity for hardships from his mother alone, to say nothing of his father, whose great passion was military life, and who did his part in the American War for Independence. After diligent search we have been unable to find the date that Mrs. Houston started from Rockbridge County, Virginia, or when she arrived in Blount County, Tennessee ; nor can we find why she selected the spot for a home at what is now called Brick Mill in Blount County, 468 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History some eight miles from Maryville, the county seat; but here she settled, and the usual frontier cabin home was built and the family proceeded to enter upon the customary round of frontier life. We would like very much to know what the inducement was to Mrs. Houston to come to Blount County from Virginia, and above everything, we would like to see a picture of the woman who undertook that journey and successfully accomplished it, and who gave Sam Houston to the world. Before leaving Virginia Sam Houston received the simple rudiments of education, and he is credited with, by some means, securng a copy of Pope's translation of the Iliad, which appealed to his imagination and excited that spirit of adventure in him which was so great. There were events in Houston's own life which equaled those of Homer's Iliad. The Little Tennessee River was the dividing line between the white settlers and the Cherokees, and, following the bent of his nature for adventure, Houston left his family and the work of clerking in a country store, to which he had been put, and took up his abode with the Cherokees, and became a favorite with the chief, John Jolly. Here he was found by his family after a search and implored to go home, which he refused to do, and remained with the Cherokees. He acquired the Cherokee language, and wore their dress, and in his habits of life was an Indian. He is credited with having made the reply when his family found him, and tried to persuade him to return home, that he preferred measuring deer tracks to measuring tape, and that they might leave him where he was ; and he remained with the Cherokees un- til he was eighteen years old. From time to time he would return to the white settlements for things that he needed and then go back to his Indian life. He got into debt and, seeing no way to pay out, he returned to Maryville, the county seat of Blount County, where he had clerked in the store, and opened a school. It would not be difficult to con- clude that Sam Houston's school would not be of a very high standard, nor that the range of studies would not be very wide ; but he seems to have been remarkably successful, and that, too, in spite of the fact that he raised the price of tui- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 469 tion from six to eight dollars per year, one-third payable in corn, one-third in cash, and one-third in cotton goods, such as his hunting shirts were made of. The school paid his debts, and when that was done he quit teaching, and himself attended for a period the Academy at Maryville. MRS. THOMAS J. WALLACE. Mrs. Thomas J. Wallace, of Franklin, Tennessee, whose paternal grandfather was General William Wallace, an officer in the Revolutionary War, and maternal grandfather Frederick S. Heiskell, elsewhere referred to in this book ,as the founder of the Knoxville Register in 1815, wrote and read in 1913 a paper on Sam Houston, before the Tennessee Historical Society at Nashville, and also before Old Glory Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, at Frank- lin, of which she is a member. Mrs. Wallace never saw Sam Houston, but she writes from information obtained directly from her father, Judge Jesse G. Wallace, who was well acquainted with him, and therefore, what she says can be taken as absolutely authen- tic, as from a first-hand witness. I quote a part of Mrs. Wallace's paper: "In Maryville was located an Academy, afterwards called the South-Western Theological Seminary, and later on changed to Maryville College ; and so it was only a step from civilization to the heart of a Cherokee band. My grandfather, General William Wallace, was one of the Di- rectors of this institution, and also its Treasurer for a num- ber of years. He married one of the widow Houston's daughters, Mary Houston, who first married my great-uncle, Matthew Wallace, and after his death she married my grandfather. My father, who was the late Judge Jesse G. Wallace, of Franklin, Tennessee, always called her 'Aunt Polly,' as, by marriage, she was first his aunt, and then his stepmother. "At the time of my father's death he had in his posses- sion a letter which Governor Houston wrote to my grand- father thanking him, in tones of tenderest affection, for the great devotion that had been given his sister. "Although no Houston blood ran in my father's veins, there were few people who could have given as accurately as he the early part of Sam Houston's career. It was his custom to make marginal notes upon any incorrect histor- 470 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ical statement he read concerning Houston. One thing that is often quoted and generally believed my father always said was not true, that is, that Sam Houston was adopted by an Indian. "As I have shown, the mountains were in easy reach of the Houston home, and as Sam possessed a roaming dis- position,' and an iron constitution, with wonderful skill in whatever he undertook, what more natural than that he should spend much time in the pursuit of those sports so dear to his heart? "He was adored by the Indians in general, and by one chief in particular, who offered to adopt him, and called him 'Coloneh,' the Wanderer, which seems prophetic of Hous- ton's erratic future. From start to finish, the Indians ap- pealed to Sam Houston to such a degree that it might more correctly be said that he adopted the Indians. The Hous- tons had a store in Maryville in which they endeavored to interest their brother Sam, but he, a-thirst for adventure, found 'measuring tape too tame' for him ; he said he 'pre- ferred measuring deer tracks.' "My father was as fluent in their vernacular as was Houston, himself. I can remember the salutations: 'Ocee, Senolli' — 'Howdy-do, White-Man,' 'Ocee Cherokee' — 'How- dy-do, Cherokee ;' and that my mother once gave a friendly squaw a bonnet to get rid of her, when she was begging for my baby sister. "So it was ill this vicinity that Sam Houston grew up — tall and handsome, shrewd and sagacious, witty and win- ning. While his character was not altogether symmetrical, it was strong and magnetic, and he was absolutely without petty vices. His faults were on as broad and generous a plan as his virtues; he did his own thinking, and whatever he pretended to be, that thing he was. "With sinews like iron, he whipped his man if necessary, disdaining a quarrel, and was afraid of nothing. His repu- tation for bravery was so well established that he could refuse to fight a duel without being called a coward. He fought one on Kentucky soil with General White in which both escaped with their lives, but ever afterwards, he num- bered and filed them, telling Number 14 he must await his turn. "Before leaving Virginia Houston had learned to read and write, and he received further schooling at the Mary- ville Academy, when Dr. Isaac Anderson was president of the school. Dr. Isaac Anderson said that often 'I had de- termined to whip Sam Houston, but he would come up with such a pretty dish of excuses that I could not do it.' Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 47 1 "In 1813 he enlisted in the army, and in the Battle of the Horseshoe in Alabama he received some severe wounds, and also won the notice of General Jackson by his bravery. At the close of day he was left for dead on the battlefield. My great-uncle, John Wallace, who had enlisted with him, fell by his side, mortally wounded. But here the tough fiber of Sam Houston's constitution asserted itself; although he was never the same, physically, as before, he managed to pull through a number of years and tough places after- wards with apparent ease. "I have heard my father tell of an incident in this con- nection which happened when Houston was President of Texas, and had come back on a visit to Maryville, Tennes- see. While surrounded by admiring friends and relatives grown confidential over reminiscences, one presumed to make some unfavorable comment upon his first wife's treat- ment of him. Raising himself from a sofa, the old warrior, with flashing eyes, roared : 'Whoever dares to say a word against Eliza shall pay for it.' "On May 9, 1840, a marriage license was issued to 'Samuel Houston, of Texas, and Margaret Moffette Lea, of Marion, Alabama.' The record is signed by J. M. Nave, Clerk of the County Court of Perry. Houston was nothing if not romantic, so there is quite a spice of romance attend- ing this marriage also. Professor Burleson, President of the Baptist Female Seminary at Waco, Texas, tells of his accompanying the hero of Jacinto, when he came to New Orleans for expert medical treatment of a wound received on this famous battlefield. The news of the President's — General Houston's — coming had been spread, and as his steamboat came up to her moorings a great throng had col- lected to do him homage. A bevy of school girls were there to welcome him. Among them was the beautiful Margaret Lea, who had been sent from Marion, Alabama, to New Orleans, to finish her education. As the crowd surged about Houston, Marion Lea said : " 'I am going to catch the old hero, see if I don't,' and she made good her boast. "Of course she was introduced, and her flattering words repeated. Houston was forty-seven years old, and very susceptible to a young girl's notice. Thus the acquaintance- ship, begun that day in New Orleans, resulted in that May wedding in the Lea home, in Marion, Alabama. The old home stands today as a type of ante-bellum grandeur, for the Leas were of the flower of Southern families. Pro- fessor Burleson, along with many others, came with the General from Texas to attend the wedding. 472 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "Mrs. Sample, now eighty years old (1913), who formerly lived in Huntsville, recently said she had often vis- ited the General's daughters. His restless spirit must have shown itself even in his devotional exercises, as Mrs. Sample says that as 'Houston sat in church he carved most beauti- ful little baskets and trinkets from cherry and peach stones' — many of them he had given to her. "There is no doubt that this marriage was a very happy one. Several bright children were born. One son, Temple Houston, was a writer of note. A daughter had consider- able literary ability, and once w T rote for one of our Nash- ville papers under a nom de plume. "When I was a young girl, one of the daughters visited my aunt, Mrs. Temple Bicknell, who lived in Columbia, Ten- nessee, and was much admired and toasted." HOUSTON'S ENLISTMENT IN THE ARMY. The United States began taking enlistments for the war of 1812, and Houston began the life of a soldier in defense of his country. The writers of his history differ as to where he enlisted, some putting it at Maryville, Tennessee, and others at Kingston, Tennessee, which was then known as Southwest Point, but the clear and absolute statement of Colonel Willoughby Williams ought to settle the question. Colonel Williams was born in 1798 and published some remi- niscences beginning with the year 1809, which form a very valuable contribution to early Tennessee history. He was living in Nashville in 1880 with mind and memory unim- paired by age, at the time Nashville celebrated the one hun- dredth anniversary of its being founded. He was a most intimate personal friend of Houston, and they knew each other at Kingston from the time that Williams was thirteen and Houston eighteen years of age. Colonel Williams gave a very interesting sketch of Sam Houston, w T ith details such as no one else among all those w T ho have written of Hous- ton's early history, has ever been able to give ; and coming from an authoritative source such as Colonel Williams, it may be accepted as authentic upon every point. He says: "My earliest recollections of General Houston date back to 1811, at Kingston, Roane County, Tennessee. He was a clerk at the time in the store of Mr. Sheffy. My mother in her widowhood was living about three miles from Kingston. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 473 I was thirteen years of age, and Mr. Houston was five years my senior. The line of the Cherokee country was about three miles south of Kingston, the Holston River being the boundary. The Indian trade being much valued, his serv- ices were highly appreciated from the fact that he spoke with fluency the Cherokee language. He was especially kind to me, and much of my time was spent in his company. He remained in the capacity of clerk until after the declara- tion of the War of 1812. At that time the United States were recruiting troops at Kingston for the war. Lieuten- ant William Arnold of the 39th regiment of regulars was sent to Kingston on recruiting service. The whole popula- tion had got the war fever and intense interest prevailed. "The manner of enlisting at that day was to parade the streets with drum and fife, with the sergeant in command. Silver dollars were placed on the head of the drum and as a token of enlistment the volunteer stepped up and took a dollar, which was his bounty; he was then forthwith marched to the barracks and uniformed. The late Robert H. McEwen, of Nashville, cousin of General Houston, and myself, w r ere standing together on the street and saw Hous- ton take his dollar from the drum and enlist as a private in the year 1813. He was taken immediately to the barracks, dressed as a soldier, and appointed the same day as a sar- geant. Soon after this, Lieutenant Arnold received thirty- nine soldiers, and was ordered to send them forth to join the troops marching to the Creek war under the command of Colonel John Williams who commanded this regiment of regulars in person at the battle of the Horseshoe, and after- wards became a distinguished Senator in Congress from Tennessee. Soon after Houston left Kingston his friends applied to President Madison for his promotion, who com- missioned him an ensign. The commission was promptly sent and reached him before the battle of the Horseshoe. "At that battle he mounted the Indian defenses with col- ors in hand, and was wounded by a barbed arrow in the thigh. A soldier whom he ordered to extract it by main force made several ineffectual efforts, and only succeeded after a threat by Houston to kill him unless he pulled it out. He was carried back suffering intensely from the wound which was much lacerated. His indomitable will led him immediately back into the fight when he was soon wounded by two balls in his right shoulder: His intrepid spirit dis- played upon this occasion won for him the lasting regard of General Jackson. Disabled from further service, he was sent back to Kingston with the sick and wounded. Robert H. McEwen and myself met him some distance from Kings- 474 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ton on a litter supported by two horses. He was greatly emaciated, suffering at the same time from wounds and the measles. We took him to the house of his relative, 'Squire John McEwen, brother of R. H. McEwen, where he re- mained for some time, and from thence he went to the house of his mother in Blount County. After this battle he received the appointment ' of Lieutenant for his gal- lantry. After the restoration of peace he w y as appointed sub-Agent of the Cherokee Nation, under Return J. Meigs, who was Agent, the agency being on the bank of the Hiwassee, near where the railroad between Knoxville and Chattanooga crosses, the spot where the remains of Gov- ernor McMinn and Return J. Meigs lie buried, both having been agents of the Indian nation." The Creek War came on, and the massacre by the Indians at Fort Mims, Alabama, occurred August 10th, 1813, and this was followed by the defeat of the Indians by General Jackson at Talladega and Taluschatchee, but neither of these defeats crushed the Indian nation, and General Jackson de- termined to wage an exterminating campaign, and to make a final assault on the Creeks at the Horseshoe. The Horse- shoe "is so called because of the circular bend which the Tallapoosa River makes, and thereby encloses about one hundred acres of land in a circular peninsula. About seven hundred Indians had taken a stand at the Horseshoe, and built strong, heavy breast-works across the neck of the pe- ninsula. These breast-works consisted of pine logs set up- right in the ground, and constituted a very formidable pro- tection to the Indians on the inside, especially as Jackson had no guns except two small field pieces, the calibre of which was so light that they made no impression on the pine logs. It was necessary, therefore, that the breast- works should be scaled by a dangerous charge of Jackson's soldiers, and the risk taken of their being shot down while going over the breast-works by the Indians on the inside. Jackson got to the Horseshoe on August 27, 1814, and began operations in the forenoon with fire from his four- and six-pounder cannon, which was without effect. When the Indians saw that their breast-works were proof against the cannon, they yelled and whooped with contempt at the asault made upon them, and replied through portholes in the logs. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 475 General John Coffee, who was the Murat of Jackson's army and a great military character by nature and instinct, went two miles down the Tallapoosa below the Horseshoe, and crossed and came back opposite the Indian fortifica- tions. But he had no means of recrossing that point, until some friendly Indians who were in his ranks swam to the other side of the river where the Creeks had tied their ca- noes to the banks, and brought a number of the canoes to General Coffee; and by these canoes he transported a part of his force across the river ; and the Indians, not expecting assault upon the river side, had left no protecting force there. Coffee's men began to burn the wigwams and houses, and soon the roll of smoke and the sight of the blaze warned the Creeks that they were assaulted from the rear also; and the roll of the smoke and the sight of the blaze was also notice to Jackson that Coffee was across the stream; and then came the assault of Jackson's men by leaping over the breastworks. Sam Houston was one of the first to mount to the top of the breastworks, and there received a barbed arrow in his thigh. He sprang down to the inside with the men who had followed, and drove the Indians back from the palisade, and began a hand-to-hand battle with the Creeks. Houston called upon a lieutenant to pull the arrow out, which he twice attempted to do, and failed, and upon demanding that he try a third time, the lieutenant succeeded in extracting the arrow, but it left a bad and bloody wound. Recrossing the breastworks in order to have the blood staunched, he was seen by Jackson, who ordered him to the rear, but he did not remain there ; as soon as he could, with- out being seen by Jackson, he returned to the combat on the inside of the breastworks. The Creeks fought with all the fury of despair, and never in all their history did the Red man in America, whether in combats with the French, the English, the Americans or the Spaniards, so show the utter fearlessness of his nature. The Creeks were outnumbered nearly three to one, and Jackson's men were the better armed, the Creeks fighting both with guns and with bows and arrows, but this made no difference. They ran up no white flag. They asked no quarter. They never for a moment ceased to fight, and 476 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History the combat finally became a mere slaughter, until the greater part of the entire Creek force lay upon the ground, either dead or wounded, except a small band who had taken refuge in a ravine bordering on the river, which was covered over with logs, and which was impregnable to assault except from the river front. The fight had continued into the afternoon, beginning at about ten o'clock in the morning, and extended over the hundred acre enclosure. In order to exterminate the Creeks in the ravine, and complete his victory, Jackson called for volunteers to make an assault upon the ravine, and Houston, wounded as he was, came forward, and called upon his men to follow him, but none came. It was then that he received two musket shots in his shoulder, which rendered his upper right arm helpless, and which compelled him to retire. Jackson succeeded in getting the logs across the ravine on fire, and the warriors were shot down, as they escaped from the flames. We cannot understand just why, in his report of the battle, Jackson made no mention of the heroic conduct of Sam Houston. Military history bristles in all nations with acts of supreme heroism, and in the course of ages millions of men have died, a willing sacrifice in battle; men have walked into the very jaws of death without a tremor; but when Sam Houston volunteered to lead the assault upon the ravine, and no one followed him, and he was shot twice by gun fire, he rendered himself in the military history of Tennessee eligible to the fame of the immortals. His cour- age when he leaped to the top of the breastworks and re- ceived the arrow in the thigh was of the same desperate character. We could wish that Jackson's report had car- ried with it Houston's name. After the battle was over he was given up, as being beyond help, but lived through the night, and on the next day was conveyed by horse litter to Fort Williams, and from there was taken to Ten Islands, and General Dougherty, who led the East Tennessee troops in the fight, had him conveyed by horse litter the hundreds of miles through the wilderness that had to be crossed before his mother's cabin in Blount County was reached. It took two months to get to her cabin door, and she said she would not have recognized him except by his eyes. He was next Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 477 removed to Knoxville for medical treatment, where his re- covery was slow. His next movement, even in his weakened condition, was to start on horseback to Washington. He finally returned to Knoxville, after the Battle of New Orleans ; and was ap- pointed Lieutenant, and assigned to the First Regiment of Infantry, and went to New Orleans. He was unfit for active military duty, and was assigned to the Adjutant General's office in Nashville, where he worked until November, 1817, about which time he was appointed sub-agent i^ider Gen- eral Return J. Meigs to handle the matters of the Chero- kees. His former life with that tribe made him very useful to the Government, and his duties led him finally to the City of Washington, with some Cherokees, on matters connected with the boundaries of their reservations. Houston was dressed in the garb of an Indian when he appeared before John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, who took exceptions to his manner of dress. Charges had been preferred against Houston, connected with his duties with the Indians ; but he, in his turn, took exception to the investigation put afloat by the Secretary of War, and resigned from the army in 1818, where he had served for five years. Naturally high- strung, impatient, bold, and fearless, it is probable that Cal- houn's rebuke to Houston would not have been sufficient to cause a man of less fiery temper to resign from the army, but Houston was a fiery man, and with it all, independent, self-reliant, and honorable in his conduct. Thomas H. Benton paid him this tribute in the United States Senate: "Houston was appointed an ensign in the army of the United States during the late war with Great Britain, and served in the Creek campaign under the banner of Jackson. I was the Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment to which he belonged, and the first field officer to whom he reported. I then marked in him the same soldierly and gentlemanly qualities which have since distinguished his eventful career ; frank, generous and brave, ready to do or suffer -whatever the obligations of civil or military duty imposed, and always prompt to answer the call of honor, patriotism or friend- ship." 478 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Houston's next move was to study law, whch he did for six months in Nashville, and was admitted to the bar, and settled at Lebanon, Tennessee, where he was very kindly treated by Isaac Golladay, the postmaster, and an echo of his life at Lebanon is found in a statement of a son of Isaac Gol- laday, found in Williams' "Sam Houston and the War of Independence in Texas:" "I was traveling in Texas in 1853. Arrived at the town of Huntsville, Walker County, on Sunday at about eleven o'clock. TJhe good people of the town and the vicinity were passing on to the church as I rode up to the hotel. I was very sick ; had a high fever on me when I dismounted. I told the landlord I was very sick and wanted a room; he assigned me a room and was very kind in his attentions. I took a bed immediately, and while talking to him, asked him in what -part of the State General Houston lived. He re- plied, 'He lives about one and a half miles from town, and his family and he have just passed, going to church in their carriage.' To this I said, 'Please keep on the lookout, and when he returns from church let him know that a Golladay of Tennessee is lying sick here.' After the church hour was over, say twelve or one o'clock, a large, portly, elegant- looking man came walking into my room and to my bedside. I knew from the description that I had had of him, that it was General Houston, although I had never seen him. I called him by name. He asked me if I was the son of his old friend, Isaac Golladay, of Lebanon, Tennessee. I replied I was. He then asked me which one. I told him I was Frederick. He said he knew my elder brothers, but he had left Lebanon before I was born, but added, 'If you are the son of Isaac Golladay I recognize you as the son of an old and true friend. I went to Lebanon, where your father re- sided, a poor young man ; your father furnished me an office for the practice of law ; credited me in his store for clothes ; let me have the letters, which then cost twenty-five cents postage, from the office of which he was postmaster ; invited me to his house, and recommended me to all the good people of his large general acquaintance.' He then said, 'You must go out to'my house. I will come in my carriage for you in the evening.' I replied with thanks that I was too sick to go, but he insisted on coming for me the next morn- ing, to which I consented. Early the next morning he came for me ; being better, I went out to his house with him. He placed me in a room in his yard, saying that Mrs. H. was confined to her room with an infant at that time. My fever rose and kept me confined. He sent for a physician. I Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 479 was sick there for about ten days or two weeks. He made a servant-man stay and sleep in the office with me, to wait on me all the while, but would often come and see me, and spend much of his time with me. One night, especially, while I was sick, the doctor had left orders for my medicine to be given me during the night, and my feet bathed with warm water. He stayed all night with me. He had the vessel of warm water brought, pulled off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, to wash my feet. I objected, the servant being present. He replied, 'My Master washed His disciples' feet, and I would follow His glorious example,' and insisted that he should do so. During the time which he 'spent with me in my sick room, he gave me much of his early history." On entering upon his profession in Tennessee, Houston naturally became a strong supporter of Andrew Jackson, and so continued to the end of his life. In the city of Houston, Texas, lives Franklin Williams, a grandson of Sam Houston, whose testimony € as to the life- long friendship between Andrew Jackson and his grand- father, will interest every one who admires those two great men, and hence is reproduced a letter of Mr. Williams to the author : "Houston, Texas, June 26, 1917. "Dear Sir: "I beg to acknowledge receipt of the pamphlet descrip- tive of the 'Hermitage' for which accept my sincere thanks. It is indeed interesting, and I shall prize it highly. I am always interested in anything that has to do with Andrew Jackson, for my grandfather, General Houston, loved him above all men. "When stricken with his last illness, General Jackson sent to Texas for General Houston, asking that he come to him, and Houston made the arduous journey over-land, arriving at the Hermitage the day after his (Jackson's) death. Among my most prized possessions, I have several letters from Jackson to Houston (in his own handwriting) which show the close bond of friendship existing between them. "I hope that the day is not far distant when I will have the pleasure of visiting this home of one of America's great- est men. I never see a picture of Andrew Jackson but I think of those lines of Shakespeare, 'See, what a grace was seated on this brow : Hyperion's curls ; the front of Jove himself ; An eye like Mars to threaten and command ; 480 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History A station like the herald Mercury, New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill, A combination and a form indeed, Where every god did seem to set his seal, To give the world assurance of a man.' "Again thanking you for your kind thoughtfulness, I beg to remain, Yours very trulv, "FRANKLIN WILLIAMS." In 1819 Houston was appointed Adjutant General of the State of Tennessee, and in the same year was elected Prose- cuting Attorney for Davidson County. In 1821 he was elected Major-General of the Tennessee militia, and in 1823 was elected to Congress, and served two terms, or four years. It was 'during his Congressional life that he fought a duel with General William White, just across the Tennessee line, in Kentucky, on September 23, 1826. The cause lead- ing up to the duel w y as the appointment of Colonel Irwin as postmaster at Nashville, Tennessee, which Houston objected to, and Colonel Irwin's cause was taken up by General White, which led to the duel. Houston was untouched, and General White was dangerously shot through the side, but finally recovered. This was the only duel that Houston ever fought, though he received other challenges. We wonder why, in that day, when the duel was the recognized method of settling per- sonal differences, that he did not lose caste and be branded as a coward, but he never did. Houston's next promotion in the politics of Tennessee, was in 1827, when he was elected Governor. He was a can- didate for a second term, w T hen the citizens of Tennessee were astounded to learn that he had resigned as Governor on April 16, 1829, and was going to leave the State. This event constitutes the dividing line in Houston's life, and was fraught wth momentous consequences to him. The cause of it is simple enough, when the character of Houston is really understood. Houston had married Miss Eliza Allen, of Sumner County, who was about seventeen years younger than he, and it is practically certain that -it was not a marriage of Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee; History 481 affection on Miss Allen's part, but one of ambition, furthered by her parents, as he was then Governor of Tennessee. Houston said about the separation : "Eliza stands acquitted by me. I have received her as a virtuous, chaste wife, and as such, I pray God, I may ever regard her, and I trust I ever shall. She was cold to me, and I thought, did not love me." Houston's superlative vanity was wounded to the quick. The proof is conclusive that there was nothing wrong be- tween him and his wife, except that it was not a marriage of affection on Mrs. Houston's part. Neither of them ever made a charge against the other ; no criticism escaped their lips; and for this dignified and becoming silence, the gen- erations that have succeeded them accord them both pro- found respect. The separation produced immense excitement in Nash- ville and Tennessee, and Houston was bitterly denounced, especially by his political enemies, and he left the State, and went to his old friends, the Cherokee Indians in Arkansas, where Chief John Jolly still lived, the head of the tribe, and who received the ex-Governor of Tennessee with cor- diality and hospitality. There Houston made his home for from two to three years, and until, with an understanding with General Jackson, he went to Texas, which was then on the verge of a revolution against Mexico, and there enlisted in the cause of Texan independence. Shortly after Houston resigned as Governor he received a very sympathetic letter from Andrew Jackson, a part of which is here given : ANDREW JACKSON TO SAM HOUSTON. "My affliction was great, and as much as I could well bear, when I parted from you on the 18th of January last. I then viewed you as on the brink of happiness and rejoiced. About to be united in marriage to a beautiful young lady, of accomplished manners, and of respectable connections, and of your own selection — you, the Governor of the State and holding the affections of the people — these were your prospects when I shook you by the hands and bade you fare- well ! You can well judge my astonishment and grief in receiving a letter from you dated at Little Rock A. T. con- 482 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History veying the sad intelligence that you were then a private cit- izen, an exile from your country. What reverse of for- tune! How unstable are human affairs!" It is difficult, this far removed from the time of Governor Houston's separation from his wife, to understand how the public became so interested in the matter as to take so prom- inent, passionate, and denunciatory a part in it. The supposition is that Houston's political and personal enemies thought they saw an opportunity to crush him, and took full advantage of it. At any rate, it did crush him, politically, in Tennessee. But he lived to fulfill a destiny which, in its unlimited benefactions .upon the American people, was little, if any, short of the grand service rendered America by Andrew Jackson himself. So that we, of our day, can look with a very tolerant eye upon Governor Hous- ton's separation from his wife ; and it will not be very diffi- cult for the student of history to conclude that the cause of the separation was that the marriage was not one of affec- tion on the part of Mrs. Houston; that Governor Houston found this out about three months after the marriage, and with that monumental vanity he always exhibited, he was wounded to the quick, and in a fit of desperation resolved to throw to the winds the success and eminence he had achieved, and go back to a life of nature among the Chero- kees. On March 31st, 1832, Congressman William Stansberry, of Ohio, in a speech on the floor of the House of Represent- atives, reflected upon Houston in connection with a proposed contract for Indian rations, and Houston excepted to the language of the Congressman, and addressed him a note, asking if his speech had been correctly reported. To this Stansberry replied that he did not recognize the right of Houston to put such a question to him. Houston at once declared his intention to whip Stansberry on sight, of which threat Stansberry was duly informed, and armed himself with a pistol for an expected attack. Houston carried noth- ing except a hickory cane, and the encounter took place on April 13, on the street in Washington, when neither party was expecting it right at the time. As they came together Houston asked him if his name was Stansberry. On being Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 483 told that he was, Houston replied, "You are a damn rascal," and struck him with the stick, knocked him down, and beat him severely. As Stansberry lay on the ground, he pulled the pistol and snapped it at Houston, but it did not go off, whereupon Houston stopped beating him, and walked off. Stansberry addressed a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, stating that he had been beaten by Gov- ernor Houston for words used in a debate, and the Speaker laid the information before the House of Representatives, and a resolution was passed that the Seargent-at-Arms bring Houston before the House. James K. Polk, then a member of Congress, and other of Jackson's friends, opposed this resolution, but proposed that a Committee of Inquiry be first appointed to get at the facts of the case; but the resolution passed by a majority of more than five to one, and Houston was arrested and brought before the House for trial. He was allowed time to procure counsel and wit- nesses, and Francis Scott Key became his counsel. Of course the matter took an intensely political turn, and Hous- ton had to face not only the opposition itself arising out of the fight with Stansberry, but also the hostility to General Jackson and his administration. The trial dragged along for a month and finally resulted that he be reprimanded by the Speaker, which the Speaker executed by a little prelimi- nary speech, in which the reason for the reprimand was stated, and he executed the command of the House in these words : "In obedience to the command of the House I reprimand you accordingly." President Jackson warmly backed up Houston, and, as usual, spoke his mind in a very plain way. He said : "After a few more examples of the same kind members of Congress would learn to keep a civil tongue in their heads." But Stansberry and his friends and Jackson's enemies did not let the matter drop with a reprimand. Houston had been a member of Congress, and all ex-Congressmen are entitled to the privileges of the floor, and a motion was made that Houston be denied this privilage, but was defeated 484 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History by a vote of ninety to one hundred and five. A Committee was appointed, and Congressman Stansberry was a member of it, to investigate whether there was any fraud upon Hous- ton's part in connection with the contract with the Indians, and Houston was duly acquitted. The next step against him was the prosecution in the Courts for the assault, and he was convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of five hundred dollars, which President Jack- son took very little time to remit, and that ended the suit. Houston lost no friends by the assault on Stansberry for the reason that Stansberry's charge on the floor of the House was without basis in fact. Houston was guilty of no fraud connected with the contract, and at that day personal combat was a very common, not to say usual, way to decide difficulties. Houston was only armed with a hickory stick and Stansberry had a pistol, and Houston whipped him, and the sympathy of the day was with Houston. This brings up a very frequently disputed question whether there is any justification for the rule that a member of Congress shall not be held responsible for slanderous statements made in the course of debate. Congressmen are politicians, and pol- iticians are not always truthful or honest, and the average citizen on the outside fails to see any real, substantial reason why a Congressman shall be permitted to slander a citizen in the course of debate, and not be taken to task for it in any way whatever. It would seem that there is very con- siderable weight in the view of the average citizen. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 485 CHAPTER XXXI. JACKSON, HOUSTON AND TEXAS. Houston entered Texas December 10th, 1832, and that entry was big with events not only for himself, but for Texas and the people of the United States. He w T ent there to take part in the Texas Revolution, with the advice and consent of Andrew Jackson, and these two had in mind at that early date the annexation of the empire of Texas to the American Union — Texas with its 268,684 miles of ter- ritory, and with resources since exhibited by actual devel- opment, almost beyond computation. It is doubtless true that it was in the minds of many men that sooner or later Texas might become a part of the United States. The white settlers in it were mostly from the South, and many of them from Tennessee, and they were generally in sympa- thy with General Jackson and his administration. In look- ing about over the highways and byways of history, we are led to inquire whether two men ever did as much for their country as Jackson and Houston did for the United States in leading the movement to add Texas to the American Un- ion. While it is true that Jackson has all the name and fame that his great achievements demand, history has not done Sam Houston justice; and one of the objects of intro- ducing his life into this book with Jackson, is to show that Houston's achievement in Texas was phenomenally great, and that whatever one may think of his weaknesses, like his vanity and his drinking, in spite of these, he is entitled to be ranked among the great men of America ; and that, in actual results achieved, which are beyond historical ques- tion, he deserves to rank as one of the great benefactors of the American people. He was the liberator of Texas, and has always been so regarded by that .great State. There are spots on the sun, but that great luminary is still the source of light; there are spots on Houston, but he is still a great man. We were never able to see the justice or logic of minimizing and discounting a great man's achievements 486 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History on account of some personal fault or mistake or weakness. The proper estimate of a man who is great in spite of blun- ders, faults and weaknesses is, that he is the greater be- cause he rises superior to such drawbacks and accom- plishes great things. During the Civil War between the States it was currently understood that Ulysses S. Grant, who led the Union forces, was accustomed to get drunk, yet, in one of the greatest contests the world ever saw, Grant led his forces to ultimate victory. It is the simple truth to say that every man mankind is accustomed to call great, had his weak points, his traits that were subject to criti- cism ; but the world, with both justice and logic, has not permitted great deeds to be entirely overshadowed by de- fects of character or mistakes of judgment, however far its appreciation of merits may fall short of what is legiti- mately due. Houston has failed to receive his due, but in this latter day he is gradually coming into his own, and profoundly convinced as we are that his achievement in bringing about the independence of Texas and its annexa- tion is one of the great events in the history of America, let us hope that this contribution to his fame will be only one of many that will finally place him as a patriot and a public benefactor little, if any, below Andrew Jackson, him- self. Texas, at that time, had a population of white people estimated at about twenty thousand, and the State was a Mexican province, and treated by the Mexicans as such. Stephen F. Austin was called by Houston "The Father of Texas," and he deserved the honor, because of his con- tinued efforts in introducing white population into the State. It is undoubtedly true that the Texas of that date contained many refugees of the criminal classes from the United States, but it also contained sturdy, strong, law-abiding pio- neers, in whom hospitality was born, and kindness between man and man an impulse of the heart. Like all pioneers, their life was simple and devoid of luxuries. They lived in a large measure on venison, bear meat and other game, and instead of a mill, ground their corn in a hollowed log. They traveled into Texas on horseback, and came with ox teams for a thousand miles. It sounds strange in our ears at this Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 487 time that a man would start to Texas when the rate of travel was so slow that he would lay over and raise a crop of corn, and, with that as a means of support, resume his journey. In physical health, strength and courage, they were among the best types of manhood. They belonged to the Daniel Boone class, and were like early settlers of Ten- nessee, who came upon the Watauga and the Cumberland, and there laid the foundation of the future Volunteer State. Alfred M. Williams, who wrote a Life of Houston, gives the Reverend C. N. Morrell as authority for the statement that Houston had expressed a purpose to one Deacon Mc- intosh of Nashville, as early as 1830, of his intention to establish a "two-horse republic" in Texas, and to be its first President. There was evidently an idea among the settlers that a conflict would come between them and Mexico sooner or later, and in 1832 at a meeting it was proposed to invite General Sam Houston or General William Carroll of Ten- nessee to take the lead in any movement that might arise. That Houston went to Texas with authority from Presi- dent Jackson to make treaties with the Comanche and other Indians is beyond question. And it is equally beyond ques- tion that there was an understanding between him and Gen- eral Jackson that he was to examine into, and to report to Jackson the conditions prevailing, and the feeling of the pioneers in reference to seceding from Mexico, and becom- ing annexed to the United States. He carried with him a passport. Alfred M. Williams tells a story that is worth repeating in reference to Houston's journey into Texas, which we quote : "There are various stories told of the incidents of Hous- ton's departure from the Indian Territory and journey to Texas. One, told by Major Elias Rector, known in the Southwest as 'The Fine Arkansas Gentleman,' is that Hous- ton, Major Arnold Harris, and himself, traveled together through southeastern Arkansas. Houston was mounted on a little Indian pony very disproportionate to his stature. The constant subject of Houston's conversation was the ignoble appearance he would make on such an animal, and he earnestly appealed to Harris to exchange his fine large horse for it. Said he — 488 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History " 'This d — d bob-tailed pony is a disgrace. He is con- tinually fighting the flies, and has no means of protecting himself, and his kicks and contortions render his rider ridic- ulous. I shall be the laughter of all Mexico. I require a steed with his natural weapon, a flowing tail, that he may defend himself against his enemies as his master has done. Harris, you must trade.' "The terms of the exchange were finally made, and Houston recovered his dignity and good humor as the pos- sessor of the broom-tailed mare. When they came to part, Rector took a razor from his saddlebags and presented it to Houston. Houston said — " 'Major Rector, this is apparently a gift of little value, but it is an inestimable testimony of the friendship which has lasted many years, and proved steadfast under the blasts of calumny and injustice. Good-by. God bless you. When next you see this razor, it shall be shaving the President of a Republic' " As stated, Houston entered Texas on December 10, 1832, and on February 13, 1833, he addressed a letter to General Jackson which is a document of the highest importance, and should be read by every one interested in the life of either Houston or Jackson. In two months and three days after he put his foot on Texas soil he was reporting to the President of the United States the conditions which he went there to investigate. LETTER OF HOUSTON TO GENERAL JACKSON. "Natchitoches, La., February 13, 1833. "General Jackson : "Dear Sir, — Having been as far as Bexar, in the prov- ince of Texas, where I had an interview with the Comanche Indians, I am in possession of some information, which will doubtless be interesting to you, and may be calculated to forward your views, if you should entertain any, touching the acquisition of Texas by the United States government. That such a measure is desired by nineteen twentieths of the population of the province, I cannot doubt. They are now without laws to govern or protect them. Mexico is involved in civil war. The Federal Constitution has never been in operation. The Government is essentially despotic and must be so for years to come. The rulers have not hon- esty and the people have not intelligence. The people of Texas are determined to form a State government and sep- arate from Coahuila, and unless Mexico is soon restored to Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 489 order, and the constitution revived and re-enacted, the prov- ince of Texas will remain separate from the Confederacy of Mexico. She has already beaten and repelled all the troops of Mexico from her soil, nor will she permit them to return. Her want of money, taken in connection with the course which Texas must and will adopt, will render the transfer of Texas to some power inevitable, and, if the United States does not press for it, England will most assuredly obtain it by some means. Now is a very important crisis for Texas. As relates to her future prosperity and safety, as well as the relations which it is to bear to the United States, it is now in the most favorable attitude, perhaps, which it can be, to obtain it on fair terms. England is pressing her suit for it, but its citizens will resist, if any transfer is made of them to any power but the United States. I have traveled nearly five hundred miles across Texas, and am now enabled to judge pretty correctly of the soil and resources of the country, and have no hesitancy in pronouncing it the finest country, for its extent, upon the globe ; for the greater por- tion of it is richer and more healthy than West Tennessee. There can be no doubt that the country east of the River Grand of the North, would sustain a population of ten mill- ions of souls. My opinion is that Texas, by her members in Convention, will, by the 1st of April, declare all that country as Texas proper, and form a State Constitution. I expect to be present at the Convention, and will apprise you of the course adopted, as soon as the members have taken final action. It is probable that I may make Texas my abiding place. In adopting this course / will never for- get the country of my birth. I will notify from this point the Commissioners of the Indians at Fort Gibson of my suc- cess, which will reach you through the War Department. I have, with much pride and inexpressible satisfaction, seen your proclamation, touching the nullifiers of the South and their 'peaceful remedies.' God grant that you may save the Union! It does seem to me that it is reserved for you, and you alone, to render to millions so great a blessing. I hear all voices commend your course, even in Texas, where is felt the greatest interest for the preservation of the Repub- lic. Permit me to tender you my sincere thanks, felicita- tions, and most earnest solicitation for your health and happiness, and your future glory, connected with the pros- perity of the Union. 'Your friend and obedient servant, "SAM HOUSTON." It is unnecessary in this ketch of Houston's life to give the details of the war of independence in Texas. It is suffi- 490 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History cient to say that events leading up to the war succeeded each other rapidly, and that the demand by the Mexicans upon the town of Gonzales for a six-pounder cannon which the town had, and the refusal to give it up, constituted the first overt act in a course of events which resulted in making Texas a free and independent State. The Mexicans deter- mined to take the cannon by force. Both parties drew up for battle, but the six-pounder was used by the Texans and the Mexicans fled, and this started the Revolution. Meet- ings were held in various parts of Texas; committees were organized ; men were gotten together ; armies were pro- vided; and Sam Houston was elected Commander-in-Chief and at once began organizing his force. Stephen F. Aus- tin made an appeal to all the citizens of Texas to join in the movement. The Battle of Concepcion soon followed, where the number of Mexican troops was estimated at four hun- dred, of whom, sixty-seven were killed, and forty wounded. Combats of varying degrees of importance and varying fa- tality on the respective sides, went on from time to time, with the general result that the marksmanship of the Tex- ans with their rifles was so superior to that of the Mexicans, that the smaller number of the Texans was thereby made up and compensated for, and this marksmanship was what finally won the independence of Texas. On November 7, 1824, at a meeting of delegates to form a provisional government, a report was adopted provision- ally declaring the independence of Texas from Mexico, and a constitution for the provisional government was adopted November 13th, 1824. Sam Houston was elected Com- mander-in-Chief of the Army under its provisional govern- ment. As events proceeded, disorganization and conflict be- tween officials entered, and affairs were in a bad way, and Santa Anna, the leader of the Mexicans seeing this, natu- rally began to consolidate his forces in Mexico, and to start in on the work of crushing all opposition to Mexican author- ities in Texas. A band of Texans had taken possession of the Alamo, a mission church which had been founded by the Franciscan Friars. The walls of this church were of stone, and five feet thick. The garrison at the Alamo was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel William Barrett Travis, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 49 1 who was a lawyer by profession, and a native of North Carolina. The garrison consisted of one hundred and forty- five men and had fourteen pieces of artillery. Colonel Travis, not foreseeing the direful fortune that was in store for him and his men, had failed to lay in a supply of corn, and, altogether, he had less than one hundred bushels. Ranking next to Travis was Colonel James Bowie, from whom the Bowie knife takes its name. Colonel Bowie was a native of Georgia, and at one time fought a duel on a sand bar in the Missippi River where he was shot down, but drew his knife and slew his assailant. Santa Anna, with a force of men many times larger than the force in the Alamo, erected batteries, and trained them on the rock walls of the church. Ammunition, like pro- visions, with the Texans, was very limited in quantity, and but for this it is probable that the Alamo could have held out and the slaughter of its inmates prevented. Colonel Travis among the heroes of history ranks with Leonidas at Thermopyle. The Greek has no advantage of the Texan in the hall of historical fame. Each gave all that he had for the cause he was fighting for — each gave his life. Colonel Travis sent out an appeal for help which has the ring of a clarion call. All Americans should read it : "TO THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS AND ALL AMERICANS IN THE WORLD." "Commandancv of the Alamo, "Bexar, February 24, 1836. "Fellow-Citizens and Patriots: "I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continued bombard- ment for twenty-four hours and have not lost a man. The enemy have demanded a surrender at discretion ; otherwise the garrison is to be put to the sword if the place is taken. I have answered the summons with a cannon shot, and our 'flag still waves proudly from the walls. / shall never sur- render or retreat. Then I call on you in the name of liberty, of patriotism, and of everything dear to the American char- acter, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy are receiving reinforcements daily, and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. Though this call may be neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as 492 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History long as possible, and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country. Vic- tory or death ! W. Barrett Travis, "Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding. "P. S. The Lord is on our side. When the army ap- peared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses eighty or ninety bushels, and got into the walls twenty or thirty beeves." This appeal is among the State archives of Texas in the Capitol at Austin. Getting no response and no help, on the 3rd of March Colonel Travis made his last appeal for assistance : COLONEL TRAVIS' LAST APPEAL. "I am still here, and in fine spirits and well-to-do. With 145 men, I have held the place against a force variously esti- mated from between 1,500 to 6,000, and I shall continue to hold it until I get relief from my countrymen, or I will per- ish in its defense. We have had a shower of bombs and can- non balls continually falling among us the whole time; yet none of us have fallen. We have been miraculously pre- served. . . . Again, I feel confident that the determined spirit and desperate courage heretofore exhibited by my men will not fail them in the last struggle, and, although they may be sacrificed to the vengeance of a Gothic enemy; the victory will cost that enemy so dear it will be worse than a defeat A blood-red flag waves from the church of Bexar and in the camp above us, in token that the war is one of vengeance agaist rebels These threats have had no influence upon my men but to make all fight with des- peration, and with that high-souled courage which charac- terizes the patriot who is willing to die in defense of his country; liberty and his honor; God and Texas; victory or death !" On Sunday morning, March 6th, Santa Anna began what was to be a final and successful assault upon the Alamo. He had twenty-five hundred men who were supplied not only with guns and ammunition, but with axes and every facility for making an entrance into a fortified place, like the Alamo Church. The Mexicans made the assault by storm, and gained an entrance, after which their work was soon over. It became a contest of clubbed rifles and bowie knives. Colonel Travis and David Crockett fell. Colonel Travis Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 493 was shot while in the act of firing his pistols. The battle was over at an early hour in the morning, and Santa Anna ordered that the bodies of the dead Texans be gathered to- gether, piled with wood and dry brush and burned, and the bones were left unburiecl. Later on, the bones were col- lected together, placed in a coffin, and buried with military honors. The loss of the Mexicans is uncertain, but has been placed as high as five hundred. No one was spared by the Mexicans except Mrs. Alsbury. Mrs. Dickenson and her child, a negro servant of Colonel Travis and a Mexican woman. Five men who had hidden themselves and wert discovered, were brought into the presence of Santa Anna, who ordered their execution, and it was carried out. On March 1st, 1835, a convention was called of the citi- zens of Texas to consider total separation from Mexico, and on March 2, 1835, a Declaration of Independence was adopted and set out the charges made by the people of Texas against Mexico. It said "The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now decrees our eternal political separation. "We, therefore, the delegates, with plenary powers of the people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appeal- ing to a candid world for the necessities of our condition, do hereby resolve and declare that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended, and that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, sovereign, and in- dependent Republic, and are fully invested with all the rights and attributes which properly belong to independent nations ; and, conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue to the Su- preme Arbiter of the destinies of nations." Sam Houston was re-elected Commander-in-Chief of the army, and D. G. Burnett was elected President of the pro- visional government of the new Republic. Unspeakable as was Santa Anna's conduct in having ex- ecuted the five men found in hiding at the Alamo, after all their companions had been killed, and infamous as was the Mexican character there exhibited, there was worse to come, at Goliad, where Colonel Fannin was in command of the forces in the town. After bloody fighting for a period long enough for scores of men to be killed, Colonel Fannin and his men realized that they would not be able to hold the town. 494 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History There were about forty of the men who were disabled, but their comrades refused to abandon them, and continued their defense. Finally, conditions were such as to make a sur- render necessary, if safe terms could be secured from the Mexican commander. Accordingly a surrender was made, and the terms agreed upon by wiiich the Texans were to be treated as prisoners, according to the usages of surrendered prisoners in war; but the terms of a capitulation did not bind the conscience of the Mexican commander, and all of the prisoners were executed, and thus there was added the butchery of Goliad to the butchery of the Alamo. Three hundred and twenty men were massacred by the Mexicans. But the time was near at hand when Mexican power in Texas was to be a thing of the past, and when the butcheries of the Texans were to be avenged at San Jacinto, and Texas declared an independent Republic. The engagement commonly called the Battle of San Ja- cinto can hardly be called a battle at all ; it was more of a butchery by the Texans of the Mexican army. The general- ship of Houston had been a masterly retreat until he found conditions for a successful battle just as he wanted them, and these conditions combined to his satisfaction at San Jacinto, and here he decided to fight. In order that there might be no opportunity for either army to retreat, Houston ordered the bridge leading to the battle-field to be cut down by Deaf Smith, one of his soldiers from New York, who was one of the most fearless and gallant men in his army. After the bridge was destroyed, Deaf Smith, under instruc- tions, rode along the line of the army, loudly announcing: "You must fight for your lives — Vince's bridge has been cut down." Of course, the army knew that this meant a fight to the death, and they accepted it as such. April 21st, 1836, was the day of the battle. Houston had seven hundred and forty-three men, and the Mexicans about fourteen hundred, of whom six hundred and thirty were killed and more than two hundred wounded, and the rest taken prisoner. Large quantities of booty were taken, consisting of Mexican sabres, pistols, and small arms, besides several hundred horses and mules, and other military equipment. Twelve thousand dollars in silver was Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 495 also taken, which was distributed among the soldiers of the army, Houston refusing to take any part of it, whatever. Santa Anna was taken while attempting to escape in dis- guise, and was brought into the presence of Houston, who held him as a prisoner. The modern reader will wonder why Houston did not order the immediate execution of Santa Anna when he was captured, and every instinct of human nature demands that this should have been done. There is only one reason given by Houston that could justify him in allowing the monster to still cumber the ground, and that was that the execution of Santa Anna would lead to the execution by the Mexicans of every person in their possession taken from the Texan forces. Houston, himself, was shot in the ankle, and incapaci- tated for further service, and in taking his leave of his army he addressed them this message : GENERAL HOUSTON TO HIS ARMY. "Headquarters, San Jacinto, May 5, 1836. "Comrades : — Circumstances connected with the battle of the 21st render our separation for the present unavoid- able. I need not express to you the many painful sensa- tions which that separation inflicts upon me. I am solaced, however, by the hope that we shall soon be reunited in the cause of liberty. Brigadier-General Rusk is appointed to command the army for the present. I confide in his valor, his patriotism, his wisdom. His conduct in the battle of San Jacinto was sufficient to secure your confidence and regard. "The enemy, although retreating, are still within the limits of Texas; their situation being known to you, you cannot be taken by.surprse. Discipline and subordination wll render you invincible. Your, valor and heroism have proved you unrivaled. Let not contempt for the enemy throw you off your guard. Vigilance is the first duty of the soldier, and glory the proudest reward of his toils. "You have patiently endured privations, hardships, and difficulties unappalled ; you have encountered two to one of the enemy against you, and borne yourselves in the onset and conflict of battle in a manner unknown in the annals of modern warfare. While an enemy to independence remains in Texas your w T ork is incomplete ; but when liberty is firmly established by your patience and your valor, it will be fame enough to say, 'I was a member of the army of San Jacinto.' 495 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "In taking leave of my brave comrades in arms, I cannot suppress the expression of that pride which I so justly feel in having had the honor to command them in person, nor Mill I withold the tribute of my warmest admiration and gratitude for the promptness with which my orders were executed, and union maintained through the army. At parting my heart embraces you with gratitude and affection. "SAM HOUSTON, Commander-in-Chief." Political controversy followed Sam Houston all of his life, and afterwards, when he became a candidate for offi- cial position, the charge was made against him of cowardice, and that he fought the battle of San Jacinto because his men demanded that he fight, that they would get another commander if he did not. The modern reader will decide that this charge is without foundation in fact, and, in his mind, the destruction of Vince's Bridge will settle that ques- tion. If Houston was a coward, it is impossible to imagine him ordering Deaf Smith to destroy that bridge, the destruc- tion of which meant that one army or the other w r ould be wiped off the map of Texas. It was a fight of annihilation of one force or the other. Cowardly men do not make those kinds of movements. Houston was finally taken to New Orleans for medical treatment and his recovery was slow. The next turn of events in Texas was the proclamation issued by Provisional President Burnett on the 23rd of July, 1836, for an election to be held September 1st, for a Presi- dent and Congress, by which Texas was to become perma- nently independent. Sam Houston was a candidate for President and received 4,374 votes, Henry Smith 745 votes, and Stephen G. Austin, 587 votes. Mirabeau B. Lamar was elected Vice President. The voters were practically unani- mous in favor of annexation to the United States. Congress met October 3, 1836, and President Houston assumed his office October 22, 1836, and so he who had liberated Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto, became the first President of the new permanent Republic. This new Republic knocked several times at the doors of the United States before it was admitted into the Union. Its admission took a political turn, connected with the ques- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 497 tion of slavery. It was very evident that Texas would be- come a great cotton-growing State, and, out of its territory it was possible to carve four or five States. The anti-slavery sentiment in the United States fought its admission, and it was delayed until October 14, 1845, when the "Lone Star State" ceased to be the Republic of Texas. Under the constitution of the Republic of Texas, the President could not hold two terms in succession, so that when Houston's first term expired, Mirabeau B. Lamar was elected President and served one term. Lamar assumed the office December 8, 1838. At the expiration of Lamar's term, Houston w r as again a candidate for President, and received 7,415 votes, and David G. Burnett, 3,616 votes, so Houston for the second time assumed the office on December 16, 1841. Houston's second wife, whom he married May 9th, 1840, was Miss Margaret Moffette Lea, of Marion, Alabama, as stated in Mrs. Wallace's paper. He was then forty-seven years of age, and Miss Lea, twenty-one. This young lady accomplished that which many women set out to accomplish when they marry, namely, to reform a husband. In the course of time her influence was strong enough to cause Houston to abandon the habits of drinking and swearing to which he had been addicted all of his life. A remarkable thing, one that the reader will wonder at, is that Houston's management of the finances of the Repub- lic of Texas during his two terms as President were highly successful, and exhibited a capacity that no one, prior to his presidential terms, would have suspected him of pos- sessing. He developed into a safe, strong, able, far-sighted and clear-headed financier in the handling of the "Republic's monetary affairs, and this, too, when he never cared for money on his own personal account, and died a poor man, with only a little home to leave to his wife and children. During his long and successful career, if he had been dis- posed to be corrupt, he had opportunities to acquire wealth. His death in practical poverty is one of the greatest tributes to his great character, and this, with his perfect personal and official integrity, will be a substantial influence toward 493 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History leading history to place him among the great men of Amer- ica. Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk were the first Sen- ators from the new State of Texas in the Congress of the United States, and Houston was sworn in as a Senator March 30, 1846, and at the end of his term he was re-elected in January, 1853. The agitation leading up to the war between the States began to manifest itself, and became a political issue in all State elections. Houston took the Union side of the controversy in Texas, and became a candidate for Governor, and was elected in 1859, receiving 36,257 votes, and his com- petitor, Runnels, 27,500 votes, and he was inaugurated as Governor on December 21, 1859. But the sentiment of Texas was in favor of seceding from the Union, and al- though in sentiment Houston was opposed to secession, he, like scores of the most prominent men in the South, who, opposed to secession, but holding their obligations to th^ir States paramount, Houston announced that he would go with Texas ; one of his sons became a soldier in the Confed- erate Army, and Houston ceased his opposition to the seces- sion movement. He resigned the office of Governor on March 21, 1861, and died on July 26th, 1863, age seventy years, at his home in Huntsville, Texas, and he was there buried. His will was dated April 2, 1863. The Legislature of Texas paid Mrs. Houston the sum of $1,700.00, the salary that he would have received, had he filled out his term of Governor. TEXAS — AN UNDIVIDED UNIT. The Honorable Joseph W. Bailey was a member of Con- gress from the Gainesville District in Texas for ten years, following which he was a United States Senator from Texas for twelve years. In January, 1906, he delivered a speech in the Senate upon the subject of "Texas — An Undivided Unit," and the following paragraphs from it may be taken as the sentiment of the people of Texas. "But, Mr. President, while from her proud eminence to- day Texas looks upon a future as bright with promise as Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 499 ever beckoned a people to follow where fate and fortune lead, it is not so much the promise of the future as it is the memory of the glorious past which appeals to her against division. She could partition her fertile valleys and broad prairies, she could apportion her thriving towns and grow- ing cities, she could distribute her splendid population and wonderful resources, but she could not divide the fadeless glories of those days that are past and gone. To which of her daughters, Sir, could she assign, without irreparable in- justice to all the others, the priceless inheritance of the Ala- mo, Goliad, and San Jacinto? To which could she bequeath the fame of Houston, Austin, Fannin, Bowie and Crockett? Sir, the fame of these men, and their less illustrious but not less worthy comrades, cannot be severed. Their names are written upon the tablets of her grateful memory so that all time shall not efface them. The story of their mighty deeds, which rescued Texas from the condition of a despised and oppressed Mexican province and made her a free and inde- pendent Republic, still rouses the blood of her men like the sound of a trumpet, and we would not forfeit the right to repeat it to our children for many additional seats in this august assembly. "The world has never seen a sublimer courage or a more unselfish patriotism than that which illuminates almost every page in the early history of Texas. Students may know more about other battlefields, but none is consecrated with the blood of braver men than those who fell at Goliad. Historians may not record it as one of the decisive battles of the world, but the victory of the Texans at San Jacinto is destined to exert a greater influence upon the happiness of the human race than all the conflicts that established or subverted the petty kingdoms of the ancient world. Poets may not yet have immortalized it with their enduring verse, but the Alamo is more resplendent with her heroic sacrifice than was Thermopylae itself, because while 'Ther- mopylae had its messenger of defeat, the Alamo had none.' "Mr. President, if I may be permitted to borrow Web- ster's well-known apostrophe to Liberty and Union, I would say of Texas : She is one and inseparable, now and for- ever." IN STATUARY HALL, CAPITOL, WASHINGTON. By Act of Congress July 2d, 1864, the President of the United States was authorized "To invite each and all of the States to provide and fur- nish statues in marble or bronze, not exceeding two in num- ber for each State, of deceased persons who have been cit- 500 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History izens thereof, and illustrious for their historic renown or from distinguished civic or military service, such as each State shall determine to be worthy of this national commem- oration, and when so furnished, the same shall be placed in the old Hall of the House of Representatives in the Capitol of the United States, which is hereby set apart, or so much thereof as may be necessary, as National Statuary Hall for the purpose herein indicated." On March 25, 1904, Representative Burleson, of Texas, offered House Concurrent Resolution Number 53 granting the privilege of placing in Statuary Hall of the Capitol +he statues made by the sculptor Elizabeth Ney of Texas, of Sam Houston and Steven F. Austin, both of whom were cit- izens of Texas, said resolution being pursuant to the Act of 1864. On January 20th, 1905, Representative Cooper, of Texas, presented a resolution that the exercises appropriate to the reception and acceptance from the State of Texas of the statues of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin placed in Statuary Hall in the Capitol, be made the special order for Saturday, the 25th of February, at 3 o'clock P. M., and on that date the exercises were held and speeches made by eleven representatives, seven from Texas, two from Ten- nessee, one from Arkansas and one from Missouri. The Representative Clark of Missouri, making an address, was the present Speaker Champ Clark of the House of Repre- sentatives, and the Representatives from Tennessee were the Honorable Henry R. Gibson of Knoxville, and the Hon- orable James D. Richardson, of Murfreesboro. The ad- dresses of the Tennessee representatives were as eulogistic and inspiring as those made by the members from Texas. While it is true that Houston's greatest achievements were made in the Lone Star State, the Volunteer State made him Governor, and bestowed other high honors on him, and has a very strong claim to call him one of her sons. Representative Gibson said in part: "Mr. Speaker: Whenever and wherever there is an assemblage of people to do homage to the name of Sam Houston, Tennessee enters her appearance and claims the right to tender her tribute to his fame, and deposit her wreath in his honor. Tennessee received Houston to her bosom while he was yet in his in- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 501 fancy and trained him up to manhood, and bestowed her honors upon him, fitting him to perform the part of the star actor on that grand Texan stage where his audience was the whole world, and his triumphs established, first, an inde- pendent nation, and afterwards added another star to the great American constellation and a new page of glory to the grand volume of human freedom. * ****** "Having seen Houston when I was a boy, I feel con- strained to say that the marble statue of him we are this day accepting, while probably picturing him in his youth, does not do full justice to the magnificent physique he pos- sessed when in after days he became the hero of two na- tions. Houston was a man of majestic proportions, and wherever he went, he never failed to impress all beholders with the conviction that he was one of the giants of the earth. His appearance is thus described by one who heard him speak at Galveston a few days before Texas joined the Confederacy : " 'There he stood, an old man of seventy years, on a plat- form ten feet above the heads of the thousands assembled to hear him, where every eye could scan his magnificent form, six feet three inches high, straight as an arrow, with deep-set and penetrating eyes, looking out from heavy and thundering eyebrows, a high, open forehead, with some- thing of the infinite intellectual thereon, crowned with white locks partly erect, and a voice of the deep basso tone, which shook and commanded the soul of the hearer; added to all this, a powerful manner, made up of deliberation, self-pos- session and restrained majestic action, leaving the hearer impressed with the feeling that more of his power was hid- den than revealed.' " Representative Richardson said in part : "This was the first' instance in our history that a State has been admitted as such without having first gone through a probationary term as a territory. This accession to our territory was under President Polk's Administration, and it was charac- terized by him as a bloodless achievement. He said no army of force had been raised by the United States to produce the result ; that the sword had no part in the victory ; that we had not sought to extend our territorial possessions by conquest, or our republican institutions over a reluctant people. It was the deliberate homage of each people to the great principles of our confederate union. If we consider the extent of the territory involved in the annexation, its prospective influence on America, the means by which it has been accomplished, springing purely from the choice of the people themselves to share the blessings of our Union, 502 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History the history of the world may be challenged to furnish a par- allel." In 1860 when the Constitution — Union — Party met in Baltimore the contest for the Presidential nomination was between John Bell of Tennessee and Sam Houston, of Texas. The Tennessee delegation, with the exception of Colonel A. S. Colyar, of Nashville, were for Mr. Bell, Col. Colyar being for Sam Houston on the ground that, in his opinion, he could be elected, and John Bell could not. The Texas dele- gation and the delegation from New York were unanimously for Houston, and the race was close. Bell's friends put up Gustavus A. Henry, known as the Eagle Orator of Tennes- see, and his speech for the "Union, the Constitution, and En- forcement of the Laws" was a great effort. Col. Colyar says, in his "Life of Jackson," that "it carried the Conven- tion off its feet." The vote was taken, and on the deciding ballot, Bell received sixty-eight and one-half votes, and Houston fifty-seven, giving Bell a majority of eleven and one-half votes. COLONEL BROWNLOW'S REMINISCENCES. Colonel John B. Brownlow, of Knoxville, who is a mine of information and reminiscences which would prove inval- uable to history writers if put in available printed form, and whose mind in his seventy-ninth year is as clear and accu- rate as at fifty, can look back to the age of fourteen when he met and talked with General Sam Houston in Knoxville, and can also give a conversation he had about Houston with Judge John V. Wright, the Democratic nominee for Gov- ernor of Tennessee in the year 1880, when the Democratic party split on the State debt question. From the attractive way Colonel Brownlow as a boy said handsome things to General Houston about the battle of San Jacinto, we are forced to conclude that even at that early age the Colonel had the! skill and address of a veteran diplomat and courtier, who knew how to pene- trate the armor even of great men with flattering words. Referring to his call on Houston and his conversation with Judge Wright, he says : Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 503 "About 1853 General Sam Houston was on his way from his home in Texas to take his seat in the Senate at Washing- ton, and stopped in Knoxville on his way to visit his sister who lived in Maryville, who was the wife of General William Wallace of Blount County. Hearing that he was in Knox- ville at the old Lamar House, corner of Cumberland and Gay Streets, where the Bijou Theater now stands, I called at once to see him. He was in the corner room on the second floor. It was a big room, and the same room in which An- drew Jackson received the people, and later General Felix K. Zollicoffer and General John C. Breckenridge occupied this same room. I found eight or ten gentlemen there, in- cluding, I remember distinctly, the Honorable William G. Swan, later a member of the Confederate Congress, and Columbus Powell. I knocked on the door — at that time I had never had a visiting card — I was but fourteen years old — and he said 'Come in.' In response to the 'Come in' I walked in and General Houston arose. I remember Mr. Swan made a start to introduce me to Houston, but he, with a smile, asked me to take a seat. I asked pardon for interrupting, but he insisted that I take a seat. I said : " 'Excuse me, General Houston, for interrupting in this way, but as soon as I heard you were here, I wanted to see you. It will be a source of pleasure to me in future to remember that I had the honor of shaking hands with the hero of San Jacinto.' "The gentlemen present smiled at that, and the old Gen- eral smiled and said : 'Then you have read of San Jacinto?' "I said, 'General Houston, any Tennessee boy who is as old as I am, who has not read of San Jacinto, ought to be ashamed of himself.' They all laughed heartily at that. I said: 'General, that was one of the greatest battles ever fought in the world !' "He spoke deprecatingly, and said : 'There have been a great many battles fought, my son, where there were a hundred times as many people engaged as in that.' " 'Yes,' I said, 'there were more men in Napoleon's battles, and in the battles of the Revolution, and in the War of 1812, but you made such a clean job of it, General. You killed every Greaser you did not capture, and won the inde- pendence of Texas. You only had a few men, and Santa Anna had thousands, and you captured every Greaser you did not kill, including Santa Anna ; you came mighty near wiping them out.' "I started to leave then, and he gave me a very cordial invitation if ever I was in Texas to be his guest, to call and see him, which I told him I certainly would do." 504 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "The Honorable John V. Wright, Who was a member of the United States Congress in 1855-1861, and a member of the Confederate Congress during the war, and the Demo- cratic nominee for Governor of Tennessee in 1880 when Hawkins was elected, and whose father had served in the same regiment with Houston at the Battle of the Horseshoe, where Houston was twice wounded, was in Washington on the day that Stephen A. Douglas introduced his bill to re- peal the Missouri Compromise, and told me that on that evening he called to see General Houston, anxious to hear his opinion of Douglas' action, and found in Houston's room the correspondents of several metropolitan papers of the country, who had called for the same purpose he had. Judge Wright said that Houston was excitedly walking the floor, cursing Douglas as an unprincipled little demagogue who had opened Pandora's box, out of which untold evils would be flooded upon the country ; that to be President of the United States he would see the country deluged with blood from one end to the other ; that he had introduced that bill, thinking it would promote his chances as a Presidential aspirant, but he had overreached himself in his vaulting am- bition. 'Now,' Houston said, 'I make a prediction. You will remember, gentlemen, that in 1848 Martin Van Buren was the anti-slavery candidate for the Presidency, and re- ceived three hundred thousand votes; on account of the passage of the compromise measures of Mr. Clay in 1850, the anti-slavery vote of the country cast for John P. Hale of New Hampshire was just one-half of that, one hundred and fifty thousand. Now, I predict that the next House of Representatives to be elected next year (1855) will be Re- publican, or very close, and that the next Republican candi- date for President, if not elected, will come very near it; and I also predict that the Democratic party at the next election (1856) will not dare nominate Douglas, nor any man who favored this repeal, because he cannot carry the North, and they can't nominate any man who opposed the repeal, because he cannot carry the cotton States, but they will nominate some damned fellow who had nothing to do w r ith this agitation.' "Sure enough, as Houston predicted, they nominated a man who had nothing to do with it, James Buchanan, who was the Minister of the United States at London. All of his prediction came true. New York gave an immense ma- jority for Fremont, who would have been elected, could he have carried Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania gave Buchanan five thousand plurality, he being a native of that State. It was a triangular contest. Millard Filmore, ex-President, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 505 was the nominee of the American party, with Andrew J. Donelson, a nephew of Mrs. Andrew Jackson, and formerly Secretary to General Jackson, for Vice-President. "I remember a letter Honorable Horace Maynard wrote to my father, that he had been sure that Freemont would carry Pennsylvania, but a few days before the election the manufacturers, the merchants, the bankers, and the business men of the Whig party, seeing that the contest was reaily between Freemont and Buchanan, in sufficient numbers old Whigs voted for Buchanan to elect him, because they feared if Freemont were elected we would have Civil War, and business would be destroyed." JUDGE NORMAN KITTRELL ON SAM HOUSTON. Contemporary estimates of Houston are the most desir- able, and if this generation could be so fortunate as to find still living any who personally knew him, and especially who knew him well, such person's opinion would interest us profoundly; and, fortunately, we have two estimates from personal acquaintances of Sam Houston. William E. Curtis, correspondent of the Chicago Record- Herald, in 1911 procured from Judge Norman Kittrell of Texas his reminiscences of the first President of the Lone Star State. Mr. Curtis published these reminiscences in the Chicago Record-Herald, and they should be preserved in permanent form. Of all the pen pictures made of Sam Houston, we know of none that are more life-like, and which depict the real man — not Houston the hero of San Jacinto — not Houston scaling the breast-works at the Horse- shoe — but Houston with all of his gallantry and vanity and dress and humor and kindliness in his contact with his fellowmen. Judge Kittrell says : "He was the first and only man I had ever seen who had been in battle, or commanded an army, and my father had taught me to respect and honor him. I recall how, as a boy in knee trousers, I gazed upon him with awe and veneration ; my father and he lived as near neighbors ; my mother and Mrs. Houston were educated at the same institution, and married in the same town, and she always greeted him with the utmost cordiality. It seems to me that I can see him now, as he used to come down the walk under the cedars from the front gate to our house, walking as erectly as if his age were one score, instead of 506 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History more than three-score, years. As he drew near the front door, he would remove his broad-brimmed fur hat, and lay it on his left arm. He carried his buggy whip in his left hand, and as he ascended the steps my mother would meet him. Extending his right hand, on which were usually two or three seal rings, he would take my mother's hand, and, bending with chivalric courtesy and dignity until his lips almost touched her finger-tips, would say, with his charac- teristic deliberation and distinctness : " 'My lady, I am charmed to meet you again. It is always a pleasure to meet you, and become a guest in your hospita- ble house. Mrs. Houston bade me bring you assurance of her love.' "His manner and bearing were the very impersonation of courtly grace, yet there are many who believed, and, per- haps, there are those who think so yet, that he was a boor and a lout, unfamiliar with the requirements of refined society and good breeding. "He was an able man, a man of intellectual power; a man endowed with the elements of successful leadership, and with the ability to persuade and convince, and command confidence. He was a man of majestic and impressive ap- pearance — one upon whom God had written in lines that all men could read : 'Behold a man !' It has been said of him, as it has been said of another, that had he been cast ashore on an island in midocean, the inhabitants would have chosen him chief. "Few men have been so hated, and so beloved ; so bitterly assailed, and so warmly defended. If he unduly cherished hate for his enemies, he also loved his friends deeply. His was an intense nature. He was a man of strong convic- tions; his convictions were his own, and were not for sale for votes or office. He had no political weather gauge to detect the varying winds of public sentiment. He belonged to himself, essentially; he knew no boss, he followed no leader — he led. "He was responsive to the tenderest, the sweetest, purest influences that can affect human character or conduct. There was never a more devoted or considerate husband, and the wife who said she married him because he won her heart, and would be proud to be the instrument of his re- form, found him so amenable to the influences of her refine- ment, culture, wifely devotion, and consecrated Christian character, that he put aside forever the intoxicating cup. "In pursuance to a resolution of Congress, he, then Gov- ernor Houston, was arrested and brought before the bar of the House of Representatives, the trial, interrupted by the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 507 regular business, lasting more than a month. The histor- ical account of the proceeding, and that given by General Houston, very nearly correspond. I regret that it is not possible to reproduce the tone and manner of the old man as he gave his version to my father, but his inimitable voice and humor, mingled with his unfailing dignity, elude repro- duction. " 'Well, my friend,' he said, 'they were trying me for about a month, but I did not pay much attention to the pro- ceedings, as I had been assured that when the evidence was all in, I would be allowed to appear before the House in per- son in my own behalf, if I so desired. So I prepared myself, at least in the matter of costume, for that day when it should arrive. I had my tailor make a coat of the finest material, reaching almost to my knees, trousers in harmony in color, and the latest style in cut, with a white satin vest to match, and I was ready with a garb befitting the occasion. " 'One afternoon I was notified that I would be permitted to speak in my own defense the next morning. When I awoke before day, I took a cup of coffee, but it refused to stick. I took another, but it would not stay with me, for, to tell you the truth, my friend, I had been very drunk. After something like an hour had passed, I took another cup of coffee, and it stuck ; I said, "I am all right," and I proceeded to array myself in my splendid apparel. While I had my- self been a member of Congress, a whole lot of those fellows had never seen me. They had heard of me as an Indian fighter and frontiersman. As they had been told that I wore often the costume of a savage, they verily expected me to come clothed in the skins of wild beasts, and to see a bar- barian, who, for a brief time, was a sojourner in the midst of civilized people ; but when I appeared, arrayed in the most skilful product of the sartorial art, bowing to an acquaint- ance first upon this side, then upon that, as I moved down the hall, upon my word, a hum of admiration filled the hall ! I proceeded to speak in my own defense, and, turning to one member who had been especially officious and offensive in his zeal against me, I said, "And darest thou, thou whited sepulcher, to asperse the name and fame of Sam Houston?" They convicted me, of course, and condemned me to be rep- rimanded by the Speaker. The Speaker said, "Governor Houston, I am directed by the vote of the House to repri- mand you ; consider yourself reprimanded !" He bowed, and I bowed, and the farce was over.' "There was a twinkle of triumph in the eyes of the old man as he remembered not only how lightly the House of Representatives of the United States had dealt with him, but 508 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History that it had declined to deny him the privilege of the floor, to which he was entitled as an ex-member." HENRY WATTERSON ON SAM HOUSTON. Henry Watterson, of the Louisville Courier-Journal, has probably a wider acquaintance with public men in the United States than any other citizen ever had, either in this, or preceding generations of the Republic. He has been thrown in contact with public men, questions, and affairs, all of a long life, and was living in Washington at the time of the annexaton of Texas to the United States. He has said this about Houston : "I was but a child when Texas came into the Union, but I grew up at Washington with a Texas surrounding, and under Texan influences, and I absorbed the story of the Lone Star from those who had made it; listened to the he- roic legend from the heroes themselves ; heard all the inside history of the transactions which preceded and led to the final annexation from original sources ; and, to me at least, the theme is yet an inspiration. "Nor is it without its application to contemporary af- fairs, and therefore a certain instruction, not irrelevant cr uncurrent. It throws some light upon the present situa- tion ; though of course the bee in our bonnet in those old days was the institution of African slavery, which colored all our politics. We were not a world power, as we now are. We were still a bucolic republic, the democratic party the ex- pansionist of the period, the whigs the obstructives; mani- fest destiny being the cue, because it pointed southward, and promised more slave States. Truly it is a universal lesson in human nature whose ox happens to be gored. John Ty- ler thought he would win great glory by bringing in Texas, just as Theodore Roosevelt thought about taking a short cut, via Panama, to the Isthmian canal. What was it Burns said about 'the best laid plans o' mice and men?' for Tyler went the limit, and I have half a mind to believe Roosevelt is already beginning to be sick of his bargain with little Va- nilla Bean and the rest of them. "However, that sounds like politics, and we are, you and I, dear reader, talking sense, not politics. "Houston was easily the genius, the master spirit, of the Texan epic. He has received scant justice from the farrago of stuff and make-believe which passes for history. His life may well be called a romance. A God-like man in personal appearance, and Governor of Tennessee when five or six Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 5C9 and thirty, he had married an exceptionally lovely young girl, and all seemed well with him, when, without a word, he disappeared, leaving behind him his newly wedded wife, and his resignation as Governor. The earth seemed to have swallowed him. Many years afterwards his deserted wife applied to the Legislature of Tennessee for her divorce, qnd, there being some opposition, a letter came from the far- away Indian country saying, 'I will return to Nashville and have the heart's blood of the man who utters a word against the honor of Mrs. Houston, who should be promptly given the divorce she seeks.' There was a hero for you ! "After the victory of San Jacinto, where Santa Anna, the Mexican president, had been made a prisoner, Houston dis- covered a plot among some of the more reckless of his men to kill him. He sent for the ringleader of this plot, whom he knew to be a brave and an honest man. 'John,' he said, 'I am in constant dread lest something happens to Santa Anna. Of course, he deserves a thousand deaths, but if harm comes to him it will discredit Texas in the eyes of mankind, and disgrace us all. I have sent for you because I know' you to be a patriot, good and true, and I am going to put the prisoner in your hands for safe-keeping. I want you to pick your own escort, and I shall hold you answer- able for the consequences.' Houston's knowledge of human nature was consummate. No harm came to Santa Anna. The very men who guarded his person as they would have guarded their own lives and honor were those who had banded together to kill him. "Houston's sole purpose from the beginning was to bring Texas into the American union. He pretended to be looking to England, who he cordially detested, but the un- derstanding between him and Gen. Jackson, like their per- sonal friendship, was perfect. Van Buren, the Free Sol- dier, stood aloof. Even Jackson, who made him President, could not dictate the policy of his administration in this regard. Public sentiment in the United States, oddly enough, even in the South was divided, the Whigs standing out against annexation. It was reserved at last for Tyler to turn the trick. Many years after, when Houston, then a senator in congress, was making a red-hot Democratic speech in Boston, an Irishman interrupted to ask if, whilst he was president of Texas, he had not proposed to sell out to England. 'My friend,' said Houston, 'when a wee lamb is denied suck by a strange ewe the wise shep- herd sends for the dog, and the old ewe complies at once. England was my dog/ "Gen. Houston stood six feet six, nor an ounce of super- flous flesh. No more attractive stump speaker ever faced 5 1 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History a multitude, and he could speak to twenty thousand, his voice as clear as a bell, his power of illustration and his humor hardly inferior to that of Lincoln. He was a ready debater, too. Iverson of Georgia twitted him upon his defeat for re-election after his vote against the Kansas- Nebraska bill, the provoking cause of our subsequent Illiad of Woes, saying Texas had put her foot upon him. Hous- ton's response was a gem of its kind : 'The Senator from Georgia,' he said, 'pronounces me dead, and declares that Texas has put her foot upon me. It may be so ; and, if it be so, it recalls a fable of Aesop, which tells how a lion lay dead in the forest, and a certain animal came and kicked the dead lion. In courtesy to the south, and in deference to the Senator from Georgia, I will not mention the name of this animal that came and kicked the lion.' "Houston went home and declared himself an independ- ent candidate for governor of Texas, stood upon his rec- ord, appealed to his people, and was elected by an over- whelming majority. In 1861 he opposed secession. They ousted him from office, and he died during the war, loving the South, but having neither belief in the confederacy nor hope of any successful termination of the war except on the side of the Union. In life they called him vain and vain- glorious. He was certainly glorious. He nursed a suspi- cion that he would be president of the United States. Once driving along the avenue past Lafayette square, the wind blew his hat off and carried it to the door of the White- house. He thought it an omen. His attire w r as a little bizarre. His habits were frugal, abstemious and demo- cratic. He told the drollest stories. He liked a mixed audi- ence of a summer afternoon about the tavern door. He whittled bits of wood into various forms and presented them to his lady friends. Around his apartment in Wil- lard Hotel cards were posted on which was printed, 'My bed-time is 9 o'clock, precisely.' His second marriage had been felicitous and fruitful, and, whatever had been his errors, or mischances of his early life, his latter was all it could or should have been." We have said that Houston has not received justice at the hands of history. It is very interesting to attempt to surmise what his place in history would have been if, in- stead of being a Southern man, he had been a Northern man, and if instead of bringing a slave territory like Texas into the Union, he had brought a free territory like Canada. If the latter event had occurred, statues of Sam Houston Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 5 1 1 would have been erected a half century ago in every im- portant city in the North, and England would have classed him in greatness with Lord Nelson, the Duke of Welling- ton, and Cecil Rhodes, the founder of the South African Republic. The South does not write history and has never done so. The North does write history, and always from its own standpoint. The acquisition of Texas is many times more valuable to the United States than Canada could ever be, yet it has been left for the State of Texas alone to preserve his memory in a manner in any degree commen- surate with the vast and far-reaching achievement he ac- complished for the American people. 512 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XXXII. JAMES KNOX POLK AND WIFE, SARAH CHILDRESS POLK— CHRONOLOGY. JAMES KNOX POLK. 1795 B'orn November 2, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. 1806 Came with his father and family to Tennessee. 1818 June — Graduated University of North Carolina. 1819 Entered the office of Felix Grundy to study law. 1820 Admitted to the bar. 1822 Chief Clerk of the House in the Legislature. 1823 Elected a member of the Legislature. 1824 Assisted in electing Jackson to the United States Senate. 1824 January 1 — Married Miss Sarah Childress. 1825 Elected to the lower House of Congress, and contin- ued in that body by successive elections for four- teen years. 1835 Elected Speaker of the Twenty-Fourth Congress, de- feating John Bell. 1837 Re-elected Speaker, Twenty-Fifth Congress, again defeating John Bell. 1839 Elected Governor of Tennessee. 1841 Defeated for Governor by James C. Jones. 1843 Again defeated for Governor by James C. Jones. 1844 Elected President of the United States. 1845; March 4 — Inaugurated eleventh President of the United States. 1847 Made Doctor of Laws by University of North Caro- lina. 1849 March 3d — Retired from the office of President. 1849— June 15— Died. SARAH CHILDRESS POLK. 1803 September 4 — Born in Rutherford County, Ten- nessee. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 5 1 3 1815 Attended a private school in Nashville. 1818 Went to school, Moravian Female Academy, Salem, North Carolina. 1849 Moved with her husband to their new home in Nash- ville. 1887 April 16 — Received George Bancroft, historian, at her residence. 1887 October — Received President and Mrs. Grover Cleve- land at her residence. 1891 August 14— Died at Nashville. 1891 August 14 — Flags on State and Federal buildings in Nashville placed at half mast. 514 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XXXIII. JAMES KNOX POLK AND WIFE, SARAH CHILDRESS POLK. The politics of the United States were practically con- trolled by Andrew Jackson from the time of his first can- didacy for President in 1825, down to his death in 1845, a period of twenty years. The influences which he set in motion, and the line of political action he laid down, con- tinued through the administration of James Buchanan. Jackson was the cause of Sam Houston going to Texas, the ultimate result of his visit there being its annexation to the United States ; Jackson was also the cause of the nom- ination of James K. Polk for President, and prior to that nomination he had been Polk's lifelong friend and support- er; in fact,' it is not too much to say that Polk grew up and developed in State and National politics always with the cordial backing and unvarying support of the hero of New Orleans. Throughout his term as Governor of Tennessee, and his occupation of the White House as President, he had Jackson's warm friendship, and that undivided sym- pathy and regard that was exhibited always and every- where. It was a bitter day for Jackson when Polk lost Tennessee in the Presidential election, but it was a % glad day for him when he came to retrospect and see the poli- cies of Polk's administration cordially approved by the Dem- ocratic party of the United States. James Knox Polk was a native of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and was born November 2, 1795. He was the oldest of six sons and four daughters. His mother's family name was Knox, and he was named for James Knox, his mother's father. His father was Samuel Polk, and, in North Carolina, before coming to Tennessee, his father owned a farm, and appears to have been an industrious, self-reliant farmer. The name "Polk" is a corruption of "Pollock." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 515 After the Revolutionary War, the tide of emigration flowed strongly to the region west of the Alleghany Moun- tains, and Samuel Polk with his family crossed the moun- tains and moved into what is now Maury County, Tennes- see, in 1806. Samuel Polk was a surveyor as well as a farmer. The early years of James Knox Polk were spent in work- ing on his father's farm, but he was not of a strong con- stitution, and was put to clerking in a store, and from this he was allowed to change and go to the Murfreesboro Acad- emy; and, between two and three years, he prepared him- self to enter the sophomore class of the University of North Carolina. He was a fine student, and graduated in June 1818, when he was twenty-three years old. In 1847 his alma mater bestowed upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Never robust in health, Mr. Polk in the next year after his graduation, entered the law T office of Felix Grundy, at Nashville, where Andrew Jackson was accustomed to call from time to time, he then living at the Hermitage, about twelve miles from Nashville. Polk was fortunate in thus early being thrown with Jackson, and a friendship grew up between them that was never broken. For any one in that day desiring political promotion, it would have been diffi- cult to possess two friends more capable of advancing one's political fortunes than Andrew Jackson and Felix Grundy, and Polk had both of them as friends. In the latter part of 1820 Polk was admitted to the bar, and entered upon the practice with as fine prospects as any young man could possibly have at that day, and he took full advantage of every advantage that came to him. In 1822 he was Chief Clerk of the State House of Rep- resentatives, and in 1823 he was elected a member of that body. In 1824 he assisted in nominating and electing Jack- son to the United States Senate. Polk appears, all of his life, to have entertained strong hostility to dueling, and that, too, when Jackson and all of the leading men of the State, who were his personal friends, recognized the code of honor as a proper way of settling personal difficulties. It took a man of pronounced 5 1 6 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History convictions and the strongest moral courage to stand up and openly oppose dueling, but that is what Polk did, and there is no evidence that it ever had any adverse effect upon his political • fortunes. His promotion to the world of national politics came in 1825 when he was elected to Congress, and he continued a member of that body for fourteen years, by seven suc- cessive elections. In Congress, as in practicing law, and in everything else he undertook or was connected with, Polk was thorough, studious, book-loving, methodical, conscien- tious and firm in arriving at conclusions, and a member of Congress of that type will not have to wait very long for recognition. Polk's type of Congressman is the most valuable that appears in the capitol at Washington. In 1827 he was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, in 1832 on Ways and Means and in 1833 Chairman of Ways and Means. When Andrew Stevenson resigned as Speaker of Con- gress in 1834, John Bell of Tennessee, was chosen in his place on the tenth ballot. He held the Speakership until December 7th, 1835, when the Twenty-fourth Congress as- sembled and Bell was again a candidate for Speaker, and was opposed by James K. Polk, who was elected on the first ballot, receiving 132 votes, 84 votes for Bell, 9 votes scat- tering. Bell had supported Judge White for President, and this brought on a quarrel in Tennessee politics that had the most strenuous effects, not only then, but for years af- tewards, among Democrats. When the Twenty-Fifth Congress assembled on Septem- ber 4, 1837, James K. Polk and John Bell were again rival candidates for Speaker, and Polk received 116 votes, Bell 103, with 5 scattering. Speaker Polk held the office for two years, and until the expiration of the Twenty-Fifth Congress, when, after midnight on March 3, 1839, a mo- tion was made that a vote of thanks be extended to the Speaker, which brought on a warm debate, and John Bell, Henry A. Wise of Virginia, and Sergeant S. Prentiss of Mississippi voted against the motion. We, in our day, think that we have had some hot politics, but if the historians who tell the political story of the days when the Whig Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 5 1 7 party was to be reckoned with in the United States — a period of about twenty years, from 1835 to 1855 — correct- ly state the facts, there can be no comparison between those days and ours ; especially in Tennessee politics. Furor and turbulence that must have meant practical insanity characterized elections, not only in Tennessee but through- out the country. James Schouler, who cannot be said to unduly admire Mr. Polk, had this to say about him in his history of the United States, at the period w r hen Polk retired from Con- gress : "Polk now took his leave of the Legislature, having served in the House for fourteen consecutive years ; he left the impression of an able man, pure of morals, industrious in the Committee room, skilful as a parliamentary tac- tician and presiding officer, but intensely partisan and nar- row. Taken up presently for Governor of Tennessee by the party of the administration, he was chosen, served for two years, and lost his re-election. Fidelity to Jackson was his passport from that defeat to a more exalted dis- tinction. "No one in the House now imagined, not even Polk himself, under what distinguished surroundings this re- tiring Speaker of the House would next take up his abode at the national capital." This reluctant praise from Schouler serves to show what Polk's real merits and ability were. With the exception of James A. Garfield and William McKinley, who served in Congress for years before they were elected President, Polk was best equipped for the duties of President of any ever elected to that office, and in efficiency and ability he was the equal of either Garfield or McKinley. His great characteristic w r as that he was devoid of trickery or de- ception — whatever he professed to be, he was. Having been a loyal Democrat all of his life, and having received the highest honors from that party, when he became President, he was a Democrat still, and he proceeded to carry out the platform and wishes of the party that elected him. His Congressional training gave him a thorough insight into all the branches of the government and fitted him for se- lecting wise policies. When once a line of conduct or policy was agreed upon, Polk carried it out. He w T as one of the 518 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History best administrators, and controlled his own cabinet, and that, too, when it contained some of the ablest men in the nation. He was not given to soft talk or flattering phrases ; his utterances were clear, plain and strong, by which no man could be honestly deceived. Above everything, he had the Jackson quality of loyalty to friends, and he was never Pharisee enough to profess to love his political enemies. The Democrats of Tennessee nominated Polk for Gov- ernor in August, 1839, and he was elected and served a term of two years; but in 1841 and 1843 the Whigs had a slight majority in the State and he was defeated in both of those years for Governor by James C. Jones, commonly known as "Lean Jimmy" Jones. The Polk-Jones campaigns for Governor are looked back upon by old Whigs and his- torians as the most rabid, tumultous, aggressive, unrelent- ing gubernatorial campaigns ever held in the State. Things had been going badly with the Whigs up to 1841, when they discovered James C. Jones, who was born in Davidson County in 1809, and married young. He was elected to the Legislature in 1839, and attracted the attention of the Whigs to himself at a Whig meeting in Nashville in 1840. Harrison had been nominated for President, and Jones was put upon the Whig electoral ticket, and made speeches for Harrison and Tyler. He made his reputation as a stump speaker among the Whigs in this campaign, and at the next nomination for Governor, he was nominated, and the State was roused from one end to the other. Except upon the theory that Jones was a comedian it is difficult to see how he so thoroughly stirred up the voters and brought the Whigs out winner in two gubernatorial campaigns. All of the writers of that day tell that he would hold up be- fore his audience a coon skin, and would stroke it and smooth it down, and remark, "Did you ever see such fine fur?", and the audience would roar with laughter. This phenomenal humor seems to have been a great vote-getter. He appears to have been without many scruples in mak- ing statements misrepresenting his competitor, and the comedian element in him showed on every stump where he and Polk spoke together. Polk himself was a very able stump speaker, and is credited with inventing the art of Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 5 1 9 stump speaking in Tennessee, but he was no match for Jones in Jones' particular kind of oratory, and he was de- feated in two successive races for Governor. The joy of the Whigs knew no limit. They burned with enthusiasm, and the coon skin candidate was the hero of Whiggery for four years in Tennessee, and was afterwards sent to the United States Senate. There is no explanation of this re- markable political condition, except that Jones put on the platform, through his talent as a comedian, an irresistible free show, and one that appealed with great effect to the voters; and, the State being nearly equally divided, and Jones stirring up the Whigs as nobody else could, Polk had to go down in defeat. The National Democratic Convention met in Baltimore in 1844 and the annexation of Texas was the leading issue. Martin Van Buren was the strongest candidate for the nomination, but he was opposed to annexation, and could not get the requisite number of votes. Polk was in favor of it and was taken up as a compromise candidate. On the eighth ballot his name was placed before the convention, and received some votes; on the ninth ballot he was easily nominated. George M. Dallas was placed upon the ticket with him for Vice President. He was elected and inaug- urated March 4th, 1845, and served the full term of four years, or until March 4, 1849. He appointed in his Cabinet : James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, Secretary of State ; Rob- ert J. Walker of Mississippi, Secretary of the Treasury; William M. Marcy of New York, Secretary of War ; George Bancroft of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Navy, but he was later sent to the Court of St. James, and John Y. Mason of Virginia, placed in his stead ; Cave Johnson of Tennessee, Postmaster General ; Nathan Clifford of Maine, Attorney General; Private Secretary, his nephew, James Knox Walker. • In his first annual message President Polk called the attention of the Congress to the importance of annexing Texas to the United States. The slavery question became one of the dominating issues during his administration, and Polk took the Southern view of that question. His' administration not only annexed Texas to the Union, 520 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History but took in New Mexico, Arizona, California and Oregon. His administration was preeminently satisfactory to the Democratic party, and may be put down as one of the most brilliant in results in the history of the country. It settled with England the Oregon boundary question. On March 5, 1849, Mr. and Mrs. Polk started on their trip homeward by a route that took in quite a number of Southern cities which had sent a request to President and Mrs. Polk to be their guests. They were accompanied by the Honorable Robert J. Walker, ex-Secretary of the Treas- ury, and other personal friends. They went by Freder- icksburg, Richmond, Petersburg, Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, Columbus, and New Orleans, and thence to Nash- ville. On June 15th, 1849, President Polk died in Nashville of the cholera, and his remains were interred in the old City Cemetery. A monument was afterward designed by Wil- liam Strickland, who was the architect of the State-house of Tennessee, and erected in front of the Polk residence in the City of Nashville. The monument is a square, open temple, with columns at each corner, and the words : "James K. Polk, Tenth President of the United States. Born Novem- ber 2, 1795. Died June 15, 1849," are engraved on the east front. The tomb is under this open temple. On the east side of the tomb is this inscription: "The mortal remains of James Knox Polk are resting in the vault beneath. He was born in Mecklenburg County, North Caro- lina, and emigrated with his father, Samuel Polk, to Ten- nessee in 1806. The beauty of virtue was illustrated in his life; the excellence of Christianity was exemplified in his death." On the north side are the words : "His life was devoted to public service. He was elected successively to the first places in the State and Federal government — a member of the General Assembly, a Member of Congress, and Chair- man of the most important Congressional Committees, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Governor of Ten- nessee, President of the United States." On the south side are the words: "By his public policy he defined, established and extended the boundaries of his Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 521 country. He planted the laws of the American Union on the shores of the Pacific. His influence and his counsels tended to organize the national treasury on the principles of the Constitution, and to apply the rule of freedom to navigation, trade and industry." These inscriptions were prepared by the Honorable A. O. P. Nicholson, who was United States Senator in 1840 and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Tennessee in 1870. The west side of the tomb was left blank for Mrs. Polk at her death, and it was afterwards filled in with these words : "Asleep in Jesus" MRS. SARAH CHILDRESS POLK wife of JAMES KNOX POLK Born in Rutherford County, Tennessee September 4, 1803 Died at Polk Place, Nashville, Tennessee, August 14, 1891 "A noble woman and devoted wife A true friend and sincere Christian." "Blessed are the dead which died in the Lord." In his will Mr. Polk gave everything he had to his wife absolutely except Polk Place, which she was to have dur- ing her lifetime. Mrs. Polk was named as executrix, with- out bond, and Judge John Catron, who was appointed by Andrew Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States, and Major Daniel Graham, executors. Reluctant praise wrung from an enemy or adverse his- torian is absolutely conclusive testimony of merit in the person praised, far beyond what is conceded. We have quot- ed above, from James Schouler, a New Hampshire histori- an, and are going to quote him again in his final summary of Polk's merits as a statesman and a President; and if Schouler's reluctant eulogy is not proof that Polk was a great man and performed uncounted service for his country, then we very grossly misjudge Polk's character and achieve- ments, and misinterpret the meaning of Schouler's words. He says: "The crown jewels which Polk's strong policy bequeathed to his country were of priceless worth — Oregon, and all that 522 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History splendid spoliation of Mexico, whose chief of hidden treas- ures was California." * * * "The strong traits of Polk's administration have al- ready been outlined. It was unquestionably an adminis- tration of strong- achievements ; and all doubts may be dis- missed concerning the efficiency of the man who was at the head of it. Bancroft's testimony as a cabinet officer is confirmed by that of Buchanan, who, spontaneously and in private, held Polk up in later years as a model President in various respects ; as one who maintained influence among his counsellors by his great reticence, his disposition to keep himself uncommitted on important points of policy until the time should arrive, and his determination not to have the chieftains of embittered factions with rival ambi- tions about him, but to keep all working steadily for the glory and success of his administration. He ascribed Polk's success in public measures, more than anything else, to his regard for the vital principle of official unity in action. And this premier has recalled another trait in Polk's manage- ment of affairs which he, of all advisers, w T as the proper one to discern : all important questions with foreign nations were drawn to himself as far as possible, so that they should be settled at our capital and under his immediate super- vision." JUDGE NATHANIEL BAXTER'S REMINISCENCES OF POLK. In the American Historical Magazine, 1903, are pub- lished some reminiscences of James K. Polk by Judge Na- thaniel Baxter, a contemporary. Judge B'axter says that he was a law student in Columbia, Tennessee, then with a population of fifteen hundred or two thousand in 1836- 1837, at which time the Columbia Biar embraced some of the ablest lawyers in the history of the State. In 1832, or four years before he began to study law, Judge Baxter saw James K. Polk for the first time, and gives the following description of him: "He was then thirty-seven or eight years old; his per- son was handsome and attractive. From memory I should guess he was about five feet ten inches, erect in his car- riage, symmetrical in form, excellent constitution with un- usual muscular strength and activity, with great capacity for physical labor and endurance. I should judge him to have weighed one hundred fifty-five or one hundred sixty pounds. His hair was coal black, complexion a little dark, with a keen pair of steel-gray eyes, set well back in his Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 523 head. His mouth was handsome and expressive; his lips were neither thick nor thin, but inclined to thin. He never wore a beard. His forehead was rather broad than high. There was no surplus flesh about his face, nor any want of flesh. His chin was well proportioned with his "face. The whole face taken together was clear cut, flexible and ex- pressive with aristocratic self -consciousness of superiority to the common mass. He dressed well." Judge Baxter said this about Mrs. Polk: "Mrs. Polk was some eight or ten years his junior and had been even less impressed with the scars of time than he had. Though a very handsome woman, she never passed as a belle or a beauty — her ambition never sought or valued that sort of distinction. She was her husband's wife and monopolized his affections as fully as any wife ever did, and with that the measure of her ambition was full. But she had more elements of attractiveness and popularity — more of that nature which draws upon the admiration and sympathy of men and v/omen and made everybody, regard- less of party politics, desire her success and happiness in life, than is often found in her sex; and beyond all ques- tion much of her husband's success in life was due, or at least was helped on largely by, the kindly feelings and ad- miration that every one felt for her who had the honor of her acquaintance. I never saw the Whig so vile that he would not have been pleased to see her in the White House if she could have gotten there without her husband." Judge Baxter moved from Columbia to Nashville and on one Occasion as he was going to Nashville in company with Chancellor Cahal, he met Mr. Polk and his wife in their private carriage, and he makes this comment: "Business called me back to Columbia. As I was re- turning home again, in company with Chancellor Cahal, whom should we meet on the road, but the ex-President and his wife traveling alone in a private carriage. They were returning from Washington to their home in Columbia. Mrs. Polk looked as natural as life with scarcely a percepti- ble change in the four years' absence. But Mr. Polk had changed until I scarcely knew him. From a pure black, his hair had become perfectly white. It did not change to a silver-gray, but milk white. In his face was a senatorial gravity more sedate than when he left Columbia. He looked careworn and tired; but upon meeting old acquaintances from his old home, he brightened up and assumed his quon- dam cheerfulness. When we parted Senator Cahal said to 524 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History me, 'You have now seen the difference between the rising and the setting sun. When he left for Washington his es- corts were thousands. Now that his power and patronage are gone his faithful wife alone remains by his side, and doubtless he is glad they are gone.' " LIFE OF POLK SHOULD BE WRITTEN. On April 16th, 1887, George Bancroft arrived in Nash- ville for the purpose of calling on Mrs. Polk, and of course was shown every courtesy and social attention that his high standing called for. The object of Mr. Bancroft's visit to Mrs. Polk was to get material for his historical work, and he made a limited examination of the letters, papers and manuscripts in Mrs. Polk's possession, and later Mrs. Polk sent them to him at Washington ; he had them copied, and returned the originals to her. If these papers are still in existence, there is a mine of historical values in them. In order to fully illustrate the really great achievements of James K. Polk, his life ought to be written by some one having access to all papers and documents available. It is curious that no Life was ever written except one or two transitory campaign books published while he was a can- didate for President. A Life of Polk would not only im- mensely redound to his own historical standing but would be a great tribute to the State of Tennessee. His administration as President will stand the most crit- ical examination. There is nothing that he said that causes us to think less of him, and his achievements are so great that if he were adjudged by them alone, he would, espe- cially in the vast acquisitions of territory which he suc- ceeded in adding to the United States, be put down as one of the very greatest of Americans. It is worth keeping in mind that the sons of Tennes- see have added more territory to the American Union than representatives of any other State. Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston were the dominating causes that ultimate- ly brought Texas into the Union. James K. Polk's admin- istration gave us New Mexico, Arizona, California, a part of Oregon and a part of Utah. Whose additions of terri- tory can compare with these? The South must learn to Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 525 write history. If she had learned this lesson years ago, James K. Polk and Sam Houston would have long since glittered as bright particular stars in the highest firma- ment of American statesmanship. There is no way to judge a man except by the results of his life and actions. A man may be in character a very great man, and achieve noth- ing for his country or fellowman; but it is a logical and moral impossibility for a man of small character or cali- ber to bring about great results ; and especially is this true in the theater of national politics where antagonistic forces embodying courage, wealth, cunning, and every human char- ecteristic, good and bad, are to be met and overcome. We repeat that results and achievements are the true tests of statesmanship, and by these tests James K. Polk, Samuel Houston and Andrew Jackson can well afford to be meas- ured. Polk died childless, which may be one of the reasons why his biography was never written; collaterals natur- ally do not take the same interest in perpetuating the fame of a relative that direct descendants do. It is not impossible to ascertain why Polk has never been lifted to the Pantheon of great men. His adminis- tration and its far-reaching results were of incalculable in- terest and benefit to the South. Texas was naturally a great cotton growing State, and the South has always been in- terested in cotton. The contest over the annexation of Texas and the Mexican War was long, bitter, sectional, and denunciatory, and the history of that contest, like the his- tory of nearly all our political contests, was written by historians in sympathy with the opposition to the South and Southern interests. The most careful and critical read- ing of the history of Polk's administration, written by op- position historians — writers who were strongly Whig, strongly anti-slavery, strongly anti-South — demonstrates that their criticisms are frequently vicious or false or biased or sectional or personal, but with it all, Polk's achieve- ments were so far and away great and unquestionable, as to extract from even unwilling writers praise that they re- luctantly gave. A fair, impartial history of Polk would exhibit not 526 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History only a great administration but a great man. There was nothing of the weakling about him, but with strong will, great and fixed determination, unlimited energy and a per- sistency that did not stop until the end was accomplished, he, while in these respects not measuring up to "Old Hick- ory," was not so very far removed from him. Tennessee has not had the influence in national poli- tics since Buchanan's administration that it had before; it is not necessary to trace the causes of this, but Tennes- see owes it to itself to see that Polk's record is fairly and fully placed before the world ; it will exhibit as bright a lustre for Tennessee as for Polk, for the Volunteer State absolutely and in every detail made him what he was. Tennesseans developed him, first in the Legislature, then in Congress, then as Governor, and finally as President. While not born in the State, he came to it as a child, and all that he ever was, and all that he ever accomplished, was through the people of Tennessee. JUDGE TEMPLE ON POLK. Judge 0. P. Temple, deceased, for twelve years Chan- cellor of the Knoxville Chancery Division, was a Whig be- fore the Civil War, and a Republican after the War. He had a liberal education and fine culture and was the author of three historical works: "The Covenanter, the Cavalier and the Puritan," "East Tennessee and the Civil War" and "Notable Men of Tennessee." He was born in 1820, and died in Knoxville in 1907, and had a very wide acquaint- ance among the leading public men of his day. He heard James K. Polk make a speech in 1839, and was present at two or three of the joint discussions between Polk and "Lean Jimmy Jones" in their joint canvass for Governor of Tennessee in 1841 and 1843, and sympathized with Jones. In "Notable Men of Tennessee" Judge Temple gives his opinion of Polk on the stump, and it is an accurate and carefully considered estimate, and coming as it does from a life-long opponent of the Democratic party, and what Polk stood for and fought for, it must be accepted as one of the most eulogistic statements ever made in reference to Polk and that, too, by one of the most competent judges. He says : Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 527 "The desire to know more of Mr. Polk is most natural. But few of this generation ever heard him speak, or ever saw him. He was scarcely of medium height, being not more than five feet seven or eight inches tall. He was slight in body, but trim, straight and graceful. His head was large with a decidedly intellectual cast, and his eyes w r ere very large, of a brown or hazel color, very striking and handsome, and with a benignant expression. In dress he was faultlessly neat. Indeed, I considered him a very handsome man, at least a very distinguished looking one. Notwithstanding his delicate looking body, he was capa- ble of the greatest physical endurance, as was evident from the almost incredible amount of labor he performed in his three canvasses of the entire State in 1839, 1841 and 1843. His voice was loud and good, though his intonation was somewhat unusual, but not disagreeable. He spoke with fluency, clearness, earnestness, and rapidity. More, he spoke with elegance, and with great pointedness and power. As a debater, in the presentation and marshaling of facts, he was ingenious, lucid and masterly. This was his strong point. Very seldom has any public speaker been able to present a long array of facts so impressively, and at the same time so attractively and with such irresistible pow- er. Andrew Johnson could not have done so, because he did not possess the charm of manner, the elegance of lan- guage, the lucidness of statement, nor the compactness of argument. In a word, Mr. Polk was universally regarded in his day as a very great public speaker and a most skill- ful debater. Looking back at his canvass of 1839, I very much doubt whether there was a man in the State, . on either side, who could have produced such a profound im- pression on the public mind. As before remarked, after his defeat by Jones, he never seemed to have the position as a man of rare ability that he previously had, and I think in this regard injustice has been done to his memory. It is an acknowledged fact that while he was President, he was master of his own administration, and shaped and guided its policies as he thought best. It was stronger and accomplished more than William Henry Harrison's, or Tyler's, or Taylor's, or Fillmore's, or Pierce's, or Buchan- an's, or Hayes', or Arthur's, or Benjaman Harrison's, and possibly, even Monroe's. He was, in fact, Prime Minister, as well as President. By a war, brought on by his own act, he added to our dominion a vast territory of incalculable value." SARAH CHILDRESS POLK. It rarely falls to the fortune of a woman to be not only the most distinguished woman in her State, but the most 528 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History distinguished in her country, and this fortune fell to Mrs. Sarah Childress Polk. She was born in Rutherford Coun- ty, Tennessee, September 4, 1803, and died in Nashville August 14, 1891, and was the widow of James K. Polk for forty-two years. Many women could have been the wid- ow of a President of the United States, and that would have been their only title to distinction or fame, but such was not the case with Mrs. Polk. During the forty-two years of her widowhood, the recognition not only that her husband was James K. Polk, but that her personal virtues were of the loftiest and finest, never ceased to be forth- coming. She was a fine character as well as the widow of an American President, and her memory will continue to be one of the choicest possessions of the people of Ten- nessee. Before marriage, she was Miss Sarah Childress, daugh- ter of Joel and Elizabeth Childress, and lived in Ruther- ford County, about two miles from Murfreesboro, the coun- ty seat, and her early education at her home was as good as was to be had there, which was not of the best. In fact, the thorough or higher education of girls was not consid- ered necessary, but her father appears to have taken the proper view of female education, and he employed the Prin- cipal of the Academy at Murfreesboro to give his daughter lessons, and thereby greatly facilitated her progress. When she was twelve years old, she was sent to Nashville to at- tend a private school. When she was about fifteen years old, she and her sister were sent to the Moravian Female Academy in Salem, North Carolina. The long distance be- tween her home and Salem — several hundred miles — was traveled on horseback, and the two girls were accompanied by a brother, Anderson Childress, and by a colored man servant, who went along to look after their baggage. From Middle Tennessee to Salem at this time would be trav- eled in less than a day, and it is hard for us to follow a trip on horseback and imagine the various episodes and adven- tures that must have happened to them. But they accom- plished the journey without mishap, and entered upon the life of a large school, which, to them, was entirely new. It is probable that this school was as good as any school Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 529 for girls in the country at that time. Wealth was not then rated as it is in our day. Immense fortunes did not exist except in very rare instances. 'The Childress family were well-to-do according to the standard of that time, and had all the social acceptability and distinction of other well to do people of the period. As far as we can ascertain, James Knox Polk was the first and only suitor Mrs. Polk ever had. He was consid- ered a young man of fine prospects from the start, and presented his case to Miss Childress with such persuasive- ness and effect that a marriage followed on Thursday even- ing, January 1st, 1824. It was a big country wedding, and the young people were tendered social attention in gener- ous profusion. Aaron V. Brown and Lucius J. Polk were two of the attendants. Brown, like Polk, was a grad- uate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was Polk's partner in the practice of law. He was a member of the Legislature of Tennessee, a member of Con- gress, and was elected Governor of Tennessee in 1845. In 1857 President Buchanan appointed him Postmaster Gen- eral. Mrs. Polk's first trip to Washington was with her hus- band in 1826, when he was a member of Congress. She and Mr. Polk were accompanied by Sam Houston, who was also a member of Congress. In 1842 Mr. and Mrs. Polk had as their guest at Nash- ville ex-President Martin Van Buren, who also visited General Jackson, at the Hermitage. After Mr. Polk's election as President, Mrs. Polk ac- companied her husband' to Washington. They went by steamer from Nashville to Wheeling, and thence by car- riage to Cumberland, and there they took the railroad train. At Baltimore they were joined by the Vice President elect, the Honorable George M. Dallas, and the party proceeded to Washington. Mr. Polk was inaugurated President and Mrs. Polk entered upon her duties as Mistress of the White House. Mrs. Polk was a consistent Presbyterian, and her reign in the White House eliminated card playing and dancing, 530 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History but in all other respects she did her full part in the social life of the nation's capital. Ben Perley Poore, who* published in book form "Rem- iniscences of Sixty Years as a Newspaper Correspondent in Washington" in two volumes, and who was not especially friendly to Democrats or Democratic administrations, in his Reminiscences has this to say of Mrs. Polk : "Mrs. Polk was a strict Presbyterian, and she shunned what she regarded as 'the vanities of the w r orld' whenever it was possible for her to do so. She did not possess the queenly grace of Mrs. Madison, or the warm, hearty, hos- pitality of Mrs. Tyler, but she presided over the White House with great dignity. She was of medium height in size, with very black hair, dark eyes and complexion, and firm, yet graceful deportment. At the inauguration of her husband she wore a black silk dress, a long black velvet cloak, with a deep cape trimmed with fringe and tassels, and a purple velvet bonnet, trimmed with satin ribbon. Her usual style of dress was rich, but not showy. "Mrs. Polk would not permit dancing at the White House, but she did all in her power to render the admin- istration popular. One morning a lady found her read- ing. 'I have many books presented to me by their writers,' said she, 'I try to read them all ; at present this is not pos- sible; but this evening, the author of this book dines with the President, and I could not be so unkind as to appear w r holly ignorant and unmindful of his gift.' At one of her evening receptions, a gentleman re- marked : 'Madam, you have a very genteel assemblage to- night.' 'Sir,' replied Mrs. Polk, with perfect good humor, but very significantly, 'I have never seen it otherwise.' " It was while Mrs. Polk was living in Nashville, in all the long years after the death of her husband, in dignified, cultured retirement, that she appeared at her best, and entered most largely into the affections of the people of Tennessee. There were a number of years when she and Andrew Johnson were the two most distinguished citi- zens of Tennessee, and when Andrew Johnson died in 1875, down to Mrs. Polk's death in 1891, she had universal recog- nition as the State's most distinguished citizen ; and as such received the most complimentary attention from the leading people of the United States who visited Nashville. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 531 The Legislature of Tennessee did her the honor to set apart one day of each session to pay their respects by calling on her. She received invitations to be present at great occa- sions, all over the country. In order to induce her to visit the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876, the Penn- sylvania Railroad offered her a palace car to travel in. She was invited by different Presidents to become a guest in the White House. President and Mrs. Hayes visited her in 1877, accompanied by Secretary of State, William M. Evarts. President and Mrs. Grover Cleveland visited Nashville during Mr. Cleveland's first term as President, and called on Mrs. Polk, and afterwards inspected the tomb of the former President. There were exactly forty years between the time that Mrs. Polk entered the White House in 1845 as its Mistress, and when Mrs. Frances Folsom Cleveland entered it, in 1885. On July 4, 1888, Mrs. Polk was selected to touch the but- ton which placed the machinery in motion of the Cincin- nati Centennial Exposition held to exemplify the progress of Ohio and adjoining States for a century. , In 1882 Congress appropriated a pension of $5,000.00 a year to Mrs. Polk, and the bill making the appropriation was amended so as to include all living widows of ex-Pres- idents. George Bancroft, who wrote Bancroft's History of the United States, and who was Secretary of the Navy during President Polk's administration, was, until his very last days, a very warm friend of Mrs. Polk, and he wrote her, on her eighty-sixth birthday this letter : GEORGE BANCROFT TO MRS. POLK. "Washington, September, 1889. "My dear Mrs. Polk: Your birthday returns and your friends are happy in your continued good health and en- joyment of life. As the oldest of them, and as one who, if spared, will in a few days enter his ninetieth year, I con- gratulate you on your health and vigor. May the coming year be one of perfect health and happiness to you ; you hold the affectionate regard of your country, and the esteem and best wishes of a nation minister to your length of days 532 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History better than all the efforts and care of the men of the heal- ing art can do. There is a constant refreshment of life in enjoying the highest esteem and regard of a free people who elected your husband to be their chief, and who en- abled him to fill his years of office with the greatest deeds. Live long, /that you may more and more see the astounding results of his administrative genius. Count me as one of the most earnest of your friends — perhaps the truest, as the oldest, of them all. "Ever with affectionate respect, your devoted friend, "George Bancroft." George Bancroft died January 17, 1891. He was born October 3, 1800. While Secretary of the Navy he established the Naval Academy at Annapolis. Naturally Mrs. Polk received a great many eulogistic and flattering letters, communications and addresses dur- ing the forty-two years that she was so distinguished as a citizen of Tennessee, but we doubt if anything was ever said or written to her that received her whole-hearted ap- preciation like the concluding clause in her husband's will, in these words: "I nave entire confidence that my beloved wife, Sarah Polk, who has been constantly identified with me in all her sympathies and affections, through all the vicissitudes of my public and private life for more than twenty-five years, and who, by her prudence, care and economy has aided in assisting me in acquiring and preserving the property which I own, will, at her death, make a proper and just distribu- tion of what property she may then possess." She died at Polk Place in Nashville on August 14, 1891, and was buried beside her husband. The tomb was sub- sequently moved to the Capitol grounds, where it will prob- ably remain for all time to come. Frances E. Willard, the founder of the Woman's Chris- tian Temperance Union paid her a tribute in a letter ad- dressed to a relative of Mrs. Polk: "Evanston, 111., August 15, 1891. "Dear Friend: "A noble Christian and typically American lady of the old school has gone from this world, and a beloved aunt and household comrade has left your historic home. Seeing Mrs. Polk first in 1881, I have omitted no opportunity to Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 533 do so when in Nashville since then. The portrait at the White House, placed there by American women, northern and southern, was a beautiful token of our renewed love and good understanding. The Christian example of Mrs. President Polk at the Executive Mansion will brighten the annals of our common country. These lines cannot express the full measure of appreciation and reverence that I have always cherished for your illustrious aunt. Well might the church bells toll for one always loyal to our Lord, and the flags be placed at half mast for a patriot who dignified the name 'American!' May God's blessing be with you all who loved her, and who have lost her out of your lives, is the prayer of, "Yours in the love of God and of humanity, "Frances E. Willard." 534 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XXXIV. THE HERMITAGE AND PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S VISIT AND SPEECH. On April 5th, 1889, the Legislature of Tennessee passed an Act approved by Governor R. L. Taylor April 6th, con- veying to a Board of nine trustees, to be appointed by the Governor, twenty-five acres of the Hermitage farm, includ- ing the mansion and outhouses ; two of these trustees to come from East Tennessee, five from Middle Tennessee, and two from West Tennessee. This Act also authorized the Ladies' Hermitage Asso- ciation to be given possession of the twenty-five acres, and placed in charge thereof. The title to the property was placed in these trustees, but the right to make by-laws for the Ladies' Hermitage Association was placed in the Asso- ciation, subject to the approval of the trustees. Governor Taylor appointed as the first Board of Trustees, Adolph S.. Ochs of Chattanooga, and H. H. Ingersoll of Knoxville, for East Tennessee; Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley, Gen. W. H. Jack- son, ex-Governor John C. Brown, L. F. Benson, all of Nash- ville, and W. R. French, of Tullahoma, for Middle Tennes- see; ex-Governor James D. Porter of Paris, and E. S. Mal- lory of Jackson, for West Tennessee. At the first meeting of the Board of Trustees, ex-Gov- ernor Porter was elected President, and Dr. Lindsley, Sec- retary. The Ladies' Hermitage Association became a chartered institution before the passage of the Legislative Act, and the clause of the charter applying for the same was as fol- lows: "We, the undersigned, apply to the State of Tennes- see by virtue of the laws of the land for a charter of incor- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 535 poration for the purposes and with the powers declared in the foregoing instrument. "This the 19th day of Feburary, 1889. (Signed) "Mrs. Rachel J. Lawrence, "Mary W. May, "Mrs. Mary Hadley Clare, "Mrs. E. L. Nicholson, "Miss Louise Grundy Lindsley, "Mrs. Henry Heiss." "Mary C. Dorris, witness to above signatures." The by-laws of the Association provided that the first biennial meeting of the Association should be held on the third Wednesday in May, 1889, and every two years there- after, at such place in Nashville, Tennesee, as may be desig- nated in the call. The inspiration of founding the Ladies' Hermitage Asso- ciation came to Mrs. Andrew Jackson III., wife of General Jackson's grandson. Before marriage she was Miss Amy Rich, of Hamilton, Ohio. Andrew Jackson III. married Miss Rich and brought her as a bride to the Hermitage, and she was therefore acquainted with all the conditions, memories and traditions connected with Andrew Jackson's old home. Proceeding from this inspiration of Mrs. Jackson, the found- ers of the Ladies' Hermitage Association became Colonel Andrew Jackson III. and wife, Mrs. Amy Jackson, Mrs. Mary C. Dorris, W. A. Donelson and wife, Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson. Dr. and Mrs. Berrien Lindsley were strong friends in getting the bill through the Legislature granting the twenty- five acres to the Ladies' Hermitage Association, and the first Board of Directors of the Association was elected May 15, 1889, and consisted of Mrs. Mary L. Baxter, Regent; Mrs. A. S. Colyar, First Vice-Regent ; Mrs. J. M. Dickinson, Sec- ond Vice-Regent; Mrs. Mary C. Dorris, Secretary; L. F. Benson, Treasurer; Mrs. William Morrow, Mrs. John Ruhm, Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson. The Legislature authorized the Ladies' Hermitage Asso- ciation to take over the twenty-five acres, the mansion and the out-buildings, but the expense of caring for and improv- 536 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ing the property was to be exclusively on the Association — not a dollar was appropriated by the Legislature, and no appropriation for current expenses was ever made by the Legislature until 1895, when the State gave $600.00 a year, and this continued up to 1911, when it was increased to $1,200.00 a year, and so continued to 1915, when it was in- creased to $1,800.00 a year, and this is now the amount ap- propriated. APPEAL TO THE PUBLIC. Knowing that considerable sums would be needed to make badly needed repairs and pay for current expenses, the Hermitage Association made an appeal to the public for funds, which was printed in a booklet and spread broad- cast. This appeal was as follows: "The General Assem- bly of the State of Tennessee has assigned to the care of the Ladies' Hermitage Association the house and tomb of Gen- eral Jackson and twenty-five surrounding acres to improve, beautify and keep forever in perpetual memory of the great hero. "The Association proposes to do its work thoroughly — to purchase the relics, to renovate the house, to beautify the grounds and to make the Hermitage the most beautiful, as it has been the most interesting spot, in all the South- land. It will be a national museum, inviting pilgrims from the North, the South, the East and the West, who will de- light to honor the memory of him who said : The Federal Union must be preserved!' "The Association proposes to keep in continual repair the house, tomb and grounds ; for many years nothing has been done in this regard. There is consequently great need for a repair fund, and the first money collected into the treasury will be devoted to restoring to its original beauty the grand old historic mansion, the tomb, and to adorning the grounds. The Association also wishes to purchase the relics and furniture now at the Hermitage and owned by Colonel Andrew Jackson, and which have been pledged to said Association. These relics are both valuable and inter- esting, and a large sum of money will be required to pur- chase them. It will readily be seen that to put the home- stead in thorough repair, to purchase the relics, to create an endowment fund by which the Association is to become self-sustaining, a large sum of money will be required. "The Association is national in its character, as Andrew Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 537 Jackson was national in his reputaton. He belonged to the people, and to them the Association now appeals for assist* ance in this great work. The by-laws require a member- ship fee of one dollar ; by this means the Association hopes to realize at least one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, as it is the belief that there are fully that many citizens of the United States who would gladly give that sum to the res- toration of 'Old Hickory's' home. Contributions of any sum from one dollar or less to any great sum a munificent benefactor may be willing to give. Any contribution may be sent to the Treasurer, L. F. Benson, Nashville, Ten- nessee, and will be receipted by him and placed to the credit of the Association. We hope that this appeal will strike the key note of patriotism and that in a very few years the home of Andrew Jackson, the beautiful Hermitage, will be the Mecca of all true patriots in the United States, and of historic interest to the touring stranger. "Mrs. Nathaniel Baxter, Sr. Regent. Mrs. A. S. Colyar, First Vice Regent. Mrs. J. M. Dickinson, Second Vice Regent. Mrs. D. R. Dorris, Secretary." As the years went by the ladies resorted to various ex- pedients to raise money and with general success. The Hermitage now is practically the same as when Andrew Jackson lived in it; the furniture is in the same rooms it occupied when Old Hickory was there. The Association has spent fifteen thousand dollars in buying the Jackson relics from Colonel Andrew Jackson III., and the building is most punctiliously cared for, and, to an American citi- zen, is one of the most interesting spots in the world. Time and again the question has been asked why the Legislature of Tennessee placed upon a band of devoted, patriotic wom- en the heavy responsibility of restoring the run-down piece of property and making it a shrine to which American pat- riotism can go and worship. It would seem that the State of Tennessee ought to have been, and should be now munifi- cent in its appropriations for this purpose, but such has not been the case. General Jackson, by will, gave the Hermitage to his adopted son, Andrew Jackson Jr., who, in 1856, sold it to the State of Tennessee for $48,000.00, and then left the Hermitage with his family, but returned in 1860 at the in- vitation of Governor Isham G. Harris, to take charge of 538 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History the property until the Legislature could determine what should be done with it. The State intended to offer the prop- erty to the United States government for an Academy, like that at West Point, but the Civil War came on, and nothing came of the matter. During the Civil War Andrew Jackson, Jr., remained at the Hermitage, and he died there, leaving his widow, Mrs. Sarah Yorke Jackson, and her sister, Mrs. Marion Adams, as the occupants. Mrs. Sarah Jackson re- mained at the Hermitage by permission of the Legislature until 1888, when she died. Her sister, Mrs. Adams, died before her, and both are buried in the garden. HISTORY OF THE HERMITAGE. General Jackson built, in 1804, a two story log house where he was visited by Aaron Burr in 1805 ; and the Gen- eral was living in that log house in 1815 when he won the Battle of New Orleans. The present site was selected for the new Hermitage by General Jackson because it was the preference of Mrs. Jackson. One day when the General and Major Lewis were on that spot, he told Major Lewis that the house would be built there because Mrs. Jackson wanted it. The mansion was constructed in 1819, and La- Fayette was entertained there in 1825. It was burned October 14, 1834, and immediately rebuilt and reoccupied in May, 1835. It is colonial in its architecture, with two- story verandas both front and rear, with a wide hall-way with double rooms on either side, and wings, making eleven rooms altogether, besides kitchen and other neces- sary small rooms, with smoke-house and outhouses. Gen- eral Jackson bought six hundred and fifty acres of what afterwards became the Hermitage Farm for eight hundred dollars, and after his mansion was built, it can be truth- fully said that he came as near keeping open house for every one asking his hospitality free of charge, as any man that ever lived. It was here that he raised the Indian boy that he brought back from the battlefield of Talluschatches where he found a slain Indian woman still holding a living infant. He tried to get Indian women there to nurse the child, which they declined to do, and by some means the General sue- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 539 ceeded in keeping the infant alive, and getting it to Nash- ville, where Mrs. Jackson received it and it grew up in the family and was treated by the General and his wife as a son. The boy was named Lincoyer, and was educated and finally taken by General Jackson to Nashville and there given a choice of trades to learn, and Lincoyer selected harness-making; but the seeds of consumption were in him, and he finally died at the age of seventeen. Illustrative of General Jackson's hospitality, which was an innate and intrinsic part of the man — both at the Her- mitage and at Washington, two quotations may be made from Parton : "In an establishment so restricted, General Jackson and his good hearted wife continued to dispense a most generous hospitality. A lady of Nashville tells me that she has often been at the Hermitage in those simple old times when there was, in each of the four available rooms not a guest merely, but a family; while the young men and solitary travelers who chanced to drop in disposed of themselves on the piazza, or any other half-shelter about the house. 'Put it dowm in your book,' said one of General Jackson's oldest neigh- bors, 'that the General was the prince of hospitality ; not because he entertained a great many people, but because the poor belated peddler was as welcome as the President of the United States, and made so much at his ease, that he felt as though he had got home.' " Parton says again : "Amid the bustle and throng and strife of Washington, General Jackson maintained the same easy and profuse hospitality to which he had been accus- tomed at the Hermitage, and every one of his thousands of guests brought away something curious to tell of him. He was one of those positive and peculiar men whose com- monest action becomes an anecdote, and I have consequent- ly accumulated a mass of anecdotical reminiscences of him which I cannot withhold, but know not how to press within reasonable compass. I may add, before going further, that the liberal hospitality of the White House compelled the President to eke out his salary by drawing upon the pro- ceeds of his farm. Before leaving Washington in 1837 he had to send for six thousand dollars of the proceeds of his cotton crop in order to pay the debts which his last year's salary failed to cover. In the spring of 1836 when the Hermitage was damaged by fire to the extent of three thou- sand dollars, he was really embarrassed to find the means of repairing and refurnishing it. He wrote to a friend in 540 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Philadelphia: 'I have directed my son to offer for sale a piece of valuable land in Tennessee. I find this will be nec- essary before I can venture to incur the responsibility of another purchase. Here I have no control of my expense, and can calculate nothing on my salary.' " The part of the five hundred acres purchased from Andrew Jackson, Jr., by the Legislature, that has not been transferred to the Ladies' Hermitage Association is being used for a Confederate Soldiers' Home, but it cannot be many years that this use will continue. In 1917 the Board of Directors of the Ladies' Hermi- tage Association and the Board of Trustees issued an ap- peal to the people of Tennessee that the entire five hundred acres of the Hermitage tract should be placed in the pos- session of the Ladies' Hermitage Association after it was no longer used for a Confederate Soldiers' Home, and that appeal should meet with a response in the breast of admir- ers of Andrew Jackson everywhere. It follows : "An Appeal to the People of Tennessee to Forever Pre- serve the Hermitage Farm in its Entirety as a Suitable and Lasting Monument to Major General Andrew Jackson. "the hermitage. "In 1856 the State of Tennessee purchased the five hundrd acres of land known as The Hermitage. General Andrew Jackson's adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jr., in his published letter quotes him as saying: 'If you ever find it necessary to sell The Hermitage, sell it to my own be- loved State,' and so this desire was fulfilled. But each suc- cessive legislature has been petitioned, and promoters of various kinds have had plans, to convert this cherished spot into other than a memorial to Jackson. "The Ladies' Hermitage Association has been kept on the alert as the years have gone by, trying to meet and de- feat all such endeavors, and it has been difficult, since none of us are experienced or paid lobbyists, but merely women interested in the highest institutions in the world — the home, the school and the church. We are anxious that the people of Tennessee should aid us in this endeavor, and by ex- pressions of approval through the press, in public school debates and individual expressions, to create a sentiment so strong that we may never have to meet and defeat any future plans in legislative halls. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 541 "In 1889 the legislature passed the Confederate Sol- diers' Home Bill with suitable appropriations, and at the same time passed the bill creating the Ladies' Hermitage Association without any appropriation, and transferrng to the Association the mansion and twenty-five acres of land. The Association has grown larger and stronger each year, and hopes to control and beautify the land now held by the Trustees of the Confederate Soldiers' Home whenever it ceases to be used for the aged soldiers. "By this appeal we urge every Tennessean to be a senti- nel on the watch tower, to protect and secure this entire historic farm as a memorial to Andrew Jackson, so that the time will never come when it will be given over for any other purpose, or be swallowed up in commercial greed, under any pretext whatever. Tennessee is sufficiently rich to hold it without assaulting Jackson's great memory. He was a national figure, and history records of him that he never left his home in those old pioneer days of peril that he did not render his State and country some signal service, a service which gives this generation the privilege of enjoy- ing to the fullest the advantages and comforts of the pres- ent age. Had he not performed those wonderful feats in Southern territory it would have been years before the white man could have lived in peace therein. He was crowned with honors and filled the highest offices within the gift of a democratic people. Citizens from all over the country came to his home to do him honor, to seek his ad- vice, to enjoy his society and to discuss with him the af- fairs of his country. He sleeps at his quiet and beautiful Hermitage in a tomb provided by him for himself and his beloved wife, and it is meet and proper that the State of Tennessee should retain the entire property there as a de- serving monument to his memory. It should be the pride and boast of every Tennessean that he feels himself a guard- ian of the Hermitage lands. "THE LADIES' HERMITAGE ASSOCIATION. "Had it not been for the Ladies' Hermitage Association there would be no Hermitage today. Instead, it would be just like Jackson's law office on Union Street in Nashville, which has a tablet on it saying, This was once Andrew Jackson's Law Office.' In 1889 the Hermitage mansion would have been demolished or remodeled for the Confed- erate Soldiers' Home had not the Ladies' Hermitage Asso- ciation asked and received permission from the Legislature to preserve it, and with its own funds, through its own en- deavors, the Association has purchased all the valuable 542 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History relics needed to make the mansion complete, and, unlike George Washington's home, it is replete with genuine relics and not reproductions. "The shadows are growing long toward the evening of life for the old Confederate heroes, and in a short time something will be done with that part of the land surround- ing the Hermitage mansion. The time will come, all too quickly, when the last Confederate veteran will have an- swered the last roll call, taps will have been sounded, and the old soldier will sleep his last sleep. It is for such a time as this that the Ladies' Hermitage Association desires to make another plea for the possesson of the entire Jackson farm, in order that the people of this broad Union may be able to visit the home and haunts of Old Hickory, draw in^ spiration from his great name and great fame, take a les- son in patriotism by recalling his history and viewing his home and his lands, and compare the greatness of Jackson wth the greatness of today. "The Ladies' Hermitage Association does not seek any additional appropriation whatever, only that the added trust which they ask be placed in their hands. The Association feels that it has fully demonstrated its ability to take care of the greater trust as it has taken care of the twenty-five acres around the mansion which were entrusted to it in 1889. "For the first six years after the organization of the Ladies' Hermitage Association the Legislature never gave a dollar toward the upkeep of the property, and it was in a state of extreme dilapidation, but today the home and grounds are in a high state of preservation, beautifully kept and exquisitely furnished with the genuine belongings of General Andrew Jackson, himself. "The Association feels that the name and fame of Jack- son are great enough for the Legislature of Tennessee to erect any monument, no matter how expensive it might be ; and it also feels that it is not asking too much of Tennessee that the entire farm, once owned and tilled by Jackson, should be held in its entirety, to the memory of the great hero. The property all belongs to the State, so that no purchase money will be required to possess it. Surely this great commonwealth can afford to honor itself by giving into the care and trust of the Memorial Association this beautiful tract of land of such intense historic interest for the present generation, and which will continue so for all generations of Tennesseans that are to come. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 543 BOARD OF DIRECTORS. Mrs. B. F. Wilson, Regent. Miss Louise G. Lindsley, 1st Vice Regent. Mrs. A. M. Shook, 2nd Vice Regent. Mrs. Mary C. Dorris, Secretary. Mrs. Maggie L. Hicks, Treasurer. Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson. Mrs. R. A. Henry. Miss Carrie Sims. Mrs. Porter Phillips. BOARD OF TRUSTEES. S. G. Heiskell, President. John W. Gaines, Vice President. John M. Gray, Jr.. Secretary. Percy Warner. M. T. Bryan. A. M. Shook, Commodore Albert L. Key. J. W. Lewis. G. T. Fitzhugh. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AT THE HERMITAGE. On October 22, 1907, upon the invitation of the Gover- nor of the State, the Mayor, Board of Trade and leading cit- izens of Nashville, President Theodore Roosevelt visited The Hermitage and was accorded a very cordial reception. A distinguished assembly of citizens came together there to greet him, and he was shown every mark of that high cour- tesy due the President of the United States. He was met at the entrance by Mrs. Mary Dorris, Regent of the Associa- tion, and Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence, granddaughter of General Jackson, and was conducted through the mansion, grounds and gardens, and his friends insisted that his pho- tograph be taken while standing at the tomb of Jackson, which was clone ; and the photograph is now one of the prized possessions of the Ladies' Hermitage Association. One of his very first utterances after arriving was to say, "At the very beginning I want to ask you ladies, have you any objection to Congress appropriating money to help your Association in your beautiful and patriotic work?" This 544 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History question was graciously answered, and later he was formal- ly and officially answered by resolution of the Board of Trustees of The Hermitage appointed by the Governor of the State, and of the Board of Directors of the Ladies' Her- mitage Association, thanking him for his interest in the Home and Tomb of Jackson, and accepting any appropria- tion Congress might see fit to make. From the Tomb, President Roosevelt addressed the audi- ence present and said : THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. "Oh, my friends, think how much it means to all our history, think how much it means to our people of today, that we should have this Hermitage as a place of national pilgrimage for all citizens who wish to learn, to study, who wish to quicken their patriotism in the present by being here in the abode, in the living place of one of the great pa- triots of the nation's past. "On behalf of the nation I wish to thank the Ladies' Hermitage Association who have preserved it. But I do not think it just or fair that the burden which should be supported by the nation should be a drain upon private purses. "It is greatly to your credit that you have done this work which the nation ought to have done, but I shall do all that I can do to see that the nation relieves you, not of the management, but of the expense of the management. And I shall count on the hearty support of all the senators and congressmen from Tennessee and from every other State. I want to say that Andrew Jackson was a Tennes- sean, but Andrew Jackson was an American, and there is not a State in this nation that cannot claim him, that has not the right to claim him as a national hero. "And surely no use of the public money can be better, can be wiser spent than in keeping up, for the instruction of the future, the home of the great statesman. "I know the objection will be made that if we begin to take care of this house we shall be expected to take care of the houses of all the presidents. I draw a sharp distinction between Old Hickory and a great many Presidents. "The Hermitage should be cared for by the nation in the same spirit that we now care for Mount Vernon. Of course Mount Vernon stands absolutely unique among all places, but The Hermitage represents the home of one of the three or four greatest presidents this nation has ever Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 545 had; of one of the three or four greatest public men that any nation has developed in the same length of time. "Andrew Jackson was a great national figure. His ca- reer will stand ever more and more as a source of inspira- tion for boy and man in this republic. A soldier, a states- man, a patriot, devoted, with a single mind to the welfare of his whole country. Let his whole country make it their object, acting through the national government, to see that hereafter there is no question of keeping up The Hermitage and all its surroundings. "My friends, I have but a moment here in which to greet you. I did not come here to teach but to learn. I did not come to speak but to pay my respects to the Home and the Tomb of Andrew Jackson. "Public questions change from time to time. One gen- eration has to meet and solve a given set of problems ; the next generation has to meet and solve another set of prob- lems ; but the spirit in which these problems must be met, if they are to be successfully solved, cannot change. The man who has the stuff in him to make a good citizen in one generation would be a good citizen in any other generation. That is true of civic life exactly like it is true of military life. "At New Orleans General Jackson's troops fought with the long, heavy Pea rifle — the old flint-lock — the weapon that the first hunters carried when they came over the mountains into Tennessee and Kentucky. Weapons change, tactics change, but the spirit of the soldier who wins vic- tories remains unchanged from generation to generaton. And I believe that, at need, the American people would do well now in war, because I believe that we have among us men who would be borne up by the same spirit to which Andrew Jackson was able successfully to appeal on that misty January morning when the fog lifting, showed the scarlet ranks of the gallant British regulars advancing to die on the breastworks at New Orleans. "So it was true of you men of the great war. You fought with the muzzle loader. Some of them were flint locks, I guess. Now we have the high-power, small caliber rifle; the rifles that were new in your day, or unknown in your day, are antiquated now. The tactics change. They wear khaki instead of blue or grey ; but if ever thf crisis comes, our men can only win if they show that they have now the same spirit that sent on to battle the men in blue and the men in grey in the dark years from 1861-65. "The spirit does not change; and it is the spirit of the man that counts as the ultimate and decisive factor in bat- tle. We need organization ; we need generalship, but or- 546 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ganization and generalship cannot avail unless the private soldier in the ranks, unless the average man with a mus- ket, has got the right stuff in him, for if he has not got the right stuff in him, you cannot get it out of him because it is not there to get out. "Just as it is in time of war, so it is in time of peace. Since Andrew Jackson's time, in the seventy years that have elapsed since he was President, the problems have changed. We have seen the growth of a great complex civilization; we need different laws and therefore different methods of administering the laws. But we must admin- ister it in the spirit of Andrew Jackson — must administer all laws and enact them in the spirit of Andrew Jackson, if our government is to continue to be a success. "I should not say that Old Hickory was faultless. I do not know very many strong men that have not got some of the defects of their qualities, but Andrew Jackson was as upright a patriot, as honest a man, as fearless a gentleman as ever any nation had in public or private life. His mem- ory will remain forever a precious national heritage and his public career should be studied and stimulated by every public man who desires to be in good faith the servant of the whole people of the United States." In his next message to congress the President said: "I solemnly recommend to the Congress to provide funds for keeping up The Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jack- son, these funds to be used through the existing Hermitage Association for the preservation of the historic building which should be ever dear to America." On January 8, 1908, Hon. John W. Gaines, member of the Board of Trustees of The Hermitage, introduced in Congress a bill following the recommendation of the Presi- dent, and making an appropriation for The Hermitage, and supported the bill by an extended speech covering the ca- reer of General Jackson, the history of The Hermitage and its preservation, and the patriotic care due it both from the Government and the State. All the other members of Con- gress from Tennessee, in both the House and the Senate, earnestly supported the move for an appropriation, and the bill finally passed granting $5,000.00 from the national treasury to The Hermitage Association in accordance with the President's recommendation. The act passed by the Legislature of Tennessee in 1856 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 547 authorized the purchase from Andrew Jackson, Jr., of 500 acres of the Hermitage farm and was in these words: ACT TO PURCHASE THE HERMITAGE. Whereas, it is good policy in a republican government to encourage the habits of industry and to inculcate senti- ments of veneration for those departed heroes who have rendered important services to their country in times of danger; and Whereas, Tennessee acknowledges no superior in feel- ings of patriotism and devotion to the Union in whose cause the lamented Andrew Jackson acquired so much distinc- tion; therefore Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee that the Governor of the State be empowered and it is hereby made his duty to purchase for the State of Tennessee 500 acres of the late residence of Andrew Jackson, deceased, including the Mansion, Tomb and other improvements known as "The Hermitage." Section 2. Be it further enacted that whenever the said purchase is made and the title to said property secured to the State, that the Governor is hereby authorized to cause the bonds of the State to be issued and to endorse the same in an amount not exceeding $48,000.00, the proceeds of which to be appropriated by him in carrying into effect the provisions of this act : Provided, that the Governor and the Secretary of State upon investigation shall be satisfied said price is not exorbitant; Secton 3. Be it further enacted that the Governor of the State be authorized and required to tender the said prop- erty to the General Government of the United States upon the express condition that it be used as a site for a branch of the Military Academy at West Point; and in the event the General Government does not accept the tender thus made in two years from the expiration of this session of the General Assembly, then the Governor shall be authorized and required to have fifty acres laid off, including the Tomb, the Mansion, and the spring and the spring houses, and expose the balance to public sale either as a whole or in lots, on time or for cash as to him may seem best, and make his report to the Legislature of 1859-60. The coming on of the Civil War prevented any steps for converting The Hermitage into a branch of the Military Academy, and the tender to the Government required by this act was never made. 548 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History The following boards have had control of the Associa- tion since its organization: Elected May 15, 1889: Mrs. Mary L. Baxter, Regent Mrs. A. S. Colyar First Vice Regent Mrs. J. M. Dickinson Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary L. F. Benson Treasurer Mrs. Wm. Morrow Mrs. John Ruhm Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson Mrs. Duncan B. Cooper Mrs. Felix DeMoville Elected May 20, 1891 : Mrs. Mary L. Baxter, Regent Mrs. Albert S. Marks First Vice Regent Mrs. J. Berrien Lindsley .... Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Dr. William Morrow Treasurer Mrs. Wm. Morrow Mrs. John Ruhm Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson Mrs. John C. Gaut Mrs. Maggie L. Hicks Elected June 7, 1893: Mrs. Mary L. Baxter, Regent Mrs. Albert S. Marks First Vice Regent Mrs. J. Berrien Lindsley. . . .Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Mr. Edgar Jones Treasurer Mrs. John Ruhm Auditor Mrs. John C. Gaut Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson Mrs. Isabel 'M. Clark Mrs. J. M. Dickinson Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 549 Elected October 30, 1895 : Mrs. Mary L. Baxter, Regent Mrs. Albert S. Marks Acting Regent Mrs. J. Berrien Lindsley .... Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Mrs. John Ruhm Auditor Mrs. P. H. Manlove Treasurer Mrs. Hugh Craighead Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson Mrs. John C. Gaut Mrs. Isabel Clark Elected May 19, 1897: Mrs. Mary L. Baxter Regent Mrs. Albert S. Marks Acting Regent Mrs. J. Berrien Lindsley .... Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Mrs. P. H. Manlove Treasurer Mrs. R. G. Throne Mrs. J. M. Dickinson Mrs. M. S. Cockrill Mrs. A. M. Shook Mrs. John C. Gaut Elected May 17, 1889 : Mrs. J. Berrien Lindsley Regent Mrs. J. M. Dickinson First Vice Regent Mrs. Eugene C. Lewis Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris. Secretary Mrs. A. M. Shook Treasurer Mrs. R. G. Throne Mrs. M. S. Cockrill Mrs. A. M. Shook Mrs. John C. Gaut Mrs. J. C. Buntin 550 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Elected May 15, 1901 : Mrs. J. Berrien Lindsley Regent Mrs. A. M. Shook First Vice Regent Mrs. M. S. Cockrill Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Mrs. J. Walter Allen Treasurer Mrs. Wm. J. McMurray Mrs. Thomas M. Stegar Mrs. John C. Gaut Mrs. J. C. Buntin § Elected May 13, 1903 : Mrs. J. Berrien Lindsley Regent Mrs. A. M. Shook First Vice Regent Mrs. M. S. Cockrill Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Mrs. J. Walter Allen Treasurer Mrs. John C. Gaut Mrs. W. J. McMurray Mrs. Thomas M. Stegar Mrs. J. C. Buntin Mrs. Lindsley expiring July 5, 1903, Mrs. A. M. Shook was elected Re- gent, Miss Louise Lindsley a direc- tor. Elected May 17, 1905 : Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Regent Mrs. M. S. Cockrill First Vice Regent Miss Louise Lindsley Second Vice Regent Mrs. J. Walter Allen Secretary Mrs. P. H. Manlove Treasurer Mrs. W. J. McMurray Mrs. Thomas M. Stegar Mrs. J. C. Buntin Mrs. A. M. Shook Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 551 Elected May 15, 1907: Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Regent Miss Louise G. Lindsley First Vice Regent Mrs. A. M. Shook Second Vice Regent Mrs. Walter Allen Secretary Mrs. P. H. Manlove Treasurer Mrs. M. S. Cockrill Mrs. Thomas M. Stegar Mrs. B. F. Wilson Mrs. Joseph M. Ford Elected May 19, 1909: Miss Louise Grundy Lindsley Regent Mrs. Walter Allen First Vice Regent Mrs. A. M. Shook Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Mrs. P. H. Manlove Treasurer Mrs. M. S. Cockrill Mrs. Cleves Symmes Mrs. B. F. Wilson Mrs. Joseph M. Ford Mrs. M. S. Cockrill expired 1910; Mrs. D. Shelby Wil- liams elected Director. Elected May 17, 1911: Miss Louise Grundy Lindsley. Regent Mrs. J. Walter Allen First Vice Regent Mrs. B. F. Wilson Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Mrs. P. H. Manlove Treasurer Mrs. J. Cleves Symmes Mrs. John C. Brown Mrs. A. M. Shook Mrs. James H. Campbell 552 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Elected May 21, 1913: Mrs. B. F. Wilson Regent Miss Louise G. Lindsley First Vice Regent Mrs. A. M. Shook Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Mrs. P. H. Manlove Treasurer Miss Carrie Sims Mrs. R. A. Henry Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson Mrs. Maggie L. Hicks Elected May 19, 1915: Mrs. B. F. Wilson Regent Miss Louise G. Lindsley First Vice Regent Mrs. A. M. Shook Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Mrs. P. H. Manlove Treasurer Miss Carrie Sims Mrs. R. A. Henry Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson Mrs. Maggie L. Hicks Elected May 16, 1917 : Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson Regent Mrs. B. F. Wilson First Vice Regent Miss Louise G. Lindsley Second Vice Regent Mrs. Mary C. Dorris Secretary Mrs. Maggie L. Hicks Treasurer Mrs. A. M. Shook Mrs. R. A. Henry Mrs. Porter Phillips Mrs. J. Washington Moore The following gentlemen have served on the Board of Trustees, in addition to the members of the present Board : *Ex-Gov. John C. Brown *Ex-Gov. Jas. D. Porter Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 553 *Dr. D. F. Porter *L. F. Benson *Hon. Julian A. Trousdale *Hon. E. S. Mallory *Judge H. H. Ingersoll *Hon. H. S. Chamberlain *Gen. W. H. Jackson *W. R. French *Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley *Gen. John F. Wheless *Dr. Thomas A. Atchison *Nat Baxter *Gen. G. P. Thurston Judge J. M. Dickinson Hon. A. C. Floyd Gen. John A. Fite Lewis R. Donelson Hon. J. M. Head * Deceased. 554 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XXXV. THE HERMITAGE AND RELICS OF JACKSON. Nothing- so impresses the thoughtful visitor at the Hermitage as the very high degree of taste and elegance displayed by the person, whoever it may have been, that se- lected the furniture, decorations, pictures, chinaware, silver- ware and the hundred other things that make up this beau- tifully equipped home. Yet beautifully equipped it was (and still is) and that, too, only a few years after the first steam- boat whistled for the Nashville landing; when the pub- lic highways could not truthfully be called roads; when there was not a railroad in the State and hardly one in America; when schools were few at best and only nominal educational factors in the life of the day; when art was not taught in the schools in any of its forms, and was prac- tically unknown, unless introduced from beyond the State; when manufacturing was not yet born in Tennessee and was in its infancy all over the United States; and when, in every aspect of life, the simplicity of the pioneer was over everything. The wall paper on the Hermitage was ordered by General Jackson from Paris, France, and rep- resents Telemachus in search of Ulysses, a classical story. How r came Old Hickory to import so splendid a wall cov- ering for his home? Who selected it for him? Or did, as was most probable, he select it for himself? Whose taste picked out the beautiful cut glass chandeliers, that, eighty- two years after they were hung, will stand comparison with even the ornamental light fixtures of to-day? Where was the furniture made and who selected it? We are curious to know these things, and many other things about this home in the then wilds of the western country. Old Hickory's enemies used to say that he did not, and could not, write his messages and other public communica- tions, and that they were the work of friends, or employed writers. If so, he had a most marvelous insight in select- ing the very men who understood his exact purposes and • Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 555 could give the very highest distinction to his official com- munications, for his State papers rank among the very greatest. But did he also select some one to furnish and beautify his home for him? If so, he had again, marvelous intuition in selecting exactly the right person. Is it not wonderful that the son of a poor Irish immigrant was so refined in his taste, and so appreciative of beautiful things that he was willing to go to the necessarily heavy expense of equipping such a home as he had in that backwoods coun- try? That home was remarkable, but it was only one of many remarkable things about Andrew Jackson. His ene- mies held him up as being the next thing to an untamed savage, even when at his best, and not tamed at all when his temper was aroused. Yet, in his home, his soft, gen- tle, humanizing deportment, his highbred courtesy, his un- failing kindness, his lavish hospitality not only to friends but to any sojourner within his gates, were all patent to any one privileged to become his guest. In that home the observer could see that there was no lack of appreciation of, or indifference to, the beauty and refinement of his sur- roundings, but that he accepted every delightful and re- fining accessory as if he "was to the manor born." Jack- son knew intuitively and took in in advance, things that had to be drilled into others by the process of the school, or long contact, or continued observation. If Fortune was unkind to him in his early days, and did not give him long or thorough academic training, Nature, his good mother, was lavish in her intellectual gifts, and in endowing him with mental insight that did not require the training of schools to develop it, but came, like the flash of electricity from the clouds. It was just this intellectual acumen that made long schooling for Andrew Jackson unnecessary ; it was just this mental quickness that caused that marvelous development of the man, as any one could see by comparing his crude young days at Nashville, with the polish and de- velopment that came in a very few years, and came not through or by any formal training, but simply by asso- ciation with his fellowmen and assimilating qualities and capacities that made up for the things that he lacked. There- fore, we have ample ground on which to base the conclu- 556 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History- sion that in everything connected with a life of intellec- tual, refined, cultivated people who were capable of know- ing the best in the social intercourse of life, that Andrew Jackson was fully able to stand comparison. Let the reader now take a walk through the Hermitage, and study every feature of every room, and bear in mind that the Hermitage of to-day is the Hermitage that An- drew Jackson built and furnished and loved and lived in and invited the world to share with him. THE HALL. Entering the hall, which is large and commodious, one notes at first glance number 1. The pictorial wall paper, ordered by General Jack- son from Paris, France, when the house was rebuilt in 1835. It was shipped by way of New Orleans up the Miss- issippi and Cumberland Rivers. It represents the legend of the travels of Telemachus in search of Ulysses, his fa- ther, and is that part of the story of his landing on the Island of Calypso. He is accompanied by Mentor. The first scene is the landing and the Queen advancing to meet them. Scene II. Is Telemachus relating the story of his trav- els to Calypso, the faithful Mentor by his side. Scene III. Calypso gives a fete in his honor, and Cupid begins to play a part. Scene IV. Telemachus resolves to escape; Calypso's maidens burn his boat, and he jumps from the cliffs. 2. Oil painting of Christopher Columbus. 3. Mahogany sofa in the position General Jackson loved to see it. ■ 4. Pier table. The mate to it is in the dining room. 5. Bust of Lewis Cass, Secretary of War and Minister Plenipotentiary to France under Gen. Jackson. 6. Gen. Jackson's hatrack. 7. Gen. Jackson's umbrella stand. 8. Original stair carpet and rods of Gen. Jackson. The floor covering was furnished by the Association. The orig- inal oilcloth is in the house, but is much too frail for use. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 557 A. The desk was used in the exhibit of the Ladies' Her- mitage Association at the World's Columbian Exposition; also B. The chair at desk. 9. Hall chandelier used for fifty years. 10. Oil portrait of Jackson by Earl. One of his best. 11. Flags used in the decoration at Horse Shoe Bend on the one hundredth anniversary of the battle. Presented by Mrs. B'. F. Wilson. 12. Oil portarit of Andrew Jackson, Jr., adopted son of Gen. Andrew Jackson. Was adopted and named Andrew Jackson, Jr., in 1800, when but three days old. Loaned by Mrs. Amy Jackson, widow of Col. Andrew 7 Jackson. 13. Mrs. Sarah Yorke Jackson, wife of Andrew Jack- son, Jr. Was married while Jackson was President, and was taken a bride to the W T hite House in 1831. Presided as Lady of the White House. Loaned by Mrs. Rachel Jack- son Lawrence. 14. Portrait of Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence, daughter of adopted son. Loaned. 15. Poem by Mrs. Scott. 16. Glass celande or hurricane shade. 17. "The Hermitage," a poem written by and presented to the Ladies' Hermitage Association by J. C. L. Byrnes, of Philadelphia. 18. Old brass candlestick, presented by Mrs. Percy Warner. 19. Case of souvenirs which are for sale. Plates, post cards and catalogues. GEN. JACKSON'S PARLORS. 1. Crystal chandelier used at the Hermitage for over fifty years. 2. Six mahogany chairs used in Gen. Jackson's parlors. 3. Engraving, "Sortie on Gibraltar." 4. Engraving, "Siege on Gibraltar." 5. Pair of Dresden vases on wall brackets. 6. Papier-mache table bought by Andrew Jackson, Jr. 7. Papier-mache chair, match to the table. 558 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 8 and 9. Silver lustre vases sent to Gen. Jackson from Russia. 10. Mahogany sofa bought by Mr. Hoffstetter at the sale of the adopted son's effects in 1865, presented to the Asso- ciation in 1897 by Miss Bettie Hoffstetter. 11. Pier table A. 12. Pier table B — the pair placed where Gen. Jackson had them. 13. Blust of Levi Woodbury of Gen. Jackson's Cabinet, with the autograph letter of presentation and Gen. Jack- son's autograph draft note of reply. 14. Silk damask curtains. 15. Mantel mirrors, in front and back parlors. 16. Mantel of Italian marble. 17. Duplicate mantel in Tennessee marble. 18. Japanese bronze clock inlaid with enamel, hand wrought. 19. Candelabra to match Japanese clock; figure of men holding branch of candles. 20. Velvet chair of the old Hermitage furnishings. 21. Chair with back inlaid with mother of pearl. 22. Parlor andirons. 23. The original carpets used in the Hermitage for over fifty years. . 24. Parian marble vases. 25. Mahogany cabinet. * 26. Portrait by Earl of Gen. Jackson on Sam Patch, a magnificent white horse presented to him in 1833 by the citizens of Pennsylvania. Gen. Jackson rode this horse in a grand civic and military parade given in his honor in Philadelphia, after which it was sent to Nashville and died during the Civil War. A Federal soldier whom Gen. Geo. H. Thomas had placed as guard at the Hermitage fired a military salute over the grave. In 1913 this old soldier vis- ited the Hermitage and located the grave of Sam Patch. A marker will be placed on the spot. 27. Portrait of Mrs. Jackson in ball dress. By Earl. 28. Bust of Mrs. Mary L. Baxter, first Regent of the Association. By Zolnay. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 559 29. Marble pedestal presented to the Association by Mr. Bond, of the East Tennessee Stone & Marble Co., from the Knoxville Building at the Tennessee Centennial Expo- sition. 30. Velvet divan. 31. Bust of Gen. Jackson by Hiram Powers. This Pow- ers' bust of Jackson presented by the sculptor before he went to Italy for study, is one of the best examples of pure American art. 32. Portrait of Jackson, presented by Mrs. Thomas M. Steger. BACK PARLOR. 33. Crystal chandelier. 34. Mahogany chairs used in Gen. Jackson's parlors. 35. Velvet divan. 36. Parian marble vase, mate to No. 24. 37. Handsome pair of Dresden vases. 38. Marble bust of Jackson, presented by Hon. Lawrence Cooper of Huntsville, Alabama. 39. a, b, c, d. Handsome gilt wall brackets bought by Andrew Jackson, Jr. 40. Gen. Coffee. 41. Gen. Bronagh. 42. Col. Gadsden. 43. Lieut. Eastin. (These four constituted the Staff Officers generally called "Gen. Jackson's military family.") 44. Portrait of Jackson with spectacles on. One of Earl's best. 45. Flag from the grave of Lafayette procured for the Association by Miss M. E. Ford. 46. Original Jackson piano,, presented by Col. Andrew Jackson. 47. Chair from the Chateau de LaFayette presented to the Association in 1890 by Senator Edmand de LaFayette, grandson of Gen. LaFayette. 48. Beaded mats for candle sticks. 49. Candle stick of German silver. 560 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 50. Music book of Mrs. Emily Donelson, Lady of the White House during the early years of Jackson's adminis- tration. Presented by Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson. 51. Clock that was in the Hermitage before the death of Mrs. Rachel Jackson, one of the oldest relics. The hands were set at the hour Jackson died. 52. Mahogany centre table. The only piece remaining of the set presented to General and Mrs. Jackson when on a visit to New Orleans after the battle. 55. Carved mahogany sofa. GEN. JACKSON'S BEDROOM. This room is as it was the day he died, with the same furniture he used, the bed he died upon, the chair he sat in, etc. The furniture consists of bedstead, bureau, ward- robe, washstand with six china pieces, table, chair, settee or sofa, carpet, curtains, andirons and fender, mirror, brass candle stick, etc. The same pictures are on the wall. 1. Portrait of his wife, over the mantel, upon which his dying gaze rested. 2. Portrait of his adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jr., in childhood. 3. Portrait of the granddaughter, now Mrs. Rachel J. Lawrence, eldest child of the adopted son, the pet and com- panion of his declining years. 4. Portrait of Jackson by Mr. Alexander. It bears the inscription, "No free government can exist without virtue in its people." 5. Curtains and drapery of Gen. Jackson's bed. Used in the winter, but removed always in the summer. 6. Chinese Mandarin smelling bottles. Belonged to Mrs. Jackson. 7. Shell vases and box. Belonged to Mrs. Jackson. 8. Steel engraving, the "Sixth Seal." 9. Colored print, "Battle of the Thames." 10. Colored print, "Battle of North Point." 11. Tobacco box, used constantly by the old General. 12. Silk dressing gown worn by the old hero. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 561 13. Linen shirt with ruffles in front, as was then the fashion. One of a dozen made by hand by the house seam- stress. 14. Leather hat box. MRS. JACKSON'S ROOM. This room was occupied by Mrs. Sarah Yorke Jackson, wife of the adopted son, Andrew Jackson. The furniture was bought and placed here by General Jackson, and was a counterpart of the set placed in his room at the same time in 1835, when the house was restored after the fire. 1. One of the original mahognay beds. 2. Bureau facsimile to the one in Jackson's room. 3. Chest of drawers of Jackson's. 4. Washstand of Jackson's. 5. Mahogany table with marble top, mate to the one in Jackson's office. 6. Brass andirons. 7. Portrait of Gen. Jackson. 8. Washbasin, only piece left of the original set. 9. Lamps with cut glass shades, presented by Mrs. An- drew Jackson, III. SIDE HALL. 1. Holland House, in Shelbyville, where Jackson danced at a ball in 1828. Presented to the Ladies' Hermitage Asso- ciation by W. D. Corbitt, photographer. 2. Col. Wm. H. Knauss, of Ohio, presented flag, his pic- ture and $5.00 to L. H. A. 3. The oldest house in Mobile, where Jackson had his headquarters in 1814. 4. The courtroom in Royal Street, New Orleans, where Gen. Jackson was fined $1,000.00 for declaring martial law. Presented by E. A. Saucier. 5. Interior views before Col. Jackson moved from the Hermitage. 6. Interior of hall. 7. Photo of Jackson's Masonic apron. 8. Interior view of parlor. 9. Photo of Jackson when 21 years of age. 562 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 10. Interior of dining-room, with table, chairs and side- board. 11. Photo of pearl miniature of Mrs. Jackson. 12. Photo of January 8th mantel in dining-room. 13. Photo of letter presenting phaeton. 14. Interior of Jackson's bedchamber. 15. Admiral Dewey at the grave of Andrew Jackson, May 11th, 1900. 16. Engraved copy of the miniature of Jackson, by Dodge. 17. Photos of the wooden figurehead of the old ship Con- stitution. A representation of President Jackson. On ac- count of the Nullification Act, there was great opposition to him in some of the New England States. The vessel was in the harbor at Boston, and was lying between two men-of- war. Some person, for a long time unknown, succeeded in cutting off the head of the figure within six feet of an arm- ed guard, a stormy night aiding the perpetrator. The lat- ter was at a later date brought before the President with the wooden head in his hand. Jackson, in looking at it, re- marked : "My friend, whenever you see as poor a repre- sentative as that of myself, you have my full permission to cut off its head." The figure is now -in a part of a New Eng- land city. 18. Admiral Schley at the tomb of Jackson, February 2, 1902. 19. Mrs. Emily Donelson, wife of Andrew J. Donelson, private secretary to Jackson. Presented as Lady of the White House. 20. Mrs. Sarah Yorke Jackson, wife of Andrew Jack- son, Jr., the adopted son of Gen. Jackson. Presided as Lady of the White House. 21. The little Rachel, granddaughter of Andrew Jack- son. Now Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence. 22. Uncle Alfred, the faithful old servant. 23. Uncle Alfred. 24. Case of books, with autographs and inscriptions. 25. President Roosevelt at the tomb of Jackson. The President visited the Hermitage October 22, 1907. He was the eighth President who ever came into this historic din- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 563 ingroom. He was instrumental in having Congress vote an appropriation for the Ladies' Hermitage Association. 26. Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence's birthday party at the Hermitage, October 31, 1908. Age, 76. Presentation of loving cup by Ladies' Hermitage Association. 27. Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence and some of her descendants. 28. Japanese tea celebration of January 8, 1906, under the management of Mrs. B. F. Wilson. 20. International reception January 8, 1907. Young ladies costumed in all nations, under the management of Mrs. Joseph Warner. 30. Patriotic drill by children, January 8, 1908, man- aged by Mrs. Joseph Warner. 31. Virginia reel in patriotic costumes, January 8, 1909, managed by Mrs. Percy Warner. 32. Costume worn by Mrs. Mary C. Dorris, the Regent, at the January 8th ball, 1909. 33. Scenes from bal poudre given January 8, 1910, man- aged by the Regent, Miss Louise G. Lindsley. 34. Settee, made from wood from Haywood County. 35. Tomb. 36. Gen. Jackson's Cabinet. 37. Uncle Alfred's room and funeral. 38. Col. Jackson's sons. GLASS CASE. 1. Showcase was presented by Maj. E. B. Stahlman. 2. Programmes of menu for Tennessee Society, St. Louis. 3. Invitation and programme to the Ladies' Hermitage Association. 4. Pen portrait of R. E. W. Earl and pamphlet of lineage. 5. Part of a chain given Mrs. Sarah Yorke Jackson by the President when she was the bride at the White House. Presented to the Association by Mrs. Joseph H. Thompson. 6. Shell card rack and letter. Presented by Mrs. Hayne in 1828. 564 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 7. Box for epaulettes. 8. Brooch of the battle of New Orleans, presented by Mrs. Ellen Call Long. 9. Leather shot pouch, belonging to Andrew Jackson, Jr. 10. Autograph letter of Byron written to "Catignani's Messenger" in 1819. 11. Bronze medal of Jackson, presented by Gen. G. P. Thruston. 12. Locket containing Jackson's hair. Loaned by Miss Pearl Wright. 13. Fourteen-blade knife of Andrew Jackson. Col. Jackson gave it to J. H. Baker, who presented it to the As- sociation. 14. The Land Grant, dated 1830, with Jackson's signa- ture. Presented by Mrs. Fannie Patterson Taliaferro, of Huntsville, Ala., daughter of Gen. Benjamin Patterson, a warm friend of Jackson. Presented through Mrs. W. H. Selph. 15. Glass knobs, with the following tag: "Taken from the Hermitage dining-room in May, 1880, by a vandal who feared neither God nor regarded man. Returned by re- quest of a young lady who witnessed the act." 16. Address to citizens of Connecticut by Andrew Jack- son, by Charles F. Thayer, of Norwich, Conn. 17. Walking cane of Jackson. 18. Letters and invitations presented by Mrs. Dorris. 19. Scrap book presented by Mrs. Dorris. THE OFFICE OR LIBRARY. For thirty years the Hermitage was the political center of the United States, and Andrew Jackson was the most in- fluential man of his party. Many visitors, political and oth- erwise, were constantly being received by Gen. Jackson. This office was used for all business. The books are those that constituted Gen. Jackson's li- brary and the bookcases were his own. The books are works of fiction, travel, poems, history, Chinese works, medical and other miscellaneous books, comprising 450 volumes. 1, 2, 3. Cherry bookcases. 4. Mahogany bookcase. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 565 5. The walnut office desk, used constantly when he was a practicing attorney. Interesting, having a number of secret drawers. 6. Curtains that formerly belonged to the upstairs bed- rooms. 7. Chair, presented to Jackson by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. 8. Chair, made from the wood of the frigate, Constitu- tion, presented to Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the Navy, 1837 ; Secretary of the Treasury, 1834, to March, 1837, dur- ing the administration of President Jackson. Presented to the Hermitage by Miss Ellen C. Woodbury, daughter of Levi Woodbury, in 1900. 9. Table of mahogany. 10. Case, made of historic wood taken from the old building first used as a State House in Nashville, 1812-1815. The case was made to protect the bound columns of news- papers of Jackson's day. Wood given by Mrs. Jennie C. Buntin. 11. Steel engraving of George Washington. 12. Certificates of membership in the Hibernian Socie- ty of Philadelphia. 13. Steel engraving of Jackson. 14. Steel engraving of William IV. 15. Oil painting of the monument of Chalmette. Pre- sented by Mrs. Mary L. Baxter. 16. 17. Brass candlesticks. 18. Invalid chair presented to Gen. Jackson by the me- chanics of Nashville. 19. Old map of New Hampshire. 20. Mahogany candle stand, upon which Gen. Jackson always opened his mail. 21. Pair bronze lamps. 22. Cut glass celande or hurricane shade. 23. Mahogany table, with marble top; mate in Mrs. Jackson's room. 24. Mahogany chair. 25. Old newspapers, bound, of Jackson's time, presented by Mrs. Lawrence. 566 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History MUSEUM. This room was used in Gen. Jackson's time as a nursery for his adopted son and for the adopted son's children. Not being able to find the original furniture, in 1911 the Regent, Miss Louise G. Lindsley, converted it into a muse- um, and this room has become one of the most interesting rooms in this historic house. 1. Jackson's veto message. 2. Jefferson's letter. 3. Inaugural message of 1833, on satin. Presented by Mrs. Kindall Stickney, of Monrovia, Cal. 3. The Boston Tea Party. Presented by C. F. Gunther, of Chicago. 5. Gen. Jackson's farewell address. Printed on white satin, was carried as a banner in his funeral procession in Nashville. He died in 1845. Presented by Mrs. Wm. W. Bell, of Chicago. 6. Blue prints showing the battlefield of Chalmette at New Orleans. Blue print operations at New Orleans. Both presented by the Hon. John Wesley Gaines. 8. Equestrian statue of Jackson. This picture hung in President James K. Polk's room at the White House, Wash- ington, D. C. Presented by Mrs. George William Fall. 9. Picture of Sam Houston. 10. Picture of Thomas H. Benton. 11. Photograph showing the four sides of the sarcopha- gus of the Emperor Alexandier Severus, which was brought by Commodore Elliott on the ship "Constitution" from Syria. Presented to the Ladies' Hermitage Association, Feb- ruary 18th, 1911, by Secretary of War, Jacob McGavock Dickinson. 12. Letter of Commodore Elliott, presenting the sar- cophagus of Emperor Severus to General Jackson. 13. Gen. Jackson's letter declining the same. These two presented by the Hon. John Wesley Gaines. 14. Steel engraving of Jackson. Copy of Dodge's minia- ture. Presented by Mr. and Mrs. John C. Kennedy. 15. Framed Declaration of Independence. 16. Badge of the Ladies' Hermitage Association. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 567 17. Battle of New Orleans. Presented by C. F. Gunther, of Chicago. 18. Certificate of membership in the Ladies' Hermitage Association. 19. Map of the Hermitage plat of twenty-five acres. 20. Steel engraving of Judge John Overton, lifelong friend and law partner of Andrew Jackson. Presented by his granddaughter, Mrs. J. M. Dickinson. 21. Souvenir of concert given in Washington, D. C, un- der the patronage of Mrs. John G. Carlisle, netting $600.00 to the Association's treasury. 22. Old land grant. 23. Picture of Jackson, copied from one hanging in the office of Secretary of State at Washington. Presented by the Hon. John Wesley Gaines. 24. Picture of Jackson at the Hermitage in 1830. 25. Picture of Jackson. 26. Diploma of Honorable Mention given to the Ladies' Hermitage Association at the exposition in 1897 of the Ten- nessee Centennial. 27. Death of Pakenham, presented by C. F. Gunther, of Chicago. 28. Letter presenting the phaeton made from the tim- bers of the old Constitution. See the carriage house. 29. Oil painting of the Hermitage Church. Built by Gen. Jackson in 1823, that his wife might have church privileges near the Hermitage. Painted by Cornelius Han- kins and presented to the Association. 30. Picture of Jackson. 31. Oil painting .of old historic cabin as it was when the Ladies' Hermitage Association took possession of the place. Presented by Cornelius Hankins. 32. First Message of Andrew Jackson to Congress, on silk, presented by Mrs. Kendall Stickney, Monrovia, Cal. 33. Engraving of the Hermitage in 1855. 34. Picture and engraving of Jackson. 35. Lace cap of Mrs. Rachel Jackson. 36. Case of souvenirs of President Roosevelt's visit in October, 1907. Special register, with autograph signature, $68 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History and cup from which he drank his coffee, handed to him by Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence. 37. Door-scraper, one of the pair used at the front of the house. 38. Cannon ball cast for the war of 1812. 39. The regalia used by Gen. Jackson on the annual re- union at New Orleans. 40. Letter to Gen. Jackson from Bishop Connell, Roman Catholic Bishop of Philadelphia, written when he was in Rome, containing 1 a picture of Pope Leo XII. 41. Lace veil that was intended for Mrs. Rachel Jack- son to wear at the inauguration of her distinguished hus- band in 1829. Mrs. Jackson died December 22, 1828. This veil was presented by the ladies of Cincinnati, Each letter in the name of Jackson is made into an exquisite and dif- ferent pattern of lace. Just above the name are 24 stars, representing the 24 States. In the center is the emblem of peace. This veil was inherited by Miss Mary Wilcox from her grandmother, Mrs. Andrew J. Donelson, whose husband was Andrew Jackson's private secretary. Miss Wilcox pre- sented it to the Tennessee Woman's Historical Association. They presented it to the Ladies' Hermitage Association, with the consent of Miss Wilcox. 42. Old block house built in 1835 near Benton, Tenn., on the Hilderbrandt farm. Presented by Mrs. P. H. Man- love. 43. View of Monticello. 44. Old Holland House in Shelbyville, where Jackson danced at a ball in 1824. 45. Mrs. Rachel Jackson. 46. Medallion bust of Jackson. Presented to the Asso- ciation during our Centennial Exposition by Miss Eleanor Wheatley, the artist, of Memphis, Tennessee. 47. Glass case, letters and papers of Gen. Jackson. 48. An old print of Andrew Jackson. Presented by Mr. John Boyle, of Washington, D. C, through Hon. John Wes- ley Gaines. CONTENTS OF GLASS CASE. 1. The ledger and account books kept at Hunter's Hill and Clover Bottom. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 569 2. Silver spoon; the handles were moulded into the Co- lumbia Liberty Bell, one of which is from a set of Jackson's spoons, and the other belongs to a set of Felix Grundy's. 3. Small Liberty Bell made from the overflow of the Columbia Liberty Bell. These bells were purchased by pa- triotic associations, to be rung on patriotic occasions. 4. Candlestick used by Jackson at the Masonic Lodge in Gallatin. Presented to the Association by Col. Thomas H. Btoyers. 5. Sword used by Gen. John Coffee at the battle of New Orleans. 6. Sword captured at the battle of New Orleans in 1815 by Gen. Jackson. Presented to the Association by Armond Hawkins at the Tennessee Centennial Exposition in 1897. 7. Cannon sight. Presented by Capt. E. W. Averall. Used at the battle of New Orleans in 1815. 8. Wood from the old dining-room floor. 9. Curious lock from one of the doors in the house. 10. Penholder from Mt. Vernon. Presented by Mrs. Addie C. Benson. 11. United States silk flag. Souvenir of the ball given January 8, 1893. It was purchased then by Mr. E. P. Bald- win, the Arctic explorer. Carried by him to North Green- land and placed by him in the hand of Baby Peary, daughter of Lieut. Peary, January 8, 1896, and presented by Mr. Baldwin to the Association. 12. Fragments of the bridge from Fort Barancas, Fla. 13. Hair of Gen. Jackson. 14. Letters, papers, etc. 15. Pieces of marble from the original tomb of Mary Washington, the corner-stone of which was laid by Jackson in 1833. Presented by Mrs. Walter B. Palmer. 16. Rifle ornamented with plates of German silver. Beautifully chased. Was given by the Hermitage family in 1861, when a call was made for guns for the Southern Con- federacy. Purchased at Clarksville, Tenn., by a Federal sol- dier, whose son sold it to Mrs. B. F. Wilson, who presented it to the Association. 17. Blade of sword presented to Andrew Jackson, by the city of New Orleans, and bequeathed at his death to CoL 570 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Andrew Jackson Coffee, son of Gen. Coffee. This was a mag- nificent sword, its blade being made of gold and studded with precious stones. Unfortunately, it was mutilated dur- ing the Civil War while in possession of Col. Coffee's moth- er, near Florence, Ala., when her home and its contents were burned. Presented by the Hon. Alexander Donelson Coffee, son of Gen. Coffee. 18. Missouri Gazette, published in 1809. Over 100 years old. 19. Niles' Weekly Register, published March 4, 1815. 20. Case used by Gen. LaFayette for his toilet articles while on his visit to Nashville and the Hermitage. Nos. 18, 19 and 20 were presented by Mrs. Stephen Driver. 21. Invitation to barbecue given Secretary of War Jacob McGavock Dickinson, June 1910, and hand-painted place card. Presented by Miss Louise G. Lindsley. 22. Letter of Gen. Jackson written from Washington while President of the United States. Presented by Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson. 23. Letter written July 25, 1833, establishing the date of the erection of the tomb. Presented by Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson. 24. Letter written by Jackson, March 19, 1837, on board the William Wirt. m 25. Letter written by Jackson, March 20, 1837, from Louisville. These last two letters describe his return trip at the close of his Presidential administration, which was made by steamboat. Also his reception along the route. These letters were written to his private secretary, Maj. Andrew Jackson Donelson, whom he reared and educated as his nephew and ward. Also a letter verifying the pur- chase of the Decatur silver. The above letters were pre- sented by Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson. 26. "The Life and Times of Andrew Jackson," by Col. A. S. Colyar. Presented by his daughter, Mrs. Lila Col- yar Thompson. 27. Pieces of china from set used by Gen. Jackson. Presented by Mrs. Andrew Jackson III. 28. Picture of the Hermitage before it was burned. Pre- sented by Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 571 29. President Jackson's contract with his cook. Pre- sented by Mrs. Bettie M. Donelson. 30. Gen. Jackson's vest worn by him in 1840. Pre- sented by Mrs. Elizabeth Earnshaw. 31. Lamp one hundred years old. Same used in Gen. Jackson's time. Presented by Mrs. W. A. Hargis. 32. Letter presented by Mrs. Leonard K. Whitworth, who inherited it from her grandfather, Dr. William K. Bowl- ing. 33. A bill for repairs on additions to the house and a letter in which is described the Temple Monument to be erected over the grave of Mrs. Jackson. 34. A British dragoon flint-lock holster pistol, found on Jackson's battlefield at New Orleans in 1850, and present- ed by W. E. Metzger. 35. Cavalry sabre, captured at the battle of New Or- leans, bearing the coat of arms of the English Govern- ment and the initials G. R. (George Rex III). Presented by W. E. Metzger. 36. Lancet presented by Mrs. Lawrence. 37. A United States cutlass used by the American brig Carolina in the fight against the British, 1814-1815, under Gen. Jackson. THE UPPER CHAMBERS — EARL'S ROOM. Earl's bedroom is located at the head of the back stair- way. Earl was for a number of years a member of Gen. Jackson's household. He married one of Mrs. Rachel Jack- son's nieces, was soon left a widow, and never remarried. His grave is near Gen. Jackson's. He was called "Portrait Painter to the King," from his fondness for painting Jack- son. His portraits are among the best of Jackson. He came from a family of artists, his father being a pupil of Sir Benjamin West. 1. One of the original mahogany bedsteads. 2. Chiffonier of Jackson's. 3. Washstand of Jackson's. 4. Three views of the Hermitage and grounds used at World's Columbian Exposition. 572 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 5. Picture of Judge John Meredith Read, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, a friend of Jackson. Presented by his son. 6. The Hermitage Daughter of Florida. Died in 1899. 7. Portrait of Col. Jeremiah George Harris. Purser of the Navy. Editor National Union. Presented by Mrs. Van S. Lindsley, his daughter. 8. Brass fender. The matting on the floor and muslin curtains were similar to those always used at the Hermitage. 9. Old damask and lace curtains. 10. Old-fashioned ewer. 11. Old map. 12. Old mirror with view of Monticello. THE FAMILY ROOM. The furniture of this room, of handsome rosewood, was purchased when Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence was mar- ried in 1852. Was at the Hermitage more than forty years. It consists of: 1. Rosewood bedstead. 2. Bureau. 3. Wardrobe. 4. Washstand. 5. Table, top of Egyptian marble. 6. Glass cover for wax flowers or vase. 7. Deathbed of Napoleon. Lithograph. THE UPPER HALL. The walls are covered with the hand-painted copy of the paper on the walls of the lower hall, and was used in the replica of the Hermitage, the Tennessee State Build- ing at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, 1904. The work was done by Miss Mary Jennings. Presented to the Ladies' Hermitage Association by the Tennessee World's Fair Association, Maj. E. B. Stahlman, President. 1. Jackson's old cedar chest. 2. Standard for letters and newspaper clippings. 3. Letters to Jackson from D. Morrison, contractor, concerning additions to the house and the erection of "Tem- ple Tomb." Presented by Mrs. P. H. Manlove. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 573 4. Letter written by Jackson to Andrew Jackson Don- elson, his ward, then in school at Lexington, Ky. Presented by Mrs. P. H. Manlove. THE GUEST-CHAMBER. 1. Mahogany bed. 2. Mahogany bed. The Association possesses six of the eight solid mahogany beds purchased when the house was refurnished in 1835. The other two w r ere destroyed. 3. Cedar chest. 4. Mahogany wardrobe. 5. Oil portrait of Jackson, evidently a copy from Healy's of some unknown artist. 6. Twin children of Senator N. P. Talmage, of New York, named Andrew Jackson and Rachel Jackson Tal- mage. Presented to the President in gratitude for serv- ices rendered. Was at the White House and Hermitage ; al- ways placed in the nursery. Was much damaged and re- stored by the L. H. A. 7. Wire and brass fender. 8. Washstand. 9. Hair trunk. 10. Pictures of Jackson. THE LAFAYETTE ROOM. In which LaFayette was entertained in 1825. The furniture of this room was used in the Jackson room in the replica of the Hermitage at the Louisiana Pur- chase Exposition, St. Louis, 1904. It is all genuine Jack- son furniture. 1. One of Jackson's old mirrors for this bedroom. 2. Fender. 3. Brass andirons. 4. Curtains. 5. Steps to bed. 6. Mahogany bed. 7. Dresser. 8. Chiffonier. 9. Portrait of Mrs. Jackson, presented to the Associa- tion by Mrs. Ellen Call Long, whose father, Gen. Call, 574 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History eloped with his beautiful bride, Miss Mary Kirkman, and was married at the Hermitage. This portrait, and also one of the General, were given to the young couple as a bridal present. 10. Wardrobe. 11. Old fashioned shaving stand on chiffonier. All cur- tains and matting such as were used at the Hermitage dur- ing the summer months. 12. Vases on mantel. 13. Chair. THE DINING ROOM. 1. The "Old Hickory" or January 8 mantel, made of bits of hickory worked upon alone on the 8th of January of successive years. Presented to Gen. Jackson in 1839. It has been nearly destroyed by relic hunters. 2. Original dining table, at which seven Presidents were in turn entertained, viz. : James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, James K. Polk, Millard Fillmore. President Roosevelt made the eighth. 3. Original solid mahogany sideboard. Was always filled with the handsomest silver and cut glass, much of which is still preserved in the family. 4. Mahogany side table. 5. Pier table, mate to the one in the hall. 6. Old table similar to Jackson's. Presented by Mrs. Mary C. Dorris. 7. Brass andirons. 8. Shovel and tongs. Presented by Misses Annie, Mat- tie and Grace Handley. 9. Clock. 10. One of the Earl Portraits of Jackson, presented to the Association by the Woman's Democratic Clubs of Monmouth, Illinois. 11. The celebrated Healy portrait, only two of which are in existence, the other hanging in the Louvre at Paris. Painted eight days before Jackson's death. 12. Healy, the artist of the above portrait, sent by Louis Philippe to paint prominent Americans. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 575 13. Candelabra. 14. The case was purchased for the preservation of the valuable Jackson-Decatur silver. The silver consists of sixteen round and oval dishes, which were purchased by Jackson from the widow of Commodore Decatur, and used constantly for years at the Hermitage. 15. Case of silver knives and forks. 16. Silver wine cooler. 17. Silver cup over 100 years old, marked A. J. 18. Mate to above cup, marked R. J. Purchased through efforts of Col. John Allison. 19. Silver cake basket. 20. Bohemian cut glass decanter. 21. Portrait of Gen. Andrew Jackson. 22. Portrait of Mrs. Rachel Jackson, wife of Gen. Jack- son. 23. Portrait of John Donelson, one of the pioneers, brother of Mrs. Rachel Jackson. 24. Portrait of Mary Purnell, wife of John Donelson. 25. Portrait of Col. John Coffee, afterwards Gen. Cof- fee, on Jackson's staff at the battle of New Orleans. 26. Portrait of Mary Donelson, daughter of the above John Donelson, niece of Mrs. Rachel Jackson, and wife of Gen. Coffee. Portraits were presented to the Ladies' Her- mitage Association by Hon. Alexander Donelson Coffee, son of Gen. Coffee. 27. Six mahogany chairs of Jackson's. Adjoining the dining-room is the pantry, and further to the rear the store- room. A passageway leads directly to the old kitchen. KITCHEN. The restoration of the old kitchen to its old-time glory, of yawning chimney-piece, its cranes and pot hooks, its ovens and skillets, its candle moulds, and spinning wheels, brings back reminiscences of "Betty" and the old regime of Jackson's day. 1. Spinning wheel, 100 years old. Presented by Andrew Jackson Baker, the curator's son. 2. Reel, 100 years old. Presented by Andrew Baker. 3. Oven. Presented by Mrs. W. J. McMurray. 576 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 4. Candle moulds. Several sets. Presented by Miss Louise Baxter, Mrs. W. J. McMurray, Mrs. M. A. Spurr and Mrs. George L. Cowan. 5. Pot-hooks. Used in Revolutionary War. Presented by Miss Louise Baxter. 6. Flax-hacker. Over 100 years old. Presented by Miss Louise G. Lindsley. 7. Some of the original kitchen utensils. Presented by Mrs. Andrew Jackson III. 8. Pot-hook. Presented by Miss Louise G. Lindsley. 9. Old-fashioned water cooler. Always used in the pan- try. 10. Old foot-scraper at foot of back steps, used by Gen. Jackson at his law office in the City of Nashville. 11. Churn of Jackson's. Loaned by Miss Emma Hoff- stetter. 12. Spinning stick for old wheel. Presented by Mrs. S. M. Bullington. THE OLD SMOKEHOUSE. A remnant of days long gone by, when the smokehouse was the most important house on a plantation. THE CARRIAGE HOUSE. In 1897 Col. Andrew Jackson, from whom most of the relics have been purchased, sold to the Association the in- teresting old State coach used by Jackson at the White House for all State ceremonial and social purposes and for several trips to the Hermitage. The trip to the Hermitage took thirty days' time. His final trip, when returning to end his life as a private citizen, was a continual ovation. The skeleton of the phaeton is all that is left of the beautiful vehicle presented to Gen. Jackson by the "Demo- cratic-Republican" citizens of Philadelphia. It was made from timbers taken from the old ship Constitution. It was burned at a fire in Cincinnati, where Colonel Jackson was living and had his relics stored. The letter of presentation hangs in the museum. Stone doorstep, now in front of carriage house. Pre- sented to Col. W. W. Parks by Gen. Jackson. Presented to Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 577 the Ladies' Hermitage Association by his granddaughters, Misses Annie and Grace Handley. THE TOMB. The tomb was built by Gen. Jackson long before his death, and was erected over his wife, with the vault left for himself. The inscriptions are : GEN. ANDREW JACKSON Born March 15, 1767. Died June 8, 1845. "Here lie the remains of Mrs. Rachel Jackson, wife of President Jackson, who died the 22d of December, 1828, age 61 years. Her face was fair, her person pleasing, her temper amiable, her heart kind ; she delighted in relieving the want of her fellow creatures, and cultivated that divine pleasure by the most liberal and unpretending methods ; to the poor she was a benefactor; to the rich an example; to the wretched a comforter ; to the prosperous an orna- ment; her piety went hand in hand with her benevolence, and she thanked her Creator for being permitted to do good. A being so gentle and so virtuous slander might wound, but could not dishonor. Even Dea.th, when he bore her from the arms of her husband, could but transport her to the bosom of her God." The other graves in the plat are those of the adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jr., and his wife, Mrs. Sarah Yorke Jackson. Two infant children lie buried there; also one son, Samuel Jackson, who was killed at Chickamauga; the grave of Dr. John M. Lawrence, who married Rachel, the pet and idol of the old General's life, is on the plat; also their daughter, Mrs. C. W. Winn. The grave of Col. R. E. W. Earle, friend and companion of Jackson, is there. Fur- ther apart from the other graves is that of Mrs. Marion Adams, the widowed sister of Mrs. Sarah Jackson, who always resided with her, and whose family was reared at the Hermitage. On December 19, 1906, Col. Andrew Jack- son, grandson, was laid beside his kindred dust in the gar- den. The grave of old Uncle Alfred, who so much desired to be buried near Gen. Jackson, is located to the north of the tomb. 578 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History GENUINENESS OF THE RELICS. That there might be no question raised as to genuine- ness of the relics purchased, the Association has obtained from Col. Jackson and his sister, Mrs. Rachel Jackson Law- rence, the following affidavit: "To Whom It May Concern : "This is to certify that all the articles of furniture or relics purchased by the Ladies' Hermitage Association from Mrs. Rachel Jackson Law r rence, granddaughter, and Col. Andrew Jackson, grandson, of Gen. Jackson, are the identical pieces of furniture owned and used by Gen. Jack- son during his lifetime. They were in the Hermitage when Gen. Jackson died, and were there when the Ladies' Her- mitage A*ssociation took possession in 1889. The entire col- lection was removed in 1893, when Col. Jackson left the Hermitage, and have been restored from time to time as the Association was able to purchase them. "The articles restored up to the present time, March 1900, are those in Gen. Jackson's bedroom, which is com- plete as it was the day he died; the library, or office, en- tire ; the hall entire ; and all furniture now in the dining- room and parlors. "Col. Andrew Jackson, (seal.) Rachel Jackson Lawrence." Sworn to and subscribed before me, this March 13, 1900. R. S. Cowan, Notary Public. Since 1900 many more pieces of the Jackson furniture and relics have been purchased and restored to the Her- mitage, until it is well furnished, every room being filled with beautiful and handsome things of historic interest. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 579 CHAPTER XXXVI. ANDREW JACKSON— TWO ADMINISTRATIONS AS PRESIDENT, WILL, SARCOPHAGUS AND DEATH. The ugly red-headed Scotch-Irish boy who had been struck on the head by a British officer for not blacking his boots ; whose poverty at his birth and for years afterwards was painful and pitiable ; who did not know, and could not ascertain, after search, the burial place of his moth- er; and whose outlook on life in his early days was about as desolate as human destiny could possibly appear, now entered upon two terms of four years each as President of the United States, during which he was to center in him- self political power and a control of the destinies of the American people, that was marvelous and stupendous; and he was to do that which public officials rarely accomplish — he was to go out of office about as popular and acceptable to the people as when he entered it. It is impossible here to review in detail Jackson's pres- idential terms. Volume after volume have been written on the subject. James Parton, who wrote his "Life of Jack- son" about fourteen years after Old Hickory's death, de- voted some two thousand pages to his life, of which ap- proximately five hundred pages covered his two admin- istrations. These two administrations were periods of furi- ous and astounding politics, probably the most so in our history. Jackson placated no enemies and never liked to compromise; as Thomas H. Benton said of him, he went in for a clean victory or a clean defeat. When all is said and done it is safe to say that posterity's most serious charge against him is the spoils system, but even that has not had the effect of darkening his fame. There are thou- sands of men in the United States to-day, in this era of Civil Service Reform, who hold to the doctrine that when a man is to be held responsible as the head of the Execu- tive Department of a government, it is only right that men 580 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History of his way of thinking, friendly to his plans and purposes, should hold office under him. After a President is sworn in, his next step is to an- nounce his Cabinet, and General Jackson sent to the Sen- ate the list of men whom he wanted at the head of the various Departments. Martin Van Buren, of New York, became Secretary of State; Samuel D. Ingham of Pennsyl- vania, Secretary of the Treasury; John H. Eaton, Senator from Tennessee, Secretary of War; John Branch of North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy ; John M. Berrien of Geor- gia, Attorney General; and William T. Barry of Kentucky, Postmaster General. Major Andrew Jackson Donelson was appointed Private Secretary, and Major W. B. Lewis was invited to take up his quarters and live at the White House as personal friend and adviser of the President. Major Lewis was a brother-in-law to John H. Eaton, Secretary of War. Amos Kendall was appointed Fourth Auditor of the Treasury, and was credited, together with General Duff Green, Major Lewis, and Isaac Hill of New Hampshire, with constituting the Kitchen Cabinet. General Jackson at all times during his administrations, and, in fact, throughout his entire life, clung to personal friends with an affection and a devotion that were wonderful, and he always demanded that his friends be about him. Just how much real influence the Kitchen Cabinet had over him, and whether that Cabinet could induce him to do things against his will or inclination, is very doubtful ; but the opposition claimed that Jackson was governed by the Kitchen Cabinet, the members of which became political issues in the hot politics of the day. We pass over the matter of Mrs. Eaton with the state- ment that her troubles were not the cause of the dissolu- tion of the first Cabinet, how r ever much the opposition to Jackson may have tried to make it so appear. That disso- lution was brought about by differences arising between General Jackson and John C. Calhoun over information coming to Jackson, and which was authentic, that years be- fore, during the administration of James Monroe, Calhoun as a member of Monroe's Cabinet, had proposed in a Cab- inet meeting to arraign Jackson for his conduct in the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 581 Florida War. Aside from his military services and phe- nomenal will-power and force of personality, General Jack- son has been, and will continue to be, judged by his war upon the United States Bank, and his attitude toward nul- lification proposed by the statesmen and leaders of South Carolina. Jackson's messages in opposition to the United States Bank are among his strongest deliverances. The Bank was chartered in 1816, for a period of twenty years, and built up a capitalization of thirty-five million dollars, a sum that was phenomenal in that day. It was a tremendous power, both financial and political, in the country. Nicholas Bid- die was its President, a man of great personal strength and influence. Congress met December 7, 1829, and Andrew Stephen- son, a Jackson man, was elected Speaker, receiving one hundred and fifty-two votes out of one hundred and ninety- one, and in a message to this Congress — his first annual message — the President gave a pronounced indication of his feelings towards the Bank ; he said, among other things, that the constitutionality and the expediency of the law creating the Bank was questioned by a large portion of the citizens, and that it must be admitted by all that the Bank had failed in the great end of establishing a uniform and sound currency. These pregnant words were certain- ly strong enough to let Biddle, his Board of Directors and politicians he kept around him, understand that trouble was coming. It was at this session of Congress that the debate occurred between Robert Y. Hayne of South Caro- lina and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts over the resolu- tion introduced by Samuel A. Foot of Connecticut in ref- erence to the public land. This resolution was a mere incident of the debate ; the discussion branched out on the sea of politics, and Hayne and Webster debated the ques- tion of a State nullifying an Act of Congress, or withdraw- ing from the Union. On April 13, 1830, there was celebrated in Washing- ton Thomas Jefferson's birthday and a banquet was held and the leading men were present. Jackson reached the conclusion that the banquet was given to promote nulli- 582 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History fication and he made up his mind to fire his shot against nullification in the celebrated toast which has come down to us, "Our Federal Union — it must be preserved!" This toast produced a sensation at the banquet, and John C. Calhoun followed it up with one totally different. Calhoun's toast was : "The Union : next to our Liberty, the most dear : may we all remember that it can only be preserved by re- specting the rights of the States, and distributing equally the benefit and burden of the Union." With the giving of these two toasts the issue of nulli- fication was distinctly made up, and it was not difficult to see that a stormy sea was rising, both for Jackson's administration, and possibly for the whole American peo- ple. The President's break with Calhoun started with a let- ter addressed by the President to Mr. Calhoun on May 13, 1830, wherein the President recited the information which he had received that Calhoun, as a member of Monroe's Cabinet, wanted him punished for his conduct in Florida in the Seminole War. Mr. Calhoun answered, and the re- sult of the matter was a complete estrangement between the two men that was never healed, even down to the time of Jackson's death. In his reply Mr. Calhoun admitted that in a Cabinet meeting he did express the belief that Jack- son had transcended his authority in Florida, and that he did propose an investigation of Jackson's conduct by a Court of Inquiry. Congress met December 6, 1830, and the President promptly presented a message which is considered one of the most carefully prepared of any that he submitted to Congress. It of course included another shot at the United States Bank, and this was the shot : "Nothing has occurred," said he, "to lessen in any degree the dangers which many of our citizens apprehend from that institution as at pres- ent organized." Senator Thomas H. Benton — strong, able, unflinching, learned, aggressive, fearless Benton — Benton, who was one of the greatest men in American history — Benton who nearly shot Jackson to death, but made friends with him, and was as loyal to Jackson as one brother to another — Benton followed up the message during the ses- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 583 sion by one of his characteristically able speeches; and with that it might be said that the war against the Bank was on, and it was to continue with tremendous effort and power until the charter expired, and it became defunct. The President's breach with John C. Calhoun brought about a dissolution of the Cabinet, and it was agreed among Jackson's friends that Martin Van Buren and Major Eaton should resign, and that the three members who were friends of John C. Calhoun should be asked for their resignations if they did not voluntarily tender them, which they did. The three Calhoun men were Samuel D. Ingham, John Branch and John M. Berrien. Edward Livingston, Sen- ator from Louisiana, was appointed Secretary of State to succeed Mr. Van Buren ; Louis McLane, then serving as Minister to England, was recalled and made Secretary of the Treasury, and by his recall a place was made for Mr. Van Buren to succeed him. This was the final move- ment on the political checkerboard to bring about the se- lection of Mr. Van Buren as Jackson's successor as Pres- ident of the United States. Levi Woodbury of New Hamp- shire, was made Secretary of the Navy. The position of Secretary of War was offered to Senator Hugh Lawson White of Tennessee, and refused, and Lewis Cass of Mich- igan, was given the War Department. Roger B. Taney, who was then Attorney General of Maryland, was given the position of Attorney General in the Cabinet, and later was- appointed by President Jackson as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and he delivered the opinion of that Court in the Dred Scott case. The Senate confirmed all five of the Cabinet nominees, but rejected Mr. Van Buren as Minister to England. This, while not so intended, was the second boost received by Mr. Van Buren on his journey to the White House as Jackson's suc- cessor in 1837. Jackson took the rejection to heart, and made up the Jacksonian will then and there that he would avenge Van Buren on the Senate by naming, nominating and electing him President of the United States. On January 9, 1832, the President and Directors of the Bank applied to Congress for a renewal of their charter, which would not expire until 1836, and their application 584 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History was in the form of a memorial presented by George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania ; and so the Bank issue, by the ac- tion of the Bank itself, this time, became a very acute issue in the politics of the day. Congress appointed a Commit- tee of seven to investigate the Bank, four being opposed to the rechartering and three in favor of it, and in March, 1832, the Committee set about the work of investigation, and tfre result was three separate reports : one by the major- ity of the Committee adverse to the Bank ; one by the minor- ity in favor of the Bank, and one by John Quincy Adams very highly eulogizing the Bank's management. The bill to recharter the Bank passed the Senate in June 1832 by a vote of 28 to 20, and passed the House in July, receiving one hundred and nine votes, to seventy-six against it. It reached the hands of the President July 4, 1832, and was vetoed by him July 10, 1832. Amos Ken- dall is credited with taking a hand in the preparation of the veto message, which ranks as one of the great docu- ments given by Andrew Jackson to the world. It closed with these words: "I have done my duty to my country. If sustained by my fellow-citizens, I shall be grateful and happy; if not, I shall find in the motives which impelled me ample grounds for contentment and peace. In the difficulties which sur- round us and the dangers which threaten our institutions, there is cause for neither dismay nor alarm. For relief and deliverance let us firmly rely upon that kind Provi- dence which I am sure watches with peculiar care over the destinies of our Republic, and on the intelligence and wisdom of our countrymen. Through His abundant good- ness and their patriotic devotion our liberty and Union will be preserved." This message convinced the majority of the people of the United States, and by it alone Andrew Jackson could afford to be judged by posterity. It gave rise to a great debate in the Senate, where all the leaders, both Jackson and anti-Jackson, took part, and in which denunciatory lan- guage was used by Henry Clay and Thomas H. Benton which it was thought for a while might result in a duel. But the veto was sustained, and the recharter bill was dead. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 585 The Democratic Convention to make nominations for President and Vice President met at Baltimore May 21, 1832, and General Jackson, of course, was renominated for President; Martin Van Buren was nominated for Vice President, receiving two hundred and sixty votes, P. P. Barbour of Virginia, forty, and Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky, twenty-six. The Anti-Masonry party nominated William Wirt of Maryland for President and William Ell- naker of Pennsylvania for Vice President. Henry Clay of Kentucky and John Sergeant of Pennsylvania were sup- ported by those who afterwards consolidated under the name of the Whig party. The race of the Anti-Masonry candidates was not serious, nobody expected them to be elected. The result was crushing to Henry Clay and John Sergeant. Jackson, for President, received two hundred and nine- teen out of two hundred eighty-eight electoral votes, and Van Buren for Vice President received one hundred eighty- nine out of two hundred eight-eight electoral votes. Clay and Sergeant received forty-nine electoral votes. Wirt and Ellnaker received the electoral vote of Vermont. South Carolina gave her electoral vote to John Floyd of Virginia and Henry Lee of Massachusetts. This election settled the fate of the Bank of the United States, and must have been a very humiliating experience for Henry Clay to live through. On December 10, 1832, President Jackson issued a proc- lamation to the nullifiers of South Carolina which is gen- erally conceded to be not only Jackson's greatest State paper, but one of the greatest in all the public affairs of the United States. Roosevelt says Jackson did his country some good, but more harm ; that he was the greatest Gen- eral between the outbreak of the Revolution and the Civil War ; that the Nullification Proclamation is one of the great- est of American State papers. Upon this proclamation alone Jackson's claim to permanent recognition by poster- ity can safely rest. The evidence seems to be indisputable that with his own hand, he wrote page after page of the original manscript, and then turned this manuscript over to Edward Livingston, the Secretary of State; Secretary 586 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Livingston took the manuscript, added to it, put it in such form as he thought proper and submitted it to the Pres- ident, who promptly objected to certain parts of it; it was then redrafted by Mr. Livingston, endorsed by the Pres- ident, and made public. This document and the will-power that was behind it, on one side, and the determination and fearless character of the people of South Carolina on the other, when brought into conflict, would naturally lead to civil war, and so it was expected at the time; but by a compromise — compromise being the essence of all prac- tical legislation — a condition was brought about that elim- inated the danger from the situation; a bill was passed by Congress, introduced by Henry Clay, to which both sides agreed, and the danger was averted. The question at issue of the right of a State to nullify an act of Congress was not settled — it was merely compromised and adjourned; the settlement came in 1861, when upon the question of Secession the nation went to war and settled it upon the battlefield. The bill compromising the differences between the President and the nullifiers passed the Senate by a vote of twenty-nine to sixteen, and the House by a vote of one hundred and nineteen to eighty-five, on February 25, 1833. President Jackson signed the bill. In this same year the President's Cabinet was very materially changed. Secretary of State Livingston re- signed to become Ambassador to France ; Secretary of the Treasury McLane resigned to become Secretary of State; William J. Duane of Philadelphia succeeded Mr. McLane as Secretary of the Treasury. The President and Directors of the Bank of the United States made up their minds in 1833 to make one more ef- fort for a charter and began to pull the wires and mar- shal their influences to that end, and this led to the order by the President on September 23, 1833, that the Govern- ment deposits be withdrawn from the Bank. On December 23, 1833, Attorney General Roger B. Taney was appointed Secretary of the Treasury, and three days later he directed that all government revenue and funds be deposited in State banks. Mr. Duane was dismissed as Secretary of the Treasury. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 587 Benjamin F. Butler of New York succeded Mr. Taney as Attorney General. And now the political fury, the de- bates, orations, discussions and denunciations began, and the President was to go through with one of the severest trials of his courage, nerve and temper. Congress met in December 1833, and the voters were treated to a discus- sion of the removal of the deposits until its adjournment in June 1834. It all came to a head in a resolution contain- ing thirty-four words framed by Henry Clay, as follows: "RESOLVED that the President in the late Executive proceedings in relation to the public revenue has assumed upon him authority and power not conferred by the Con- stittuion and laws, but in derogation' of both." A great debate followed. After consideration and dis- cussion for nearly three months, namely, to March 28, 1834, this resolution passed the Senate by a vote of twen- ty-six to twenty. On April 15, 1834, the President sent his Protest against the resolution of censure with the re- quest that the Senate enter the Protest upon its Journal. Another month of discussion was consumed, and by a vote of twenty-seven to sixteen the Senate declared by resolu- tion that the Protest was a breach of the privileges of the Senate, and should not be entered upon the Journal, and that the President of the United States had no right to send a protest against any of the proceedings of the Senate. Senator Thomas H. Benton, the lion of the Democracy in the Senate, gave notice of a resolution to expunge the vote of censure, and with the determination that charac- terized him all of his life, Benton never ceased until his expunging resolution was passed. The President's Protest was a strong paper and con- tained some fine things ; witness this : "The resolution of the Senate contains an imputation upon my private as well as my public character; and as it must stand forever on their Journals, I cannot close this substitute for that defense which I have not been al- lowed to present in the ordinary form, without remarking that I have lived in vain if it be necessary to enter into a formal vindication of my character and motives from such an imputation. In vain do I bear upon my person endur- ing memorials of that contest in which American liberty 588 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History was purchased — in vain have I since periled property, fame and life in defense of the rights and privileges so dearly- bought — in vain am I now without personal aspiration or the hope of personal advantage, encountering responsibili- ties and dangers from which, by mere inactivity in rela- tion to a single point, I might have been exempt — if any serious doubts can be entertained as to the purity of my purposes and motives. If I had been ambitious, I should have sought an alliance with that powerful institution which even now aspires to no divided empire. If I had been venal, I should have sold myself to its designs. Had I pre- ferred personal comfort and official ease to the perform- ance of my arduous duty, I should have ceased to molest it. In the history of conquerors and usurpers, never in the fire of youth nor the vigor of manhood could I find an attraction to lure me from the path of duty, and now I shall scarcely find an inducement to commence their career of ambition, when gray hairs and a decaying frame instead of inviting to toil and battle, call me to the con- templation of other worlds, where conquerors cease to be honored and usurpers expiate their crime. * * * "To the end that the resolution of the Senate may not be hereafter drawn into precedent, with the authority of silent acquiescence on the part of the Executive Depart- ment, and to the end, also, that my motives and views in the Executive proceedings denounced in that resolution, may be known to my fellow-citizens, to the world, and to all posterity, I respectfully request that this message and Protest may be entered at length on the Journals of the Senate." At the very last of this session of Congress, Secretary of State McLane resigned, and was succeeded by John Forsyth of Georgia. Mr. Taney had never been confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of the Treasury. On June 23, 1834, the President sent in his nomination, which the Sen- ate rejected by a vote of thirty to fifteen. Mr. Butler, as Attorney General, was confirmed. Mr. Woodbury was ap- pointed as Secretary of the Treasury, and Mahlon Dick- erson was appointed Secretary of the Navy. Andrew Stephenson was named by the President as Minister to England, and his name sent to the Senate where it was rejected. It is not difficult to see in all this, that the Senate was delivering at the White House every blow in its power. But Roger B. Taney was to be avenged, and was finally to secure that which was the ambition of his Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 589 life. Chief Justice John Marshall of the United States Su- preme Court died, and the President sent Taney's name for confirmation as his successor, and at that time the Sen- ate was favorable to the President and confirmed the nom- ination. This session of Congress adjourned June 30, 1834. Secretary Lewis Cass of the War Department resigned in 1836 to become Minister to the French Court. For years it had been the custom of the Democrats to celebrate the anniversary of Jackson's victory at New Or- leans on the 8th of January, 1815, and on the 8th of Jan- uary, 1835, the usual celebration was had in Washington, and it was upon the occasion of this celebration that the President was able to announce the payment in full of the national debt, as he had predicted in his message of one year before would come to pass in 1835. In 1835 Postmaster General Barry resigned as head of the Postoffice Department, and Amos Kendall was appoint- ed to succeed him. Mr. Barry became Minister to Spain. In 1836, there being a surplus in the Treasury, it was distributed by action of Congress among the States on a plan proposed by John C. Calhoun. In the Presidential election of 1836, General Harrison and Francis Granger constituted one ticket, Martin Van Buren and Richard M. Johnson, another. Hugh Lawson White was the candidate of one faction of the Democratic party. Harbison and Granger received seventy-three elec- toral votes; Martin Van Buren, for President, received one hundred and seventy electoral votes; the election of Vice President was thrown into the Senate, which elected Richard M. Johnson. Hugh Lawson White carried Ten- nessee and Georgia. Jackson had not only been elected himself for two terms to the Presidency, but had named Martin Van Buren as his successor, and his joy in Van Buren's election was very pronounced, and one of the greatest triumphs of his whole life. But another triumph was to follow, and that was the action of the Senate in expunging from its Journal Mr. Clay's resolution of 1834 censuring the President, and this was the result of the iron determination of Thomas H. 590 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Benton. The expunging resolution was passed March 16, 1837, after a debate, which, like all the debates and con- troverted questions of Jackson's two administrations, was bitter, denunciatory, aggressive, and personal. By direction of the Senate, its Secretary drew broad black lines around Henry Clay's resolution of 1834 and wrote across the face of the resolution these words : "Expunged by order of the Senate this 16th day of March, 1837." Mr. Van Buren was inaugurated on March 4, 1837, a beautiful day, and Jackson was a very happy man, and in a few days he started for the Hermitage. He issued a farewell address reviewing his course as President of the United States, and concluded in these words : "My own race is nearly run; advanced age and failing health warn me that before long I must pass beyond the reach of human events and cease to feel the vicissitudes of human affairs. I thank God that my life has been spent in the land of liberty, and that He has given me a heart to love my country with the affection of a son, and, filled with gratitude for your constant and unwavering confidence, I bid you a last and affectionate farewell." General Jackson, in 1839, joined the Presbyterian Church which he had built near the Hermitage for Mrs. Jackson. Jackson's will was not a hurried document made in con- sequence of extreme bad health or impending death ; upon the contrary, was a very carefully prepared document of sixteen paragraphs and about fifteen hundred words, and is witnessed by five persons. This will is characteristic of the man who made it. It demonstrates what every stu- dent of Jackson who is careful and thorough, ascertains, and that is, that whatever may have been said about his temper, aggressiveness, boldness, and quickness of deci- sion, he was at the same time one of the most careful and thorough men in everything he undertook. He considered and premeditated long before he acted. There may have been occasions,, and were, when upon circumstances suddenly arising, instant decisions must be Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 591 given, but unless so situated, General Jackson was deliberate in reaching conclusions. While his will makes his adopted son general legatee of his estate, he is thoughtful and kind in remembering friends and relatives, and providing for the payment of his debts; and one is impressed by that reverent mention of the Supreme Being whom he so often with equal rev- erence invokes in his letters to friends and relatives. The reader will find his will an interesting and instructive paper. THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ANDREW JACKSON. "In the Name of God, Amen! I, Andrew Jackson, Sen'r., being of sound mind, memory, and understanding, and im- pressed with the great uncertainty of life and the certain- ty of death, and being desirous to dispose of my temporal affairs so that after my death no contention may arise rela- tive to the same; and whereas, since executing my will of the 30th of September, 1833, my estate has become great- ly involved by my liabilities for the debts of my well-be- loved and adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jun., which makes it necessary to alter the same : Therefore, I, Andrew Jack- son, Sen'r., of the County of Davidson and State of Ten- nessee, do make, ordain, publish, and declare this my last will and testament, revoking all other wills by me here- tofore made. "First, I bequeath my body to the dust whence it comes, and my soul to God, who gave it, hoping for a happy im- mortality through the atoning merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. My desire is, that my body be buried by the side of my dear departed wife, in the garden at the Hermitage, in the vault prepared in the garden, and all expenses paid by my executor hereafter named. "Secondly, That all my just debts be paid out of my personal and real estate by my executor; for which pur- pose to meet the debt my good friends, Gen'l. J. B. Planchin & Company, of New Orleans, for the sum of six thousand dollars, with the interest accruing thereon, loaned to me to meet the debt due by A. Jackson, Jun., for the purchase of the plantation from Hiram G. Runnels, lying on the east bank of the river Mississippi, in the State of Mississippi. Also a debt due by me of ten thousand dollars, borrowed of my friends, Blair and Rives, in the City of Washington and District of Columbia, with the interest accruing there- on; being applied to the payment of the lands bought of Hiram G. Runnels as aforesaid, and for the faithful pay- 592 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ment of the aforesaid recited debts, I hereby bequeath all my personal and real estate. After these debts are fully paid — "Thirdly, I give and bequeath to my adopted son, An- drew Jackson, Junior, the tract of land whereon I now live, known as the Hermitage tract, with its butts and boun- daries, with all its appendages of the three lots of land bought of Samuel Donelson, Thomas J. Donelson, and Alex- ander Donelson, sons and heirs of Sovern Donelson, de- ceased, all boundaries, with all the appurtenances thereto belonging or in any wise, appertaining, with all my ne- groes that I may die possessed of, with the exception here- after named, with all their increase after the before recited debts are fully paid, with all the household fur- niture, farming tools, stock of all kind, both on the Her- mitage tract farms, as well as those on the Mississippi plantation, to him and his heirs forever. The true intent and meaning of this my last will and testament is, that all my estate, real, personal, and mixed, is hereby first pledged for the payment of the above recited debts and interest; and when they are fully paid, the residue of my estate, real personal, and mixed, is hereby bequeathed to my adopted son, A. Jackson, Jun., with the exceptions here- after named, to him and his heirs forever. "Fourth, Whereas, I have heretofore by conveyance, de- posited with my beloved daughter, Sarah Jackson, wife of my adopted son, A. Jackson, Jun., given to my beloved granddaughter, Rachel Jackson, daughter of A. Jackson, Jun., and Sarah his wife, several negroes therein described, which I hereby confirm. I give and bequeath to my beloved grandson, Andrew Jackson, son of A. Jackson, Jun., and Sarah, his wife, a negro boy named Ned, son of Blacksmith Aaron and Hannah his wife, to him and his heirs forever. "Fifth, I give and bequeath to my beloved little grand- son, Samuel Jackson, son of A. Jackson, Jun., and his much beloved wife Sarah, one negro boy named Davy or George, son of Squire and his wife Giney, to him and his heirs for- ever. "Sixth, To my beloved and affectionate daughter, Sarah Jackson, wife of my adopted and well-beloved son, A. Jack- son, Jun., I hereby recognize, by his bequest, the gift, the gift I made her on her marriage, of the negro girl, Gracey, which I bought for her, and gave her to my daughter, Sarah, as her maid and seamstress, with her increase, with my house servant, Hanna and her two daughters, namely, Char- lotte and Mary, to her and her heirs forever. This gift and bequest is made for my great affection for her — as a me- mento to her uniform attention to me and kindness on all Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 593 occasions, and particularly when worn down with sickness, pain, and debility — she has been more than a daughter to me, and I hope she never will be disturbed in the enjoyment of this gift and bequest by anyone. "Seventh, I bequeath to my well-beloved nephew 7 , An- drew J. Donelson, son of Samuel Donelson, deceased, the ele- gant sword presented to me by the State of Tennessee, with this injunction, that he fail not to use it when necessary in support and protection of our glorious Union, and for the protection of the constitutional rights of our beloved coun- try, should they be assailed by foreign enemies or domestic traitors. This, from the great change in my worldly affairs of late, is, with my blessing, all I can bequeath him, doing justice to those creditors to whom I am responsible. This bequest is made as a memento of my high regard, affection, and esteem I bear for him as a highminded, honest, and honorable man. "Eighth, To my grand-nephew, Andrew Jackson Coffee, I bequeath the elegant sword presented to me by the Rifle Company of New Orleans, commanded by Captain Beal, as a memento of my regard, and to bring to his recollection the gallant services of his deceased father, John Coffee, in the late Indian and British War, under my command, and his gallant conduct in defense of New Orleans in 1814 and 1815; with this injunction, that he wield it in the protec- tion of the rights secured to the American citizen under our glorious constitution, against all invaders, whether for- eign foes or intestine traitors. "I bequeath to my beloved grandson, Andrew Jackson, son of A. Jackson, Jun., and Sarah his wife, the sword pre- sented to me by the citizens of Philadelphia, with this in- junction, that he will always use it in defense of the consti- tution of our glorious Union, and the perpetuation of our republican system; remembering the motto, 'Draw me not without occasion, nor sheath me without honor.' "The pistols of Gen'l Lafayette, which were presented by him to Gen'l George Washington, and by Col. William Robertson presented to me, I bequeath to George Washing- ton Lafayette, as a memento of the illustrious personages through whose hands they passed — his father, and the father of his country. "The gold box presented to me by the corporation of the City of New York, the large silver vase presented to me by the iadies of Charleston, South Carolina, my native State, with the large picture representing the unfurling of the American banner, presented to me by the citizens of South Carolina when it was refused to be accepted by the United States Senate, I leave in trust to my son, A. Jackson, Jun., . 594 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History with directions that should our happy country not be blessed with peace, an event not always to be expected, he will at the close of the war or end of the conflict, present each of said articles of inestimable value, to that patriot residing in the city or State from which they presented, who shall be adjudged by his countrymen or the ladies to have been the most valiant in defense of his country and our country's rights. "The pocket spyglass which was used by Gen'l. Wash- ington during the Revolutionary War, and presented to me by Mr. Custis, having been burned with my dwelling house, the Hermitage, with many other valuable relics, I can make no disposition of them. As a memento of my high regard for Gen'l. Robert Armstrong as a gentleman, patriot and soldier, as well as for his meritorious military services un- der my command during the late British and Indian War, and remembering the gallant bearing of him and his gal- lant little band at Enotochopco Creek, when, falling desper- ately wounded, he called out, 'My brave fellows, some may fall, but save the cannon' — as a memento of all these things, I give and bequeath to him my case of pistols and sword worn by me throughout my military career, well satisfied that in his hands they will never be disgraced — that they will never be used or drawn without occasion, nor sheathed but with honor. "Lastly, I leave to my beloved son all my walking-canes and other relics, to be distributed amongst my young rela- tives — namesakes — first, to my much-esteemed namesake, Andrew J. Donelson, son of my esteemed nephew, A. J. Donelson, his first choice, and then to be distributed as A. Jackson, Jun., may think proper. "Lastly, I appoint my adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jun., my whole and sole executor to this my last will and testament, and direct that no security be required of him for the faithful execution and discharge of the trusts hereby reposed in him. "In testimony whereof, I have this 7th day of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-three, hereunto set my hand, and affixed my seal, hereby revoking all wills hereto- fore made by me, and in the presence of "Marion Adams, "Elizabeth D. Love, "Thos. J. Donelson, "Richard Smith, "R. Armstrong. ANDREW JACKSON, (seal)." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 595 JACKSON REFUSES SARCOPHAGUS. It is a rather curious coincidence that just two months and twenty days before his death, Jackson was offered by Commodore Jesse D. Elliott a sarcophagus brought from Palestine, for his final resting place, which the veteran Democrat at the Hermitage, who was in bad health, refused in a characteristic letter. The correspondence between Com- modore Elliott and General Jackson is well worth perusal, and, written as Jackson's reply was, so near his death, it demonstrates that he carried to his grave those repub- lican principles and rules of conduct that had so trium- phantly guided him through his stormy but surpassingly successful life. Commodore Elliott's letter is as follows : "Washington City, March 18, 1845. "My dear General : Last night I made something of a speech at the National Institute, and have offered for their acceptance the sarcophagus which I obtained at Palestine, brought home in the Constitution, and believed to contain the remains of the Roman Emperor, Alexander Severus, with the suggestion that it might be tendered you for your final resting-place. I pray you, General, to live on in the fear of the Lord ; dying the death of a Roman soldier, an Emperor's coffin awaits you. "I am truly your old friend, "Jesse D. Elliott. "To Gen. Andrew Jackson." JACKSON'S REPLY TO COMMODORE ELLIOTT. "Hermitage, March 27, 1845. "Dear Sir : Your letter of the 18th instant, together with the copy of the proceedings of the National Institute, fur- nished me by their corresponding secretary, on the presen- tation, by you, of the sarcophagus for their acceptance, on condition it shall be preserved, and in honor of my memory, have been received, and are now before me. "Although laboring under great debility and affliction, from a severe attack from which I may not recover, I raise my pen and endeavor to reply. The steadiness of my nerves may perhaps lead you to conclude my prostration of strength is not so great as here expressed. Strange as it may appear, my nerves are as steady as they were forty years gone by ; whilst, from debility and affliction, I am gasping for breath. "I have read the whole proceedings of the presentation, by you, of the sarcophagus, and the resolutions passed by 596 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History the board of directors, so honorable to my fame, with sen- sations and feelings more easily to be conjectured than by me expressed. The whole proceedings call for my most grateful thanks, which are hereby tendered to you, and through you to the president and directors of the National Institute. But with warmest sensations that can inspire a grateful heart, I must decline accepting the honor in- tended to be bestowed. I cannot consent that my mortal body shall be laid in a repository prepared for an emperor or a king. My republican feelings and principles forbid it; the simplicity of our system of government forbids it. Every monument erected to perpetuate the memory of our heroes and statesmen ought to bear evidence of the economy and simplicity of our republican institutions, and the plain- ness of our republican citizens, who are the sovereigns of our glorious Union, and whose virtue it is to perpetuate it. True virtue cannot exist where pomp and parade are the governing passions; it can only dwell with the people — the great laboring and producing classes that form the bone and sinew of our confederacy. "For these reasons I cannot accept the honor you and the president of the National Institute intended to bestow. I cannot permit my remains to be the first in these United States to be deposited in a sarcophagus made for an em- peror or a king. I again repeat, please accept for yourself, and convey to the president and directors of the National Institute, my most profound respects for the honor you and they intended to bestow. I have prepared a humble deposi- tory for my mortal body beside that wherein lies my beloved wife, where, without pomp or parade, I have requested, when my God calls me to sleep with my fathers, to be laid; for both of us there to remain until the last trumpet sounds to call the dead to judgment, when we, I hope, shall rise to- gether, clothed with that heavenly body promised to all, who believe in our glorious Redeemer; who died for us that we might live, and by whose atonement I "I am, with great respect, "Your friend and fellow citizen, "Andrew Jackson." "To Com. J. D. Elliott, "United States Navy." General Jackson died June 8, 1845, and was buried by the side of Mrs. Jackson at the Hermitage, June 10, 1845, and with his death a great American career closed. He was conscious almost to the very last moment, and died as peace- fully as if going to sleep. He had no fear of death. His Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 597 grand-daughter, Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence, then a child of twelve years, was standing at the foot of the bed upon which he lay, and the impression of that death upon her youthful mind has never been effaced. Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley, a devoted friend of General Jackson, and whose wife as the second Regent, and daugh- ter, Miss Louise Grundy Lindsley, as the fourth Regent of the Ladies' Hermitage Association, have worked so faithfully to perpetuate Jackson's memory, was present, and saw him pass away. Dr. Lindsley said that "the impression made on his mind was one of a lifetime, and that he never witnessed a more solemn, impressive scene than was pre- sented in that chamber of death on that beautiful after- noon, when the man who had on various occasions defied death, came to realize that his own was approaching, true to his character, never faltered, but met the summons calmly and passed into eternity as peacefully as a child sinking to sleep." If his life was a triumph of courage, will power, patriot- ism and determination, his death w r as a triumph of faith in that Power he so often invoked. He died as he had lived, a triumphant man. "To live with fame The gods allow to many ; but to die With equal luster is a blessing Heaven Selects from all her choicest boons of fate And with a sparing hand on few bestows." 598 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XXXVII. ANDREW JACKSON— HUSBAND, FATHER, FRIEND. In all the thousands of pages written and speeches deliv- ered about Andrew Jackson, emphasis and prominence are always given to his aggressive militant qualities, his strength of character, his determination of will, his mili- tary success, and his fearlessness of responsibility and dan- ger. The kindlier, softer side of Jackson is kept in the background, or not referred to at all; so that to the world generally he is not Jackson the affectionate husband, or the devoted father, or the kind friend, but Jackson the fighting man, the military leader and invincible antagonist. The world has lost much in this tendency in regard to General Jackson, and the purpose of this chapter is to show Jackson the husband, father and neighbor, and, just as far as possi- ble, to demonstrate him through his own letters and by his own words. It is in the home and his treatment there of his family, intimates and neighbors that call on him, and in his contact with every-day life, that the real man is exhibited — his real qualities made plain. It is absolutely true that An- drew Jackson was one of the most affectionate husbands, one of the most devoted fathers, and one of the kindest friends. In fact, those that knew him in his domestic life, and also in his leadership as politician and general, were wont to say that there were two Jacksons, and that they were very materially different from each other. When a man writes letters to wife and children, or to friend and neighbor, there is usually a frankness and sincerity that ring clear and true; and to demonstrate the real Jackson, we think private and personal letters are the surest way to exhibit him. To that end there will be given some personal letters that were never made public before, and which, yel- low with age, in Jackson's handwriting, are in the author's possession as this is written ; and first, one from M G *1 "5 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History . 599 ANDREW JACKSON TO HIS WIFE. "Washington Citv, "May 5th, 1824. "My Dear Wife : "I wrote you the enclosed on yesterday but before I put it in the postoffice yours of the 16th was reed, and I detained it until I could enclose it in this. "I feel grateful to an all ruling Providence for a contin- uation of your good health, whilst I regret exceedingly my detention here uselessly. I pray you to dispel all gloomy thoughts — in a few days I hope we will be again united, never to be separated — no earthly thing shall induce me again to leave you. "I always believed I never was designed for a Legislator. I am sure I was not in days like these, when many, very many display (as it appears to me) a great want of national feeling, and confine their views solely to the section of the country they represent — whilst others are endeavouring by a system of Log rolling, intrigue and management, to thwart the will of the majority, and by long and useless speeches, to weary out Congress and thereby defeat the Tariff Bill, which, if judiciously changed in detail, is calculated to ben- efit the best interests of our country, and increase our reve- nue to meet our national debt. It is the subject that has and still detains me here. I shall leave here so soon as this Bill is acted on ; before I cannot. My love to all and believe me to be your affectionate husband, "Andrew Jackson." "Mrs. Rachel Jackson — " Mr. and Mrs. Jackson had no children of their own, and on December 22, 1809, the wife of Severn Donelson, a brother of Mrs. Jackson, gave birth to twin boys, and the same day Mr. and Mrs. Jackson called at the Donelson home and asked to be given one of the twins, which was done, and the child was taken to the Hermitage and named An- drew Jackson, Jr., and promptly adopted by General Jack- son through an act of the Legislature which was then in session. General Jackson's devotion to Andrew Jackson, Jr., exhibits a sincerity that is both grand and pathetic. The great, strong, masterful man devoted his whole affection to this infant boy, and as he grew up, Jackson's pride in and affection for him were wonderful and without limit. It is ordinarily said that "the bravest are the tenderest," and in this case the man of iron will, who never knew what fear 600 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History was, was as tender to this little boy as a woman to her own offspring. In 1824 Andrew, Jr., was fifteen years old, and the fol- lowing letter is from ANDREW JACKSON TO HIS ADOPTED SON I "City of Washington, Janry 5th, 1824. "My Dear Son, "Your papa has waited two weeks expecting to receive a letter from you informing him how your dear Mother is, and your Cousin Andrew J. Hutching, Lyncoya and all the family. You promised me you would write me often, this I expect, in which I wish you to inform me how my farming business progresses, whether the crop is all housed, and how all my stock of horses and cattle stood the winter; what kind of seasons you have, whether open and warm or very cold, and how the health of all our friends are; all these things will be grateful to me; but particularly how your Mother's health is, and how she spends this lonesome winter. If your Cousin Andrew has returned from Florence tell him to write me. Present me affectionately to your Mother, lit- tle Hutchings, and your cousin Andrew, and believe me to be your affectionate father, Andrew Jackson." "Master Andrew Jackson. "P. S. Tell Lyncoya howdy for me and say to him I ex- pect he will be a good boy and learn his book." The "Lyncoya" referred to was the Indian boy raised by General Jackson from the infant brought back by him from the battle of Talluschatches, and which was found in the arms of his dead mother, killed in that battle. The General raised Lyncoya at the Hermitage, and put him to learning the trade of a saddler in Nashville, after letting him acquaint himself with all the trades and select the one he liked best, which was that of a saddler. He lived about seventeen years and died of consumption. In 1829 when the adopted son was twenty years of age, and had centered his affections on a young lady, his father, then President of the United States, took as great an inter- est in his first love affair as if he were Andrew's own age, and his brother or daily companion. The man bearing upon his shoulders all the responsibilities of an American Pres- ident was profoundly interested in this first love of his son. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 601 ANDREW JACKSON TO HIS ADOPTED SON. " (Confidential) July 26th, 1829. "My son, "Having your happiness at heart more than my own, for since I have been deprived of your dear mother, there is no happiness or contentment for me this side the grave, none but what your society and your welfare and prosperity, and that of your family, should you have one, could afford, added to the love I have for your cousin Andrew and his, who I have raised as a child. You can Judge of the anxiety I have that you should marry a lady that will make you happy, which would add to mine, seeing you so. You are very young, but having placed your affections upon Miss Flora, I have no desire to control your affections, or inter- fere with your choice. Early attachments are the most dura- ble, and having been raised together in the same neighbor- hood, I have only to remark that no good can flow from long courtship. Therefore I would recommend to you to be frank with her, say to her at once the object of your visit and re- ceive her answer at once. Under your situation this I think will be right, and you have a claim upon her to meet you with frankness, and should her reply be adverse to your wishes, you ought not to be offended, but continue to treat her as a friend. So soon as you see and converse with her, write me and write me with candor and truth on this im- portant subject to yourself, and no less to me as your father and friend. Should Miss Flora not favour your wishes, then, my son, I have one request to make of you, that is that you will give out all idea of marriage for the present, until you see and advise with me. Your affectionate father, "Andrew Jackson." "Andrew Jackson, Jr." Neither did official duties or high station deter Jackson in his letters to members of his family at the Hermitage from wanting to be informed how everybody and everything were getting along. The man who, at that time, had more power than any other American had ever possessed or wielded, was always solicitous about the health of those at home, and how the crops were, the horses, the cattle, the servants, and repair's on the property; all showing the do- mestic side of the man, and illustrating him like the X-ray illumines the body upon which it is focused. The next let- ter is personal and also goes into details about acreage and the price of cotton and the purchase of land, which are not reproduced. The personal part of the letter is this : 602 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ANDREW JACKSON TO HIS ADOPTED SON. "Washington, May 18, 1831. "My Son : "Your affectionate letter of the 16th has just been re- ceived. I am happy to hear that your health is good, and that a good night's sleep with the refreshing air of the Chesapeake has been reviving to you. You say to me not to feel depressed about you. My son, I have felt much concern about your health of late. You must be more careful of your habit of being up at parties too late, and exposing your- self to the night air, or you may fasten that cough upon you that may be fatal to your health, when by care, until your growth is finished and your constitution formed, you may enjoy robust health all your days. "I am happy you met with Major Lewis and his daugh- ter and Major B 's family in Philadelphia; it must add to your comfort while you remain there. Your Cousin Andrew reached here night before last in eleven days from Nashville, leaving all friends well and apparently with bet- ter feelings. He has been at the races yesterday and is out today. I have had but little opportunity to converse with him, but he says everywhere the people hail the reorganiza- tion of my cabinet as a happy event for the harmony and prosperity of the nation. * * * "Write me often, and believe me affectionately yours, "Andrew Jackson." "Mr. A. Jackson, Jr." In 1832 General Jackson was sixty-five years of age, and not having heard from his adopted son as frequently as he desired, he became anxious about him, and this anxiety he did not hesitate to express in this letter : ANDREW JACKSON TO HIS ADOPTED SON. "Washington, April 23d, 1832. "Dear Andrew, "I am still without the least information of you since I parted with you. My anxiety, you must have supposed, to hear from you, and how you progressed on your journey, and what was the state of all your health, has been very great ; particularly from the state and condition of Charles, when he set out. I am truly at a loss to account for your silence and that of our dear Sarah, as I had requested, and obtained a promise from both of you, that you would write, even if it was but one line, to say how and where you were. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 603 "We have been lonesome since you left us. Mary McLe- more arrived on Sunday a week ago and left us yesterday, accompanied by Miss Mary Ann Lewis and Mr. Earle. I have been under a gloom ever since I parted with you, and so soon as Congress adjourns, will travel some where, home, if time will permit. "I have written you to Wheeling, and two letters ad- dressed to you at the Hermitage, in one of which I enclosed an invoice of the articles last shipped from Philadelphia, which I hope you will receive on your arrival at the Her- mitage. I write you now only to let you know my anxiety to hear from you, and that in this I have been disappointed. "Present me affectionately to Sarah and Emma, and be- lieve me affectionately your father, "Andrew Jackson." "Mr. Andrew Jackson, Jr." In 1833 the President ratified a purchase of land made by his son, and was anxious to advise him along the line of careful, economical, business conduct; and from Washing- ton he wrote a letter, which for hard-headed business sagac- ity, financial shrewdness and conservativeness of manage- ment, is hard to excel. Jackson the President, Jackson the leader, and Jackson the politician, were only several phases of Andrew Jackson, who was also Jackson the safe financier and business man. He never wrote a letter more pregnant with supreme devotion to his son's welfare than this one, in which he is attempting to blaze the way to financial pros- perity for that son. ANDREW JACKSON TO HIS ADOPTED SON. "Washington, January 11th, 1833. "Dear Andrew, "I have this moment received your affectionate letter of the 26th ultimo, and am thankful to a kind Providence to learn that you are all well. * * * "I now consider the purchase as made, and on that basis, give the following admonition — that is that you adopt a proper economy, buy nothing except for cash that can be done without, never become indebted, for if you do, you will find it difficult to get clear of it, and when indebted you are a slave and your feelings always liable to insult from your creditor, and costly ruin by the sale of your property. These remarks are proper in themselves, and arise to my mind from this contract and what might arise 604 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History under it. Suppose our cotton lost on its way to market, or destroyed by fire, before you ship it, and suppose Provi- dence took me hence before the debt for the land bought was paid, what difficulty would you not have to meet? and even suppose the cotton lost and I should be spared, how difficult it would be for me to meet it. These reflections ought always to be present to your view if you expect to go through life well, and they are made for your benefit. Here- after never go in debt beyond your present means anticipat- ing crops or any other resource for the payment of a debt taht depends upon uncertainty. Crops might fail and double the amount of property than that which was bought, sold under execution. These remarks are for your con- sideration hereafter. You will, on receipt of this, close the contract with Mr. Hill agreeable to your engagement as expressed in your letter now 1 before me, and furnish me with the intelligence I have requested, closing your settle- ment with Mr. Nichols for the last year, and showing how the proceeds of the last crop has been applied ; examine this account well and have it closed. My dear son, as soon as the contract is closed with Mr. Hill, attend to my request as to the amount of cotton and all the debts of the farm. "We are all here well but myself. My health is not good, and I am oppressed with continual business. All unite with me in love to you, Sarah, and the little pet. Genl. Word wishes to be included and all join in salutations to Thomas, Emma and child, and present me kindly to Mr. and Mrs. Wetherall and family. Kiss Sarah and my little Rachel for me, and believe me your affectionate "father, "Andrew Jackson. "P. S. — How I am delighted to be informed of the health and improvement of my dear little Rachel, and trust that my God may preserve her as a blessing to us, and keep her for me. A. J. I have not time to read this, being sur- rounded with a crowd. A. J." By 1835 Andrew Jackson, Jr., was a married man and had a little family of his own, to the great delight of the President; and that delight is exhibited in a very beautiful and charming letter: ANDREW JACKSON TO HIS ADOPTED SON. "Washington, May 2nd, 1835, 10 p.m. "My Dear Son : "I have this moment received from the postoffice your kind letter of the 21st ultimo, and I am, my dear Andrew, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 605 more than rejoiced at the sentiment you have expressed with regard to your course through life. This determina- tion is one that will make you and your dear little family happy and wealthy, and lead to a happy immortality be- yond the grave. I repeat, my dear Andrew, you have made me happy. You have my love and affection, and I have the utmost confidence in your determination ; and I have but you and my dear Sarah, and your dear little ones, to perpetuate my name and memory. I have inclosed your letter to your dear Sarah. She will be rejoiced to receive it. "I wrote you yesterday, and inclosed a letter from your dear Sarah to you. "My health has been delicate, but is mending. Take care of your health, and do not fatigue yourself too much. I hope you will soon be able to arrange the building, get on the roof, and be able to unite with us between this and the first of June, or by the middle at farthest, I expect in ten or twelve days. "Dear little Rachel is mending. Dr. Physic says he will have her well in a few days. I will take care of your dear little family in your absence. "May God bless and preserve you in health and restore you to us again without accident, is the prayer of "Your affectionate father, "Andrew Jackson. "A. Jackson, Esq., Jr. "P. S. — I am glad the zinc has reached you. It will hasten the building and your return. A. J." In 1836, after having travelled all day, and through mud and rain, to a point north of Bbwling Green, Kentucky, his son and that son's family were present with him in thought and devotion, and he writes another affectionate letter. ANDREW JACKSON TO HIS ADOPTED SON. "Kentucky, six miles north of Bowling Green, Sept. 14th, 1836. "My Dear Andrew: "Having put up for the night, and having labored through deep mud through the day, owing to a great fall of rain last night, which has prevented us from reaching our intended stage and meeting the mail stage, which has stopped for a moment for this hasty note, I could not re- frain from saying to you that we are progressing as well and in as good health as we could expect, from the state of the weather and the roads. 606 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "Kiss my dear Sarah and my two little dear pets, and say to Sarah I will be sure to write you and her from Louis- ville. "May God protect and preserve you all in health until you join me in Washington. Adieu — "Andrew Jackson." "A. Jackson, Jr., Esq." The letters of General Jackson to his family and Mrs. Jackson's relatives very often invoke the blessing of the Deity upon them, and indicate that in his mind there was constantly the thought of dependence upon some higher Power; and in our estimate of him he rises in dignity and in our respect from his reverent manner of calling down blessings upon those to whom he was attached. One of these letters was addressed to Andrew Jackson, Jr., who made it and others public in a controversy he had some years after the General's death — about 1856 — with General Frank P. Blair. It is as follows : GENERAL JACKSON TO HIS ADOPTED SON. "Washington, March 1, 1836. "My Son: "You are taking a journey to explore and determine whether or not we will conclude the contract finally with Dr. Gwin. I would then suggest that you examine well the quality of the land by passing around through the sections. That country is subject to inundations. Should you close the contract, and find vacant land adjoining, you must go into bank for the money until next fall, or you can raise some by drawing a bill on me payable in January, next. "Therefore, my son, unless the land is good and in a situation that promises health, my advice to you is not to buy. "With these paternal remarks and admonitions I pray God to take you in his keeping, bless you with health, re- store you to your dear little family and me, and may God bless and prosper you through life in all of your just pur- suits, is the prayer of your affectionate father, "Andrew Jackson." Letters available for publication illustrate Jackson's epistolary style to persons of varying ages, degree of rela- tionship, official character, occupations, eminence of per- sonal standing, or the contrary. The following is a letter from Jackson to his son who was then a boy of fifteen years : Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 607 ANDREW JACKSON TO HIS ADOPTED SON. "Washington City, April 5th, 1824. "My Dear Son : "I have just received your kind letter of the 14th ultimo. Your papa is pleased to learn that you are progressing well with your studies and more particularly that you have at- tended to your mother, cheering and comforting her in your papa's absence. "This, my son, is a duty you owe her, for trouble, care and anxiety for you in your infancy. You owe her a debt of filial graditude that you can never pay. All your care and attention to her is a duty arising from that trouble and attention with which she watched over your childhood, and fostered and cherished you on a sick bed. You owe your dear mother more, my son, than you can ever repay with all your affectionate regard and attention; but I am pleased that you will by your attention to her endeavor to pay the debt of gratitude you owe her. I am very anxious to re- turn to you and your mother, but I cannot leave here until Congress adjourns, and when that will be I cannot at pres- ent say, but I hope to be home in all the month of May. My health is as usual, but I trust as the warm weather ad- vances my health will improve. "I pray you, my son, to be attentive to your studies, im- prove your handwriting, and accustom yourself to letter writing. Attend to your mother, cheer her and comfort her in my absence, present me to her affectionately, to your cousin, Andrew J. ' Donelson, Hutching and Lyncoya, and particularly to the young ladies who are staying with your mother, to your Aunt Betty and all her family and believe me to be your Affectionate father, "Andrew Jackson. "Master Andrew Jackson, Jr." Andrew Jackson, Jr., married Miss Sarah Yorke, of Philadelphia on the 24th day of November, 1831, and his father wrote him the following letter not long before his marriage : ANDREW JACKSON TO HIS ADOPTED SON. "Washington, October 27, 1831. "My Son : "I have perused with great interest the letter of Sarah's which you have submitted to me. Since my heavy and ir- reparable bereavement in the death of my dear and ever-to- be-lamented wife, the only object that makes life desirable 608 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History to me is to see you happy and prosperous, and permanently settled in life; united to an amiable wife of respectability, one whose disposition and amiable qualities are calculated to make you happy, your happiness will insure mine for the few years which I can expect to live. You say that Sarah possesses every quality necessary to make you happy. The amiability of her temper and her other good qualities which you represent is a sure pledge that she will unite with you in adding to my comfort during my life. You will please communicate to her that you have my full and free consent that you be united in the holy bonds of matrimony ; that I shall receive her as a DAUGHTER, and cherish her as my CHILD. I find you are engaged to each other; the sooner this engagement is consummated, the better. Both your minds will then be at rest, and if it suits the wishes and convenience of Sarah, my choice would be that the nuptials be celebrated in due time before the meeting of Congress, as then I shall want your aid, and it would put it in my power to receive you and Sarah here before the bustle of Congress commences. "Present me affectionately to Sarah, for, although un- known to me, your attachment to her has created in my bosom a parental regard for her. That, I have no doubt, will increase on our acquaintance. I am your affectionate father, Andrew Jackson." Andrew Jackson nowhere appears to finer advantage on his personal side than in his letters to this daughter-in-law whom he took at once into his affection after her marriage, and lavished upon her a devotion that commands our admi- ration. Miss Sarah Yorke was a native of Philadelphia, and there is no dissent whatever, in all the accounts that have come down to us, that she was not only a very beauti- ful woman, but of the highest character of womanhood. Her portrait now hangs in the main hall at the Hermitage. It is not surprising that a man of Jackson's age at the time of his son's marriage to Miss Yorke — sixty-four years — and with no children but an adopted son, should have accepted that beautiful girl into the very innermost shrine of his pa- ternal affections. She was worthy of all the devotion lav- ished upon her. General Jackson was intensely desirous that his name be perpetuated, and the birth of every child in the family of his son and daughter was to him a matter of delight. Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence, the "little Rachel" of his Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 609 correspondence, was his oldest grandchild, and just prior to her birth Jackson wrote the following letter to his daugh- ter. It is submitted that the annals of great men have never produced a finer exhibition of real manhood. "Tyree Springs, Sept. 23rd, 1832. "My dear Sarah: How I regret whilst with you the crowd and bustle with which I was surrounded, and the con- stant press of business that prevented me from those social hours of peaceful retirement and converse I expected with you, and the regret of leaving you behind me; still I look forward with a pleasing hope when you will reunite with me at the city, and present to me a lovely child, which I shall press to my bosom with delight, and accept from Prov- idence as one of his kindest blessings, and for which my constant prayers will be offered up. * * * "Andrew Jackson." Andrew Jackson, Jr., and his wife had left Washington and gone to the Hermitage to be there at the birth of An- drew Jackson III., later, Colonel Andrew Jackson of the Confederate Army, who was born in April, 1834. Jackson wrote the following letter to Mrs. Jackson before the birth of the child : ' "January 23, 1834. "Dear Sarah : I have seen Mr. Key, his account of the improvement of my dear little Rachel was highly gratify- ing. He appeared to be delighted with her, and the manner of his describing her was quite interesting to me, and her attempt to talk and call grandpapa made it still more so. I hope she is over all danger of teething. Having twelve,_ I presume her eye teeth are cut. If so, then her days of pain and danger have passed. I trust in a kind Providence that he will bless and preserve her as a blessing to us all; kiss the dear little pet for me. I hope Providence will permit me to see her next summer, and she will be able to say grandpa. I must close. My business and company are pressing. Why cannot Andrew write me twice a month. Present me affectionately to him. I expect to hear from him soon, the amount of cotton made, and how much gone to market, and whether he has closed the contract with Hill for the land, etc., and if bought, whether he w r ould rather retain it or exchange with Major A. J. Donelson. It is prob- able the Major would not desire to change. I have written him to buy the land and I want to know how much will be lacking from the sales of cotton, after paying the expense of the farm and supplies for the house, will be needed to 610 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History meet the first payment, and whether the first of May will do to have the fund at Nashville "to meet it. Urge Andrew, my dear Sarah, to give me this information. "Kiss my dear little pet for me and accept of my prayers for the safety and prosperity of you all, and believe in haste, your affectionate father, Andrew Jackson. "P. S. Sarah : All my household, Mr. E,arle and Eliza- beth Martin included, join me in sending salutations to you all at the. Hermitage, and our connections and inquiring friends and neighbors. My own health is improving, but I am laboured almost to death. A. J." Jackson spent the summer of 1836 at the Hermitage, and left for Washington in September. His son and wife remained at the Hermitage for a few weeks before starting to join him in Washington. While on board the steamer en route to Washington he wrote his daughter this letter : "Aboard the Steamer Home, Sept. 22, 1836. "My dear Sarah : I have been a good deal out of spirits since I left you. We have been five days on the water cooped in a small boat crowded with passengers and annoyed with mosquitoes ; our comforts as you will readily see, not many. Often I have regretted that you, Andrew, and our dear lit- tle pets are not with me, but when I reflect how uncomfort- able would be your and their situation, I thank my God you are now at home and that you Will meet more comforts and a better and more healthful season to reach and join me in the city, where I hope you will be able to arrive in Novem- ber, when Andrew can have all our business so arranged as to leave it without injury; and be enabled to form an esti- mate of our cotton crop and have the fall crops put in and our meadows and grass arranged so as to ensure us plenty of grass for another year. "We have had low water but a rise which we have met of 11 inches will, the Capt. says, ensure us water to Wheel- ing. This is fortunate, for my horses would not have been able to have performed the journey over land. The rain made heavy roads, and the rock and mud holes have worn them down, and it was fortunate we took the Louis- ville route, or they would not have performed the journey, and I should have been compelled to have left them and taken the stage. "I have been and will continue to be uneasy until I hear how our dear little Andrew has got and how you all are. "I expected to have heard at Louisville from Major A. J. Donelson or my SON; in this I was disappointed, from Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 611 which I fear Emily is in a dangerous situation, and if she attempts to travel in this weather her life will be endan- gered. I hope to hear from you at Wheeling, either by letter or from Andrew or Major Donelson. I write this on board a tremulous boat which shakes so much that I can scarcely write. I do this expecting to reach Wheeling so early tomorrow as will enable us to proceed and make a half day's journey which will enable me to reach Washing- ton the first of next month. "My dear Sarah write me often. I appear lost, altho Col. Love and Doctor Gwin are as attentive and kind to me as children ; kiss my dear little Rachel and Andrew for me and do not let them forget me. May God bless and preserve you all and grant us a happy meeting again. Your affection- ate father, Andrew Jackson. "P. S. Sarah : I have been kindly greeted by numerous assemblies everywhere, altho short notice of my arrival. I reached Cincinnati at 6 in the morning without the citi- zens having any notice and before 10 o'clock was surrounded by at least 3,000; so it continued and on my approach to Portsmouth (Ohio) there was a large crowd and a most disastrous result in firing a salute. The piece went off whilst loading and killed three persons and w T ounded the fourth mortally. This melancholy event filled me with pain. I could only as an evidence of my regrets give something to two widows which the sad catastrophe had deprived of .their husbands. One was a lad whose brains were blown away — doleful event. A. J." Politics is usually and often justly credited with being permeated with ingratitude, and charges of lack of grati- tude and treachery among politicians of the country have been so common as to create the general idea that such things are to be expected. But there are glorious excep- tions to what is apparently the general rule, and the excep- tions are the brighter because of their infrequency. The gratitude of Frank P. Blair to General Jackson is one of the glowing exceptions. In the controversy above referred to between General Blair and Andrew Jackson, Jr., the lat- ter made public a letter from Blair to General Jackson, and also a written authority from Blair and Rives to Gen- eral Jackson to draw on them for money, which letter and authority are highly honorable to them all, and shows an affection, gratitude and devotion on the part of Blair and 612 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Rives that continued to the very minute of General Jack- son's death. Andrew Jackson, Jr., is authority for the statement that when Jackson arrived at the Hermitage after eight years as President, he had less than one hundred dollars in money, and owed a large sum. The General's latter days were embarrassed and troubled by his money matters, and General Blair came to his relief. It will be remembered that Jackson, when President, brought Blair to Washington and made him. one of his per- sonal advisers, and Jackson's friends established "The Globe," and Frank P. Blair and John C. Rives, partners as "Blair & Rives," were installed to conduct the paper, which, with the Administration behind it, w T as, of course, a tremen- dous success. In addition to that, Blair and Rives were made public printers, and through these two avenues made a great deal of money, and General Blair, by degrees, be- came a very wealthy man. FRANK P. BLAIR TO GENERAL JACKSON. "Washington, March 11, 1842. "My dear General : "Nothing in the prosperous circumstances on which you congratulate me in your last letter ever gave me so much' happiness as that they in the least contribute to your con- venience. The prosperity with which I am surrounded is drawn from you ; when you took me by the hand, I was pros- trate on the earth. Those for whom I had been endorser left me crushed almost to death under the wheels of the banks. You raised me up, sustained my exertions in Wash- ington against the intrigues of pretended friends, gave me your countenance and the power of your popularity to com- mand the business in which I was engaged, and thus con- ferred upon me the independence which now enables me to be of some service to you. With a heart full of gratitude I would feel joy in sharing to the last farthing with you all that I have. In permitting me to advance the sum for your convenience on the terms you prescribe, you confer an obli- gation on me, greatly increased by the affectionate manner in which you speak of it. "Your affectionate friend, F. P. Blair." The authority to draw on Blair and Rives was in these words : Andrew Jacksox and Early Tennessee History 613 "Washington, March 12, 1845. "General Andrew Jackson is authorized to draw upon us at one day's sight for any sum between one and one hun- dred thousand dollars, and his draft shall be honored. He may, if he shall think proper to do so, draw payable at Bal- timore, Philadelphia, or New York. "Blair & Rives." marriage of andrew jackson, jr. Andrew Jackson, Jr., born December 22, 1809, married Miss Sarah Yorke, of Philadelphia, Pa., November 24, 1831, and they had four children, one of whom, Robert, died in infancy, and three reached maturity. They were all born at the Hermitage. The three were : Captain Samuel Jackson, who was killed in the Battle of Chickamauga, in 1863, fighting in the Confederate Army, during the Civil War. Colonel Andrew Jackson III., who was a Colonel in the Confederate Army, born in 1834, moved to Knoxville in October, 1905, and died there December 17th, 1906. His widow, Mrs. Amy Jackson, is now living near Knoxville. Rachel Jackson, born November 1, 1832, married Dr. John M. Lawrence, January 25, 1853. They had four daugh- ters. Andrew Jackson III. on October 8, 1885, married Miss Amy Rich, of Hamilton, Ohio, a brilliant and highly edu- cated lady who was teaching school near the Hermitage, and they had two sons, Andrew Jackson IV., who was born at the Hermitage, June 4, 1886, and is at Camp Gordon, Georgia, in the United States Army, training for service in the European War; and Albert Marble Jackson, born July 17, 1899, who at the beginning of the war between England and Germany, and before the United States became one of the allies, joined the British expeditionary forces in Canada, August 29, 1913, and is now in France. Andrew Jackson IV. married Miss Marion Caulkins, daughter of Dr. Douglass Caulkins, a practicing physician of Knoxville, and they have two children, a boy and a girl, the boy being Andrew Jackson V. General Jackson's devotion to his daughter-in-law, Mrs. 614 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History Sarah Yorke Jackson, and her children, is evidenced in the letters above. Dr. John M. Lawrence died in 1882, and his widow, Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence, is living at their home place near the Hermitage. Andrew Jackson, Jr., after he had sold the Hermitage to the State of Tennessee in 1856, left it and went to his plantation in Mississippi, and there lived until he was in- vited by Governor Isham G. Harris, of Tennessee, to return and make his home at the Hermitage as tenant at will, which he did in 1860, and died there April 15, 1865. His wife, Mrs. Sarah Yorke Jackson, survived him and died at the Hermitage in 1888. They are both buried in the Her- mitage garden. Colonel Andrew Jackson III. at the close of the Civil War was released as a prisoner from Camp Chase. One of his old comrades in arms paid him at the time of his death the following tribute : "On the organization of the First Tennessee Heavy Ar- tillery at Fort Pillow, A. Jackson was elected Colonel ; Rob- ert Sterling, of Jackson, Lieutenant-Colonel ; F. W. Hood- ley, of Memphis, Major; Dr. Conway, of Memphis, Sur- geon; William Chunn, of Union City, Adjutant, and I was appointed Sergeant-Ma j or, and from that time to the sur- render at Vicksburg, I slept at his headquarters and ate at his table. During all of this time I never heard an oath or an ugly word fall from his lips. He was a timid man among strangers, and extremely so in the presence of ladies. He w r as quick to make up his mind as to what action to pursue, and very firm when he decided. In battle he was very calm, his voice firm, and his w r hole bearing gave great confidence to his men. He was very tall — fully half his body was above the protection of the parapet, yet I never saw him dodge at the near passage of a bullet or the passing of a shell. "My place was near him in action to take his orders, or to order batteries, and I had every opportunity to observe his conduct. On account of the great exposure he never sent me with orders unless it was imperatively necessary, and he always told me to take advantage of any ridge or bank to shield myself; to run fast, and if .not necessary for me to bring a reply or information, to remain in the battery to which I was sent until the engagement was over. He was careful to give every one credit. I have a report of his now before me of an engagement in which he mentions for Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 615 bravery Captain P. T. Dismukes, Captain H. T. Norman, Lieutenant S. M. Allen (brother of Mr. Ben Allen), Ser- geant E. M. Hearn, now of Franklin, several other officers, and fourteen of his men. "He was a gentleman and a soldier, every inch of him." 616 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XXXVIII. ANDREW JACKSON— GRAND-DAUGHTER, MRS. RACHEL JACKSON LAWRENCE. Born November 1st, 1832, granddaughter of Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, the only living per- son who ever saw him or heard his voice, the connecting link between him and the present time, Mrs. Rachel Jack- son Lawrence has lived through the most tremendous periods of the world, too see, in her later years, the blaze which, starting in Europe, set the whole world afire, and the bewildered children of men wondering what it all means, and why the present awful conditions exist. She played about the White House until the end of her grandfather's second administration, and was the pet of Vice President Martin Van Buren. She was born to a station in life which commanded the association of the ablest and the best, and, crowned with her eighty-five years, she comes down to us a glorious representative of the grand women of ante-bellum days. On April 6, 1917, a beautiful spring day, the author went by appointment to call on Mrs. Lawrence at her country home near the Hermitage, and to ask her to give some of her personal reminiscences of the Hero of New Orleans and of the Hermitage of the old days, and thereby to enable men and women of today to have a glimpse of life in the middle period of the Republic, when we had, not long before, cast off the swaddling clothes of the pioneer period. While she had reached an advanced age, her mind was as bright, ac- tive, and responsive as in middle life, and gave no signs of failing, and it was a delight to hear her converse. Her manner exhibited the old fashioned, dignified courtesy ; her conversation carried us back to the days when the South governed the nation. Mrs. Lawrence has met Presidents, Senators, Congressmen and leading men from all parts of the world; for even after her grandfather's death in 1845, the Hermitage continued to be a Mecca for distinguished 3 > > CD 3 *! Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 617 people from everywhere; and so, to her, the reception and entertainment of visitors and strangers has been an every- day matter. Thrown thus for a lifetime with such asso- ciations, it is not difficult to see how she acquired that high- bred, refined air that impresses one the moment one meets her. She told the author on this visit a great many inter- esting things which may be summarized as follows : "I can remember very far back, and a great many things that occurred at the White House while I was there until 1837, When we left at the expiration of General Jackson's last term as President. We came through Nashville, to the Hermitage in the old carriage which is over at the Hermit- age now. In the carriage were General Jackson, my moth- er, Mrs. Sarah Yorke Jackson, my father, Andrew Jack- son, Jr., and Dr. Foster; usually Dr. Gynne traveled back- wards and forwards from the Hermitage to Washington with General Jackson, but that year Dr. Foster came in his place. A chartered stage coach of Indians came on behind us. These Indians, Chief John Ross among them, had been on to see General Jackson and to ascertain if any better ar- rangement could be made with regard to their removal across the Mississippi River. They were dressed in their big feathers. "Yes, sir, I remember my grandfather's, General Jack- son's death, very distinctly. I was going to school in Nash- ville and came home Friday evening, and he died on Sun- day, a little after six o'clock in the afternoon. My father, his adopted son, stood at the head of his bed, old Alfred, my grandfather's body servant, was near him, and my mother and her sister, Mrs. Adams. Dr. Esselman was the attending physician. I was standing at the foot of the bed, with my hands on the bed, looking directly into my grand- father's face; some of the younger children and Mrs. Adams' three children, had gone to the Hermitage Church, and they were sent for. My grandfather became very faint for a while and could not see. The negro servants crowded at the windows and on the porch, and it was necessary to move them in order to get air. Mr. Healey, the artist, sent over from France to paint a picture of General Jackson, was present; he had been there for some little time before my grandfather's death. "General Sam Houston was on his way to the Hermit- age and got there a little after my grandfather died." "Mrs. Lawrence, what was the appearance of General Sam Houston ; give us a picture of him." "Well,, I saw him three different times, each time so entirely different; the first time he and my father came in 618 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History from hunting in the front woodland, and they stepped up on the porch. He was a tall, fine-looking man, and on this occasion he had on a hunting coat and boots that came above his knees. Quite a crowd of young people had gath- ered at the Hermitage from the neighborhood around, at the time. "The next time I saw r him, he came in full uniform, a magnificent looking man. This was after the war with Santa Anna, I suppose, and he stayed several days at the Hermitage. The next time was at my grandfather's death, and he was dressed in a plain black suit, with a black cravat, and looked very much like a minister. He stopped at Major Donelson's, and came over and spent a day and night with us at the Hermitage after the funeral. This time he did not look nearly so stout as he appeared in his mili- tary dress. "General Jackson was very slender, you know, and was over six feet high, I feel sure; that engraving there (point- ing to one in the room) is pretty good, but it is not as good as others that were taken. I like Longacre better; that is by Peyton, I think. I do not know much about the artists. "Colonel Earle lived with us and painted a great many pictures of my grandfather, who met him down near Natchez, in the southern country, and he married Miss Jane Caffrey, a niece of my grandmother. Colonel Eaiie's peo- ple all lived in Connecticut, and he was a young man at the time my grandfather met him, and had been in Europe for several years, where he met crowned heads. He studied in England, France, and Italy. On coming to the United States he first reached South Carolina just before the Battle of New Orleans. General Jackson was so much pleased with his appearance, he was such a gentlemanly man, so intelli- gent, that he was invited to the Hermitage. His wife died in six months after they were married. From that time he lived with us at the Hermitage. He accompanied my grand- father when he went on to be inaugurated as President, and my grandfather invited him to stay at the White House and gave him a room there both terms. He painted a great many portraits in Washington and returned with us. I re- member distinctly the journey home in 1837. "Colonel Earle assisted in laying off the grounds, the front yard, at the Hermitage. My mother drew the plan, and Colonel Earle superintended the laying off, and the planting of all those cedars you can see there. He also laid off the center of the Hermitage garden. I think it was exposure to the sun, after being so closely confined in his studio, that resulted in his death. He came in, I re- member, and sat down at the dinner table, and said he did Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 619 not feel very well, thought he had something- like a chill, and both my father and grandfather begged him to send for a physician. He said no, he had a very severe headache, but intended to go upstairs to his room, and that a night's rest was all that he needed. When supper time came, he was still feeling very badly, still had the headache, and they again begged and insisted upon his sending for a physician in the neighborhood, but he said no, a night's rest would be all that was necessary, and he refused, and went upsairs to his room and retired. About daylight he died with a congestive chill." "Mrs. Lawrence, was General Jackson conscious up to his death?" "Yes, sir. After he spoke to each member of the family he said he had no fears of death ; that every one should live so as to be prepared for death, and that had been his way, and he was not afraid, and hoped to meet us again. He bade all the servants, as well as all the white people, good- bye, and just closed his eyes. Standing at the foot of the bed, my hands were touching his feet, and I felt just a little tremor pass through him. I had never seen any one die before, and I did not know that it was death. Dr. Esselman said, 'Mr. Jackson, lower his head; it is all over; he has passed away.' He took out his watch, and it was a quarter past six. "I loved him better than any one else. He called me little Rachel, or his only child, or his baby. "Those little steps at the side of the bed there now — every night I went up those three little steps and leaned over and kissed him good-night. Every morning, as soon as he was up and had made his toilet, I went in to see him. "I have a good likeness of his wife that he always wore with a guard chain, made by a young lady in Nashville. It is a miniature and was painted by Miss Eliza Peale of Philadelphia. The chain was a flat bead chain to be worn around the neck, and in gilt beads on a black background were worked in the words : 'Presented to General Jackson as a token of esteem from Caledonia Gibson. May blessings crown thy hoary head.' My grandfather wore this chain around his neck with the miniature in his vest pocket, and at night he would take it off and lay it on the table by the side of his bed. I went up to his chair one day, and he drew me up to him and put his arm around me and said: 'Wait a minute,' and he threw that chain over my neck and gave me the miniature, and said, 'I want you to have this. You are named for her, Rachel, and you must wear this for her sake as well as mine.' " "Mrs. Lawrence, I have read somewhere that you, as a 620 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History child, used to take General Jackson's hand and walk with him, and when he would go towards the garden you just dropped back; tell us about that." "No one ever went down to the tomb with him. Every evening, just about the time the sun would be nearly down, he went to the tomb, but he always went alone. I always went to the gate, and saw him in, but I realized he was going to the tomb. He would stay there a half hour, I sup- pose, then 1 return. He did this as long as he was able to walk. He was finally obliged to give up his walk to the tomb, and just walked up and down on the stone porch in front. "I do not remember the first time I saw a steamboat on the Cumberland River, but I remember that the cotton at the Hermitage was always picked and ginned and baled ready for market about Christmas, and that the steamboat came up from Nashville to the landing back of the present Confederate Soldiers' Home to take the cotton to New Or- leans, and my grandfather would say to my mother, 'Now, daughter, have your list ready to send down for the year's groceries,' and my mother would have her list prepared, and my grandfather would write to his friend, Marcell B. White, who Was in the Battle of New Orleans with him, and they were always great friends afterwards ; he was in the com- mission business in New Orleans. The groceries were brought back by steamboat and hauled in wagons from the landing to the Hermitage. "The hermitage was such a public place that I do not think the family ever sat down to a meal by themselves — there was always company. Strangers would come and stay to dinner, and frequently longer, and many visitors Would bring a namesake of General Jackson to introduce to him. They made all kinds of requests for assistance, and my grandfather helped each one as far as he was able." "Your mother, Mrs. Lawrence, all accounts agree in stating, was a very beautiful woman, Mrs. Sarah Yorke Jackson?" "Yes, sir. My mother went abroad to school, and was there for seven years. Her father and mother both died, and three little girls were left orphans. Her younger sis- ter, Jane, married Samuel Wetherill. Mrs. Adams was her older sister, and had property in New Jersey and went down there to see about it during the summer, and there met John Adams. It is said that he was related to President Wilson. John Adams visited in Philadelphia where my mother and her sister lived, and he and Mrs. Adams were married there. Mr. Adams died and left her with three little boys, and after my grandfather's last term as President, Mrs. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 62 1 Adams came to the Hermitage to live. Of Mrs. Adams' three boys, John went into the Navy, Earle was killed at the siege of Vicksburg, and the third was in General Mor- gan's command, and was killed in Kentucky. She, herself, died at the Hermitage and is buried there in the garden." A HISTORIC LITTLE ALBUM. In a little red Morocco autograph album, four by five inches in size, w r orn with years and service, and the price- less treasure of Mrs. Lawrence for eighty years, presented to her by Martin Van Buren, Vice President of the United States, when she was three years old, is a collection of sen- timents and autographs by four Presidents of the United States, Cabinet officers, and prominent men and women, which is a joy to one who loves history, or seeks to hold communion With the great spirits of the long ago who guided the American Ship of State safely through many stormy waters. Mrs. Sarah Yorke Jackson, daughter-in-law of the President, and Mistress of the White House, asked vener- able statesmen and leaders to write in her little daughter's album, never thinking that nearly a century later that lit- tle album would profoundly interest more than two and a quarter million Tennesseans, and would recall the days when Tennessee was at the summit of that leadership which left so unmistakable an imprint upon American life and government. Statesmen of later days have also inscribed their names in this historic volume, and by the courteous permission of Mrs. Lawrence there are here reproduced the sentiments of some of both the older and the more modern statesmen. FROM ANDREW JACKSON. "The following short admonition is written for the medi- tation of my dear little Rachel Jackson by her affectionate grandpa, with the hope that as her little mind matures by age, she will make it the rule of her life, in early life, to search for truth, and learn wisdom from the precepts as laid down in the Holy Scriptures. This, my child, will make smooth the path of life and at last will lead you to a hope of immortalitv. "Andrew Jackson, March 30, 1836." 622 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History FROM JAMES BUCHANAN. "To the memory of your grandmother, from whom you have derived your name. I knew her well ; and it was my privilege. For she was just, kind and bountiful, open as day, melting charity, and truly pious, without ostentation. Her husband was devoted to her, and she, in all respects, deserved his love. Let me entreat you from the very first to meditate upon the word of God, and to seek instruction from that Holy Book. Not that you ever should be bigoted, or be deprived of any lawful pleasure; but true religion doubles our enjoyment, prepares us to perform our duties here, and fits us for that good inheritance which passeth not away. How it adorns the female character and truly makes woman the last best gift of Heaven to man ! If you pursue this path, your grandmother will smile from Heaven upon you in this world, and rush to meet you when life's journey is o'er. "James Buchanan, May 17, 1836." FROM MARTIN VAN BUREN. "I am very thankful to my friend Mrs. Jackson for the opportunity she afforded me to add my prayers for the hap- piness of her dear little daughter to those of her venerable grandpa. "M. Van B'uren, Washington, April 11, 1836." FROM THEODORE ROOSEVELT. "It is an honor to have the chance of writing in this his- toric little volume. "Theodore Roosevelt, October 22, 1907." FROM VICE PRESIDENT THOMAS R. MARSHALL. "Among Americans the name of Andrew Jackson will endure While men love liberty and cherish honor. "Thomas R. Marshall, June 6, 1912." FROM JOHN FORSYTH. John Forsyth of Georgia was Secretary of State under Jackson in 1834. "If the prayers of all friends are consonant to the de- sires of an inscrutable Providence, to Rachel Jackson will be repaid the benefits conferred upon the world by the toils and perils of her venerated grandfather. "John Forsyth, 11 April 1836." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 623 FROM LEVI WOODBURY. Levi Woodbury was Secretary of the Navy 1831 ; Secre- tary of the Treasury as successor to Roger B. Taney 1834, both under Jackson. His bust is at the Hermitage. "Rachel, as years increase 'Know well thyself and re- member that 'the only amaranthine flower is virtue.'' "Levi Woodbury, 22 April, 1836. Washington City." FROM G. F. LINN. G. F. Linn was a Senator from Missouri and in 1842 in- troduced a bill to refund to General Jackson the fine of one thousand dollars which he paid upon the order of the United States District Judge, Hall, at New Orleans, for refusing to obey a writ of habeas corpus issued by Judge Hall. The fine and the accumulated interest at the time the money was refunded amounted to $2,700.00. Stephen A. Douglass of Illinois and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, in the Sen- ate, voted to repay the money. The bill passed the Senate by a party vote of 28 to 20, and passed the House by a vote of 158 to 28. "My dear little Rachel — You came into the world weep- ing, whilst all around you were smiling ; act your part here with such purity and innocence that you may take your de- parture from it smiling, whilst all around you are weeping. "G. F. Linn, Sainte Genevieve, Missouri." FROM MAHLON DICKERSON. Mahlon Dickerson was once Governor of New Jersey, and for fourteen years was United States Senator from that State; he was Secretary of the Navy in 1834, under Jackson. "To Rachel Jackson. Dear Child: "May you answer all the fond hopes of a father and be the pride of a mother's heart. "May you be the delight of your grandfather's declining years, and afford him the happy assurance that in all the relations of life you will imitate the virtues, the benevo- lences and pietv of her whose cherished name you bear. "Mahlon Dickerson, 5 June 1836." FROM W. C. RIVES. W. C. Rives was of the firm of Blair and Rives, who pub- lished the Washington Globe, which was the organ of Jack- 624 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History son's administration. Blair and Rives also were made pub- lic printers by Jackson. "Now in thy youth, beseech of Him Who giveth, upbraiding not, That his light in thy heart become not dim And his love be unforgot; And thy God in the darkest of days will be Brightness and beauty and strength to thee." "W. C. Rives, Washington, May 1835." FROM C. C. CAMBRELENG. C. C. Cambreleng was a Representative in Congress in 1824 and 1831, and in 1832 was on the Committee appointed by the House, to investigate the United States Bank. "May the dear little girl who owns this book ever honor and do honor to her parents and grandfather. "Washington, 7 May, 1836. "C. C. Cambreleng." FROM I. K. BARKER. "Dear to thy parents, dear to him Whose fame shall live in future story, Whose life no envious clouds can dim, Nor time itself deprive of glory. "Rachel, dear child, a name is thine, That when the friends who now caress thee Have passed away, shall brightly shine, And call on Heaven to aid and bless thee. "Thy grandsire's spirit still shall guide Along the happy path before thee, While she again his sainted bride With angel wings shall hover o'er thee." "I. K. Barker, Washington, 16 May, 1836." J. K. PAULDING. J. K. Paulding, whose full name was James Kirke Paulding (1779-1860), was a novelist, poet, historian, and politician, and was Secretary of the Navy during Van Buren's administration in 1838-1841. He wrote a life of George Washington, and other works, both prose and poetry, and was associated with Washington Irving in Salmagundi in 1807-8. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 625 "To my little friend Rachel Jackson : "Wouldst thou be happy, cherished and caressed, To friends a blessing and by friends still blessed, Be like thy mother in her face and mind, And all these treasures thou wilt surely find. "J. K. Paulding, Hermitage May 16, 1842." THE BIOGRAPHY THAT WAS NEVER WRITTEN. In studying the life of General Jackson, the student is impressed and sympathizes with what was so clearly his strong desire, namely, that his life should be written before his death, and that it should be a true life from his stand- point. He was one of the most voluminous letter writers that ever lived, and it was always a well defined point with him to get his side of a matter clearly set forth, whether by newspaper, pamphlet, letter or otherwise. His aide and military secretary, John Reid, wrote a part of his life in 1817, only two years after the Battle of New Orleans. There is no mistaking the conclusion that Jackson from a very early period of his life, believed that he was destined to a great career, and was always on the alert to promote that career. He thought it would be a military career, and even after he became President, preferred to be called "General Jackson" rather than the usual "Mr. President." After Reid's book, which was completed by Major Eaton, appeared, many lives followed, but none of them did justice to even his military career, short as that was, to say nothing of the tremendous politics that occupied every minute of his two administrations as President. He had the most power- ful enemies that any political leader ever had, to conquer them. He felt that his standing with posterity should not be based upon the opinions of his enemies, but that he had the right, and it was his duty to himself and his family and friends, to have correctly laid before the world the ideals; principles, beliefs and aspirations that moved him in his public acts. Who will say that there was anything wrong, or even improper, in this? His was a day of furious and often unscrupulous politics, and his enemies did not spare him one single shot where they thought it was at all likely to bring the old chieftain to the ground, or even to ■626 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History i disable him. If his life should be written while he lived, and a controversy arise over some fact or event connected with it, or his administrations, as was sure to be the case, he could take part in the controversy and uphold his side. He never dodged, evaded, or side-stepped an issue, and this was the unfailing source of his marvelous popularity ; if he had done so, he would not have been Andrew Jackson. Hence we find that in 1843, two years before his death, he entrusted a part of his papers and letters to Amos Ken- dall for the purpose of writing his biography, and that Ken- dall not completing the work, the papers were turned over to Frank P. Blair in accordance with Jackson's wishes, for the same purpose; he also failed to write the life, which was never written. There were two trunks full of the pa- pers which Kendall removed. In 1845, before General Jackson's death, a cedar chest full of another lot of papers was sent to General Blair. About 1856 an unhappy controversy arose between General Blair and Andrew Jackson, Jr., as to these papers, and in the course of time two suits were brought by representatives of the Jackson family in the courts of the District of Colum- bia, to set up title and recover them ; but the suits were not pushed to a conclusion. On February 20, 1903, the descend- ants of General Blair presented all the papers in the two trunks and the cedar chest to the Congressional Library, at Washington. From this point we will let Senator Isham G. Harris, of Tennessee, and Senator George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts, in their letters to Mrs. Lawrence, and Mrs. Lawrence in her letter to Congressman Gaines, tell the story of the Jackson papers. SENATOR ISHAM G. HARRIS TO MRS. LAWRENCE. "The United States Senate, "Washington, D. C, - "March 21, 1884. "Mrs. Rachel L. Lawrence. "My Dear Madam : In answer to yours dated 14th but postmarked 18th inst., I have to say that we have the mat- ter before the committee on the library, which committee is favorably considering the purchase of the Jackson papers. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 627 "The facts, as we will be able to show, are these: Gen- eral Jackson sent the papers to his old friend, Amos Ken- dall, to be used by him in writing the life of Andrew Jack- son. They were sent to Kendall for this purpose, and for this purpose only. The idea of transferring the title to the papers was never contemplated by either General Jackson or Kendall, as the correspondence clearly shows. Kendall delaying the work for many years, General Jackson re- quested that if Kendall should fail to complete it during his life, that the papers should be turned over to F. P. Blair, Sr., who was requested to complete the work. Kendall be- came so absorbed in other things that he failed to use the papers for the purpose for which they were deposited with him, and after his death, they were placed in the possession of F. P. Blair, Sr., for the same purpose, in obedience to the request of General Jackson. He also failing, at his death they fell into the hands of Montgomery Blair, who, I regret to say, two or three years ago, claimed them as his own property, and now that he is dead, his family claims them. "Senator Voorhees and myself have investigated the matter, and are satisfied that the Blairs cannot and shall not hold them, and if we cannot induce them to give them up to the heirs of General Jackson, we are determined to institute legal proceedings to compel them to do so, and w r hen done, we think that Congress will pay $5,000 or $10,000 for them. "Rest assured, my dear madam, that we will do what we can to assist your rights, and when they are established, to obtain for you the value of these papers, "Respectfully, "Isham G. Harris." SENATOR GEORGE F. HOAR TO MRS. LAWRENCE. "Washington, D. C, "April 14, 1904. "My Dear Madam: I was a member of the committee on the library of the Senate when the Jackson papers were discovered in the old Globe building on Pennsylvania Ave- nue. The box containing them was brought to the commit- tee room and there opened. I was very strongly of the opinion then that the papers belonged to the parties whom you represent, and that Mr. Blair had received them just as Mr. Kendall had them before, not as his own property, but only in trust to use for writing the life of President Jack- son. I had many conversations with Senator Harris, who strongly entertained that belief. "What I think now should be done is to have the com- 628 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History mittee on the library of the Senate investigate the question of your title, ascertain the value of the papers, and then that Congress should award to you such sum of money as you think would be a fair compensation, if your parties are willing to accept it. If they are not, I see no other resource than to take legal proceedings, if you shall be advised on consulting competent counsel that they are likely to be suc- cessful. But I do not think it likely that you would object to having them remain in the possession of the government, where they are likely to be safe and accessible to historical students, if a fair price should be paid for them. "I think you should have a full understanding with your two senators, Governor Bate and Mr. Carmack. I under- stand that Governor Bate is at home in Tennessee. Perhaps you can see him there. Mr. Carmack has gone, I am told, to Chicago for a day or two, but will probably return to- morrow. When he comes back I will show him your letter and have a full talk with him. I will do anything I can to help you. "I return the clipping as you desire. "I am, with high regards, faithfullv yours, "Geo. F. Hoar." "Mr. C. L. Winn (grandson of Mrs. Rachel Jackson Law- rence), 130 N. Summer St., Nashville, Tenn." MRS. LAWRENCE TO CONGRESSMAN GAINES. The following letter from Mrs. Lawrence to Mr. Gaines explains Mrs. Lawrence's activity in searching for the cele- brated Jackson papers : "Hermitage, Tenn., March 4, 1908. "Hon. John W. Gaines, Washington, D. C. "Honorable Sir : You will remember the kindness of your allowing me an hour of your valuable time when in Nashville in December last, in which we discussed the sub- ject of the Andrew Jackson papers. "My health has not permitted me to take up the matter before this. "On February 20, 1903, there was presented to the Congressional Library in Washington what was known as the Andrew Jackson papers, and contained a very valuable assortment of letters and papers regarding the private life of General Andrew Jackson. "These papers were presented by the family of Wood- bery Blair, who had come into possession of them through his grandfather, Francis P. Blair, Sr. Francis P. Blair, Sr., had no title to them, as they were entrusted to his care to Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 629 write the biography of General Andrew Jackson in 1845. As soon as the biography was to be completed, the papers w r ere to be returned to his heir, Andrew Jackson, Jr. This fact is plainly set out in a letter from General Jackson, which is now in the possession of a Mrs. N. S. Stowell, a journalist in Huntingdon, L. I., and is quoted to me in her letter of March 9, 1907, as follows: " 'These papers are absolutely the property of my adopted son, A. Jackson, Jr.' "There is no question as to who is the sole heir to these papers. I am the undisputed granddaughter and the only living person who was so nearly related and so intimately associated with him, and also hold numerous letters and tokens of his affection given to me by him and bearing his signature. His will also proves this fact. "It is nry desire for the papers to remain in the Con- gressional Library, the property of the United States gov- ernment, where they will be accessible to the public, but feel that I should receive a just compensation for so valuable a collection of papers. "Attached is a typewritten history of the papers from the time they left the Hermitage to the present. Also we enclose letters of March 2 and 21, 1884, from Hon. Senator Isham G. Harris on the subject. Nothing was completed at this time, as Congress adjourned and other matters took his attention. Also letter from the late Senator Geo. F. Hoar, and short sketch of my life as connected with General Jack- son. "You remember that you suggested that we have two copies sent you, as you wished to keep one copy and refer the other to President Roosevelt, as he is at present very much interested in the life of General Andrew Jackson. "If any further information is needed, my address is Rural Route No. 23, Edgefield, Tenn. "Any attention that you will kindly give this matter will be highly appreciated by, Yours sincerely, "Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence," history of papers. The history of the papers referred to by Mrs. Lawrence in her letter follows : "General Andrew Jackson, or President Andrew Jack- son, was desirous for many years before his death to have an impartial biography written. "He steadily stood by his conduct in all matters public 630 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History and private, and detested any effort to evade requiring ex- planation or honest defense. "He desired someone to write his biography who knew his character, understood his motives and principles in all his acts, and would explain, giving truth and facts. I sup- pose a man never lived who was so unjustly misrepresented, accused and villified as was General Andrew Jackson. Yet those who knew him best loved him best, his bitterest ene- mies often becoming his most ardent admirers and defend- ers. "The writing of this life or biography was begun by many in earlier years, but was not satisfactory to him. "In 1843 General Jackson entrusted a selection of his papers and letters to his friend, Amos Kendall, to be used by him for the sole purpose of writing his biography. Amos Kendall sent his nephew, Mr. McLaughlin, to the Hermitage to take charge of and convey them to him in Washington. "General Jackson, with the assistance of his son and daughter, Andrew Jackson, Jr., and Mrs. Sarah Jackson, selected these papers, and filled two old-fashioned hair-cov- ered trunks. I stood by and saw many of these letters de- posited in the two trunks. "Mr. Kendall began the work that came out in pamphlet form monthly, but he was greatly embarrassed financially, soon became interested in some important interests from which he realized a fortune, and expected until the day of his death to begin again and complete the biography. "General Jackson wrote Mr. Kendall a short time before his (General Jackson's) death as follows: " 'Should you die before writing my life I wish my pa- pers to be entrusted into the care of my friend, Francis P. Blair, Sr., of Silver Springs, Washington, to be used by him for the same purpose.' "Mr. Kendall died, nothing more having been done by him toward completing the biography. "The papers were misplaced and could not be located at this time. SENT SECOND LOT. "In 1845, just before the death of General Jackson, he selected a second lot of papers, and they were packed in a large cedar chest and sent to Mr. Francis P. Blair, Sr., for the same purpose as the others were sent to Mr. Kendall, not as his property or to descend to his children, but for the sole purpose of writing the life. "Instead of fulfilling the contract, as it were, to have the use of the papers for this purpose, and this only, he (Mr. Blair) received the large cedar chest of papers from Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 631 the Hermitage in 1845. They were stored away in his gar- ret at Silver Springs/Washington, untouched and unopened, not a line of the biography was ever written by him, and afterwards Francis P. Blair, Sr., died. The cedar chest still stood in the garret unopened, nothing being done with the papers, no contract or agreement fulfilled. " Colonel W. G. Terrell, of Kentucky, who was corre- spondent for the Cincinnati Commercial about 1880, became acquainted with Mr. William Stickney, who was Mr. Ken- dall's son-in-law and biographer, and in looking over some of Mr. Kendall's letters, found correspondence relative to these papers. A search was made for them, and they were finally located — that is, the first lot, or the ones sent to Mr. Kendall — in the old Globe office in Washington. These pa- pers were taken to Mr. Montgomery Blair's house, where Mr. Terrell spent several weeks in reading and assorting them. "Mr. Terrell found certain papers missing, and asked Montgomery Blair if he knew anything of their where- abouts. Montgomery Blair said he knew nothing of them. Mr. Terrell then came to Nashville on some business, and sent a message to me expressing a great desire to learn if I could give him any information as to whether or not a second lot of the Jackson papers were ever sent to Mr. Fran- cis P. Blair, Sr. I sent him word most positively that I knew General Jackson had sent them, for I stood by and saw the papers packed. "On Colonel Terrell's return to Washington he saw Mont- gomery Blair again and told him what I had said. Mont- gomery Blair said he knew nothing of the papers, and had never heard of them. Mr. Terrell insisted that they go to Silver Springs (the old residence of the Blair family) and make a search for them. "Colonel Terrell wrote soon after to my brother (the late Colonel Andrew Jackson) that they had found the chest of papers in the garret at Silver Springs, covered with mold and mildew, and that he had spent weeks arranging them and opening them. BELONGED TO HEIRS. "He w T rote as follows: " 'In it, when opened, were found the priceless records of Jackson's immortal campaigns of the Creek war, the de- fense of New Orleans, the Florida invasion, and the daily order books, and the minutest details of his military life had been preserved. These papers deserve a place in DTsreal's curiosities of literature.' "The property is unquestionably the Jackson heirs', and 632 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History we presume no one would for a moment question our title, nor has any one questioned to whom we have gone for assistance, except the Blair family, although they can show nothing in the way of a title to them, only that the papers were found in their possession. "Senators Isham G. Harris, Voorhees of Indiana, Geo. F. Hoar, of Massachusetts, and Wm. Bate, of Tennessee, and others, all unquestionably pronounce the papers the property of the heirs of General Jackson. "You will see by the letters from Senators Harris and Hoar that they knew we were the sole heirs of General Jackson. "The above is a true history of the Jackson papers. "Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence." mrs. lawrence's relation to andrew jackson. The brief statement of Mrs. Lawrence's personal rela- tions with Andrew Jackson, referred to in her letter to Mr. Gaines, follows: "All know, I suppose, that General Andrew Jackson and his wife had no children born to them, but on December 22, 1809, adopted a nephew of his wife's, an infant son of the youngest brother, Severn Donelson. Twin boys were born on the 22nd of December, 1809, during the night, and in the morning General Jackson and his wife went over to the home, chose one of the boys, then only a few hours old, named him Andrew Jackson, Jr. The Legislature being in session in Nashville, he went the next day and legally adopted the infant, having his name changed to Jackson, and made him his son and heir. The third day they brought the infant son to the Hermitage, reared him with the tender- est care, educated him, and the devotion of this father and son is well known. "Young Andrew Jackson, Jr., after General Jackson was inaugurated President on March 4, 1829, remained a great portion of his time at the Hermitage superintending the planting and gathering in of the crops, looking after the stock and interests generally, but made frequent visits to his father at the White House. On one of these visits General Jackson said : 'My son, I wish you to marry as soon as you can, but in your choice bring me a daughter.' In 1831 he married Miss Sarah. Yorke, of Philadelphia, and brought her as a bride to the White House. President Jack- son received her with open arms, drawing her to his heart and kissed her, saying, 'My daughter,' which mission she filled until the day of his death. Of this devotion on the part Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 633 of each toward the other we have the most indisputable evi- dence. "The first visit to the Hermitage from the President was in the early summer of 1832, and on November 1, 1832, their first child was born and named for General Jackson's wife, Rachel Jackson, her grandmother. General Jackson had returned to Washington near two months earlier, but when he received the letter from his son bearing the news of the granddaughter's birth, he wrote, insisting upon their returning to him as early as possible, and present to him a living child, his little Rachel, whom he would press to his bosom with delight and thank Providence for the blessing. 'Tn January, 1833, the son and daughter, Mrs. Sarah Jackson, with the babe not three months old, left the Her- mitage in the old carriage 'overland' for Washington City. Two years later the first grandson was born at the Her- mitage, Andrew Jackson III. The family again returned to Washington to General Jackson, where, with the excep- tion of occasional visits to the Hermitage, they remained until the close of General Jackson's administration, and re- turned with him in 1837 to the Hermitage. From this time until his death, June 8, 1845, 1 was constantly with him, and was standing by his bedside w T hen he died. "Rachel Jackson Lawrence." All accessible evidence shows that General Jackson throughout the period of his active life and also after he retired from the Presidency, was exceedingly careful to preserve, mark and file away papers, letters and documents relative to his career, evidently for the use of his biographer in his life time; and with so natural an object in view, never was a man who was signally successful in all other respects all his life, to fail so completely. It is evident that original papers in reference to him came to have a commer- cial as well as a literary and historical value, and were sought and hoarded, whether for historical or commercial purposes. An illustration of such papers held by a writer for historical purposes that were never carried out, and which were finally put up with others as security for a board bill, is the case of William G. Terrell, Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial, who died in 1905 or 1906. Mr. Terrell contemplated writing a life of Jackson, and collected papers and material for the purpose, and made a visit to Nashville and procured from Judge Frank T. Reid, now living in the State of Washington, who 634 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History was a candidate for Governor of the State of Tennessee against the Honorable William B. Bate, the original papers of Major John Reid, Jackson's aide and military secretary, which were invaluable in w r riting a life of Old Hickory. Judge Frank T. Reid is a grandson of Major John Reid. In 1908, learning that some original Jackson papers were in the possession of a boarding house keeper in the city of Washington, who had been given them and other historical papers, by William G. Terrell, as security for a board bill, Honorable John W. Gaines, representative in Congress from the Nashville district, who was untiring in his efforts to get the government to pay Mrs. Lawrence for the Jackson papers placed in the Congressional Library by the sons of General Frank P. Blair, bought the lot and turned them over to Mrs. Rachel Jackson Lawrence. Among these papers was a valuable memorandum in the fully iden- tified handwriting of Mr. Terrell, and signed by him, in ref- erence to the efforts of Jackson to have his life written ; and also the original letter of Mrs. Andrew Jackson to Mrs. Maria Reid, which is published in the chapter of this book devoted to Major John Reid. The quotation of letters in the Terrell memorandum shows that Terrell had access to the originals. In the Cincinnati Commercial of January 13, 1883, Mr. Terrell used some of the Reid papers in an able and care- fully prepared sketch six columns long on the Life of Major Reid, quoting some of his letters given him by Judge Frank T. Reid. With the exception of these quoted letters, all the bther Reid papers have been lost or destroyed. . MEMORANDUM OF WILLIAM G. TERRELL. In 1842 Amos Kendall decided to undertake writing the Life of Andrew Jackson with the full and cordial approval of the latter, and effected an arrangement with Harper and Brother, New York, for its publication. It was to be issued in numbers — fifteen in all — at fifty cents each. The Gen- eral invited him to visit the Hermitage and look over and select from his papers such as he needed for his purpose. Circumstances prevented his accepting the invitation, and he sent his nephew, Jas. A. McLaughlin, in his stead. The General wrote him Sept. 29, 1842 : Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 635 "I sincerely regret that you cannot visit me. * * * It will give me pleasure to see at the Hermitage your friend Mr. McLaughlin, to whom I have this day written, and will with pleasure throw open every paper I have for his in- spection, having every confidence in any person you recom- mend. How I regret my debilitated state of health that prevents me from attending to the selection myself; and Andrew and Maj. A. J. Donelson are so pestered with their own private concerns that they can give me no aid. "At the city (Washington) I had my papers well ar- ranged but from my debilitated state when packing up to leave, they were, unknown to me at the time, thrown pro- miscuously into boxes, placed all in confusion, from which I have not health or strength to reclaim them, and I am fearful that some of them valuable to history are lost. But when Mr. McLaughlin arrives they may be regained, and should anything prevent him, I will try to have them looked over, selected and sent you. To prevent them being pur- loined on the way I will send them through Mr. Blair who will hand them to you. I have just got from a friend at New Orleans Martin's History and have sent it on by Miss Eliza Blair, who has paid us a visit, and have directed Mr. Blair when he reads it, to hand it over to you." The General had previous to this, (June 18, 1842) when sending Mr. Kendall (by Governor Polk) papers relating to his difficulty with Judge Hall, (1815) written him: "There are many more papers necessary for you to be in possession of; and it will give me sincere pleasure should you visit me to throw all open to you, as I have unlimited confidence in your integrity and honor." He writes in this connection Oct. 26: "I have sent you through Mr. Blair a statement made by General Call, which I hope you have received, and which may aid you in discussing martial law, and may be useful to my friend Dr. Linn, and others, in the discussion of the bill to return the fine and costs to me. When your friend Mr. McLaughlin arrives, I will aid him all I can in examining the papers." On November 25th he again wrote Mr. Kendall : "I am still very much debilitated and confined to the house with a bad cough and shortness of breath. But as your friend, Mr. McLaughlin has not arrived I will en- deavor next week, if spared and able, to commence looking over my papers; selecting those and forwarding them to you that may be important for the faithful history you are 636 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History about to submit to the public. I am very much subject to vertigo, and the examination of papers, or writing, rarely fails to bring it on." Mr. McLaughlin reached the Hermitage early in Decem- ber. The General writes Mr. Kendall on the 12th : "Your nephew is now with me and we began to-day to examine my papers. I had begun before he arrived, and, when able, had selected a good many that you may deem proper for the history of my life; all such will be selected and sent from which you can determine whether proper to be referred to. * * * I will send on in addition to what you already have, all correspondence between Mr. Monroe and myself; with General Scott and Mr. Southard, etc. I have no likeness of Mrs. Jackson or myself in our early days ; have no plans of our battle grounds ; they were all burned with my house. But I will make plans of my differ- ent battles with the Indians with the aid of Mr. Mclaughlin, and send them to you in such form as you can understand them. I had a journal of all my military operations kept by my aid-de-camp Major Reid; it is lost, and a great loss it is to the history of my operations against the Indians and British in the late war. I will write you with the papers, and if able make notes on various matters." (Note: I have all of Major Reid's papers embracing the journal referred to, given me by his grandson Major F. T. Reid, of Nashville, Tenn. W. G. T.) On March 13th the Genl, writes : "I have just reed, a letter from the Honble: A. V. Brown wishing to be informed where the correspondence be- tween our former Minister to Madrid, Mr. Erwin with the Spanish Minister relative to the boundary of Louisiana, are to be found, which Mr. Erwin furnished me with in 1829. Mr. McLaughlin informs me that these papers were sent to you in the trunk taken by Col. Harris ; they are in sheets tied together in the form of a book without cover * * * On receipt of this please inform me whether this corre- spondence has been sent you as Mr. McLaughlin believes." (Note: It was sent, and is now in the collection at Mr. Blair's. Query. Was the Col. Harris above mentioned the present Senator Harris, or George J. Harris, once edi- tor of a Nashville paper? The latter is still living.) Mr. McLaughlin remained at the Hermitage until March 17, 1843, a little more than three months. Some idea may Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 637 be formed from this of the labor and care required to select and arrange the papers necessary for Mr. Kendall's use. Six numbers of the Life appeared during the following eighteen months, at irregular intervals and much of Gen- eral Jackson's correspondence with Mr. Kendall relates to it. The latter was furnished with many additional papers by the General and others, including the valuable collec- tion belonging to the estate of Gen. John Coffee, deceased. But owing to the hardness of the times and other causes, the enterprise did not turn out as profitably as expected. Mr. Kendall was greatly embarrassed in his circumstances, and an opportunity occurring to engage in a more profit- able pursuit, (the management of the Morse telegraph sys- tem) he embraced it, and indefinitely suspended his work upon the Life in the fall of 1844. General Jackson in view of his advanced years and declining health grew very anxious about the matter, and expressed to Mr. E. P. Blair, Sr., his strong desire that he should complete the work in the event of Mr. Kendall's final abandonment of it, or death. To this Mr. Blair is understood to have consented. Mr. Kendall, however, constantly asserted his purpose to resume and finish the undertaking, as soon as he found the leisure, but until his death in 1876, no further progress had been made. On May 20th, 1845, eighteen days before his own death, Genl. Jackson had written Mr. Kendall as follows : "On the subject of my papers: You are t6 retain them so long as you think necessary to use them. Should you die they are to pass forthwith into Mr. Blair's hands. I have firm and unlimited confidence in you both, that my papers will be safe in your hands, and that they never will be per- mitted to be used but for a proper use. Mr. Bancroft has inti- mated a desire to have part of my military career incor- porated into his American history. I have said to Mr. Montgomery Blair to see and converse with you on this sub- ject; and if there are any military matters he wished to obtain if you can spare the book to let him have a copy. This, my dear sir, is for your consideration. My papers after you are done with them, or on your death, are to pass into the hands of Francis P. Blair." To this Mr. Kendall replied, writing from New York City, May 31, 1845 : 638 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "I have received from my family a copy of your invalu- able letter of the 20th inst. Your injunction as to your papers shall be held sacred. That Mr. Blair will cherish and defend your fame and honor as carefully as I shall I have no doubt." On Mr. Kendall's death in 1846 Mr. F. P. Blair, Sr., called upon his executor, Mr. Wra. Stickney, for General Jackson's papers. He was informed that he (Mr. S.) knew nothing of them. He was Mr. Kendall's son-in-law and biographer; had been a member of his family, and familiar with his affairs for thirty years, yet he had never seen these papers. Search was instituted, but ineffectually, and they remained undiscovered until 1879, when the undersigned, who had visited for the purpose found them, placed them in the hands of Mr. Montgomery B'lair, Mr. F. P. Blair having in the meantime died. The collection is of great value. It relates to the Creek, British and Florida campaigns, and besides furnishes much important information as to the inner history of General Jackson's civil administration. The correspondence em- braced the period from his entry into Congress in 1796, until within a few days of his death, nearly half a century later, and much of it is of the highest interest. Wm. G. Terrell. FINDING OF THE LOST PAPERS. Mr. Terrell left at his death in his own handwriting a statement of his search for and finding of the papers com- mitted by General Jackson to Kendall and General Blair. This statement completes the evidence of how the papers came into the possession of Montgomery Blair, who deliv- ered them to the Library of Congress at Washington. Mr. Terrell wrote : "In the winter of 1878-79 I was in Washington City as a Staff Correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial. I had occasion in one of my letters to refer to Stickney's Life of Amos Kendall. I was unable to find it in any of the book stores or public libraries, and called upon Mr. Stickney, the author, and a son-in-law of Mr. Kendall, to procure it. I found him at his place of business on the corner of New York Avenue and Fifteenth Street. I was personally unac- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 639 quainted with him, but he received me very politely, and on my stating the object of my visit, invited me to call at his house on the corner of M and Sixth Streets, in the evening, and he would let me have it. I did so and found him in the billiard room engaged in playing with a young man whom he introduced to me as his son. The book was sent for, and when their game was concluded, we entered upon some conversa- tion about General Jackson. Mr. Stickney mentioned that he had a great many letters written by the General to his father-in-law, and on my expressing a desire to see them he went to a recess in the room and brought them out. They were in a bulky package and apparently numbered two or three hundred letters. We spread them out upon the bil- liard table and spent some time in looking over them. T became very much interested in them, and finally ventured to ask him if he would allow me to take them to my hotel and examine them more at my leisure, to which he assented. I called upon him the following day, and requested his per- mission to copy such of them as I might find suitable for my correspondence, which was also granted. Seventy-two of the letters were copied by me and duly appeared in the col- umns of the Commercial, Feb. 4th, 5th, and 10th, 1879, and attracted wide attention. I also made copies of many of the others to preserve them for future use and returned the originals to Mr. Stickney. "In June, 1879, I was again in Washington, visiting here expressly to see if I could find the papers which General Jackson in his lifetime had entrusted to Mr. Kendall for the purpose of writing his biography, which was begun but never completed. I had learned much about these papers from the letters of the General to Mr. K., just referred to, and supposed that Mr. Stickney either had them, or could tell me where they were, that I might obtain access to them. I called upon him soon after my arrival, and explained my wishes. He said he knew nothing about the papers, but pre- sumed they were in the possession of Mr. Montgomery Blair. He consented to accompany me to Mr. Blair's residence, a short distance on the avenue, and aid me in the matter. We found Mr. Blair at home, busily at work. W T hen the purpose of our call was stated he remarked that he had never seen the papers, and addressing Mr. S. said, 'Why you, sir, ought to know where they are?' Mr. S. replied that he had been a member of Mr. Kendall's family for nearly thirty years; that for a long time he had charge of his papers ; had once built a house for their accommodation and arrangement, but had never seen the Jackson papers. Mr. Blair became excited and said with some warmth that the papers were last in possession of Mr. Kendall; that he had held on to 640 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History them after General Jackson's death in disregard of his last wishes; that he (Blair) had removed from St. Louis to Washington, temporarily abandoning a large law practice, to assist his father in doing his part in the fulfillment of those wishes, but was constantly thwarted by Mr. Kendall in his refusal to let them have the papers ; that on the death of the latter in 1869 his father and himself had called upon Mr. Stickney for them, but he had put them off upon one pre- text or another, and had finally said that they could not be found; that he, (Mr. Blair) had employed a detective at an expense of $600 to hunt up the papers, but without success, &c, &c. "To this Mr. Stickney courteously replied, reiterating the statement that he had never seen the papers ; that he had no recollection of any interview with the senior Mr. Blair, or his son, but it might have happened, and he probably made the search, but that he certainly never had found them. Mr. Blair insisted that the Kendall family was responsible for the loss of the papers, and that Mr. Stickney as their representative owed it to them and to himself to hunt them up. After some further conversation we left the house. "On our way back to the office Mr. Stickney showed plainly that his feelings were wounded by Mr. Blair's lan- guage, and he reasserted in the most positive terms his utter ignorance as to the whereabouts of the papers, but he felt after what had occurred that he did owe it to himself and to his wife's family to ascertain if possible what had become of them. I assured him that they had never been used by anyone; that they could hardly have been destroyed, and must be in existence somewhere, and added that if he would begin the search at once I would give him all the aid in my power towards finding them. "I remembered that in a letter from Mr. Kendall to Gen- eral Jackson allusion had been made to a daughter who might be of service on copying his papers, and suggested to Mr. Stickney either at this interview, or a day or two after- wards, if this daughter might not have been Mrs. Stickney ? He made inquiry, and Mrs. S. informed him that she often did copying for her father when a girl, and she remembered once going with him to the old Globe office, where were a couple of trunks containing papers, some of which he took away, and that she made copies of them in part or in whole, but she could not recollect what they were. I remarked that they might have been the very papers we were seeking. He thought not, and if they were there had been so many changes in the office since that time that it was highly im- probable that they were still there. I had a strong impres- sion, however, that a clue had been discovered, and went Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 641 immediately to the building alluded to on the avenue be- tween Four-and-a-half and Third Street. I found that a part of the former Globe office was occupied by the Post newspaper establishment, and the balance by Mr. Rives, a son (I believe) of the Rives of the former firm of Blair & Rives, as a job printing establishment. This gentleman was in, and I introduced myself and told him what I had called for. 'Well,' he said, 'there is a big room at the top of the house in which there is a lot of stuff, and if the trunks you speak of are in the building they must be there. I will go with you and see.' We ascended several flights of stairs, and on the topmost floor came to an iron-clad door, which Mr. R. unlocked and opened. We entered a long, low room, filled with bound newspaper files, old volumes of the Con- gressional Globe, unbound documents of all sorts, and the usual debris of a printing and publishing office. I began the search immediately, and in less than a quarter of an hour discovered hidden under a pile of rubbish two old-fashioned hair trunks. Both were unfastened, and on raising their lids I found them nearly filled with papers, tied up in pack- ages. A slight examination showed me that they were those I wag in search of. I explained the fact to Mr. Rives, and remarked that I supposed that it would be necessary for me to have an order to take them away, and would bring one from Mr. Stickney, or from Mr. Blair, as he preferred. He said an order from Mr. Blair would answer. "I then went to Mr. Blair's, and told him that I had found a couple of trunks in the old Globe office containing General Jackson's papers, and I believed they were those that were once in Mr. Kendall's possession. He -expressed doubts as to this ; he thought they were papers that had been used in the office during General Jackson's administration, or perhans some worthless stuff that Kendall could make no use of. I told him that Mr. Rives required an order to en- able me to get them, and when I had them I would examine them carefully and ascertain exactly what they were. He gave me the order. I returned to the office, had the trunks carried downstairs and taken to my lodgings (at the Owen House) . That night General Pleasanton and I spent several hours in looking them over, and I was fully convinced that the papers were those I had supposed them to be. I purchased a large box with the view of repacking them and sending them to my home in Kentucky, the trunks being no longer fit for use. Mr. Blair, however, called at the hotel in my absence, realizing that the papers might possibly be of more interest than he supposed, and left a note asking me to have them removed to his house, where they would be more secure, and that I could examine them there. On 642 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History getting the note I went immediately to see him. I told him that I had already examined them sufficiently to satisfy my- self that they were the papers entrusted to Mr. Kendall, and I proposed to take them home, as I had done with the Ken- dall & Jackson correspondence; that I had already seen Mr. Stickney about it and had intended seeing him. He decid- edly objected to this. He said Mr. Stickney had no interest in the papers; while he (Mr. Blair) felt that he had some claims upon them, and repeated the complaints he had made to Mr. Stickney as to Mr. Kendall's treatment of his father. That he -had long thought of writing a History of General Jackson's administration, or of Nullification, and the papers would be of great service to him; that it would be much better to place them in his house; that they were safer there than anywhere else, that his family was in the country and I could have free access to them at any and all hours, to examine, and make copies of such as I desired to use. I yielded at once to these suggestions, and had the papers taken to Mr. Blair's residence, where I spent several weeks in their inspection, and in copying them. I only discon- tinued when one of my eyes became so seriously injured by the dust from the decaying papers that I had to give up all work whatsoever for awhile, even reading being denied me. "While at Mr. Blair's he came in almost every day from the country, where his family were, attending to business in his house which appeared to be his office as well. We had frequent conversations, and he related to me many curi- ous and highly interesting incidents connected with his and his father's acquaintance with General Jackson, which I was in the habit of making note of on returning to my lodg- ings in the evening. In one of these conversations he de- scribed a visit he made to the Hermitage in 1845, and of his bringing away a chest of papers. He said that the General was dissatisfied with Mr. Kendall's progress on his biogra- phy ; that he feared he never would complete it and that it was his desire that F. B. Blair should, in case of his failure to do so, have all his papers and undertake the work. I asked him where these papers were. He replied that he did not know ; that the last he knew of them they were at Silver Springs, in Maryland, the residence of his father, but he had not seen them since the war, although he hunted for them, and he supposed they had been carried off at the time of the rebel approach toward Washington, in 1864, when for a time they occupied Silver Springs. On the day after this conversation I spoke to Mr. Woodbury Blair, a son of Mr. M. Blair, about the chest of papers his father had charge of, and he informed me that there was a desk at his grandfa- ther's old home with 'A. Jackson' painted on one end of it. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 643 Mr. M. Blair was not present at the time, but as soon as he came in I mentioned to him what his son had told me. He expressed considerable surprise, and said it was hardly pos- sible, as Mrs. Blair, his wife, had only recently said to him that the chest was not there. Mr. W. Blair insisted that he had seen it, and knew it was there. His father then ordered him to have it brought in the next day that I might examine it — ('Bring it in tomorrow and let Colonel Terrell examine it.') It was brought in the next day — a huge affair and filled to the top with papers, evidently about all that was left after the selection made for Mr. Kendall. To this I gave the same careful scrutiny that I did to those contained in the two trunks, and found many of them of great interest and value. In the midst of these investigations I was taken ill with an affliction of one of my eyes as I have mentioned, and on my recovery was called to Kentucky on other busi- ness. "During all the time I spent at Mr. Blair's, and all my intercourse with him, I never once heard him claim the pa- pers as belonging to him, or as his personal property. I myself at the time did not give the question of their owner- ship any thought. It was when in Nashville where I was sometime afterwards sent as a correspondent of the Com- mercial, on learning of the extreme poverty of General Jackson's family, that it occurred to me that the papers were properly and rightfully theirs, and that Congress might be induced to purchase them, and thus relieve their necessities. I visited the Hermitage and talked with Colonel Jackson and Dr. Lawrence, his brother-in-law, about it, and they authorized me to undertake the negotiation, which I did, declining all compensation for any trouble I might be at. I came to Washington in 1882, with that object, and my first knowledge of the claim of the Blairs to property in the papers was after my arrival here, when the subject had been mentioned in Congress by Senator Voorhees. Mr. Spofford, the Librarian of Congress, was my informant." 644 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History CHAPTER XXXIX. ANDREW JACKSON— UNVEILING OF THE EQUES- TRIAN STATUE AT NASHVILLE, AND SPEECH OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN F. HOUSE. The one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the City of Nashville was celebrated beginning April 23d and ending May 29th, 1880, during which period imposing dem- onstrations and celebrations of various kinds were held and participated in by multiplied thousands of citizens of both Nashville and other parts of Tennessee and the country. The crowning event of the centennial w r as the unveiling of the equestrian statue of General Andrew Jackson on Capi- tol Hill, to which some of the most distinguished citizens of the United States lent their presence and participated in the exercises. A very imposing street procession in w r hich several thousand persons rode or marched, wound up by its entrance into the capitol grounds, where the statue was to be unveiled and the ceremonies held. At no public demon- stration in Tennessee was there present ever a larger num- ber of persons of distinguished reputation. On the speaker's stand were General G. P. Thruston, Chairman of the Tennessee Historical Society Committee, in charge of the unveiling; United States Senator Joseph E. Brown, of Georgia ; Ex-Governor Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana; General Joseph E. Johnston, General D. C. Buell, Governor J. S. C. Blackburn of Kentucky, General E. Kirby- Smith, Governor A. S. Marks, Ex-Governors Neil S. Brown, D. W. C. Senter, James D. Porter, Col. John C. Burch, Sec- retary of the United States Senate ; General William B. Bate, Bishop H. N. McTyeire, Col. E. W. Cole, Dr. J. D. Plunkett, Dr. J. B. Lindsley, Dr. T. A. Atchison, President of the Board of Centennial Directors ; Captain John Augustine, of New Orleans; Captain Breckinridge Viley, Blackburn Guards, Kentucky; General W. H. Jackson, Mayor T. A. Kercheval, Colonel John D. Scott, Chief of Staff Louisiana Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 645 State Guards ; General John Glynn, Commander of the Lou- isiana State Guards; Major General W. J. Behan, of the Louisiana State Guards; General C. W. Squires, of the Mis- souri National Guards; Captain Skipworth, of Battery A., St. Louis, and Col. John F. House, the orator of the day. Of all the immense throng present it would probably be agreed that William Lovelady, Henry Holt, Enoch Jones, James Baxter and Thomas Reed, all of whom were veterans of the Battle of New Orleans, were the most interesting persons, and upon Enoch Jones was conferred the honor of pulling the rope by which the statue was unveiled. Prayer was offered by B'ishop H. N. McTyeire. The ad- dress of welcome was delivered by Dr. T. A. Atchison, Pres- ident of the Board of Centennial Directors. Distinguished visitors were called for and briefly addressed the throng. At the conclusion of Bishop McTyeire's prayer, the Honor- able John F. House, the orator of the clay, delivered the ora- tion of the occasion. Colonel House was born in Williamson County, Tennes- see, January 9, 1827, attended the Transylvania University at Lexington, Kentucky, graduated from the Lebanon, Ten- nessee, Law r School in 1850, and was admitted to the bar; was a member of the State Legislature 1853-1854 ; Presiden- tial Elector on the Bell and Everett ticket in 1860 ; member of the Confederate Congress from Tennessee; enlisted in the Confederate Army and served until paroled at Colum- bus, Mississippi, in June, 1865; delegate to the Democratic National Convention, 1868; member of the State Constitu- tional Convention of Tennessee, 1870; elected as a Demo- crat to the 44th, 45th, 46th, and 47th Congresses (March 4, 1875, to March 4, 1885) ; died in Clarksville, June 28, 1904. REPORT ON THE JACKSON STATUE. As this unveiling was held under the auspices of the Committee of the Tennessee Historical Society, a report on the unveiling was made at a meeting of the Society held June 15, 1880, by the Honorable John M. Lea, Chairman of the Committee, and signed by Anson Nelson, a member. This report entered into full details on the various efforts 646 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History to erect a monument to General Jackson, beginning imme- diately after his death on June 8, 1845, and is as follows : "The committee appointed at a meeting held the 29th day of January, 1880, for the purchase of Mills' equestrian statue of General Andrew Jackson, respectfully report : "That so long ago as the session of the General Assembly of 1845-6 the idea was conceived of erecting at the capitol in Nashville a statue »in honor of Gen. Andrew Jackson, whose death took place the 8th day of June, 1845 ; and an act was passed the 2d day of February, 1846, appropriating the sum of seven thousand five hundred dollars 'when a suf- ficient sum shall be subscribed by the people in connection therewith to complete said monument.' Commissioners were appointed in the sixth section of said act to receive any voluntary contributions, control the disbursement of all funds, contract with an American sculptor or artist, and superintend the erection of said statue. The passage of the act seemed a dismissal of its provisions from the public at- tention. The indifference to the performance of a duty so manifest and obvious was, however, more apparent than real, and the feeling that such an honor would some day be accorded to the name and fame of the illustrious hero and statesman, though quiescent, was nevertheless right in the breast of every Tennessean. The times were not favorable for the inspiration of patriotism or any expression of it in works of art designed to commemorate important events in our public history. The first ten years succeeding General Jackson's death were marked by an interest in material de- velopment and a devotion to the accumulation of wealth so absorbing that there was scarcely time or opportunity for the entertainment or discussion of any other subject. The next decade witnessed an excitement on political subjects so fierce and violent that the apprehension of impending peril caused a temporary forgetfulness of all the recollec- tions of the glorious past, culminating in war with all its attendant horrors. The next decade brought peace, but to a people with crippled fortunes, who, with a courage as un- daunted as that exhibited by them upon the field of battle, entered upon the noble task of repairing the evils, moral, political, and financial, wrought by the destructive energies of military force. "The General Assembly soon after the re-establishment of civil authority, with laudable pride, vested commissions with authority to lay out and ornament the capitol grounds, and in obedience to the general but passive sentiment, the space so long vacant — now, we are happy to say, adorned by the statue — was, we presume, designed for the reception Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 647 and erection of this or some other imposing monument sig- nificant of men or events connected with Tennessee history. The severe ordeal through which the people passed for a few years succeeding the declaration of peace forbade atten- tion to this or any other subject not bearing directly upon the interests of the passing hour. "Early in the month of January, 1879, Gen. Marcus J. Wright, of Washington City, addressed a letter to the vice- president of the society, suggesting that Clark Mills' eques- trian statue of General Jackson was on sale, expressing the hope that Tennessee could be induced to make the purchase, and tendering his services to aid in the negotiation. A cor- respondence ensued between General Wright and the vice- president, and those papers with a letter from Mr. Mills stipulating the price, were laid before the society. There was a discussion of plans for obtaining the requisite funds to make the purchase, but nothing definite was agreed on, and the vice-president was instructed to communicate fur- ther with General Wright, and also to confer with the Gov- ernor of the State as to the policy of applying to the Gen- eral Assembly for an appropriation. There was a confer- ence with the Governor, and also with some members of the General Assembly — letters also passed between the Gover- nor and General Wright — but, after due deliberation, the time was not deemed opportune to invoke the assistance of the State, and we did not care to have any future prospect clouded by a denial of favorable legislation. The facts were duly reported to the society, and, notwithstanding all obsta- cles in our path, so great was our earnestness that the sub- ject was again brought up and discussed in connection with the celebration of the centenary, at a meeting held the 1st day of July, 1879. Various plans for raising the money were proposed, none of which, however, commanded that assurance of success which warranted immediate action, and the measure was indefinitely postponed, with a firm conviction that under more favorable auspices our cherished desire might some day be gratified. "On the 14th day of March, 1878, resolutions were passed by the society contemplating the celebration of the centenary of Nashville. At subsequent meetings the proper committees were appointed, reports made, etc., the entire proceedings to be conducted under the supervision of the society. Further reflection induced a change of purpose, and it was determined at a meeting held the 4th day of No- vember, 1879, to ask the people of the city to unite with the society to make a combined effort to mark the centenary of Nashville as an event in our local history. A committee with this end in view was appointed to wait upon the Mayor 648 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History and City Council, and, an affirmative answer being given, the mayor invited a general meeting of the citizens for con- sideration of the subject on the 16th day of December, 1879. The attendance was large, and from the incipient action of the meeting on that evening has resulted a success beyond anticipation in any and every department connected with the celebration of the centenary. A glow of enthusiasm at once seized the entire community. There was a pause in the pursuit of individual interests, and the moment was given to unselfish and patriotic inspiration. Memories of the past seemed to rise spontaneously in the public mind, and it doubtless occurred to more than one that the conjuncture of circumstances was favorable for the acquisition of the Jackson statue. Such a thought did certainly occur to a venerable and patriotic citizen of Nashville, Major John Lucien Brown, who, early after the meeting in December, expressed his intention to try to raise by voluntary subscrip- tions the money necessary for its purchase. "He wrote to Senator Harris and Major Blair, of Wash- ington City, to make inquiry of Mr. Mills as to the cost of the statue. Major Blair replied on the 23d of January, 1879, that the statue was for sale, but Mr. Mills declined to state the price, giving as his reason that Colonel Bullock, of Tennessee, then sojourning in Washington City, was nego- tiating for the purchase. Afterwards, ascertaining that the object of Colonel Bullock and Major Brown was identical — the procurement of the statue for Tennessee — the figures were given at 'five thousand dollars as the lowest price.' About this time an admirable letter written by Colonel Bul- lock on the subject of the purchase was printed in the 'American' of this city, and from that moment, so forcibly were the facts put forth, the public mind was impressed with the idea that our celebration would be incomplete if we could not present to the thousands of people who would throng our streets the grand spectacle of the unveiling of the statue. "Much credit should be awarded to Colonel Bullock for the impetus which his letters gave to the movement, and especially is it to be noted that it was through his negotia- tions the price was reduced from twelve thousand dollars to five thousand dollars, thus placing the object within prob- able reach of our pecuniary ability. Our acknowledgments are certainly due and are most cheerfully rendered to our esteemed fellow-citizen, > Colonel Bullock, for the interest thus displayed by him. Pending these negotiations at Wash- ington, our fellow-citizen, Major B'rown, was tireless in forming plans for devising ways to secure the necessary amount of money. He appeared before the Historical So- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 649 ciety and stated that if he were armed with their recom- mendation and allowed to work under their name, he would guarantee success, counting alone upon the liberality and public spirit of the people. Previous to this time, however, without recognized authority from any society or associa- tion, he had secured some subscriptions, but after his ap- pointment with the vice-president and secretary, at a meet- ing held the 29th day of January, 1880, 'as a committee for the purchasing of the statue for the State of Tennessee,' he set to work vigorously, earnestly, and systematically. He addressed letters to leading citizens in the different coun- ties, made personal application, and used every means and appliance to further the enterprise, the success of which lay so near his heart. There were difficulties in his way. There had been heavy drains upon the people for subscrip- tions to the Exposition, and the public liberality had been strained to its utmost tension. In this emergency a sugges- tion was made that the 'Exposition' should buy the statue and count for its remuneration upon the increased receipts to be derived from this additional feature of its attractions. To this intimation Major Brown strenuously objected, con- tending that if time were given, the five thousand dollars could be raised. He redoubled his energies, appointed agents, and the list of subscribers so increased that on the 18th of March, 1880, success being within sight, the Centen- nial Board of Directors 'incorporated, as one of the regular committees of the board, Gen. John F. Wheless, Mr. A. J. Ad- ams, Mr. Joseph L. Weakley, Judge John M. Lea, Gen. G. P. Thruston, Mr. Anson Nelson, and Maj. John L. Brown, to be known as the committee for the purchase and dedica- tion of the equestrian statue of General Jackson.' On ac- count of his onerous duties as commanding officer during 'military week,' General Wheless resigned, and General Thruston was appointed to the chairmanship of said com- mittee. The subscriptions soon aggregated an amount, finally, reaching near, or quite, five thousand five hundred dollars, which justified a consummation of the purchase. The naked price was not, however, the only expense. Trans- portation had to be secured, a temporary pedestal con- structed, and a vexatious litigation was set on foot in Wash- ington likely to retard the delivery of the statue in time for the unveiling during 'military week.' "Further expenses were thus necessarily incurred, but the difficulty was obviated by an agreement on the part of the Centennial Board to make good the deficiency, provided there should be a surplus of that amount (after the repay- ment by the military committee of the amount loaned) real- ized at the fair-grounds during military week.. The de- 650 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ficiency upon settlement amounted to six hundred and thirty dollars, and our obligations are due to the military commit- tee, not only for this substantial aid, but also for the eclat which was given to the occasion of the unveiling of the statue by the presence of the citizen soldiery from this and other States. "It is the province of the committee of Which Col. G. P. Thruston is chairman to set forth the particular items of expense connected with the transportation, removal from the depot to the capitol grounds, construction of the tempo- rary pedestal, and mounting of the statue; but we take pleasure in stating that we owe much to his good manage- ment for the. safety which attended this delicate work and the economy with which it was performed. No accident happened in the transportation, and the statue stands on the pedestal as perfect as in its state of original completion. "The statue was unveiled on a bright, beautiful day, the 20th of May, 1880, in the presence of a vast assemblage of people from this and other States, a full account of which, the oration, the ode, and the military display, will doubtless appear in the proceedings of the directors of the Centennial Board, to whom the society, on the determination of a joint celebration, resigned the conduct of all ceremonial observ- ances. "Mr. Clark Mills was present as an invited spectator, and his bosom must have swelled with pardonable pride in the knowledge of the admiration bestowed upon the work- manship of his hands. "The unveiling of the statue was the grandest feature of the celebration — a red letter day in the annals of Nash- ville — an event worthy to link the past with the succeeding centenary of our beautiful city. "The list would be long, indeed, if thanks were espe- cially expressed to all who have aided the society, but it is a simple act of justice, in the opinion of this committee, to declare that the zeal, energy, and patriotism of Maj. John L. Browfli put in motion the machinery which brought about this grand result, and to him more than to any other person are the people of Tennessee indebted for the magnificent work of art which adorns our beautiful grounds — a monu- ment which symbolizes alike the greatness of the departed hero, and the devotion of the people of Tennessee to his memory. Respectfully submitted, "John M. Lea, Chairman. "Anson Nelson." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History t 65 1 THE HONORABLE JOHN F. HOUSE'S ORATION. "The nation honors itself that refuses to forget the men whose lives stand as the representatives of its character and the landmarks of its history. The soldier who leads its armies to victory; the statesman who gives it wholesome laws and directs its policy into prosperous channels ; the scholar that introduces its name into the republic of letters and the circles of science, and the poet whose lofty strain comands the attention of mankind to the anthem of its glory, will find in its people the watchful guardians of their fame as long as the land shall bear men worthy of the sacri- fices and achievements of those who have led in its grand march to greatness and renown. In a republic, many of whose great men rise from the masses of the people, the bond of sympathy between those who lead and those who follow is not easily broken as long as the leader is true to his high trust. He gives but a tongue and a tone to the spirit, the genius, the aspirations of the people who stand behind him as the reserves of his strength and the inspira- tion of his power. "That the illustrious man whose memory we have this day assembled to honor and perpetuate still lives in the hearts of the people whom he served so long and so well, let the vast concourse attest that today crowd to these impos- ing ceremonials. Thousands of the children and grand- children of those who knew him and honored him in other and earlier years gaze today with pride and reverence upon his unveiled statue. "More than a century ago Andrew Jackson first saw the light in an obscure and humble cabin in the State of North Carolina. Between then and now what changes and events have marked our history, and what mighty memories crowd upon the mind for recognition and utterance as we survey the scene before us ! "The history of his career reads more like the thrilling story of some bold hero of romance than the achievements of an actor in the real battle of life. The days of his boy- hood were passed amid the stormy scenes and fierce con- flicts of the American Revolution. He received his first les- sons in patriotism from the men who fought to redeem the pledge of life, fortune, and sacred honor, which was staked upon the issue of the momentous struggle. The clash of arms formed the music of his childhood, and while yet a mere boy he assumed the duties and faced the dangers of a soldier. This day one hundred and five years ago his native county of Mecklenburg adopted the first declaration of American independence. 652 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "It was the forerunner of that immortal declaration of July 4, 1776, which, on each recurring anniversary of that memorable event, is read in the presence of our people as the canon of our freedom. Andrew Jackson was not quite eight years old when the Mecklenburg declaration was given to the world. It was amid such high and hallowed sur- roundings as these that the cradle of his young ambition was rocked. 'It was from these pure fonts of patriotism that his youthful spirit caught its inspiration. It was at this consecrated altar that he was anointed for the great work that lay before him in the coming^^ears. In his long, eventful, and wonderful career he was always true to these lessons of his youth and the vows laid upon him in his early baptism of fire. "After reading law in North Carolina, he determined to turn his face toward what was then regarded as the Far West. He cast his fortune with the little band of heroes who had gathered upon this Cumberland bluff, and were struggling for existence with the wild savage that crouched around their humble homes and thirsted for their blood. It was a long way then from North Carolina to this settle- ment on the Cumberland, and it lay through an almost path- less wilderness, where the stealthy savage lurked to impede the encroaching footsteps of civilization. It led through dangers to a dangerous place. But he was a man born to face, not fly from, danger. And why should he remain longer in North Carolina? The ties that had bound him to her soil had been rudely severed. Before he was born, his father was buried. His two brothers had fallen victims to the ravages of war, and his noble mother had lost her life in her unselfish devotion to her country and her kindred. From the British prison ships at Charleston a cry of suffer- ing and distress from the imprisoned patriots reached the neighborhood where she lived. Among them were some of her relatives. She belonged to that noble band of heroic women of the Revolution whose sacrifices in the cause of our suffering country should consecrate in our hearts the liberties which they so largely aided in securing, and made the very name of woman forever sacred in our sight. Mrs. Jackson determined at once to go to the relief of the suffer- ing prisoners. She had just buried her son Robert, who died from disease contracted in a British prison, and her little son Andrew was still feeble from a disease contracted at the same time while a prisoner with his brother. But, in company with two other noble women of the neighborhood, she set out to succor the prisoners. It was one hundred and sixty miles to Charleston, but these heroic women, without an escort, set out upon their pilgrimage of mercy. They Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 653 reached Charleston in safety, gained admission to the prison ships, and administered to the wants and necessities of their distressed and suffering kindred and friends. Mrs. Jackson never again saw her only child, whom she left behind her, and he was never again to catch the light of a mother's eye, or to enjoy the hallowed boon of a mother's sympathy and love. She contracted the ship-fever, and soon after died and was buried in an unknown and unrecorded grave. Such a woman was worthy to be the mother of such a son. Andrew Jackson at the time of his mother's death was not fifteen years old. . Fatherless, motherless, moneyless, could any situation be more forlorn and cheerless than that which now clouded the young life of this desolate and stricken boy? Look upon him, then, and look upon this scene today, and thank God for a country that holds out her honors to all who have the heart and nerve and genius to grasp them. "It was an eventful day in the history of the little colony here that saw Andrew Jackson added to their number, and the people among whom he cast his lot were not slow in dis- covering and appreciating his merit. He was -born an orphan, but they took him by the hand and stood in loco parentis during the struggles of his early manhood. He was not a man to remain long in any community without im- pressing himself upon its people. For the first eight or ten years after his arrival he was engaged in practicing his pro- fession and discharging the duties of prosecuting attorney, to which he had been appointed. When, in 1796, a conven- tion was called to meet at Knoxville to frame a constitution for Tennessee, preparatory to her admission into the Union, we find the name of Andrew Jackson associated with the honorable names of John McNairy, James Robertson, Thomas Hardeman, and Joel Lewis as one of the five dele- gates that Davidson County sent to the Knoxville conven- tion to lay the foundation of our future State. And when it was resolved by the convention to appoint two members from each county to draft a constitution, Judge McNairy and Andrew Jackson represented Davidson County on that committee. Soon after the formation of her constitution, Tennessee was admitted into the Union, and her name was enrolled among the sisterhood of States. Upon her admis- sion she was entitled to only one representative in Congress, and Andrew Jackson was elected by the people to that posi- tion. Crowned with this honor of the young commonwealth, he mounted his horse for an eight-hundred-mile journey through what was then little better than a howling wilder- ness, to Philadelphia, to represent his people in the national councils. His brief career as a member of Congress was marked by watchful devotion to the interests of his con- 654 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History stituents, and fearless and independent action on all meas- ures that came up for consideration. Before his term as a member of the House of Representatives expired a vacancy occurred in the Senate, and he was appointed to represent the State in the Senate of the United States. This was a high honor to confer upon one who, less than ten years be- fore that time, had come among the people who thus hon- ored him, as a briefless, friendless young lawyer. He was only thirty years old when he took his seat in the Senate. These high positions to which he was so soon elevated after his arrival here are unmistakable evidences of the fact that he had made a deep impression upon the public mind and effected a firm lodgment in the popular heart. Yet he was not a man of any great learning or eloquence. In these re- spects he doubtless had superiors among his fellow-citizens — men better qualified to shine in these positions than him- self. But there was that about him which marked him as a man to be trusted and a leader to be safely followed, and the people, with that keen, intuitive insight into the real character of public men, discovered and appropriated it. He seems not to have liked the duties and modes of proced- ure of the Senate. It is not strange that he did not. In a few months after his appointment he resigned the position. He would, in all probability, never have risen to any great eminence in that body if he had remained a member of it. It was an arena unsuited for the development and display of the gifts with which nature had endowed him. It was simply impossible for him to consent to remain in a place where he could hope to reach and maintain nothing more than the common level of mediocrity. It was wholly foreign to his nature to sit down quietly and day by day watch his intense individuality sink in the dead sea of senatorial dig- nity. Soon after his retirement from the Senate he was elected by the Legislature to a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court of the State. The people seemed unwilling to dispense with his services altogether, and determined to have the benefit of his labors in some public capacity. No reports of his decisions have come down to us, as the first volume of reports of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Tennessee commences with the decisions of Judge Overton, Jackson's successor. That Judge Jackson brought any great amount of law learning to the performance of his duties while on the bench cannot be safely assumed, but that he displayed a clear judgment and a high sense of right can- not be fairly questioned. "Member of the Constitutional Convention, a representa- tive in Congress, a Senator of the United States, a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State — these were high positions, Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 655 and worthy the ambition of the best men in the State. But Jackson had not yet reached the theater where the genius with which the God of nature had so richly endowed him could fitly expand its wonderful power. True, on a field where he was not peculiarly qualified to excel, he had won the prize of honor from the men by whom he was sur- rounded. But these positions and honors did not possess for him the attractions they have for most men, and their uncongeniality doubtless had much to do in his retiring to the shades of the Hermitage, intending thereby to shake hands with public life forever. How little we know what the future has in store for us ! If this conviction of his had been verified, we would not be here today engaged in these august ceremonies. His services already rendered to the State would have preserved his name among her archives and rescued it from oblivion, but few save the students of her history would have known that such a man as Andrew Jackson ever lived. "But the time and the occasion were approaching which would call for a man, and in that call the name of Andrew Jackson would be heard. "In June, 1812, war was declared against Great Britain. General Jackson (he had been elected a Major-General of militia) tendered his services with two thosand five hun- dred men to the government. Their services were promptly accepted, and in November Governor Blount was requested to send fifteen hundred men to reinforce General Wilkinson at New Orleans. The Governor at once issued orders to General Jackson, and the work of preparation commenced to transport the troops to their point of destination. Jack- son issued to his troops one of those stirring addresses which, considering the times and circumstances that called them forth, whatever critics may say of their literary mer- its, are models of their kind. Nothing shows more clearly his thorough comprehension of the instincts and character of the men he commanded than the addresses he issued to them from time to time, as the occasion or emergercy sug- gested. After receiving this order to repair with his troops to the reinforcement of Wilkinson, he was all animation, excitement, and energy. By the 7th of January he had everything ready to leave. He wrote to the Secretary of War: T have the pleasure to inform you that I am now at the head of two thousand and seventy volunteers, the choic- est of our citizens, who go at the call of their country to execute the will of the government, who have no constitu- tional scruples, and if the government orders, will rejoice at the opportunity of placing the American eagle on the ramparts of Mobile, Pensacola and St. Augustine, effectu- 656 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ally banishing 1 from the Southern coasts all British influ- ence.' These confident and enthusiastic utterances, coming from some men, might be considered as mere sound and fury, signifying nothing. But Andrew Jackson felt it, and meant it all. " At the head of two thousand choice Tennesseans ! At last he had found his destined element. At last he stood upon a field where the guerdon of deathless fame was to be won and the garlands of immortality were to be garnered. At last he planted his feet upon the pathway of glory, and every instinct of his nature told him it was the road that destiny had marked out for him to travel. "Soon his infantry was floating down the Cumberland, and his cavalry was on the march through the country to their destination, full of the hope and patriotism and mar- tial pride that burned in the heart of their leader. But this was doomed to be a brief and bloodless campaign. After Hull's surrender the 'government, fearing that the enemy might direct his attention to the Southern coast, thought it advisable, as a precautionary measure, to reinforce the com- mand at New Orleans. Hence the call on the Governor of Tennessee for troops. On reaching Natchez, General Jack- son was commanded to halt at that place for further orders. The contemplated necessity not arising which had caused the government to call these troops to the field, an order came to General Jackson from the Secretary of War to dis- band them. This seemed a strange order, dismissing troops five hundred miles from home without pay, without trans- portation, or any provision for the sick. Now was displayed that iron will, that promptness and' readiness to assume re- sponsibility so characteristic of the man. General Jackson at once resolved not to obey the order, and determined not 'to dismiss his troops in a strange country without the means of returning to their homes, but to march them back in a body to Tennessee. He at once set about providing the means of transportation for the sick, impressing whatever he needed, and giving orders on the Quartermaster-General for payment. Of course these preparations required the in- curring of a liability for a considerable amount of money. He well knew that these expenses, incurred not only without the authority of the government, but in disobedience of its order, would fall upon him personally if the government should refuse to honor his draft; but he did not hesitate a moment on that account. It was no spirit of insubordina- tion that prompted him to take this course — far from it. He placed too high an estimate upon the value of discipline to be swayed by any such motive as that. He felt that he could not obey that order without perpetrating a gross wrong and Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 657 injustice upon the brave men who had followed him to the field, and he determined not to be a party to it whatever might be the consequences to him personally. Throughout the whole march he was with his troops, often dismounting and giving some sick or exhausted soldier his horse to ride while he trudged along in the mud with his men. It was the firmness and power of endurance displayed on this long march that caused his soldiers to give him the nickname of Old Hickory — an appellation which he proudly wore through all of his subsequent career. He led his army back, and on the public square at Nashville they were disbanded. Their commander had not led them to victory, they brought back no laurels gathered on the field of honor, but they returned to their homes with the proud consciousness of having obeyed their country's call and with unbounded admiration for their commander, who had stood by them, even at the risk of bringing down upon his head the displeasure of his government and wrecking his private fortune. "But he was not long permitted to remain inactive. The great Tecumseh, the implacable and unappeasable foe of the white man, having formed an alliance with the English, like a herald of fate had visited the different tribes of Indians, and kindled a flame of vengeance and aroused a thirst for blood in the savage heart from the lakes to the Gulf. The massacre of Fort Mims sent a thrill of horror throughout the entire South. The mother in her troubled sleep dreamed of the war-whoop, the tomahawk, and scalping-knife, as she instinctively pressed her unconscious infant to her bosom. Consternation seized upon every heart in the Mississippi Territory. Farms and homes were abandoned, and families fled to blockhouses and such other places of safety as offered protection from the barbarity of the Indian. The voice of Jackson like the blast of a trumpet called his brave Tennes- seans to arms to avenge the atrocities at Fort Mimms and protect the country from the horrors of savage brutality. The men who had followed him to Natchez and back were not slow in responding to the summons of their leader. The massacre of Fort Mimms sent a thrill of horror throughout Before the middle of October, Jackson, at the head of two thousand five hundred Tennesseans, stood on the south bank of the Tennessee River. I cannot pause to recount the dif- ficulties and perplexities that now beset him. Disappointed on account of low water in the river in receiving the sup- plies he expected from East Tennessee, he found himself in that sparsely settled region almost wholly without for- age for his horses or subsistence for his men. Most com- manders would have recrossed the river, fallen back to a more plentiful region, and awaited the arrival of sup- 658 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History plies before making a forward movement. But Jackson's ways were not the ways of most commanders. He deter- mined to take no step backward. Though worn and wast- ed by disease and a severe wound he had received from the effects of which he still suffered, nothing could tame his proud spirit or bend his iron will. He seems never to have entertained a doubt of the success of his campaign, and the idea that he might be defeated in a battle with the Indians never entered into his calculations. He resolved never to recross the Tennessee River until he had taught them well the lesson of peace and submission. It was for this object he had taken the field, and he meant to accomplish it. In the face of every difficulty and discouragement he marched boldly forward into the untrodden forest in search of the enemy. The victory at Tufluschatches by the gallant Coffee soon followed, and the warlike Creeks were given the first lesson of the campaign. In a short time this victory was emphasized by that of Talladega. The want of supplies now forced General Jackson to fall back on Fort Strother. Here new difficulties and complications confronted him. Pressed by hunger and privation, his gallant little army be- came discontented and desired to return to the settlements, the volunteers claiming that their term of service had ex- pired and they were entitled to an honorable discharge. I shall not enter into a discussion of the merits of their claim. They and their commander differed in their con- struction of the terms of the enlistment. The controversy grew warm and bitter, until it almost reached the point of open mutiny on the part of the troops. He found his army melting away from him, but he stood as firm as the ever- lasting hills, declaring that he would hold the posts he had established or perish in the attempt. He called on the Governor of Tennessee for new levies, but the Gov- ernor informed him that he had no authority to make such levies, and advised him to disband a portion of his troops and with the remainder march back to the settlements, where forage and provisions were plentiful, and await the action of the government until men and means could be provided for a vigorous and successful prosecution of the campaign. The situation, indeed, seemed hopeless, and to warrant the patriotic governor in advising a termination of the campaign for the time being. Never did history present a grander spectacle than Andrew Jackson, at this advanced post in the heart of an enemy's country, with a mere handful of men, but resolutely determined to hold the fort or be buried in its ruins. Never did a lofty spirit climb the 'toppling crags of duty' with a firmer step or a sublimer faith. With the instincts of a great soldier he Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 659 saw that retreat was ruin, and he determined at all hazards to avert it. His letter to Governor Blount is sufficient, of itself to immortalize him. He called for new troops ; he appealed to the Governor to take the responsibility and send for- ward new levies that he might advance and complete the conquest which he had so auspiciously inaugurated, and which he felt was so necessary to the peace and safety of all that portion of the country menaced directly by the In- dians and prospectively by their British allies. He con- cludes his immortal letter to Governor Blount in these mem- orable words : 'You have only to act with the energy and decision the crisis demands, and all will be well. Send me a force engaged for six months and I will answer for the result, but withhold it and all is lost — the reputation of the State and yours and mine along with it.' These were brave words. They were the utterances of a patriot un- selfishly devoted to his country's welfare, and of a great soldier who felt that her safety at that critical moment hung upon his single arm. This letter changed the whole aspect of affairs. Its trumpet tones stirred the public heart and awoke the slumbering energies of the people. New levies of troops were soon on the march for the distant front, where their intrepid leader stood, deaf alike to mur- mur or mutiny in his own camp and danger from the at- tack of the foe. Thus reinforced he fought the battle of the Horseshoe, and the Creek War was virtually ended. The unconquered warriors of the tribe who disdained to surrender fled for safety to the everglades of Florida, and those who remained laid down their arms and sued for peace. The hardy settler and his wife and little ones could now lie down at night in security and repose. The battle of the Horseshoe made the 8th of January a possibility, and the 8th of January made the 4th of March a certainty. In a campaign of a few months he had broken the power of the warlike Creeks and brought them as suppliants at his feet. "The great value to the country of this brief and bril- liant campaign of Jackson was soon apparent to all. Na- poleon had fallen, and the peace of Europe was restored. England, no longer confronted by an enemy at home, was left free to concentrate her undivided strength and power against us. General Harrison, having resigned his com- mission as a Major General of the United States, General Jackson was tendered the position by the government, and accepted it. He was ordered to take command of the South- ern division of the army, if that could be called an army which was composed of only three skeleton regiments of regular troops. He now had before him a task well cal- 660 Andrew Jackson and Ear^y Tennessee; History culated to tax to the uttermost the genius and prowess of the greatest commander. He had met the savage in his mountain fastness and conquered him, and therefore, thanks to his foresight and intrepidity, left no enemy in his rear when he went to the perilous front. But he had now to meet a well-appointed army, trained in the best schools of Euro- pean warfare, and decked with laurels won upon historic fields. The proud mistress of the sea, her bronzed cheek yet glowing with the light of recent triumph, was coming with a formidable force towards our devoted shores. She came breathing vengeance against our people and confi- dent of victory, full of the boastful and invincible spirit so grandly expressed by one of her own poets : " 'Britannia needs no bulwarks, No towers along the steep ; Her march is o'er the ocean waves, Her home is on the deep.' "Our government was yet in its infancy; our treasury was empty, and our credit sorely crippled. Jackson, with no army save raw and inexperienced troops, had a thousand miles of coast to defend, and not a fort garrisoned on the entire line. "The situation was far from cheerful and encouraging, and was generally regarded by our government and people With anxiety and alarm. But there was one man whose heart never quailed, whose hope never waned, whose faith never wavered, and whose step never faltered in the presence of the dangers which confronted him. That man was An- drew Jackson. How he met the responsibilities and de- mands of the occasion, let Mobile, Pensacola and New Or- leans answer. The result is too well known ever to fade from the memory of our countrymen, and especially from the recollection of Tennesseans. The Volunteer State reaped in that grand campaign too large a harvest of glory to ever allow its splendors to fade or suffer its achievements to be forgotten. Peace once more lifted its white wings upon the breeze, and Andrew Jackson stepped into his des- tined and appointed niche in the temple of Fame. In all our glorious history no page burns with brighter lustre than that which records the genius of Jackson and the prow- ess of the brave men under his command, who protected our soil from the invader's foot and saved the mouth of the Mississippi and an empire to the Union. A grateful coun- try canonized him as one of her great heroes, and enshrined him in her heart. No West Point had ever laid its anoint- ing hand upon his head, but a mightier than West Point had anointed him for his work and furnished him with his Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 661 credentials to immortality. I appeal to history to scan the names of the heroes inscribed upon her roll of honor, and point to one who, with the same means at his command, and the same odds arrayed against him, ever accomplished more than stands to the credit of Andrew Jackson upon the pages that record his achievements. "The war ended, he returned to the bosom of his fam- ily and the delights of home, to nurse his shattered health and enjoy the confidence and affection of his neighbors and friends. But he had done too much for his country for her people ever to rest satisfied until they had crowned him with the highest position in their gift. Our people have always thus remembered and thus rewarded the heroes of the wars in which we have been engaged, without an ex- ception. Much eloquence and declamation have been ex- pended in the effort to impress the public mind with the danger of elevating successful military chieftains to the Presidency, but Washington, Jackson, Taylor, Grant, stand as monuments of the admiration and gratitude of the Amer- ican people for the men who have shed glory and renown upon our arms. "It would extend these remarks far beyond the limits of propriety and your patience to attempt a reference in detail to all the notable acts in the life of Andrew Jack- son, crowded as it is with distinguished services to his country and abounding in evidences of the esteem and ad- miration of his countrymen. After his Seminole campaign and the differences with Spain had been satisfactorily ad- justed, his country no longer needing his services in the field, he resigned his commission in the army. Soon the eyes of the people began to turn towards him as a prospec- tive candidate for the Presidency, and the Legislature of Tennessee formally nominated him for that exalted posi- tion. As is well known he was defeated in this contest, but it was because the will of a majority of the American people was defeated in the result reached by the election in the House of Representatives. "That result by which another wore the honors which a majority of his countrymen had intended for him, only postponed the inevitable hour. At the end of Mr. Adams' administration, Jackson was again a candidate for Pres- ident. Perhaps no Presidential election in our history has been disgraced by a greater amount of personal defamation than that with which General Jackson was assailed. There was no weapon that slander disdained to forge or calumny to use. Every act of his life was scanned with microscopic care, to discover something that could be set down to his discredit. The reputation of the mother who bore him and 662 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History the good name of the wife of his bosom were assailed with cruel and merciless mendacity. Could any one acquainted with the genius of the American people doubt what their decision would be in the case of such a man so assailed? Did his traducers imagine that they could demolish the colos- sal temples of his fame with such weapons as these, or drive him from the hearts of his countrymen, where the glorious achievements of his life had entrenched him? All the changes were rung upon the dangerous experiment of ele- vating a military chieftain to the high office of President of the United States. He was denounced as a tyrant and despot, whose elevation to power would result in the de- struction of the liberties of his country. He was represented as a coarse and ignorant man, unacquainted with public affairs and unfitted in every respect to be the chief magis- trate of this country. There was no calamity that could befall a country that was not predicted as certain to over- take this unhappy land if its infatuated and misguided citizens should in an evil hour commit the supreme folly of electing him President. But the people remembered that there was a time when the dark clouds of war hung low and threatening over their devoted land, and they recalled the fact that Andrew Jackson was not an enemy to his country then, nor could they be made to believe that he had become so since. He was elected by an overwhelming majority. The people had rendered their verdict, and An- drew Jackson wore the crown of their emphatic and spon- taneous endorsement. They crowded to his inauguration in such enthusiastic multitudes as to leave no one room to doubt the firm hold he had upon the masses of his coun- trymen. This military chieftain, of whose administration so many dire and gloomy prophecies had been made, was now about to be tried upon a new and unaccustomed field. He had never been found wanting in any position which he had hitherto occupied, but how would he wield the des- tinies and conduct the vast and complicated affairs of a great country as a civil magistrate? The fierceness of the conflict through which he had passed, warned him that the ship of State while under his command was not destined to sail upon a tranquil sea or to meet only favoring winds. But he knew well that he owed his elevation to the unbought suffrages of a free people. He always said that the people would never desert those who were true to them. If there ever was a man with whom patriotism was an absorbing passion, Andrew Jackson was that man. He never saw the day or the hour after he came to the years of dis- cretion that he would not willingly have laid down his life upon the altar of his country if her welfare had called for Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 663 the sacrifice. Her enemies were his enemies, her honor was his honor, and her cause was his cause. "Her greatness and renown was the ruling aspiration of his heart and the chief inspiration of his life. There was not an un-American hair in his head or an un-American drop of blood in his veins. Such a man might make mis- takes or commit errors, but could never be false to what he believed to be the best interest of his country. With this faith in the people and this love of country burning in his heart, he grasped the helm of State with a firm and un- faltering hand. What he encountered and what he achieved belongs to history. As his administration advanced it grew in favor with the people. At the end of his first term so firmly grounded was his popularity that he was re-elected by a largely increased majority. Out of two hundred and eighty-eight electoral votes, he received two hundred and nineteen. He had fought the battle of the people, and they were fighting his. He had stood by them, and they were standing by him. No administration in our history has encountered a more formidable opposition than that which confronted the administration of President Jackson. The great triumvirate of Clay, Webster and Calhoun had hurled their triple powers against it, but it had stood the shock unmoved, for it was imbedded in the confidence of the peo- ple, and presided over by a man whom no power could appall, no wealth corrupt, no titles seduce, and no threat intimidate. In his great battle with the bank it seemed at one time that he would be overborne. A resolution passed the Senate censuring him for the removal of the deposits. But he lived to see the day when the clerk of the Senate was ordered to bring the Journal containing the resolution before that august body and draw black lines around it and write upon its face in a hold hand the word — EXPUNGED. Clad in these habiliments of mourning, and wearing this scar upon its dishonored face, it remains for the inspection of posterity. He w r as as near the master of every situation of danger and responsibility in which he was placed as any man who was ever called upon to face the one or as- sume the other. He never lost the courage of his convic- tions in any presence. The supreme hour, the crucial test, always found him self-poised, like the magnificent war horse on which the genius of the sculptor has mounted his mar- tial form to ride through the future ages. The mingled blood of two races ran in his veins and imparted to his nature some of the best characteristics of both. When aroused he was as terrible as a tornado, but in the social circle with his friends as mild and gentle as a woman. His devotion and fidelity to his wife comes out as a rainbow, 664 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History to span with its beauty and promise every storm-cloud that rises on the horizon of his life. He was a man of strong passions, and when acting under their impulse not, per- haps, always just — no man is. But it was not in his nature to do conscious or intentional injustice to any one. He was positive and imperious — all great leaders of men are. He was not learned in books ; he never studied them ; he studied men, and no student ever more thoroughly mastered his subject. The slow and painful processes by which many men of books and culture reach their conclusions were un- known to him. His mind acted with the rapidity of light- ning, and an intuitive sagacity conducted him to conclu- sions with telegraphic speed. He had reached conclusions and stood ready to act them before hesitating prudence had adjusted her spectacles to examine the subject, or timid conservatism had taken up her scales to weigh probabili- ties. Not that he was rash or inconsiderate in matters of moment, far from it. No man ever looked at all the bear- ings of a subject with closer scrutiny, or balanced the chances of success or failure with keener discrimination. His chief object was to ascertain the path of duty; when he saw that he was ready to travel it, whatever dangers might environ it. No array of learning or brilliancy of rep- utation in an opponent ever dwarfed or absorbed his in- dividuality. He was born to lead, and he always led. Those who wished to join the expedition were welcome; those who feared to embark might stay behind, and those who chose to face him might take the consequences. He never de- serted friends or enemies until they first deserted him. For the one there was no sacrifice he was not willing to make ; in respect to the other there w r as no gage of battle he was not ready to take up. He never allowed his friends to go forward and assume responsibilities for him in great emer- gencies, that he might, in the event of disaster, throw the burden of failure upon them. If risks were to be taken, if popularity Was to be hazarded, if responsibility was to be assumed, if danger was to be met, he took his place at the front, and the word of command rolled down the line. "His fame is in the custody of his country. There it will remain secure forever. No friend of his need fear or doubt the verdict of posterity or the judgment of history upon his greatness as a soldier or his wisdom as a states- man. Full of years and full of honors, he closed his eyes in peace among the people who took him by the hand in his youth and loved him to the last. When Tennesseans cease to honor his name and revere his memory, they will be unworthy descendants of those whom he led to victory. A few of the old soldiers who followed him through the Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 665 storm of battle still linger with us upon this side of the river. May the hand of time deal gently with their declin- ing years, and the evening of their days be as full of peace and happiness as their morning was of storms and dangers. " 'Oh, honored be each silvered hair, Each furrow trenched by toil and care ; And sacred each old bending form That braved with him the battle storm.' "Here, where tree and rock and rivulet and river are vocal with the traditions of his past, we inaugurate his statue to-day. I rejoice that the venerable sculptor who has given to us this life-like image of the man has been spared to be present on this occasion, to receive the tribute this day paid to his genius by the descendants of those who knew and loved and honored his illustrious subject while he moved amid the walks of men. "Tennesseans, the honor of the State, upon whose name Andrew Jackson has shed such imperishable renown, is in your keeping. As we gaze upon his storied form to-day, let us swear that no act of dishonor shall ever stain her proud escutcheon or sully her spotless name. "Since he closed his eyes upon a peaceful and happy country, our land has been drenched in fraternal blood. The earthquake shock of contending armies was felt around the very tomb where he sleeps. But these unhappy days are passed, and it is to the interest of all that the pas- sions and animosities that marked them should also pass away. "Tennessee has no future, no aspirations, no hopes save in a restored Union, and to-day within the shadow of Jack- son's statue, without mental reservation or purpose of eva- sion, but in sincerity and in truth, she can repeat to her sister States the immortal words of her immortal son, 'THE FEDERAL UNION— IT MUST BE PRESERVED!'" ADDRESS OF CLARK MILLS. At the conclusion of Colonel House's oration, Clark Mills, the artist of the equestrian statue, was introduced to the audience, and said : "Ladies and Gentlemen : Having been requested to make some remarks on this occasion before the distinguished people of Nashville, I will state that the statue before you is a triplicate of the one now standing in front of the Pres- ident's house in Washington, which was not only the first equestrian statue ever self-poised on the hind feet in the 666 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History world, but was also the first ever molded and cast in the United States. "The incident selected for representation in this statue occurred at the battle of New Orleans, on the 8th of Jan- uary, 1815. The commander-in-chief has advanced to the center of the lines in the act of review. The lines have come to present arms as a salute to their commander, who acknowledges it by raising his chapeau four inches from his head, according to the military etiquette of that period. But his restive horse, anticipating the next evolution, rears and attempts to dash down the line, while his open mouth and curved neck show that he is being controlled by the hand of his noble rider. "I have deemed this explanation important to answer a criticism upon the fact that the horse is rearing and Jack- son has his hat off. Critics should reflect that a spirited war-horse, although brought to a halt, will not long re- main so. "The city of Nashville has just cause for pride from the fact that of the three statues cast from the same model the one before you is the most perfect of them all." Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 667 CHAPTER XL. THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN— ADDRESS OF BISHOP E. E. HOSS. When the chapters on John Sevier and King's Mountain were being prepared, the author attempted to get, for the purpose of quoting from it, a copy of the speech of Bishop E v E. Hoss, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, delivered before the Committee on the Library in Congress in 1912, which had under consideration House Bill 4035, providing for the erection by Congress of a monument at Abingdon, Virginia, to Gen. William Camp- bell, who was one of the patriot leaders at the battle of King's Mountain ; and, it was not until the chapters men- tioned had been printed that the speech was obtained. This speech embodies the sentiment of the people of Tennessee as to who is entitled to the credit for the victory at King's Mountain, and very fully sets out the facts connected with the battle, and the leadership in the preparations for it; and is, therefore, given in full except a statement of the careers of Shelby and Sevier, and a quotation from Roose- velt, which were covered in the chapters mentioned. Bishop Hoss said : "Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee: I thank you very sincerely for the courtesy of this hearing, and I shall try to show my gratitude by confining my re- marks within due limits. If I should, out of my exceeding in- terest, trespass too much on your time and attention, I beg that you will not for a moment hesitate to indicate the fact. "That there may be no misunderstanding of my purpose in appearing before you, I shall begin by saying that I am here to oppose the passage in its present form of House Bill 4035, which is identical with Senate Bill 5295, and the object of which is to provide for the erection in the town of Abing- don, Virginia, of a monument to the memory of Gen. Wil- liam Campbell, as the chief hero, so alleged, of the Battle of King's Mountain in our Revolutionary War. Desiring to make no statement that would not stand the test of discus- sion and criticism, I solicited the presence on this occasion both of Senator Martin and of Representative Slemp, who 668 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History are the sponsors of the measure under consideration, and I very much regret the fact that they could not comply with my request. Their absence, however, will only make me the more careful to be utterly candid and fair in all that I shall say. In the end the exact truth will prevail, and any attempt to distort it, no matter by whom made, would prove a boomerang. "There can be no shadow of doubt, Mr. Chairman, that the Battle of King's Mountain is abundantly worthy to be commemorated by the Federal Government. In every im- portant sense of the word it was a crisis in the struggle of our fathers for independence. Coming at a time when Georgia and South Carolina were in the iron grip of the British forces, and following hard upon Gates' disaster at Camden, and Cornwallis' invasion of the Old North State, it put new heart into the desponding patriots throughout the whole country and set in motion that train of influence which issued in the crowning triumph at Yorktown. "Among students who have given it their careful atten- tion, there is not the slightest difference of opinion as to its tremendous significance. Thomas , Jefferson, who was a good contemporary authority, said of it: " 'It w r as the joyful enunciation of that turn in the tide of success that terminated the Revolutionary War with the seal of our independence.' "A hundred years later Theodore Roosevelt — who is always right except when he is wrong, and always interest- ing even when he is wrong, and frequently irritating even when he is right — added, in his 'Winning of the West,' volume 2, page 286: " 'The victory was of far-reaching importance and ranks among the decisive battles of the Revolution. It was the first great success of the Americans in the South, the turn- ing point in the southern campaign, and it brought cheer to the patriots throughout the Union. The loyalists of the Carolinas were utterly cast down and never recovered from the blow, and its immediate effect was to cause Cornwallis to retreat from North Carolina, abandoning his first inva- sion of that State.' "Similar judgments from competent historians could be multiplied by the score, and nobody with a right to speak has ever ventured to utter a contradictory opinion. "All these things get an added emphasis from the cir- cumstances that preceded and accompanied the expedition — circumstances which, in comparison, make such contests as those of Lexington and Bunker Hill look like holiday pa- rades. For, bear in mind, Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 669 the Committee, that the men who conceived and set on foot this great enterprise were members of a frontier commu- nity only a few thousand strong; that their own homes were in constant danger of attack from the Cherokee In- dians, a fierce and valorous tribe, who were in close league with the British, and hung like a storm cloud upon the west- ern skirts of the settlements ; that they acted on their own initiative, being summoned by no government and receiving neither equipment nor compensation for their services ; that they did not wait till the enemy was at their own gates, but took the offensive and went in search of him, thus making common cause with all the colonies, and especially with the two Carolinas ; that they marched twelve full days over one of the roughest routes ever traveled by a mounted army, right square across both the Alleghanies and the Blue Ridge; that for the last thirty-six hours, the most of the time in a pouring rain, they were out of their saddles only once, and then for but an hour ; that at the end of this long ride, tired almost to exhaustion though they were, they threw themselves on a foe numerically as strong as them- selves, securely posted, well drilled, and commanded by one of the bravest and most accomplished officers in the British army; and that, within a little more than an hour they achieved what, taken all in all, was one of the most signal victories of the war, killing, wounding, or capturing nearly every one of their antagonists. Sirs, if there be any citizen of the United States whose blood does not flow a little faster at the recitation of such a story, I envy him not. "For elaborate accounts of all that I have thus in brief set forth, and for a vast array of other related facts and incidents, see the chapters ad rem in Haywood's 'Civil and Political History of Tennessee,' Ramsey's 'Annals of Ten- nessee,' Wheeler's 'History of North Carolina,' Kirke's 'Rear Guard of the Revolution,' Roosevelt's 'The Winning of the West,' and, especially, the wonderfully full account in Draper's 'King's Mountain and Its Heroes,' in the prepara- tion of which the author spent forty laborious years. I might add an indefinite number of other authorities, but do not wish to cumber the pages of this brief. "Why, then, you may be inclined to ask, am I opposing the bill under notice. My answer to such an inquiry shall be very concise; it is because this bill coolly proposes to bestow upon the single State of Virginia the honor of the whole undertaking, which primarily belongs to the States of Tennessee and North Carolina, and upon Col. William Campbell the whole credt, which primarily belongs to Isaac Shelby and John Sevier. When I tell you that I am a Ten- 670 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History nessean and a descendant of Sevier, you will perhaps need no further explanation of my attitude. "The report on which the Senate has already acted was drawn up, or was at least presented, by the late Senator John W. Daniel, a man so high and clean in character that it would be folly to call in question the sincerity of his mo- tives. Nearly everything in it is strictly true. The only paragraph to which I should seriously object is the quoted one that suggests the superior quality of the Virginians on the upper Holston to their Tennessee neighbors lower down the same stream. It is unfortunate that such a hint — so wide of the fact, and so entirely without bearing on the case — should have been introduced into a printed document. I shall not waste time in seeking to rebut it. My chief quar- rel with the report is based not on what is in it, but on what is left out of it. A casual reader, glancing through it, would not infer that the Tennesseans and North Carolinians played anything more than a very unimportant part in the affair with which it deals, though at one place, presently to be noticed, their primacy is conceded in two or three lines. "Do not suppose for one moment, Gentlemen, that I wish to belittle what the Virginians did at this great junct- ure. Then, as ever, they played the man. Myself of Vir- ginia blood and ancestry reaching back to 1650, I am proud of the record which the Old Dominion has put into our national history. Nor shall I be guilty of the low task of trying to asperse the good name of Colonel Campbell, who was unquestionably a brave and patriotic man, and whose posterity embraces a body of American citizens equal to the best to be found in all the land. The old controversies, which did not touch any essential point in his character but bore only upon his action during the latter part of the battle, ought never to have been raised, and should certainly now be allowed to rest. "All this said, however, there are some important facts that, in the interests of truth and justice, must not be over- looked. "WHO ORIGINATED THE EXPEDITION ? "It is certain that General Campbell had nothing in the world to do with it. The credit of it belongs solely and wholly to Isaac Shelby and John Sevier. More than this, Colonel Campbell was with difficulty persuaded to join in it, even after it was set on foot. See Shelby's pamphlet pub- lished as an appendix to Draper's 'King's Mountain and Its Heroes,' pages 560-563; Draper's own statement, pages 168- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 671 173 ; Roosevelt's 'The Winning of the West,' pages 252-255 ; Ramsey's 'Annals of Tennessee,' and Senator Daniel's re- port, page 6, lines 26-30. "The following short outline embodies the substance of what is contained in these volumes : During the summer of 1780 Colonel Shelby, Major Charles Robertson and Captain Valentine Sevier, a younger brother of Colonel Sevier, went on a campaign into South Carolina with about two hundred men, and participated in the successful battles of Thicketty Fort, Musgrove Mills, and Cedar Spring. On their return to their homes they were pursued as far as to Gilbert Town, North Carolina, near the foot of the mountains, by the Brit- ish Colonel, Ferguson, who, by all accounts, was One of the most courageous and most capable soldiers in the King's army. Through a paroled prisoner, one Samuel Phillips, he sent word to the mountain men from that point that if they did not at once lay down their arms he would cross oyer the intervening ranges, hang their leaders, and devastate their country. Never did a vain and insolent message meet with a swifter response. Phillips took it straight to Colonel Shelby, of Sullivan County, who was his kinsman and lived near the present city of Bristol. Within a day or two Shelby mounted his horse and rode about fifty miles to see Colonel John Sevier, of Washington County. When he started on that ride there is not the slightest evidence that he had formed any definite plan of action. On the contrary, he himself affirms over and over again that he and Sevier be- tween them — they were together two full days — determined, 'after some consultation,' what they would do. Here is his exact language, repeated for substance in many places : 'In a few days I went fifty or sixty miles to see Colonel Sevier, who was the efficient commander of Washington County, North Carolina, to inform him of the message I had re- ceived and to concert with him measures of defense.' But before they separated all thought of mere 'defense' was abandoned, and an agreement was reached to strike the first blow. 'After some consultation,' continues Shelby, 'we de- termined to march with all the men we could raise, and attempt to surprise Ferguson by attacking him in his camp, or at any rate before he was prepared for us.' Which of the two leaders first proposed this bold stroke can never now be known. Neither of them, as far as I am aware, ever claimed the exclusive honor of it. Somehow or other it came out in the course of their discussion, but any attempt to say just how must now be futile. The minds of the two men were like flint on steel. (See Appendix to Draper, p. 562.) 672 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History "Having decided on the main point, Shelby and Sevier went vigorously to work to arrange all the details of the proposed campaign. They resolved, first, to get their regi- ments in readiness and rendezvous at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga on September 25; secondly, to secure, through Sevier's efforts, the co-operation of Colonel Charles McDowell and the one hundred and sixty North Carolina refugees, who had crossed the mountains for safety and were scattered among the residents of the Watauga and the Nollichucky; thirdly, to secure through Colonel Shelby the co-operation of Colonel William Campbell and the men un- der him in the adjacent district of Virginia ; and, fourthly, to raise on their personal security the sum of $15,000 for the purchase of necessary equipment. "Everything went through without a hitch, except that Colonel Campbell at first positively refused to lend his as- sistance, stating that he was minded to raise what men he could and march down into southern Virginia, to oppose Lord Cornwallis as he approached that State. Shelby him- self shall tell the rest of the story. He says : " 'Of this"— " 'Campbell's refusal — " 'I notified Colonel Sevier by an express the next day, and at once issued an order calling on all the militia of the country to hold themselves in readiness to march at the time appointed. I felt, however, some disappointment at the re- ply of Colonel Campbell. The Cherokee towns were not more than eighty or one hundred miles from the frontiers of my county; and we had received information that these Indians were preparing a formidable attack on us in the course of a few weeks. I was, therefore, unwilling that we should take away the whole disposable force of our coun- ties at such a time ; and without the aid of the militia under Colonel Campbell's command I feared that we could not otherwise have a sufficient force to meet Ferguson. I, there- fore, wrote a second letter to Colonel Campbell, and sent the same messenger (Moses Shelby) back with it immediately, to whom I communicated at large our view and intentions, and directed him to urge them on Colonel Campbell. This letter and messenger produced the desired effect, and Camp- bell wrote me that he would meet me at the time and place appointed. It surely cannot detract from the merits of Colonel Campbell that this expedition was set on foot, not by him, but by others. He lived in Virginia, in a state of comparative security, and was preparing to aid his own State when she should be invaded. We lived in North Caro- lina, a great part of which was prostrate before the British Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 673 arms. We were nearer to the enemy and were threatened. We determined, therefore, to anticipate the invasion and vengeance that were meditated against us, and to strike the first blow. To do this effectually, we asked for, and we re- ceived, the aid of the nearest county in a neighboring State. This was surely the natural and ordinary course of things.' "Such first-hand evidence from such a man as Shelby, even if it stood alone, would be sufficient to establish my contention ; but it does not stand alone. Every historian of any consequence confirms it in toto. In short, then, Shelby and Sevier, with Campbell or without him, and even if they had to strip their own counties of every available fighting man, had fully made up their minds to take the risk of meet- ing Ferguson's bluff; but they naturally desired to avoid, if it were possible, the necessity of leaving their families utterly exposed to the tender mercies of the Cherokees. For this latter reason, they asked for and, after some delay, re- ceived the generous support of Colonel Campbell and his men. "The later career of General Campbell is given so fully in Senator Daniel's report that it is scarcely necessary to repeat it here. Suffice it to say that he took an honorable part in the Battle of Guilford Court House and one or two other minor engagements, then resigned his commission in the army and was elected to represent Washington County, Virginia, in the State Legislature. In 1781, however, he was made a Brigadier-General of the Virginia line, and re- called to the field under Lafayette. During August of the same year he was seized with a sudden illness and died a few days afterwards in his thirty-sixth year, to the grief of the whole Commonwealth * * * * "From the day of Sevier's arrival in the Holston coun- try he was a marked man, as he would have been anywhere. His primacy on the border for the next forty years is an indisputable fact. Almost at once he was elected one of the five judges of the Watauga Association, the self-governing community, which the newcomers, with the hereditary po- litical instincts of English-speaking people, had organized for their own protection. In 1776, in connection with James Robertson, he defended Fort Lee, near Elizabethton, against an attack of the Cherokee Indians. In the autumn of the same year he drew up the petition to the provincial council of North Carolina, praying to be formally annexed to that colony. This document, full of courage and patriotism, was signed by one hundred and fifteen persons, only two of whom found it necessary to make their marks. A little later he was chosen, together with John Carter and John Haile, to 674 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History represent the Watauga and Nollichucky region, thenceforth known, first, as Washington District, and after 1777 as Washington County in the provincial congress, which met at Halifax November 12, 1776, and framed the first consti- tution of North Carolina. Even at that early date he fore- saw the necessity at some future time of a new State be- yond the mountains, and secured the insertion into the con- stitution of a clause providing for it. "In 1777 he was made Lieutenant Colonel of the Wash- ington County militia, and full Colonel, to succeed Colonel John Carter, on February 3, 1781. Between the first-men- tioned date and 1793 he was in thirty-five battles or skir- mishes with the British and Indians, and was never once defeated. John Fiske says that he speedily won for him- self the title of 'the lion of the border.' Governor Blount declared at the time that 'his name carried more dismay than a regiment of soldiers.' McMaster affirms that 'he lived more romances than were ever written in any book.' Phelan says: " 'No one, indeed, was more generous than he. In many respects he was one of the heroes of our history, a veritable knight templar.' "Roosevelt adds at greater length: " 'For many years Sevier was the best Indian fighter on the border. He was far more successful than Clark, for instance, inflicting greater loss on his foes, though he never had anything like Clark's number of followers. His mere name was a word of dread to the Cherokees, the Chicka- maugas, and the Upper Creeks. He wielded great influence over his own followers, whose love for and trust in 'Chucky Jack' were unbounded. He was open-hearted and hospita- ble, with winning ways toward all, and combined a cool head with a dauntless heart. He loved a battle for its own sake, and was never so much at ease as when under fire.' "The mere list of Sevier's services, civil and military, would fill a page. From 1780 to 1784 he led half a dozen brilliant campaigns against the Indians, besides joining with Shelby, in response to an appeal of General Greene, on an expedition of relief to Marion. From 1784 to 1788 he was Governor of the abortive State of Franklin, which was created out of necessity when North Carolina ceded its western territory to the moribund Continental Congress. That this movement was not intended as an act of disloyalty to the General Government is evident from the fact that it promptly sent its Representative, in the person of William Cocke, to Congress, asking to be admitted with the other colonies. When it collapsed in 1788, Sevier was indicted Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 675 for treason against the State of North Carolina. With this indictment hanging over him he was elected to the State Senate in 1789, and went to Fayetteville to claim his seat. By act of the Legislature all his disabilities were promptly removed, and he was designated Brigadier-General for the whole section from which he came. What is now the State of Tennessee was also set up as a Congressional district, and in 1790 he was, without opposition, elected to the Federal Congress, and sat in that body as the very first Representa- tive from the Mississippi Valley. "North Carolina having made, in 1790, another act of cession of the territory to the Federal Government, Sevier was named by President Washington both as Brigadier- General of the militia and as a member of the Governor's Council or Territorial Senate, both of which positions he continued to hold till 1796, when Tennessee was admitted into the Union. He was then chosen first Governor of the State, and by two subsequent re-elections occupied the gu- bernatorial chair till 1801. Being succeeded by Archibald Roane, he became a candidate for the Major Generalcy of the State militia, a post then for the first time created, with Andrew Jackson, twenty years his junior, as his antagonist. The choice was in the hands of the field officers, and the bal- loting resulted in a tie. Roane, as Governor, cast the decid- ing vote, which, by the way, sent Jackson to New Orleans, and probably affected the whole subsequent history of the country. "In 1802 Sevier was one of the commissioners to run the boundary line between Virginia and Tennessee. The next year, being again eligible under the Constitution, he once more sought the Governorship, and though Roane, with the active and vociferous backing of Jackson, stood against him, he was elected by a large majority, and continued for three other terms, the last two without even a show of opposition. For 1810-11 he was a member of the State Senate. From 1811 to 1815 he was a member of Congress from the Knox- ville district, serving during the whole period of our second war with England as a member of the Committee on Mili- tary Affairs. Mr. Madison, at the beginning of the war, offered him a Generalship in the army, but he declined it on the score of advanced age. It is also to be said that President Adams had given him a similar post in the Pro- visional Army in 1798, when war was threatened with France. "At the close of the Congressional session of 1815 Pres- ident Monroe appointed him one of the commissioners to run the lines of the Creek Indians in Alabama. While on 676 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History that service he died in camp on the*' east side of the Talla- poosa, near Fort Decatur, Alabama, September 24, 1815, being seventy years and one day of age. During his ab- sence from home his constituents had unanimously re- elected him to Congress. His remains rested in their lonely grave until 1887, when the State of Tennessee, which had treated his memory with a niggardliness beyond conception, appropriated the munificent sum of $500 to remove the dust to Knoxville. A ceremonious reinterment, participated in by thousands of people, took place in the courthouse grounds of that city. Private citizens, in default of public action, erected a handsome monument over his grave. * * * * "what forces the various states put into the expe- dition. "On September 25, as above stated, the backwoodsmen mustered at Sycamore Shoals, On the Watauga River, in what was then Washington County, North Carolina, and is now Carter County, Tennessee. Shelby and Sevier brought each two hundred and forty men, or about one-half the fight- ing strength of their respective regiments. McDow T ell brought one hundred and sixty North Carolina refugees, eager to return and fight for their own soil, and William Campbell two hundred Virginians. The next day Arthur Campbell appeared with two hundred more, gathered from farther east. These he turned over to his cousin, while he himself went back home. The start was made, therefore, with 1,040 men. A more romantic scene was never wit- nessed. Beside the soldiers, who were clad in home-made hunting shirts and buckskin shoes, armed with Decherd rifles, and mounted on tough horses, there were hundreds of others present to say goofL-by. Among the latter was Samuel Doak, the Presbyterian minister, a graduate of Princeton, and the founder of the first college west of the Alleghanies, who feared God so much that he feared nothing else, and would have made a fit chaplain for a regiment of Cromwell's Ironsides — a man of immense influence on the early history of the State. "On September 30, having made the passage of the mountains, the army reached Quaker Meadows, the beauti- ful home of Colonel McDowell, and received its first rein- forcement of three hundred and fifty North Carolina militia- men from the counties of Wilkes and Surrey, who were creeping along through the woods, hoping to meet with some party going to harass the enemy. "They were commanded by Benjamin Cleaveland, a mighty hunter and Indian fighter, and an adventurous wan- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 677 derer in the wilderness. He was an uneducated backwoods- man, famous for his great size and his skill with the rifle, no less than for the curious mixture of courage, rough good humor, and brutality in his character. "It cannot be said that he was very devout in his life, but he was, nevertheless, a most orthodox Presbyterian in his belief. One of his grim pieces of humor, as we learn from the diary of Lieutenant Allaire, of the British army, who was captured at King's Mountain, was to require the prisoners under his charge, officers and all, to attend divine service and listen to a Calvinistic sermon 'as full of repub- licanism as the rebel army 1 is of horse thieves.' It is even said that he was a ruling elder, with the accent, no doubt, on the word ruling. "Five days later Hill, Hampton, Lacey, and Williams fell in with about four hundred men, chiefly from York and Chester Counties, South Carolina. Smaller detachments under Chronicle and Hambright, from Burke and Lincoln Counties, North Carolina, and under Major William Chand- ler, from Georgia, as well as a number of straggling bands, were likewise taken up on the march, raising the total strength of the army to between eighteen hundred and fifty and nineteen hundred men. It will thus be seen that Vir- ginia furnished only a little more than one-fifth of the men on the march. That they were real men nobody should be rash enough to deny. "Late in the evening of October 5, after a march of only twelve miles during the whole day, a halt was made at Green River. Both men and horses were so jaded that the leaders knew it would be impossible for the whole of them to move fast enough to overtake Ferguson, who had rapidly fallen back in front of them from Gilbert Town. They, therefore, determined to select about seven hundred and fifty of the least tired and best mounted men, and make a bold push for their game, leaving the rest to follow as rap- idly as possible. For days they had been living on green corn, but before starting on the final stretch they slaught- ered some beeves and had a great feast. At the Cowpens on the evening of the 6th they met the South Carolinians be- fore mentioned, enough of whom joined in the advance to bring their strength up to nine hundred and ten, besides a squad of perhaps fifty, who followed on foot, and some of whom managed to get up in time for the fighting. Of the nine hundred and ten, only two hundred were of Campbell's Virginians. "Then came a marvelous feat of endurance. Leaving Cowpens after dark, these resolute patriots marched with- 678 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History out halting through the whole night, which was dark and drizzly. Many of them got scattered in the woods, but re- joined their commands at break of day. Right on to the south they bore, never pausing nor slacking their gait. In the course of the morning a pouring rain came down upon them, but they wrapped their blankets about their rifles, sat in their saddles, and spurred ahead. At a little after noon, October 7, they had reached the end of their journey, and were not more than three miles from the elevated spur, five hundred or six hundred yards long and two hundred and fifty wide from base to base, on which Ferguson had taken his position and was waiting for the help from Cornwallis which never came. Of the battle' itself I shall speak here- after. Another matter demands attention now. "the question of a commander. "Until the expedition had reached Cane Creek, on Octo- ber 4, no question appears to have arisen about a command- er-in-chief. Each Colonel, as was customary in border war- fare, led his own men. As, however, some lack of discipline had shown itself, and as they were now approaching the enemy, it was wisely thought necessary to have one head for the rest of the march and for the battle which seemed certain to be fought. This place would naturally have fallen to Colonel McDowell, who was the senior officer present, and, besides, was then in his own district. But he was not deemed sufficiently alert for such a post. So the determina- tion was formed to send a messenger to the camp of Gen- eral Greene and ask for a general officer to assume the com- mand. McDowell consented to the plan and volunteered to be the bearer of the written message, which was signed by the Colonels in the following order : Cleaveland, Shelby, Se- vier, Campbell, Hampton, and Winston. (See Roosevelt, Vol. II, p. 263, footnote.) "In the meantime Shelby nominated Campbell as tem- porary commander, and he was chosen item. con. The rea- sons assigned by Shelby for his action were as follows : Mc- Dowell would not have submitted gracefully if any one of the North Carolina Colonels, all of whom were his juniors in rank, had been preferred before him ; and, secondly, Campbell was not only a Virginian and less likely to arouse McDowell's jealousy, but he was also at the head of the larg- est regiment. " 'In this way — " 'Says Shelby— and upon my suggestion, was Colonel Campbell raised to the command, and not on account of any superior military tal- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 679 ents or experience he was supposed to possess. He had no previous acquaintance with any of the Colonels except my- self, nor had he at that time any experience or distinction in war that we knew of.' "How much and how little Campbell's elevation meant is indicated by Draper, who says, page 190 : " 'Colonel Campbell now assumed the chief command, in which, however, he was to be directed and regulated by the determination of the Colonels, who were to meet every day for consultation. Equally significant is the fact that the report of the battle, which was made several days after it occurred, was signed first by Cleaveland, then by Campbell, and then by Shelby. Sevier's name was not attached, he having already started home to meet a threatened uprising of the Cherokees.' "Dr. Draper says, footnote to page 352 : " 'Perhaps, as a compliment, Colonel Cleaveland was permitted to head the list in signing the report, as shown in facsimile in Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution. But when General Gates sent a copy, November 1, 1780, to Gov- ernor Jefferson, to forward to Congress, having properly placed Campbell's name first, Shelby's next, and Cleave- land's last, and so they appear as published in the gazettes at the time by the order of Congress.' "Whether Colonel Campbell, who carried the report to Jefferson, suggested the change, which there would have been no impropriety in his doing, cannot now be told. The circumstances are warranted simply as showing that Camp- bell's command carried no such precedence, in the estima- tion of his associates, as would belong to a commander in a thoroughly organized modern army. "THE BATTLE ITSELF. "And now, Gentlemen of the Committee, having followed the track of the patriot army from Sycamore Shoals to within about three miles of Kings Mountain, it remains to give a brief account of the battle itself, which will show that no one of the colonels in command had such a pre- eminence in the actual fighting as to entitle him to the sole credit of the victory. "After falling back for some days in a leisurely and circuitous fashion, Ferguson had halted here and gone into camp. Why he should have done so it is difficult to say. He knew that he was pressed by a strong force. His appeal to Cornwallis for three or four hundred dragoons shows that he was not insensible to the dangers that compassed 680 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History him about, though it is evident that he had taken no accu- rate gauge of the martial qualities of his adversaries. If he had moved right on from Gilbert Town without needless delays, he might easily have reached Cornwallis's main army at Charlotte, thirty-five miles distant. The only rational explanation of his conduct is to be found in the assumption that, as a proud and successful British officer, unused to defeat or retreat, he could not bear the thought of being driven in for safety by what he was pleased to describe as 'a horde of banditti.' In short, it was simply another case of pride going before destruction and a haugh- ty spirit before a downfall. "The spot which Ferguson chose for a 'secure encamp- ment' was simply one of the ridges of King's Mountain, sixty feet high, five or six hundred yards long, seventy yards broad on top, and two hundred and fifty or three hundred yards from base to base. It was bare on the summit, but covered with bowlders and trees on the sides, a fact which, as ought to have been foreseen, gave a great advantage to an attacking force. The only supply of water was a rather inconveniently situated spring on the northwest of the mountain. An abundance of wood might have been secured for abatis, but Ferguson did not take the precaution to use it. In fact, the only appearance of defense was the line of baggage wagons drawn up in the neighborhood of head- quarters along the northeastern part of the mountain. Confident that he could not be dislodged, Ferguson fatuous- ly awaited his doom. As to the exact number of men under his command there is some doubt. The official report of the American officers, based on papers found in the camp after the battle, puts it at 1,125 ; but it appears probable that some two hundred had gone away in the morning on a foraging expedition, leaving, say, nine hundred in the fight. Of these about one hundred were provincial rangers, gath- ered largely from New York and New Jersey. They were seasoned soldiers, a sort of corps d'elite, having seen much service and being especially expert with the bayonet.- The rest of the corps was made up of Tory militiamen from the two Carolinas. They had been carefully drilled under Ferguson's direction and were formidable fighters. "The mountaineers were well aware that Ferguson might yet change his mind and continue his retreat or that he might receive such a re-enforcement from Cornwallis as would make him too strong to be safely attacked, so they resolved to deliver an instant blow. Having traveled so far and undergone such hardship in pursuit of their game, they were not in the least inclined to miss it at the very last. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 681 "It was determined to march at once upon the camp, and decide the conflict without further rest or refreshment. Each man was ordered to tie up his overcoat and blanket, throw the priming out of his pan, pick his touchhole, prime anew, examine his bullets, and see that everything was in readiness for the battle. While this was being done the officers agreed upon the general line of attack, which was to surround the eminence and make a simultaneous assault upon every part of the camp. The men were soon in their saddles and on their march. "When not more than half a mile from Ferguson's camp and in full view of it, they dismounted, tied their horses, leaving a small guard with them, and proceeded on foot. To march as cavalry and fight as infantry was their uni- form habit. On this particular occasion no other course would have been a possibility. "Draper gives an excellent diagram, facing page 236, the careful study of which will be a great help to anyone wishing to understand the exact order of the battle. It shows that the regiments of Campbell and Shelby were thrown almost square across the southern end of the moun- tain, the former on the right and the latter on the left, and the two together constituting the center of the American army. Joining Campbell on the right, and stretching thence to the east along the northern base of the mountain, Sevier, McDowell, and Winston, in that order, made up the right wing; while joining Shelby on the left, and stretching north along the southern base of the mountain, Williams, with sev- eral small detachments, Lacey, and Cleaveland, in'that order, made up the left wing. At the northern end of the moun- tain, Hambright and Chronicle completed the circle of in- vestment, touching Winston on the right and Cleveland on the left, and thus making the escape of the British impos- sible, except by their breaking through the lines. To use different language, Campbell commanded in person the right center, Shelby the left center, Sevier the right wing, and Cleaveland the left wing. Under these four the other officers took their places according to rank. "Up to about this time, owing to the nature of the ground and the thick screen of forests, Ferguson had not become aware of the proximity of his foes. As soon, however, as he spied them he prepared for action. The facility with which he got his men into line is a great tribute to his ability. There can be no doubt that he was a true British bulldog, and had also a rare capacity for infusing his own spirit into those who fought under him. It is not belittling our countrymen to admit that they had found a foeman 682 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History worthy of their steel. On the contrary, it is enhancing their merit to say that they dared to precipitate themselves upon even such an antagonist. "At length the several divisions started for the scene of action, marching two men deep, and led by their command- ers. As the right and left wings had to make a consider- able circuit to get into their assigned places in the line, they were delayed ten minutes longer than had been ex- pected. The first fire of the enemy was delivered, it ap- pears, on Shelby's column, wounding some of his men, but he bade them keep quiet and press on till they were in posi- tion to give an effective return. Campbell opened the ball by pressing up the southern front of the mountain, his men loading and firing with great execution as they went. Be- fore they reached the summit, however, they were met by De Peyster and his rangers, whom Ferguson had sent to check them, and were driven with considerable confusion to the bottom of the hill. Indeed, they did not stop until they had crossed a narrow hollow and climbed another ele- vation beyond it. Facing cold steel was an unusual ex- perience with them,, and naturally they recoiled from it. But with true courage they soon rallied to the call of their officers and again moved forward. "The Rangers, meantime, had found other work to do, for Shelby also had pushed his line against the enemy im- mediately in his front. This bold action on his part drew the Rangers off to oppose him. He fought most bravely, as he always did. Bancroft describes him as 'a man of the hardiest make, stiff as iron, among the dauntless singled out for dauntlessness.' But he, too, was compelled to re- treat before the charging column. "By this time the right and left wings were in place and pressing hard against the British position. When Campbell and Shelby, therefore, came on once more they found less difficulty than at first. Ramsey says that the next bayonet charge against them, though the Rangers were joined in it by a considerable number of militiamen, who had butcher knives, was 'short and feebly executed.' This statement does not agree with the declarations of some who were present, but all the circumstances indicate that it is probably correct. Nevertheless, the fact that Camp- bell lost fourteen men killed, of whom thirteen were officers, shows how fierce the fighting was in his front. Shelby also lost heavily, though, strangely enough, no complete list of the killed and wounded in his regiment has ever been pub- lished. It is also a fact that both Campbell and Shelby were again driven down the declivity, though not as far as Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 683 before. It was at this juncture that the report spread among the mountaineers that Tarleton was coming with his cavalry. " 'It seemed to have a dispiriting effect, when the offi- cers, including Colonel Sevier, rode along the lines, calling upon the men to halt, assuring them that Tarleton was not there; and that if he were y they could also make him, like Ferguson's Rangers, turn his back and flee up the moun- tain.' (Draper, p. 267.) "The battle lasted for about an hour and every part of the army behaved admirably. Hambright and Chronicle, weak as they were in numbers, ventured to clamber up the northern end of the ridge, though Chronicle himself was killed at the very beginning of the onset, and several other of the officers and men before they reached the summit, and the rest were met and temporarily repulsed by the bayonet. Cleaveland was a little late getting started on the left wing, but played a man's part to the end. On the right Sevier never wavered. A portion of his regiment on the left got mixed up with Campbell's men and were in the rushes from the front. But his main body was not charged. So says his son, Maj. James Sevier, who, as a boy of sixteen, fought through the whole battle, as did also an older son Joseph and his four brothers, Captains Valentine and Robert and Privates Abraham and Joseph Sevier. Capt. Robert Se- vier was mortally wounded toward the end of the engage- ment and died while on the w r ay back to Watauga. "As to which particular commander was the first to reach and hold the summit there has been some dispute, but the question would appear to be settled by the official report, signed a few days later by Campbell, Shelby, and Cleaveland. It says : " 'The troops upon the right, having gained the summit of the eminence, obliged the enemy to retreat along the top of the ridge where Colonel Cleaveland commanded, and where they were stopped by his brave men.' "The Hon. W. C. Preston quoted this passage many years later to show that Campbell was entitled to the distinction in question, in apparent oblivion of the fact that Campbell commanded the right center, while the whole of the right wing was commanded by Sevier, with Majors McDowell and Winston under him. Draper fully confirms the view that I have expressed, page 226 : " 'Sevier's column at length gained the summit of the hill, driving the enemy's left flank upon his center.' "But, really, the whole matter is comparatively trivial, for before the end came all the different commands were 684 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History on the summit and had girdled Ferguson's men, who were now huddled together on the northern end of the ridge with a ring of fire. In spite of his heavy losses and of the utter desperateness of his situation he refused to think of sur- rendering. Once and again his men hoisted white flags, but he promptly rode up and cut them down with his sword. It is said that even De Peyster begged him to submit to the inevitable, and that he profanely spurned the suggestion. At last, satisfied that all was lost, he rose in his stirrups and started to escape by dashing through his foes. But in the very act of doing so he was pierced by half a dozen rifle balls. 'It was in the region of Sevier's column/ says Draper, 'that he received his fatal shots.' De Peyster then promptly raised a white flag, but owing to some misunder- standing the firing did not cease till a few moments later. "After some confusion the prisoners were disarmed and put under guard, Shelby and Sevier appearing instantly on the spot, and Colonel Campbell a few moments later. There are positive statements from equally reputable men as to who received De Peyster's sword, some saying that it was Maj. Evan Shelby, and others that it was Colonel Campbell. The only possible reconciliation of the contradiction is that it may have been handed first to Maj. Shelby and then passed on to Colonel Campbell. Ferguson's sash, a mag- nificent one of red silk, and his long and heavy field glass, as well as his lieutenant colonel's commission were brought off by Sevier, and are now in possession of the Tennessee Historical Society. Draper says that Sevier also got De Peyster's sword, page 308. Of this there must be some doubt. Each of the commanders secured some memento of the battle. "The victory was complete. On the American side the loss was only eighty-eight killed and wounded ; on the Brit- ish it was three hundred and thirty-four killed and wound- ed, and six hundred and forty-eight taken prisoners. Thus closed a great day in the woods. A humane and Christian man must revolt from bloodshed, and yet he may well feel that resistance to cruel aggression is justified, and may ad- mire without stint the heroism of the men who offer it. "IN CONCLUSION. "And now, Gentlemen of the Committee, I invite your attention to the claims with which I set out. Not saying a word to which any partisan of Colonel Campbell could rationally object, I think I have shown, first, that he was not in any sense the originator of the expedition, but sim- Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee] History 685 ply, after urgent and repeated solicitation, fell in with the plans of Shelby and Sevier; secondly, that, including both his own muster of troops and those that were brought to him by Arthur Campbell, he had under his command less than one-fourth of the men who were actually on the march or in the fight; thirdly, that the fact of his being appointed chief commander was not due to his superior military abil- ity or experience, but was simply a piece of wise magnan- imity on the part of the other colonels, and especially of Isaac Shelby, who really ranked him in seniority ; fourthly, that even so his command was chiefly nominal, and that, after he received it, all the plans of the expedition, and finally the battle, were determined, not by him, but by a council of the colonels; fifthly, that while his part in the battle w r as honorable and courageous, it was not a whit more so than that of the other gentlemen associated with him. On what ground of right or justice, then, can he be elevated to a pinnacle of honor, while Sevier and Shelby, without wmorn certainly this chapter of our national annals would never have been made, are left to oblivion? If Vir- ginia desires to put General Campbell into such a lofty place, let her do it. But she ought not to ask the Federal Government to give its official sanction to such un-historical pretensions. "Nor is it, Gentlemen of the Committee, for Shelby and Sevier alone that I plead, but for McDowell, and Cleaveland, and Winston, and Lacy, and the other notable men who contributed so much to American independence on that fateful October 7, 1780, and for the subaltern officers and private soldiers who matched the courage of their leaders with a spirit that was equally as high. As a Tennessean, moreover, I ask justice for my native State and for the mother State of North Carolina. King's Mountain, though not our first or last, was yet our chief point of contact with the Revolutionary War, and we cling to it. Why should Virginia, whose inheritance is so rich, desire to deprive us of our due share of the honors which our fathers fairly w r on? Sirs, we may safely claim to be a patriotic people. It is a source of pride to us that our ancestors, even in the lusty infancy Of our great State, show r ed the metal of their manhood. When have Tennesseans ever failed to do so since? At the very time when. Shelby and Sevier were leading their riflemen through the woods to South Carolina James Robertson and John Donelson were leading another band of Watauga folk three hundred strong, who less than a year before had plunged four hundred miles farther into the depths of the wilderness to found the fair city of Nash- 686 Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History ville, at that time the uttermost outpost of the Republic in the valley of the Ohio. At their first gathering on the banks of the Cumberland to form some sort of provisional govern- ment, they had nobly resolved that they would 'hold them- selves liable for their ratable share of the expenses of the war for freedom.' "In later years the descendants of these same men broke up the Creek Confederacy at the battle of the Horseshoe and liberated the Southwest from the further fear of savage wars. They went with Andrew Jackson to New Orleans, and put a glorious and emphatic period to our second strug- gle with England. They were present in large force with Houston and Crockett in the contest for Texas independ- ence. At the outbreak of hostilities with Mexico, being called on for 4,000 men, Tennessee offered 27,000, and thus anew vindicated her ancient title of 'the Volunteer State.' In our civil strife nearly the whole body of our citizenship shouldered arms on one side or the other. The first Con- gressional district, in which Sevier and Shelby both lived and from which their force was entirely recruited, put regi- ment after regiment into the Confederate Army and then furnished more volunteers for the Federal Army than any other congressional district in the United States. "And once again, in 1898, when the nation rose up in mortal combat against Spain, Tennesseans were in the front rank and eager to take part in the fray. In the Philippines and in Cuba the records show that they deported themselves in a manner worthy of the fathers from whose loins they had sprung. "If, therefore, a memorial of any sort is to be erected on what was in 1780 our western border, it should be either at Sycamore Shoals, from which point the army set out, or at Bristol, on the line between the two States of Virginia and Tennessee and in the immediate vicinity of the home of Shelby; and when it is built it should stand not for one of the leaders only nor for one above the rest, but for all of them alike. In case any discrimination must be made, let it be made in the interest of those who conceived the great project in advance of the rest and made its execution a feasible thing. "But I insist, Mr. Chairman, that such an event as that which I have been discussing ought not to be belittled by any cheap or common monument in a country village. It deserves to be glorified here in our national capital. There is an epic grandeur, Sirs, in the movement of our Anglo- Saxon stock across the Alleghanies and into the wide stretches of the Mississippi Valley, a grandeur that has Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History 687 never yet had adequate recognition. Does it not appeal both to our imaginations and to our hearts to think of the manly audacity of the pioneers, who, in their own strength, and without help from any external source, planted our civilization on that fertile soil, and with unequaled con- stancy guarded it against all intrusions till it grew to im- perial dimensions? In that line of movements which has the majesty of a pageant stands out the battle of King's Mountain, not isolated and solitary in its character, but part of that great and orderly chain of sequences which has made the Middle West and the Southwest what they are today. "Surely it would be most fitting to select some suitable site in this city of Washington, and rear on it a column of marble as a testimonial to the foresight and the fidelity of these men who in their day and generation 'had knowledge of all things to know what Israel ought to do,' and did not hesitate to take the lead in the doing of it. On this marble pillar let the names be carved of Campbell, and Shelby, and Sevier, and McDowell, and Cleaveland, and Lacy, and under them a group of riflemen clad in hunting shirts and armed with Decherd rifles. So may the nation acknowledge a debt of gratitude which it can never fully repay." 9 5S