ELEVENTH THOUSAND. LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF GEN. MDEEW JACKSON SEVENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES J INCLUDING THE MOST IMPORTANT OF HIS STATE PAPERS. EDITED BY JOHN a JENKINS, A. T^ THE EULOGY, DELIVERED AT WASHINGTON CITY, JUNE21, 184ft. BY HON. GEORGE BANCROFT. NEW YORK: C. jVI. SAXTON, BARKER & CO., 25 PARK ROW. SAN FRANCISCO: H. H. BANCROFT & CO. 1860. 'i ^^^^^ E. 3 2 S l'^ so^^- Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by GEO. H. DERBY & CO- In the Clerk's Office for the Northern District of New \ork. TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THIS MEMOIR OF ONE, WHO SO OFTEN SIGNALIZED HIS DEVOTION TO THEM AND THEIR WELFARE ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE AND IN THE CABINET, IN BOYHOOD AND IN AGE IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED PREFACE. The following Memoirs hardly require an intro- iuction to the American reader. The life of Andrew Jackson is so intimately connected with the history of the country, that the careful student of the one, will not rest satisfied, until he is able fully to under- stand and appreciate the other. Whatever may be the views entertained in regard to his merits as a warrior, or his abilities as a statesman, his conduct in both capacities was such as must necessarily command attention. His admirers will always be eager to discover some new object for their remem- brance and regard ; while those who are unwilling to approve his course, either in the camp or the cabinet, will feel impelled, from curiosity, if from 10 other motive, to examine the incidents of his memorable life. There are many fl-atures in his '•character, and those by no means of the least im- PREFACie, portance, which all will deem worthy of commenda- tion ; and none can be so much influenced by the prejudices which have survived the termination of his earthly careei, as to withhoM the appropriate tribute of their respect. A large portion of the matter to be found in these pages has been heretofore published, in different shapes. While the writer has not hesitated to make free and liberal use of such materials as were within his reach, both the language and the arrangemeni have, in all cases, been so modified and changed, as to harmonize, with his desire of "fivingr to the public, a fair, candid, and impartial life, of the dis- tinguished citizen and soldier whose name appears on the title-page of the volume. But little merit, therefore, is claimed on the score of originality ; and if those for whom it has been prepared, are in any degree gratified by its appearance, the labor be- stowed upon it will be amply rewarded. An attempt has been made, w^hich it is hoped may not be regarded as altogether unsuccessful, to present a full and complete account of the early his- tory of General Jackson, his campaigns against the PREFACE. U {iidians, his brilliant achievements during the war of 1812, and his official acts as governor of Florida. A general outline of his administration of the na- tional government is also given ; but for reasons which must be obvious, the space devoted to this purpose is comparatively brief. Lexs could not have been said, without marring the completeness of the work; and, on the other hand, had the text been more full and- explicit, political sympathies and affinities might have been manifested, which ought to be carefully concealed. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. tkOU 1767. fntroductory remarks — Birth and parentage of Andrew Jackfion — His early life — Influence of his mother — Warof tlie lirvolution — Colonel Buford surprised and defeated — Martial spirit of the colonists — Andrew Jackson joins the American army — Heroic conduct in defending Captain Lands — Surprise of the VVaxhavv settlers at their rendezvous — Escape and cap- ture of Jackson — His stratagem to prevent the seizure of Thompson — Imprisonment at Camden — His release, and death of his brother and mother — Pecuniary difficulties — Commences the study of the law^ — Is licensed to practice — Appointed So- licitor for the western district of North Carolina — Arrival at Nashville. 1789 17 CHAPTER n. 1789. Early settlements on the Cumberlaiid — Hardships en- dured by Jackson, in the discharge of his official duties- Escape irom the Indians — His presence of mind — Adventures in the wilderness — Locates at Nashville — Fruitless attempts to intimidate him — Indian depredations — Becomes acquainted with Mrs. Robards — His marriage — A member of the Ten- nessee convention — Chosen a senator in Congress — His re- signation, and appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court — Firmness and decision of character as a judge — Difficulty with Governor Sevier — Resigns his office, and devotes him- Mlf to «jp:icultural piirtiiit«. 1804 ....,*.... 12 CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. FAOT 1804, Fondness of General Jackson for horses — Duel with Dickinson — Forms a mercantile partnership — Pecuniary diffi- culties — Adventure with the Choctaw agent — Affray with Colonel Benton — Their subsequent friendship for each other — Hostilities with Great Britain — Declaration of war in 1812 — Jackson raises a volunteer force — Their services accepted hy government — Ordered to embark for Natchez — Arrival of the troops, and order to disband them — His disobedience of orders — Attempt of General Wilkinson to prevent the return of the volunteers — Object of the order — Jackson's decision exhibited — Shares the privations of the soldiers on their home- ward march — Return, and disbandment of his force. 1813 . 42 CHAPTER IV. 1813. Depredations committed by the Creeks on the borders of Tennessee and Kentucky — Attack on Fort Mimms — Pre- parations for war — Jackson calls out the volunteers and militia — Address to the troops — Takes the field — Enforces strict military discipline — Rapid march to Huntsville — Delay in for- warding supplies — Thwarted in his moveroents by General Cocke — Jealousy of the latter — Scarcity of provisions-^Efforta of Jackson to procure supplies — Address to the soldiers on entering the enemy's country — Arrival at the Ten Islands — Difficulty with the contractors — Destitute condition of the army — battle of Tallushatchee — Humanity of Jackson — His adoption of an Indian boy. 1813 53 CHAPTER V. 1813. Erection of Fort Strother, and establishment of a depot on the Coosa — Continued difficulties growing out of the move- ments of General Cocke — Battle of Talladega — Gallant con- duct of Colonel Carroll and Lieutenant- Colonel Dyer — Desti- tution of the army — Generosity and benevolence of Jackson — His example in submitting to privations — Anecdote of the acorns — Discontent among the troops — Mutiny suppressed by his firmness and resolution — His appeal to the contractors to furnish supplies— Answer to the overtures of peace made by the Hillabee tribes — Efforts to raise additional troops — Letter to his friend in Tennessee — Demand of the volunteers to be discharged, on the ground that their term of service had ex- pired — Reply of Jackson — His unflinching determination-— Suppression of the mutiny, and return of the volunteers. 1813 68 CONTENTS. 13 CHAPTER VI. PAGE 18H. Arrival of recruits — Battle of Emuckfaw — Return of the army — Ambuscade of the enemy — Battle of Enotochopco— Bravery of General Carroll and Lieutenant Armstrong — Re- turn to Fort Strother — The army reinforced — Battle of Toho« peka — Kindness of Jackson to a prisoner — Preparations t& attack Hoithlewalle — Address to the troops — The Indians abandon their towns at Jackson's approach — Termination of the campaign — Operations of the British at Pensacola — Con- duct of the Spanish governor — Proclamation of Colonel Ni- choUs — Unsuccessful attack on FortBowyer — Jackson marches to Pensacola and demolishes it. 1814 87 CHAPTER VII. 1814. Jackson marches to New Orleans— Preparations to de- fend the city — Surrounded by traitors and spies — Situation of the country— Strength of the British expedition — Firmness of Jackson — The cuy placed under martial law— Vigorous measures rendered absolutely necessary — Landing of the British — Alarm in the city — Jackson determines to attack them — Disposition of his forces — Battle on the night of the twenty-third of December— Gallant conduct of the American troops — Repulse of the British — The complete triumph of the Americans prevented by the darkness of the night — Adven- ture of Colonels Dyer and Gibson — The Americans fall back to a new position, and prepare to fortify it — Effect of the bat- tle. 1814 99 CHAPTER VIII. 1814. The Americans fortify their position — Jackson's peremp- tory orders to Major Lacoste — Defence of the Pass Barrataria — Captain Lafitte — Attack made by the British on the 28th of December — Defensive preparations hastened — Death of Colonel Henderson — Disaffection in New Orleans — Informa- tion communicated to the British fleet — Stratagem of Mr. Shields — Conduct of the Louisiana legislature — Patriotic reply of Jackson to the committee — Attempt to supply his troops with arms— Gallantry of Colonel Hinds — Cannonade on the 1st of January — Position of the American army — Jackson's orders to the Frenchman to defend his property — Defences on the right bank of the river — Caution of Jackson in concealing the number of his troops. 1815 117 14 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. 1815. Arrival of fresh troops from Kentucky— Preparations of both armies for an attack — The disposition of Jackson's force made known to the British by a deserter — Success of Colonel Thornton on the right bank of the river — Eagerness of the American soldiers lor an engagement — Activity and energy of Jackson — The eighth of January — Advance of the British towards the American intrenchments — Destructive fire from the fortifications — Repulse of the British — Death of Sir Ed- ward Packenham — Terrible havoc made in the ranks of the enemy — Bravery of Colonel Rennie — Number of killed and wounded m the battle — Watchword of the British army — Generous benevolence of the American soldiers — An armistice proposed by General Lambert and accepted, with modifica- tions—Brave conduct of the American troops — Want of arms prevents Jackson from capturing the whole British army — English version of the battle. 1815 141 CHAPTER^X. 1815, Gratitude of the citizens of New Orleans to their deli- verer — Jackson strengthens his position — Anonymous publi- cations inciting his troops to revolt — The author placed in arrest — Judge Hall ordered into custody for his interference — The British retire to their shipping— Treaty of peace signed — Cessation of hostilities — Jackson submits to the fine imposed by the judge — Farewell address to his troops — Return to ^fashville— Depredations committed by the Seminole Indians — Jackson ordered to take command of the southern army — Enters Florida with his army. — Execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister — Capture of St. Marks and Pensacola — Termina- tion of hostilities — Jackson's conduct approved — Appointed governor of Florida — Administration of his judicial duties — Difficulty with the Ex-governor, Callava — Jackson's ill health compels him to return home. 1821 158 CHAPTER XI. 1821. Jackson resigns his office in the army — Testimonials of public respect — A candidate for the Presidency — Defeated in the House of Representatives — Election of Mr. Adams — Course of Jackson's friends — His renomination — Warmth of the contest — Elected president — Death of his wife — Kindness to her relatives — His first message — Veto of the Maysville road bill — Dissolution of the Cabinet — Opposition to the United States Bank — Veto message — Re-elected president — Difficuhy whh the nuUifiers — Assaulted by Lieutenant Ran- dolph — Removal of the deposits — PubUc excitement — Con- troverBy with France— Retirement to private life. 1837 . . 173 CONTENTS. 16 CHAPTER XII. PAGB 1837. Ill health of General Jackson — Arrival at the Hermit- age — Influence with his party — friendly to the annexation of Texas — His occupations — Embarrassed in his pecuniary afTairs — Refunding of the fine imposed by Judge Hall — Failure of his health — His last illness — His Christian resignation and death — Honors paid to his memory — Remarks of ReveTdy Johnson — Speech of Daniel Webster — Character of Jackson — His qualifications as a soldier and statesman — Attachment to his friends — His personal appearance — His patriotism. 1845 186 CHAPTER XIII. Bancroft's Eulogy 196 Inaugural Address 221 Maysville Road Veto 225 Message to the United States Senate on returning the Bank Bill 241 Proclamation on the Nullification Question 263 Extracts from the Protest 287 Sixth Annual Message 306 Message in relation to Texas 344 Farewell Address 350 Letter to Commodore Elliott, decHning a Sarcophagus . . .373 Last Will and Testament 375 Dr. Bethune's Sermon • 381 LIFE ANDREW JACKSON, CHAPTER I. 1767. Introductory remarks — Birth and parentage of Andrew Jack- son —His early life — Influence of his mother — War of the Revolu- tion — Colonel Buford surprised and defeated — Martial spirit of tho colonists — Andrew Jackson joins the American army — Heroic con- duct in defef)ding Captain Lands — Surprise of ihe Waxhaw settlers at their rendezvous — Escape and capture of Jackson — Hisstraagem to prevent the seizure of Thompson — Imprisonment at Camden — His release, and death of his brother and mother — Pecuniary ditfi- culiie-- — Commences the study of the law — Is licensed lo practice — Appointed Solicitor for ihe western district of North Carolina- Arrival at Nashville. 1739. In seasons of high party excitement, it is not to be ex- pected, that full and impartial justice will at all times be rendered to the statesman or politician. There is an ancient French maxim, which cautions the legislator to " think of the rising generation, rather than of that which is passed." It is not amid the prejudices and jealousies of the present, but in the enlightened judgment of the far- off future that he must look for his reward. Cotempo- raneous history is always hasty, and often unjust, in its conclusions ; but "the sober second thought" of posterity is ever prompt to repair the wrong. It was the fortune of the subject of these memoirs to occupy, for a series of years, a prominent place in the" public estimation, as the leader of the political party to which he was attached. During that time, much was said, both for and against him, which it would scarcely become the dignity of history 18 LIFE OF JACKSON. to record ; nor would his most devoted admirer ask, at this day, that any thing should be written concerning him, ex- cept what was conceived in the same spirit that prompted the memorable remark of the iron-hearted Cromwell to young Lely, " Paint me as I am !" His death has hushed the embittered passions of the hour, and public opinion has already settled down upon a conviction highly favorable to his memory. Few men have ever lived, who exhibited, in a more remarkable degree, those salient points of character, calculated to enforce attention and respect, or possessed those peculiar traits of disposition, which are sure to inspire the warm and devoted attach- ment of personal friends. His life and his character, both as a public and private citizen, the storied incidents of his military career, and the important services rendered to the country, are now regarded, by general consent, as the common property of the nation. Like truly great men, he has left the impress of his mind upon the age in which he lived ; and there is not a single American, whose heart is alive to the emotions of patriotism, but feels it beat with a quicker and warmer glow, at the mention of his honored name. Andrew Jackson was descended from a Scotch family, who emigrated to the north of Ireland, at a very remote period. His ancestors suffered many hardships, on ac- count of the cruel and arbitrary exactions of the Enghsh government. The continuance of these grievances, which at times almost passed the limits of human endurance, in- duced his father, Andrew Jackson, after whom he was named, to emigrate to this country, with his wife and two sons, Hugh and Robert, in the year 17(55. He landed at Charleston, in South Carolina, and shortly afterwards pur- chased a tract of land, in what was then called the " Wax- haw settlement," about forty-five miles above Camden, and near the boundary line of North Carolina, where he settled with his family. His son, Andrew, was born on the I5th day of March, 17(37, about two years subsequeni to the arrival of his parents in this country. Soon after the birth of young Andrew, his father died 'eaving him. and his two brothers, to the sole care anr HIS YOUTH. 19 guardianship of their mother, who appears to have been a most exemplary woman. She possessed many excellent qualities, both of head and heart ; and her children were, early in life, deeply imbued with the straight forward resoluteness of purpose, and Spartan heroism of character, for which she was distinguished. Among the many noble mothers, whose sons have reaped the rich harvest of re- own springing from the seed planted by their hands, one deserve higher praise or commendation. To the lessons she inculcated on the youthful minds of her sons, may, in a great measure, be attributed that fixed opposi- tion to British tyranny and oppression, which they after- wards manifested. Often would she spend the winter evenings, in recounting to them the sufferings of their grandfather at the siege of Carrickfergus, and the oppres- sions exercised by the nobility of Ireland over the laboring poor ; impressing it upon them as a first duty, to expend iheir lives, if it should become necessary, in defending and supporting the natural rights of man. As they inherited but a small patrimony from their father, it was impossible that all the sons could receive an expensive education. The two eldest, therefore, were only taught the rudiments of their mother tongue, at a common country school. But Andrew, being intended by his mother for the ministry, was sent to a flourishing academy at the Waxhaw meeting-house, superintended by Mr. Humphries. Here he was placed on the study of the dead languages, and continued until the revolu- tionary war, extending its ravages into that section of South Carolina where he then was, rendered it necessary that every one should either betake himself to the Ameri- can standard, seek protection with the enemy, or flee his country. When the revolutionary war first broke out, in 1775, Andrew Jackson was but eight years old, and it was a long time before its horrors were felt in the immediate vicinity of his residence. But from his youth up, he was familiar with the story of the repeated aggressions and insults, which forced the American colonists to resort to the last remedy of an injured people. He eagerly listened 20 LIFE OF JACKSON. to the thrilling accounts that reached his quiet neighbor- hood, of the heroic deeds performed by his brave country- men, at Lexington and Bunker-hill, Saratoga and Mon- mouth ; and while he listened, his heart burned with the fire of an incipient patriotism, to avenge the wrongs of his native land. The young and middle-aged men around him were constantly training themselves for any emer- gency, and his mother encouraged, rather than checked, his growing passion for a soldier's life, instead of the peaceful profession for which he was designed. It was a critical time in the destinies of the infant repubhc, and she required the aid of every stout hand and strong heart, whether it beat beneath the surplice of the priest, or the rough habiliments of tbe back- woodsman. An opportunity was soon afforded, for him to gratify his ardent desire of mingling in the deadly strife which had imbrued the American soil with blood. South Carolina was invaded by the British, under General Prevost, in 1779, and in the month of May of the following year, Co- lonel Buford and about four hundred men under his com- mand were overtaken by Colonel Tarleton, who had been despatched to cut off* the party by Lord Cornwallis, with a force of seven hundred men, and an indiscriminate slaughter ensued, although little or no resistance was of- fered. Many begged for quarter in vain. The only an- swer was a stroke of the sabre, or a thrust of the bayonet. This act of atrocious barbarity was followed by others of a similar character. Men could not sleep in their own houses unguarded, without danger of surprise and murder. Even boys, who were stout enough to carry muskets, were induced, by a regard for their own safety, as well as from inclination, to incur the dangers of men. Young Jackson and his brothers had their guns and horses, and were almost always in company with some armed party of their kindred or neighbors. Hugh, who was the eldest of the three, was present at the battle of Stono, and lost his life, from the excessive heat of the weather and the fatigue of the day. Shortly after this event, Mrs. Jackson retired before the invading army, w^ith her two remaining sons, Robert and Andrew, into North Carolina. She remained ATTEMPTED SURPRISE OF CAPTAIN LANDS. 21 there but a short time, and, on returning to the Waxhaws, both Robert and Andrew joined the American army, and were present at the battle of Hanging Rock, on the sixth of August, 1780, in which the corps to which they be- longed particularly distinguished itself. In the month of September, Mrs. Jackson and her sons, with most of the Waxhaw settlers, were again compelled to retire into North Carolina ; from which they returned in February, 1781, as soon as they heard that Lord Cornwallis had crossed the Yadkin. It was during the trying scenes of this period of the revolutionary struggle, that Andrew Jackson gave the first illustration of that quickness of thought, and prompt- itude of action, which afterwards placed him in the front rank of military commanders. A Whig captain, named Lands, who had been absent from home for some time, desired to spend a night with his family. Robert and Andrew Jackson, with one of the Crawfords, and five others, constituted his guard. There were nine men and seven muskets. Having no special apprehensions of an attack, they lay down on their arms, and, with the ex- ception of a British deserter, who was one of the party, went to sleep. Lands' house was in the centre of an enclosed yard, and had two doors, facing east and west. Before the east door stood a forked apple-tree. In the southwest corner of the yard were a corncrib and stable under one roof, ranging east and west. On the south was a wood, and through it passed the road by which the house was approached. A party of Tories became apprized of Lands' return, and determined to surprise and kill him. Approaching through the wood, and tying their horses behind the stable, they divided into two parties, one advancing round the east end of the stable towards the east door of the house, and the other round the west end towards the west door. At this moment, the wakeful soldier, hearing a noise in the direction of the stable, went out to see what was the matter, and perceived the party which were en- tering the yard at the east end of the building. Running back in terror, he seized Andrew Jackson, who was near- 33 LIFE OF JACKSON. est the door, by the hair, exclaiming, " The Tories are upon us." Our young hero ran out, and, putting his gun through the fork of the apple-tree, hailed the approaching band. Having repeated his hail without an answer, and perceiving the party rapidly advancing and but a few rods distant, he fired. A volley vvas returned, which killed the soldier, who, having aroused the inmates of the house, had followed young Jackson, and was standing near him. The other band of Tories had now emerged from the west end of the stable, and mistaking the discharge of the advance party, then nearly on a line between them and the apple- tree, for the fire of a sallying party from the house, com- menced a sharp fire upon their own friends. Thus both parties were brought to a stand. Young Andrew, after discharging his gun, returned into the house ; and, with two others, commenced a fire from the west door, where both of his companions were shot down, one of them with a mortal wound. The Tories still kept up the fire upon each other, as well as upon the house, until, startled by the sound of a cavalry bugle in the distance, they betook themselves to their horses, and fled. The charge was sounded by a Major Isbel, who had not a man with him, but, hearing the firing, and knowing that Lands was at- tacked, he gave the blast upon his trumpet to alarm the assailants. The British commander, having been advised of the return of the Waxhaw settlers, despatched Major Coffin, with a corps of light dragoons, a company of infantry, and a considerable number of Tories, for their capture and destruction. Hearing of their approach, the settlers ap- pointed the Waxhaw meeting-house as a place of rendez- vous, and about forty of them, among whom were the two Jacksons, had assembled there on the day appointed, and were waiting for a friendly company under Captain Nisbett. When the enemy approached, their commanding officer placed the Tories in front, in order to conceal the dragoons ; and the little band of settlers were completely- deceived by the stratagem. Supposing the reinforcement for which they had been waiting was approaching, they were prepared to welcome them as friends, but the mo TAKEN PRISONER BY THE BRITISH 23 ment after they discovered their unfortunate mistake. Eleven of the number were taken prisoners, and the rest sought for safety in flight. ■ The two Jacksons were among those who escaped, and temporarily eluded pur- suit. They remained together during the ensuing night, and on the approach of morning concealed themselves in a thicket on the bank of a small creek, not far from the ouse of Lieutenant Crawford, who had been wounded nd made prisoner. Becoming very hungry, they left their horses in the wood, and ventured out to Craw- ford's for food. But a party of Tories, who were well acquainted with the country, and the passes through the forest, unfortunately passed the creek, in the mean time, at the very point where the horses and baggage had been left; and, guided by one of their number, whose name was Johnson, they approached the house, in com- pany with a small body of dragoons, and pr<-senled them- selves at the door, before the young Jacksons were aware of their approach. Resistance and flight were alike hopeless, and neither was attempted. Mrs. Crawford, with several children, one of whom was at the breast, were the inmates of the house. A scene of destruction immediately took place. All the glass, crockery, and other furniture, were dashed in pieces. The beds were ripped open, and the feathers scattered to the winds. The clothing of the whole family, men, women, and children, was cut and torn into frag- ments. Even the children's clothes shared the fate of the rest. Mercy for the wife and little ones of a hus- band and father, who was already wounded and in their hands, and doomed to imprisonment, if not death, touched not the hearts of these remorseless men, and no- thing was left to the terrified and wretched family, but the clothes they had on, and a desolate habitation. No attempt was made, by the British officer commanding, to arrest this destruction. While it was in progress, he ordered Andrew Jackson to clean his muddy boots. The young soldier refused, claiming to be treated with the respec due to a prisoner of war. Instead of admiring this manly spirit in one so young, the cowardly ruffian struck at hla 24t LIFE OF JACKSON. head with his sword ; but, throwing up his left hand, the intended victim received a ^ash upon it, the scar of which he carried to the grave. Turning to Robert Jackson, the officer ordered him to perform the menial task, and, re- ceiving a hke refusal, aimed a furious blow at his head also, and inflicted a wound from which he never recovered. After these exhibitions of ferocity, the party set Andrew Jackson upon a horse, and ordered him, on pain of instant death, to lead them to the house of a well-known Whig, by the name of Thompson. Apprehending that Thomp- son was at home, it occurred to his young friend that he might save him by a stratagem. At that time, when men were at home, they generally kept a look-out to avoid sur- prise, and had ahorse ready for flight. Instead of leading the party by the usual route, young Andrew took them through woods and fields, which brought them over an eminence in sight of the house, at the distance of half a mile. On reaching the summit, he beheld Thompson's horse tied to his rack, a sure sign that his owner was at home. The British dragoons darted forward, and, in breathless apprehension, Andrew Jackson kept his eye upon Thompson's horse. With inexpressible joy, he saw Thompson, while the dragoons were still a (ew hundred yards distant, rush out, mount his horse, dash into the creek which ran foaming by, and in a minute ascend the opposite bank. He was then out of pistol shot, and as his pursuers dared not swim the rapid stream, he stopped long enough to shout execration and defiance, and then rode leisurely off. Andrew Jackson and his brother, with about twenty other prisoners, were mounted on captured horses, and started for Camden, over forty miles distant. Not a mouth- ful of food, or drop of water, was given them on the route. The streams Avhich they forded had been swollen by re- cent rains ; but when they stooped to take up a little wa- ter in the palms of their hands, to assuage their burning thirst, they were ordered to desist by the brutal guard. Arrived at Camden, they were confined, with about two hundred and fifty other prisoners, in a redoubt surround- ing the jail, and overlooking the country to the north. No IMPRISONMENT AT CAMDEN. 25 attention was paid to their wounds or their wants. They had no beds, nor any substitute ; and their only food was a scanty supply of bad bread. They were robbed of a portion of their clothing, taunted by Tories with being re- bels, and assured that they would be hanged. Andrew Jackson himself was stripped of his jacket and shoes. With a refinement of cruelty, the Jacksons and their cou- sin, Thomas Crawford, two of them severely wounded, were separated as soon ;is their relationship was known, and kept in perfect ignorance of each other's condition or fate. In aggravation of their sufterings, the small-pox made its appearance among them. Not a step was taken to stay its progress or mitigate its afflictions. Without physicians or nurses, denied even the kind attentions and sympathy of relatives who were fellow-prisoners, their keepers left them to perish, not only without compassion, but with apparent satisfaction. One day Andrew Jackson was sunning himself in the entrance of his prison, when the officer of the guard, ap- parently struck with his youthful appearance, entered into conversation with him. With characteristic energy, the fearless lad described to him the condition of the pri- soners; and among the rest, their sufferings from the scantiness and bad quality of their food. Immediately meat was added to their bread, and there was otherwise a decided improvement. The Provost was a Tory from New York; and it was afterwards alleged that he with- held the meat he had contracted to supply for the support of the prisoners, to feed a gang of negroes, which he had collected from the plantations of the Whigs, with intent to convert them to his own use. During the confinement of the Waxhaw prisoners at Camden, General Greene made his unsuccessful attack on the British forces at that post under Lord Rawdon. The American army was encamped on Hobkirk's Hill, about a mile distant, and in full view of 'the redoubt in which the prisoners were confined. (3n the morning of the 24th ol April, Andrew Jackson became convinced, from what he saw and heard, that a battle was soon to take place. He A-Q-s exceedingly anxious to witness the confliict, but the 2 26 LIFE -^r JACKSON. thick plank fence that extended around the redoubt, com- pletf:>ly shut out the vi.nv of the surrounding country. Determined that he would not be foiled in his wish, he set himself at work with an old razor-b'ade, which had been given to the prisoners to eat their rations with, and by working the greater part of the night, he contrived to cut oneof the knots out of a plank, and through this obtained a view of Greene's encampment, and of the san- guinary struggle which took place on the following day. In a few days after the battle before Camden, the two Jacksons were released, in pursuance of a partial exchange effected by the intercessions and exertions of their mother, and Captain Walker of the militia. While he was con- fined in prison, Robert had suffered greatly from the wound in his head which had never been dressed. Inflamma- tion of the brain soon after ensued, which brought him to his grave, in a few days after his liberation. The mo- ther also, worn out with anxiety and solicitude for her chil- dren, and her incessant efforts to rtdieve the sufferings of the prisoners who had been brought from h.^r own neigh- borhood, was taken sick, and expired in a few week^, near the lints of the enemy in the vicinity of Charleston- These repeated afflictions were keenly felt by young .Tackson, and it was some time before he entirely reco- vered from the shock occasiolied by so sudden a bereave- ment. He was tenderly attached to his mother and bro- thej, and as they were his only relatives, their death must have been a severe blow to him. The buoyancy of youth, however, enabled him to beai up manfully against mis- fortune, and he soon after entered into the enjoyment of his estate, which, though small, was sufficient to have given him a liberal education. Unfortunately he had be- come quite intimate with a number of the most polished citizens of Charleston, w^ho had retired to the Wax haw settlement, during the occupation of that city by the Bri- tish, and had contracted habits, and imbibed tastes, which it was unwise in him to indulge. He accompanied his friends on their return to Charleston ; and, as he deter- mined not to be outdone by his associates, his money was expended so profusely that his whole patrimony v/aa HIS PECUNIARY DIFFICULTIES. 27 soon exhausted, and he was left with nothing but a fine horse which he had taken from the VVaxhaws. The ani- mal itself was at length staked against a sum of money, in a game of " rattle and snap." Jackson won the game ; and, forming a sudden resolution, he pocketed the money, bade adieu to his friends, and returned home. This occurrence took place in the winter of 17S4, and immediately after his return to the Waxhaws, Jackson collected the remains of his little property, with the in- tention of acquiring a profession, and preparing himself to enter on the busy scenes of life. After pursuing the study of the languages, and other desultory branches of education, under Mr. McCulloch, in that part of Carolina which was then called the New Acquisition, near Hill's Iron Works, for several months, he concluded to abandon the pulpit for which he had been dc^signed by his mother, and embraced the legal profession. In pursuance of this determination, he repaired to Salisbury, in North Carolina, and commenced the study of the law, under Spruce McCay, Esq., afterwards one of the judges of that state, and sub- sequently continued it under Colonel John Stokes. Hav- ing remained at Salisbury until the winter of 1786, he obtained a license from the judges to practice law, and continued in the state until the spring of 1788. As an evidence of the estimation in which his talents were at that time held by the influential men of North Carolina, he soon after received from the governor the appointment of Solicitor for the western district of that state, of which the present state of Tennessee then formed a part. The observations he was enabled to make while en- gaged in the study of his profession, had convinced him that North Carolina presented few inducements to a young attorney ; and recollecting that he stood solitary in life, without relations to aid him in the outset, when innumer- able diiTiCulties arise and retard success, he determined to seek a new country. But for this he might have again returned to his native state. The death, however, of every relation he had, had wiped away all those endear- ing recollections and circumstances which attach the mind to the place of its nativity. The western district of the 28 » i$rt^A. state was often spoken of, as presenting flatteung prospects to adventurers, and his official appointment in that quarter happened quite opportunely to enable him to carry out his intention of visiting that section of the country. In the year IT'^S, at the age of twenty-one years, he ac- companied Judge McNairy, who was going out to hold the first Supreme Court that had ever sat in the district. Having reached the Holston, they ascertained that it would be impossible to arrive at the time appointed for the ses- sion of the court ; and therefore took up their residence, for some time, at Jonesborough, then the principal seat of justice in the western district. They recommenced their journe3% in October, 1789, and passing through an ex tensive uninhabited country, reached Nashville in the same month. SETTLEMENTS ON THE CUMBERLAND, CHAPTER 11. 1789. Early settlements on the Cumberland — Hardships endured by Jackson, in the discharge of his official duties — Escape from the Indians — His presence of mind — Adventures in the wilderness- Locates at Nashville — Fruitless attempts to intimidate hnn — Indian depredations — Becomes acquainted with JVlrs. Robards — His mar- riage — A member of the Tennessee convention — Chosen a senator in Congress — His resignation, and appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court — Firmness and decision of character as a judge — Difficulty with Governor Sevier — Resigns his office, and devotes himself to agricultural pursuits. 1804. At the time of the first "^isit made by Andrevv Jackson, t: ti)e \iif3.n seit ^merits rn a:e Curaoer-ana '"er .nclud- >nor tnat at FiencL creeK near the present SKe o. Nash- vile aimosi all the settiers were resiaing in stations, and It was several years before it was entirely safe for them to spreaa over the country, and live in separate cabins. While the Shawanese from the north were carrying on perpetual war with the settlers in Kentucky, the Chero- kees and Choctaws from the south were wreaking their vengeance on the intruders upon their hunting-grounds in Tennessee. Twenty-two times during this period of danger and blood, did General Jackson, in the performance of his public and private duties, cross the wilderness of two hundred miles, then intervening between Jonesbo rough and the settlements on the Cumberland. The hardships and perils of those journeys it is difficult for travellers at the present day duly to appreciate. In addition to his rider, with a leaded rifle on his shoulder, the patient horse carried upon his back his master's blankets, provisions, and equipments. His food was the foliage of the bushes and the native grass. At a fire kindled from a tinder-box, or the flash of his rifle, the traveller roasted his bacon or wild meat on a stick, and cut 30 LIFE OF JACKSON. It with his hunter's, knife, while his fingers served him instead of forks. Wrapped in his blanket, with his rifle for a bed-fellow, and his horse standing by, he slept, with no roof to protect him but the boughs of the forest. With- out a water-proof hat or India-rubber coat, he was drenched to the skin by the falling rain. Often when he was hungry with fasting, and a dehcious pheasant, or plump deer was before him, he dared not kill it, lest the report of his rifle should give notice of his presence to a lurking savage. At one time when Jackson was traversing the wilder- ness alone, he came, after night, and amid torrents of rain, to a creek, the noise of whose tumbling waters, already swollen to a great depth, warned him not to attempt cross- ing the ford. Dismounting from his horse, and turning his saddle bottom upward, at the root of a tree, he wrapped his blanket around him, and with his rifle in one hand and his bridle in the other, sat upon it, with his horse stand- ing before him, listening to the roaring stream and the pattering of the raindrops on the leaves of the forest, until the return of day enabled him to proceed. On another occasion, he was in company with three companions, on his way from Jonesborougii to the Cum- berland. They arrived, just after dark, at the east side of the Emory, where it issues from the mountains, and dis- covered the fires of a large party of hostile Indians on tht opposite bank. The moment the discovery was made, Andrew Jackson, as if by instinct, assumed the direction of the party. He enjoined silence and instant retreat, and having retired some distance into the mountains, directed his companions to quit the road cautiously and at different points, so as to leave no distinct trace behind them, and to reunite, and proceed up the stream, for the purpose of crossing at some ford above and eluding the Indians. Guided by the noise of the waters, they progressed Hp ward among the mountains during the night, and, as soon as it was day, approached the stream. They found it too much swollen to be forded, and too rapid to be swam. Still apprehensive of pursuit, they resumed their march, and about two o'clock in the afternoon reached a place where (he stream, after dashing over a rou^h precipice. INCIDENTS OF THE WILDERNESS. 31 spread out with a lake-like surface, broken at a short dis- tance below by another cataract. Here the party, not feeh'ng safe until their trail was broken by the intervening stream, determined to attempt a passage. Binding logs and bushes together with hickory withes, they soon con- structed a small raft sufficient to convey three or four men, and affixed two rude oars to the bows, and one as a steer- ing-oar or rudder to the stern. It was cold, March weather, and very important to keep their clothes, blankets, and saddles, as well as their rifles and powder, from getting we":. To that end, it was concluded that Jackson and one of his companions shoukl first cross with every thing but the horses, and that on a second trip, they should be swam over alongside the raft. The craft was freighted accord- ingly, and pushed off from shore ; but in an instant, an irresistible under-current seized the rude flotilla, and hurled it down the stream. For a few moments, Jackson, who was at the oars, regardless of the shouts of his companions, who followed him downward on the bank, struggled with the flo.d ; but, perceiving that farther effort could only end in destruction, he reversed the direction of the raft, in the hope of r.^aching the shore he had left. Notwith- standing he exerted all his strength, he was unable to bring it to land ; and although within a [ijw feet, the suck of the cataract had already seized it. A moment more, and the raft, with its passengers, would have been dashed in pieces, when Jackson, wrenching one of his oars from Us fastenings, sprung to the stern, and bracing himsc'if there, held it out to his companions on shore, who seiz d it, and brought them safe to land. Being reproached for not h"eding their first warnings, Jackson coolly re- plied : " A miss is as good as a mile ; you see how near J can graze danger. Come on, and 1 wil' save you yet." He-equipping themselves and horses, they resumed their march up the stream ; and after spending another night, suj'perless, in the woods, found a ford the next day, and. by a circuitous route, reached a log cabin on the road, about forty miles in the rear of the Indian encampment. At another time, he reached Bean's station, the rendez- vous of a partv with whonr he was to cross the wilderness* 32 LIFE OF JACKSON. on the evening after they had left. Determined to ovei'ake them, he employed a guide well acquainted with Indian signs and stratagems, and travelled all night. Just befoie day, they came to the fires where the party had encamped the first part of the night. Following on, they soon dis- covered, by the trail in the road, that a party of Indians, about twenty-two in number, were in pursuit of their friends ahead. They hastened forward rapidly, until they approached so near the Indians that the water, which the weight of their tread had pressed O'Ut of the rotten logs, was not yet dry. The guide now refused to proceed ; but Jackson resolved to save his friends, or, at least, hazard his life in the attempt. Dividing provisions, he and his guide proceeded in opposite directions, Jackson cautiously advancing, and watching the tracks of the Indians. At length he saw where they had turned off to the right, probably for the purpose of getting ahead of the party, and attacking them from ambush, or falling upon them in the night. The danger was imminent, and pressing on with increased speed, he over'iook his friends before dark Having crossed a stream which \vas very deep and partly frozen over, the^'^ had halted and kindled fiyes, at which they were drying their clothes and baggage. Warned of their danger, they immediately resumed their march, and continued it without intermission^ during the whole night and the next day. The sky was overcast with clouds, and in the evening it began to snow. While upon the route, they arrived at the log cabins of a party of hunters^ and requested shelter and protection ; but, contrary to their expectations, for such churlishness was unusuai among men of their class, they were rudely refused. The party were therefore compelled to bivouac in the forest. Jackson was wearied with his fatiguing march, and as he had not closed his eyes for two nights, he wrapped him- self in his blanket, and laid down upon the ground, where he slept soundly. When he awoke in the morning, he found himself covered with six inches of snow. The party resumed their march, and reached their dcs tination in safety ; but they afterwards learned that the ESTABLISHES HIMSELF AT NASHVILLE. 33 hunters, who had refused them the hospitality of their cabins, had been murdered by the Indians. In the course of his frequent professional visits made from Jonesborough to the settlement on the Cumberland, the advantages of Nashville as a suitable locality in which to establish himself, attracted Jackson's notice, and he con- cluded to make it his future place of residence. It had not been his original intention to locate permanently in Tennessee. His visit was merely experimental, and his stay remained to be determined by the prospect that might be disclosed : but finding, soon after his arrival, that a con- siderable opening was offered for the success of a young attorney, he decided to remain. To a person of refined feel- ings, the condition of things was far from encouraging. As must be the case in all newly settled countries, society was loosely formed, and united by but [ew of those ties which have a tendency to enforce the performance of moral duty, and the execution of strict and impartial justice. The young men of the place, who were adventurers from dif- ferent sections of the union, had become deeply indebted to the merchants. There was but one lawyer in the country, and they had so contrived as to retain him in their business ; the consequence was, that the merchants were entirely deprived of the means of enforcing against those gentlemen the execution of their contracts. In this state of things, Jackson made his appearance at Nashville, and, while the creditor class looked to it with great satis- faction, the debtors were sorely displeased. Applications were immediately made to him for his professional ser- vices, and on the morning after his arival, he issued seventy writs. To those prodigal gentlemen it was an alarming circumstance ; their former security was im- paired ; but that it might not wholly depart, they deter- mined to force him, in some way or other, to leave tl)« country ; and to effect this, broils and quarrels with him were resorted to. In the state of society then existing in Tennessee, there was a grade of men who prided themselves on their courage and prowess, as mere buUies, and were always ready, like the brute beast, to decide the question of 8U- 2* 84 LIFB OF JACKSON. periority, by a fight. Equals in standing, who hated, but dared not encounter the fearless Jackson, stimulated this class of men to attack, in the hope of degrading, if they could not destroy him. The first man set upon him, with scarcely a pretence of provocation, was a flax-breaker of great strength and courage, whom he soon reduced to submission with his own winding-blades, the only weapon within his reach. His next encounter was at a court in Sumner county, with a noted bully whom he did not know. While he was conversing with a gentleman, on business, the bully approached, and without saying a word, placed his heels on Jackson's feet. Pushing him off, Jackson seized a slab, and with a forward thrust upon the breast, brought him to the ground. The interference of the crowd put an end to the conflict ; but the baflied bully, snatching a stake from the fence, again approached with dreadful imprecations. At the earnest entreaty of Jackson, the crowd retired from between them. Poising his slab, he then advanced, with a firm step and steady eye, upon his antagonist, who dropped his stake at his approach, jumped over the fence, and ran into the woods. These attempts to intimidate Jackson in the perform- ance of what he conceived to be his duty to his chents, were found wholly unavailing, and were soon abandoned. His enemies were convinced by the first controversy in which they had involved him, that his decision and firm- ness were such as to leave no hope of effectinir any thing through this channel. Disregarding the opposition mani- fested towards him, he continued, with care and industry, to press forward in his professional course ; and his atten- tion soon brought him forward, and introduced him to a profitable practice. The western district of North Caro- lina having been ceded to the national government, an erected into a territory, in 1790, Jackson was appointed, bj president Washington, the United States attorney for the new judicial district, in which capacity he continued to act for several years. The depredations committed by the Indians, in the vici- nity of the Cumberland river, about this time, compelled every man, of necessity, to become a soldier. Unassisted INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 85 by the government, the settlers were forced to rely, for security, on their own bravery and exertions. Although youncf, no person was more distinguished than Andrew Jackson, in defending the country against these predatory incursions of the savages, who continually harassed the frontiers, and not un frequently approached the heart of the settlements, which were thin, but not widely extended. Frequent expeditions were undertaken from Nashville against them, in most of which he took part. This state of things continued until 1791, when a large party, among whom was Jackson, attacked and destroyed the Indian town of Nickaj-ik, near the Tennessee river. In these a^iirs, his courage and gallantry were so conspicuous, that the red wr^rriors gave him the appellation of "Sharp Knife," and the hardy hunters who accompanied hiui were proud of his friendship and esteem. When Jackson first located himself in Nashville, he board, d, in company with the late Judge Overton, in the family of Mrs. Donelson, a widow lady who had emigrated from Virginia, first to Kentucky, and afterwards to Nash- ville. Mrs. Robards, her daughter, who afterwards be- came the wife of Jackson, was then living in the farnil}' with her mother, whom she had followed to Tennessee, on account of the ill treatment which she had received at the hands of her husband, who was dissipated in his ha- bits and of a morose and jealous disposition, while she, on the contrary, was celebrated for her gayety, sweetness, and affability. A short time before Jackson became an inmate of the family, a reconciliation had taken place be- tween Robards and his wife'; but a second rupture afterwards occurred, and Robards went to Kentucky. His wife soon learned that he intended to compel her to accompany him, and, in the spring of 1791, with the advice of lier friends^ she determined to descend the river as far as Natchez, in company with Colonel Stark, who was then making pre- parations for the voyage. At the earnest request of Colo- nel Stark, Jackson piloted his family through the Indian country. After his return, Judge Overton communicated to him the astounding intelligence, that he was the uncoti do LIFE OF JACKSON. scious cause of the last separation ; that it arose from Ro bards' jealousy of him; and that the circumstance of his accompanying Colonel Stark, who was an elderly man, and apprehensive of danger, had been seized upon by Robards as a ground of divorce, in a petition to the Virginia legis lature. The thought that an innocent woman was suffering so unjustly on his account, made Jackson^s sensitive mind most uneasy and unhappy. He immediately sought out Robards and expostulated with him, on the injustice and cruelty of his causeless suspicion ; but the interview ended in mutual defiances. At length news came that the Vir- ginia legislature had actually granted the divorce in ac- cordance with Robards' petition. Forthwith Jackson has- tened to Natchez, and oflered his hand and his heart to the innocent and amiable woman, who had been made so un- happy by false and unfounded accusations, in order that he might give the world the highest evidence in his power of her entire innocence. Although free to form a new connection, Mrs. Robards declined the proffered offer. But her suitor was not to be denied. His feelings were warmly enlisted in her favor. His attachment for her was ardent and sincere, and when he addressed her in the language of Ruth to iVaomi : " Entreat me not to leave thee or to return from following after thee, for where thou goest I will go, where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God ; where thou diest I will die, and there will I be buried," she found herself unable to resist his importunities, and they were soon after married and re- turned to Tennessee. On arriving there, it was discovered that all the necessary forms to complete the divorce in Virginia had not been finished at the time of the marriage; consequently the ceremony was again performed after their arrival at Nashville. The attachment thus consum- mated was a source of unfailing pleasure to Andrew Jack- son. He was devotedly fond of his wife ; after her decease he cherished her memory with an almost holy reverence; and he refused the sarcophagus of the Emperor Sev^rus, CHOSEN A SENATOR IN CONGRESS. 37 that he might not be denied the privilege of being buried by her side.* In the year 1796, measures were taken by the people of Tennessee to form a state government. The acknow- ledged talents, patriotism, and decision of character, of Andrew Jackson were not to be overlooked on such an occasion, and without solicitation on his part, he was elected one of the members of the convention to frame a state constitution. His good conduct and zeal for the public interest, and the republican feelings and sentiments which were conspicuously manifested in the formation and arrangement of this instrument, brought him more pro- minently to view ; and, without proposing or soliciting the office, he Avas in the same year elected a member of the House of Representatives in Congress, for the state of Tennessee. The following year, his reputation con- tinuing to increase, and his constituents generally concur- ring in the wish to elevate him to still higher honors, he was chosen a senator in Congress, and took his seat on the 22d day of November, 1797. About the middle of April, 179S, iDusiness of an importani and private nature im- posed on him the necessity of asking leave of absence, and returning home. Leav^e was granted, and before the next session he resigned his seat. He was but little more than thirty years of age ; and nence scarcely ehgible by the constitution, at the time he was elected. The sedition law, about which so much concern and feeling had been mani- fested through the country, was introduced into the senate by Mr. Lloyd, of Maryland, in June, 179S, and passed that body on the 4th of July following; hence the name of Jackson, owing to his absence from his seat, does not appear on the journals. At the time of the passage of the alien law, and the effort to repeal the stamp act, he was present, and voted with the minority, in accordance with his well-known republican sentiments. Shortly after his resignation of the office of senator, the legislature of Tennessee, most unexpectedly to himself, conferred upon him the appointment of judge of the Su- * See page 373. 38 LIFE OF JACKSON. preme Court, a station which he accepted with reluctance, and from which he withdrew at an early day. His first court was held at Jonesborough, where an incident oc- curred, iUustrative alike of the rudeness of the times and the firmness of the new judge : A man named Russell Bean was indicted for cutting off the ears of his infant child in a drunken frolic. He was in the courtyard ; but such was his strength and ferocity, tiiat the sheriff, not daring to approach him, made a return to the court that "Russell Bean will not be taken." Judge Jackson, with his peculiar emphasis, said that such a re- turn was an absurdity, and could not be received. " He must be taken," said the judge, "and, if necessary, you must summon the pu\se cojnitalus.^^ The mortified sheriff retired, and waiting until the court adjourned for dinner, summoned the judges themselves, as part of the posae. Conceiving that the object of the sheriff was to avoid a dangerous service, under cover of the judges' re- fusal to obey the summons. Judge Jackson instantly replied, " Yes, sir, 1 will attend you, and see that you do your duty." Learning that Bean was armed, he requested a loaded pistoi, which was put into his hand. He then said to the sheriff: "Advance and arrest him ; I will pro- tect you from harm." Bean,arined with a dirk and brace of pistols, assumed an attitude of defiance and despera- tion. But when the judge drew near, he began to retreat. "Stop and subaiit to the law," cried the judge. The cul- prit stopped, threw down his pistols, and replied, "I w^ill surrender to you, sir, but to no one else." This exem- plary firmness and decision of Judge Jackson, in main- taining the supremacy of the law, produced a happy change in the conduct of the turbulent spirits of the vi- cinity. General Jackson was distinguished throughout his who! life for a remarkable fidelity to his friends. This trait in his character was strikingly exhibited in the progress of a serious difficuhy between Governor Sevier and himself, which took place in 1803. A misunderstanding arose between Jackson and his former friend, Judge McNairy, growing out of the agency of the latter in the removal of FIRMNESS AND DECISION AS A JUDGE. 39 jreneral Robertson, one of the oldest and most respected citizens of the state, from the office of acrent for the Chicka- saw Indians. One of the consequences of that removal was, that a Mr. Searcy, who had emigrated to the country with them, and continued their steadfast friend, lost his office as clerk to the agency, on which he depended for support. Not perceiving any public reasons requiring this removal, Jackson remonstrated with McNairy on the course he had pursued. An altercation ensued, which produced an alienation never entirely obliterated. This incident added the weight of a respectable and powerful family to the hostile interests already arrayed against him. Among others who became inimical towards him on this account, was John Sevier, governor of the slate. Sevier was very popular, and being a candidate for re- election, in 1803, his exasperation against General Jackson was imbibed, in the course of the canvass, by the power- ful party which supported him. In East Tennessee it had arisen to a high pilch ; and while on his way to Jonesborough to hold his court, in the fall of 1803, he was informed that a combination had been organized to mob him on his arrival. It had no effect but to increase his anxiety to reach his destination Having been sick on the road, he pushed forward while scarcely able to sit on his horse, and on his arrival at Jonesborough could not dismount without assistance. Having a high fever upon him, he retired immediately to his room, and lay down upon the bed. in a short tmie a friend called, and in- formed him that a regiment of men, headed by Colonel Harrison, had assembled to tar and feather him, and begged him to lock his door. He immediately rose, threw the door wide open, and said to his friend, "Give my compliments to Colonel Harrison, and tell him my door is open to receive him and his regiment whenever they choose to wait upon me ; and I hope the colonel's chiv^alry will induce him to lead his men, and not follow them." Upon the delivery of his message, the mob dispersed ; and having apologized for the inconsiderate violence of his conduct, Harrison remained ever after on good terms with General Jackson. 40 LIFE OF JACKSON. His next court was at Knoxville, where the legislature was then in session. They had entered into an investi- gation of certain land frauds which Jackson had done much to defeat, and there was some evidence tending to impli- cate the governor, who consequently became still more highly exasperated, and determined to revenge himself. As Judge Jackson left the court-house on the first day of his court, he found a crowd in front, in the midst of whicli stood Governor Sevier, with his sword in his hand, ha ranguing them in a loud voice. As Jackson advanced, the governor turned upon him ; and an altercation en- sued, in which insults were given and retorted. Being repeatedly defied by the governor to meet him in single eombat, the general sent him a challenge, which was ac- cepted. But in consequence of difficulties on the part of £he challenged party, as to the lime and place of meeting, the general published him in the usual form. It was then understood, without any formal arrangement, that they would meet at a place called Southwest Point, within the Indian boundary. Thither the general repaired with a single friend. Having waited a couple of days, wiihout seeing or hearing of the governor, he resolved to return to Knoxville, and bring the quarrel to a close. He had not proceeded a mile, however, when he saw the governor approaching, escorted by about twenty men. He 'had already prepared another note to the governor, setting forth his manifold grievances, and halting in the road, he sent his friend forward lo deliver it. The governor re- fused to receive it. Out of patience with what he con- ceived to be an aggravation of former indignities, tbe general resolved to end the matter on the spot. He was armed with a brace of pistols at his saddle-bow, and a cane ; the governor with a brace of pistols and a sword. Advancing slowly until within one hundred yards of the governor, he levelled his cane as ancient knights did their spears, put spurs to his horse, and charged upon his an- tagonist. Astounded at this bold and unexpected move- ment, the governor's friends had not presence of mind enough to interpose ; and the governor himself, dismount- ing to avoid the shock, trod on the scabbard of his sword RETIRES TO PRIVATE LIFE. 41 and was rendered incapable of resistance. A rally of his attendants prevented any very serious mischief. In the governor's parly were gentlemen who were as much the friends of General Jackson asof himself ; and through their intercession, all further hostile intentions were abandoned, and the parties rode on some miles together. On the admission of Tennessee into the union, it com- prised one military division. The death of Major-general Conway, which occurred about this time, created a va- cancy in the office, which was filled by the election of Jackson. This was the only public station he filled for a number of years, as, in 18U4, he sent in his resignation of the judgeship to the legislature, which was accepted in July, about six years after his original appointment. He always distrusted his own abilities as a judge, and was quite willing that others should discharge its intricate and re- sponsible duties. Unambitious of obtaining those distinc- tions and honors, which young men are usually proud to possess, and finding too that his circumstances and con diiion in life were not such as to permit his time and at- tention to be devoted to public matters, he determined to yield them into other hands, and to devote himself to agricultural pursuits. He accordingly settled himself on an excellent farm, ten miles from Nashville, on the Cum- berland river, where for several years he enjoyed all the comforts of domestic and social intercourse. Abstracted from the busy scenes of public life, pleased with retire- ment, surrounded by friends whom he loved, and who entertained for him the highest veneration and respect, and blessed with an amiable and affectionate wife, nothing seemed wanting to the completion of that happiness which he so anxiously desired while in office. 42 LIFB OF JACKSON. CHAPTER HI. 1804. Fondness of General Jackson for horses — Duel with Dickinson — Forms a mercantile partnership — Pecuniary difficulties — Adven- ture with the Choctaw agent — Aft'ray with Colonel Benton — Their subsequent friendship for each other — Hostilities with Great Britain • — Declaration of war in 1812 — Jackson raises a volunteer force— Their services accepted by government — Ordered to embark for Natchez — Arrival of the troops, and order lo lisband them — His disobedience of orders — Attempt of General ^' Ikinson to prevent the return of the volunteers — Object of the ora^^r — Jackson's de- cision exhibited — Shares the privations of ihe S(,' lerson thnir home- ward march — Return, and disbandment of his r e. 1813. General Jackson had a strong passion r fine horses and it became a principal branch of his fan ng business, to raise them from the best blooded stock u;i ported from Virginia and North Carohna. The enthussiasm of his character disi^layed itself in his attachment to favorite animals he had raised, and perhaps no man in the west- ern country was equally successful in that branch of agri- cultural pursuits. More for the purpose of exhibiting his stock and recommending it to purchasers, than to indulge in the practices common at such places, he brought out his favorite horses upon the race-courses of the day, and, though not a sportsman, in the technical sense of the term, he lost and won in many a well-contested field. An occa- sion of this sort, howev-er, led to one of the most unfor- tunate incidents of his life. He owned a favorite horse, named Truxton, which \ was challenged to run against a horse owned by a Mr. Erwin and his son-in-law, Charles Dickinson. The stakes were to be two thousand dollars on a side, in cash notes, with a forfeiture of eight hundred dollars. The bet was accepted, and a hst of notes made out; but when the time for running arrived, Erwin and Dickinson chose to pay the DUEL WITH DICKINSON. 43 I forfeit. Erwin offered sundry notes not due, withholding the list which was in the hands of Dickinson. Jacl^son Irefused to receive them, and demanded the Hst, claiming [the right to select from the notes described upon it. The list iwas produced, a selection made, and the affair satisfacto- rily adjusted. Afterwards a rumor reached Dickinson, that General Jackson charged Erwin with producing a list of lotes different from the true one. In an interview between ackson and Dickinson, the former denied the statement, and the latter gave his author. Jackson instantly proposed to call him in ; but Dickinson declined. Meeting with the author shortly after, Jackson had an altercation with him, which ended in blows. Here the affiir ought to have ended. But there were those who desired to produce a duel between Jackson and Dickinson. The latter was brave and reckless, a trader in blacks and blooded horses, and reputed to be the best shot in the country. A quar- rel with such a man as General Jackson was flattering to his pride, and officious friends were not wanting to take advantage of the weakness of the one party, and the in- flexibility of the other, in order to push matters to extremi- ties. Exasperation was produced ; publication followed publication ; insults were given and retorted ; until, at length, General Jackson was informed that a paper, more severe than its predecessors, was in the hands of the printer, and that Dickinson was about to leave the state. He flew to Nashville, and demanded a sight of it in the printer's hands. It was msuking m the highest degree, contained a direct imputation of cowardice, and concluded with a notice that the author would leave for Maryland, within the coming week. A stern challenge, demanding immediate satisfaction, was the consequence. The chal- lenge was given on the 23d of May, and Dickinson's pub- hcation appeared the next morning. Jackson pressed for an instant meeting ; but it was postponed, at the request of the other party, until the 8()th, at which time it was to take place, at Harrison's Mills, on Red River, within the limits of Kentucky. Dickinson occupied the inter- mediate time in practicing; and his ferocious boasts, how often he had hit the general chalked out on a tree, and his 44 LIFE OF JACKSON. unfeeling offers to bet that he would kill him at the ap- proaching meeting, being duly communicated, had an effect upon his antagonist which can be better conceived than described. Jackson went upon the ground firmly- impressed with the conviction that his life was eagerly- sought, and in the expectation of losing it, but with a de- termination which such a conviction naturally inspired in a bosom that never knew fear. At the word, Dickinson fired, and the dust was seen to fly from Jackson's clothes; the next instant, the latter fired, and Dickinson fell. Jack- son, with his friend and surgeon, left the ground, and had travelled about twent)?- miles towards home, when his at- tendant first discovered that the general was wounded, by seeing the blood oozing through his clothes. On examina- tion, it was found that Dickinson's ball had buried itself in his breast, and shattered two of his ribs near their arti- culation with the breastbone. It was some weeks before he was able to attend to business. Dickinson was taken to a neighbouring house, where he survived but a few hours. The friends of Dickinson, and the enemies of Jackson, circulated charges of unfairness in the fight, bai ihe^e were soon put down, in the estimation of candid and mi- partial judges, by the certificates of the seconds, that all had been done according to the previous understanding between the parties, and proof that Dickinson himself, though able to converse, never uttered a single word of complaint before his death. The firmness and steadiness of nerve exhibited by Ge- neral Jackson on this occasion, have often been the subject of commendation, even among those who do not hesitate to condemn, in decided terms, the inexcusable practice, which was then not only tolerated, but actually encou- raged, in that section of the country. There are many brave men who can look danger in the face, without the change of a muscle ; but there are few who can take a sure aim, at the moment when they are conscious of being severely wounded. Not a man on the ground, except General Jackson himself, knew that he had received a wound ; and every muscle was as quiet, and his hand as ADVENTURE WITH THE CHOCTAW AGENT. 45 Steady, as if he had not known it himself. The stern pur- pose which might in part have nerved him, was best de- scribed by himself, when a friend expressed astonishment at his self-command : " Sir," said he, " I should have killed him, if he had shot me through the brain." Not long after this occurrence. General Jackson entered into partnership with a merchant in Nashville. He took no active part in the business himself, and their affairs were conducted for some time, without his having any more than a general knowledge of what was going on. Circumstances, however, soon attracted his attention, which led him to suspect that all was not right. He promptly demanded a full investigation, which resulted in the dis- covery that his partner, in whose fidelity and capacity he had reposed the most implicit confidence, had involved him for many thousand dollars, over and above what could be satisfied out of the partnership property. With a prompt- itude which did him great honor, he sold his fine planta- tion, paid off' his debts with the proceeds of the sale, and retired into a log-cabin to begin the world anew. His ex- traordinary energy and perseverance, and the rigid system of econom}^ he adopted, enabled him in a few years to recover from his embarrassments, and to be once more com- fortable in the world. In the year iSll, General Jackson had occasion to visit Natchez, in the territory of Mississippi, for the purpose of bringing up a number of blacks, a part of whom had be- come his property in consequence of having been secu'^ity for a friend, and the remainder were hands which ^ad been employed by a nephew, in the neighborhood of that place. The road led through the country inhabited by the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians, and the station of the agent for the Choctaws was upon it. On reaching the agency, he found seven or eight families of emigrants, and two members of the Mississippi legislative council, detained there, under the pretence that it was necessary for them to have passports from the governor of Mississippi. CVne of their number had been sent forward to procure thrm. In the mean time, the emigrants were buying corn fr'^m he agent, at an extravagant price, and splitting rails for 46 LIFE OF JACKSON. him at a very moderate one. Indignant at the wrong- in- flicted on the emigrants, he reproached the members of the council for submitting to the detention, and asked the a^nt how he dared to demand a pass from a free Ame- rican, travelliii'g on a pubHc road. The agent repHed, by- inquiring, with much temper, whether he had a pass. *' Yes, sir," rejoined the general, " I always carry mine with me : I am a free-born American citizen ; and tha is a passport all over the world." He then directed th emigrants to gear up their wagons, and if any one at- tempted to obstruct them, to shoot him down as a highway robber. Setting them the example, he continued his jour- ney, regardless of the threats of the agent. After concluding his business, he was informed that the agent had collected about fifty white men and one hundred Indians, to slop him on his return, unless he produced a passport. Though advised by his friends to procure one, he refused to do so ; stating that no American citizen should ever be subjected to the insult and indignity of procuring a pass, to enable him to travel a public highway in his own country. Like all travellers among the In di-ans, at that time, he was armed with a brace of pistols; and having added a rifle, and another pistol, he commenced his return journey. When within a few miles of the agency, he was informed by a friend who had gone for- ward to reconnoitre, that the agent had his force in readi- ness to stop him. He directed his friend to advance again, and tell the agent, that if he attempted to stop him, it would be at the peril of his life. He then put his blacks in order, and armed them with axes and clubs ; at the same time telling them not to stop unless directed by him, and if anv one offered to oppose them, to cut him down. Riding by their side, he approached the station, when the agent appeared, and asked him whether he meant to stop and show his passport. Jackson replied : " That depends on circumstances. I am told that you mean to stop me by force ; whoever attempts such a thing will not have long to live ;" and with a look that was not to be mistaken, he grasped his bridle with a firmer grip. His determined manner had such an effect, that the agent declared he had AFFRAY WITH COLONEL BENTON. 47 no intention of stopping him, and he and his party were suffered to pass on, without further molestation or inter- ruption. He afterwards reported the conduct of the agent to the government, and he Avas dismissed from his agency. After the return of General Jackson from Naichez, he was called upon by his frit nd, the late Governor Carroll, to act as his second, in an affair of honor with a brother of Colonel Thomas H. Benton, for so many years the distin- guished representative of the state of Missouri, in the senate of the United States. In the duel, Mr. Benton was severely wounded. The colonel, who had long been on terms of friendly intimacy with Jackson, thought that the latter acted ungenerously, in taking such a part against his kinsman, and exj>ressed himself accordingly in a let- ter addressed to him. General Jackson, however, felt himself bound by the relations which had existed between Governor Carroll and himself, to perform the act of friend- ship which he required, and replied to that effect, in very pointed terms. The angry correspondence that ensued only widened the breach, and it endtd. in a fight at a pub- lic-house in Nashville, in which Jackson's left arm was shattered by a pistol shot. For sever?ri"years afterwards, both gentlemen appeared to cherish feelings of animosity towards each other, but the political associations of a later day united them together in the bonds of a sincere and constant friendship. The many noble traits in the cha- racter of Andrew Jackson elicited the warmest admiration and respect of Colonel Benton, while the former was proud to manifest his attachment to one of the firmest and ablest' supporters of his administration. The repose of Jackson, and the pleasures he had en- ioyed in his quiet home, were now destined to be termi- nated by the public exigencies, which compelled him to abandon the peaceful pursuits of agriculture for the ha- rassing cares and anxieties of a military career. The difiicuities between the United States and Great Britain, which had originated with the adoption of the Orders in Council, and the passage of the Embargo Act, in 1807, had long threatened to disturb the peace of the two countries. In the spring of 1811, affairs began to assume a most 48 LIFE OF JACKSON. threatening- aspect. On the first of March, the American minister, Mr. Pinckney, took a formal leave of the Prmce Regent, in obedience to the instructions of his government. Active preparations were at once made for the commence- ment of hostilities. Privateers were fitted out in every harbor, and throughout the whole extent of the Union, there prevailed a strong feeling of indignation at the re- pealed wrongs and injuries which our countrymen had endured from the English government. The war-spirit was aroused, and, from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, there glowed a strong and manly enthusiasm which bounded to defend the honor of the nation, and maintain, at any sacrifice, the " searchless shelter" of their flag. In accord- ance with the decided expressions of public sentiment, the American Congress passed an act, in the month of Feb- ruary, 1812, authorizing the president to accept the ser- vices of a large volunteer force. On the 20th day of June war was declared against Great Britain, and in July fol lowing, a second act was passed, making further provisions for calling out fifty thousand volunteers. At this time, General Jackson was living happily on hi? farm, and, though only forty-five years of age, he had re- tired, as he thought, for ever, from all participation in public alTairs. But the fire of that true and devoted pa- triotism which never ceased to glow in his bosom, needed but the quickening spark, to cause it to revive with all the fervor of youth. He was roused by the insults that had been so repeatedly offered to his country, by the wrongs inflicted upon her citizens, and by the bitter recollections connected with the death of his mother and his two bro- thers. He could recall the many horrid tales, to which he had listened, of English cruelty and oppression in the birth-place of his ancestors. There was also that scar on his hand, inflicted by a British officer, who had aimed a blow at his life because he had refused to clean the dirt from his boots ; that scar remained to keep his virtuous resentment alive, even if he could otherwise have for- gotten the injuries of his native land, the wrongs of Ire- land, and the extermination of every relative in the Horld , RAISES' A VOLUNTEER FORCE. 4& Jackson did not seek a commrmd in the regular army, out immediately issued a spirited address to the citizens of his division, calling upon them to unite with him in protecting the rights and the honor of the republic. In a few days twenty-five hundred volunteers flocked to his standard, ready to follow wheresoever he might see fit to lead them. A tender of their services having been made to the general government, and the offer accepted, he re ceived orders in November, 1812, to place himself at their head and to descend the Mississippi, for the defence of the lower country, which was then supposed to be in danger Accordingly, on the 10th of December, 1812, the men under his command rendezvoused at Nashville, prepared to advance to the place of their destination ; and although the weather was then excessively severe, and the ground covered with snow, no troops could have displayed greater firmness. The general was everywhere with them, in- spiring them with the ardor that animated his own bosom. The cheerful spirit with which they submitted to hard- ships and bore privations, at the very outset of their mili- tary life, as well as the order and subordination they so readily observed, were happy presages of what was to be expected when the}?- should be directed to face an enemy. Having procured supplies, and made the necessary arrangements for an active campaign, the volunteers com- menced their journey on the 7th of January, 1813, and descending the Ohio and Mississippi through cold and ice, arrived and halted at Natchez. Here Jackson had been instructed to remain until he should receive further orders. Having chosen a healthy site for the encamp- ment of his troops, he devoted his time with the utmost industry, to training and preparing them for active service. The clouds of war in that quarter having temporarily blown over, an order was received, soon after his arrival, from the Secretary of War, dated the 5th of January, 1813, directing him, on the receipt thereof, to di-miss the men under his command from service, and to take measures for delivering over every article of public property in his possession to Brigadier-General Wilkinson. 3 50 LIFE OF JACKSON. When this order reached the camp of General Jackson, there were one hundred and fifty men on the sick report, fifly-six of whom were unable to rise from their beds, and almost tlie whole number were without the means of de- fraying the expenses of their return. The consequence of a strict compliance with the Secretary's order, would inevitably have been, that many of the sick must have perished, while most of the others, from their destitute condition, would, of necessity, have been compelled to enlist in the regular army, under General Wilkinson. Such alternatives were neither congenial with their ge- neral's wishes, nor such as they had expected, on ad- venturing with him in the service of their country. He had taken them from home, and he regarded it as a solemn duty to bring them back. Whether an expectation that, by this plan, many of them would be forced into the regular ranks, had formed any part of the motive that occasioned the order for their discharge, at so great a dis- tance from home, cannot be known ; and it would be un- charitable to insinuate against the government so serious an accusation, without the strongest evidence to support it. Be this as it may. General Jackson could not think of sacrificing, or injuring, an army that had shown such devotedness to their country ; and he determined to dis- regard the order, and march them again to their homes, where they had been embodied, rather than to discharge thein where they would be exposed to the greatest hard- ships and dangers. To this measure he was prompted, not only by the reasons already mentioned, but by the consideration that many of them were young men, the children of his neighbors and acquaintances, who had de^ livered them into his hands, as to a guardian, with the ex- p 'Ctation that he would watch over and protect them. To have abandoned them, therefore, at such a time, and under such circumstances, would have drawn on him the ' merited censure of the most deserving part of his fellow- citizens, and deeply wounded his own generous feelings. In addition to this, the young men who were confined by sickness, learning the nature of the order he had received, implored him, with tears in their eyes, not to abandon DISOBEDIENCE OF ORDERS. 51 them in so great an extremity, and reminded him, at the same time, of his assurance that he would be to them as a father, and of the imphcit confidence they had placed in his word. This was an appeal which it w^ould have been difficult for Jackson to have resisted, had he been inclined to disregard other considerations ; but influenced by them all, he had no hesitation in coming to a determination. Having made known his resolution to the field-officers f his division, it apparently met their approbation ; but after retiring from his presence, they assembled late at night, in secret caucus, and proceeded to recommend to him an abandonment of his purpose, and an immediate discharge of the troops. Great as was the astonishment which this movement excited in the general, it produced a still stronger feehng of indignation. In reply, he urged the duplicity of their conduct, and reminded them that although to those who possessed mone-y and health, such a course could produce no inconvenience, yet to the unfortunate soldier, who was alike destitute of both, no measure could be more calamitous. He concluded, by telling them, that his resolution, not having been hastily concluded on, nor founded on light considerations, was unalterably fixed ; and that immediate preparations must be made for carrying into execution the determination he had formed. He lost no time in making known to the Secretary of War the- resolution he had adopted, to disregard the order he had received, and to return his army to the place where he had received it. He painted, in strong terms, the evils which the course pursued by the government Avas calcu lated to produce, and expressed the astonishment he felt, that it should ever have been seriously determined on. General Wilkinson, to w4iom the public stores were directed to be delivered, learning the determination which had been taken by Jackson to march his troops back, and to take with them such articles as might be necessary for their return, in a letter of solemn and mysterious import admonished him of the consequences which were before liim, and of the awful and dangerous responsibility he was taking on himself by so bold a measure. General Jack- 52 LIFE OF JACKSON. son replied, that his conduct, and the consequences to which it might lead, had been deliberately weighed, and well considered, and that he was prepared to abide the result, whatever it might be. Wilkinson had previously- given orders to his officers, to recruit from Jackson's army ; but they were advised, on their first appearance, that those troops were already in the service of the United States, and that, thus situated, they should not be enlisted ; and that General Jackson would arrest, and confine, the first officer who dared to enter his encampment with any such object in view. The quarter-master, having been ordered to furnish the necessary transportation for the conveyance of the sick and the baggage to Tennessee, immediately set about the performance of the task ; but, as the event proved, without any intention to execute it. Still he continued to keep up the semblance of exertion ; and, on the very day before that which had been appointed for breaking up the en- campment and commencing the return march, eleven wagons arrived there by his order. But early the next morning, when every thing was about to be packed up, he entered the encampment, and discharged the whole. He was grossly mistaken, however, in the man he had to deal with, and had now played his tricks too far to be able to accomplish the object, which, without doubt, he had been intrusted to effect. Disregarding their dismissal, so evi- dently designed to prevent marching back his men, Ge- neral Jackson seized upon the wagons, yet within his lines, and compelled them to proceed in the transporta- tion of his sick. Among them was a young man, reported by the surgeon to be in a dying condition, whom it was useless to remove. " Not a man shall be left who has life in him," said the general. The young man was lifted into a wagon, in a state of torpor, and wholly insensible. The melancholy march commenced ; and the general, with parental solicitude, passed along the train, taking special care that the invalids, in position and appliances, should have every comfort of which their situation was susceptible. With peculiar anxiety, he watched the ap- parently dying youth, as he was jostled by the movements StrrFERINGS ON THE MARCH HOME. 53 of the wagon. At length the young man opened his eyes, and the next instant exclaimed, " Where am I ?" " On yonr way home, m}^ good fellow," repHed the general, in a cheering tone. The effect was electric ; he improved from that moment, and in a few weeks the general had the pleasure of restoring him, in good health, to his family and friends. It deserves to be mentioned, that the quarter-master, as soon as he received directions for furnishing transportation, had despatched an express to General Wilkinson ; and there can be little question, that the course of duplicity he afterwards pursued, was a concerted plan between him and that general, to defeat the design of Jackson, compel him to abandon the determina- tion he had formed, and, in this way, draw to the re- gular army many of the soldiers, who would be driven to enlist. In this attempt they were fortunately disap- pointed. Adhering to his original purpose. General Jack- son successfully resisted every stratagem of Wilkinson, and marched the whole of his division to the section of country whence they had been drawn, and dismissed them from service, in the spring of 1818. In addition to the philanthropic act we have just de- tailed. General Jackson gave up his own horses to the sick, and, trudging along on foot, submitted to all the pri- vations that were endured by the soldiers. It was at a time of the year when the roads were extremely bad ; and the swamps along their route were deep and full ; yet, under these circumstances, he gave his troops an example of patience and endurance of hardship that lulled to silence all complaints, and won for him additional respect and esteem. On arriving at Nashville, he communicated to the president of the United States the course he had pur- sued, and the reasons that had induced it. If it had be- come necossary, he had sufficient g-rounds on which he could have justified his conduct. Had he suffered Gene- ral Wilkinson to have accomplished what was clearly his intention, although it was an event which might, at the moment, have benefited the service, by adding an in- creased strength to the army, yet the example would have been of so serious and exceptionable a character, that in- 54 LIFE OF JACKSON. jury would have been the final and unavoidable result Whether the intention of thus forcing these men to enlist into the regular ranks, had its existence under the direc- tion of the government or not, such would have been the universal belief; and all would have felt a deep abhor- rence, at beholding the citizens of the country drawn off from their homes under pretence of danger; while the concealed design was, to reduce them to such necessity, at a distance from their residence, as to compel them to an act which they would have avoided under different cir- cumstances. His conduct, exceptionable as it might at first appear, was, in the end, approved, and the expenses incurred were directed to be paid by the government. General Armstrong, the secretary of war, by whom the cruel and unfeeling order was issued, was soon after se- verely censured, and forced to resign his seat in the cabi- net, on account of his cu.pable neglect to provide suitable means of defence for the city of Wasiimgton. The re- putation of General Wilkinson, who had been apDOLn:ed to supplant JacKson» was also tarnjshed, ov ms unforfanate operfitioas in Caniaaa, auimg the campaign or' iS14 INDIAN HOSTILITIES. 65 CHAPTER IV. i8)3. Depredations committed by the Creeks on the borders of Ten- nessee and Kentucky — Attack on Fort Mimms — Preparations for \var — Jackson calls out the volunteers and miii'ia — Address to the troops — Takes the field — Enforces strict military discipline — Rapid march to Huntsville — Delay in forwarding supplies — Thwarted in his movenieuts by (general Cocke — Jealousy of the latter — Scarci- ty oi' provi-ioiis — Efforts of Jackson to procure supplie-s — Address to ihe soldiers on en'ering the enemy's country — Arrival at the "^re:! Islands — Difficulty with the contractors — Destitute conditioa of ihe army — Banle of 'I'allushatchee— Humanity of Jackson — His adopiiua of an Indian boy. 1S13. The repose of General Jackson and his volunteers was of short duration. They had scarcely reached their homes, when the Indian nations scattered over the territory com- posing the states of Alabama and Mississip})i, made in- cursions into Tennessee and Kentucky, and committed the most savage murders and cruelties. The frontier settlements were constantly harassed by their depreda- tions, and one atrocious act of barbarity followed so close- ly on another, that the inhabitcints began to fear the w^orsl from the revengeful spirit which 'i'ecumseh, and his bro- ther, the prophet, who were secretly aided and encouraged by the English government, had aroused in the breasts of their followers. The Creek Indians, residing in the vici- nity of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, were the most hostile and vindictive of all the tribes. Having collected a supply of ammunition, from the Spaniards at Pensacola, a party of their warriors, numbering about seven hundred men, commanded by Weatherford, a distinguished chief of the nation, made an attack on Fort Mimins, situated in the Tensaw settlement, in the territory of Mississippi. The fort was occupied by Major Beasley, with a force of one hundred and fifty men, and a large number of women 56 LIFE OF JACKSON. and children who had sought shelter and protection. The assault was commenced on the 80th of August, 1^13, and proved to be successful. A most dreadful slaughter took place. Mercy was shown to none ; neither age nor sex were respected ; and the same stroke of the tomahawk often cleft mother and child. But seventeen of the whole number of persons in the fort made their escape. As soon as the intelligence of this monstrous outrage reached Tennessee, the authorities of that state took im- mediate measures to chastise the perpetrators. Ail eyes M^ere instinctively turned tovfards General .Tackson, who^ though suffering severely from a fractured arm, promptly responded to the orders of his government by calling out the mihtia and volunteers. In his proclam^ation,. he made a special appeal to those who had accompanied him to Natchez, to join him on this occasion. He pointed out the imperious necessity that demanded their services, and urged them to be punctual. " Already," said he, "are large bodies of the hostile Creeks marching to your bor- ders, with their scalping-knives nasheathed, to buiche? your women and children: time is not to be lost. W«> must hasten to the frontier, or we shall find it drenched in the blood of our citizens. The health of your general is restored — he will command in person." In the mean time, until these troops could be collected and organized. Colonel Coffee, with the force then under his command, and such additional mounted riflemen as could be attached at a short notice, \vas directed to hasten forward to the neighborhood of Iluntsville, and occupy some eligible position for the defence of the frontier. The 4th of October, which was the day appointed fo? .the rendezvous, having arrived, and the general not being sufficiently recovered to attend in person, he forwarded by his aid-de-camp, Major Reid, an address, to be read to the troops, in w^hich he pointed out the unprovoked injuries they were called upon to redress, in the following eloquent and stirring appeal : " We are about to furnish these savages a lesson of ad- monition ; we are about to teach them that our long for- Varance has not proceeded from an insensibility to wrongs. ADDRESP TO THE VOLUNTEERS. 6l or an inability to redress them. They stand in need of such warnino". In proportion as we have borne with their insults, and submitted to their outrages, they have multiplied in number,and increased in atrocity. But the measure of their ofiences is at length filled. The blood of our women and children, recently spilt at Fort Mimms, calls for our ven- geance ; it must not call in vain. Our borders must no longer be disturbed by the war-whoop 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 forborne, 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 soldiers, who take up arms to redress the wrongs of an injured 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 re- putation we shall carry along with us. We must and will be victorious ; but we must conquer as men who owe no- thing to chance, and who, in the midst of victory, can still be mindful of what is due to humanity ! " We will commence the campaign by an inviolable attention 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 i 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 f fair character bequeathed us by the fathers of our revolu- l tion ! 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 disciphne and good order will render certain." Accompanying this address, was the following order fot 3* 58 LIFE OF JACKSON. the establishment of the police of the camp, which strk ingly illustrates his promptitude and decision as a mib^ tary commander : "The chain of sentinels will be marked, and the sen- tries posted, precisely at ten o'clock to-day. "x*Jo sutler will be suffered to sell spirituous liouors to an} soldier, vA'ithout permission in writing, from a com- missioned officer, under the penalties prescribed by the rules and articles of war. "No citizen will be permitted to pass the chain of sen tinels after retreat-beat in the evening, until reveille in the morning. Drunkenness, the bane of all orderly encamp- ments, is positively forbidden, both in officers and privates : officers, under the penalty of immediate arrest ; and pri- vates, of being placed under guard, there to remain until liberated by a court-martial. " At reveille-beat, all officers and soldiers are to appear on parade, with their arms and accoutrements in proper order. " On parade, silence, the duty of a soldier, is positively commanded. " No officer or soldier is to sleep out of camp, but by permission obtained." However harsh it may at first blush appear, to attempt the enforcement of such rules, in the very first stage of military discipline, yet the conduct of General Jackson was dictated by the most praiseworthy motives. The expedition on which he was about to march was certain to be both difficult and dangerous. He was aware that hardships must of necessity be endured, which would appal and dispirit his troops, if they were not early taught the lesson of strict compliance with the orders of their commander ; and he considered it much safer, therefore, to lay before them at once the rules of conduct to which they would be required to conform. Impatient to join his division, although his health was far from being restored, the general, in a few days after- wards, set out for the encampment, which he reached on the 7th of October. On the evening of the following day, a letter was received from Colonel Coffee, who had pro MARCH INTO THE CREEK COUNTRY. 59 ceeded with his mounted volunteers to Huntsville, dated two days before, and informing the goneral that two friend- ly Indians had just arrived at the Tennessee river, from Chinnaby's fort, on the Coosa, from whom he learned that a party of eight hundred or a thousand Creeks had been despatched to attack the frontiers of Georgia, and that the remainder of their warriors were marching against Hunts- ville, or Fort Hampton. On the 9th instant, another ex- press arrived, confirming the former statemt-nt, and repre- senting the enemy, in great force, to be rapidly approach- ing the Tennessee. Orders were now given for preparing the line of march, and by nine o'clock on the 10th, the whole division was in motion. They had not proceeded many miles, when they were met with the intelligence that Colonel Gibson, who had been sent out by Coffee to reconnoitre the movements of the enemy, had been killed by their advance. A strong desire had been previously manifested to be led forward ; that desire was now^ strength- ened by the information just received ; and it was with difficulty that the troops could be restrained. They has- tened their march, and before eiglit o'clock at night arrived at Huntsville, a distance of thirty-two miles. Learning here that the information was erroneous which had occa- sioned so hasty a movement, the general encamped his trooj s ; having intended to reach the Tennessee river that night had it been confirmed. The next day the line of march was resumed. ^I'he influence of the late excite- ment was now visible in the lassitude which followed its removal. Proceed! ns: slowly, the division crossed the Tennessee at Ditto's landing, and united in the evening wiih Colonel CofK^e's regiment, which had previously oc- cupied a commanding bluff on the south bank of the river. From this place, a few days afterwards, Jackson detached Colonel Coffl'e, WMth seven hundred men, to scour the Black Warrior, a stream running from the northeast, and emptying into the Tombigbee ; on which were supposed to be situated several populous villages of the enemy. He himself remained at the encampment a week, busily oc- cupied in drilling his troops, and in endeavouring to pro- cure the necessary suppUes for a campaign, wkicb ha 60 LIFE OF JACKSON. had determined to carry into the heart of the enemy's country. At the same time that General Jackson took up his h"ne of march for the Creek country, General Cocke had been ordered with an equal force from East Tennessee ; while another was despatched from Georgia, under Major Floyd, to enter the Indian territory on the east ; and a regiment of United States troops, with the Mississippi volunteers, under General Claiborne, were to attack the hostile tribes on the west. An arrangement bad been made in the pre- ceding month, with General Cocke, to furnish large quan- tities of bread-stuff at Ditto's landing, for the troops under Jackson. The facility of procuring it in that quarter, and the convenient transportation afforded by the river, left no doubt on the mind of the latter that the engagement would be punctually complied with. To provide, however, against the bare possibility of a failure, and to be guarded against all contingencies that might happen, he addressed letters to the governor of Georgia, Colonel Meigs, the Cherokee agent, and General White, who conramanded the advance of the East Tennessee troops, urging them to send forward supplies with all possible haste. General Cocke, who had been ordered to join him with the forces under his command, not only failed to come up in season, but neglected to furnish the provisions he had engaged to procure. The conduct of this officer was severely cen- sured at the time, and it is quite evident that most of his movements during the campaign were prompted by a de- sire to thwart the operations of Jackson. On his arrival at Ditto's landing, General Jackson found that the contractors were utterly unable to fulfil their en- gagements, and he was therefore compelled to wait patient- ly for the supplies which had so long been promised, and were hourly expected. While he was encamped there, a son of Chinnaby, one of the principal chiefs among the fnendly Creeks, a large body of whom had refused to unite With their countrymen in making war against the Ameri- cans, arrived at the landing, and requested a movement to be made for the relief of his father's fort, which was threatened by a considerable body of the war party. In- FAILURE OF THE SUPPLIES. 61 fluenced by his representations, the general gave orders for resuming ihe march on the llith of October, and notified the contractors of this arrangement, that they might be prepared to issue immediately such supplies as they had on hand ; but to his great astonishment, he was then, for the first time, apprised of their entire inability to supply him -while on his march. Having drawn what they had it in their power to furnish, amounting to only a few days' rations, he immediately vacated their offices, and selected others on whose industry and fidelity he thought he could more safely rely. The scarcity of his provisions, how- ever, was not sufficient to waive the determination he had already made. The route to the fort lay for a consider- able distance up the river, and he hoped to meet with the boats expected from Hivvassee on the way. He accord- ingly determined to proceed, and having safely crossed a range of mountains, thought to be almost impassable on foot, with his army and baggage wagons, he arrived on the 22d of October, at Thompson's creek, which empties into the Tennessee, twenty-four miles above Ditto's. At this place he proposed the establishment of a permanent depot, for the reception of supplies, to be sent either up or down the river. Disappointed in the hopes with which he had ventured on his march, he remained here several days anxiously looking for the arrival of provisions. Fear- ing that this culpable neglect might involve him in still further embarrassments, he informed Governor Blount, of Tennessee, of the condition of things, and made a press- ing application to General Flournoy, who commanded at Mobile, and Colonel McKee, the Choctaw agent, who was then on the Totnbigbee, to procure bread -stuff and forward it to him without delay. He also d(^spatched expresses to General White, who had arrived at the Look-out moun- tain, in the Cherokee nation, urging him by all means to hasten on the supplies. While these measures were in progress, two runners, despatched from Turkeytovvn by Path-killer, a chief of the Cherokees, arrived at ihe camp. They brought infor- mation that the enemy, from nine of the hostile towns, were assembling in great force near the Ten Islands ; and 62 LIFE OF JACKSON. solicited that immediate assistance should be afforded the friendly Creeks and Cherokees in their neighborhood, who were exposed to imminent danger. His want of provi- sions was not yet remedied ; but distributing the partial supply that was on hand, he resolved to proceed, in ex- pectation that the relief he had so earnestly looked for, would in a little while arrive, and be forwarded. In order to prepare his troops for the engagement he anticipated, he addressed them as follows, in his usual nervous and spirited style: " You have, fellow-soldiers, at length penetrated the country of your enemies. It is not to be btdieved that they will abandon the soil that imbosoms the bones of their forefiithers, without furnishing you an opportunity of sig- nalizing your valor. Wise men do not expect; brave men will not desire it. It was not to travel unmolested through a barren wilderness, that you quitted your famihes and homes, and submitted to so many privations ; it was to avenge the cruelties commitled upon our defenceless frontiers by the inhuman Creeks, instigated by their no less inhuman allies. You shall not be disappointed. If the enemy flee before us, we wdl overtake and chastise him : we will teach him how dreadful, when once aroused, is the resentment of freemen. But it is not by boasting that punishment is to be inflicted, or victory obtained. The same resolution that prompted us to take up arms, must inspire us in battle. iVIen thus animated, and thus resolved, barbarians can never conquer ; and it is an enemy barbarous in the extreme that we have now to face. Their rehance will be on the damage they can do you >vhiie you are asleep, and unprepared for action : their hopes shall fail them in the hour of experiment. Soldiers who know their duty, and are ambitious to perform it, are not to be taken by surprise. Our sentinels will never sleep, nor our soldiers be unprepared for action ; yet, while it is enjoined upon the sentinels vigilantly to watch the approach of the loe, they are at the same time com- manded not to fire at shadows. Imaginary dangers must not deprive them of entire self-possession. Our soldiers will he with their arms in their hands ; and the moment ADDRESS TO lilS TROOPS. 63 an alarm is given, they wiJl move to their respective posi- tions, without noise and withoui confusion. Tliey will be thus enabled to hear the orders of their ofTicers, and to obe}'' them with promptitude. "Great reliance will be placed, by the enemy, on the consternation they may be able to sj)read throug-h our ranks, by the hideous yells with which they commence their battles ; but brave men will laugh at such efforts to alarm them. It is not by bellowings and screams, that the wounds of death are inflicted. You will teach these noisy assailants how weak are tht'ir weapons of warfare, by opposing them with the bayonet. What Indian ever withstood its charge ? what army, of any nation, ever withstood it long ? " Yes, soldiers, the order for a charge will be the signal for victory. In that moment, your enemy will be seen fleeing in every direction before you. But in the moment of action, coolness and deliberation must be regarded ; your fires made with precision and aim; and when ordered to charge with the bayonet, you must proceed to the as- sault, with a quick and firm step, without trepidation or alarm. Then shall you behold the completion of your hopes, in the discomfiture of your enemy. Your general, whose duty, as w^ell as inclination, is to watch over your safety, will not, to gratify any wishes of his own, urge you unnecessarily into danger. He knows, however, that it is not in assailing an enemy that men are destroyed ; it is when retreating, and in confusion. Aware of this, he will be prompted as much by a regard for your lives as your honor. He laments that he has been compelled, even incidentally, to hint at a retreat, when speaking to free- men and to soldiers. Never, until you forget all that is due to yourselves and your country, will you have any ractical understanding of that word. Shall an enemy wholly unacquainted with military evolutions, and who rely more for victory on their grim visages and hideous yells, than upon their bravery or their weapons; shall such an enemy ever drive before them the well-trained youths of our country, whose bosoms pant for glory, and a desire to avenge the wrongs they have received ? Your 54 LIFE OF JACKSON. general will not live to behold such a spectacle ; rather would he rush into the thickest of the enenny, and submit himself to their scalping-knives : but he has no fears of such a result. He knows the valor of the men he com- mands ; and how certainly that valor, regulated as it will be, will lead to victory. With his soldiers, he will face all dangers, and with them participate in the glory of conquest." Having issued this address, and again instructed Ge- neral White to form a junction with him, and send on all the supplies he could command, General Jackson resumed his march, with about six days' rations of meat, and less than two of meal. The army had advanced but a short distance, when unexpected embarrassments were again presented. Information was received, by which it was clearly ascertained that the present contractors, who had been so much and so certainly relied on, could not, with all their exertions, procure the necessary supplies. Major Rose, of the quarter-master's department, who had been sent into Madison county to aid them in their endeavors, having satisfied himself, as well from their own admis- sions as from evidence derived from other sources, that their want of funds, and consequent want of credit, rendered them a very unsafe dependence, returned, and disclosed the facts to the general. He stated that there were per- sons of fortune and industry in that county, who might be confided in, and who would be willing to contract for the army if it were necessary. Jackson lost no time in em- bracing this plan, and gave the contract to Mr. Pope, in whose means and exertions he believed every reliance might be reposed. At the same time, he wrote to the other contractors, stating, that although he might manage with generosity or indulgence, whatever concerned him- self as a private citizen, in his public capacity he had no such discretion ; and that he therefore felt compelled to give the contract to one who was able to execute it, on condition that they were indemnified for their trouble. This arrangement being made, the army continued its march, and having arrived within a few miles of the Ten Islands, was met by the Indian chief, Chinnaby. He SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 65 broug-ht with him, and surrendered up, two of the hostile Creeks, who had lately been made prisoners by his party. At this place it was represented that they were within sixteen miles of the enemy, who were collected, to the number of a thousand, to oppose their passage. This information was httle relied on, and afterwards proved un- true. Jackson continued his route, and in a few days reached the islands of the Coosa, having been detained a day, on the way, for the purpose of obtaining small sup plies of corn from the neighboring Indians. This acqui- sition to the scanty stock on hand, while it afforded subsist- ence for the present, encouraged his hopes for the future, as a means of temporary resort, should his other resources fail. In a letter to Governor Blount from this place, speaking of the difficulties with which he had to contend, he ob- served : " Indeed, sir, we have been very wretchedly supplied — scarcely two rations in succession have been regularly drawn ; yet we are not despondent. While we can procure an ear of corn apiece, or any thing that will answer as a substitute for it, we shall continue our exer- tions to accomplish the object for which we were sent. The cheerfulness with which my men submit to privations, and are ready to encounter danger, does honor to them, and to the government whose rights they are defending." On the 28th of October, Colonel Dyer, who had been detached from the main body, on the march to the Ten Islands, with a body of two hundred cavalry, returned to camp. He had destroyed the Indian village of Littafut- chee-town, at the head of Canoe creek, and brought with him twenty-nine prisoners. On the *31st, Jackson de- spatched another express to General White, repeating his former orders. Soon after, he received information that a considerable body of the enemy had posted themselves at Tallushatchee, on the south side of the Coosa, about thir- teen miles distant ; whereupon, he ordered General Coffee, with nine hundred men, to attack and disperse them. With this force that officer was enabled, under the direc- tion of an Indian pilot, to ford the Coosa at the Fish-dams, about four miles above the Islands ; and, having encamped 66 LIFE OF JACKSON. beyond it, he proceeded, early on the morning- of the 3d of November, to execute the order. Having arrived with- in a mile and a half, he formed his detachment into two divisions, and directed them to march so as to encircle the town, by uniting their fronts beyond it. The enemy, hear- ing of his approach, began to prepare for action, which was announced by the beating of drums, mingled with savage yells and war-whoops. An hour after sunrise, tha battle was commenced by Captain Hammond's and Lieu tenant Patterson's comj)anies of spies, who had gone with- in the circle of alignment, for the purpose of drawing the Indians from their buildings. No sooner had these com- panies exhibited their front in view of the town, and given a few scattering shots, than the enemy formed, and made a violent charge. Being compelled to give waj^ the ad- vance-guard were pursued until they reached the main body of the army, which immediately opened a general fire, and charged in their turn. The Indians retreated, but continued firing, until they reached their buildings, where an obstinate conflict ensued. Those who main- tained their ground, persisted in fighting as long as they could stand or sit, without manifesting fear or soliciting quarter. Their loss was a hundred and eighty-six killed; among whom, unfortunately, and through accident, were a few women and children. Eighty-four women and children were taken prisoners, towards whom the uimost humanity was shown. Of the Americans, five were killed and forty-one wounded. Two were killed with arrows, which on this occasion formed a principal pdrt of the arms of the Indians ; each one having a bow and quiver, which he used after the first fire of his gun, until an opportunity occurred for reloading. Having buried his dead and provided for his wounded General Coffee united with the main army, late in th evening of the same day, bringing with him about lorty prisoners. Of the residue, a part were too badly wounded to be removed, and were therefore left, with a sufficient number to take care of them. Those whom he brought in, received every comfort their situation demanded, and were immediately sent into the settlements for security. THE INDIAN ORPHAN. 67 Among- the slain at the battle of Tallushatchee, there was found an Indian woman, with an infant boy, unhurt, sucking her lifeless breast. The little orphan was carried to camp with the other prisoners, and General Jackson at- tempted to hire some of the captive women to take care of him. They refused, saying, " All his relations are dead ; kill him too." The general had a little brown sugar left, and he directed his attendants to feed the child with it until he reached Huntsville, where he sent him to be nursed at his expense. Upon his return from the cam- paign, he took the child home, named him Lincoyer, and with the cordial aid of Mrs. Jackson, raised him as ten- derly as if he had been his own son. He grew to be a beautiful and robust young man, as well educated as the white boys of the most respectable families. Yet his tastes were unchanged. He delighted in rambling over the fields and through the woods, and sticking into his hair and clothes every gay feather he could find. He was alwa3^s anxious to return to the Creek nation with the chiefs, who, for many years after the war, continued to visit General .Tackson at the Hermitage, as his residence was called. Desiring that he should follow some mecha- nical employment, his benefactor took him into the va- rious shops in Nashville, that he might make his selec- tion. He was best pleased with the saddler's business, and was accordingly bound oat as an apprentice to that trade. Regularly every other Saturday he visited the Hermitage, and was generally sent to Nashville on horse- back the next Monday morning. His health beginning to decline, the general took him home to the Hermitage, where he was nursed with a father's and mother's tender- ness ; but in vain. He sunk rapidly into a consumption, and died ere he had arrived at the age of manhood. He was mourned as a favorite son by the general and Mrs. Jackson, and they always spoke of him with parental affection. LIFE OF JACKSON. CHAPTER V. 1813. Erection of Fort Strother, and establishment of a depot on the Coosa — Continued difficulties growing out of the movements of General Cocke — Battle of Talladega — Gallant conduct of Colonel Carroll and Lieuienant-Colonel Dyer — Destitution of the army- Generosity and benevolence of Jackson — His example in submit- ting to privations — Anecdote of the acorns — Discontent among the troops — Mutiny suppressed by his firmness and resolution — His appeal to the contractors to furnish supplies — Answer to the over- tures of peace made by the Hillabee tribes — Efforts to raise addi- tional troops— Letter to his friend in Tennessee — Demand of the volunteers to be discharged, on the ground that their term of ser- vice had expired — Reply of Jackson — His unflinching determina- tion — Suppression of the mutiny, and return of the volunteers. 1813. In consequence of his not receiving the necessary sup- plies of provisions, without which it was utterly impossi- ble to proceed, General Jackson was detained for nearly a month, in the neighbourhood of the Tennessee river, without being able to penetrate the hostile territory, and strike a decisive blow. During this time, he erected a fort and depot, at the Ten Islands, which was called Fort Strother. It was his intention, after completing the works, to proceed along the Coosa to its junction with the Tallapoosa, near which, it was expected, from informa- tion he had received, that the main force of the enemy was collected. In order to accomplish this in safety, he desired to unite as soon as possible with the troops from East Tennessee. The advance under General White had arrived at Turkey-town, twenty -five miles above, and on the 4th of November an express was despatched to him to hasten forward immediately. A similar message was sent on the 7th of the same month, but failed to produce any effect. General White chose rather to obey the or- ders of the immediate commander of his division, General Cocke, who persisted in his singular efibrts to thwart the BATTLE OF TALLADEGA. 69 movements of Jackson and the forces under his command. Although he endeavoured to sheher himself from the consequences of his unsoldierhke conduct, beneath the decision of a council of officers which he had formed, his jealousy of General Jackson was so apparent, that the public were not slow in forming a most unfavorable opi- nion of his character. As yet, no certain intelligence had been received, in regard to the position of the enemy. Late, however, on the evening of the 7th of November, a runner arrived from Talladega, a fort of the friendly Indians, distant about thirty miles below, with information that the enemy had that morning encamped before it in great numbers, and would certainly destroy it, unless immediate assistance could be afforded. Confiding in the statement, Jackson determined to lose no time in extending the relief which was solicited. Understanding that General White, agree- ably to his order, was on his way to join him, he des- patched a messenger to meet him, directing him to reach his encampment in the course of the ensuing night, and to protect it in his absence. He now gave orders for tak- ing up the line of march, with twelve hundred infantr}'', and eight hundred cavalry and mounted gun-men ; leav- ing behind the sick, the wounded, and all his baggage, with a force which was deemed sufficient for their protec- tion, until the reinforcement from Turkey-town should arrive. The friendly Indians who had taken refuge in this besieged fort, had involved themselves in their present perilous situation from a disposition to preserve their amicable relations with the United States. To suffer them to fall a sacrifice from any tardiness of movement, would have been unpardonable ; and unless relief should be im- mediately extended, it might arrive too late. Acting under these impressions, the general concluded to move instantly forward to their assistance. At twelve o'clock at night, every thing was in readiness ; and in an hour afterwards the army commenced crossing the river, about a mile above the camp; each of the mounted men carrying one of the infantry behind him. The river at this place was 70 LIFE OF JACKSON. six hundred yards wide, and it being necessary to sena back the horses for the remainder of tne infantry, several hours were consumed before a passage of all the troops could be effected. Nevertheless, thougn greatly fatigued and deprived of sleep, they continuea vhe march with animation, and by evening had arrived within six miles of the enemy. In this march, Jackson used the utmost piecaution to prevent surprise : marching his army, as was his constant custom, in three columns, so that, by a speedy man^^uvre, they might be thrown into such a situ- ation as to be capable of resisting an attack from any quarter. Having judiciously encamped his men on an eligible piece of ground, he sent forward two of the friendly Indians and a white man, who had for many years been detained a captive in the nation, and was now acting as interpreter, to reconnoitre the position of the enemy. About eleven o'clock at night they returned, with information that the savages were posted within a quarter of a mile of the fort, and appeared to be in great force ; but that they had not been able to approach near enough to ascertain either their numbers or precise situa- tion. About an hour later, a runner arrived from Turkey- town, with a letter from General White, stating that after having taken up the line of march to unite at Fort Strother, he had received orders from General Cocke to change his course, and proceed to the mouth of Chatauga creek. In- telligence so disagreeable, and withal so unexpected, filled the mind of Jackson with apprehensions of a serious and alarming character ; and dreading lest the enemy, by tak- ing a different route, should attack his encampment in his absence, he determined to lose no time in bringing them to battle. Orders were accordingly given to the adjutant- general to prepare the line, and by four o'clock on th morning of the 9th, the army was again m motion. Th infantry proceeded in three columns; the cavalry in the same order, in the rear, with flankers on each wing. The advance, consisting of a company of artillerists with mus- kets, two companies of riflemen, and one of spies, marched about four hundred yards in front, under the command of Colonel Carroll, inspector-general, with orders, -^fier com- BATTLE OF TALLADEGA. 71 mencing the action, to fall back on the centre, so as to draw the enemy after them. At seven o'clock, having arrived within a mile of the position they occupied, the columns were displayed in order of battle. Two hundred and fifty of the cavalry, under Lieut. Colonel Dyer, were placed in the rear of the centre, as a corps-de-reserve. The remainder of the mounted troops were directed to advance on the right and left, and after encircling the enemy, by uniting the fronts of their columns, and keeping their rear rested on the infantry, to face and press towards the centre, so as to leave them no possibility of escape. The remain- ing part of the army was ordered to move up by heads of companies ; General Hall's brigade occupying the right, and General Roberts' the left. About eight o'clock, the advance having arrived within eighty yards of the enemy, who were concealed in a thick shrubbery that covered the margin of a small rivulet, re- ceived a heavy fire, which they instantly returned with much spirit. Falling in with the enemy, agreeably to their instructions, they retired towards the centre, but not before they had dislodged them from their position. The Indians rushed forward, screaming and yelling hideously, in the direction of General Roberts' brigade, a few com- panies of which, alarmed by their numbers and yells, gave way at the first fire. To fill the chasm which was thus cre- ated, Jackson directed the regiment commanded by Colonel Bradley to be moved up, which, from some unaccountable cause, had failed to advance in a line with the others, and now occupied a position in the rear of the centre. Bradley, however, to whom this order was given by one of the staff', omitted to execute it in time, alleging that he was de- termined to remain on the eminence which he then pos- sessed, until he should be approached and attacked by the enemy. Owing to this failure in the volunteer regiment, it became necessary to dismount the rest^rve, which, with great firmness, met the approach of the enemy, who were rapidly moving in this direction. The retreating militia, somewhat mortified at seeing their places so promptly supplied, rallied, and recovering their former position in the fine, aided in checking the advance of the savages 72 LIFE OF JACKSON. The action now became general, and in fifteen minutes the Indians were seen flying in every direction. On the left they were met and repulsed by the mounted riflemen ; but on the right, owing to the halt of Bradley's regiment, which was intended to occupy the extreme right, and to the circumstance that Colonel Alcorn, who commanded one of the wings of the cavalry, had taken too large a circuit, a considerable space was left between the infantry and the cavalry, through which numbers escaped. The fight was maintained with great spirit and effect on both sides, as well before as after the retreat commenced ; nor did the pursuit and slaughter terminate until the moun- tains were reached, at the distance of three mih-s. Jackson, in his report of this action, bestowed high commendation on the officers and soldiers. "Too much praise," he said, at the close, " cannot be bestowed on the advance led by Colonel Carroll, for the spirited manner in which they commenced and sustained the attack ; nor upon the reserve, commanded by Lieut. Colonel Dyer, for the gallantry with which they met and repulsed the enemy. In a word, officers of every grade, as well as privates, realized the high expectations I had formed of them, and merit the gratitude of their country." In this battle, the force of the enemy was one thousand and eighty, of whom two hundred and ninety-nine were left dead on the ground ; and it is believed that many were killed in the flight, who were not found when the estnnate was made. Probably few escaped unhurt. Their loss on this occasion, as since stated by themselves, was not less than six hundn^d: that of the Americans was fiiteen killed, and eighty wounded, several of whom after- wards died. Jackson, after collecting his dead and wounded, advanced his army beyond the fort, and encamped for the night. The Indians who had been for several days shut up by the besiegers, thus fortunately liberated from the most dreadful apprehensions and severest privations, hav- ing for some days been entirely without water, received the army with all the demonstrations of gratitude that savages could give. Their manifestations of joy for their deliverance, presented an interesting and aflecting spec- DESTITUTION OF THE TROOPS. 73 tacle. Their fears had been already greatly excited, for It was the very day when they were to have been as- saulted, and when every soul within the fort must have perished. All the provisions they could spare from their scanty stock they sold to the general, who purchased them with his own money, and generously distributed them among his almost destitute soldiers. It was with great regret that Jackson now found he was without the means of availing himself fully of the ad- vantages of his victory ; but the condition of his posts in the rear, and the want of provisions, (having left his en- campment at Fort Strother with little more than one day's rations,) compelled him to return ; thus giving the enemy time to recover from the consternation of their first defeat, and to re-assemble their forces. On returning to Fort Stiolher, he found that through the wilful mismanagement of General Cocke, no supplies had reached that post, and the soldiers were beginning to exhibit symptoms of dis- content. Even his private stores, brought on at his own expense, and upon which he and his staff had hitherto wholly subsisted, had been in his absence distributed, among the sick by the hospital surgeon, who had been previously instructed to do so if their wants should re- quire it. A (e\v dozen biscuits, which remained on his return, were given to hungry applicants, without being tasted by himself or family, .who were probably not less hungry than those who were thus relieved. A scanty supply of indifferent beef, taken from the enemy or pur- chased o[ the Cherokees, was the only support afforded. Left thus destitute, Jackson, with the utmost cheerfulness oi temper, repaired to the bullock pen, and of the ofllii there throwm away, provided for himself and staff' what he was pleased to call, and seemed really to think, a very comfortable repast. Tripes, however, hastily provided in a camp, without bread or seasoning, can only be palatable to an appetite very highly whetted. Yet this constituted for several days the only diet at head quarters, during which time the general seemed entirely satisfied with his fare. Neither this, nor the liberal donations which he made to relieve the suffering soldier, deserve to be 4 74 LIFE OF JACKSON. ascribed to ostentation or design : the one flowed from be- nevolence, the other from necessity, and a desire to plact? before his men an example of patience and suffering-, which he felt might be necessary, and hoped might be serviceable. Charity in him was a warm and active pro- pensity of the heart, urging him, by an instantaneous im- pulse, to minister to the wants of the distressed, wiihoui regal ding, or even thinking of the consequences. Many of ihose 10 whom aid was extended, had no conception of the source that supplied them, and believed the comforts they received were, indeed, drawn from stores provided i for the hospital department. On one occasion, during these difficulties, a soldier, with a wo-begone countenance, approached the general, stating that he was nearly starved, that he had nothing to eat, and that he did not know what he should do. He was the more encouraged to complain, irom perceiving that - the general, who had seated himself at the root of a tree, : was busily engaged in eating something, and confidently i expected to be relieved. Jackson replied to him, that it had always been a rule with him, never to turn away a hungry man when it was in his power to relieve him. "I will most cheerfully," said he, "divide with you what ; 1 have ;" and putting his hand in his pocket, he drew I forth a few acorns, from which he had been feasting, at the same time remarking, in addition, that this was the j only fare he had. The soldier seemed much surprised, and forthwith circulated the intelligence among his com- rades, that their general was feeding on acorns, and urged ■ them not to complain. But while General Jackson remained wholly unmoved by his own privations, he was filled with solicitude and concern for his army. His utmost exertions, unceasingly applied were insufficient to remove the sufferings to which he sav they were exjjosed ; and although they were by no means so great as were represented, yet were they undoubtedly such as to be sensibly and severely felt. Discontents, and ■ a desire to return home, arose, and presently spread through the camp ; and these were still further imbittered and augmented by the arts of a few designing officers, who. DISCONTENT IN THE ARMY. 75 believing that the campaign would break up, hoped to make themselves popular on their return, by encouraging and taking part in the complaints of the soldiery. It is a singular fact, that those officers who pretended on this occasion to feel most sensibly for the wants of the army, and who contrived most effectually to instigate it to revolt, had never themselves been v/ilhout provisions ; and were, that very moment, enjoying in abundance what would ave reheved the distresses of many, had it been as gene- .ously and freely distributed as were their words of advice and condolence. During this period of scarcity and discontent, smah quantities of supphes were occasionally forwarded by the contractors, but not a sufficiency for present want, and still less to remove the apprehensions that were entertained for the future. At length, revolt began to show itself openly. The officers and soldiers of the militia, collecting in their tents and talking over their grievances, determined to yield up their patriotism and to abandon the camp. Several of the officers of the old volunteer corps exerted themselves clandestinely, to produce disaffection. Looking upon them- selves somewhat in the light of veterans, from the disci- pline they had acquired in the expedition to Natchez, they were unwilling to be seen foremost in setting an example of mutiny, but wished to make the defection of others a pretext for their own. It was almost unreasonable to expect men to be patient, while starvation was staring them in the face. Overlook- ing the fact that their dilKculties were mainly occasioned by the malicious feelings of a single officer, they began to feel that they were neglected by their country, whose battles they had fought, and resentment and discontent took possession of their bosoms. Increasing from day lo day, and extending from individuals to companies, and from companies to regiments, they soon threatened an en- tire dissolution of the army. The volunteers, thouon deeply imbued with this feeling, were at first restrained from any public exhibition of it, by their soldierly pride, ; but the mihlia regiments determined to leave the canip, and return to Tennessee. Apprised of their intention, 76 LIFE OF JACKSON. General Jackson resolved to defeat it ; and as they drew out in the morning to commence their march, they found the volunteers drawn up across their path, with orders to require them, under penalty of instant military execution, to return to their position. They at once obeyed, admir- ing- the firmness which baffled their design. In this operation the volunteers had been unwilling in- struments in the hands of their general, and, chagrined at their own success, resolved themselves the next day to abandon the camp in a body. What was their surprise, on making a movement to accomplish that object, to find the very militia whose mutiny they had the day before repressed, drawn up in the same position to resist them ! So determined was their look, that the volunteers deemed it prudent to carry out the parallel, and returned quietly to their quarters. This process, by which nearly a whole army, anxious to desert, was kept in service by arraying one species of force against another, though effectual for the moment, would not bear repetition, and the general was sensible how feeble was the thread by which he held them together. The cavalry, who not only shared in the general privation, but had no forage, petitioned for per- i mission to retire to the vicinity of Huntsville, pledging themselves to return when called on, after recruiting their I horses and receiving their winter clothing. Their peti tion was granted, and they immediately left the camp. Having received letters from Colonel Pope, assuring him that abundant supplies were on the way. General Jackson resolved to make an effort to produce good feeling throughout the army, in order that they might be able to act with promptitude when an opportunity offered for ■ striking a decisive blow. He accordingly invited the field and platoon officers to his quarters, on the 14th of Novem- ber, and communicated to them the information he had received, and the wishes and expectations which he had based upon it. "To be sure," said he, "we do not live sumptuously ; but no one has died of hunger, or is likely j to die ; and then how animating are our prospects ! Large \ supplies are at Deposit, and already are officers despatched ; «o hasten them on. Wagons are on the way ; a large ' MUTINY OF HIS TROOPS. 77 number of beeves are in the neighborhood ; and detach- ments are out to bring them in. All these resources sure- I Jy cannot fail. I have no wish to ^arve you — none to deceive you. Stay contentedly ; ana if supplies do not arrive within two days, we will all march back together, and throw the blame of our failure where it should proper- ly lie : until then we certainly have the means of subsist- ing; and if we are compelled to bear privations, let us remember that they are borne for our country, and are not greater than many — perhaps most armies have been com- pelled to endure. I have called you together to tell you my feelings and my wishes; this evening think on them seriously, and let me know yours in the morning." After addressing them in such kind and generous terms, notwithstanding many of them had secretly encouraged the disaffection, how great must have been his grief and mortification in the morning, when he received from the officers of the volunteer regiments the annunciation that, in their opinion, "Nothing short of marching the army immediately back to the settlements, could prevent those difficulties and that disgrace which must attend a forcible desertion of the camp by his soldiers." The officers of the militia, however, reported their will- ingness to wait a few days longer for a supply of pro- visions, and, if it should be received, to proceed with the campaign ; otherwise, they insisted on being marched back where supplies could be procured. To preserve the volunteers for farther service, if possible, the general de- termined to gratify their wishes, and ordered General Hall to lead them back to Fort Deposit, there to obtain relief for themselves, and then to return as an escort to the pro- visions. But the second regiment of volunteers were ashamed to be found less loyal than the militia, and begged permission to remain with their general, and the first re- giment marched alone. It is impossible to describe the emotions of General Jackson, when he saw a regiment of brave men, whom he had refused to abandon at Natchez even ai the command of his government, for the preserva- tion of whose well-earned fame he would have hazarded his life, deserting him in the wilderness, reckless of honor, 78 LIFE OF JACKSON. of patriotism, of gratitude, and humanity. He coula not avoid giving expression to his fetdings in strong and de- cided terms. " I was prepared," he said, " to endure every evil but disgrace ; and this, as I can never submit to myself, I can give no encouragement to in others." On the HJih of November, General Jackson addressed a letter to Colonel Pope, the contractor, in which he said: " My men are all starving. More than half of ther left me yesterday for Fort Deposit, in consequence of th scarcity, and the whole will do so in a few days if plenti ful supplies do not arrive. Again and again I must en- treat you to spare neither labor nor expense to furnish me, and furnish me without delay. We have already struck the blow which would, if followed up, put an end to Creek hostility. I cannot express the torture of my feelings when I reflect that a campaign so auspiciously begun, and which might be so soon and so gloriously terminated, is likely to be rendered abortive for the want of supplies. For God's sake, prevent so great an evil." In his address to the officers on the 14th, the general had told them that in case supplies did not reach them within two days, he would lead the army back where provisions could be had. Two days had elapsed after the departure of the volunteers, and no supplies had come. The declaration had been made in the confident expecta- tion that provisions, then known to be on the way, would reach them before the expiration of that period ; but the general felt bound to comply with his word. He imme- diately proceeded to make arrangements for the abandon- ment of Fort Strother ; but, contemplating the new cou- rage with which it would inspire the enemy, the calami- ties it was likely to bring on the frontiers, and the dis- grace upon his army, if not on himself, he exclaimed, "If only two men will remain with me, I will never abandon this post." " You have one, general," promptly rephed Captain Gordon, of the spies ; " let us look if we cannot find another." The captain immediately beat up for vo- lunteers, and, with the aid of some of the general staff, soon raised one hundred and nine, who agreed to stand by their general to the last extremity. MUTINY OF HIS TROOPS. 7^ Confident that supplies \Tere at hand, the general marched with the militia, announcing that they would bs ordered back if provisions should b:e met at no great dis- tance from the fort. Within ten or twelve miles they met a drove of a hundred and fifty beeves. They halted, butchered, and ale ; but the courage inspired by satiety was that of mutineers. Upon receiving an order to re- turn, with the exception of a small party to convey the ick and wounded, they resolved to disobey it. One com- pany resumed its march homeward, before General Jackson was apprised of their design. Informed of this move- ment, he hastened to a spot about a quarter of a mile ahead, where General Coffee, with a part of the stafT and a few soldiiTS, had halted, and ordered them instantl}' to form across the road, and fire on the mutineers if they should attempt to pass. Rather than encounter the bo!d faces before them, the mutinous company thought it expedient to return to the main body, and it was hoped that no far- ther opposition would be exhibited. Going alone for the purpose of mixing among his men, and appeasing them by argument and remonstrance, the general found a spirit of mutiny pervading the Avhole brigade. They had formed, and were on the point of moving ofT, knowing that no force was at hand powerful enough to resist them ; but they had to deal with a man who was a host in himself. He seized a musket, threw it across his horse's neck, placed himself in front of the brigade drawn up in column, and declared he would shoot the first man who took a step in advance. Struck with awe, the men gazed at him in sullen silence. In this position, General Coffee and some of the members of his staff rode up, and placed themselves at his side. The ^uithful ofTicers and soldiers, amounting to about two com- mnies, formed in his rear, under orders to fire when he did. For some minutes not a word was uttered. A mur- mur then arose among the mutineers, and at length they sionified their willingness to return. The matter was amicably arranged, and the troops marched back to Fort Strother, though not in the best spirits. This incident derives additional interest from the fact, 80 LIFE OF JACKSON. that the generaFs left arm was not so far nealed as to enable him to aim a musket, and the weapon he had was too much out of order to be fired. Shortly after the battle ofTalladega, the tlillabee tribes, who had been the principal sufferers on that occasion, ap- plied to General Jackson for peace ; declaring their will- ingness to receive it on such terms as he might be pleased to dictate. He promptly replied, that his government had taken up arms to bring to a proper s^ease of duty a people to whom she had ever shown the utmost kindness, but Avho, nevertheless, had committed against her citizens the most nnprovoked depredations; and that she would lay them down only when certain that this object was at- tained. " Upon those," continued he, " who are friendly, I neither wish nor mlersd to make war; but they nmst afford evidences of the sincerity oiT theiir professions; the prisoners and property they have taken from us and the friendly Creeks, must be restored ; the instigators of the war, and the murderers of our citizens, must be sur- rendered ; the latter mast and will be made to feel the* force of our resentment. Long shall thej remember Fos§ Mimms, in bittemess and tears." Having conmiunicated to General Cocke, whose divi- sion was acting in this section of the nation, the proposi- tions that had been made by the Hillabee tribes, with the answer returned, and urged him to detach to Fort Slrother six hundred of his men to aid in the deferace of that place during his absence, and in the operations he intended to resume on his return, Jackson proceeded to Deposit and Dittoes lauding, where the most effectual means in his power were taken for obtaining regular supplies in future. The contractors were required to furnish immediately thirty days' rations ar Fort Strother, forty at Talladega, and as many at the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa two hundred packhorses and forty wagons were also put in requisition to facilitate cheir transportation. Understand- ing now that the whole detachment from Tennessee had been received into the service of the United States, he persuaded himself that the difficulties previously en- countered woiiM not again recur, and lookvd forward, EFFORTS TO RAISE ADDITIONAL TROOPS. 81 with sanguine expectations, to the speedy accomplish- ment of the objects of the expedition. But the satisfac- tion he felt, and the hopes he began to cherish, were of short continuance. The volunteers wHjo had formerly been enrolled in the expedition to Natchez, began to look anxiously for the 10th of December, at which time they supposed their enlistments would expire. Anticipating difficulty from this cause, General Jackson was exceedingly anxious to fill up the di^ficiencies in his ranks. General Roberts was accordingly ordered to return and complete his brigade, and Colonel Carroll and Major Searcy were despatched to Tennessee, to raise volunteers for six months, or during the campaign. At the same time, the general wrote to several patriotic citizens of that state, urging them to con- tribute their aid and assistance. In one of his letters, he expressed himself in the following touching language, which shows how deeply his heart was enlisted in the enterprise he had undertaken to accomplish : " 1 left Tennessee with an army, brave, I believe, as any general ever commanded. I have seen them in bat- tle, and my opinion of their bravery is not changed. But their fortitude — on this too I relied — has been too severely tested. Perhaps I was wrong in believing that nothing but death could conquer the spirits of brave men. I am sure I was ; for my men I know are brave, yet privations have rendered them discontented — that is enough. The expedition must nevertheless be prosecuted to a success- ful termination. New volunteers must be raised to con- clude what has been so auspiciously begun by the old ones. Gladly would I save these men from themselves, and insure them a harvest which they have sown ; but if they will abandon it to others, it must be so. * * * * * * So far as my exertions can contribute, the pur- poses both of the savage and his instigator shall be de- feated ; and so far as yours can, I hope — I know they will be employed. I have said enough — 1 want men, and want them immediately." Anxious to prosecute the campaign as soon as possible, vhat by employing his troops actively he might dispel 4* 83 LIFE OF JACKSON. from their minds that discontent so frequently manifested, Jackson wrote to General Cocke, early in December, earnestly desiring him to hasten to the Ten Islands, with fifteen hundred men. He assured him that the mounted men, who had returned to the settlements for subsistence, and to recruit their horses, would arrive by the 12th of the month. He wished to commence his operations directly, " knowing they would be prepared for it, and well knowing they would require it. 1 am astonished," he continued, "to hear that your supplies continue deficient. In the name of God, what are the contractors doing, and about what are they engaged ? Every letter I receive from Governor Blount, assures me I am to receive plentiful supplies from them, and seems to take for granted, notwithstanding all I have said to the contrary, that they have been hitherto regularly furnished. Considering the generous loan the state has made for this purpose, and the facility of procuring bread-stuffs in East Tennessee, and the transporting them by water to Fort Deposit, it is to me wholly unaccountable that not a pound has ever arrived at that place. This evil must continue no longer — it must be remedied. I expect, therefore, and through you must require, that in twenty days they fur- nish at Deposit every necessary supply." While these preparations for the vigorous prosecution of hostilities were being made, the volunteers were con- gratulating themselves upon their anticipated discharge from the service. They had originally enlisted on the 10th of December, 1812, to serve for twelve months. A portion of this time, however, after their return from Natchez, they had not been actually engaged in service. This fact w^as entirely overlooked in their calculations, and they commenced pressing their officers en the subject of their discharge. General Jackson received a letter from the colonel who commanded the second regiment, dated the 4th of De- cember, 18 1'.^ in which was attempted to be detailed their whole ground of complaint. He began by stating, that, painful as it was, he nevertheless felt himself bound to disclose an important and unpleasant truth : that, on the DIFFICULTY WITH THE VOLUNTEERS. 83 10th instant, the service would be deprived of the regi- me nt he- commanded. He seemed to deplore, with great sensibility, the scene that would be exhibited on that day, should opi osition be made to their departure; and still more sensibly, the consequences that would result from a disorderly abandonment of the camp. He stated that they had all c nsidered themselves finally discharged, on the 'li )ih of April, 1818, and never knew to the contrary, until hey saw his order of the 2-lth of September, 1^>18, requiring them to rendezvous on the 4th of October. •' 'i'hus situated," proceeded the colonel, "there was con- siderable opi osition to the order ; on which the officers gent rally, as I am advised, and I know myself in par- ticular, gave it as an unequivocal opinion, that their term of service would terminate on the li ih of Decem.ber, 1813. They therefore look to their general, who has their confi- dence, for an honorable discharge on that day ; and that, in every respect, he will see that justice be done them. The}' regret that their particular situations and circum- stances require them to leave their general, at a time when their services are important to the common cause. "It would be desirable," he continued, "that those men who have served with honor, should be honorably discharged, and that they should return to their families and friends without even the semblance of disgrace ; with their general they leave it to place them in that situation. They have received him as an affectionate father, while they have honored, revered, and obeyed him ; but having devoted a considerable portion of their time to the service of their country, by which their domestic concerns are greatly deranged, they wish to return, and attend to their own affairs." Although this communication announced the determi- nation of only a part of the volunteer brigade, the com- mander in chief had abundant evidence that the defection was but too general. The difficulty which he had here- tofore been compelled to encounter, from the discontent of his troops, might well induce him to regret that a spirit of insubordination should again threaten to appear in his camp. That he might prevent it, if possible, he hastened 84 LIFE OF JACKSON. to lay before them the error and impropriety cn their views, and the consequences involved, should they persist iatheis purpose. To the foregoing letter he returned a reply which, for un- shrinking firmness of resolution, and patriotic devotion to the interests of his country, was neTer surpassed. He declared his determination to prevent their return, at the hazard of his life,, and called upon God to witness, that the scenes of hlood which might be exhibited on the lOlh ol December should not be laid to his charge. He reminded the volunteers that they had been enlisted for twelve months' a9 stantly retn^ated down the bank, with their colonels at their head, leaving the brave C4eneral Carroll, and about twenty- five men, to check the advance of the enemy. As Colo- nel Stump came plunging towards the creek where Ge- neral Jackson \vas superintending the crossing of the troops, the latter made an unsuccessful attempt to draw his sword and cut him down. He was afterwards tried by a court-martial, on a charge of cowardice, and cashiered. In the mean time, Lieutenant Armstrong ordered his company of artillery to form on the hill, and with the as- sistance of one or two others, he drew up the cannon, a six-pounder, and pointed it towards the enemy. The ramrod and picker had been lost, but Jackson supplied the deficiency by using muskets and their ramrods to load the piece. It was fired twice, and did fearful execution. The Indians began to waver, and when the general had succeeded in rallying a numb^'rof the fugitives, and formed them for a charge, they fled with precipitation, throwing away their packs, and leaving twenty-six of their war- riors dead on the field. After this repulse, the army resumed their march, and reached Fort Slrother in safety, on the 27th of January, where they were dismissed by their general, until he re- ceived further orders from government, which he desired to provide him with a competent force to enter the Creek country, and put a termination to the war. Through the patriotic exertions of Governor Blount, General Jackson was again at the head of a fine army, early in March, and ready to recommence the campaign. His tbrce at this time consisted of four thousand Tennessee militia and volunteers, and a regiment of United States regulars. In the month of February, he had received information that the hostile Indians, about one thousand in number, were fortifying themselves in a bend of the Tallapoosa river, fifty miles from Emuckfaw, where they had determined to make a iast stand. The country between theCoosaand Tallapoo- sa rivers, known to the whites as the "Hickory Ground,'* had always been held sacred by the Indians, and they tvere taught, by their prophets, to beheve that no white nan could ever enter this territory to conquer it. Gene- 90 LIFE OF JACKSON. ral Jackson saw at once that the conquest of this tract of ground would compel them to sue for peace, and he de- termined on forcing them to a general engagement. He accordingly marched his army down the Coosa, and, hav- ing established a fort at the moulh of Cedar Creek, called Fort Williams, he crossed over to the Tallapoosa. He was three days in crossing the Hickory Ground, as the road had to be cut from one river to the other. On the morning of the 27th of March, he arrived near Tohopeka with a force of over two thousand men. The bend of the river in which the enemy were fortified, as its name imports, resembles a horse-shoe in shape. Across the neck of land by which the penmsula was entered from the north, the Indians had thrown up a rude breastwork of logs, seven or eight feet high, hut so con- structed that assailants would be exposed to a double and cross-fire. About a hundred acres lay within the bend, and at the bottom of it there was an Indian village, around which were a great number of canoes fastened to the bank of the river. After reconnoitering the position, General Jackson detached General Coffee to surround the bend opposite to where the canoes were secured, while he him- self advanced to assault the breastwork. As soon as Ge- neral Coffee had reported, by signals, the fulfilment of the order, the two pieces of artillery, a six and three pounder, began to play upon the breastwork. The firing had con- tinued for about two hours, when some of the friendly Cherokees who were with General Coffee, swam the river, and brought over the canoes. A number of Coffee's troops immediately crossed ov^er, set fire to the village, and attacked the Indians in the rear. On* discovering this movement. General Jackson ordered a push to be made at the breastwork, and carried it by storm. The battle now commenced in earnest, and a most bloody and despe- rate hand to hand conflict ensued, in which the Indians were finally overpowered, and compelled to give way. A number of them attempted to escape across the river, but were shot by the spies and mounted men under General Coffee. Some took refuge among the brush and fallen timber on the cliffs overhanging the river, from which KINDNESS TO AN INDIAN PRISONER. 91 the}' fired upon the victors. Jackson was desirous to pre- vent the further loss of life, and s^nt an interpreter within call to offer them terms, but he was also fired upon and severely wounded. The cannon were then brought to bear on the place of their concealment, yet they still re- fused to surrender. After losing several men in an in- effectual charge, the general, as a last resort, Commanded the brush and timber to be fired, and such of them as were driven from their hiding-places were shot as they ran. Night at length put an end to the battle, and a few of the miserable survivors escaped in the darkness. Five hun- dred and fifty-seven of their number were found dead on the field, and three hundred women and children were taken prisoners. The American loss was fifty-five L'illed and one hundred and forty-six wounded ; nearly one-third of which fell upon the friendly Creeks and Cherokees. Among the Indians slain were three of their prophets, who had been the most active in exciting them to war. Up to the last moment, they maintained their influence over their deluded countrymen, and continued their wild and unseemly dances amid the thunder of battle. One of them was struck dead, with a grape shot, in the midst of his incantations. An incident occurred after the battle highly character- istic of the American generah A young Indian was brought before him who had received a severe vi^ound in the leg. A surgeon was sent for to dress it, and the savage quietly submitted to the operation ; but while it was going on, he looked inquiringly at the general, and said, " Cure 'im, kill 'im again ?" Jackson assured him, in a friendly manner, that he need not apprehend any further injury, and he soon recovered. The general was struck with his manly bearing, and having ascertained that all his relations had perished in the battle, he sent him to his own house in Tennessee. After the conclu- sion of the war, he bound him out to a trade in Nashville, where he married, and established himself in business. As his men had taken but seven days' rations with them when they left Fort Williams, Jackson was compelled to return to that post. Before doing so, he took the precau- 92 LIFE OF JACKSON. tion to sink the dead bodies of his soldiers in the river. th?.t they might be beyond the reach of the savages who had disinterred those buried at Emuckfaw and Enoto- chopco, for the purpose of obtaining their scalps. The original plan of the expedition against the Creek nation, formed by General Pinckney, the commander in chief, contemplated the junction of the different divisions sent from Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi, at the bend of the Coosa and Tallapoosa ; but the failure to furnish provisions to the Tennessee troops, in the early part of the campaion, prevented the accomplishment of this design. General Jackson, however, after his return to Tohopeka, resolved upon the complete conquest of the Hickory Ground. He immediately made preparations to attack Hoithlewalle, an Indian town in this territory, where a large body of the enemy were said to be concentrated. On the 7th of April, just five days after his return from Tohopeka, he commenced his march. Each of his men carried eight days' provisions on his back. This supply was thought to be abundantly sufficient, as he expected soon to meet the eastern army under Colonel Milton, who had orders from General Pinckney to furnish him with supplies. Most of the friendly Indians were dismissed, on account of the difficulty in obtaining provisions. Before setting out, Jackson issued an animated address to his troops, in the following terms : " Soldiers, — You have entitled yourselves to the grati- tude of your country and your general. The expedition from which you have returned, has, by your good conduct, been rendered prosperous beyond any example in the history of our warfare ; it has redeemed the character of your state, and of that description of troops of which the greater part of you are. *' The fiends of the Tallapoosa will no longer murder our women and children, or disturb the quiet of our borders. Their midnight flambeaux will no more illu- mine their council-house, or shine upon the victims of their infernal orgies. In their places a new generation will arise, who will know their duty better. The weapons of warfare will be exchanged for the utensils of husbandry • I TERMINATION OF THE CAMPAIGN, 93 and the wilderness, which now withers in sterih'ty, and mourns the desolation which overspreads her, will blossom as the rose, and become the nursery of the arts. But, before this happy day can arrive, other chastisements re- main to be inflicted. It is indeed lamentable, that the path to peace should lead through blood, and over the bodies of the slain ; but it is a dispensation of Providence, and perhaps a wise one, to inflict partial evils that ulti- mate good may follow." It was Jackson's intention to reach Hoithlewalle on the 11th of April; but the roads had been rendered almost impassable by the heavy rains, and he found himself un- able to do so. When within ten or twelve miles of the town, he ascertained that the inhabitants had deserted it. He then directed his march for Fooshatchie, three miles lower down the river, where he took several prisoners. The Indians generally, on his approach, fled across the Tal- lapoosa. He had anticipated this, and his orders to Colonel Milton, to co-operate with him from the east, were intend- ed to prevent the escape of the enemy in that direction. That officer, however, not only disregarded the orders he had received, but suffered the Indians to pass him un- molested, when he was preparing to cross the river and attack them. The rapid rising of the Tallapoosa, and the want of provisions, compelled Jackson temporarily to de- sist from the pursuit. Soon after, he made application to Colonel Milton, who was advancing to attack Hoithlewalle, which he had already destroyed, for provisions to supply his troops. The colonel replied that he did not feel him- self under obligation to furnish any to the Tennessee troops, but he would lend them some if it were absolutely necessary. Jackson instantly sent him a peremptory order, by Captain Gordon of the spies, requiring him to furnish the provisions which he had previously requested, and to form a junction with him the next day. On read- ing the order, Colonel Milton inquired of Captain Gordon, what sort of a man General Jackson was. " He is a man," •eplied the captain, " who intends when he gives an order .hat it shall be obeyed !" Colonel Milton then said he vould furnish provisions, not because they were ordered, 94 LIFE OF JACKSON. "but because the men were sufferino: for want of tliem ; nevertheless he afterwards obeyed the order in full, ana joined the army under Jackson with his force. In order to intercept the Indians who had fled across the river, Jackson detached a body of mounted men to scour the left bank of the Tallapoosa, while he himself, with the main army, prepared to march down the Coosa as far as their junction. Just as the army was about to commence its march, word was brought to the general that Colonel Milton's brigade could not move, as the wairon-horses had strayed away in the night and could not be found. Jackson sent back word that he had dis- covered an effectual remedy in such cases, which was to detail twenty men to each wagon. Milton took the hint, and having dismounted a few of his dragoons, attached their horses to the wagons, and soon put his brigade in motion. The army did not encounter the least opposition on their march, and it was now evident that the battle of Tohopeka had ended the Creek war. No effort was made by the surviving warriors to rally, after that fatal day, and as General Jackson advanced, they either fled before him, or came in and offered submission. In a few months peace and quiet were restored ; whereupon the Tennes see soldiers returned home, and were honorably dis charged. Upon the resignation of General Harrison, in the spring of 1814, Jackson was appointed a major-general in the army of the United States. The protection of the coast near the mouths of the Mississippi was intrusted to him; and his first attention was turned to the encouragement and protection which the savages received, from the Spa- nish governor and Spanish authorities in the fortress of Pensacola, which is situated on the Gulf of Mexico, at abou q hundred miles' distance from the main fastness of the Creek Indians. His opinion was, that the savages were constantly receiving assistance from the Spanish garrison, and from the British, through the means of the garrison ; and he was persuaded that the latter would finally attack New Orleans after having prepared themselves at Pensa ATTACK ON PENSACOLA. 95 co1a. On his way to the south, he learned that about three hundred British troops had landed, and were fortify- ing themselves at no great distance from that post. In this state of things, he endeavored to prevail upon the Spanish governor to desist from all acts injurious to the United States. That officer at first prevaricated, but af- terwards boldly falsified the truth. The news had already been received, of the fall of Napoleon, and his banishment to Elba; and this event inspired new villany, and new courage, everywhere, inasmuch as it greatly increased the ability of Great Britain to prosecute her hostile opera- tions against the United States. The Spanish garrison at Pensacola was, in fact, a rendezvous for the British, and their Indian allies. Captain Gordon was sent by General Jackson, in the month of August, 1^14, to reconnoitre the post, and, on his return, he reported that he had seen from fifty to two hundred officers and soldiers, a park of artille- T}', and about five hundred savages drilling under British officers, and dressed in British uniform. These facts were duly communicated to the government, and an order was issued on the l^th of July, by General Armstrong, then secretary of war, authorizing General Jackson to attack Pensacola. By some strange and unaccountable delay, the letter containing this order did not reach him until the 17th of January, 1H15. General Jackson regarded the operations of the British at Pensacola, with considerable anxiety ; and on the ap- pearance of the following proclamation, addressed to the inhabitants of the southern and western states, and dated at Pensacola, the "head-quarters" of the officer whose name was attached, he decided to act on his own responsibility: "Natives of Louisiana! on you the first call is made, to assist in liberating from a faithless, imbecile govern- ment, your paternal soil : Spaniards, Frenchmen, Italians, and British, whether settled, or residing for a time, in Louisiana, on you, also, I call to aid me in this just cause. The American usur{]ation in this country must be abolished, and the lawful owners of the soil put in possession. I am at the head of a large body of Indians, well armed, disci- plined, and commanded by British officers — a good Irain 96 LIFE OF JACKSON. of artillery, with every requisite, seconded by the power- ful aid of a numerous British and Spanish squadron of ships and vessels of war. Be not alarmed, inhabitants of the country, at our approach; the same good faith and disinterestedness, which have distinguished the conduct of Britons in Europe, accompany them here ; you will have no fear of litigious taxes imposed on you for the purpose of carrying on an unnatural and unjust war; your properly, your laws, the peace and tranquillity of your country, will be guarantied to you by men who will suffer no infringement of theirs ; rest assured that these brave red men only burn with an ardent desire of satis- faction for the wrongs they have suffered from the Ame- ricans, and to join you in liberating these southern provinces from thc^r yoke, and drive them into those limits formerly prescribed by m}' sovereign. The Indians have pledged themselves in the most solemn manner, not to injure, in the slightest degree, the persons or property of any but enemies. A flag over any door, whether Spanish, French, or British, will be a certain protection ; nor dare any In- dian put his foot on the threshold thereof, under penalty of death from his own countrymen ; not even an enemy will an Indian put to death, except resisting in arms ; and as for injuring helpless women and children, the red men, by their good conduct and treatment to them, will (if it be possible) make the Americans blush for their more inhu- man conduct, lately, on the Escambia, and within a neu tral territory. - — ■ " Inhabitants of Kentucky, you have too long borne with grievous impositions — the whole brunt of the war has fallen on your brave sons : be imposed on no longer ; but cither range yourselves under the standard of your forefathers, or observe a strict neutrahty. If )'ou comply with either of these offers, whatever provisions you send down will be paid for in dollars, and the safety of the per- sons bringing them, as well as the free navigation of the Mississippi, guarantied to you. Men of Kentucky, let me call to your view, (and I trust to your abhorrence,) the conduct of those factions which hurried you into this civil, unjust, and unnatural war, at a time when Great Britain ATTACK ON PENSACOLA. 97 was straining- every nerve in defence of her own and the liberties of the world — when the bravest of her sons were fighting and bleeding in so sacred a cause — when she was spending millions of her treasure in endeavoring to pull down one of the most formidable and dangerous tyrants that ever disgraced the form of man — w'hen groaning Eu- rope was almost in her last gasp — when Britons alone showed an undaunted front — basely did those assassins endeavor to stab her from the rear ; she has turned on them, renovated from the bloody but successful struggle — Europe is happy and free, and she now hastens justly to avenge the unprovoked insult. Show them that you are not collectively unjust ; leave that contemptible few f shift for themselves ; let those slaves of the tyrant send aw embassy to Elba, and implore his aid ; but let ever}'' ho nest, upright American, spurn them with united contempt. After the experience of twenty-one years, can you longer support those brawlers for liberty who call it freedom when themselves are free ? Be no longer their dupes — accept oi' my offers — every thing I have promised in this paper i guaranty to you on the sacred honor of a British officer. "Given under niy hand, at my head-quarters, Pensa- cola, this 29th day of August, 1^14. Edward Nicholls." The mere fact of allowing this document to go forth to vhe world, unaccompanied as it was by any disavowal on the part of the Spanish governor, constituted a sufficient justification for the subsequent conduct of General Jack- son. Troops had been drilled, savages supplied with weapons, and munitions of war prepared, under the im- mediate observation of the Spanish authorities ; and, as ii' i.o leave no room for doubt, their implied consent, at least, \v;is given to the waiver of their rights of neutrality, by suffering a British commander, unrebuked, to establish his "•head-quarters" in their midst. The attack on Pensaco- la, by General Jackson, was afterwards mad • the subject of an investigation in Congress, and has frecpjently been re- f rred to, in otiier (juarters, in terms of censure. His con- duct was approved by his government, and the facts cer* lainlv present a complete justification. 5 98 LIFE OF JACKSON. While General Jackson was making preparation, for hia contemplated attack on Pensacola, an assault was made by the British troops from that post, upon Fort Bowyer, which was situated on the Mobile river. On the 15th of Sep- tember, 1814, Colonel Nicholls attacked the fort by land, while several vessels, mounting altogether about ninety guns, approached by sea. The expedition ended in blow- ing up one of the English ships, greatly damaging another and sending off Colonel Nicholls with the loss of one o! his ships, and, as it was said, one of his eyes. Major Lawrence commanded the American fort. His brieve band consisted of only one hundred and thirty men ; while the force of the British was ninety guns by sea, and Nicholls assaulted the fort by land, with a twelve- pound howitzer, and several hundred marines, sailors, and savages. This affair was highly creditable to Major Lawrence and his men. The disparity of force was very great ; and this disgraceful beating at the outset must have had a considerable effect upon the enemy. Jackson was still more firmly resolved, after this attack, to break up the rendezvous at Pensacola; and on the 6th of November, 1814, he marched against it, demolished all its defences and protections, drove out the British and the savages, and taught Nicholls and the Spanish governor, that there was still one country left which was not to be insulted with impunity by the^ satellites of despotism. MARCH TO NEW ORLEANS. 1-9 CHAPTER VII. 1814. Jackson marches to New Orleans — Preparations to defend the city — Surrounded by traitors and spies — Situation of the coun- try — Strength of the British expedition — Firmness of Jackson — The city placed under martial law — Vigorous measures rendered absolutely necessary-r-Landing of the British — Alarm in the city — Jackson determines to attack them — Disposition of his iorces — Battle on the night of the twenty-third of December — Gallant con- duct of the American troops — Repulse of the British — The complete triumph of the Americans prevented by the darkness of the night — Adventure of Colonels Dyer and Gibson — The Americans fall back to a new position, and prepare to fortify it — Effect of the bat- tle. 1814. After administering this severe, but deserved rebuke, to the Spanish governor, General Jackson immediately repaired, with a small portion of his army, to the city of New Orleans, at that time the most vulnerable point on the southern frontier. He arrived there on the 1st day of December, 1814, and on the 4th it was rumored that a British fleet was approaching the coast. Two days after, the report was confirmed, and it was positively known that Admiral Cochrane and Sir George Cockburn, who had been compelled to retreat down the Chesapeake after the burning of Washington city, had sailed for the Gulf of Mexico with the forces under their command. Jackson did not lose a single moment, but at once applied himself "vigorously to the work of preparation. Previous to his arrival, the inhabitants had become desponding and in- different. The influence of a master-mind soon aroused every thing into activity. Confidence was speedily re- stored. Resources that none had ever dreamed of sprang up at his bidding. His genius and perseverance soon found means for the crisis, desperate as it appeared, while his determined energy and resolute will, manifested on all 100 LIFE OF JACKSOIf. occasions, in the midst of danger and alarm, excited the hopes of the timid, and infused new courage into the breasts of the wavering and foint-hearted. The city of New Orleans at this time contained a pop- ulation of about 30,000 inhabitants, most of whom, as the territory of Louisiana had but recently been purchased, were of French and Spanish descent. As a very natural consequence, their attachment to their new government was anything but ardent or sincere. Jackson had not only prejudices and jealousies to contend against, but treason lurked everywhere around him. Spies vvere con- stantly engaged in observing his motions, and the very men whose firesides he came to protect from outrage and molestation, corresponded with the enemy at Pensacola. In addition to these difficulties, the American general was seriously embarrassed from the want of arms, ammuni- tion, and troops. The Tennessee militia under General Carroll, and the raounted«i-iflemen, commanded by Gen- eral Coffee, arrived soon after Jackson reached the city. In order to conceal his real weakness from the enemy, these troops were encamped a few miles out of town, and their number intentionally represented to be much larger than it really was. He did not wish his detachments to be counted ; and it was a part of his policy to exaggerate his force, to deceive the spies and impose upon the enemy. Besides this, the appearance and accoutrements of the western volunteers, though exactly suited to their mode of warfare, were not particularly calculated to inspire con- fidence or courage in those who would have been more highly gratified at beholding all " the pride, pomp, and circuinstance of glorious war." In distributing his forces, Jackson took especial care to place them in such a man- ner that they could be readily assembled in a single mass upon New Orleans. The city itself was the point really menaced. It is situated around a bend of the Mississippi river, on the eastern bank. It is generally approached by vessels froi the river, although small craft, such as schooners and sloops, navigate lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne. A nar- row strip of land, varying from a few hundred yards to SITUATION OF THE CITY. 101 two or three miles, borders the river, gradually tapering off into a swamp, as it recedes, until it reaches the lakes. This strip of land is covered with plantations, and is pro- tected from the inundations of the river by an embankment of earth, called the " levee," which extends far above the city, on both sides of the river. The expedition fitted out by the British against New- Orleans was truly a formidable one. The fleet under Admiral Cochrane numbered more than eighty sail, pre- vious to the arrival of the reinforcements. On board the transports were eleven thousand ''heroes of the Pe- ninsula," fresh from the blood-stained field of Vittoria,com- manded by four able and experienced generals ; two admirals, and twelve thousand seamen and marines, with fire-ships, rockets, ammunition, and artillery in abund- ance. This array of strength, which lost nothing of its terrors in the rumors circulated by the agents of the British government, was not by any means to be despised. Ge- neral Jackson foresaw the danger, and determined to avert it. He felt that it was one of those rare occasions which will sometimes occur, when it was absolutely necessary for the will of one man to guide and control every thing. The press itself had been, in part, suborned by the enemy, and the legislature was too much under British influence to listen to his wise suggestion in favor of the repeal of the Habeas Corpus Act. He accordingly resolved, with- out a moment's hesitation, to assume the power which cowardice dared not exercise. The city was piaced under martial law, and in one instance, where a traitor whom he had imprisoned had been set at liberty by Judge Hall, he ordered the judge himself into confinement for interfering with his authority. The sequel conclusively showed that these vigorous measures were absolutely necessary for the safety and protection of the city, and a grateful country did not fail to appreciate the patriotic motives which prompted him in the exercise of this supreme power. The EngHsh armament, instead of coming up the river, entered the lakes which connect with the gulf, and on the 23d of December commenced landing their forces on the narrow strip of land bordering the river. They reached 102 LIFE OF JACKSON. this point by means of the Bayou Bienvenu and Villere's canal, through which they passed in their boats. They were at this time ignorant of the extent of the preparations made by Jackson to receive them, and instead of marching directly upon the city, which would have been the safest course, their commander encamped where he had landed, on the plantations of two or three French settlers. When ^ackson received the intelhgence that the British had ef- ected a landing, he determined to attack them on the night of the 28d. Generals Coffee and Carroll wers ordered to proceed immediately from their encampment, and join him with all haste. Although four miles above, they arrived in the city in less than two hours after the order had been issued. These forces, with the seventh and forty-fourth regiments, the Louisiana troops, and Colonel Hinds' dragoons, from Mississippi, constituted the strength of his army, which could be brought into action against the enemy. It was thought advisable that General Carroll and his division should be disposed in the rear, for the reason that there was no correct information of the force landed through Villere's canal, and because Jackson feared that this probably might be merely a feint intended to divert his attention, while a much stronger and more numerous division, having already gained some point higher on the lake, might, by advancing in his absence, gain his rear, and succeed in their design. Being thus ignorant of their movements, it was essential that he should be prepared for the worst, and by different dispo- sitions of his troops be ready to offer an effectual resist- ance in whatever quarter he might be assailed. General Carroll, therefore, at the head of his division, and Governor Claiborne, with the state mihtia, were directed to take post on the Gentilly road, which leads from Chef Menteur another landing-place, to New Orleans, and to defend it t the last extremity. With the remainder of his troops about iw thousand in number, Jackson hastened down the river, towards the point where it had been reported the British had effected a landing. Alarm pervaded the city. The marching and counter- marching of the troops, the proximity of the enemy, with TWEN'^Y-THIRD OF DECElVrBER. KM c}to ^approaching contest, and uncertainty of tht issue, had excited a general apprehension. It was feared that the British might be already on their way, before the neces- sary arrangements could be made to oppose them. To prevent this, Colonel Hayne, with two companies of rifle- men, and the Mississippi dragoons, was sent forward to reconnoitre their camp, and learn their position and num- bers, and if they should be found advancing, to harass and oppose them at every step, until the main body should arrive. An inconsiderable circumstance at this moment evinced what unlimited confidence was reposed in Jackson's skill and bravery. As his troops were marching through the city, his ears were assailed with the screams and cries of innumerable females, who had collected on the way, and seemed to apprehend the worst of consequences. Feeling for their distresses, and anxious to quiet them, he directed Mr. Livingston, one of his aids-de-carap, to address them in the French language. " Say to them," said he, " not to be alarmed : the enemy shall never reach the city !" It operaed like an electric shock. To know that he him- self was not apprehensive of a fatal result, inspired them with altered feelings ; sorrow was ended, and their grief converted into hope and confidence. The general arrived in view of the enemy a little before dark. Having previously ascertained from Colonel Hayne, who had been sent in advance, their position, and that their strength was about two thousand, though it afterwards proved to be three thousand, he immediately concerted the mode of attack, and hastened to execute it. General Coffee, with his brigade, Colonel Hinds' dra- goons, and Captain Beal's company of riflemen, was di- rected to march to the left, keeping near the swamp, and, if possible, to turn the enemy's right, and drive them towards the river, where the Caroline, a schooner of war commanded by Commodore Patterson, would drop down and open upon them. The firing of the vessel was the appointed signal for a simultaneous attack on all sides. The rest of the troops, consisting of the regulars, and Planche's city vo- lunteers, Daquin's colored troops, and the artillery UD4«r 104 LIFE OF JACKSON. Lieutenant Spotts, supported by a company of marirres <^ommanded by Colonel McKee, advanced on the road along the bank of the Mississippi, and were commanded by Jackson in person. On approaching the enemy's position, their encampment was discovered, by the light of their camp-fires, to be formed with the left resting on the river, and extending into the open field. General Coffee had advanced, wit caution and silence, beyond their pickets, next the swamp and nearly reached the point to which he was ordered, when a broadside from the Caroline announced that the battle had begun. Patterson had proceeded slowly, giving time, as he believed, for the execution of the arrangements contemplated on shore. So sanguine had the British been in the belief that they would be kindly received, and little opposition attempted, that the Caroline floated by the sen- tinels, and anchored before their camp, without the least molestation. On passing the front picket, she was hailed in a low tone of voice, but not returning an answer, no further question was made. This, added to some other attendant circumstances, confirmed the opinion that they believed her to be a vessel laden with provisions, which had been sent out from New Orleans, and was intended for them. Having reached what appeared, from their fires, to be the centre of their encampment, her anchors were cast, and her character and business disclosed by her guns. So unexpected an attack produced a momentary confusion ; but recovering from their surprise, the enemy answered the fire with a discharge of musketry and flight of Congreve rockets, which passed without injury, while the grape and cannister from her guns were pouring de- struction upon them. They then extinguished their fires, by the light of which the vessel had directed her guns with remarkable precision, and retired two or three hundred yards into the open field. They were still within range of the cannon, but the darkness of the night afforded them considerable protection. General Coffee, having dismounted his men, and turned his horses loose, at a large ditch in the rear of Laronde's plantation, had gained, as he thought, the centre of the TWENTY-THIRD OF DECEMBER. 105 enemy's line, when the signal from the Caroline reached him. He directly wheeled his column in, and forming his line parallel with the river, moved towards their camp. IHe had scarcely advanced more than a hundred yards, when he received a heavy fire from the enemy in his front ; this was an unexpected circumstance to him, be- cause he supposed them to be lying principally at a dis- tance, and that the only opposition he should meet, until he approached towards the levee, would be from their ad- vanced pickets. The circumstance of his coming in con- tact with them «o soon, was owing to the severe attack of the schooner, which had compelled the enemy to abandon their camp, and form without the reach of her deadly fire. \ The moon was shining, but reflected her light too feebly } to discover objects at a distance. The only means, there- [ fore, of producing any positive effect, with the kind of \ force engaged, which consisted chiefly of riflemen, was ^not to venture at random, but to discharge their pieces i only when there should be a certainty of hitting the ob- 3 ject aimed at. This order being given, the hne pressed I on, and having gained a position near enough to disiin- fguish the enemy, a general fire was given; it was well ; directed, and too severe and destructive to be withstood ; |: the British gave way and retreated; they rallied again, i however, but were again attacked and forced to retire. • The gallant yeomanr}'-, led by their brave commander, ! pressed fearlessly on, and drove the invaders from every position they attempted to maintain. It was unnecessary for their general to encourage and allure them to deeds ■ of valor : his own example was sufficient to excite them. Always in their midst, he was cool and collected. Un- mindful of danger, he continued to remind his troops that ■ *bey had often said they could fight, and now was the I ime to prove it. i The British, driven back by the resolute firmness and i intrepidity of their assailants, reached a grove of orange ; trees, with a ditch running past it, protected by a fence on i the margin, where they were halted and formed for battle. [ It was a favorable position, promising entire security, and i it was occupied with a confidence that they could not be I 5* 106 LIFE OF JACKSON. forced to yield it. Coffee's brave troops, strengthened .n their hopes of success, moved on, nor discovered the ad- vantages against them, until a fire from the entire Britisn line showed their position and defence. A sudden check was given ; but it was only momentary, forgathering fresh ardor, they charged across the ditch, gave a deadly and destructive fire, and compelled the enemy to retire. The retreat continued, until gaining a similar position, the British made another stand, and were again driven from it with considerable loss. Thus the battle was carried on, upon the left wing, until the British reached the bank of the river; here a deter- mined stand was made, and further encroachments resisted : for half an hour the conflict was extremely violent on both sides. The American troops could not be driven from their purpose, nor the British made to yield their ground ; but at length, having suffered greatl}^ the latter were un- der the necessity of taking refuge behind the levee, which afforded a breastwork, and protected them from the fatal fire of our riflemen. General Coffee, though unacquainted with their position, for the darkness had greatly increased, contemplated another charge ; but one of his officers, who had discovered the advantage their situation gave them, assured him it was too hazardous ; that they could be driven no farther, and would, from the point they occu- pied, resist with the bayonet, and repel, with considerable loss, any attempt that might be made to dislodge them. The place of their retirement was covered in front by a strong bank, which had been extended into the field, to keep out the river, in consequence of the first bank hav- ing been encroached upon and undermined in several places : the latter, however, was still entire in many parts, and, interposing between them and the Mississippi, it afforded security from the broadsides of the schooner which lay off at some distance. A further apprehension, lest, by moving still nearer to the river, he might greatly expose himself to the fire of the Caroline, which was yet spiritedly maintaining the conflict, induced Coffee to re- tire until he could hear from the commanding general, and receive his further orders. TWENTY-THIRD OF DECEMBER. 107 During this time, the rig-ht wing-, under Jackson, had j been no less prompt and active. The advance, consisting i of a detachment of artillery under Lieutenant Spotts, I supported by sixty marines, moved down the road next the levee. On their left was the seventh regiment of in- fantry, led by Major Piere. The forty-fourth, commanded by Major Baker, was formed on the extreme left ; while lanche's and Daquin's battalions of city guards were di- ected to be posted in the centre, between the seventh and foriy-fourth. The general had ordered Colonel Ross, (who acted in the capacity of brigadier-general,) on hearing the signal from the Caroline, to move off by heads of com- panies, and, on reaching the enemy's line, to deploy, and unite the left wing of his command with the right of Ge- neral Coffee's. This order was omitted to be executed ; and the consequence was, an earl}^ introduction of con- fusion in the ranks, which prevented the important design of uniting the two divisions. Instead of moving in column from the first position, the troops, with the exception of the seventh regiment, next the person of the general, which advanced agreeably to the instructions that had been given, were formed and marched in extended line. Having sufficient ground to form on at first, no inconvenience was at the moment sus- tained ; but this advantage presently faihng, the centre became compressed, and was forced in the rear. The river gradually inclined to the left from the place where they were formed, and diminished the space originally pos- sessed. Farther in, stood Laronde's house, surrounded by a grove of clustered orange-trees : this pressing the left, and the river the right wing, to the centre, formed a curve, which presently threw the principal part of Planche's and Daquin's battalions without the line. This inconvenience might have been remedied, but for the briskness of the advance, and the darkness of the night. A heavy fire from behind a fence, immediately before them, brought the enemy to view. Acting in obedience to their orders, not to waste their ammunition at random, )ur troops pressed forward against the opposition in their front, and thereby threw those battalions in the rear 108 LIFE OF JACKSON. A fog rising- from the river, and mingling with the smoke from the guns, covered the plain, and gradually diminished the little light shed by the moon, at the same time greatly increasing the darkness of the night : no clue was left, therefore, to ascertain how or where the enemy were situated. There was no alternative but to move or> in the direction of their fire, which subjected the assail- ants to material disadvanfages. The British, driven from their first position, had retired and occupied another, be hind a deep ditch that ran out of the Mississippi towards the swamp, on the margin of which was a wood-railed fence. Here, strengthened by increased numbers, they again opposed the advance of our troops. Having waited until they had approached sufficiently near their fastnesses to be discovered, they discharged a fire upon the advancing army. Instantly the American battery was formed, and began to play briskly upon them ; while the infantry, press- ing forward, aided in the conflict, which at this point was for some time spiritedly maintained. At this moment a brisk sally was made upon our advance, when the marines, unequal to the assault, were already giving way. The adjutant-general, and Colonels Piatt and Chotard, hasten- ing to their support, with a part of the seventh, drove the enemy, and saved the artillery from capture. General Jackson, perceiving the decided advantages which were derived from the position they occupied, ordered their line to be charged. It was obeyed with cheerfulness, and executed with promptness. Pressing on, our troops gained the ditch, and pouring across it a well-caimed fire, compelled them to retreat, and to abandon their intrench- ment. The plain on which they were contending was cut to pieces by races from the river, to convey the water to the swamp. The enemy were therefore very soon ena- bled to occupy another positi 'ii, equally fiivourable with the one whence they had been just driven, where they formed for battle, and for some time gallantly maintained themselves ; but they were at length, after a stubborn resistance, forced to yield their ground. The enemy discovering the firm and obstinate advance made by the right wing of the American army, and prti- TWENTY-THIRD OF DECEMBER. 109 Burning, perhaps, that its principal strength was posted on the road, formed the intention of attacking the left. Ob- hquing for this purpose, an attempt was made to turn it. At this moment, Daquin's battalion and the city guards, being marched up and formed on the left of the foriy fourth regiment, met and repulsed them. The nature of the contest prevented securing those benefits which might have been derived from the artil- lery. The darkness of the night was such, that the blaze of the enemy's musketry was the only light afforded by which to determine their position, or be capable of taking that of the Americans to advantage; yet, notwithstanding, it greatly annoyed them, whenever it could be brought to bear. Directed by Lieutenant Spotts, a vigilant and skilful officer, with men to aid him who looked to nothing but a zealous discharge of their duty, the most essential and important services were rendered. The enemy had been thrice assailed and beaten, and compelled to retreat for nearly a mile. They had now retired, and if found, were to be sought for amid the dark- ness of the night. The general, therefore, determined to halt, and ascertain Coffee's position and success, before proceeding farther, for as yet no communication had passed between them. He entertained no doubt, from the brisk firing in that direction, that he had been warmly engaged ; but this had now nearly subsided : the Caro- hne, too, had almost ceased her operations ; it being only occasionally that the noise of her guns disclosed the little opportunity she possessed of acting efficiently. The express despatched to General Jackson from the left wing, having reached him, he determined not to pro- secute the successes he had gamed. The darkness of the ^ight, the confusion into which his own division had been hrown, and a similar disaster produced in Coffee's ranks, all pointed to the necessity of retiring from the field, and abandoning the contest for the time. The bravery and firmness already displayed by his troops, had impressed him with the belief, that by pushing forward he might capture the whole British army: at any rate, he con- sidered it bat a game of venture and hazard, which, i^ 110 LIFE OF JACKSON. unsuccessful, could not occasion his own defeat. If in- competent to its execution, and superior numbers or su- perior discipline should compel him to retire in his turn, he well knew that the enemy would not have temerity enough to attempt pursuit, on account of the extreme darkness, and their ignorance of the situation of the coun- try. But on the arrival of the express from General Cof- fee, and having been informed of the strength of th position to which the enemy had retired, and that a par of the left wing had been detached, and were in all pro- bability captured, he determined to retire from the field. General Coffee was accordingly directed to withdraw, and take up his position at Laronde's plantation, where the hne had been first formed ; the troops on the right were also ordered to the same point. The last charge made by the left wing had separated Colonel Dyer from the main body, with two hundred men, and Captain Bcai's company of riflemen. What might be their fate, whether they were captured or had effected th'.-ir retreat, was, at this time, altogether uncertain. Colonel Dyer, who commanded the extreme left, on clearing the grove, after the enemy had retired, was marching in the direction in which he expected to find General Coffi^e ; he very soon discovered a force in front, and halting his men, hastened towards it ; arriving within a short distance, he was hailed, ordered to stop, and report to whom he belonged : Dyer, and Gibson, his lieutenant- colonel, who had accompanied him, advanced and stated that they were of Coffee's brigade ; by this time, they had nearly reached the line, and perceiving that the name of the brigade they had stated was not understood, their ap- prehensions were awakened, lest it might be a detachment of the enemy ; in this opinion they were immediately con- firmed, and having wheeled about to return, they were fired on and pursued. Gibson had scarcely started, when he fell ; before he could recover, a soldier, quicker than the rest, had reached him, and pinned hi'ii to the ground with his bayonet ; fortunately he was but slightly wound- ed and only held by his clothes ; thus pinioned, and per- ceiving others to be briskly advancing, but a moment was ADVENTURE OF COLONEL DYER. Ill left for deliberation ; makine a violent exertion, and spring- ing to his feet, he threw his assailant to the ground, and made good his escape. Colonel Dyer had retreated about fifty yards, when his horse dropped dead. Being en- tangled in the fall, and receiving a wound in the thigh, there was little prospect of relief, for the enemy were briskly advancing. He therefore ordered his men, who were close at hand, to advance and fire, which checked the approach of the enemy, and enabled him to escape. Having thus discovered an enemy in a direction he had not expected, and uncertain how or where he might find General Coffee, he determined to seek him to the right, and moving on with his little band, forced his way through the enemy's lines, with the loss of sixty-three of his men, who were killed and taken. Captain Beal, with equal bravery, charged through their ranks, carrying off some prisoners, and losing several of his own company. This body of the enemy proved to be a reinforcement which had arrived from Bayou Bienvenu after night. The boats that landed the first detachment had proceeded back to the shipping, and having returned, were on their way up the Bayou, when they heard the guns of thn Caroline : moving hastily on to the assistance of tho^.e who had debarked before them, they reached the sho''e, and knowing nothing of the situation of the two armies, during the engagement, advanced in the rear of General Coffee's brigade. Coming in contact with Colonel Dyer and Captain Beal, they filed oft' to the left, and reached the British lines. This detached part of Coffee's brigade, unable to unite with or find him, retired to the place where they had first formed, and joined Colonel Hinds' dragoons, who had re- mained on the ground that they might cover the retreat of the troops if it became necessary. Jackson went into this battle confident of success; and his arrangements were such as would have insured it even to a much greater extent, but for the intervention of circum- stances that were not and could not have been foreseen. The Caroline gave her signals, and commenced the battle a little too early, before Coffee had reached and taken his 112 LIFE OF JACKSON. position, and before every thing was fully in readiness to attain the objects desired; but it was chiefly owing to the confusion in the ranks at first which checked the rapidity of Jackson's advance, gave the enemy time for prepara tion, and prevented his division from uniting with the right wing of General Coffee's brigade. Colonel Hinds, and his dragoons, were not brought into action during the night. Interspersed as the plain was with innumerable ditches, diverging in different directions it was impossible that cavalry could act to any kind of ad- vantage. After the battle was over, they Avere formed in advance to watch the movements of the enemy until morning. From the experiment just made, Jackson beheved it would be in his power to capture the British army ; he concluded, therefore, to order General Carroll, with his division, down to his assistance, and to attack them again at the dawn of day. Directing Governor Claiborne to remain at his post, with the Louisiana militia, for the defence of the Gentilly road, an important pass to the city, he despatched an express to Carroll, stating to him, that if there had been no appearance of a force during the night, in the direction of Chef Menteur, to hasten and join him with the troops under his command; this order was executed by one o'clock in the morning. Previous- ly, however, to his arrival, a different determination was made. It was ascertained from prisoners who had been brought in, and through deserters, that the strength of the enemy during the battle was four thousand, and, with the reinforcements which had reached them after its com- mencement, and during the action, their force could not be less than six ; at any rate, it would greatly exceed that of the Americans, even with the addition of the Tennessee division. Although very decided advantages had been obtained, yet they had been procured under circumstances that might be wholly lost in a contest waged in open day, between forces so disproportionate, and by undisciphned troops against veteran soldiers. Jackson well knew it was incumbent upon him to act a part entirely defensive : should the attempt to gain and destroy the city succeed. EFFECT OF Tlti! BATTLE. 113 niimerons difficulties would present themselves, which might be avoided so long as hy could hold the enemy in check, and foil their designs. Being firnily persuaded that it was important to pursue a course calculated to insure safety, and believing it at- tainable in no way so eflectually as in occupying some point, and by the streilgth he might give it compensate for the inferiority of his numbers and their want of dis- cipline, Jackson determined to make no further offen- sive efforts until he could more certainly discover the views of the enemy, and until the Kentucky troops, which had not yet arrived, should reach him. In pursuance of this idea, after having ordered Colonel Hinds to occupy the ground he was then abandoning, and to observe the enemy closely, he fell back in the morning, and formed his line behind a deep ditch that extended to the swamp, at right angles from the river. There were two circum- stances strongly recommending the importance of this place : — the swamp, which, from the highlands at Baton Rouge, skirted the river at irregular distances, and in many places was almost impervious, at this point ap- proached within four hundred yards of the Mississippi, and hence, from the narrowness of the pass, was more easily to be defended ; in addition to this, there was a deep canal, the dirt from which having been thrown on the upper side, already formed a tolerable work of defence. Behind this his troops were formed, and proper measures adopted for increasing the strength of the position, with the determination never to abandon it. The soldier who is familiar with the scenes of the battle- field, and understands what slight circumstances frequent- ly counteract the operations of a whole campaign, and produce the most decided advantages, where a different issue might not unreasonably have been expected.^ will be able properly to appreciate the effect of the attack made by General Jackson on the advance of the enemy upon the night of the 2od of December. Although the dread- ful carnage of the 8th of January was, in point of fact, the hnishing blow that struck doM^n the towering hopes of the invaders, and put an end to the contest, yet in 114 LIFE OF JACKSON. the previous engagement there was much to excite their fears and apprehensions. They had reached the INIis- sissippi without the fire of a gun, and encamped upon its banks as composedly as if they had been seated on their own soil, and at a distance from all danger. These were circumstances which impressed them with the belief that they need expect but little opposition ; that success was certain ; and that the troops with whom they were to con- tend would scarcely venture to resist them. So confident were they in their expectations, that they intended to move forward the next day, and attack the city. But Jackson well knew how essential an early impression was to ultimate success, and resolved to assail them at the mo- ment of their landing, and "attack them in their first position." With a force inferior by one-half to that of the enemy, at an unexpected moment he had broken into their camp, and with his undisciplined yeomanry driven before him the pride of England and the conquerors of Europe. It was an event that could not fail to destroy all previous theories, and establish a conclusion which the British had not before formed, that they were contending against valor inferior to none they had seen, and before which their own bravery and skill availed nothing. It had the effect of satisfying them, that the quantity and kind of troops it was in our power to bring into action, were very different from any thing that had been represented to them ; for much as they had heard of the courage of the man with whom they were contending, they could not suppose that a general, having a country to defend, and a reputation to preserve, would venture to attack a force greatly superior to his own, on ground they had chosen, and one too, which, by the numerous victories it had achieved, had already acquired the highest distinction. All these circumstances tended to convince them that his force must far surpass their expectations, and be com- posed of materials very different from what they had ima- gined. The American troops which were actually engaged in the action, did not amount to two thousand men, as ap- pears by the following statemen : DEATH OF COLONEL LAUPERDALE. 115 Part of Coffee's brigade and Captain Deal's company, amounting- to 648 The 7th and 44th regiments, . . - - 763 Company of marines and artillery, - - - 82 Planche's and Daquin's battalioHs, - - - 4S8 - ^ Total 1981 This small body of men, for more than an hour, main amed a severe conflict with a force of four or five thou sand, and retired in safety from the field, with the loss of but twenty-four killed, and one hundred and fifteen wounded, and seventy-four made prisoners ; while the killed, wounded, and prisoners of the enemy, were not less than four hundred. The officers and soldiers under Jackson executed every order with promptitude, and nobly sustained the honour of their country. Lieutenant-Colo- nel Lauderdale, of Coffee's brigade, an officer of great pro- mise, and on whom every reliance was placed, fell man- fully fighting at his post. He entered the service, and descended the river with the volunteers under General Jackson, in the winter of 1812; passed through all the hardships and difficulties of the Creek war ; and ever manifested a commendable alacrity in the discharge of his duty. Young, brave, and skilful, he had already aflbrded evidences of a capacity which promised to be exceedingly useful in the career he had embraced. His exemplary conduct, both in civil and military life, had acquired foi him a respect that rendered his death a subject of general regret. Lieutenant McLelland, a valuable young officer of the 7th, was also among the slain. General Coffee's bri- gade imitated the example of their commander during the action, and bravely and ably supported the character they had previously estabhshed. The unequal contest in which they were engaged never occurred to their minds, nor checked, for a moment, the rapidity of their advance. Had the British known that they were merely riflemen, and without bayonets, a firm stand would have arrested their progress, and destruction or capture would have been the inevitable consequence ; but this circumstance being unknown, every charge they made was crowned with 116 LIFE OF JACKSON. success, producing discomfiture in the opposing ranks, and routing and driving superior numbers before them. Officers, from the highest to the inferior grades, were ahke prompt and efficient. Ensign Leach, of the 7th regiment, being wounded through the body, still remained at his post, in the performance of his duty. Colonel Kemper, amid the confusion introduced on the left wing, found himself at the head of a handful of men, detached from the main body, and in the midst of a party of the enemy: never did any man better exemplify the truth of the as- sertion, that discretion is sometimes the better part of valor; to attempt resistance was idle, and could only end in certain destruction. Calhng to a group of soldiers who were near him, in a positive tone, he demanded of them where their regiment was. Being themselves at fault, they were un- able to answer; but supposing him to be one of their officers, they obeyed his orders, and followed him to his own line, where they were made prisoners. The 7th regiment, commanded by Major Piere, and the 44th, under Major Baker, aided by Major Butler, gallant- ly maintained the conflict; forced the enemy from every position they attempted to occupy; and drove them some distance from the first point of attack. Confiding in them- selves, and in their general, who was constantly with them, exposed to danger and in the midst of the fight, inspiring them by his ardor and encouraging them by his example, the American soldiers bravely advanced to the conflict, noi evinced a disposition to retire, until the prudence of theil commander dictated the necessary order. THE AMERICANS FORTIFY THEIR POSITION. 117 CHAPTER VIII. 814. The Americans fortify their position — Jackson's peremptory orders to Major Lacoste — Defence of the Pass Barrataria — Cap- tain Lafitte — Attack made by the British on the 28th of December — Defensive preparations hastened — Death of Colonel Henderson — Disaffection in New Orleans — Information communicated to the British fleet — Stratagem of Mr. Shields — Conduct of the Louisiana legislature — Patriotic reply of Jackson to the committee^Atiempt to supply his troops wuh arms — Gallantry of Colonel Hinds — Can- nonade on the 1st of January — Position of the American army — Jackson's orders to the Frenchman to defend his property — De- fences on the right bank of the river— Caution of Jackson in con- cealing the number of his troops. 1815. The distinguishing traits in the character of General Jackson, as a miHtary commander, were clear-headed sa- gacity, -promptness of decision, and rapidity of execution. He had no sooner resolved on the course which he thought necessary to be pursued, than he hastened with all possible dispatch, to secure its completion. After the engagement with the British on the night of the 23d of December, it was evident to his mind that it would be exceedingly un- wise to risk an encounter with the enemy, in -an open field, at the head of an inferior, undisciplined, and un- armed force. He conceived, therefore, that a defensiv^e poHc}^ was the most judicious, and that by prudence and caution he would be able to preserve what might be en- dangered by any offensive movement. Hence, he de- termined to fortify himself as effectually as the peril and exigencies of the moment would permit. When to expect an attack, he could not tell ; preparation and readiness to meet it, were for him to determine upon ; all else was for the enemy. He proceeded promptly with his system of defence, and such was his thoughtfulness and anxiety, that, until the night of the 27th, when his lines v>'ere com- 118 LIFE OF JACKSON. pleted, he never slept, or closed his eyes for a moment. Resting his hopes of safety and security to the city, on his ability to check the advance of the enemy, he was everywhere present, encouraging his troops, and hasten- ing a completion of the work. The concern and excite- ment produced by the important object before him, were so great, that for five days and four nights he was con- stantly employed. His line of defence, the celebrated cotton embankment, being completed on the night of the 27th, for the first time since the arrival of the enemy, he sought that rest and repose he so much needed. The violence of the attack made on the night of the 23d of December, naturally excited the fears of the Britisll troops, and it was considered important to keep their ap- prehensions alive, with a view to destroy the overween- ing confidence with which they had arrived on our shores, and to compel them to act for a time upon the defensive. To effect this, General Coffee, with his brigade, was ordered down on the morning of the 24th, to unite with Colonel Hinds, and make a show in the rear of Lacoste's plantation. The enemy being not yet recovered from the panic produced by the assault of the preceding evening, believed it was in contemplation to urge another attack, and immediately formed themselves to repel it ; but Coffee, having succeeded in recovering some of his horses, which were wandering along the margin of the swamp, and in regaining part of the clothing that his troops had lost the night before, returned to the fine, leaving them to con- jecture the object of his movement. The scanty supply of clothes and blankets that re- mained to the soldiers, from their long and exposed marches, had been left where they dismounted to meet the enemy. Their numbers were too limited, and the strength of their opponents too well ascertained, for any part of their forces to remain and take care of what was left behind ; it was so essential to hasten on and reach their destination, that they might be ready to act when the signal was given from the Caroline, that no time was afforded them to secure their horses, which were turned loose, and their recovery trusted entirely to chance- Ai niM^kl ^ CONDITION OF THE AMERICAN TROOPS. 119 though many were regained, many were lost ; whilo most of the men remained with but a single suit, to encounter in the open field, and in swamps covered with water, the hardships of a camp, and the severity of winter. It is a circumstance which entitles them to much credit, that under privations so severely oppressive, complaints or murmurs were never heard. This state of, things fortu- ately was not of long continuance. The story of their ufferings and misfortunes was no sooner known, than the legislature appropriated a sum of money for their relief, which was greatly increased by subscriptions in the city and neighborhood. Materials having been purchased, the ladies, with that Christian charity and warmth of heart characteristic of their sex, at once exerted themselves in supplying their wants; all their industry was called into action, and in a little time the suffering soldiers were re- heved. Such generous conduct, in extending assistance, at a moment when it was so much needed, while it,con- ferred on those females the highest honor, could not fail to nerve the arm of the brave soldier with new zeal for the defence of his fair benefactors. This distinguished mark of their patriotism and benevolence is still remembered ; and often, as these valiant men are heard to recount the dangers they have passed, and with peculiar pride to dwell on the mingled honors and hardships of the cam- paign, they breathe a sentiment of gratitude for those who conferred upon them such distinguished marks of their kindness, and who by their timely interference alleviated their misfortunes and their sufferings. In order to prevent the advance of the enemy, and keep up a show of resistance, detachments of light troops were occasionally kept in front of their line, as&ailing and ha- rassing their advanced posts, whenever an opportunity was offered for acting to advantage. Every moment that could be gained, and every delay that could hinder or retard the ent^my's attempts to reach the city, was of the utmost importance. The works were rapidly progressing, and hourly increasing in strength. The mihiia of the state were every day arriving, and every day the prospeci of successful opposition became brighter and more auspicious. 6 120 LIFE OF JACKSON. The enemy still remained at their first encampment ; but that every thing might be in readiness to repel an assault, when attempted, the most active preparations were made in the American camp. The canal covering the front of the line was deepened and widened, and a strong mud wall formed of the earth that had been originally thrown out. To prevent any approach until his system of defence should be in a state of greater forwardness, Jackson ordered the levee to be cut about a hundred yards below the point he had occupied. The river being very high, a broad stream of water passed rapidly through the plain, and covered it to the depth of thirty or forty inches which prevented the march of troops on foot. Embra- sures were formed, and two pieces of artillery, under the command of Lieutenant Spotts, were placed in a position to rake the road leading up the levee, early on the morn ing of the 21th of December. Gieneral Jackson was under the constant apprehension lest, in spite of his exertions below^, the city might be reached and destroyed through some other route. His fears were increased on the 24th, by a report that a strong force had arrived ; debarked at the head of Lake Borgne ; and compelled an abandonment of the defence at Chef Menteur. This, however, proved to be unfounded : the enemy had not appeared in that direction, nor had the officer to whom the command of this important fort was intrusted, forgotten his duty or forsaken his post. Acting upon the statement that Major Lacoste had retired from the fort, and fallen back on Bayou St. John, and incensed that orders, which, from their importance, should have been faithfully executed, had been thus lightly regarded, Jackson hastened to inform him Avhat he had understood, and to forbid his leaving his position. "The battery I have placed under your command," said the general, " must be defended at all hazards. In you, and the valor of your troops, I repose every confidence — let me not be deceived. With us every thing goes on well ; the enemy has not yet advanced. Our troops have covered them- selves with glory : it is a noble example, and worthy to be followed by ail. Maintain your post, nor ever thinli ORDERS TO MAJOR LACOSTE. 121 of retreating." To give additional strength to a place deemed so important, and to inspire confidence and insure safety, Colonel Dyer, with two hundred men, was ordered there, to assist in its defence, and act as videttes, in ad- vance of the occupied points. General Morgan, who commanded the fort on the east bank of the river, was instructed to proceed as near the enemy's camp as prudence and safety would permit, and by destrojang the levee, to let in the waters of the Missis- sippi between them. The execution of this order, and a similar one previously made below the line of defence, entirely insulated the enemy, and prevented his march against either place. On the ^oth, the commanding ge- neral, fearing for the situation of Morgan, who, as the British occupied the intermediate ground, was entirely detached from his camp, directed him to abandon the post, carry ofT such of the cannon as might be wanted, and throw the remainder into the river, where they could be again recovered when the waters receded ; and after domg this, to retire across the river, and assume a position on the right bank, nearly opposite to his line, and fortify it. This movement was rendered necessary by the relative div'^position of the two armies. From the intelligence obtained through deserters and prisoners, it was evident that the British fleet would make an effort to ascend the river, and co-operate with the troops already landed. Lest this, or a diversion in a different quarter, might be attempted, exertions were made to offer resistance at all points, and to interj)ose such defences on the Mississippi as might secure protection. The forts on the river, being well supported with brave men and heavy pieces of artillery, might, it was thought, have the effect to deter their shipping from venturing in that direction, and dispose them to seek some safer route, if any could be discovered. Pass Barrataria was best calculated for this purpose, and it was expected that the effort would, in ail probability, be made in that quarter. The difficulty of ascending the Mississippi, from the rapidity of the cur- rent, its winding course, and the amph protection already given at forts St. Philip and Bourbon, were circumstances 123 LIFE OF JACKSON. to which the British were not strangers : nor was it to be expected that, with a knowledge of them, they would venture the success of an enterprise on which so much depended. It was a more rational conjecture that they would seek a passage through Earrataria, proceed up on the right bank of the river, and gain a position from which, by co-operating with the forces on the east side, they might drive the Americans from the line they had formed, and succeed in the accomplishment of their designs. Major Reynolds was accordingly ordered thither, with instruc- tions to place the bayous emptying through this pass in the best possible state of defence — to occupy and strength- en the island — to mount sufficient ordnance, and draw a chain withiu cannon-shot across the channel. Lafitte, who had previously been promised a pardon for the out- rages committed against the laws of the United States, and who had already shown a lively zeal on behalf of his adopted country, was also despatched with Reynolds. He was selected, because no doubt was entertained of his fidelity, and because his knowledge of the topography and precise situation -of this section of the state was remark- ably correct : it was the point where he had constantly rendezvoused, while cruisinof acjainst the merchant vessels of Spain, under a commission obtained at Carthagena, and where he had become perfectly acquainted with every inlet and entrance to the gulf, through which a passage could be effected. With these arrangements, all being anxiously alive to the interests of the country, and disposed to protect it, there was little room to apprehend or fear disaster. To use the general's own expression on another occasion : " the surest defence, and one which seldom failed of success, was a rampart of high-minded and brave men." That there were some of this description with him, on whom he could safely rely in moments of extreme peril, he well knew; but that there were many strangers to him and to danger, who had never been called to act in situations where the horrors of the field of battle appal and unnerve even the most resolute, was equally certain ; whethei they would support the cause in which they had em MOVEMENTS OF THE BRITISH. 123 barked, with manly firmness, and realize his anxious wishes on the subject, could be known only in the hour of conflict and trial. As yet, the enemy were not informed of the position of Jackson. What was his situation — what was intended — whether offensive or defensive operations would be pur- sued, were matters in regard to which they possessed no correct knowledge, nor could it be obtained ; still their exertions were unremitting to have all things prepared, and in readiness to urge their designs, whenever the mo- ment for action should arrive. They had been constantly engaged since their landing, in procuring from their ship- ping every thing necessary to ulterior operations. A com plete command on the lakes, and possession of a point on the ma '•gin, presented an uninterrupted ingress and egress. and afforded the opportunity of conveying whatever was wanted, in perfect safety, to their camp. The height of the Mississippi, and the discharge of water through the openings made in the levee, had given an increased depth to the canal, from which they had first debarked ; they were enabled to advance their boats much farther in the direction of their encampment, and to bring up, with greater convenience, their artillery, bombs, and munitions. They were tl us engaged during the first three days after their arrival, hod early on the morning of the 27th a bat- tery was discov red on the bank of the river, which had been erected du '^g the preceding night, and on which were mounted se eral pieces of heavy ordnance ; from this position a fire was opened on the Caroline schooner, lying under the opposite shore. After the battle of the 28d, in which this vessel ren- dered such effectual assistance, she passed to the opposite side of the river, where she had since lain. Her services were too highly appreciated not to be again desired, should the enemy endeavor to advance. Her present situation was cinsidered an unsafe one, but several vain attempts had been made to advance her higher up the stream. No favorable breeze had yet arisen to aid her in stemming the current ; and towing, and other remedies, had been already resorted to. but without success. Her safety might 124 LIFE OF JACKSON. have been ensured by floating her down the river, and placing her under cover of the guns of the fort ; bui it was preferred, as a matter of policy, to risk her where she was. Commodore Patterson left her on the 26th, by the order of the commanding general, when Captain Henly made a further but ineffectual effort to force her up the current, near to the Hne, for the double purpose of its de- fence and for her own safety. This attempt being discovered at daylight on the morn- ing of the 27th, a battery, mounting five guns, opened upon her, discharging bombs and red-hot shot ; it was spiritedly answered, but without affecting the battery ; there being but a long twelve-pounder that was of service. The second fire lodged a hot shot in the hold, directly under her cables, whence it could not be remo' ed, and where it immediately communicated fire to the schooner. The shot from the battery were constantly taking effect, firing her in different places, and otherwise producing material injury ; while the blaze, already kindled undei her cables, was rapidly extending its ravages. A well grounded apprehension of her commander, that she could be no longer defended, — the flames bursting forth in dif- ferent parts, and fast increasing — induced a fear lest the magazine should be soon reached, and ev?ry thing de- stroyed. One of his crew being killed, ar i six wounded, and not a glimmering of hope entertain' i that she could be preserved, orders were given to a andon her. The crew reached the shore in safety, and in a short time after- wards she blew up. Although thus unexpectedly deprived of so material a dependence for successful defence, an opportunity was soon presented of using her brave crew to advantage. Gathering confidence from what had just been effected, the enemy left their encampment, and moved in the direc- tion of the American line. Their numbers had been in- creased, and Major-General Sir Edward Packenhain now commanded in person. Early on the 28th, his columns com- menced their advance to storm the works. At the distance of half a mile, their heavy artillery opened, and quantities of bombs, balls, and Congreve rockets were discharged. It ATTACK ON THE TWENTY-EIGHTH. 125 wns a scene of terror and alarm, which they had probably- calculated would excite a panic in the minds of the raw troops of our army, and compel them to surrender at dis- cretion, or abandon their strong-hold. But our soldiers had afforded abundant proof, that, whether disciplined or not, they well knew how to defend the honor and interests of their country ; and had sufficient valor not to be alarmed at the reality — still less at the semblance of danger. Far from exciting- their apprehensions, and driving them from their ground, their firmness remained unchanged ; and they still manifested a determination not to tarnish a re- putation they had hardly earned, and which had become too dear, from the difficulties and dangers they had passed to acquire it, to be tamely surrendered. The Congreve rockets, though an instrument of destruction to which the American troop^s had been hitherto strangers, excited no other feeling than that which novelty inspires. At the moment, therefore, that the British, in different co- lumns, were moving up, in all the pomp and parade of battle, preceded by the insignia of terror more than dan- ger, and expecting to behold their "Yankee foes" retire and flee before them, the batteries opened, and checked their advance. In addition to the two pieces of cannon mounted on the works on the 24th, three others, of lieav}^ calibre, obtained from the navy department, had been formed along the line ; these opening on the enemy, checked their progress, and disclosed to them the hazard of their project. Lieutenants Crawley and Norris volunteered, and with the crew of the Caroline rendered important services, and maintained at the guns they commanded that firmness and decision for which, on previous occasions, they had been so highly distinguished. They had been selected by the general because of their superior knowledge in gunnery ; and on this occasion gave a further evidence of their skill and judgment, and of a disposition to act in an}^ situation where they could be serviceable. The line, which, from the labors bestowed on it, was daily strengthening, was not yet in a situation to offer effectual resistance ; this de- 126 LIFE OF JACKSQX. ficiency, however, was remedied by the brave men who were formed in its rear. The greatest injury was effected from the river. Lieu- tenant Thompson, who commanded the Louisiana sloop, which lay nearly opposite the line of defence, no sooner discovered the columns approaching, than, warping her around, he brought her starboard guns to bear, and pro- duced such an effect as forced them to retreat; but from their heavy artilieryy the enemy maintained the conflict with great spirit, constantly discharging their bombs and rockets for seven hours, when, unable to make a breach, or silence the fire from the sloop, they abandoned a contest where few advantages seemed to be presented. The crew of this vessel was composed of new recruits, and of discordant materials — of soldiers, citizens, and seamen ; yet, by the activity of their commander, they were so well perfected in their duty, that they already managed their guns with the greatest precision and certainty oi effect ; and by three o'clock in the evening, with the aid of the land batteries, had completely silenced and driven back the enemy. Emboldened by the effect produced the day before, on the Caroline, the furnaces of the enemy were put in operation, and numbers of hot shot thrown from a heavy piece which was placed behind and pro- tected by the levee. An attempt was now made to carry it off, when their former protection being taken away, those in the direction of it were fairly exposed to the Ame- rican fire, and suffered greatly. In their endeavors to re- move it, " I saw," says Commodore Patterson, "distinct- ly, with the aid of a glass, several balls strike in the midst of the men who were employed in dragging it away.'* In this engagement little or no injury was received. The Louisiana sloop, against which the most violent exertions were made, had but a single man wounded, by the fragments of a shell which burst over her deck. Her entire loss did not exceed nine killed, and eight or ten wounded. The enemy being more exposed, acting in the open field, and in range of her guns, suffered, from information after- wards procured, considerable injury ; at least one hundrv»4 and twenty were killed and wounded. DEATH OF COLONEL HENDERSON. 127 Among- the Americans killed was Colonel James Hen- derson, of the Tennessee militia. An advance party of the British had taken post, during the action, behind a fence that ran obliquely to, and not very remote from our line. Hen- derson, with a detachment of two hundred men, was sent out by General Carroll to drive them from a position whence they were effecting some injury, and greatly annoying his troops. Had he advanced in the manner directed, he would have been less exposed, and enabled more effec- tually to have secured the object intended : but misunder- standing the order, he proceeded in a different route, and tell a victim to his error. Instead of marching in the di- rection of the wood, and turning the enemy, which might have cut off' their retreat, he proceeded in front, towards the river, leaving them in rear of the fence, and himself and his detachment open and exposed. His mistake be- ing perceived from the line, he was called by the adjutant- general, and directed to return ; but the noise of the wa- ter, through which they were wading, prevented any communication. Having reached a knoll of dry ground, he formed, and attempted the execution of his order ; but soon fell from a wound in the head. Deprived of their commander, and perceiving their situation hazardous and untenable, the detachment retreated to the line, with the loss of their colonel and five men. While this advance was made, a column of the enemy was threatening an attack on the extreme left. To frustrate the attempt. General Coffee was ordered with his riflemen to hasten through the woods and check their approach. The enemy, although greatly superior to him in numbers, no sooner discovered his movement, than they retired, and abandoned the attack they had previously meditated. The evident disaffection in Nevv Orleans, and the pre- ence of an enemy in front, were circumstances well cal- ailated to excite unpleasant forebodings. General Jackson believed it necessary and essential to his security, while contending with avowed foes, not to be wholly inattentive to dangers lurking at home ; but, by guarding vigilantly, to be able to suppress any treasonable purpose the moment it should be developed, and before it should have time to 6* 128 LIFE OF JACKSON. mature. Previously, therefore, to departing from the city, on the evening- of the 23d, he had ordered Major Butler, his aid, to remain with the guards, and be careful that nothing transpired in his absence calculated to operate in- juriously. His fears that there were many of the inha- bitants who felt no attachment to the government, and Avould not scruple to surrender it whenever it should be- come necessary to their interest, has been already noticed. Subsequent circumstances evinced that there was no mis- take in this belief, and showed that to his assiduity and energy it is to be ascribed that the country was protected and saved. It is a fact, which was disclosed on making an exchange of prisoners, that, despite all the efforts made to prevent it, the enemy were daily and constantly apprised of every thing th.it transpired in the camp. Every arrangement, and every change of position, was immediately communicated. On the day subsequent to a contest on the lakes on the 14th of December, Mr. Shields, a purser in the navy, was despatched with a flag, to Cat island, accompanied by Dr. Murrell, for the purpose of alleviating the situation of the wounded, and to effect a negotiation, by which they should be liberated on parol. We are not aware that such an application mihtated against the usao-es and customs of war : if not, the flasf of truce should have been respected ; nor ought its bearer to have been detained as a prisoner. Admiral Cochrane pretended to be fearful that it was a trick designed to ascertain his strength and situation, but this was very far from presenting any sufficient excuse for so wanton an outrage on propriety and the rules of war. If, indeed, such a result was apprehended, could not the messengers have been met at a distance from the fleet, and ordered back without a near approach ? Had this been done, no information could have been gained, and the object de- signed to be secured by the detention would have been answered, without infringing that amicable mtercourse between contending armies, which, when violated or dis- regarded, opens a door to brutal and savage warfare. When it was found in the American camp, that they did not return, the cause of it was at once correctly divined TRAITORS IN THE CITY. 129 The British admiral was very solicitous, and resorted lo various means, to obtain from these gentlemen informa- tion of the strength, condition, and disposition of the Ame- rican arm}^ ; but so cautious a reserv'^ was maintained, that nothing could be elicited. Shields was perceived to be quite deaf, and calculating on some advantage to be de- rived from this circumstance, he and the doctor were placed at night in the green-room, where any conversa tion which occurred between them could readily be heard. Suspecting, perhaps, something of the kind, after having retired, they began to speak of their situation — the cir- cumstance of their being detained, and of the prudent caution with which they had guarded themselves against communicating any information to the British admiral. But, continued Shields, how greatly these gentlemen will be disappointed in their expectations, for Jackson, with the twenty thousand troops he now has, and the reinforce- ments from Kentucky, which must speedily reach him, will be able to destroy any force that can be landed from these ships. Every word was heard and treasured, and not supposing there was any design, or that he presumed himself overheard, they were beguiled by it, and at once concluded our force to be as great as it was represented ; and hence, no doubt, arose the reason of that prudent care and caution with which the enemy afterwards proceeded ; for "nothing," remarked a British officer, at the close of the invasion, "was kept a secret from us, except your numbers ; this, although diligently sought after, could never be procured." Between the 2:]d, and the attempt on the 28th, to carry the line. Major Butler, who remained at his post in the city, was applied to by Mr. Skipwith, at that time Speaker of the Senate, to ascertain the commanding general's views, provided he should be driven from his line of en- campment, and compelled to retreat through the city ; and the question was asked, whether, in that event, he would destroy it ? It was, indeed, a curious inquiry from one who, having spent his life in serving his country in different capacities, might better have understood the duty of a subordinate officer ; and that even, if, from his situa- 130 LIFE OF JACKSON iion, Major Butler had so far acquired the confidence oi his general as to have become acquainted with his views und designs, he was not at liberty to divulge them, with- out destroying confidence and acting criminally. Upon asking the cause of the inquiry, Mr. Skipwith repHed, ii was rumored, and so understood, that if driven from his position, and made to retreat upon the city, General Jack- son had it in contemplation to lay it in ruins ; the legis- lature, he said, desired information on this subject, that i! such were his intentions, they might, by offering terms of capitulation to the enemy, avert so serious a calamity That a sentiment having for its object a surrender of the city, should be entertained by this body, was scarcely credible ; yet a few days made it still more apparent, and showed that they were already devising plans to insure the safety of themselves and properly, even at any sacri- fice. While the general was hastening along the line, he was hailed by Mr. Duncan, one o( his volunteer aids, and informed that it was already agitated in secret, by the members of the legislature, to offer terms of capitulation to the enemy, and proffer a surrender, and that (Governor Claiborne awaited his orders on the subject. Critical as the time was, the safety or fall of the city being still un- certain, it was plainly to be perceived, that, although with a strong army before them, no such resolution could be carried into effect, yet it might be productive of evil, and in the end bring about the most fatal consequences. Even the disclosure of such a wish on the part of the legislature might create parties, excite opposition in the anny, and inspire the enemy with renewed confidence. The Ten- nessee forces, and Mississippi volunteers, could not be af- fected by the measure ; but it might detach the Louisiana militia, and even extend itself to the ranks of the regular troops. Jackson was greatly incensed, that those whose safety he had so much at heart should be seeking, under the authority of office, to mar his best exertions. He wais too warmly pressed at the moment to give it the attention its importance merited ; but availing himself of the first leisure moment, he apprized Governor Claiborne of what he had heard ; — ordered him to watch the conduct of the THE LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE. 131 legislature closely, and the moment a project of offering a capitulation to the enemy should be fully disclosed, to place a guard at the door and confine them to their cham- ber. I'he governor, in his zeal to execute the command, and from a fear of the consequences involved in such con- duct, construed the order to be imperative, and placing an armed force at the door of the capitol, prevented the mem- bers from convening, and their schemes from maturing. The purport of this order was either essentially mis- conceived by the governor; or, with a view to avoid sub- sequent inconveniences and complaints, was designedly mistaken. Jackson's object was not to restrain the legis- lature in the discharge of their official duties ; for although he thought that such a moment, when the sound of the sannon was constantly pealing in their ears, was inauspi- cious to wholesome legislation, and that it would have better comported with the state of the times for them to abandon their civil duties and appear in the field, yet it was a matter indelicate to be proposed : and it was hence preferred, that they should adopt whatever course might be suggested by their own notions of propriety. This opinion would have been still adhered to ; but when, through the communication of Mr. Duncan, they were represented as entertaining opinions and schemes adverse to the general interest and safety of the country, the ne- cessity of a new and different course of conduct was at once obvious. But he did not order Governor Claiborne to interfere with or prevent them from proceeding with their duties ; on the contrary, he was instructed, as soon as any thing hostile to the general cause should be ascer- tained, to place a guard at the door, and keep the mem- bers to their post and to their duty. "My object in this," remarked the general, " was, that they would then oe able to proceed with their business without producing ihe slightest injury : whatever schemes they might entertain would have remained with themselves, without the power of circulating them to the prejudice of any other interest than their own. I had intended to have had them well treated and kindly dealt by ; and thus abstracted from every thing passing without doors, a better opportunity 132 LIFE OF JACKSON. would have been afforded them to enact good and whole- some laws ; but Governor Claiborne mistook my order, and instead of shutting them in doors, contrary to my wishes and expectations turned them out." Previous to this occurrence, Jackson had been waited on by a special committee of the legislature, to know what his course would be, should necessity compel him to abandon his position. " If," repHed the general, " I thought the hair of my head could divine what I should do, 1 would cut it off forthwith ; go back with this answer; say to your honorable body, that if disaster does overtake me, and the fate of war drives me from my line to the city, they may expect to have a very warm session." "And what did you design to do," asked a friend, " pro- vided you had been forced to retreat?" "I should," he replied, " have retreated to the city, fired it, and fought the enemy amid the surrounding flames. There were with me men of wealth, owners of considerable property, who, in such an event, would have been among the fore- most to have applied the torch to their own buildings ; and what they had left undone, I should have completed. Nothing for the comfortable maintenance of the enemy would have been left in the rear. I would have destroyed New Orleans — occupied a position above on the river — cut off all supplies, and in this way compelled them to depart from the country." We shall not pretend to ascribe this conduct of the le- gislature to disaffection, or to treasonable motives. Nf» doubt the impulse that produced it was interest — a prin- ciple of the human mind which strongly sways, and often destroys its best conclusions. The disparity of the two armies, in numbers, preparation, and discipline, had ex- cited apprehension, and destroyed hope. If Jackson wer driven back, and little else was looked for, rumor an nounced his determination of devoting the city to destruc- tion : but even if such were not his intention, the wrath and vengeance of the enemy might be fairly calculated to be in proportion to the opposition they should receive. Although these considerations may somewhat palliate, they do not justify. The government was represented in I ftlS VIGILANCE. 133 the person of the commanding g-eneral, on whom rested all responsibility, and whose voice on the subject of re- sistance or capitulation should alone have been heard. In the field were persons who were enduring hardships and straining every nerve for the general safety. A few of the members of their own body, too, were there who did not despond. Might not patriotism, then, have admo- nished these men, honored as they were with the confi- dence of the people, rather to have pursued a course having for its object to keep up the excitement, than to have endeavored to introduce fear and paralyze exertion ? Such conduct, if productive of nothing worse, was well calculated to excite alarm. If the militia, who had been hastily drawn to the camp, and who were yet trembling for the safety of their families, had been told that a few private men of standing in societ}'- had expressed their opinions, and declared resistance useless, it would with- out doubt have occasioned serious apprehensions ; but in a much greater degree would they be likely to arise, when told that the members of the legislature, chosen to preside over the safety and destinies of the state, after due deliberation, had pronounced all attempts at success- ful opposition vain and ineffectual. Here was an additional reason why expedients should be devised, and every precaution adopted, to prevent any communication by which the slightest intelligence should be had of their situation, already indeed sufficiently deplor- able. Additional guards were posted along the swamp, on both sides of the Mississippi, to arrest all intercourse ; while on the river, the common highway, watch boats were constantl}^ plying during the night, in different di rections, so that a log could scarcely float down the stream unperceived. Two flat- bottomed boats, on a dark nighty were turned adrift above, to ascertain if vigilance were preserved, and whether there would be any possibilit}'- of escaping the guards, and passing in safety to the British lines. The light boats discovered them on their passage, and on the alarm being given, they were opened upon by the Louisiana sloop, and the batteries on the shore, and in a few minutes were sunk. In spite, however, of every 134 LIFE OF JACKSON. piBcaution, treason still discovered avenues iLKiugh which to project and execute her nefarious plans, .ind informa- tion was constantly afforded to the enemy. As an evidence of the extent of the inibrmation im- parted to the officers of the British army, Charles K. Blanchard, who was on board the fleet, addics>sed a letter to General Jackson, in which he gave the saLstance of a conversation with a quarter-master of one of the vessels, and said that he was told, " that the commanding officers of the British forces were daily in the receipt of every in- formation from the city of New Orleans which they might require, in aid of their operations, for the completion of the objects of the expedition : that they were perfectly acquainted with the situation of every part of our forces, the manner in which the same was situated, the i.umber of our fortifications, tlieir strength, position, &c. As to the battery on the left bank of the Mississippi, he de- scribed its situation, its distance from the main post, and promptly offered me a plan of the works. He further- more stated, that the above information was received from seven or eight persons, in the city of New Orleans, from whom he could, at any hour, procure every information necessary to promote His Majesty's interest." Great inconvenience was sustained for the want of arms, and much anxiety felt, lest the enemy, through their faith- ful adherents, might on this subject also obtain information. To prevent it as far as possible, General Jackson endea- vored to conceal the strength and situation of his army, by suffering his reports to be seen by none but himself and the adjutant-general. Many of the troops in the field were supplied with common guns, which were of little service. The Kentucky troops, who were daily expected, were also understood to be badly provided with arms Believing that the city might yet contain many article that would be serviceable, orders were issued to the mayor of New Orleans, directing him diligently to inquire through every store and house, and take possession of all the mus- kets, bayonets, spades, and axes, he could find. He was also instructed to obtain a register of every man in the city under the age of fifty, that measures might be con THE FIRST OF JANUARY. 135 icrted for drawing forth those who had hitherto appeared backward in engaging; in the pending contest. Frequent light skirmishes by advanced parties, without material loss on either side, were the only incidents that took place for several days. Colonel Hinds, at the head of the Mississippi dragoons, on the 8(!th of December, was ordered to dislodge a party of the enemy who, under co- ver of a ditch that ran across the plain, were annoying the American fatigue parties. In advancing, he was unex- pectedly thrown into an ambuscade, and became exposed to the fire of a line which had hitherto been concealed and unobserved. His collected conduct and gallant deport- ment extricated him from the danger in which he was placed, and gained for him and his corps the approbation of the commanding general. The enemy, being forced from their position, retired, and the colonel returned to the hne with the loss of five of his men. The British were encamped two miles below the Ame- rican army, on a perfect plain, and in full vievir. Alth^/Ugh foiled in their attempt to carry the works by the force of their batteries on the 2Sth, they resolved upon another attack, which they believed would be more successful Presuming their failure to have arisen from not having sufficiently strong batteries and heavy ordnance, a more enlarged arrangement was resorted to, with a confidence of silencing opposition, and effecting such breaches in the intrenchment as would enable their columns to pass, with- out being exposed to any considerable hazard. The in- terim between the 2Sth of December and the 1st of Ja- nuary was accordingly spent in preparing to execute their designs. Their boats were despatched to the shipping, and an additional supply of heavy cannon landed through Bayou Bienvenu, where they had first debarked. During the night of the 81st of December they were busily engaged. An impenetrable fog, which was not dispelled until nine o'clock the next morning, aided tiiem in the plans they were projecting, and gave time to complete their works. When the mist disappeared, se- veral heavy batteries, at the distance of six hundred yards, mounting eighteen and twenty-four pound carronades, 136 LIFE OF JACKSON. were presented to view. No sooner was it sufficiently clear to disting-uish objects at a distance, than these were opened, and a tremendous burst of artillery commenced, accompanied with Congreve rockets, that filled the air in all directions. Our troops, being protected by a defence, which they believed to be impregnable, were unmoved and undisturbed. The British, through the friendly in- terference of some disaffected citizens, having been ap prised of the fact that the general occupied a house at small distance in the rear of his line of defence, directed against it their first and principal efforts. So great was the number of balls thrown, that in a little while its porti- coes were beaten down, and the building made a complete wreck. This dishonorable attempt to destroy Jackson was unsuccessful ; as it was a constant practice with him, on the first appearance of danger, not to wait in his quarters watching events, but instantly to proceed to the line, and be ready to form his arrangements as circumstances might require. Constantly in expectation of an attack, he was never absent from the post of duty ; and he had repaired, at the first sound of the cannon, to aid in the defence, and inspire his troops with firmness. The guns along the Ame- rican line were opened to repel the assault, and a constant roar of cannon, on both sides, continued until nearly noon ; when, by the superior skill of Jackson's engineers, the two batteries formed on the right, next the woods, were nearly beaten down, and many of the guns dismounted, broken, and rendered useless. That next the river still continued its fife until three o'clock ; when, perceiving all attempts to force a breach ineffectual, the enemy gave up the contest and retired. Every act of theirs discovered a strange delusion, and showed upon what wild and fanciful grounds all their expectations were founded. That the American troops were well posted, and strongly defended by pieces of heavy ordnance, mounted along their line, was a fact well known ; yet a belief was con- stantly indulged that the undisciplined collection which constituted the strength of our army, would be able to de- rive little benefit from such a circumstance ; and that ar- tillery could produce but slight advantages in the hands FAILURE OF THE ATTACK. 137 of persons who were strangers to the manner of using it. That many who, from necessity, were called to the direc- tion of the guns, were at first entirel}^ unacquainted with their management, is indeed true ; yet the accuracy and precision with which they threw their shot, afforded con- vincing proof, either that they possessed the capacity of becoming in a short time well acquainted with the art of gunnery, or that it was a science the acquisition of which was not attended with insurmountable difficulties. That they would be able to effect an opening, and march through the strong defence in their front, was an idea so fondly cherished by the British, that an apprehension of failure had scarcely been conceived. So sanguine were they in this belief, that early in the morning their soldiers were arranged along the ditches, in rear of their batteries, prepared to advance to the charge the moment a breach could be made. Perceiving that their attempts must fail, and that such an effect could not be produced as would warrant their advance, another expedient was resorted to, but with nc better success. It occurred to the British commander that an attack might be made with advantage, next to the woods, and a force was accordingly ordered to penetrate in this direction, and turn the left of our line, which was supposed not to extend farther than to the margin of the f.wamp. In this way it was expected a diversion could ^■e made, while the reserve columns, being in readiness and waiting, were to press forward the moment this object (jould be effected. Here, too, disappointment resulted. General Coffee's brigade, being already extended into the swamp, as far as it was possible for an advancing party to penetrate, brought unexpected dangers into view, and oc- casioned an abandonment of the project. The genius and foresight of Jackson had provided against this emergency. Although cutting the levee had raised the waters in the swamp, and increased the difficulties of keeping troops there, yet a fear lest this pass might be sought by the enemy, and the rear of the line thereby gained, had de- termined the general to extend his defences in that direc- tion. This had been intrusted to General Coffee, and a 138 LIFE OF JACKSON. jnore arduous duty could scarcely be imagined. To form a breastwork in such a place was attended with many difficulties and considerable exposure. A slight defence, however, had been thrown up, and the underwood, for thirty or forty yards in front, cut down, that the riflemen stationed for its protection might have a complete view of any force that might attempt a passage through this route. When it is recollected that this position was to be main- tained night and day, and that the only opportunity afforded our troops for rest w^as on logs and brush throAvn together, by which they were raised above the surrounding water, it may be truly said, that it has seldom fallen to the lot of men to encounter greater hardships ; but accustomed to privation, and alive to those feelings which a love of coun- try enkindles, they obeyed without complaining, and cheer- fully kept their position until all danger had ceased. Sensible of the importance of the point they defended, and that it was necessary to be maintained, be the sacri- fice what it might, they looked to nothing but a zealous and faithful discharge of the trust confided to them. Our loss in this aflair was eleven killed and twenty- three wounded ; that of the enemy was never correctly known. The only certain information is contained in a communication of the 2Sth of January, from General Lam- bert to Earl Bathurst, in which the casualties and losses, from the 1st to the 5th, are stated at seventy-eight. xMany allowances are to be made for this report. It was written at a time when, from the numerous disasters encountered, it was not to be presumed the general's mind was in a situation patiently to remember the facts, or minutely to detail them. From the great precision of the American fire, and the injury visibly sustained by their batteries, their loss was no doubt considerable. The enemy's heavy shot having penetrated Jackson's intrenchment in many places, it was discovered not to be as strong as had at first been imagined. Fatigue parlies were again employed, and its strength daily increased ; an additional number of bales of cotton were taken to be applied to strengthening and defending the embrasures along the line. A French man, whose property had been seized, without his consent. \ DEFENCE OF THE RIGHT BANK. 139 fearful of the injury it might sustain, proceeded in person to General Jackson to reclaim it, and to demand its delivery. The general, having heard his complaint, and ascertained from him that he was unemployed in any mihtary service, directed a musket to be brought to him, and placing it in his hand, ordered him on the hne, remarking, at the same time, that as he seemed to be a man possessed of property, he knew of none who had a better right to fight and to defend it. The British again retired to their encampment. It was well understood by Jackson that they were in daily ex- pectation of considerable reinforcements ; though he rested with confidence in the belief that a few more days would also bring to his assistance the troops from Kentucky. Each party, therefore, was busily and constantly engaged in preparation, the one to wage a vigorous attack, the other bravely to defend, and resolutely to oppose it. The position of the American army was in the rear of an intrenchment formed of earth, and which extended in a straight line from the river to a considerable distance in the swamp. In front was a deep ditch, which had been formerly used as a mill-race. The Mississippi had re- ceded and left the ditch dry, next the river, though in many places the water still remained. Along the line, and at unequal distances, to the centre of General Carroll's com- mand, were guns mounted, of different calibre, from six to thirty-two pounders. Near the river, and in advance of the intrenchment, was erected a redoubt, with embrasures, commanding the road along the levee, and calculated to rake the ditch in front. We have heretofore stated, that General Morgan was ordeied, on the 21th of December, to cross to the west bank of the Mississippi. From an apprehension entertained that an attempt might be made through Barrataria, and Jhe city reached from the right bank of the river, the general had extended his defences there likewise : in fact, unacquainted with the enemy's views, not knowing the number of their troops, nor but that they might have suffi- cient strength to make an assault in different quarters, and anxiously solicitous to be prepared at all points, he care* 140 LIFE OF JACKSON. fully divided his forces. His greatest fear was for the Chef Menteur road, and hence his strongest defence, aside from the principal encampment, was in that quarter, where Governor Claiborne, at the head of the Louisiana militia, was posted. The position on the right was formed on the same plan with the line on the left, but lower down thao the latter, and extending to the swamp at right angles tc the ri"er. At this point General Morgan was stationed. To be prepared against every possible contingency that might arise, Jackson had established another line of de- fence, about two miles in the rear of the one at present occupied, which was intended as a rallying point if he should be driven from his first position. With the aid of his cavalry, to give a momentary check to the advance ef the enemy, he expected to be enabled to reach it without much injury, and be again in a situation to dispute a fuither passage to the city, and arrest the progress of the enemy. To inspirit his own soldiers, and to exhibit to the enemy as great a show as possible of strength and intended resistance, his unarmed troops, which consti- tuted no inconsiderable number, were stationed here. All intercourse between the lines, except by confidential officers, was prohibited ; and every precaution and vigi- lance employed, not only to keep this want of preparation concealed from the enemy, but even from being known in his own ranks. ARRIVAL OF TROOPS FROM KENTUCKY. 141 CHAPTER IX. ..815. Arrival of fresh troops from Kentucky — Preparations of both armies for an attack — The disposition of Jackson's force made known to the British by a deserter — Success of Colonel Thornton on the right bank of the river — Eagerness of the American soldiers for an engagement — Activity and energy of Jackson — The eighth of January — Advance of the British towards the American in- trenchments — Destructive fire from the fortifications — Repulse of the British — Death of Sir Edward Packenham — Terrible havoc made in the ranks of the enemy — Bravery of Colonel Rennie — Number of killed and wounded in the battle — Watchword of the British army — Generous benevolence of the American soldiers— An armistice proposed by General Lambert and accepted, with modifications — Brave conduct of the Amerioaa troops^ — Warn of arms prevents Jackson from capturing the whole British army^ English version of the battle. 1815. After the cannonade on the 1st of January, nothing of interest occurred in the movements of either army, prior to the memorable day which, while it placed the reputa- tion of General Jackson for military genius and skill, on a level with that of the ablest comtTianders of the age, shed an unfading lustre on the American arms. A straggling fire was kept up, but it produced little or no effect. Both parties were actively engaged in watching the movements of each other, and in making preparations ; the one for a contemplated attack, and the other for an effectual resist- ance. On the 4th day of the month, the long-expected reinforcement from Kentucky, of twenty-two hundred and fifty men, under the command of Major-general Thomas, arrived at the American head-quarters ; but they were so ill provided with arms as to be incapable of rendering any efficient service. The alacrity with which the citizens of that state had proceeded to the frontiers, and aided in the no "th-western campaigns, added to the disasters which ill 113 LIFE OF JACKSON timed policy or misfortune had produced, had created such a scarcity of arms that they were not to be procured. The force under General Thomas had confidently expected to be s'uppHed on their arrival. About five hundred ot them had muskets ; the rest were provided with guns, which were more or less unserviceable. The mayor of New Orleans, at the request of General Jackson, had al- ready examined and drawn from the city every weapon that could be found ; while the arrival of the Louisiana militia, in an equally unprepared situation, rendered it impossible for the evil to be effectually remedied. A boat laden with arms intended for the use and defence of the lower country, was somewhere on the river; but where it was, or when it might arrive, rested entirely on hope and conjecture. Expresses had been despatched up the river, for three hundred miles, to seek and hasten it on ; still there were no tidings of its approach. That so many brave men, at a moment of such anxious peril, should be compelled to stand with folded arms, unable, from their situation, to render the least possible service to their coun- try, was an event greatl}^ to be deplored, and did not fail to excite the feelings of the commanding general. His active mind could discover no means by which their ser- vices might be made available, and no alternative was pre- sented, but to place them at his intrenchment in the rear, conceal their actual condition, and by the show they might make, add to his appearance and numbers, without at all increasing his effective strength. Inforinalion was now received, that Major-general Lam- bert had joined the British commander in chief, with a considerable reinforcement, it had been previously an- nounced in the American camp that additional forces were expected, and something decisive might be looked for as soon as they should arrive. This circumstance, in con- nection with others no less favoring the idea, led to the conclusion that a few days more would, in all probability, bring on the struggle which was to decide the fate of the city. It was more than ever necessary to keep the situa- tion of the American army concealed, and General Jack- son determined at once to restrict all communication, even PREPARATIONS FOR AN ATTACK. 148 with his own Hnes. None were permitted to leave the line, and none from without to pass into iiis camp, but such as were to be implicitly confided in. The chain of sentinels was strengthened in front, to prevent a passage to the enemy, should desertion be attempted ; yet, notwith- standing his caution and vigilance, the condition of his army, and its disposition in the intrenchments, were made known to the enemy, by a soldier who eluded the sentinels, nd made his escape, on the night of the 6th of January. His desertion was discovered early next morning, and it was rightly conjectured that he had gone to the British camp, and would afford them all the information in his power to communicate. This opinion, as subsequent cir- cumstances disclosed, was well founded; and dearly did he atone his crime. He unfolded to the British the situ- ation of the American line, the number of the reinforce- ments lately arrived, and the unarmed condition of many of the troops; and pointing to the centre of General Car- roll's division, as a place occupied by militia alone, he re- commended it as the point where an attack might be most safely and prudently made. The information obtained by the commanding general on the 7th, confirmed him in the belief that an attack vi^as in contemplation. It was ascertained from some prisoners taken on the lake, that the enemy were busily engaged in deepening Villere's canal, with the intention of passing their boats and ordnance into the Mississippi. During the day a constant bustle was perceived in their camp. Their soldiers were continually in motion along the borders of the canal, marching and manoeuvring, for no other pur- pose except that of concealing the men who were busily engaged at work in the rear. In order to ascertain the cause and object of this uncommon movement, as far as was practicable, Commodore Patterson proceeded down the river, on the opposite side, and having gained a favor- able position in Iront of their encampm^ nt, discovered them to be actually engaged in deepening the passage to the river. It was no difficult matter to divine their pur- pose. It was clearly evident that an assault was intended tu be made on the line of defence commanded by General 7 144 LIFE OF JACKSON. Morgan ; which, if successful, would expose the Ameri- cans on the left bank to the fire of the redoubt erected on the right, and in this way compel them to an abandonment of their position. It was important to counteract this de sign ; and measures were immediately taken to preven- its execution. The force on the right bank was increased The second regiment of Louisiana militia, and four hun- dred Kentucky troops, were ordered to reinforce the troops occupying that side of the river. Owing to some delay and difficulty in arming them, the latter, amounting, in- stead of four hundred, to but one hundred and eighty, did not arrive until the morning of the 8th. A little before day they were despatched to the aid of an advanced party, under the command of Major Arnaui, who had been sent to watch the movements of the enemy, and oppose their landing. The hopes indulged from their opposition were not realized ; and the enemy reached the shore unmolested. The position of General Morgan, besides being strength- ened by several brass twelves, was defended by a strong battery, mounting twenty-four pounders, under the direc- tion of Commodore Patterson, which was an important addition to its strength and security. The line itself was not strong ; yet, if properly maintained by the troops se- lected for its defence, it was believed to be fully adequate to the purpose of successful resistance. Late at night, Patterson ascertained that the enemy had succeeded in passing their boats through the canal, and immediately communicated his information to the general. The com- modore had already formed the idea of dropping the Louisiana schooner down, to attack and sink them. This thought, though well conceived, was abandoned, on ac- count of the danger involved, and from an apprehension lest the batteries erected on. the river, with which she would come in collision, might, by the aid of hot shot succeed in blowing her up. It was preferred patiently t await the arrival of the enemy, in the belief that it would be practicable, with the bravery of more than fifteen hun- dred men, and the advantages possessed from their line of defence, to maintain their position, and repel the assail- ants. In this expectation they were disappointed, as PREPARATIONS FOR AN ATTACK. 145 Morgan was compelled to abandon his position by the de- tachment under Colonel Thornton. On the left bank, where the general commanded m per- son, every thing was in readiness to meet the assault when it should be made. The redoubt on the levee was defended by a company of the seventh regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Ross. The regular troops occupied that part of the intrenchment next the river. General Carroll's division was in the centre, supported by the Kentucky troops, under General John Adair ; while the extreme left, extending for a considerable distance into the swamp, was protected by the brigade of General Coffee. How soon the attack would be made, was a matter of uncertainty ; but the brave soldiers whom Jackson had gathered around him, calmly awaited the approach of the enemy, behind the breastwork of cotton bags which the sagacity of their commander had provided, not as a shelter for cowardice, but as a protection against the onset of a superior force. Sharing the same high hopes and the same lofty enthusiasm that swelled in his bosom, they snuffed the breeze that bore to their ears the sounds of an approaching conflict, with as much eagerness as the war-worn veteran inured to the scenes of the battle-field. The general himself was not dismayed, either by the con- dition of his troops, or the great disparity of numbers when compared with the enemy, but, unmoved by api)earances, he anxiously desired a contest, which he believed would give a triumph to his arms, and terminate the hardshij^s of his suffering soldiers. Unremitting in his exertions, and constantly vigilant, his precaution kept pace with the zeal and preparation of the British commander. He sel- dom slept : he was always at his post, performing the du- ties of both general and soldier. His sentinels were doubled, and extended as far as possible in the direction of the British camp : while a considerable portion of the troops were constantly at the lines, with arms in their hands, ready to act when the first alarm should be given. For eight days had the two armies lain upon the same field, in view of each other, without any thing decisive having been effected on either side. Twice since their 146 LIFE OF JACKSON. landing had the British columns attempted to carry out their plans by storm, and twice had they been compelled to relinquish the attempt, and retire from the contest. It was not to be expected that matters would continue to re- main in such a doubtful state. The pride of the English soldiery, the boasted conquerors of Europe, were there, with distinguished generals for their leaders, who earnest- ly desired to announce their signal achievements to the country and to the world. The high expectations which had been indulged in regard to the success of this expedi- tion, were to be realized at every peril, or disgrace would follow the ftiilure. The 8th of January at length arrived. At the dawn of day, the signals intended to produce concert in the enemy's movements were discovered. A skyrocket was perceived rising in the air, on the left of their line, near the swamp, which was answered by another on the right, next the river. The British columns were instantly put in motion, and advanced with such rapidity, that the American outposts had barely time to reach the lines. The sky was lighted with blazing Congreve rockets, and an incessant shower of shells and bombs was poured from the British batteries, which, thoutrh demolished on the first of the month, had been re-estabhshed and remounted with heavy pieces of cannon, during the preceding night. The enemy's force advanced in two divisions, com- manded by Sir Edward Packenham in person, supported by Generals Keane and Gibbs ; the right pressing forward against the centre of General Carroll's comn^and, and the left against the redoubt on the levee. The dense fog which spread over the river and the adjacent country, en- abled them to approach within a short distance of the American intrenchment before they were perceived. They were then discovered advancing with a firm, quick, and steady pace, in columns, with a front of sixty or seven- ty deep. The Americans had been in readiness for some time, waiting their appearance, and as they approached they gave three hearty cheers, when, upon the instant, their whole line was lighted with the blaze of their fire. A burst of artillery and small arms, pouring with destruc- BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS, 147 tive aim upon them, mowed down their front, and arrested their advance. In the musketry, there was not a moment's mtermission: as one party discharged their pieces, another succeeded ; ahernately loading and appearing, no pause could be perceived — it was one continued volley. The columns already perceived their dangerous and exposed situation. Battery No. 7, on the left, was ably served by 'lieutenant Spotts, and galled them with an incessant and estructive fire. Batteries Nos. 6 and 8 were no less ac- tively employed, and no less successful in felling them to the ground. Notwithstanding the severity of the fire, which [e\v troops could for a moment have withstood, some brave men pressed on, and succeeded in gaining the diich in front of the works, where they remained during the action, and were afterwards made prisoners. The horrors before them were too great to be withstood, and the British columns soon began to waver in their determination, and retire from the conflict. At this moment. Sir Edward Packenham hastened to the front, and endeavored to en- courage and inspire them with renewed zeal. His exam- ple was of short duration ; he soon fell, mortally wounded, in the arms of his aid-de-camp, not far from the American line. Generals Gibbs and Keane also fell, and were borne from the field dangerously wounded. At this moment, General Lambert, who was advancing at a small distance in the rear, with the reserve, met the columns precipitate ly retreating, and in great confusion. His efforts to stop them were unavailing; they continued their retreat until they reached a ditch at the distance of four hundred yards, where they were rallied and halted. The field before them, over which they had advanced, was strewed with the dead and dying. Danger still ho- vered around them ; but the importunities of their officers finally prevailed so far as to induce them to advance once more to the charge. They were already near enough to deploy, and were endeavoring to do so; but the same con- stant and unremitting fire that caused their first retreat, continued without abatement. The American batteries had never ceased their fire ; their constant discharges of grape and canister, and the fatal aim of the musketry, 148 LIFE OF JACKSON. mowed down the front of the columns as fast as they could be formed. Satisfied that nothing could be done, and that certain destruction awaited all further attempts, they forsook the contest and the field, in disorder, leaving it almost entirel}^ covered with the dead and wounded. It was in vain their officers endeavored to animate them to further perseverance, and equally vain to attempt coercion. The panic produced by the dreadful repulse they had ex- perienced, and the terrible havoc made in their ranks, while with their most zealous exertions they had been unable to obtain the slightest advantage, were circum- stances well calculated to make even the most submissive soldier rebel against the authority that would control him. The light companies of fusileers, the forty-third and ninety-third regiments, and one hundred men from the West India regiment, forming the left of General Keane's command, led by Colonel Rennie, were ordered to pro- ceed under cove-r of some chimneys standing in the field, until they had cleared them, when they were directed to oblique to the river, and availing themselves of the protec- tion afforded by the levee, to advance against the redoubt on the right of the American line. This work had been but recently commenced, and was in an unfinished state. It was only on the fourth of the month that General Jack- son, much against his own opinion, yielded to the sug- gestions of the other officers, and permitted the work to be commenced. The plan of its projection was such, that it was impossible to defend it against an attack, in its in- complete condition. Rennie executed his orders with great bravery, and pressing forward rapidly, soon reached the ditch. His advance was greatly annoyed by Commo- dore Patterson's battery on the left bank of the river, and the cannon mounted on the redoubt ; but having reached the works, he gallantly passed the ditch, sword in hand. He instantly leaped on the wall, and calling to his troops, bade them follow him. The words had scarcely left his lips, when he fell by the fatal aim of a rifleman. Over- powered by the impetuosity of the superior numbers who were mounting the wall and entering at the embrasures, the Americans retired to the line, in rear of the redoubt. BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 149 A momentary pause ensued, but only to be interrupted by increaspcl horrors. Captain Beal, with the city rifle- men, perceiving the enemy in his front, opened upon them, and at every discharge brought numbers of them to the ground. To advance, or maintain the point gained, was equally impracticable for the enemy : to retreat or sur- render was the only alternative ; for they already per- ceived that the division on the right was thrown into con fusion, and hastily leaving the field. General Jackson being informed of the partial success of the enemy on the right, and of their having obtained temporary possession of the redoubt, sent a detachment to retake it; but previous to its arrival, the enemy had abandoned the work, and commenced retiring. They v/ere severely galled in their retreat by such of the guns as could be brought to bear. The levee afforded them considerable protection; yet they suffered greatly from Commodore Patterson's redoubt on the right bank. Bemg enfiladed by this on their advance, they had sustained con- siderable injury, and now in their retreat were no less severely assailed. Numbers found a grave in the ditch before the line ; and of those who originally gained the redoubt, it is believed that not one escaped : they were shot down as fast as they entered. The route along which they advanced and retired was strewed with bodies. Af- frighted at the carnage, the surviving members of the de- tachment fled from the scene hastily and in confusion The American batteries still continued to pour forth their deadly fire, cutting them down at every step : safety seemed only to be attainable by retiring beyond the range of the shot ; which, to troops galled so severely as they were, was too remote a relief. Influenced by this con- sideration, they fled to the ditch, whither the right divi- sion had retreated, and there remained until night per- mitted them to retire. The loss of tlie British in the main attack on the left bank, has been variously stated. The killed, wounded and prisoners, as ascertained on the day after the battle, by Colonel Hayne, the inspector-general, was twenty-six hundred General Lambert's report to Lord Bathurst, 150 LIFE OF JACKSON. Slated it to be but two thousand and seventy. Judging from the accounts given by the prisoners, and information derived through other sources, it must have been even greater than was represented in either account. Among the killed, were the commander in chief, and Major-general Gibbs, who died of his wounds the next day, besides many other valuable and distinguished officers. The loss o( the Americans, in killed and wounded, was but thirteen Their effective force at the line on the left bank, was three thousand seven hundred ; that of the enemy was, at least, nine thousand. The whole number of troops landed haa been differently reported ; but the best information places it at about fourteen thousand. A part of this fo>rce was with Colonel Thornton ; the chmate had rendered many unfit for the duties of the field ; while a considerable number were killed and wounded, in the different contests previous to that on the 8lb. Their real strength, there- fore, may be fairly estimated at the number we have stated ; at any rate, it could hardly be less. It is very evident that the assault on the American iii- trenchments was considered by the British commander in chief, an undertaking of greater magnitude than was openly admitted. The officer who leads his troops on a forlorn attempt, not unfrequently places before them al- lurements stronger than either authority or duty. On this occasion, inducements were held out, than which nothinpf could have been more inviting to a licentious soldiery fresh from the horrid scenes enacted at the storming of St. Se- bastian. The charms of the dark-eyed beauties of Spain were not represented to be more attractive, than were those of our fair country-women, who looked to the gallant little band assembled on the banks of the Mississippi, for safety and protection. The cupidity of the British soldiers was excited by the hope of plunder, and the most lawless pas- sions of their natures were aroused to desperation, by the promised triumph over female innocence and purity. This fact has often been questioned, and in some in- stances positively denied ; but the circumstances pre- sented at the time of the transaction, leave no doubt of its truth. The books of two of the orderly sergeants taken I BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 151 m battle, and the voluntary statements of prisoners, show conclusively, that "-beauty and booty'"' was the watch- word of the day. These words, it is true, in and of them- selves, might not, under certain circumstances, be regarded as of any weight ; but when we consider the situation of the American army, and the defenceless condition of the city, if Jackson had been defeated, they assume an im- portance, which points irresistibly to the conclusion, that hey were not idly adopted. It was fortunate for New Orleans, and its inhabitants, that the gallantry of the American general and the brave men who followed him to die battle-field, was sufficient to repel the attack of soldiers prompted to acts of courage and daring, by mo- tives which disgrace and debase humanity. The events of the 8th of January, afford abundant evidence of the generous kindness of the American sol- diers, and exhibit a striking difference in the troops of the two nations. While those of one were incited to acts of bravery and duty, by the promised pillage and plunder of the inhabitants, and the commission of the most odious crimes ; the other fought for their kindred and their coun- try, and havino- repelled their assailants, instantly laid aside their enmity, and regarding their fallen foemen as brethren, hastened to relieve them, in several instances, at the hazard of their lives. The desperate courage of many of the British soldiers brought them close to the very ramparts, where they were shot down, and lay badly wounded. When the firing had ceased and the columns had retired, the Americans left their lines, to assist in bringing in their wounded enemies who were near the in trenchment; but while engaged in this commendable ac of charity and kindness, they were fired upon by the British, from the ditch they had occupied, and several ot hem were seriously injured. Notwithstanding this das- tardly attack, the American soldiers persevered in their laudable efforts to administer to the wants, and relieve the sufferings, of the wounded and dying. Shortly after the British retired, a communication was received from Major-general Lambert, on whom the com- mand devolved after the fall of Generals Packenham, 152 LIFE OF JACKSON. Gibbs, and Keane, acknowledging the kindness shown to his wounded men, and soliciting permission to bury the dead, and bring off those who were dangerously wounded. General Jackson refused to permit a near approach to his lines, but consented that the wounded who were at a greater distance than three hundred yards from the in- trenchment should be relieved, and the dead buried: those nearer his lines, he agreed should be delivered over by his own men, to be interred by their countrymen. This precaution Avas taken, in order that the enemy might not have an opportunity to inspect, or learn any thing concerning his position, or the situation of the troops under his command. About noon, a proposition was made by General Lambert, for the cessation of hostilities until the same hour the next day. In the hope of being able to secure an important advantage which he had in contemplation, by his apparent willingness to comply with the proposal, General Jackson drew up an armistice and forwarded it to General Lambert, with directions for its immediate return, if approved. It contained a stipulation this effect : that hostilities on the left bank of the river should be discontinued from its ratification, but that on the right bank, where Colonel Thornton had driven Morgan from his position, they should not cease ; and that in the interim, under no circumstances were reinforcements to be sent across by either party. This was a bold stroke at stratagem ; and although it succeeded even to the extent desired, was yet attended with considerable hazard. Re- inforcements had been ordered over to retake the position lost by Morgan, in the morning, and the general presumed they had arrived at their point of destination ; but at this time they had not passed the river, and it was not to be expected that it could be retaken by the same troops who had yielded it the day before, when possessed of ad- vantages which gave them a decided superiority. The commanding general well knew this ; yet, to spare the sacrifice of his men, which he foresaw must be consider- able, in any attempt to regain it, he was disposed to venture upon a course which, he felt assured, could not fail to succeed. It was impossible that his object could AN ARMISTICE GRANTED. 153 be discovered, and he confidently believed the British commander would infer, from the prompt and ready man- ner in which his proposal had been met; that such addi- tional troops were already thrown over as would be fully adequate to the purpose of attack, and greatly to endanger, if not wholly to cut off Colonel Thornton's retreat. Ge- neral Lambert's construction was such as had been antici- pated. Although the armistice contained a request that it should be immediately signed and returned, it was neg- lected to be acted upon until the next day ; and Thornton and his command re-crossed the river, under cover of the night, and the ground they had occupied was peaceably left to the possession of the original holders. The opportunity thus afforded, of regaining a position on which, in a great degree, depended the safety of those on the opposite shore, was accepted with an avidity its import- ance merited, and immediate measures were taken to in- crease its strength, and prepare it against any future attack that might be made. This delay of the British commander was evidently designed, in order that while the negotiation was pending, and before it was concluded, an opportunity might be had, either of throwing over reinforcements, or removing Colonel Thornton and his troops from a situa- tion so extremely perilous. Early next morning, General Lambert returned his acceptance of what had been pro- posed, with an apology for having failed to reply sooner : he excused the omission, by pleading a press of business, which had occasioned the communication to be overlooked and neglected. Jackson was at no loss to attribute the delay to the correct motive ; the apology, however, was as perfectly satisfactory to him as any thing that could have been offered ; beyond the object intended to be ef- fected, he felt unconcerned, and having secured this, he rested perfectly satisfied. The armistice was concluded on the 9lh of January, and it was agreed that it should be continued until two o'clock in the evening. The dead and wouneled were removed from the field ; those within the line of demarcation, which the British were not per- mitted to cross, being dehvered to them by the Americans, in accordance with the terms of the stipulation. 154 LIFE OF JACKSON. It has seldom happened, that officers have been more deceived, or atoned more severely for their error, than was the case with those commanding the British troops on this occasion. They seem to have taken it for granted that the militia would not maintain their ground when warmly assailed ; and that at the approach of veteran troops, they would at once forsake the contest, and seek safety in flight. At what part of our line they were stationed, was as- certained by information derived through a deserter ; and intiuenced by the belief that they wanted nerve and were deficient in bravery, the main assault was made at this pomt. They were indeed militia ; but the enemy could have assailed no part of the American intrenchment where they would have met a warmer reception, or where they would have found greater strength ; it was certai ily the best defended part of the line. The Kentucky ai 1 Ten- nessee troops, under Generals Carroll, Thomas, ai I Adair, were there, and they had already won, on for., r occa- sions, a reputation that was too dear to be sacrificed These divisions, alternately charging their pieces and mounting the platform, poured forth a constant fire, that was impossible to be withstood, repelled the advancing columns, and drove them from the field with prodigious slaughter. So enraged were the British officers at their repulse, and so firmly persuaded that the information given them by the deserter was false, that they called their informant before them-, to account for the mischief he had done. It was in vain he urged his innocence, and with the most solemn protestations, declared he had stated the fact truly as it was. They could not be con- vinced — it was impossible that they had contended against any but the best disciphned troops ; and without further ceremony, the poor fellow was suspended in view of the camp, and expiated his treachery, if not his misrepresen tations, on the gibbet. The gallant conduct of the American troops at the bat tie of New Orleans, has often been the subject of com mendation. Their bravery and zeal were conspicuous during the continuance of the contest. It was impossible for men to serve under such a leader as Jackson, without BRITISH ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE. 155 oecoming imbued with the same dauntless courage which he always exhibited. Bold without being rash, daring without being reckless, his own noble bearing was suffi- cient to arouse emotions of patriotism where none had ex- isted. The 8th of January was a momentous day, not merely in his history, but also in that of the country. He felt the importance of the occasion, but nothing caused him to waver or hesitate. Those who were present at the battle, concur in saying, that there was a grandeur and sublimity about him, as he rode along the lines, that was absolutely irresistible. Every order was given with prompt- ness and decision. Above the thunder of the artillery, and the roar of musketry, he was heard cheering and en- couraging his men. Wherever his eagle-eye flashed, it excited the most intense enthusiasm ; and when the shrill notes of his trumpet voice were heard amidst the din of battle, every heart beat with a stronger pulsation, and every arm was nerved with tenfold vigor. Alter the battle. General Jackson could have easily captured every man belonging to the British force, on the land, if he had been supplied with arms^according to his repeated and urgent requests, and agreeably to the pro- mises that were made to him. The want of these com- pelled him to remain stationary in his position, until the opportunity had passed. The British crossed the river, and embarked on board the vessels waiting to receive them, without further molestation. The account given by them of the battle, is so very different from what really took place, and there is such an evident attempt to conceal the extent of their defeat, that it is well worthy the pe- rusal. The following official bulletin, professing to give a statement of the afTair, was issued from the war office in London, on the reception of the intelligence : " War Department, March 8, 1815. "Captain Wylly arrived this morning, with despatches from Major-general Lambert, detailing the operations against the enemy in the neighborhood of New Orleans. It appears that the army, under the command of Majo"- 156 LIFE OF JACKSON. general Keane, was landed at the head of the Bayonne in the vicinity of New Orleans, on the morning of the 23d of December, without opposition ; it was, however, at- tacked by the enemy in the course of the night succeed- ing the landing, when, after an obstinate contest, the enemy were repulsed at all points, with considerable loss On the morning of the 25th, Sir E. Packenham arrived, and assumed the command of the army. On the 27th, at daylight, the troops moved forward, driving the enemy's pickets to within six miles of the town, when the main body of the enemy was discovered, posted behind a breast- work, extending about one thousand yards, with the right resting on the Mississippi, and the left on a thick wood. The interval between the 27lh of December and the 8th of January, was employed in preparations for an attack upon the enemy's position. The attack which was in- tended to have been made on the night of the 7th, did not, owing to the difficulties experienced in the passage of the Mississippi, by a corps under Lieutenant-colonel Thorn- ton, which was destined to act on the right bank of the river, take place till early on the morning of the 8th. The division to whom the storming of the enemy's work was intrusted, moved to the attack at that time, but being too soon discovered by the enemy, were received with a galling and severe fire from all parts of their line. Ma- jor-general Sir Edward Packenham, who had placed him- self at the head of the troops, was unfortunately killed at the head of the glacis, and Major-generals Gibbs and Keane were nearly at the same moment wounded. The effect of this upon the troops caused a hesitation in their advance, and though order was restored by the advance of the reserve under Major-general Lambert, to whom the command of the army had devolved, and Colonel Thorn- ton had succeeded in the operation assigned to him on the right bank of the river ; yet the major-general, upon the consideration of the difficulties which yet remained to be surmounted, did not think himself justified in ordering a renewal of the attack. The troops, therefore, retired to the position which they had occupied previous to the British account of the battle. I*? attack. In that position they remained until the evening of the 18th, when, the whole of the wounded, with the exception of eighty, (whom it was considered dangerous to remove,) the field artillery, and all the stores of every description, having been embarked, the army re- tired to the head of the Bayonne, where the landing had been originally 'jSectcd, and re-embarked without molestation.'* J5S LIFE OF JACKSON. CHAPll^R X. 1815. Gratitude of the citizens of New Orleans to their denverer-^ Jackson strengthens his position — Anonymous publications inciting his troops to revolt — The author placed in arrest — Judge Hall or- dered into custody for his interference — The British retire to their shipping — Treaty of peace signed — Cessation of hostilities — Jack- son submits to the fine imposed by the judge — Farewell address to his troops — Return to Nashville — Depredations committed by the Seminole Indians — Jackson ordered to lake command of the south- ern army — Enters Florida with his army — Execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister — Capture of St. Marks and Pensacola — Termination of hostilities — Jackson's conduct approved — Appointed governor of Florida — Administration of his judicial duties — Difficulty with the Ex-governor, Callava — Jackson's ill health compels him to return home. 1821. The successful defence made by General Jackson ag-ainst the attempt to storm his intrenchments, banished all the apprehensions of danger which the citizens of New Orleans had previously indulged. They eagerly hailed him as their deliverer and protector. No encomium could be too exalted to express the feelings of gratitude which they cherished towards him. In the midst of dan- gers and difficulties, he had perseveringly continued his defensive operations, until the result of the battle fully confirmed their efficiency. Obstacles that would have disheartened another commander, neither interfered with his plans, or daunted his spirit. Every thing was made to yield to the necessities of the crisis, and the bidding of his determined will. His influence was felt everywhere around and about him. What his feeble army lacked in numbers and in equipments, was more than made up, by the high-souled enthusiasm which he infused into their ranks. Treason shrunk abashed from his presence, and cowardice itself, at his side, became the most unflinching courage and the most devoted patriotism. The harsh and vigorous measures to which he was compelled to resort, DIFFICULTY WITH JUDGE HALL. 159 IpA to frequent complaints ; but when the danger was averted, and the city saved from plunder and rapine, even his arbitrary exercise of power was justified and approved. All classes and conditions united in the expression of their sincere and heartfelt thankfulness. Demonstrations of public respect succeeded each other daily ; the congra- tulations of his fellow-countrymen, whose property and whose hves he had defended, flowed in upon him without stint; and the general sentiment of approbation which soon reached his ears was no more flattering to his pride, than it was just to his abilities and his services. Although the defeat of the British on the 8th of Jan- uary completely frustrated their plans, and put an end to their contemplated march upon the city, Jackson deemed it best to continue the same watchful discipline and care which had been attended with such satisfactory resuhs. Had his men been properly supplied with arms, he would have completed the brilliant defence of the 8th of January, by the capture of the whole British force, but, situated a? he was, it would have been rash in the extreme to havt commenced any offensive operations. He confined him- self, therefore, to perfecting his line of defences, and con- structing new ones at assailable points, in order that thf" success already obtained might not be hazarded by re missness or neglect. While actively engaged in the dis charge of his duty, the traitors and spies who had pre viously occasioned him so much trouble and vexation, were secretly at work in their efforts to counteract his plans Having failed in one attempt to betray the country, they adopted a different mode of proceeding. Besides afford ing intelligence of his movements to the enemy, they caused anonymous articles, calculated to excite mutiny among his Iroops, to be inserted in one of the newspapers published n the city of New Orleans. So bold an act of treason was not to be overlooked, and with his characteristic enero^y and decision of character, Jackson promptly de- manded of the publisher the name of the writer of the articles. The demand was complied with, and the traitor was discovered to be one of the members of the legislature. An order was forthwith issued by the general for his im- 1(50 LIFE OF JACKSON. mediate arrest. An application was made to Judge Hall for a writ of habeas corpus, which was granted. As has been heretofore mentioned, the judge himself was at once arrested by command of Jackson, for interfering with his authority. At this time, the order proclaiming martial law had not been countermanded, in consequence of the proxi- mity of the British army, and if the general had allowed one act of opposition to his authority to pass unnoticed, others might have followed in its train, which would have produced ihe most serious consequences. The British forces retired to their shipping and took final leave of Louisiana, on the 18th of January, and early in the month of February the intelligence arrived, t hat a treaty of peace between Great Britain and the UmteO Starerirad^been sigified by the commissioners of'TEe two governments, at Ghent, on the 24th of December previous. The cessation of hostilities was soon after officially an- nounced. The appearance of the order releasing the city from the restraints of martial law, was followed by a rule of court granted by Judge Hall, commanding General Jackson to appear and show cause why an attachment should not issue against him for contempt, in refusing to obey a writ, and imprisoning the organ of the law. He did not hesitate to appear and submit a full and able an- swer justifying his proceedings. After argument before uhe court, the rule was made absolute ; an attachment was jued out, and Jackson brought up to answer interrogatories. The proceedings were obviously unjust, but he preferred, like a good citizen, to submit quietly to the law. He therefore declined answering questions, and asked for the sentence, which the judge, who was exceedingly inimical towaids him, then proceeded to pass. It was a fine of one thousand dollars. The spectators who crowded the hall evinced the strongest indignation. On entering his carriage, it was seized by the people and drawn to the coffee-house where he was residing. When he reached his head quar- ters, he put the amount of the fine into the hands of one of his aids, and caused it to be discharged without delay. He had scarcely anticipated the intentions of the citizens, as the full sum was raised among them by contribution, FAREWELL ADDRESS TO HIS TROOPS. 16) in a few moments. Jackson refused to accept the mo- ney, and at his request it was appropriated to a charitable mstitution. He enjoyed the consciousness that the powers which the exigency of the times forced him to assume, had been exercised exclusively for the pubhc good, and were absolutely essential to the safety of the country. In addi- tion to this, he was gratefully remembered by the people for whom he had sacrificed his ease and comfort, and endured so many hardships. In 1821, the corporation of New Orleans voted fifty thousand dollars for erecting a marble statue designed to commemorate his important military services ; and the same body also gave one thou- sand dollars for his portrait painted by Mr. Earle. At the session of the United States Congress in 1844-5, completo though tardy justice was meted out to Jackson, by the pas- sage of a law in efl^ect approving of his conduct, and mak ing provision for the restitution of the fine, with interest. Notwithstanding the cessation of hostilities, General Jackson remained at New Orleans, with the troops under his command, until the month of March, at which time he was relieved by General Gaines. On taking leave of the brave volunteers who had cheerfully followed him through so many difficulties and dangers, previous to their final discharge, he issued the following address, thanking them for their fidehty to the country, and expressing h^sj sincere wishes for their future happiness and prosperity " The major-general is at length enabled to perform the pleasing task of restoring to Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisi- ana, and the territory of the Mississippi, the brave troops who have acted such a distinguished part in the war which has just terminated. In restoring these brave men to their homes, much exertion is expected of, and great responsi- bility imposed on, the commanding officers of the different corps. It is required of Major-generals Carroll and Thomas, and Brigadier-general Coffee, to march their commands, without unnecessary delay, to their respective states. The troops from the Mississippi territory, and state of Louisi- ana, both militia and volunteers, will be immediately mus- tered out of service, paid, and discharged. 162 LIFE OF JACKSON. " The major-general has the satisfaction of announcing the approbation of the President of the United States to the conduct of the troops under his command, expressed in flattering terms, through the honorable the secretary of war " In parting with those brave men, whose destinies have been so long united with his own, and in whose labors and glories it is his happiness and his boast to have parti- cipated, the commanding general can neithei suppress his feelings, nor give utterance to them as he ought. In what terms can he bestow suitable praise on merit so extraor- dinary, so unparalleled ? Let him, in one burst of joy, r gratitude, and exultation, exclaim — ' These are the saviors I of their country — these the patriot soldiers, who triumphed lover ihe invincibles of Wellington, and conquered the (conquerors of Europe !' With what patience did you Submit 10 privations — with what fortitude did you endure fatigue — what valor did you display in the day of battle ! You have secured to America a proud name among the nations ot the earth — a glory which will never perish. " Possessing those dispositions which equally adorn the citizen and the soldier, the expectations of your country will be met in peace, as her wishes have been gratified in war. Go, then, my brave companions, to your homes; to those tender connections, and blissful scenes, which render life so dear — full of honor, and crowned with laurels which will never fade. When participating, in the bosoms of your families, the enjoyment of peaceful life, with what happiness will you not look back to the toils you have borne — to the dangers you have encountered? How will all vour past exposures be converted into sources of inex p'-essible delight ! Who, tiiat never experienced your sufferings, will be able to appreciate your joys ? The man who slumbered ingloriously at home, during your painful marches, your nights of watchfulness, and your days ol toil, will envy you the happiness which these re- collections will afford— still moie will he envy the gratitude of that country, which you have so eminently contributed to save. " Continue, fellow-soldiers, on your passage to your se- veral destinations, to preserve that subordination, that RETURN HOME 163 dignified and manly deportment, which have so ennobled your character. " While the commanding general is thus giving indulg- ence to his feelings towards those bravo companions who iccompanied him through difficulties and danger, he can- not permit the names of Blount, and Shelby, and Holmes, to pass unnoticed. With what generous ardor and pa- triotism have these distinguished governors contributed all their exertions to provide the means of victory ! The recollection of their exertions, and of the success which has resulted, will be to them a reward more grateful than any which the pomp of title or the splendor of wealth can bestow. " What happiness it is to the commanding general, that, while danger was before him, he was, on no occasion, compelled to use towards his companions in arms either severity or rebuke ! If, after the enemy had retired, ina- proper passions began their empire in a few unworthy bosoms, and rendered a resort to energetic measures ne- cessary for their suppression, he has not confounded the innocent with the guilty — the seduced with the seducers. Towards you, fellow-soldiers, the most cheering recollec- tions exist ; blended, alas ! with regret, that disease and war should have ravished from us so many worthy com- panions. But the memory of the cause in which they perished, and of the virtues which animated them while living, must occupy the place where sorrow would claim to dwell. " Farewell, fellow-soldiers. The expression of your ge- neral's thanks is feeble, but the gratitude of a country of freemen is yours — yours the applause of an admiring world. " Andrew Jackson, " Major-general commanding.''^ On his route to Nashville, General Jackson saw, on every side, the certain evidences of exultation and delight The reputation he had acquired during his campaigns in the Creek country, had extended from one section of the union to the other. All were familiar with the prompt- ness and decision, the active intrepidity, and unyielding 164 LIFE OF JACKSON., firmness, he had evinced in his different engagements and marches through the Indian territory of the Hickory Ground, and in allusion to which the appellation of "Old Hickory" had been bestowed upon him ; and the brilliant victory won at New Orleans threw the country into a complete fever of joy. For two years afterwards, General Jackson, though still retaining his rank in the army, remained at home engaged in cultivating his farm, and busily occupied with rural pleasures and labors. In the winter of 1!SI7, the hostile Creeks, or Seminoles, who had been driven into Florida, in connection with runaway negroes from the adjoining^ states, began to execute schemes of robbery and vengeance against the Americans living near the frontiers. Repre- sentations in regard to these outrages had been made to the American government, and General Gaines, the acting commander of the southern district, w^as ordered, in the sunnner of 1817, to occupy a position near the borders, with a considerable force, for the protection of the citizens. He was at first directed to keep within the territorial limits of the United States, and not to cross the Florida line ; but to demand of the Indians the perpetrators of the crimes which had been committed, avoiding, if possible, a general rupture with the deluded savages. General Gaines made the demand, in conformity with his orders. The savages, however, being deceived by the representa- tions of certain foreign incendiaries and traders, who taught them to believe that they would receive assistance and encouragement from the British, not only refused to give up the murderers, but repeated their barbarities when- ever an opportunity offered. Whilst matters remained in this condition, the intelligence was received that Lieuten- ant Scott, one of General Gaines' officers, with forty-seven persons, men, women and children, had been surprised by an ambuscade of Indians, when descending the Appalachi- cola river in a boat, about two miles below the junction of the Flint and Chattahoochie, and that the whole detach- ment had been killed or taken prisoners, except six men, who had made their escape. Those who were taken alive were wantonly butchered by the ferocious savages; ORDERED TO THE SOUTH. 165 the little children were seized, and their brains dashed out against the side of the boat ; and all the helpless females, w.'th one exception, were murdered. On the receipt of this intelligence, the government saw the necessity of adopting energetic measures. Orders were immediately issued to General Jackson to repair to Fort Scott and take command of the forces in that quarter, wiih authority, in case he should deem it necessary, to call upon the Executives of the adjoining states for addi- tional iroops. He was also authorized to cross the bound- ary Ime of Florida, which was still a Spanish territory, if necessary in the execution of his orders. The orders which had been issued to General Gaines, and to which he was referred for his own guidance, required him to adopt •* measures necessary to terminate a conflict which had been avoided from considerations of humanity, but which had now become indispensable, from the settled hostility of the savage enemy." The Secretary of War also suid, in a letter written to General Gaines in the month of January, 1&»1»: "The honor of the United Slates requires that the war with the Seminoles should be terminated speedily, and with exemplary punishment for hostilities so unprovoked." Having collected the Tennessee volunteers, with that zeal and promptness which ever marked his career. Ge- neral Jackson repaired to the post assigned him, and as- sumed the command. The necessity of crossing the line into Florida was no longer a subject of doubt. A large body of Indians and negroes had made that territory their refuge, and the Spanish authorities were either too weak or too indifferent to restrain them. In order to comply with the orders issued to him, Jackson penetrated at once into the Seminole towns, reducing them to ashes, and driving the enemy before him. In the council-house of the Mic- kasukians, more than fifty fresh scalps, and in an adjacent house, upwards of three hundred scalps, of all ages and sexes, were found ; and in the centre of the public square a red pole was erected, crowned with scalps, known by the hair to have belonged to the companions of Lieutenant Scott. To inflict merited punishment on the barbarians, 160 LIFE OF JACKSON. and to prevent a repetition of the massacres, by bringing the war to a speedy and successful termination, he pur- sued his way to St. Marks. He there found, in con formity with previous information, that the Indians and negroes had demanded the surrender of the post to tliem ; and that the Spanish garrison, according to the command ant's own acknowledgment, was too weak to support it He ascertained also that the enemy had been supplied with the means of carrying on the war, from the commandant of the post; that foreign incendiaries, who inr^tigated the savages to cruelty, had tree communication with the fort : and that councils of war were permitted by the com- mandant to be held by the chiefs and warriors, within his own quarters. The Spanish store-houses were appro- priated to the use of the hostile party, and actually filled with goods belonging to them, though property known to have been plundered from American citizens was pur- chased from them by the commandant, while he professed friendship to the United States. General Jackson, therefore, did not hesitate to demand of the officer commanding at St. Marks, the surrender of that post, that it might be garrisoned by an American force, and, when the Spaniard hesitated, he entered the fort by force, though without bloodshed ; the enemy hav- ing fled, and the garrison being too weak to offer any se- rious opposition. From this place he marched upon Su- wanee, seized the stores of the enemy and burnt their vil- lages. A variety of circumstances now convinced General Jack- son, that the savages had commenced the war and persist- ed in their barbarity. He therefore arrested at St. Marks several of the British incendiaries who had excited them to hostilities. One Alexander Arbuthnol, an Indian trader was taken at St. Marks, where he had been living as ai inmate in the family of the commandant. He was tried by a court of inquiry, of thirteen respectable officers, and sentenced to be hung, which sentence was immediately carried into execution. Robert Ambrisler, formerly a lieu- tenant in the British marine corps, was also tried ; and it having been proved that he had not only encouraged and SEMINOLE CAMPAIGN. 167 assisted the hostile savages, but had also led them in their marauding- excursions, he was sentenced by the court to receive fifty stripes and to be confined, with a ball and chain, at hard labor, for twelve calendar months. General Jackson, however, disapproved of this sentence, which he did not think sufficiently severe ; and the case being reconsidered, Ambrister was sentenced to be shot, which sentence was forthwith executed. It was now supposed by the commanding general that the war was at an end. St. Marks was garrisoned by an American force ; the Indian towns of Mickasuky and Suwanee were destroyed ; two prominent chiefs who had been the prime movers and leaders of the savages, had been killed ; and the two foreign instigators taken and exe- cuted. The American commander, therefore, ordered the Georgia militia, who had joined him, to be discharged, and was about to return himself to Tennessee. While mak- ing his preparations, he was informed that the Indians were admitted freely by the governor at Pensacola ; that they were collecting in large numbers, five hundred being in Pensacola on the I5th of April, many of whom were known to be hostile, and had just escaped from the pursuit of his troops; that the enemy were furnished with am- munition and supplies, and received intelligence of the movements of his forces, from that place ; and that a num- ber of them had sallied out and murdered eighteen Ame- rican citizens, who had settled upon the Alabama, and were immediately received by the governor, and furnished with means of transportation across the lake, that they might escape pursuit. These facts being ascertained by General Jackson, from reliable authority, he forthwith took up his line of march towards Pensacola, at the head of a detachment of about twelve hundred men, for the purpose of counteracting the views of the enemy. On the 18th of May, he crossed the Appalachicolaal the Ocheese village, wiih the intention of scouring the country west of that river, ;ind on the 23d of the month, he received a communication from the go- vernor of West Florida, protesting against his entrance into that province, commanding him to retire from it, and 8 168 LIFE OF JACKSON. declaring that he would repel force by force if he did not obey. This communication, together with other indica- tions of the governor's hostih'ty, were followed by prompt action on the part of the American general. He marched direct to Pensacola, and took possession of that place the following day. The governor himself fled to Fort Carlos de Barrancas, which post also surrendered, after a feeble resistance, on the 2Sth of May. This bold and energeti mode of carrying on the war soon put an end to the de predations of the Indians and negroes. Parties of them were scattered here and there through the countr}'-, and, to prevent them from attacking the frontier settlements, two of the volunteer companies were ordered to scour the country between the Mobile and the Appalachicola. Thus ended the Seminole campaign, which, though not distin- guished by any heavy battles, was, nevertheless, a most arduous and harassing kind of warfare. General Jackson returned to the Hermitage, in June, 1818. His promptness and decision in checking the in- cursions of the savages, and putting an end to their de- predations, elicited new acknowledgments and new evi- dences of respect and admiration. The general govern- ment deemed it expedient ultimately to restore to Spain the posts of St. Marks and Pensacola; but the conduct of Jackson was approved, and President Monroe expressed the opinion in his annual message, at the commencement of the session of Congress in 1818, that the "misconduct of the Spanish ofRcers," in afTordmg countenance and pro- tection to the savages, fully justified the course which had been pursued. The proceedings of the general in regard to Arbuthnot and Ambrister, were, in like manner, unequivocally confirmed. The British government even, though always prompt in protecting her citizens, could not but acknowledge the justice of their condemnation. General Jackson returned home in the summer of 1818, and in the course of the following winter he visited Wash- ington. The incidents of the Seminole campaign were then under consideration in Congress, and a report was made by a committee of the Senate extremely hostile to his character. It had not the concurrence of the ablest members of the APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA. 169 committee, and on the appearance of an article in the Na- tional Intelligencer, written by General Jackson himself, triumphantly defending his conduct, all further action upon it was suspended. An attempt was also made in the House of Representatives, to pass a vote of censure, but it was rejected by a decisive majority. While at the east, the general visited Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, in each of which he was welcomed with distinguished honors. He received the freedom of the city of New York on the 19th of February, in a gold box ; and there, as well as in Baltimore, the municipal council requested and ob- tained his portrait, to be placed in their hall. On the 22d of February, 1819, a treaty was signed be- tween Spain and the United States, by which the Floridas were ceded to the latter power. Upon the final ratification of the treaty, Congress passed a law, empowering the pre- sident to vest in such person or persons as he might select, all the military, civil, and judicial authority exercised by the officers of the Spanish government. Under this law, the president selected General Jackson to act as commis- sioner for receiving the provinces, and to assume the go- vernment of them. The intimate acquaintance of Jackson with the country, and the energy and decision of his cha- racter, specially recommended him for this position. The territory was completely overrun with smugglers, negro- stealers, and desperadoes of every description ; and it re- quired the exercise of no little firmness and rigor to restore quiet and good order. The general reluctantly accepted the office, and on the 1st of July, 1821, he issued his pro- clamation at Pensacola, announcing that he had taken possession of the territory in the name of the United States, and that all citizens were required to yield obedience to her authority. Prompt measures were adopted for enforc- ing the laws, and securing the due administration of justice. Courts were immediately organized, and a system of inter- nal police instituted. By the treaty with Spain it was expressly stipulated, that all the archives and documents relating to the pro- perty and sovereignty of the provinces should be delivered up to the American authorities. A case soon occurred un 170 LIFE OF JACKSON der this clause of the treaty, which called oIl-. ail Gene::sk^ Jackson's well-known firmness and promptitude. On the 22d of August, he received a petition from certain indivi- duals, setting forth that certain papers of great importance to the rights of several orphan females, whose inheritance was under litigation, had been feloniously retained by the Spanish Ex-governor, Callava, and that they were in the hands of a man named Sousa. Jackson forthwith ordered three officers to wait upon Sousa, and demand the docu- ments. He exhibited them to the officers, but refused to give them up, as they had been intrusted to him by Cal- lava. On being summoned to appear before Jackson with the papers, Sousa returned for answer that they had been sent to the house of the Ex-governor. Two officers were directed to repair thither and demand them; and if Cal- lava refused to deliver them up, to arrest both him and his steward, who had received them, and bring them before the governor. After considerable parleying, Callava finally refused, in the most positive terms, to surrender the documents, whereupon he was conducted, under a guard, to the office of Jackson. Arrived there, he persisted in his refusal, and commenced protesting against the course pursued by the general, who instantly committed him to prison. The box containing the papers was obtained the next morning, and opened by officers specially commissioned for that purpose. The papers sought for were found, to- gether with decrees which Callava had made, in favor of the heirs, but corruptly suppressed. The object of his imprisonment having been gained, the Ex-governor was released from custody. Previous to his discharge, a writ of habeas corpus was issued to extricate him from his con- finement, by Mr. Fromentin, who had been appointed judge by the United Stp.tes government, with a jurisdic lion expressly limited tJ cases arising under the revenue laws, and the acts of Congress prohibiting the introduc- tion of slaves. At this time, the general judiciary act had not been extended to Florida, and General Jackson pos- sessed, in his own person, by the terms of the law under HIS RESIGNATION. 171 which he was appointed, the supreme judicial power uni- formly exercised by the Spanish governors, captains-gene- ral, and intendants. He, of course, refused to obey the writ, and reprimanded Mr. Fromentin, in severe terms, for his interference. Callava afterwards attempted to excite a prejudice against General Jackson, by an exposition which was pubhshed m some of the American papers; but the statements made by him were shown to be so grossly false, that he obtained little sympathy. The pro- ceedings of Jackson underwent the rigid scrutiny of a committee of the House of Representatives, and the result was his complete justification. Although the measures he adopted appeared harsh, the American people were ready to approve his conduct, when it was ascertained that it originated in a desire to carry out his own noble sentiment, that "the great can protect themselves, but the poor and humble require the arm and shield of the law." Several Spanish officers who had remained with Cal- lava, published an article in a Pensacola paper, after his discharge, in which they accused the general of violence and tyranny. It was stipulated in the treaty that all Spa- nish officers should be withdrawn from the territories, with- in six months after its ratification. More than this term had elapsed. Jackson issued a proclamation without de- lay, commanding them, as trespassers and disturbers of the public peace, to depart in the course of a week. They wisely obeyed the order and left the territory. About the same time, the Ex-governor of East Florida attempted to retain a number of important documents which should have been delivered up. When the fact came to his knowledge, the general tramsmitted his orders to take them by force, if they were withheld. The order was carried into effect ; the ex-governor protested against the act, but received little sympathy or encouragement. The ill health of General Jackson compelled him to resign his position in a few months. On the 7th of Oc- tober, he delegated his power to his secretaries, and re- turned to Nashville. In his valedictory address to the 172 LIFE OF JACKSON. citizens' of Florida, he informed them that he had com- pleted 'he temporary organization of the two provinces, and justified and defended the acts of his administration. It was with great regret that the people of the territory saw hjm depart, and the spontaneous manifestations of esteem and gratitude which were exhibited towards him, were > uiU^' served. RESIGNS HIS COMMISSION. 173 CHAPTER XL i821. Jackson resigns his office in the army — Testimonials of public respect — A candidate for the Presidency — Defeated in the House of Representatives — Election of Mr. Adams — Course of Jackson's friends — His renoniination — Warmth of the contest — Elected pre- sident — Dcatli ot his wife — Kindness to her relatives — His first mes- sage — Vtto of the Maysville road bill — Dissolution of the cabinet- Opposition to I lie IJniied States Bank — Veto message — Re-elected president — Dfficulty with the nullifiers — Assaulted by Lieutenant Randolph — Removal of the deposits — Pubhc excitement — Con- troversy with France — Retirement to private life. 1837. The hardships and privations which General Jackson had experienced in his different campaigns against the Indians, so far undermined his health, that he was com- pelled to resign his commission in the army of the United States, and retire to private hfe. But the gratitude of the nation followed him in his retirement, and only wailed the opportunity to confer upon him the high reward which was due to his long and faithful services. The citizens of Tennessee were not only proud of the distinguished reputation which reflected so much honor on his adopted slate, but they were eager to evince to the world the favorable estimation in which they regarded him. On the 4th day of July, 1822, the governor of the state, by order of the legislature, presented him with a sword, as a testimonial "of the high respect entertained for his public services ;" and on the 20th of August following, the same body recommended him to the union for the office of president. This recommendation was repeated by the legislature of Alabama, and various meetings of private citizens in diflerent sections of the country. In 1^23, the office of Minister Plenipotentiary to the Mexican government was tendered to him by President Monroe ; 174 LIFE OF JACKSON. but he declined its acceptance. He was again elected to the Senate of the United States, in the autumn of that year, and remained in the office until 1^25. The canvass previous to the presidential election in 1824 commenced as early as the year 1S22. A majority of the republican party, to which Jackson belonged, in the northern and middle states, were in favor of the nomina- tion of John Gluincy Adams, then secretary of state. The same parly at the south and west, were divided between General Jackson, William H. Crawford, of Georgia, Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and John C. Calhoun, of South Caro- lina. During the congressional sessions in 1823 and 1824, the presidential question was constantly in agitation. The friends of Mr. Crawford were probably the most numerous in the two houses, but more than two-thirds of the mem- bers were in favor of some other candidate. It had usuahy been the custom to make the nominations in advance of the election, at a congressional caucus, and an effort was made at the session of 1824, to bring forward the name of Mr. Crawford in that way. A caucus was accordingly held, but it was not attended by a majority of the repub- lican members. The consequence was, that each section of the country was left at libt'rty to support whichever of the candidates was preferred. The election was con- ducted with considerable spirit and animation, and the result was, that no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes. On counting the official returns, it ap- peared that Andrew Jackson had received ninety-nine votes; John Gluincy Adams, eighty -four; William H. Crawford, forty-one, and Henry Clay, thirty-seven. The constitution of the United States provides that where no candidate for the presidency receiv^es a majority of the electoral votes, the election shall be made by the House of Representatives, from the three highest on the list ; and that the members shall vote by states ; each state being entitled to but one vote. No choice having been made by the people at the election in 1821, the matter was brought forward at the ensuing session of Congress, and John Gluincy Adams was elected president, he having received the votes of thirteen states. CHOSEN PRESIDENT. 175 Soon after the result of this election, Mr. Crawford withdrew from public life, in consequence of a severe bodily affliction. Mr. Clay was appointed Secretary of State under Mr. Adams, and the friends of Jackson and Crawford subsequently united in opposition to the then administration. The manner in which Jackson had been defeated, notwithstanding his having received the greatest number of votes, encouraged his friends and supporters, who were quite numerous, and devotedly attached to him, to make renewed efforts for the next election. An attempt was made to bring forward De Witt Clinton of the state of New York, as a Candida i ; but he expressly refused to allow his name to be useu in opposition to General Jack- son. The friends of Mr. Adams, however, took prompt measures to procure his re-election. In September, 1827, the general republican committee of the city of New York, most of whom had previously been Crawford men, pre- sented Jackson as their candidate for the presidency. At the November election in that year, a large majority of the electors of the state expressed their approbation of the movement, by the choice of a majority of members of the legislature friendly to his nomination. This satis- factory evidence of the feelings of the voters in so large and powerful a state, put an end to the idea of selecting any other candidate. His nomination was welcomed, with a feeling akin to enthusiasm, from one end of the union to the other, and the election, which took place in 1»28, was one of the most animated and exciting which had been witnessed for several years. During the canvass, the partizans on both sides became quite exasperated, and much was said and written con- cerning the candidates, which might have been wisely mitted. Among other things, the private character and ublic acts of General Jackson were subjected to a severe and rigid scrutiny. The circumstances attending his mar- riage, his conduct during the campaign against the Creeks, the attack on Pensacola, the arrest of Judge Hall, and the trial and merited punishment of Arbulhnot and Ambrister, were commented on in the harshest terms, and in many mstances grossly misrepresented. These uncalled for at- 8* 176 LIFE OF JACKSON. tacks produced no effect on the public mind, except that of enlisting a warmer feeling of sympathy in his behalf, and animating his friends to renewed exertion. The result of the election was, that General Jackson received one hundred and seventy-eight of the electoral votes, and Mr. Adams eighty-three. Not long after the result of the election was made known. General Jackson experienced a most afflicting bereavement, in the death of his amiable wife. To him the loss was irreparable. For many anxious years, when the duties of his position had called him from her side, by the lonely watch-fire, in the solitude of the forest, on the ramparts ot his intrenchments at New Orleans, amid the leafy hammocks and everglades of the far south, had he looked forward to his retirement from his public duties, comforted by the cherished hope that the evening of his days would be gilded with the halo of that deep and earnest affection which had ever been the light and the joy of the Hermitage. It was hard for hitn to part with one to whom he was so devotedly attached, just as he was entering upon the enjoyment of the crowning reward of a brilliant and prosperous career. To the day of his death he continued to cherish her memory with a sincere and heart-felt reverence. Having no descendants of his own, he proved himself, if that were possible, even more than a father, to the younger branches of her family. He adopted them as his own, and always regarded them with marked favor and kindness. General Jackson entered upon the duties of the chief magistracy of the Union, on the 4th day of March, 1821). In his inaugural address, he set forth, in general terms, his views in regard to the administration of the govern- ment, and expressed the diffidence he felt on assuming the high and responsible station to which he had been ele- vated. His first annual message to the two Houses of Congress, dehvered on the 8th day of December, 1829, contained a mor-e full exposition of his opinions in regard to questions of public policy. He averred his determina- tion to bring the matters in dispute with Great Britain and France, growing out of the north-eastern boundary HIS FIRST MESSAGE. 177 question and the claims of American citizens for depreda- tions committed on their property, to a speedy settlement. He recommended the amendment of the constitution, so as to enable the electors of the country to vote directly for president and vice-president, the modification of the tariff, the apportionment of the surplus revenue among the several states, provided it was " warranted by the consti- tution," and the removal of the Indian tribes beyond the Mississippi. He also expressed his doubts as to the pro- priety of renewing the charter of the United States Bank, and his behef that if a similar institution was thought ne- cessary for the purposes of the government, it should be exclusively a national one, founded upon the public reve- nues and credit. In the month of May, 1830, a bill passed the two Houst^s of Congress, proposing to authorize " a subscription of stock in the Maysville, Washington, Paris, and Lexington Turnpike Road Company." On the 27th _of the month, the president returned the bill witn his r objections to its passage. Although friendly to works of 1 internal improvement, he stated that he was opposed to the / construction of any work involving a claim of jurisdiction ,0 the territory necessary to be occupied for its preserva- tion and use, paramount to the sovereignty of the state; and to the appropriation of money " from the national trea- sury, in aid of such works when undertaken by state au- thority, surrendering the claim of jurisdiction." Believing \ that the bill under consideration was liable to both objec- '^ tions, he withheld his official sanction. The annual message of the president in December, 1830, contained no new recommendations of special importance. His views in regard to the amendment of the constitution, the distribution of the surplus revenue, and the recharter of the United States Bank, were again presented to the consideration of Congress. During the session, a resolu- tion was presented by Colonel Benton in the Senate, de- claring that the charter of the bank ought not to be renewed, which was lost by a vote of twenty to twenty-three. At the time of General Jackson's election in 1828, it ■ was thought that he might not be a candidate for re-elec- tion. Consequently, the question as to the selection of his 178 LIFE OF JACKSON. successor early attracted the attention of the politicians at the seat of government. In the winter of l'S30, consider- able ill feeling was producfd in his cabinet, particularly on the part of the friends of the vice-president, Mr. Cal- houn, growing out of what was said to be the especial favor shown to Mr. Van Buren, secretary of state. An un- fortunate difficulty in regard to the family relations of several members of the cabinet, increased this ill-feeling to such an extent, that Mr. Van Buren, and Mr. Eaton, the secretary of war, tendered their resignations in April, 1831. On accepting the resignations, General Jackson signified to their associates his desire to reconstruct his cabinet, whereupon the other members resigned, and a new cabinet was formed which proved to be much more harmonious in its operations. It was always a prominent wish with General Jackson, to secure entire unanimity among his constitutional advisers; and this did not proceed from any desire to exact a slavish subserviency to his views ; but it was the natural consequence of his remarkable energy and independence of character. Prepared at all times to as- sume every responsibility connected with his administra- tion of the executive authority, he desired his cabinet to be a complete unit, and that it should adopt the plans and carry out the views approved by him whom the law and the constitution had recognised as its head. The president announced to Congress, at the session commencing in December, 1831, the fact that a treaty had been signed with France providing for the payment of the claims for illegal seizures and confiscations during the war with the allied powers. This had long been a vexed question of difference between the two governments, and its adjustment was ardently desired on all hands. On the 4th day of July, 1832, the bill to recharter the United States Bank, which had been passed by the two Houses of Congress, was presented to General Jackson. His views in regard to that institution were well known. Previous to his election to the presidency, he had, on several occa- sions, avowed his hostility to a continuance of the charter. On the 10th day of July,*he returned the bill to the Senate, m which it originated, accompanied with his reasons for VETO OF THE UNITED STATES BANK. 179 declining to give the measure his approbation.* This was a bold and decided step on the part of the president. A-lthough many of his friends had long known what would be his decision, quite a number of ihem, and those among the most influential, were friendly to the bill, and indulged the hope that it would finally receive his sanction. When it became known that the veto-message was about to be sent in, he was beset with importunities to reconsider his determination. But the rock of Gibraltar could not have been more immovable. His opinions could not be changed, and the line of conduct he had marked out was fixed and unalterable. Whatever may be the views entertained in regard to the positions laid down in the veto-message of General Jack- son, no one can avoid admiring the unshrinking firmness and high moral courage displayed in his course on this question. The bank wielded an immense power. All classes, trades, and conditions, were more or less connected with its transactions. Its agents were scattered over the country, from one extremity to the other; and, as the se- quel proved, those who controlled its affairs were not un- willing to enter into the arena of pohtical strife, for the purpose of perpetuating its existence. General Jackson was renominated for the presidency, in 1S32, in connection with Martin Van Buren, of New York, as the candidate for vice-president. The incidents of this important elec- tion are not yet forgotten. The sudden contractions and expansions of the currency produced by the bank were severely felt. The moneyed interests of the country were temporarily deranged. The storm was a severe one. No public man of his day but Andrew Jackson, possessed the fearlessness requisite to encounter it. No man save him- self had that deep and abiding hold on the sympathies and affections of the American people, without which he would inevitably have been crushed. Nothing but his command- ing influence and wide-spread popularity, connected with the unflinching resoluteness of his character, cnablea him, like the proud oak, to set the whirlwind at defiance. * See page 241. 180 LIFE OF JACKSON. Henry J^lay was selected as the candidate of the oppo- nents of General Jackson's administration. The friends of Mr. Calhoun, in South Carolina, where the tariff ques- tion had already produced a most bitter feehng of hostility to the general government, remained almost entirely aloof from the contest. The anti-masonic party in the northern states, which had recently been formed, supported Wilham Wirt of Maryland. A great deal of vindictiveness and animosity was engendered during the canvass, and much of the hostility evinced towards General Jackson during the remainder of his administration, may be traced to the veto and his subsequent re-election. The returns from the electoral colleges exhibited the following result: Andrew Jackson received two hundred and nineteen voles, and Henry Clay forty-nine ; John Floyd received the eleven electoral votes of South Carolina; and seven were given for William Wirt in Vermont. The re-election of General Jackson, by so great a majority, in despite of the opposition arrayed against him, showed conclusively the extraordi- nary extent of his popularity and influence. During the summer and fall of 1832, the state of South Carolina was agitated with the throes of an incipient re- volution. It was claimed by Mr. Calhoun and his friends, who were known in the political parlance of the day, as nullifiers, that the operation of the revenue laws was so exceedingly unfair and unjust, that it released that state from all its obligations under the compact formed between the several members of the union. Arms were procured, and men organized into companies and regiments, under the orders of the state government, in order to resist the execution of the laws if an attempt were made to enforce them within her boundaries. Such proceedings could not be suffered to pass unnoticed. President Jackson im- mediately caused the fortifications of the United States in that quirter to be amply provided and garrisoned, and the attention of Congress was called to the subject in his an- nual message. Soon after the message was delivered, the information was received that a convention held in the state of South Carolina, had passed an ordinance de- claring the several acts of Congress to which objections ATTACK OF LIEUTENANT RANDOLPH. 181 bad been raised, to be unauthorized by the constitution and therefore null and void. The president forthwith issued his celebrated proclamation, which is deservedly regarded as one of the ablest slate papers that ever came from his pen.* It is remarkable alike for the nervous eloquence of its style, and the glowing- and earnest pa- triotism which breathes forth in every line. On the lOih of January, 1833, the proceedings of the nullifiers were made the subject of a special comnumication to Congress. This exciting controversy was terminated, after consider- able difficulty, by the passage of the Compromise Act, which contemplated an entire change in the tariff system of the country. In the spring of 18*'3, a personal attack was made upon General Jackson, which shows how little age had dimmed the fire and intrepidity of his youth. On the 6th of May, he left Washington, in company with the members of his cabinet, and his private secretary, in compliance with the invitation of the "Monumental Committee" at Fredericks- burg, to lay the corner-stone of the pillar, to be erected in honor of the mother of Washington. " The day," says the correspondent of a public paper, " was mild, and the air soft and refreshing. After the company had assembled on board, they paid their respects to the Executive, which that venerable patriot received with the ease and grace of the most finished gentleman of the old school. They then separated ; some of the party went upon the upper deck, to admire the picturesque and beautiful scenery of the surrounding country, whence, from the north round to the south, lay a line of high grounds, forming within their interior an extensive amphitheatre. On the south, was the broad and peaceful Potomac, stretching as far as the eye could reach. On the eastern branch of the river was to be seen the navy yard, and several of the public armed vessels lying in the stream, with our flag floating on the breeze ; and on the western branch, we had a distant but beautiful view of Georgetown, as it slopes from the high grounds to the river: and between that and the navy * See page 263. 182 LIFE OF JACKSON. yard, was to be seen the city of Washington, whence we had just taken our departure ; and from our situation we had, at one glance, a view of the bridge crossing the river, which exceeds a mile in extent, the chief magistrate's house, and the capitol, with its splendid dome, rearing its head over every other object. Among those who went upon the upper deck were the heads of departments. A group of ladies, with their attendants, were seated in the after part of the boat ; and an excellent band of music was playing several national airs as the steamer glided on her way, and shortly arrived at the city of Alexandria. Gene- ral Jackson had, just previous to the boat's reaching the wharf, retired to the cabin, and had taken his seat at a long table, which had been set preparatory for dinner. He was seated on the west side, and next to the berths, there being barely room enough left between the berths and table for a person to pass, by moving sidewise. Upon his left sat Mrs. Thruston, the wife of Judge Thruston, of Washington; and on the opposite side of the table sat Major Donelson, the general's private secretary ; Mr. Pot- ter, a clerk in one of the departments at Washington ; and Captain Broome, of the marine corps. The president was reading a newspaper. While in this situation, (there being no other person in the cabin or near him,) a large number of citizens came on board, as it was supposed to pay their respects to him. Among the number was Ran- dolph, late a lieutenant in the navy. He made his way into the cabin, and after speaking to Captain Broome, who had long been acquainted with him, he immediately ad- vanced between the table and the berths towards the pre- sident, as if to address him. The president did not know him, and it seems that Captain Broome did not mt-ntion his name, because, he said, he believed that the object of his visit was to present a petition praying to be restored to the navy again ; still, as the captain did not know that that was the object of his visit, and fearing, as he said, that he might intend to commit some act of violence, he stepped quickly to the same side of the table, and ad- vanced up to and near Randolph, who had by this time come so near General Jackson as to be observed by him, ATTACK OF LIEUTENANT RANDOLPH. 183 who, supposing it was some person about to salute him, said that he was afflicted with a severe pain in his side, and begged to be excused for not rising; and seeing that Randolph had some difficulty in pulling off his glove, he stretched out his hand towards him, sa3'ing, at the same time, "Never mind your glove, sir." Upon this, Ran- dolph thrust one hand violently into the president's face ; but before he could make use of the other, or repeat his blow, Captain Broome seized and drew him off towards the door. A part of the table was broken down in the scuffle. Mr. Potter thrust his umbrella at Randolph across the table, at the moment Captain Broome seized him ; whereupon, Randolph's friends clenched him, hurried him out of the cabin, and ofl' from the boat, 'eaving his hat be- hmd. This was done so quickly that the iew persons who were near the president were not aware of it, as they had all turned round after pushing Randolph away, to inquire whether or not the chief magistrate was much hurt. He was so confined behind the table, that he could not rise with ease, nor could he seize his cane in time to defend himself. The news of this outrage was soon cir- culated around the boat, and at first it seemed so incredible that no one could be found to believe it ; all, however, im- mediately repaired to the cabin, and heard the president relate the story himself. '• Had I been apprized," said he, " that Randolph stood before me, I should have been prepared for him, and I could have defended myself. No villain," said he, " has ever escaped me before ; and he would not, had it not been for my confined situation." Some blood was seen on his face, and he was asked whether he had been much injured. "No," said he, '* I am not much hurt; but in en- eavoring to rise, I have wounded my side, which now pains me more than it did." About this time, one of the citizens of Alexandria, who had heard of the outrage, addressed the general, and said: " Sir, if you will pardon me, in case I am tried and con- victed, 1 will kill Randolph for this insult to you, in fifteen mmutes !" "No sir," said the president, "I cannot do that' I 184 LIFE OF JACKSON. want no man to stand between me and my assailants, and none to take revenge on my account. Had I been pre- pared for this cowardly villain^s approach, I can assure you all, that he would never have the temerity to under- take such a thing again." General Jackson had for some time been firmly im- pressed with the belief that the public deposits with the United States Bank were far from being safe, and in the summer of 1833 he decided to cause them to be removed. At tne close of the previous session of Congress, a resolu- tion was adopted in the House of Representatives, declar- ing that they might be safely continued with the bank ; but, in the vacation, circumstances transpired connected with the speculations of the bank, which, as the president thought, called for prompt action. Mr. Duane, the Se- cretary of the Treasury, refused to carry out the wishes of the president, and he was forthwith removed, to make room for Mr. Taney, then Attorney-General, and after- wards Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The deposits were withdrawn from the bank in October, and the con- test between the friends of that institution and the ad- herents of General Jackson was renewed with increased asperity and violence. At the next session of Congress the subject was brought up, and for weeks formed the principal topic of discussion. Several very able speeches were made by the leading politicians belonging to the two parties. On the 2Sth of March, a resolution was adopted in the Senate, which had been offered by Mr. Clay, ex- pressing the opinion that the president, in his proceedings in relation to the public revenue, had "assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the consti- tution and laws, but in derogation of both." On the 15th of April following, the president sent a message to the Senate, respectfully protesting against their impeachment of his official acts, and requesting his communication to be entered on the journals.* The controversy between the president and Senate was carried so far, that that body refused to confirm a large number of his appointments, in many instances solely upon political grounds. At several * See page 284. HIS FINAL RETIREMENT. 18*> subsequent sessions, the removal of the deposits was dis- cussed in Congress. Mr. Benton, of Missouri, at an early day, made a movement in favor of expunging the resolu- tion of censure from the journals of the senate. After several inefTectual attempts, a vote to that effect was adopted in the Senate, in conformity with the expressions of several public meetings, and the instructions of the legis- latures of different states. The resolution was ordered to be expunged, by drawing black lines across and around it. In his annual message on the 3d of December, 1833, General Jackson informed Congress that the French go- vernment had failed to pay the installment required by the stipulations of the convention concluded on the 4th of July, 1831. At the next session he again called their attention to the continued delay in the payment of the money, and recommended the passage of a law authorizing reprisals upon French property, in case provision should not be made for it at the appiDi3:;hing session of the Chamber of Deputies. The prompt and decisive tone of the president's message startled the chivalric feelings of the French nation. The passports of the American minister were tendered to him, and a serious rupture was confidently anticipated. The unyielding firmness of General Jackson, and the sense of justice which soon prevailed in the French Chamber, averted the danger, and restored the peace and harmony previously existing between the two nations. Nothing of unusual interest occurred during the admi- nistration of General Jackson, after the amicable settlement of the difficulty with France. The severe panic which followed the derangementof the currency, consequent upon the efforts of the bank to procure a renewal of its charter, was followed by a season of unexampled prosperity. In 1835, the public debt was entirely liquidated; and on the linal retirement of General Jackson to private life, in the spring of 1837, he issued a farewell address to the Ame- rican people, setting forth the principles upon which he had conducted the affairs of government, and congratulat- ing them on the peace and happiness which they enjoyed.* • See page 350. 186 LIFE OF JACKSON-. CHAPTER XII. 1837. Ill health of General Jackson — Arrival at the Hermitage- Influence with his party — Friendly to the annexation of Texas— His occupations — Embarrassed in his pecuniary affairs — Refunding of the fine imposed by Judge Hall — Failure of his health — His last illness — His Christian resignation and death — Honors paid to his memory — Remarks of Reverdy Johnson — Speech of Daniel Web ster — Character of Jackson — His qualifications as a soldier and statesman — Attachment to his friends — His personal appearance — His patriotism. 1845. A SHORT time previous to the termination of his official career, General Jackson was attacked with a severe he- morrhage of the lungs, which for some days incapacitated him from attending to business. He recovered, however, sufficiently to be present at the inauguration of his suc- cessor, and take part in the ceremonies of the day. On his arrival at the Hermitage he was quite weak and infirm, but the relaxation from mental labor, and the kind atten- tions of his adopted children, soon restored him to com- parative strength and heakh, though he still suffered much from the diseased state of his lungs. The various questions of public policy which afterwards agitated the country, and the movements of the two great political parties in the nation, did not fail to excite his attention. His in- fluence was silently exerted and felt in our national poli- tics up to the day of his death. He was still regarded as the leader of the party which had so long looked up to him as its head, and on all important occasions was con- sulted with as much veneration as were the oracles of olden time. He was, from the first, the warm and steadfast friend of the annexation of Texas to the Union. In the settlement of the Oregon boundary question he took a deep interest, though he did not live to see the boundary finally adjusted. HIS LAST ILLNESS. 187 Most of General Jackson's time, in his retirement, was spent in minister-';^' to the comforts of those who were dependent on him, and in overseeing the labor performed on his estate. He was a sincere an4 devout communicant of the Presbyterian church, and he erected a house of worship in the immediate vicinity of the Hermitage, for the convenience of his family and servants. Towards the close of his life he became involved in nis circumstances, on account of some endorsements for a friend. Vv hen his condition was made known, several offers were made to extend him such pecuniary assistance as he might need. At the session of 1814-5, a law was passed by Congress, providing for the reimbursement of the fine of one thou- sand dollars paid by General Jackson at New Orleans, with interest from the time of its original payment. This act of justice, tardy as it was, was peculiarly grateful to the feelings of the' general, and it served to sweeten the clos ing reflections of his life. For several months previous to his decease, the health of General Jackson began rapidly to fail. His consti u- tion had been originally strong and vigorous, but exposure and privation during his Indian campaigns seriously im- paired his physical vigor. A gentleman who visited him in the month of May, 1845, states that he had not, at that time, been in a condition to lie down for four months. His whole system was invaded with dropsy; he had not suffi- cient strength to stand ; and his disease was attended with so much bo'dily pain, that he could obtain no sleep except by means of opiates. While in this dying condition, his por- trait was taken by an artist employed for the purpose by Louis Phillippe, King of the French, who designed to place it by the side of Washington's in his gallery. He was con- stantly cheered by the visits of his old and attached per- sonal friends ; and the consolations of religion, to which he loved to resort, were a never-failing solace to his heart. On one occasion he remarked to a clergyman who called upon him. that he was "in the hands of a merci.'ul God. J have full confidence," said he, " in his goodness and mercy. My lamp of life is nearly out, and the last glim- mer is come. 1 am ready to depart when called. Thee 188 LIFE OF JACKSON. Bible is true. The principles and statutes of that holy book have been the rule of my life, and I have tried to conform to its spirit as near as possible. Upon that sacred volume I rest my hope of eternal salvation, through the merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." General Jackson continued to grow more feeble, until Sunday, the 8th day of June, 1845. Early in the morn- ing of that day he swooned, and for some time was sup- posed to be dead. On reviving from the swoon, he became conscious that the spark of life was nearly extinguished, and, expecting to die before another sun would set, he sent for his family and domestics to come and receive his dying benediction. His remarks, it is said, were full of affection and Christian resignation. His mind retained its vigor to the last, and his dying moments, even more than his earlier years, exhibited its highest intellectual light. To his fa- mily and friends he said : — " Do not grieve that I am about to leave you, for I shall be better off. Although I am af- flicted with pain and bodily suffering, they are as nothing compared with the sufferings of the Savior of the world, who was put to death on the accursed tree. I have ful- filled my destiny on earth, and it is better that this worn- out frame should go to rest, and my spirit take up its abode with the Redeemer." He continued thus to address his relatives and friends, at intervals, during the forenoon, and, as the attending physi- cian. Dr. Esleman, remarked, his confidence and faith in the great truths of religion seemed to be more firm and unwavering than any man he had ever seen die. He ex- pressed a desire that Dr. Edgar, of the Presbyterian church, should preach his funeral sermon, and that no pomp or parade should be made over his grave. After years of patient suffering and endurance, the aged soldier and statesman thus quietly sunk into his last sleep. Calm and self-collected, though oppressed with pain, he yielded up his spirit with the resignation of a Christian. His death took place on the evening of the 8th of June, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. The death of such a man, of one who had occupied so prominent a place in the affairs of the nation, and rendered RESPECT TO HIS MEMORY "3 SO many signal services to his country, was not to I i re- garded as a thing of idle moment. Political opp ?nts and friends met together like brethren, to offer the last tribute to his memory ; and the rancorous hostility of the partisan was forgotten, as he bent over the grave of Andrew Jackson, and involuntarily bedewed it with his tears. Throughout the union, the respect paid to his memory was both solemn and impressive. All the courts and public bodies in session adjourned on receiving the intelhgence. Funeral processions were formed, and ad- dresses delivered in all the principal cities ; and nothing was left undone to evince the sincere regard for his cha- racter which was universally entertained. Among the eloquent tributes which the occasion elicited, the annexed remarks of Reverdy Johnson, a senator in Congress from the state of Maryland, and a political opponent of General Jackson, before the Court of Appeals of that state, richly deserve a perusal : " May it please the court — I rise to announce to the court the death of a great American, and to ask, in beha.f of my brethren of the bar, as a respect justly due to his memory, that the court at once adjourn. "Andrew Jackson is no more. A long and trying ill- ness is at last terminated, and his spirit has winged its flight, I trust, to heaven. The life and character of the deceased have for many years filled a large space in the public eye ; and perhaps no man has ever hved amongst us, whose popularity or influence with the American people was deeper seated, or more commanding. "I need not inform the court, that the administration of the general government by this eminent citizen, during his presidency, in almost every particular of it, except his noble stand against the perilous and unconstitutional doc- trine of nullification, did not receive the approval of a large political party of the country ; but as a member of that party, 1 never doubted that he was in heart and soul a patriot, deeply attached to the free insuiutions under which we live, and ardently sohcitous for the honor and prosperity of the nation. 9 190 LIFE OF JACKSON. « It is a redeeming trait in the character of our people, and greatly diminishes the mischiefs of mere party spirit, that we instinctively, when the nation is called upon to vindicate its honor, are found, to a man, united ; and that on the death of a great and patriotic citizen, we are alike found, without regard to party, joining in a national la- mentation at the afflictive event. "In this instance, there were in the eventful life of the de- ceased, deeds of service rendered the country, by which we all feel that the national glory was eminently subserved. " His military course seemed to know no disaster. With him, to go to battle was to go to victory. Whether war- ring at the head of American troops, with the cunning and daring of savage valor, or with the bravery and skill of the best disciplined army of the European world, the result was ever the same — a triumph. The crowning glory of his military life, the Battle of New Orleans, whilst it immeasurably increases the fame of our arms, w'^' in all future time, serve as a beacon to protect; our ouii from hostile tread. " In honor of such a man, it is fit that, in every portion of this great nation, due respect should be shown to his memory ; and I therefore move the court to gratify the feelings of the bar, as I am sure they will their own, by adjourning for the day." When the intelligence of the death of General Jackson reached New York, a special meeting of the New York Historical Society, of which the deceased was a member, was called, in order to express their regret at the national bereavement, and adopt measures for evincing their re- spect. Daniel Webster was present at the meeting, and made the following remarks, alike creditable to his head and his heart. "Nothing could be more natural or proper, than that this society should take a respectful notice of the decease of so distinguished a member of its body. Accustomed occasionally to meet the society, and to enjoy the com- munications that are made to it, and proceed from it, illus- trative of the history of the country and its government, RFMARKS OF DANIEL M^EBSTER. 191 I have pleasure in being present at this time ahso, and on this occasion, in which an element so mournful mingles itself. General Andrew Jackson has been from an early period conspicuous in the service and in the councils of the country, though not without long intervals, so far as respects his connection with the general government. It is fifty years, I think, since he was a member of the Con- gress of the United States, and at the instant, sir, I do not know whether there be living an associate of General Jackson in the House of Representatives of the United States at that day, with the exception of the distinguished and venerable gentleman who is now president of this society. I recollect only of the Congress of '90, at this moment now living, but one — Mr. Gallatin — though I may be mistaken. General Jackson, Mr. President, while he lived, and his memory and character, now that he is deceased, are presented to his country and the world in different views and relations. He was a soldier — a general officer — and acted no unimportant part in that capacity. He was raised by repeated elections to the highest stations in ihe civil government of his country, and acted a part certainly not obscure or unimportant in that character and capacity. "In regard to his military services, I participate in the general sentiment of the whole country, and I believe of the world. That he was a soldier of dauntless courage — great daring and perseverance — an officer of skill, and arrangement, and foresight, are truths universally admitted. During the period in which he administered the general government of the country, it was my fortune, during the whole period of it, to be a member of the Congress of the United Stales, and as it is well known, it was my mis- fortune not to be able to concur with many of the most important measures of his administration. Entertaining nimself, his own views, and with a power of impress- ing them, to a remarkable degree, upon the conviction and aoprobation of others, he pursued such a course as he tiinught expedient in the circumstances in which he was placed. Entertaining on many questions of great impor^nce, different opinions, it was of course my mis- 192 LIFE OF JACKSON. fortune to differ from him, and that difference gave me great pain, because, in the whole course of my public life, it has been far more agreeable to me to support the measures of the government, than to be called upon by my judgment, and sense of what is to be done, to oppose them. I desire to see the government acting with a unity of spirit in all things relating to its foreign relations, espe- cially, and generally in all great measures of domestic policy, as far as is consistent with the exercise of perfec independence among its members. But if it was my mis- fortune to differ from General Jackson on many, or most of the great measures of his administration, there were oc- casions, and those not unimportant, in which I felt it my duty, and according to the highest sense of that duty, to conform to his opinions, and support his measures. There were junctures in his administration — periods which I thought important and critical — in which the views he thought proper to adopt, corresponded entirely with my sentiments in regard to the protection of the best interests of the country, and the institutions under which we live; and it was my huml^e endeavor on these occasions to yit-ld to his opinions and measures, the same cordial sup- port as if I had not differed from him before, and expected never to differ from him again. '' That General Jackson was a marked character — that he had a very remarkable influence over other men's opinions — that he had great perseverance and resolution in civil as well as in military administration, all admit. Nor do 1 think that the candid among mankind will ever doubt that it was his desire — mingled with whatsoever portion of a disposition to be himself instrumental in that exaltation — to elevate his country to the highest prosperity and honor. There is one sentiment, to which I par ticularly recur, always with a feeling of approbation and gratitude. From an earlier period of his undertaking tc administer the affairs of the government, he uttered a sentiment dear to me — expressive of a truth of which 1 am most profoundly convinced — a sentiment setting forth the necessity, the duty, and the patriotism of maintaining the union of these slates. Mr. President, I am old enough HIS CHARACTER. 193 to recollect the, deaths of all the presidents of the United States who have departed this life, from Washington down. There is no doubt that the death of an individual, who has been so much the favorite of his country, and partaken so largely of its regard as to fill that high office, always produces — has produced, hitherto, a strong im- pression upon the public mind. That is right. It is light that such should be the impression upon the whole community, embracing those who particularly approved, and those who did not particularly approve the political course of the deceased. " All these distinguished men have been chosen of their country. They have fulfilled their station and duties upon the whole, in the series of years that have gone before us, in a manner reputable and distinguished. Under theii administration, in the course of fifty or sixty years, the government, generally speaking, has prospered, and under the government, the people have prospered. It becomes, then, all to pay respect when men thus honored are called to another world. Mr. President, we may well indulge the hope and belief, that it was the feeling of the dis- tinguished person who is the subject of these resolutions, in the solemn days and hours of closing life — that it was his wish, if he had committed few or more errors in the ad- ministration of the government, that their influence might cease with him ; and that whatever of good he had done, might be perpetuated. Let us cherish the same senti- ment. Let us act upon the same feeling; and whatever of true honor and glory he acquired, let us all hope that it will be his inheritance for ever ! And whatever of good example, or good principle, or good administration, he has established, let us hope that the benefit of it may also be perpetual." Andrew Jackson was, indeed, no ordinary man. The estimation in which he was held by his countrymen, the respect paid to his memory at home and abroad, are suffi- cient to confirm it, even if there could be a doubt. In many respects he was one of the most remarkable men that ever lived. As a soldier, he was prompt and reso 194 LIFE OF JACKSON. lute, stern and inflexible. With an intuitive sagacity, he foresaw danger, and was always prepared against it. His thoughts and perceptions were rapid, and his plans were often formed and executed before others had tinrie for de- liberation. It was this celerity in his movements that secured many of his laurels. His courage and fortitude were both unquestioned. The principle of fear did not enter into his composition. He certainly could not have understood the meaning- of the word. The cheerfulnes with which he shared the privations of his soldiers, shows that he possessed an entire indifference to hardship and suffering. But one of the most striking features in his character was his readiness in adapting himself to every position in which he was placed. There are many men who can do well, when the occasion does not overmatch them ; but Jackson always rose with the occasion ; and in the merest personal altercation, the same commanding traits were exhibited, which sustained themselves in a higher and nobler flight, on the field of battle, where the fate of nations depended en the issue of the day. As a statesman. General Jackson was clear-headed and sagacious. When he had once determined upon a par- ticular course, where any important principle was involved, he could not be swerved from what he conceived to be jusl and right. He never shrunk from the discharge of any public duty, and was always ready to avow any and every act of his administration, and unshrinkingly to abide the consequences. Never behind his party, but always in the advance, he eagerly sought for opportunities to carry out the principles by which he was guided. In private life, Jackson was kind-hearted, and generous in his disposition. His reputation was pure and unsullied. He abhorred every thing mean and grovelling, and cherished an instinc- tive hatred for what was dishonorable. He was irritable in his temperament, however, and easily excited. Yet, notwithstanding the impetuosity of his disposition fre quently carried him beyond the limits of prudence and moderation, it was this trait in his character which saved New Orleans from plunder and devastation. His attach- ments were warm and sincere. He never forgot a HIS CHARACTER. 195 favor, or failed to remember a friend. He was devotedly attached to his country, her interests^ and her institutions. It may well be, that flattery, and there are few men who cannot be swerved by its seductions, sometimes induced him to commit an unintentional wrong, in the effort to favor the wishes of some active and influential partisan; but for all that, he was none the less a patriot. In person. General Jackson was tall, and remarkably thin and erect. His weight bore no proportion to his height ; and his frame did not appear fitted for such trials as he had encountered. His features were large ; his eyes dark-blue, with a keen and strong glance ; his eye- brows arched and promment ; and his complexion, that of the war-worn soldier. It is hardly to be anticipated, perhaps, that full and complete justice will be rendered to Andrew Jackson during the present generation. Men may differ in regard to the propriety of his conduct, and the wisdom of his measures, and unintentionally do injustice to his mmy noble qualities. Still, it is not too much to hope that the valuable services rendered to his country, connected though they be with the stern and high-handed measures adopted by his iron will, may be cherished with gratitude and respect ; and that the soldier, the statesman, the patriot, and the Chris- tian, may be honored by a nation's blessing, and remem- bered in a nation's prayers. 19(5 LIFE OF JACKSON. CHAPTER XIII. Eulogy on the Life and Character of General Jackson, delivered at Washington, June 27, 1845. By the Hon. George Bancroft The men of tlie American Revolution are no more I That age of creative power has passed away. The last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence has long since left the earth. Washington hes near his own Potomac, surrounded by his family and his sei*vants. Adams, the Colossus of Independence, reposes in the modest grave-yard of his native region. Jefferson sleeps on the heights of his own Monticeilo, whence his eye overlooked his beloved Virginia. Madison, the last sur- vivor of the men who made our constitution, lives only in our hearts. But who shall say that the heroes, in whom the image of God shone most brightly, do not live forever? They were filled with the vast conceptions whieh called America into being ; they lived for those conceptions, and their deeds praise them. We are met to commemorate the virtues of one who shed his blood for our mdependence, took part in winning the territory and forming the early institutions of the West, and was imbued with all the great ideas which constitute the moral force of our country. On the spot where he gave his solemn fealty to the people — here, where he pledged himself before the world, to freedom, to the constitution, and to the laws — we meet to pay our tribute to the memory of the last great name, which gathers round itself all the associations that form the glory of America. South Carolina gave a birthplace 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 beginning to cluster, his eye first saw tlie light There Bancroft's eulogy. 197 Qis infancy sported in the ancient forests, and liis mind tv'as nursed to freedom by their influence. lie was the jToungest son of an Irish emigrant of Scottish origin, who, two years after the great war of Frederic of Prussia, fled lo America for relief from indigence and oppression. His birth was in 1767, at a time Avhen the people of our land were but a body of dependent colonists, scarcely more than two millions in number, scattered along an inmiense coast, with no army, or navy, or union ; and exposed to the attempts of England to control America by the aid of military force. His boyhood grew up in the midst of the contest with Great Britain. The first great political truth that reached his heart was, that all men are free and equal ; the first great fact that beamed on his understanding was, his country's independence. The strife, as it increased, came near the shades of his upland residence. As a boy of thirteen, he witnessed the scenes of horror that accompany civil war ; and when but a year older, with an elder brother, he shouldered his musket, and went forth to strike a blow for his country. Joyous era for America and for humanity ! But foi him, the orphan boy the events were full of agony and grief His father av^s no more. His oldest brother fell a victim to the war of the Revolution ; another (his com- panion in arms) died of wounds received in their joint captivity : his mother went down to the grave a victim to grief and efforts to rescue her sons; and when peace came, he was alone in the world, with no kindred to cherish him, and Httle inheritance but his own untried powers. The nation which emancipated itself from British rule organizes itself; the confederation gives way to the con- stitution ; the perfecting of that constitution — that grand event of the thousand years of modern history — is accom- plished ! America exists as a people, gains unity as a government, and takes its place as a nation among the powers ef the earth. The next great office to be performed by America is the taking possession of the wilderness. The magnifi- 9* 198 LIFE OF JACKSON. cent western valley cried out to the civilization of popular power, that it must be occupied by cultivated man. Behold, then, our orphan hero, sternly earnest, con- secrated to humanity from childhood by sorrow, having neither father, nor mother, nor sister, nor surviving bro- ther ; so young, and yet so solitary, and therefore bound the more closely to collective man — behold him elect fof liis lot, to go forth and assist in laying the foundations of society in the great valley of the Mississippi. At the very time when Washington was pledging his own and future generations to the support of the popular institutions which were to be the hght of the human race — at the time when the institutions of the Old World were rocking to their centre, and the mighty fabric that had come down from the middle ages, was falling in — the adventurous Jackson, in the radiant glory and bound- less hope and confident intrepidity of twenty-one, plunged into the wilderness, crossed the great mountain-barrier that divides the western waters from the Atlantic, fol- lowed the paths of the early hunters and fugitives, and, not content with the nearer neighborhood to his parent state, w-ent still further and further to the west, till he found his home in the most beautiful region on the Cum- berland. There, from the first, he was recognised as the great pioneer; under his courage, the coming emigrants were sure to find a shield. The lovers of adventure began to pour themselves into the territory, whose delicious climate and fertile soil in- vited the presence of social man. The hunter, with his rifle and his axe, attended by his wife and children ; the herdsman, driving the few cattle that were to multiply as they browsed ; the cultivator of the soil — all came to the inviting region. Wherever the bending mountains opened a pass; wherever the buffaloes and the beasts of the forest had made a trace, these sons of nature, children of humanity, in the highest sentiment of personal free- dom, came to occupy the beautiful wilderness whose prairies blossomed everywhere profusely with wild flow- ers; whose woods in spring put to shame, by their mag- nificence, the cultivated gardens of man. Bancroft's eulogy. 199 And now that these unlettered fugitives, educated only by the spirit of freedom, destitute of dead letter erudition, but sharing the living ideas of the age, had made their homes in the west — what would follow? Would they degrade themselves to ignorance and infidel- ity ? Would they make the solitudes of the desert ex- cuses for hcentiousness ? Would the doctrines of freedom lead them to hve in unorganized society, destitute of laws and fixed institutions? At a time when European society was becoming broken in pieces, scattered, disunited, and resolved into its ele- ments, a scene ensued in Tennessee, than which nothing- more beautifully grand is recorded in the annals of the race. These adventurers in the wilderness longed to come together in organized society. The overshadawing genius of their time inspired them with good designs, and filled them with the counsels of wisdom. Dwellers in the for- est, freest of the free, bound in the spirit, they came up by their representatives, on foot, on horseback, through the forest, along the streams, by the buffalo traces, by the Indian paths, by the blazed forest avenues, to meet in convention among the mountains at Knoxville, and frame for themselves a constitution. Andrew Jackson was there, the greatest man of them all— modest, bold, determined, demandino- nothino- for himself, and shrinkino- from nothing that his heart approved. The convention came together on the 11th day of January, 1796, and finished its work on the 6th day of February. How had the wisdom of the Old World vainly tasked itself to frame constitutions, that could, at least, be the subject of experiment! the men of Tennessee, in less than twenty-five days, perfected a fabric, which, in its essential forms, was to last for ever. They came together full of faith and reverence, of love to humanity, of con- fidence in truth. In the simpHcity of wisdom, they framed their constitution, acting under higher influences than they were conscious of — They wrought in sad sincerity. Themselves from God they could not free ; 20U LIFE OF JACKSON. They builded better than they knew ; The conscious stones to beaoty grew. In tbe instrument which they framed, they embodied their faith in God, in the immortal nature of man. They gave the right of suffrage to every freeman ; they vindi- cated the sanctity of reason, by giving freedom of speech and of the press \ they reverenced the voice of God, as it speaks in the soul of man, by asserting the indefeasible right of man to worship the Infinite according to his con- science; they established the freedom and equahty of elections ; and they demanded from every future legislator a solemn oath "never to consent to any act or thing whatever, that shall have even a tendency to lessen the rights of the people." These majestic lawgivers, wiser than the Solons and Lycurguses and Numas of the Old World — these pro>- phetic founders of a state, who embodied in their consti- tution the sublimest truths of humanity, acted Avithout reference to human praises. They kept no special record of their proceeding's ; they took no pains to vaunt their deeds ; and when their work was done, knew not that they had finished one of the sublimest acts ever performed among men. They left no record, as to whose agency was conspicuous, whose eloquence swayed, whose generous will predominated; nor should we know, but for tradition, confirmed by what followed among themselves. The men of Tennessee were now a people, and they were to send forth a man to stand for them in the Con- gress of the United States — that avenue to glory — that home of eloquence — the citadel of popular power ; and, with one consent, they united in selecting th^ foremost man among their lawgivers — Andrew Jackson. The love of the people of Tennessee followed him to the American Congress, and he had served but a single term, when the state of Tennessee made him one of its representatives in the American Senate, where he sat under the auspices of Jefferson. Thus, when he was scai'cely more than thirty, he had BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 201 guided the settlement of the wilderness; swayed the deliberation of a people in establishing- its fundamental laws ; acted as the representative of that people, and again as the representative of his organized state, disciplined to a knowledge of the power of the people, and the power of the states; the associate of republican statesmen, the friend and companion of Jefferson. The men who framed the constitution of the United States, many of them, did not know of the innate life and self-preserving energy of their work. They feared that freedom could not endure, and they planned a strong government for its protection. Dui'inp- his short career in Cono-ress, Jackson showed his quiet, deeply seated, innate, intuitive faith in human freedom, and in the institutions of freedom. He Avas ever, by his votes and opinions, found among those who had confidence in humanity ; and in the great division of minds, this child of the woodlands, this representative of forest life in the west, was found modestly and firmly on the side of freedom. It did not occur to him to doubt .the right of man to the free developement of his powers; jt did not occur to him to seek to give durability to popu- lar institutions, by giving to government a strength inde- pendent of popular will. From the first, he was attached to the fundamental doctrines of popular power, and of the policy that favors it; and though his reverence for Washington surpassed his reverence for any human being, he voted against the address from the House of Representatives to Washington on his retirement, because its language appeared to sanc- tion the financial policy which he believed hostile to republican freedom. During his period of service in the Senate, Jackson was elected major-general by the brigadiers and field officers of the militia of Tennessee. Resigning his place in the Senate, he was made judge of the supreme coui-t in law and equity ; such was the cojifidence in his integ rity of purpose, his clearness of judgment, and his vigor of will to deal justly among the turbulent who crowded into the new settlements of Tennessee. 202 LIFE OF JACKSON. Thus, in the short period of nine years, Andrew Jack- son was signalized by as many evidences of public esteenj as could fall to the lot of man. The pioneer of the Avil- derness, the defender of its stations, he was their lawgiver, the sole representative of a new people in Congress, the representative of the state in the Senate, the highest in judicial office. He seemed to be recognised as their first love of Hberty, the first in the science of legislation, in judgment, and integrity. Fond of private life, he would have resigned the judicial office; but the whole country demanded his service. " Nature," they cried, " never designed that your powers of thought and independence of mind should be lost in retirement." But after a few years, relieving himself from the cares of the bench, he gave himself to the activity and the independent life of a husbandman. He carried into retirement the fame of natural intelligence, and was cherished as "a prompt, frank, and ardent soul." His vigor of character constituted him first among all with whom he associated. A private man as he was, his name was familiarly spoken round every hearth-stone in Ten-, nessee. Men loved to discuss his qualities. All discerned his power ; and when the vehemence and impetuosity of his nature were observed upon, there '^vere not wanting those who saw, beneath the blazing fires of his genius, the solidity of his judgment. His hospitable roof sheltered the emigrant and the pioneer ; and, as they made their way to their new homes, they filled the mountain-sides and the valleys with i-is praise. Connecting himself, for a season, with a man of '.usi- ness, Jackson soon discerned the misconduct of his r^sso- ciate. It marked his character, that he insisted, li.mself, on paying every obligation that had been contracted ; and rather than endure the vassalage of debt, he instantly parted with the rich domain which his early enterprise had acquired — with ^ his own mansion — with his fields which he himself had first tamed to the ploughshare — with the forest whose trees were as familiar to him as his friends — and chose rather to dwell, for a time, in a rude log-cabin, in the pride of independence and integrity. Bancroft's eulogy. 203 On all great occasions, Jackson's influence was deferred to. When Jefferson had acquired for the country the whole of Louisiana, and there seemed some hesitancy, on the part of Spain, to ackn/jwledge our possession, the ser- vices of Jackson were solicited by the national administra- tion, and were not called into full exereise, only from the peaceful termination of the incidents that occasioned the summons. In the long series of aggressions on the freedom of the seas, and the rights of the American flag, Jackson was on the side of his country, and the new maritime code of repubhcanism. ' In his inland home, where the roar of the breakers was never heard, and the mariner Avas never seen, he resented the continued aggression on our com- merce and on our sailors. When the continuance of wrong compelled the nation to resort to arms, Jackson, led by the instinctive know- ledge of his own greatness, yet with a modesty that would have honored the most sensitive delicacy of nature, con- fessed his wilhngness to be employed on the Canada frontier ; and it is a fact, that he aspired to the command to which Winchester was appointed. We may ask, what would have been the result, if the command of the north- western army had, at the opening of the war, been intrust- ed to a man who, in action, was ever so fortunate, that his vehement will seemed to have made destiny capitulate to his designs? The path of duty led him in another direction. On the declaration of war, twenty-five hundred volunteers had risen at his word to follow his standard; but by countermanding orders from the seat of government, the movement was without effect. A new and great danger hung over the West. The Indian tribes were to make one last effort to restore it to its solitude, and recover it for savage life. The brave, relentless Shawnees — who, from time immemorial, had strolled from the waters of the Ohio to the rivers of Ala- bama — were animated by Tecumseh and his brother the Prophet, who spoke to them as with the voice of the Great Spirit, and aroused the Creek nation to desperate 204 LIFE OF JACKSON. massacres. Who has not heard of their terrible deeds, when their ruthless cruelty spared neither sex nor age ? when the infant and its mother, the planter and his fam- ily, who had tied for refuge to the fortress, the garrison that capitulated — all were slain, and not a vestige of de- fence Avas left in the country ? The cry of the West demanded Jackson for its defender ; and though his arm was then fractured by a ball, and hung in a sling, he placed himself at the head of the volunteers of Tennessee, and resoh'ed to terminate forever the hereditary struggle. Who can tell the horrors of that campaign ? W ho can paint rightly the obstacles which Jackson overcame — mountains, the scarcity of untenanted forests ; winter, the failure of suppHes from the settlements, the insubordina- tion of troops, mutiny, menaces of desertion ? Who can measure the wonderful power over men, by which his personal prowess and attractive energy drew them in midwinter from their homes, across mountains and mo- rasses, and through trackless deserts ? Who can describe the personal heroism of Jackson, never sparing himself, beyond any of his men encountering toil and fatigue, sharing every labor of the camp and of the march, fore- most in every danger ; giving up his horse to the invahd soldier, while he himself waded through the swamps on foot ? None equalled him in power of endurance ; and the private soldiers, as they found him passing them on the march, exclaimed, "He is as tough as hickory." "Yes,'' they cried to one another, "There goes Old Hickory!" Who cannot narrate the terrible events of the double battles of Emuckfaw, or the glorious victory of Tohopeka, where the anger of the general against the faltering was more appalling than the war-whoop and rifle of the sav- age ? Who can rightly conceive the held of Enotochopoo, where the general, as he attempted to draw the sword to cut down a flying colonel who was leading a regiment from the field, broke again the arm which was but newly knit together; and quietly replacing it in the sHng, with his commanding voice arrested the flight of the troops, and himself led them back to victory ! Bancroft's eulogy. 205 111 six short months of vehement action, the most terri- ble Indian war in our annals was brought to a close ; the propliets were silenced; the consecrated region of the Creek nation reduced. Through scenes of blood, the avenging hero sought only the path to peace. Thus, Alabama, a part of Mississippi, a part of his own Tennes- see, and the highway to the Floridas, were his gifts to the Union. These were his trophies. Genius as extraordinary as military events can call forth, was summoned into action in this rapid, ethcicnt, and most fortunately conducted war. Time would fail were I to track our hero down the watercourses of Alabama to the neighborhood of Pensa- co!a. How he longed to plant the eagle of his country on its battlements ! Time would fail, and words be wanting, were I to dwell on the magical influence of his appearance in New Orleans. His presence dissipated gloom and dispelled alarm ; at once he changed the aspect of despair into a confidence of security and a hope of acquiring glory. Every man knows the tale of the heroic, sudden, and yet deliberate daring which led him, on the night of the 23d of Decem- ber, to precipitate his little army on his foes, in the thick darkness, before they grew familiar with their encamp- ment, scattering dismay through veteran regiments of England, and defeating them, and arresting their progress by a far inferior force. Who shall recount the counsels of prudence, the kind- ling words of eloquence that gushed from his lips to cheer his soldiers — his skirmishes and battles, till that eventful morning when the day at Bunker's Hill had its fultilraent in the glorious battle of New Orleans, and American independence stood before the world in the majesty of victorious power. These were great deeds for the nation ; for himself he did a greater. Had not Jackson been renowned for the vehement impetuosity of his passions, for his defiance of others' authority, and the unbending vigor of his self-will ? Behold the saviour of Louisiana, all garlanded with vic- tory, viewing around him the city he had preserved, the 206 LIFE OF JACKSON. maidens and children whom his heroism had protected, stand in the presence of a petty judge, who gratilies h/s ■w^ounded vanity by an abuse of his judicial power. Every breast in the crowded audience heaves with indignation. He, the passionate, the impetuous — he whose power was to be humbled, whose honor questioned, whose laurels tarnished, alone stood sublimely serene; and when the craven judge trembled and faltered, and dared not pro- ceed, himself, the arraigned one, bade him take courage, and stood by the law even in the moment when the law was made the instrument of insult ind wrong on him- self — at the moment of his most perfect claim to the high- est civic honors. His country, when it grew to hold many more millions, the generation that then was coming in, has risen up to do homage to the noble heroism of that hour. Woman, whose feeling is always right, did honor from the first to the purity of his heroism. The people of Louisiana, to the latest hour, will cherish his name as their greatest bene- factor. The culture of Jackson's mind had been much promoted by his services and associations in the Avar. His discipline of himself, as the chief in command; his intimate relations with men like Livingston; the wonderful deeds in which he bore a part; all matured his judgment and mellowed his character. Peace came with its delights ; once more the country rushed forward in the developement of its powers ; once more the arts of industry healed the wounds that war had inflicted; and, from commerce and agriculture and manu- factures, wealth gushed abundantly under the free activity of unrestrained enterprise. And Jackson returned to his own fields and his own pursuits, to cherish his plantation, to care for his servants, to look after his stud, to enjoy the affection of the most kind and devoted wife, whom he respected with the gen- tlest deference, and loved with an almost miraculous tenderness. And there he stood, like one of the mightiest forest trees of his own West, vigorous and colossal, sending its Bancroft's eulogy* 205 summit to the skies, and growing' on its native soil in wild and inimitable magniticence, careless of beholders. Frora all parts of the country he received appeals to his pohticaf ambition, and the severe modesty of his well-balancetf mind turned them all aside. He was happy in his farm happy in seclusion, happy in his family, happy withic himself. But the passions of the southern Indians were not allayed by the peace with Great Britain; and foreign emissaries were still among them, to inflame and direct their malignity. Jackson was called forth by his country to restrain the cruelty of the treacherous and unsparing Seminoles. It was in the train of the events of this war that he placed the American eagle on St. Marks, and above the ancient towers of St. Augustine. His deeds in that war, of themselves, form a monument ta human power, to the celerity of his genius, to the creative fertility of his resources, his intuitive sagacity. As Spain, in his judg- ment, had committed ao-o-ression, he would have emanci- pated her islands ; of the Havana, he caused the reconnois- sance to be made ; and with an army of live thousand men, he stood ready to guaranty her redemption from colonial thraldom. But when peace was restored, and his office was accom- plished, his physical strength sunk under the pestilential influence of the climate, and, fast yielding to disease, he was borne in a litter across the swamps of Florida, towards his home. It was Jackson's character that he never solicited aid from any one ; but he never forgot those who rendered him service in the hour of need. At a time when all around him believed him near his end, his wife hastened to his side, and, by her tenderness and nursing care, her patient assiduity, and the soothing influence of devoted love, withheld him from the grave. He would have remained quietly at his home in repose, but that he was privately informed his good name was te be attainted by some intended congressional proceedings. He came, therefore, into the presence of the people's repre- sentatives at Washington, only to \andicate his name ; and when that was achieved, he was once more communing 208 LIFE OF JACKSON. with his own thoughts among the groves of the HermHag. . It was not his own ambition which brought him e'^gam to the pubhc view. The affection of Tennessee compelled him to resume a seat on the floor of the American Senate, and, after years of the intensest pohtical strife, Andvew Jackson was elected President of the United States. Far from advancing his own pretensions,, he always kept them back, and had for years repressed the sohrita- tions of his friends to become a candidate. He felt sensi- bly that he was devoid of scientitic culture, and li+tle famihar with letters; and he never obtruded his opinions, or preferred claims to place. But, whenever his opinion was demanded, he was always ready to pronounce it; ?nd whenever his country invoked his services, he did rot shrink even from the station which had been filled by t^e most cultivated men our nation had produced. Behold, then, the unlettered man of the West, the nursling of the wilds, the farmer of the Hermitage, litt\e versed in books, unconnected by science with the tradition of the past, raised by the will of the people to the highest pinnacle of honor, to the central post in the civihzation of repubhcan freedom, to the station where all the nations of the earth would watch his actions — where his words would vibrate through the civilized world, and his spirit be the moving-star to guide the nations. What poh^y will ho pursue ? What wisdom will he bring with h^ra from the forest ? What rules of duty will he evolve fr'^m the oracles of his own mind ? The man of the West came as the inspired prophet of the West: he came as one free from the bonds of heredi- IS-iry or established custom ; he came with no superior but conscience, no oracle but his native judgment; and, true to his origin and his education — true to the conditions and circumstances of his advancement, he valued right more than usage ; he reverted from the pressure of estabhshed interests to the energy of first principles. We tread on ashes, where the fire is not yet extin- guished ; yet not to dwell on his career as President, were to leave out of view the grandest illustrations of hia magnanimity. Bancroft's eulogy. 209 The legislation of the United States had followed the precedents of the legislation of European monarchies; it was the office of Jackson to lift the country out of the European forms of legislation, and to open to it a career resting on American sentiment and American freedom. He would have freedom everywhere — freedom under the restraints of right ; freedom of industry, of commerce, of mind ; of universal action ; freedom, unshackled by restric- tive privileges, unrestrained by the thraldom of monopolies. The unity of his mind and his consistency were without a parallel. With natural dialectics, he developed the political doctrines that suited every emergency, with a precision and a harmony that no theorist could hope to equal. On every subject in politics — I speak but a fact — he was thoroughly and profoundly and immoveably radi- cal ; and would sit for hours, and in a continued flow of remark make the application of his principles to every question that could arise in legislation, or in the interpret- ation of the constitution. His expression of himself was so clear, that his influence pervaded not our land only, but all America and all man- kind. They say that, in the physical world, the magnetic fluid is so diff"used, that its vibrations are discernible sim- ultaneously in every part of the globe. So it is with the element of freedom. And as Jackson developed its doc- trines from their source in the mind of humanity, the popular sympathy was moved and agitated throughout the world, till his name gTew everywhere to be the sym- bol of popular power. Himself the witness of the ruthlessness of savage hfe, he planned the removal of the Indian tribes beyond the limits of the organized states ; and it is the result of his determined policy that the region east of the Mississippi has been transferred to the exclusive possession of culti- vated man. A pupil of the wilderness, his heart was with the pio- neers of American hfe towards the setting sun. No American statesman has ever embraced within his aff'ec- tions a scheme so liberal for the emigrants as that of Jackson. He longed to secure to them, not pre-emption 210 LIFE OF JACKSOIT. rights only, but more than pre-emption rights. He longed to invite labor to take possession of the unoccupied tields without money and without price; with no obhgation except the perpetual devotion of itself by allegiance to its country. Under the benehcent influence of his opinions, the sons of misfortune, the children of adventure, iind their way to the uncultivated West. There, in some wilderness glade, or in the thick forest of the fertile plain, or where the prairies most sparkle with flowers, they, hke the wild bee which sets them the example of industry, may choose their home, mark the extent of their posses- sions, by driving stakes or blazing trees, shelter their log- cabin with the boughs and turf, and teach the virgin soil to yield itself to the ploughshare. Theirs shall be the soil, theirs the beautiful farms which they teach to be productive. Come, children of sorrow ! you on whom the Old World frowns; crowd fearlessly to the forests ; plant your homes in confidence, for the country watches ovei you ; your children grow around you as hostages, and the wilderness, at youi- bidding, surrenders its grandeur of usieless luxuriance to the beauty and loveliness of culture. Yet, beautiful and lovely as is this scene, it still by far falls short of the ideal which lived in the aftections of Jackson. His heart was ever with the pioneer ; his policy ever favored the diffusion of independent freeholds throughout the laboring classes of our land. It would be a sin against the occasion, were I to omit to commemorate the deep devotedness of Jackson to the cause and to the rights of labor. It w^as for the welfare of the labouring classes that he defied all the storms cf political hostility. He longed to secure to labor the fruits of its own industry; and he unceasingly opposed eveiy system which tended to lessen their reward, or which exposed them to be defrauded of their dues. The laborers may bend over his grave with affectionate sorrow; for never, in the tide of time, did a statesman exist more heartily resolved to protect them in their rights, and to advance their happiness. For their benefit, he opposed partial legislation ; for their benefit, he resisted all artificial methods of conti'oning labor, and subjecting it to capital BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 211 ft was for their benefit that he loved freedom in all its forms — freedom of the individual in personal independence, freedom of the states as separate sovereignties. He never would listen to counsels which tended to the centraliza- tion of power. The true American system presupposes the diffusion of freedom — organized life in all the parts of the American body pohtic, as there is organized hfe in every part of the human system. Jackson was deaf to every counsel which sought to subject general labor to a central will. His vindication of the just principles of the constitution derived its subhmity from his deep conviction that this strict construction is required by the lasting wel- fare of the great laboring classes of the United States. To this end, Jackson revived the tribunicial power of the veto, and exerted it against the decisive action of both branches of Congress, against the votes, the wishes, the entreaties of personal and political friends. " Show me," was his reply to them, " show me an express clause in the constitution authorizino- Cono-ress to take the business of state legislatures out of their hands." " You will ruin us all," cried a firm partisan friend, "you will ruin your party and your own prospects." '' Providence," answered Jack- son, "will take care of me;" and he persevered. In proceeding to discharge the debt of the United States — a measure thoroughly American — Jackson fol- lowed the example of his predecessors ; but he followed it with the full consciousness that he was rescuing the coun- try from the artificial system of finance which had pre- vailed throughout the world; and with him it formed a part of a system by which American legislation was to separate itself more and more effectually from European precedents, and develope itself more and more, according to the vital principles of our political existence. The discharge of the debt brought with it, of necessity, a great reduction of the public burdens, and brought, of necessity, into view, the question, how far America should follow, of choice, the old restrictive system of high duties, under which Europe had oppressed America; or how far she should rely on her own freedom and enterprise and power, defying the competition, and seeking the markets, and reeei\ing th© products of the world. 212 LIFE OF JACKSON. The mind of Jackson, on this subject, reasoned clearly, and without passion. In the abuses of the system of revenue by excessive imposts, he saw evils which the pub^ lie mind would remedy ; and, inchning with the whole might of his energetic nature to the side of revenue duties, he made his earnest but tranquil appeal to the judgment of the people. The portions of country that suffered most severely from a system of legislation, which, in its extreme charac- ter, as it then existed, is now universally ackm )wledged to have been unequal and unjust, were less tranquil; and rallying on the doctrines of freedom, which made our gov- ernment a limited one, they saw in the oppressive acts an assumption of power which was nugatory, because it was exercised, as they held, without autliority from the people. The contest that ensued was the most moment* jus in our annals. The o-reatest minds of A.merica eno-ao-ed in the discussion. Eloquence never achieved sublimer tri- umphs in the American Senate, than on those occasions. ' The country became deeply divided; and the antagonist elements were arrayed against each other under forms of clashing authority, menacing civil war ; the freedom of the several states was invoked against the power of the United States ; and under the organization of a state in convention, the reserved rights of the people were sum- moned to display their energy, and balance the authority and neutralize the legislation of the central government The states were agitated with pnjlonged excitement; the friends of freedom throughout the world looked on with divided sympathies, praying that the union of the states might be perpetual, and also that the commerce of the world might be free. Fortunately for the country, and fortunately for man- kind, Andrew Jackson was at the fielm of state, the repre- sentative of the principles that were to allay excitement, and to restore the hopes of peace and freedom. By nature, by impulse, by education, by conviction, a friend to personal freedom — by education, political sympathies, and the fixed habit of his mind, a friend to the rights of the states — unwilUng that the Uberty of the states should BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 213 be trampled under foot — unwilling that the constitution should lose its vigor or be impaired, he ralhed for the constitution : and in its name he pubhshed to the world, "The Union: it must be preserved," The words were a spell to hush evil passion, and to remove oppression. Under his guiding influence, the favored interests, which had struggled to perpetuate unjust legislation, yielded to the voice of moderation and reform ; and every mind that had for a moment contemplated a rupture of the states, discarded it forever. The whole influence of the past was invoked in favor of the constitution; from the council chambers of the fathers who moulded our institutions — from the hall where American independence was declared, the clear, loud cry was uttered — " The Union : it must be preserved." From every battle-field of the Revolution — from Lexington and Bunker-Hill — from Saratoga and Yorktown — from the fields of Eutaw — from the cane- brakes that sheltered the men of Marion — the repeated, long-prolonged echoes came up — " The Union : it must be preserved." From every valley in our land — from every cabin on the pleasant mountain sides — from the ships at our wharves — from the tents of the hunter in our western- most prairies — from the living minds of the living milhons of American freemen — from the thickly coming glories of futurity — the shout went up hke the sound of many waters, "The Union: it must be preserved." The friends of the protective system, and they who had denounced the protective system — the statesmen of the north, that had wounded the constitution in their love of centralism — the statesmen of the south, whose minds had carried to its extreme the theory of state rights — all conspired together; all breathed prayers for the perpetuity of the Union. Under the prudent firmness of Jackson — under the mixture of justice and general regard for all interests, the greatest danger to our institutions was turned aside, and mankind was encouraged to believe that our Union, hke our freedom, is imperishable. The moral of the great events of those days is this : that the people can discern right, and will make their way to a knowledge of right; that the whole human mind, and 214 LIFE OF JACKSON. therefore witli it the mind of the nation, has a continuous, ever improving existence ; that the appeal from the unjust legislation of to-day must be made quietly, earnestly, per- severingly, to the more enlightened collective reason of to-morrow ; that submission is due to the popular will, in the confidence that the people, when in error, will amend their doings; that in a popular government, injustice is neither to be estabhshed by force, nor to be resisted by force ; in a word, that the Union, which was constitutod by consent, must be preserved by love. It rarely falls to the happy lot of a statesman to receive such unanimous applause from the heart of a nation. Duty to the dead demands that, on this occasion, the course of measures should not pass unnoticed, in the pro- gress of which his vigor of character most clearly ap- peared, and his conflict with opposing parties was most violent and protracted. From his home in Tennessee, Jackson came to the pre- sidency resolved to lift American legislation out of the forms of English legislation, and to place our laws on the currency in harmony with the principles of our govern- ment. He came to the presidency of the United States resolved to deHver the government from the Bank of the United States, and to restore the reoulation of exchano-es to the rightful depository of that power — the commerce of the country. He had designed to declare his views on this subject in his inaugural address, but was persuaded to relinquish that purpose, on the ground that it belonged rather to a legislative message. When the period for addressing Congress drew near, it was still urged that to attack the Bank would forfeit his popularity and secure his future defeat " It is not," he answered, " it is not for myself that I care." It was urged that haste was unne- cessary, as the Bank had still six unexpended years of chartered existence. "I may die," he repHed, "before another Congress comes too-ether, and I could not rest quietly in my grave, if I failed to do what I hold so essen- tial to the liberty of my country." And his first annual message announced to the country that the Bank was neither constitutional nor expedient. In this he was in Bancroft's eulogy. 215 advance of the friends about him, in advance of Congress, and in advance of his party. This is no time for the anal- ysis of measures, or the discussion of questions of poHtical economy : on the present occasion, we have to contemplate the character of the man. Never, from the first moment of his administration to the last, was there a calm in the strife of parties on the subject of the currency; and never, dnriug the whole period, did he recede or falter. Always in advance of his party — always having near him friends who ro" -d before the hardihood of his courage, he himself, li: ^a- out all the contest, was unmoved, from the first suggestion of the unconstitutionality of the Bank, to the moment when he himself, first of all, reasoning from the certain tendency of its policy, with singular sagacity predicted to unbeHeving friends, the coming insolvency of the insti- tution. The storm throughout the country rose with unexam- pled vehemence: his opponents were not satisfied with addressing the public or Congress, or his cabinet; they threw their whole force personally on him. From ail parts men pressed around him, urging him, entreating him to bend. Congress was flexible ; many of his personal friends faltered; the impetuous swelling wave rolled on, without one sufficient obstacle, till it reached his presence ; but, as it dashed in its highest fury at his feet, it broke before his firmness. The commanding majesty of his will appalled his opponents and revived his friends. He, himself, had a proud consciousness that his will was indom- itable. Standing over the rocks of the Rip Raps, and looking out upon the ocean, " Providence," said he to a friend, "Providence may change my determination; but man no more can do it, than he can remove these Rip Raps, which have resisted the rolling ocean from the beginning of time." And though a panic was spreading through the land, and the whole credit system, as it then existed, was crumbling to pieces and crashing around him, he stood erect, like a massive column, which the heaps of faUing ruins could not break, nor bend, nor sway frorri its fixed foundation. 216 LIFE OF JACKSON. [At this point Mr. Bancroft turned to address tlie Mayor of the city of Washington ; but, finding him not present, he proceeded.] People of the District of Columbia, — I should fail of a duty on this occasion, if I did not give utterance to your sentiment of gratitude which followed General Jackson into retirement. Dwelling amongst you. he desired your prosperity. This beautiful city, surrounded by heights the most attractive, watered by a river so magnificent, the home of the gentle and the cultivated, not less than the seat of pohtical power — this city, whose site Washington had selected, was dear to his affections ; and if he won your grateful attachment by adorning it with monuments of useful architecture, by estabhshing its credit, and reheving its burdens, he regretted only that he had not the opportunity to have connected himself still more inti- mately with your prosperity. As he prepared to take his final leave of the district, the mass of the population of this city, and the masses that had gathered from around, followed his carriage in crowds. All in silence stood near him, to wish him adieu ; and as the cars started, and he displayed his grey hairs, as he lifted his hat in token of farewell, you stood around with heads uncovered, too full of emotion to speak, in solemn silence gazing on him as he departed, never more to be seen in your midst. Behold the warrior and statesman, his work well done, retired to the Hermitage, to hold converse with his forests, to cultivate his farm, to gather around him hospitably his friends! Who was like him? He was still the loadstar of the American people. His fervid thoughts, frankly uttered, still spread the flame of patriotism through the American breast ; his counsels were still listened to with reverence ; and, almost alone among statesmen, he in his retirement was in harmony with every onward movement of his time. His prevaihng influence assisted to sway a neighboring nation to desire to share our institutions, his ear heard the footsteps of the coming millions that are to gladden our western shores ; and his eye discerned in the dim distance the whitening sails that are to enUveu the Bancroft's eulogy. 217 waters of the Pacific with the social sounds of our suc- cessful commerce. Age had whitened his locks and dimmed his eye, and spread around him the infirmities and venerable emblems of many years of toilsome service ; but his heart beat as warmly as in his youth, and his courage was as firm as it had ever been in the day of battle. But while his affec- tions were still for his friends and his country, his thoughts were already in a better world. That exalted mind, which in active fife had always had unity of perception and will, which in action had never faltered from doubt, and which in council had always reverted to first princi- ples and general laws, now gave itself up to communing with the Infinite. He was a believer: from feehng, from experience, from conviction. Not a shadow of scepticism ever dimmed the lustre of his mind. Proud philosopher ! will you smile to know that Andrew Jackson perused reverently his Psalter and Prayer-book and Bible ? Know that Andrew Jackson had faith in the eternity of truth, in the imperishable power of popular freedom, in the destinies of humanity, in the virtues and capacity of the people, in his country's institutions, in the being and over- ruling providence of a merciful and ever-living God. The last moment of his Mfe on earth is at hand. It is the Sabbath of the Lord: the brightness and beauty of summer clothe the fields around him: nature is in her glory ; but the sublimest spectacle on that day, on earth, was the victory of his unblenching spirit over death itself. When he first felt the hand of death upon him — "May my enemies," he cried, "find peace; may the hber- ties of my country endure for ever !" When his exhausted system, under the excess of pain, sunk, for a moment, from debihty, " Do not weep," said he to his adopted daughter ; " my sufferings are less than those of Christ upon the cross ;" for he, too, as a disciple of the cross, could have devoted himself, in sorrow, for mankind. Feeling his end near, he would see all his family once more ; and he spoke to them, one by one, in words of tenderness and affiection. His two Httle grand- children were absent at Sunday-school He asked for 218 LIFE OF JACKSON. them ; and as they came he prayed for them, and kissed them, and blessed them. His servants were then admit- ted: they gathered, some in his room, and some on the outside of the house, chnging to the windows, that they might gaze and hear. And that dying man, thus sur- rounded, in a gush of fervid eloquence, spoke with inspi- ration of God, of the Redeemer, of salvation through the atonement, of immortahty, of heaven. For he ever thought that pure and undefiled religion was the founda- tion of private happiness, and the bulwark of repubhcan institutions. Having spoken of immortality in perfect consciousness of his own approaching end, he bade them all farewell. "Dear children," such were his final words, " dear children, servants, and friends, I trust to meet you all in heaven, both white and black — all, both white and black." And having borne his testimony to immortality, he bowed his mighty head, and, without a groan, the spirit of the greatest man of his age escaped to the bosom of his God. In hfe, his career had been like the blaze of the sun in the fierceness of its noon-day glory ; his death was lovely as the mildest sunset of a summer's evening, when the sun goes down in tranquil beauty without a cloud. To the majestic energy of an indomitable will, he joined a heart capable of the purest and most devoted love, rich in the tenderest afi'ections. On the bloody battle-field of Toho- peka, he saved an infant that clung to the breast of its dying mother : in the stormiest moment of his presidency, at the imminent moment of decision, he paused in his way to give good counsel to a poor supphant that had come up to him for succor. Of the strifes in which he was en- gaged in his earher hfe, not one sprung from himself, but in every case he became involved by standing forth as the champion of the weak, the poor, and the defenceless, to shelter the gentle against oppression, to protect the emigrant against the avarice of the speculator. His gen- erous soul revolted at the barbarouG practice of duels, and by no man in the land have so many been prevented. The sorrows of those that were near to him went deeply into his soul; and at the anguish of the wife whom h© Bancroft's eulogy. 219 loved, the orphans whom he adopted, he would melt into tears, and weep and sob like a child. No man in private Ufe so possessed the hearts of all around him : no pubHc man of this century ever returned to private life with such an abiding mastery over the affections of the people. No man with truer instinct received American ideas: no man expressed them so completely, or so boldly, or so sincerely. He was as sin- cere a man as ever lived. He was wholly, always, and altogether sincere and true. Up to the last, he dared do anything that it was right to do. He united personal courage and moral courage beyond any man of whom history keeps the record. Be- fore the nation, before the world, before coming ages, he stands forth the representative, for his generation, of the American mind. And the secret of his greatness is this : By intuitive conception, he shared and possessed all the creative ideas of his country and his time. He expressed them with dauntless intrepidity ; he enforced them with an immoveable will ; he executed them wath an electric power that attracted and swayed the American people. The nation, in his time, had not one great thought, of which he was not the boldest and clearest expositor. History does not describe the man that equalled him in firmness of ner've. Not danger, not an army in battle array, not wounds, not wide-spread clamor, not age, not the anguish of disease, could impair in the least degTee the vigor of his steadfast mind. The heroes of antiquity would have contemplated with awe the unmatched hardi- hood of his character; and Napoleon, had he possessed his disinterested will, could never have been vanquished. Jackson never was vanquished. He was always fortunate. He conquered the wilderness; he conquered the savage; he conquered the bravest veterans trained in the battle- fields of Europe; he conquered everywhere in statesman- ship ; and, when death came to get the mastery over him, he turned that last enemy aside as tranquilly as he had done the feeblest of his adversaries, and escaped from earth in the triumphant consciousness of immortahty. His body has its fit resting-place in the great central 220 LIFK OF JACKSON. valley of the Mississippi; his spint rests upon our whole IrritC; it hovers over the vales of Oregon and guards, mSk the frontier of the Del Norte The fares of party spiri are quenched at his grave. His faulU ar^i frauLsVve perished. Whatever of good he has doae lives, and will live forever. INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 221 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. Delivered March 4tk, 1829. Fellow-Citizens: — About to undertake the arduous duties that I have been appointed to perform by the choice of a free people, I avail myself of this customary and solemn occasion to express the gratitude which their con- fidence inspires, and to acknowledge the accountabihty which my situation enjoins. While the magnitude of their interests convinces me that no thanks can be ade- quate to the honor they have conferred, it admonishes me that the best return I can make, is the zealous dedication of my humble abilities to their service and their good. As the instrument of the federal constitution, it will devolve upon me, for a stated period, to execute the laws of the United States; to- superintend their foreign and confederate relations ; to manage their revenue ; to com- mand their forces : and, by communications to the legis- lature, to watch over and to promote their interests generally. And the principles of action by which I shall endeavor to accomplish this circle of duties, it is now proper for me briefly to explain. In administering the laws of CongTess, I shall keep steadily in view the Umitations as well as the extent of the executive power, trusting thereby to discharge the functions of my office withoiit transcending its authority With foreign nations it will be my study to preserve peace, and to cultivate friendship on fair and honorable terms ; and in the adjustment of any diff'erences that may exist or arise, to exhibit the forbearance becoming a pow- erful nation, rather than the sensibihty belonging to a gallant people. In such measures as I may be called on to pursue, in 10* 222 LIFE OF JAUKDUXi. regard to tlie rights of the separate states, I hope to be animated by a proper respect for those sovereign mem- bers of our Union ; taking care not to confound the powers they have reserved to themselves with those they have gTanted to the confederacy. The management of the public revenue — that searching operation in all governments — is among the most delicate and important trusts in ours; and it will, of course, de- mand no inconsiderable share of my official solicitude. Under every aspect in which it can be considered, it would appear that advantage must result from the observance of a strict and faithful economy. This I shall aim at the more anxiously, both because it will facilitate the extin- guishment of the national debt, the unnecessary duration of which is incompatible with real independence, and be- cause it will counteract that tendency to public and private profligacy which a profuse expenditure of money by the government is but too apt to engender. Powerful auxiUaries to the attainment of this desirable end are to be found in the regulation provided by the wisdom of Congress for the specific appropriation of public money, and the prompt accountability of public officers. With regard to a proper selection of the subjects of impost, with a view to revenue, it would seem to me that the spirit of equity, caution, and compromise, in which the constitution was formed, requires that the great in- terests of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, should be equally favored; and that perhaps the only exception to this rule should consist in the peculiar encouragement cf any products of either of them that may be found es- sential to our national independence. Internal improvement, and the diffusion of knowledge, so far as they can be promcfted by the constitutional acts of the federal government, are of high importance. Considering standing armies as dangerous to free govern- ments in time of peace, I shall not seek to enlarge our present estabhshment, nor to disregard that salutary les- son of political experience which teaches that the jmilitary should be held subordinate to the civil power.' The grad- ual increase of our navy, whose flag has displayed in INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 223 distant climes our skill in navigation and our fame in arms ; the preservation of our forts, arsenals, and dock-yards; and the introduction of progressive improvements in the disciphne and science of both branches of our mihtary service, are so plainly prescribed by prudence, that I should be excused for omitting their mention, sooner than enlarg- ing on their importance. But the bulwark of our defence is the national militia, which, in the present state of our intelligence and population, must render us invincible. As long as our government is administered for the good of the people, and is regulated by their will ; as long as it se- cures to us the rights of person and property, liberty of conscience, and of the press, it will be worth defending; and so long as it is worth defending, a patriotic militia will cover it with an impenetrable ce.gis. Partial injuries and occasional mortification we may be subjected to; but a million of armed freemen, possessed of the means of war, can never be conquered by a foreign foe. To any just system, therefore, calculated to strengthen this natu- ral safeguard of the country, I shall cheerfully lend all the aid in my power. It will be my sincere and constant desire to observe toward the Indian tribes within our Hmits a jiist and liberal pohcy, and to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and their wants which are consis- tent with the habits of our government and the feelings of our people. The recent demonstration of public sentiment inscribes on the list of executive duties, in characters too legible to overlooked, the task of reform; which will require parti- cularly the correction of those abuses that have brought the patronage of the federal government into conflict with the freedom of elections and the counteraction of those causes which have disturbed the rightful course of appointment, and have placed or continued power in unfaithful or incompetent hands. In the performance of a task thus generally delineated, I shall endeavor to select men whose dihgence and talents will insure, in their respective stations, able and faithful co-operation — depending for the advancement of the pub- 224 LIFE OF JACKSON. / lie service, more on the integrity and zeal of the public officers, than on their numbers. A diffidence, perhaps too just, in my own qualification, will teach me to look with reverence to the examples of pubHc vitrue left by my illustrious predecessors, and with veneration to the lights that flow from the mind that founded and the mind that reformed our system. The same diffidence induces me to hope for instruction and aid from the co-ordinate branches of the government, and for the indulgence and support of my fellow citizens general- ly. And a firm reliance on the goodness of that Power whose providence mercifully protected our national infan- cy, and has since upheld our hberties in various vicissi- tudes, encourages me to offer up my ardent supphcation «hat he will continue to make our beloved country the object of his divine care and gracious benediction. MATSYILLB BOAD VETO. 225 MAYSVILLE ROAD VETO. Delivered, May 27th, 1830. To ttie House of JRepresentatives : — Gentlemen : I have maturely considered the bill pro- posing to authorize " a subscription of stock in the Mays- ville, Wasliington, Paris, and Lexing-ton Turnpike-road Company," and now return the same to the house of representatives, in which it originated, with my objections to its passage. Sincerely friendly to the improvement of our country by means of roads and canals, I regret that any difference of opinion in the mode of contributing to it should exist between us ; and if, in stating this diflference, I go beyond what the occasion may be deemed to call for, I hope to find an apology in the great importance of the subject, an unfeigned respect for the high source from which this branch of it has emanated, and an anxious wish to be correctly understood by my constituents in the discharge of all my duties. Diversity of sentiment among public functionaries, actuated by the same general motives, on the character and tendency of particular measures, is an incident common to all governments, and the more to be expected in one which, like ours, owes its existence to the freedom of opinion, and must be upheld by the same influence. Controlled as we thus are by a higher tribu- nal, before which our respective acts will be canvassed with the indulgence due to the imperfections of our nature, and with that intelligence and unbiassed judg- ment which are the true correctives of error, all that our responsibility demands is that the public good should be the measure of our views, dictating alike their frank ex- pression and honest maintenance. In the message which was presented to Congress at 236 LIFE OF JACK60N. the opening of its present session, I endeavored to exhibit briefly my vi#ws upon the important and highly interest- ing subject to which our attention is now to be directed. I was desirous of presenting to the representatives of the several states in Congress assembled, the inquiry whether some mode could not be devised which would reconcile the diversity of opinion concerning the powers of this government over the subject of internal improvements, and the manner in which these powers, if conferred by the constitution, ought to be exercised. The act which I am called upon to consider has therefore been passed with a knowledge of my views on this question, as these are expressed in the message referred to. In that docu- ment the following suggestion will be found : — " After the extinction of the public debt it is not pro- bable that any adjustment of the tariff upon principles satisfactory to the people of the Union will, until a remote period, if ever, leave the government without a consider- able surplus in the treasury beyond what may be required for its current service. As, then, the period approaches when the application of the revenue to the payment of debts will cease, the disposition of the surplus will pre- sent a subject for the serious deliberation of Congress; and it may be fortunate for the country that it is yet to be decided. Considered in connexion with the difficulties which have heretofore attended appropriations for pur- poses of internal improvement, and with those which this experience tells us will certainly arise, whenever power over such subjects may be exercised by the general gov- ernment, it is hoped that it may lead to the adoption of some plan which will reconcile the diversified interests of the states, and strengthen the bonds which unite them. Every member of the Union, in peace and in war, will be benefited by the improvement of inland navigation, and the construction of highways in the several states. Let us then endeavor to obtain this benefit in a mode which will be satisfactory to all. That hitherto adopted has been deprecated as an infraction of the constitution by many of our fellow-citizens, while by others it has been viewed as inexpedient All feel that it has been employed MAYfiVILLE ROAD VETO. 2 Li 7 at the expense of harmony in the legislative councils." And adverting to*the constitutional power of Congress to make what I consider a proper disposition of the surplus revenue, I subjoin the following remarks : " To avoid these evils it appears to me that the most safe, just, and federal disposition which could be made of the surplus revenue would be its apportionment among the several states according to their rati© of representation ; and should this measure not be found warranted by the constitution, that it would be expedient to propose to the states an amend- ment authorizing it." The constitutional power of the federal grvernment to construct or promote works of internal improvement pre- sents itself in twa points of view: the first, as bearing upon the sovereignty of the states within whose limits their execution is contemplated, if jurisdiction of the ter- ritory which they may occupy be claimed as necessary to their preservation and use ; the second, as asserting the simple right to appropriate money from the national trea- sury in aid of such works, when undertaken by state authority surrendering the claim of jurisdiction. In the first view, the question of power is an open one, and can be decided without the embarrassment attending the other, arising from the practice of the government. Al- though frequently and strenuously attempted, the power to this extent has never been exercised by the govern- ment in a single instance. It does not, in my opinion, possess it ; and no bill, therefore, which admits it can re- ceive my official sanction. But in the other view of the power the question is dif- ferently situated. The ground taken at an early period of the government was, " that whenever money has been raised by the general authority, and is to be applied to a particular measure, a question arises whether the particu- lar measure be within the enumerated authorities vested in Congress. If it be, the money requisite for it may be apphed to it; if not, no such application can be made." The document in which this principle was first advanced is of deservedly high authority, and should be held in grateful remembrance for its immediate agency in rescu- 228 LIFE OP JACKSON. ing the country from much existing abuse, and for its conservative eftect upon some of the Aost valuable prin- ciples of the constitution. The symmetry and purity of the government would doubtless have been better pre- served if this restriction of the power of appropriation could have been maintained without weakening its ability to fulfil the general objects of its institution — an eflfect so likely to attend its admission, notwithstanding its appa- rent fitness, that every subsequent administration of the government, embracing a period of thirty out of the forty- two years of its existence, has adopted a more enlarged construction of the power. It is not my purpose to detain you by a minute recital of the acts which sustain this assertion, but it is proper that I should notice some of the most prominent, in order that the reflections which they suggest to my mind may be better understood. In the administration of Mr. Jefierson we have two examples of the exercise of the right of appropriation, which, in the considerations that led to their adoption, and in their efi"ects upon the public mind, have had a greater agency in marking the character of the power, than any subsequent events. I allude to the payment of fifteen miUions of dollars for the purchase of Louisiana, and to the original appropriation for the construction of the Cumberland road ; the latter act deriving much weight from the acquiescence and approbation of three of the most powerful of the original members of the confederacy, expressed through their respective legislatures. Although the circumstances of the latter case may be such as to deprive so much of it as relates to the actual construction of the road of the force of an obligatory exposition of the constitution, it must nevertheless be admitted that so far as the mere appropriation of money is concerned, they present the principle in its most imposing aspect. No less than twenty-three different laws have been passed through all the forms of the constitution, appropriating upward of two millions and a half of dollars, out of the national trea- sury, in support of that improvement, with the approba- tion of every president of the United States, including my predecessor, since its commencement MATSVILLE ROAD VETO 229 Independently of the sanction given to appropriations for the Cumberland and other roads and objects, under this power, the administration of Mr. Madison was charac- terized by an act which furnishes the strongest evidence of his opinion of its extent. A bill was passed through both houses of Congress and presented for his approval, " setting apart and pledging certain funds for constructing roads and canals, and improving the navigation of water- courses, in order to facihtate, promote, and give security to internal commerce among the several states, and to render more easy and less expensive the means and pro- visions for the common defence." Regarding the bill as asserting a power in the federal government to construct roads and canals within the limits of the states in which they were made, he objected to its passage on the ground of its unconstitutionality, declaring that the assent of the respective states, in the mode provided by the bill, could not confer the power in question ; that the only cases in which the consent and cession of particular states can extend the power of Congress are those specified and provided for in the constitution ; and superadding to these avowals his opinion that a restriction of the power "to provide for the common defence and general welfare" tc cases which are to be provided for by the expenditure of money, would still leave within the legislative power of Congress all the great and most important measures of government, money being the ordinary and necessary means of carrying them into execution. I have not been able to consider these declarations in any other point of view than as a concession that the right of appropriation is not Hmited by the power to carry into effect the measure for which the money is asked, as was formerly contended. The views of Mr. Monroe upon this subject were not left to inference. During his administration, a bill was passed through both houses of Congress, conferring the jurisdiction and prescribing the mode by which the fede- ral government should exercise it in the case of the Cum- berland road. He returned it with objections to its * passage, and in assigning them took occasion to say, that in the early stages of the government he had inchned to 230 LIFE OF JACKSON. •the construction that it had no right to expend money, except in the performance of acts authorized by the other specific grants of power, according to a strict construction of them ; but that on further reflection and observation, his mind had undergone a change; that his opinion then was : "that Congress have an unhmited power to raise money, and that in its appropriation they have a discretionary power, restricted only by the duty to appropriate it to purposes of common defence and of general, not local, national, not state, benefit;" and this was avowed to be the governing principle through the residue of his admin- istration. The views of the last administration are of such recent date as to render a particular reference to them unnecessary. It is well known that the appropriating power, to the utmost extent which had been claimed for it in relation to internal improvements, was fully recog- nised and exercised by it This brief reference to known facts will be sufficient to show the difficulty, if not impracticabihty, of bringing back the operations of the government to the construction of the constitution set up in 1793, assuming that to be its true reading in relation to the power under consideration ; thus giving an admonitory proof of the force of implica- tion, and the necessity of guarding the constitution with sleepless vigilance against the authority of precedents which have not the sanction of its most plainly defined powers. For although it is the duty of all to look to that sacred instrument instead of the statute book ; to repu- diate at all times encroachments upon its spirit, which are too apt to be effected by the conjuncture of peculiar and facihtating circumstances ; it is not less true that the public good and the nature of our political institutions require that individual differences should yield to a well- settled acquiescence of the people and confederate author- ities in particular constructions of the constitution on doubtful points. Not to concede this much to the spirit of our institutions, would impair their stabihty and defeat the objects of the constitution itself. The bill before me does not call for a more definite opinion upon the particular circumstances which will war- MAYSVILLE ROAD VETO. 231 rant appropriations of money by Congress to aid works of internal improvement; for although the extension of the power to apply money beyond that of carrying into effect the object for which it is appropriated has, as we have seen, heen long claimed and exercised by the federal gorernment, yet such grants have always been professedly under the control of the general principle, that the works which might be thus aided should be " of a general, not local, national, not state, character." A disregard of this distinction would, of necessity, lead to the subversion of the federal system. That even this is an unsafe one, arbitrary in its nature, and hable consequently to great abuses, is too obvious to require the confirmation of expe- rience. It is, however, sufficiently definite and imperative to my mind to forbid my approbation of any bill having the character of the one under consideration. I have given to its provisions all the reflection demanded by a just regard for the interests of those of our fellow-citizens who have desired its passage, and by the respect which is due to a co-ordinate branch of the government ; but I am not able to view it in ?,r y ( ther light than as a mea- sure of purely local charF ^er , or. if it can be considered nciuonal, that no further distinction between the appro- priate duties of the general and state governments need be attempted, for there can be no local interest that may not with equal propriety be denominated national. It has no connexion with any established system of improve- ments ; is exclusively within the limits of a state, starting at a point on the Ohio river,- and running out sixty miles to an interior town ; and, even as far as the state is inter- ested, conferring partial instead of general advantages. Considering the magnitude and importance of the pow- er, and the embarrassments to which, from the very nature of the thing, its exercise must necessarily be sub- jected, the real friends of internal improvement ought not to be willing to confide it to accident and chance. What is properly national in its character or otherwise, is an inquiry which is of en extremely difficult of soAition. The appropriations of one year, for an object which is con- sidered national, may be rendered nugatory by the refusal 232 LIFE OF JACKSON. of a succeeding Congress to continue the work, on the ground that it is local. No aid can be derived from the intervention of corporations. The question regards the character of the work, not that of those by whom it is to be accomplished. Notwithstanding the union of the gov- ernment with the corporation, by whose immediate agency any work of internal improvement is carried on, the inquiry will still remain, is it national, and conducive to the benefit of the whole, or local, and operating only to the advantage of a portion of the Union ? But, although I might not feel it to be my official duty to interpose the executive veto to the passage of a bill appropriating money for the construction of such works as are authorized by the states, and are national in their character, I do not wish to be understood as expressing an opinion that it is expedient at this time for the general government to embark in a system of this kind ; and, anxious that my constituents should be possessed of my views on this as well as on all other subjects which they have committed to my discretion, I shall state them frankly and briefly. Besides many minor considerations, there are two prominent views on the subject which have made a deep impression upon my mind, which I think are well entitled to your serious attention, and will, I hope, be maturely weighed by the people. From the official communications submitted to you, it appears that if no adverse or unforeseen contingency happens in our foreign relations, and no unusual diversion be made of the funds set apart for the payment of the national debt, we may look with confidence to its entire extinguishment in the short period of four years. The extent to which this pleasing anticipation is dependent upon the policy which may be pursued in relation to measures of the character of the one now under consider- ation, must be ob\'ious to all, and equally so that the events of the present session are well calculated to awaken public solicitude upon the subject. By the statement from the treasury department, and those from the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, herewith sub- mitted, it appears that the bills which have passed into MAYSVILLE ROAD VETO. 233 laws, and those which, in all probability, will pass before the adjournment of Congress, anticipate appropriations which, with the ordinary expenditures for the support of government, will exceed considerably the amount in the treasury for the year 1830. Thus, while we are diminish- ing the revenue by a reduction of the duties on tea, coflfee, and cocoa, the appropriations for internal improvements are increasing beyond the available means of the treasury ; and if to this calculation be added the amount contained in bills which are pending before the two houses, it may be safely affirmed that ten milhons of dollars would not make up the excess over the treasury receipts, unless the payment of the national debt be postponed, and the means now pledged to that object applied to those enumerated in these bills. Without a well-regulated system of inter- nal improvement, this exhausting mode of appropriation is not likely to be avoided, and the plain consequence must be, either a continuance of the national debt or a resort to additional taxes. Although many of the states, with a laudable zeal, and under the influence of an enhghtened policy, are success- fully applying their separate efforts to works of this character, the desire to enlist the aid of the general gov- ernment in the construction of such as, from their nature, ought to devolve upon it, and to which the means of the individual states are inadequate, is both rational and patriotic ; and if that desire is not gratified now, it does not follow that it never will be. The general intelHgence and pubHc spirit of the American people furnish a sure guarantee that, at the proper time, this policy will be made to prevail under circumstances more auspicious to its successful prosecution than those which now exist. But, gTeat as this object undoubtedly is, it is not the only one which demands the fostering care of the government. The preservation and success of the republican principle rest with us. To elevate its character and extend its influence rank amongst our most important duties, and the best means to accomplish this desirable end are those which will rivet the attachment of our citizens to the government of their choice, by the comparative hghtness 234 LIFE OF JACKSON. of their public burdens, and by the attraction which the superior success of its operations will present to the admi- ration and respect of the world. Through the favor of an overruhng and indulgent Providence, our country is blessed with general prosperity, and our citizens exempted from the pressure of taxation which other less favored portions of 4he human family are obliged to bear ; yet it is true that many of the taxes collected from our citizens, through the medium of imposts, have for a ccnsiderable period been onerous. In many particulars, those taxes have borne severely upon the laboring and less prosperous classes of the community, being imposed on the necessa- ries of life, and this, too, in cases where the burden was not relieved by the consciousness that it would ultimately contribute to make us independent of foreign nations for articles of prime necessity, by the encouragement of their growth and manufacture at home. They have been cheerfully borne, because they were thought to be neces- sary to the support of government, and the payment of the debts unavoidably incurred in the acquisition and maintenance of our national rights and privileges. But have we a right to calculate on the same cheerful acquies- cence, when it is known that the necessity for their con- tinuance would cease, were it not for the irregular, impro- vident, and unequal appropriations of the public funds? Will not the people demand, as they have a right to do, such a prudent system of expenditure as will pay the debts of the Union, and authorize the reduction of every tax to as low a point as the wise observance of the neces- sity to protect that portion of our manufactures and labor, whose prosperity is essential to our national safety and independence, will allow? When the national debt is paid, the duties upon those articles which we do not raise may be repealed with safety, and still leave, I trust, with- out oppression to any section of the country, an accumu- lating surplus fund, which may be beneficially applied to some well-digested system of improvement Under this view, the question, as to the manner in which the federal government can, or ought to embark in the construction of roads and canals, and the extent to MAV3VILLE ROAD VETO. 235 which it may impose bm'dens on the people for these purposes, may be presented on its own merits, free of all disguise, and of every embarrassment except such as may arise from the constitution itself Assuming these sug- gestions to be correct, will not our constituents require the observance of a course by which they can be effected ? Ought they not to require it ? With the best disposition to aid, as far as I can conscientiously, in the furtherance of works of internal improvement, my opinion is, that the soundest views of national policy, at this time, point to such a course. Besides the avoidance of an evil influence upon the local concerns of the country, how solid is the advantage which the government will reap from it in the elevation of its character! How gratifying the effect of presenting to the world the sublime spectacle of a republic, of more than twelve millions of happy people, in the forty-fourth year of her existence — after having passed through two protracted wars, the one for the acquisition, and the other for the maintenance of liberty — free from debt, and with all her immense resources unfettered! What a salutary influence would not such an exhibition exercise- upon the cause of hberal principles and free government throughout the world. Would we not our- selves find, in its effect, an additional guarantee that our political institutions will be transmitted to the most remote posterity without decay ? A course of policy destined to witness events like these, can not be benefited by a legis- lation Avhich tolerates a scramble for appropriations that have no relation to any general system of improvement, and whose good effects must of necessity be very limited. In the best view of these appropriations, the abuses to which they lead far exceed the good which they are capable of promoting. They may be resorted to as artful expedients to shift upon the government the losses of unsuccessful private speculation, and thus, by ministering to personal ambition and self-aggrandizement, tend to sap the foundations of public virtue, and taint the administra- tion of the government with a demoralizing influence. In the other view of the subject, and the only remain- mg one which it is my intention to present at this time. 236 LIFE OF JACKSON. IS involved the expediency of einbarking in a systero ol' internal improvement without a previous amendment of the constitution, explaining and defining the p-ecise pow- ers of the federal government over it. Assuming the right to appropriate money to aid in the construction of national works, to be warranted by the contemporaneous and continued exposition of the constitution, its sufficiency for the successful prosecution of them must be admitted by all candid minds. If we look to usage to dehne the extent of the right, that will be found so variant, and embracing so much that has been overruled, as to involve the whole subject in great uncertainty, and to render the execution of our respective duties in relation to it replete with difficulty and embarrassment. It is in regard to such works, and the acquisition of additional territory, that the practice obtained its first footing. In most if not all other disputed questions of appropriation, the construc- tion of the constitution may be regarded as unsettled, if the right to apply money, in the enumerated cases, is placed on the ground of usage. This subject has been one of much, and, I may add, painful reflection to me. It has bearings that are well calculated to exert a powerful nifluence upon our hitherto prosperous system of government, and which, on some accounts, may even excite despondency in the breast of an American citizen. I will not detain you with profes- sions of zeal in the cause of internal improvements. If to be their friend is a virtue which deserves commenda- tion, our country is blest Avith an abundance of it; for I do not suppose there is an inteD'.gent citizen who does not wish to see them flourish. But though all are their friends, but few, I trust, pre unmindful of the means by which they should be r^romoted; none certainly are so degenerate as to desire their success at the cost of that sacred instrument, with the preservation of which is indis solubly bound our country's hopes. If diff"erent impres- sions are entertained in any quarter ; if it is expected that the people of this country, reckless of their constitutional obhgations, will prefer their local interest to the principles of the Union, such expectations will in the end be disap- MAYSVILLE ROAD VETO. 23V pointed ; or, if it be not so, then indeed has the world but little to hope from the example of free government When an honest observance of constitutional compacts can not be obtained from communities hke ours, it need not be anticipated elsewhere ; and the cause in which there has been so much martyrdom, and from which so much was expected by the friends of liberty, may be abandoned, and the degrading truth, that man is unfit for self-govern- ment, admitted. And this will be the case, if expediency be made a rule of construction in interpreting the consti- tution. Power, in no government could desire a bettei shield for the insidious advances which it is ever ready to make upon the checks that are designed to restrain its action. But I do not entertain such gloomy apprehensions. K it be the wish of the people that the construction of roads and canals should be conducted by the federal govern- ment, it is not only highly expedient, but indispensably necessary, that a previous amendment of the constitution, delegating the necessary power, and defining and restrict- ing its exercise with reference to the sovereighty of the states, should be made. Without it, nothing extensively useful can be efi'ected. The right to exercise as much jurisdiction as is necessary to preserve the works, and to raise funds by the collection of tolls to keep them in repair, can not be dispensed with. The Cumberland road should be an instructive admonition of the consequences of act- ing without this right Year after year, contests are witnessed, growing out of efforts to obtain the necessary appropriations for completing and repairing this useful work. While one Congress may claim and exercise the power, a succeeding one may deny it ; and this fluctuation of opinion must be unavoidably fatal to any scheme which, from its extent, would promote the interests and elevate the character of the country. The experience of the past has shown that the opinion of Congress is subject to such fluctuations. If it be the desire of the people that the agency of the federal government should be confined to the appropria- tion of money in aid of such undertakings, in virtue of 11 238 LITE OP JACKSON. state authorities, then the occasion, the manner, and the extent of the appropriations, sliould be made the subject of constitutional regulation. This is the more necessary, m order that they may be equitable among the several states; promote harmony between different sections of the Union and their representatives ; preserve other parts of the constitution from being undermined by the exercise of doubtful powers, or the too great extension of those ■which are not so; and protect the whole subject against the deleterious influence of combinations to carry, by concert, measures which, considered by themselves, might meet but little countenance. That a constitutional ad- justment of this power upon equitable principles is in the highest degree desirable, can scarcely be doubted; nor can it fail to be promoted by every sincere friend to the success of our political institutions. In no government are appeals to the source of power in cases of real doubt more suitable than in ours. No good motive can be assigned for the exercise of power by the constituted authorities, while those for whose benefit it is to be exer- cised have not conferred it, and may not be willing to confer it. It would seem to me that an honest applica- tion of the conceded powers of the general government to the advancement of the common weal, presents a suffi- cient scope to satisfy a reasonable ambition. The difficul- ty and supposed impracticability of obtaining an amend- ment of the constitution in this respect is, I firmly believe, in a great degree unfounded. The time has never yet been when the patriotism and intelligence of the American people were not fully equal to the greatest exigency ; and it never will, when the subject calling forth their interpo- sition is plainly presented to them. To do so with the questions involved in this bill, and to urge them to an early, zealous, and full consideraticm of their deep impor- tance, is, in my estimation, among the highest of our duties. A supposed connexion between appropriations for inter- nal improvement and the system of protecting duties, growing out of the anxieties of those more immediately interested in their success^ has given rise to suggestions MATSVILLE ROAD VETO. 230 wMch it is proper I should notice on this occasion. My opinions on these subjects have never been concealed from those who had a right to know them. Those which I have entertained on the latter have frequently placed me in opposition to individuals as well as communities, whose claims upon my friendship and gratitude are of the strongest character; but I trust there has been notliing in my pubhc life which has exposed me to the suspicion of being thought capable of sacrificing my views of duty to private considerations, however strong they may have been, or deep the regrets which they are capable of exciting. As long as the encouragement of domestic manufactures is directed to national ends, it shall receive from me a temperate but steady suppori There is no necessary connexion between it and the system of appropriations. On the contrary, it appears to me that the supposition of their dependence upon each other is calculated to excite the prejudices of the public against both. , The former is sustained on the ground of its consistency with the letter and spirit of the constitution, of its origin being traced to the assent of all the parties to the original compact, and of its having the support and approbation of a majority of the people ; on which account it is at least entitled to a fair experiment The suggestions to which I have alluded refer to a forced continuance of the national debt, by means of large appropriations, as a substitute for the security which the system derives from the principles on which it has hitherto been sustained. Such a course would certainly indicate either an unreasonable distrust of the people, or a consciousness that the system does not possess sufficient soundness for its support, if left to their voluntary choice and its own merits. Those who suppose that any policy thus founded can be long upheld in this country, have looked upon its history with eyes very different from mine. This pohcy, hke every other, must abide the will of the people, who will not be likely to allow any device, however specious, to conceal its charac- ter and tendency 2^Q LIFE OF JACKSON. I„ presenting these ff-^X^f^^^^"^^ freedom and. candor wh.ch IJ'^^Jj'Upecttully return r M^Sh^te'n td^lnsideraUol for your- fu.- ther deliberation and judgment Message of President Jackson to the United States Senate, on return* ing the hank bill with his objections. — July 10, 1832. To THE Senate : The bill " to modify and continue" the act entitled "An act to incorporate the subscribers to the Bank of the United States," was presented to me on the 4th of July instant. Having considered it with that solemn regard to the prin- ciples of the constitution which the day was calculated to inspire, and come to the conclusion that it ought not to become a law, I herewith return it to the Senate, in which it originated, with my objections. A bank of the United States is, in many respects, con- venient for the government, and useful to the people. Entertaining this opinion, and deeply impressed with the belief that some of the powers and privileges possessed by the existing bank are unauthorized by the constitution, subversive of the rights of the states, and dangerous to the hberties of the people, I felt it my duty, at an early period of my administration, to call the attention of Congress to the practicability of organizing an institution combining all Its advantages, and obviating these objections. I sincerely regret that, in the act before me, I can perceive none of those modifications of the bank charier which are neces- sary, in my opinion, to make it compatible with justice, with sound policy, or with the constitution of our country. The present corporate body, denominated the President, Directors, and Company of the Bank of the United States, will have existed, at the time this act is intended to take 242 LIFE OF JACKSON. effect, twenty years. It enjoys an exclusive privilege of banking under the authority of the general government, a monopoly of its favor and support, and, as a necessary consequence, almost a monopoly of the foreign and domes- tic exchange. The powers, privileges, and favors bestowed upon it in the original charter, by increasing the value of the stock far above its par value, operated as a gratuity of many milhons to the stockholders. An apology may be found for the failure to guar against this result, in the consideration that the effect of the original act of incorporation could not be certainly foreseen at the time of its passage. The act before me proposes another gratuity to the holders of the same stock, and in many cases to the same men, of at least seven millions more. This donation finds no apology in any uncertainty as to the effect of the act. On all hands, it is conceded, that its passage will increase, at least twenty or thirty per cent, more, the market price of the stock, subject to the payment of the annuity of two hundred thousand dollars per year, secured by the act ; thus adding, in a moment, one-fourth to its par value. It is not our own citizens only who are to receive the bounty of our government. More than eight millions of the slock of this bank are held by foreigners. By this act, the Ame- rican republic proposes virtually to make them a present of some millions of dollars. For these gratnities to foreign- ers, and to some of our own opulent citizens, ttie act secures no equivalent whatever. They are the certam gains of the present stockholders, under the operation of this act, after making full allowance for the payment of the bonus. Every monopoly, and all exclusive privileges, are granted at the expense of the public, which ought to receive a fair equivalent. The many millions which this act proposes to beslow on the stockholders of the existing bank, must come, directly or indirectly, out of the earnings of the American people. It is due to them, therefore, if their government sell monopolies and exclusive privileges, that they should at least exact for them as much as they are worth in open market. The value of the monopoly in this case may be correctly ascertained. The twenty-eight VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 943 millions of stock would probably be at an advance of fifty per cent., and command in market at least forty-two mil- lions of dollars, subject to the payment of the present bonus. 'The present value of the monopoly, therefore, is seven- Iteen millions of dollars, and this the act proposes to sell j for three millions, payable in fifteen annuaMnstalments, of two hundred t-housand dollars each. ^^' — -^"iTnot conceivable how the present stockholders can have any claim to the special favor of the government, The present corporation has enjoyed its monopoly during the period stipulated in the original contract. If we must have such a corporation, why should not the government sell out the whole stock, and thus secure to the people the full market value of the privileges granted ? Why should not Congress create and sell twenty-eight millions of stock, incorporating the purchasers with all the powers and privileges secured in this act, and putting the pre- mium upon the sales into the treasury ? But this act does not permit competition in the purchase of this monopoly. It seems to be predicated on the erro- neous idea, that the present stockholders have a prescriptive right, not only to the favor, but to the bounty of the govern- ment. It appears that more than a fourth part of the stock is held by foreigners, and the residue is held by a few hundred of our citizens, chiefly of the richest class; for their benefit does this act exclude the whole American people from competition in the purchase of this monopoly, and dispose of it for many millions less than it is worth. This seems the less excusable, because some of our citizens, not now stockholders, petitioned that the door of competition might be opened, and offered to take a charter on terms much more favorable to the government and country. But this proposition, although made by men 'whose ggregate wealth is believed to be equal to all the private stock in the existing bank, has been set aside, and the bounty of our government is proposed to be again bestowed on the few who have been fortunate enough to secure the stock, and, at this moment, wield the power of the existrug institution. I cannot perceive the justice or policy of this course. If our government must sell monopolies, it would 244 LIFE OF JACKSaX. seem to be its duty to take nothing less than their full value ; and if gratuities must be made once in fifteen or twenty years, let them not be bestowed on the subjects of a foreign government, nor upon a designated or favorable class of men in our own country. It is but justice and good policy, as far as the nature of the case will admit, to confine our favors to our ovi^n fellow-citizens, and let each in his turn enjoy an opportunity to profit by our bounty. In the bearings of the act before me upon these points, 1 find ample reasons why it should not become a law. It has been urged as an argument in favor of re-charter- ing the present bank, that calling in its loans will produce great embarrassment and distress. The time allowed to close its concerns is ample, and if it has been Avell managed its pressure will be light, and heavy only in case its ma- nagement has been bad. If, therefore, it shall produce distress, the fault will be its own, and it would furnish a reason against renewing a power which has been so ob- viously abused. But will there ever be a time when this reason will be less powerful ? To acknowledge its force is to admit that the bank ought to be perpetual, and as a consequence, the present stockholders, and those inherit- ing their rights, as successors, be established a privileged order, clothed both with great political power, and enjoy- ing immense pecuniary advantages from their connection with the government. The modifications of the existing charter, proposed by this act, are not such, in my view, as make it consistent with the rights of the states, or the liberties of the people. The qualification of the right of the bank to hold real estate, the limitation of its power to establish branches, and the power reserved to Congress to forbid the circula- tion of small notes, are restrictions comparatively of httle value or importance. All the objectionable principles of the existing corporation, and most of its odious features, are retained without alleviation. The fourth section provides "that the notes or bills of the said corporation, although the same be, on the faces thereof, respectively made payable at one place only, shall, nevertheless, be received by the said corporation at VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 345 the bank, or at any of the offices of discount and deposit thereof, if tendered in Hquidation or payment of any balance or balances due to said corporation, or to such office of discount and deposit from any other incorporated bank." This provision secures to the state banks a legal privilege in the Bank of the United States, which is with- held from all private citizens. If a state bank in Phila- delphia owe the Bank of the United States, and have notes issued by the St. Louis Branch, it can pay the debt with those notes ; but if a merchant, mechanic, or other private citizen, be in Hke circumstances, he cannot by law pay his debt with those notes, but must sell them at a dis- count, or send them to St. Louis to be cashed. This boon conceded to the state banks, though not unjust in itself, is most odious, because it does not measure out equal justice to the high and the low, the rich and the poor. To the extent of its practical effect, it is a bond of union among the banking establishments of the nation, erecting them into an interest separate from that of the people, and its necessary tendency is to unite the Bank of the United States and the slate banks, in any measure which may be thought conducive to their common interest. The ninth section of the act recognises principles of worse tendency than any provision of the present charter. it enacts that the "cashier of the bank shall annually report to the Secretary of the Treasury the names of all stockholders who are not resident citizens of the United Slates ; and on the application of the treasurer of any state, shall make out, and transmit to such treasurer a list of stockholders residing in, or citizens of such state, with the amount owned by each." Although this provision, taken in connection with a decision of the Supreme Court, surrenders, by its silence, the right of the states to tax the banking institutions created by this corporation, under the name of branches, throughv out the Union, it is evidently intended to be construed as a concession of their right to tax that portion of the stock which may be held by their own citizens and residents. In this light, if the act becomes a law, it will be under- stood by the slates, who will probably proceed to levy a 11* 246 LIFE OF JACKSON. tax equal to that paid upon the stock of banks incorpo- rated by themselves. In some states that tax is now one per cent., either on the capital or on the shares ; and that may be assumed as the amount which all citizens or resident stockholders would be taxed under the operation of this act. As it is only the stock held in the states, and not that employed within them, which would be subject to taxation, and as the names of foreign stockholders are nol to be reported to the treasurers of the states, it is obvious that the stock held by them will be exempt from this burden. Their annual profits will, therefore, be increased one per cent, more than the citizen stockholders ; and as the annual dividends of the bank may be safely estimated at seven per cent., the stock will be worth ten or fifteen per cent, more to foreigners than to citizens of the United States. To appreciate the effect which this state of things will produce, we must take a brief review of the opera- tions and present condition of the Bank of the United States. By documents submitted to Congress at the present session, it appears that on the 1st of January, 1832, of the 28,000,000 of private stock, in the corporation, 8,405,500 Avere held by foreigners, mostly of Great Britain. The amount of stock held in the nine Western States is 140,200 dollars ; and in the four Southern States is 5,623,100 dollars ; and in the Eastern and Middle States about 13,522,000 dollars. The profits of the bank in 1831, as shown in a statement of Congress, were about 3,455,598 dollars ; of this there accrued in the nine Western Slates about 1,640,048 dollars ; in the four South- ern States about 3.52,507 dollars ; and in the Middle and Eastern States about 1,463,041 dollars. As little stock is held in the West, it is obvious that the debt of the people in that section to the bank is principally a debt to the Eastern and foreign stockholders ; that the interest they pay upon it is carried into the Eastern States and into Europe ; and that it is a burden upon their industry, and a drain of their currency, which no country can bear with- out inconvenience and occasional distress. To meet this burdf>n, and equalize the exchange operations of the bank VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 247 the amount of specie drawn from those states, throug-h its branches, Avithin the last two years, as shown by its official reports, was about (),000,00{) dollars. More than half a million of this amount does not stop in the Eastern States, but passes on to Europe, to pay the dividends to the foreign stockholders. In the principle of taxation re- cognised by this act, the western slates find no adequate compensaiion for this perpetual burden on their indus- try, and drain of their currency. The Branch Bank at Mobile made last year, 95,1-iO dollars; yet, under the provisions of this act, the state of Alabama can raise no revenue from these profitable operations, because not a share of the stock is held by any of her citizens. Mis- sissippi and Missouri are in the same condition in relation to the branches at Natchez and St. Louis, and such, in a greater or less degree, is the condition of every Western State. The tendency of the plan of taxation which this act proposes, will be to place the whole United States in the same relation to foreign countries which the Western States now boar the Eastern. When, by a tax on resident stockholders, the stock of this bank is made worth ten or fifteen per cent, more to foreigners than to residents, most of it will inevitably leave the country. Thus will this provision, in its practical efTect, deprive the Eastern as well as the Southern and Western states of the means of raising a revenue from the extension of busi- ness and great profits of this institution. It will make the American people debtors to aliens, in nearly the whole amount due to this bank, and send across the Atlantic from two to five millions of specie every year, to pay the bank dividends. In another of its bearings, this provision is fraught with danger. Of the twenty-five directors of this bank, five are chosen by the goverument, and twenty by the citizen stockholders. From all voice in these elections, the fo- reign stockholders are excluded by the charter. In pro- portion, therefore, as the stock is transferred to foreign holders, the extent of suffrage in the choice of directors is curtailed. Already is almost a third of the stock in foreign hands, and not represented in elections. It is constantly 248 IIPE OP JACKSOW. passing out of the country, and this act will accelerate its departure. The entire control of the institution would necessarily fall into the hands of a few citizen stock- holders, and the ease Avith which the object would be ac- complished, would be a temptation to designing men, to secure that control in their own hands, by monopohzing the remaining stock. There is danger that a president and directors would then be able to elect themselves from year to year, and without responsibility or control, manags the whole concerns of the bank during the existence of the charter. It is easy to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a con- centration of power in the hands of a few men, irresponsi- ble to the people. Is there no danger to our liberty and independence in a bank, that, in its nature, has so little to bind it to our country ? The president of the bank has told us that most of the state banks exist by its forbearance. Should its influence become concentred, as it may under the operation of such an act as this, in the hands of a self- elected directory, whose interests are identified with those of the foreign stockholder, will there not be cause to trem- ble for the purity of our elections in peace, and for the independence of our country in war ? Their power would be great whenever they might choose to exert it ; but if this monopoly were regularly renewed every fifteen or twenty years, on terms proposed by themselves, they might seldom in peace put forth their strength to influence elections or control the affairs of the nation ; but if any private citizen or public functionary should interpose to curtail its powers, or prevent a renewal of its privileges-, it cannot be doubted that he would be made to feel its influence. Should the stock of the bank principally pass into th hands of the subjects of a foreign country, and we should unfortunately become involved in a war with that country, what would be our condition ? Of the course which would be pursued by a bank almost wholly owned by the subjects of a foreign power, and managed by those whose interests, if not affections, would run in the same direction, there VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 249 can be no doubt. All its operations within would be i aid of the hostile fleets and armips without. ControlliiJi^ our currency, receiving our }>ublic moneys, and hoiiling thousands of our citizens in dependence, it would be more formidable and dangerous than the naval and military power of the enemy. If we must have a bank with private stockholders, every onsideration of sound policy, and every impulse of Ame- icanfeelmg, admonishes that it should be purely American, xts stockholders should be composed exclusively of our own citizens, who at least ought to be friendly to our government, and willing to support it in limes of difficulty and danger. So abundant is domestic capital, that com- petition in subscribing for the stock of local banks has recently led almost to riots. To a bank exclusively of American stockholders, possessing the powers and pri- vileges granted by this act, subscriptions for two hundred millions of dollars could be readily obtained. Instead of sending abroad the stock of the bank, in which the govern ment must deposit its funds, and on which it must rely to sustain its credit in times of emergency, it would rather seem to be expedient to prohibit its sale to ahens, under penalty of absolute forfeiture. It is maintained by the advocates of the bank, that its constiiulionality in all its features ought to be considered as settled by precedent, and by the decision of the Supreme Court. To this conclusion I cannot assent. Mere prece dent is a dangerous source of authority, and should not be regarded as deciding questions of constitutional power, except where the acquiescence of the people and the states can be considered as well settled. So far from this being the case on this subject, an argument against the bank might be based on precedent. One Congress, in J79i, decided in favor of a bank; another, in 1811, de- cided against it. One Congress, in 1815, decided against a bank; another, in 1816, decided in its favor. Prior to the present Congress, therefore, the precedents drawn from that source were equal. If we resort to the states, the expressions of legislative, judicial, and executive opi- nions against the bank have been probably, to those in its 250 LIFE OF JACKSON. favor, as four to one. There is nothing in precedent, therefore, which, if its authority were admitted, ought to weigh in favor of the act before me. If the opinion of the Supreme Court covered the who^e ground of this act, it ought not to control the co-ordinate authorities of this government. The Congress, the Execu- tive, and the Court, must each for itself be guided by its own opinion of the Constitution. Each public officer who takes an oath to support the Constitution, swears that he will support it as he understands it, and not as it is under- stood by others. It is as much the duty of the House of Representatives, of the Senate, and of the President, to decide upon the constitutionality of any bill or resolution which may be presented to them for passage or approval, as it is of the Supreme Judges, when it may be brought before them for judicial decision. The opinion of the Judges has no more authority over Congress than the opi- nion of Congress has over the Judges; and, on that point, the President is independent of both. The authority of the Supreme Court must not, therefore, be permitted to control the Congress or the Execuiive, when acting in their legislative capacities, but to have only such influence as the force of their reasoning may deserve. But, in the case relied upon, the Supreme Court have not decided that all the features of this corporation are compatible with the Constitution. It is true that the Court have said that the law incorporating the bank is a consti- tutional exercise of power by Congress. But, taking into view the whole opinion of the Court, and the reasoning by which they have come to that conclusion, I understand them to have decided that, inasmuch as a bank is an appropriate means of carrying into effect the enumerated powers of the general government, therefore the law in- corporating it is in accordance with that provision of the Constitution which declares that Congress shall have power *' to make all laws which shall be necessarj^ and proper for carrying those powers into execution." Having satis- fied themselves that the word " necessary," in the Consti- tution, means "needful," "requisite," "essential," " con- ^^cive to," and that "a bank" is a convenient, a useful, VETO or THE BANK BILL. 261 and essential instrument in the prosecution of the govern- ment's " fiscal operations," they conclude that "to use one must be within the discretion of Congrt-ss;" and that "the act to incorporate the Bank of the United States, is a law made in pursuance of the Constitution." " But," say they, "where the law is not prohibited, and is really calculated to effect any of the objects intrusted to the government, to undertake here to inquire into the degree of its necessity, would be to pass the line which circumscribes the judicial department, and to tread on legislative ground." The principle here affirmed is, that "the degree of its necessity," involving all the details of a banking institu- tion, is a question exclusively for legislative consideration. A bank is constitutional ; but it is the province of the legislature to determine whether this or that particular power, privilege, or exemption, is "necessary and proper" to enable the bank to discharge its duties to the govern ment, and from their decision there is no appeal to the courts of justice. Under the decision of the Supreme Court, therefore, it is the exclusive province of Congress and the President to decide, whether the particular features of this act are " necessary and proper," in order to enable the bank to perform conveniently and efficiently the public duties assigned to it as a fiscal agent, and therefore con- stitutional ; or unyiecessary and improper, and therefore unconstitutional. Without commenting on the general principle affirmed by the Supreme Court, let us examine the details of this act, in accordance with the rule of legislative action which they have laid down. It will be found that many of the powers and privileges conferred on it cannot be supposed necessary for the purpose for which it is proposed to be created, and are not, therefore, means necessary to attain the end in view, and consequently not justified by the Constitution. The original act of corporation, section twenty-first, enacts " that no other bank shall Ik estabfished by any future law of the United States, during the continuance of the corporation hereby created, fo- which the faith of the United States is hereby pledged Provided^ Congress g0;2> LITE OF JACKSOX may » jnew existing charters for banks within the District of Ci^.tinibia, not increasing the capital thereof, and may also establish any other bank or banks in said District, with capitals not exceeding, in the whole, six millions of dollars, if they shall deem it expedient." This provision is continued in force, by the act before me, fifteen years from the 3d of March, 1886. If Congress possessed the power to establish one bank, they hud power to establish more than one, if, in their opinion, iwo or more banks had been "necessary" to faci- litate the execution of the powers delegated to them by the Constitution. If they possessed the power to establish a second oank, it was a power derived from the Constitu- tion, to be exercised from time to time, and at any time when the interests of the country or the emergencies of the government might make it expedient. It was pos- sessed by one Congress as well as another, and by all Congresses alike, and alike at every session. But the Congress of 181(3 have taken it away from their successors for twenty years, and the Congress of 1832 proposed to abohsh it "for fifteen years more. It cannot be " necessary" or " proper" for Congress to barter away, or divest them- selves of any of the powers vested in them by the Con- stitution, to be exercised for the public good. It is not " necessary" to the efficiency of the bank, nor is it " pro- per" in relation to themselves and their successors. They rnay properly use the discretion vested in them, but they may not limit the discretion of their successors. This restriction on themselves, and grant of a monopoly to the bank, is therefore unconstitutional. In another point of view, this provision is a palpable attempt to amend the Constitution by an act of legislation. The Constitution declares that " the Congress shall have power" to exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases what- soever, over the District of Columbia. Its constitutional power, therefore, to establish banks in the District of Co- lumbia, and increase their capital at will, is unlimited and uncontrollable by any other power than that which gave authority to the Constitution. Yet this act declares thai Congress shall not increase the capital of existing banks VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 253 nor create other banlcs with capitals exceeding in the whole six millions of dollars. The Constitution declares that Congress shall have power to exercise exclusive legislation over this district, ''in all cases whatsoever ;'^ and this act declares they shall not. Which is the su- preme law of the land ? This provision cannot be ''neces- 6'«ry," or '•'proper,'''' or constitutional, unless the absurdity be admitted, that whenever it be " necessary and proper," n the opinion of Congress, they have a right to barter way one portion of the powers vested in them by the Constitution, as a means of executing the rest. On two subjects only does the Constitution recognise in Congress the power to grant exclusive privileges or mo- nopolies. It declares that "Congress shall have power to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and dis- coveries." Out of this express delegation of power, have grown our laws of patents and copyrights. As the Con- stitution expressly delegates to Congress the power to grant exclusive privileges, in these casts, as the means of executing the substantive power "to promote the pro- gress of science and useful arts," it is consistent with the lair rules of construction to conclude, that such a power was not intended to be granted as a means of accomplish- ing any other end. On every other subject which comes within the scope of congressional power, there is an ever- hving discretion in the use of proper means, which can- not be restricted or abolished without an amendment of the Constitution. Every act of Congress, therefore, which attempts, by grants of monopolies, or sale of exclusive privileges for a hmited time, or a time without limit, to restrict or extinguish its own discretion in the choice of means to execute its delegated powers, is equivalent to a legislative amendment of the Constitution, and palpably unconstitutional. This act authorizes and encourages transfers of its stock to foreigners, and grants them an exemption from all state and national taxation. So far from being " necessary an proper" that the bank should possess this power, to ni^:. j *254: LIFE OF JACKSON. it a safe and efficient agent of the government in its fiscal operations, it is calculated to convert the Bank of the United States into a foreign bank, to impoverish our people in time of peace, to disseminate a foreign influ- ence through every section of the republic, and, in war, to endanger our independence. The several states reserved the power, at the formation of the Constitution, to regulate and control titles and trans- fers of real property ; and most, if not all of them, have laws disqualifying aliens from acquiring or holding lands within their limits. But this act, in disregard of the un- doubted right of the states to prescribe such disqualifica- tions, gives to aliens, stockholders in this bank, an interest and title, as members of the corporation, to all the real property it may acquire within any of^the states of this Union. This privilege granted to aliens is not "neces- sary" to enable the bank to perform its public duties, nor in any sense " proper," because it is virtually subversive of the rights of the states. The government of the United Slates have no constitu- tional power to purchase lands within the states, except " for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings," and even for these objects, only " by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be." By making themselves stock- holders in the bank, and granting to the corporation the power to purchase lands for other purposes, they assume a power not granted in the Constitution, and grant to others what they do not themselves possess. It is not necessary to the receiving, safe-keeping, or transmission of the funds of government, that the bank should posst'ss this power, and it is not proper that Congress should thus enlarge the powers delegated to them in the Constitution, The old Bank of the United States possessed a capital of only eleven milhon of dollars, which was found fully sufficient to enable it, with despatch and safo'y, to per form all the functions required of it by the gov".rnment The capital of the present bank is thirty-five millions o dollars, at least twenty-four more than experience has proved to be necessary to enable a bank to perform itg VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 255 public functions. The public debt which existed during the period of the old bank, and on the establishment of the new, has been nearly paid off, and our revenue will soon be reduced. This increase of capital is, therefore, not for public, but for private purposes. The government is the only " proper" judge where its agents should reside and keep their offices, because it best knows where their presence will be "necessary." It cannot, therefore, be " necessary" or " proper" to au- thorize the bank to locate branches where it pleases, to perform the public service without consulting the govern- ment, and contrary to its will. The principle laid down by the Supreme Court, concedes that Congress cannot establish a bank for purposes of private speculation and gain, but only as a means of executing the delegated powers of the general government. By the same princi- ple, a branch bank cannot constitutionally be estabhshed for other than public purposes. The power which this act gives to establish two branches in any state, without the injunction or request of the government, and for other than public purposes, is not " necessary" to the due exe- cution of the powers delegated to Congress. The bonus which is exacted from the bank, is a con- fession upon the face of the act, that the powers granted by it are greater than are " necessary" to its character oi a fiscal agent. The government does* not tax its officers and agents for the privilege of serving it. The bonus of a million and a half, required by the original charter, and that of three millions proposed by this act, are not exacted for the privilege of giving " the necessary facili- ties for transferring the public funds from place to place, within the United States or the territories thereof, and for distributing the same in payment of the pubhc creditors, without charging commission, or claiming allowance on account of the difference of exchange," as required by the act of incorporation, but for something more beneficial to the stockholders. The original act declares, that it (the bonus) is granted " in consideration of the exclusive pri- vileges and benefits conferred by this act upon the said bank ;" and the act before me declares it to be " in con 256 LIFE OF JACKSON. sideration of the exclusive benefits and privileges con- tinued by this act to the said corporation for fifteen yeara as aforesaid." It is, therefore, for "exclusive privileges and benefits," conferred for their own use and emolument, and not for the advantage of the government, that a bonus is exacted. These surplus powers, for which the bank is required to pay, cannot surely be " necessary," to make it the fiscal agent of the treasury. If they were, the ex action of a bonus for them would not be "proper." It is maintained by some, that the bank is a means of executing the constitutional power " to coin money, and regulate the value thereof." Congress have estab^'shed a mint to coin money, and passed laws to regular the value thereof. The money so coined, with its value so regulated, and such foreign coins as Congress may adopt, are the only currency known to the Constitution. But if they have other power to regulate the currency, it was conferred to be exercised by themselves, and not to be transferred to a corporation. If the bank be establishea for that purpose, with a charter unalterable without its consent, Congress have parted with their power for a term of years, during which the Constitution is a dead letter. It is neither necessary nor proper to transfer its legislative powers to such a bank, and therefore unconsti- tutional. By its silence, considered in connection with the de- cision of the Supreme Court, in the case of McCulloch against the State of Maryland, this act takes from the states the power to tax a portion of the banking business carried on within their Hmits, in subversion of one of the strongest barriers which secured them against federal en- croachments. Banking, like farming, manufacturing, or any other occupation or profession, is a business, the right to follow which is not originally derived from the laws. Every citizen, and every company of citizens, in all of our states, possessed the right, until the state legislatures deemed it good policy to prohibit private banking by law. If the prohibitory slate laws were now repealed, every citizen would again possess the right. The state banks ar^*. a quahfied restoration of the right which has beep VETO OF THE BANK BILL 257 taken away by the laws against banking-, guarded by such provisions and limitations as, in the opinion of the state legislatures, the public interest requires. These corpo- rations, unless there be an exemption in their charter, are, like private bankers and banking companies, subject to state taxation. The manner in which these taxes shall be laid, depends wholly on legislative discretion. It may e upon the bank, upon the stock, upon the profits, or in any other mode which the sovereign power shall will. Upon the formation of the Constitution, the states guarded their taxing power with peculiar jealousy. They sur- rendered it only as it regards imports and exports. In relation to every other subject within their jurisdiction, whether persons, property, business, or professions, it was secured in as ample a manner as it was before possessed. All persons, though United States' officers, are liable to a poll tax by the states within which they reside. The lands of the United States are liable to the usual land tax, ex- cept in the new states, from whom agreements, that they will not tax unsold lands, are exacted when they are admitted into the Union : horses, wagons, any beasts or vehicles, tools or property, belonging to private citizens, though employed in the service of the United States, are subject to state taxation. Every private business, whether carried on by an officer of the general government or not, whether it be mixed with public concerns or not, even if it be carried on by the government of the United States itself, separately or in partnership, falls within the scope of the taxing power of the state. Nothing comes more fully within it than banks, and the business of banking, by whomsoever instituted and carried on. Over this whole subject-matter, it is just as absolute, unlimited, and uncon- trollable, as if the Constitution had never been adopted, because, in the formation of that instrument, it was reserved without qualification. The principle is conceded, that the states cannot right- fully tax the operations of the general government. They cannot tax the money of the government deposited in the state banks, nor the agency of those banks in remitting it ; but will any man maintain that their mere selection to 258 LIFE OF JACKSON. perform this public service for the general government would exempt the state banks, and their ordinary business, from state taxation ? Had the United States, instead of estabhshing a bank at Philadelphia, employed a private banker to keep and transmit their funds, would it have deprived Pennsylvania of the right to tax his bank and his usual banking operations ? It will not be pretended. Upon what principle, then, are the banking establishments of the Bank of the United States, and their usual banking operations, to be exempted from taxation ? It is not their pubHc agency, or the deposits of the government, which the states claim a right to tax, but their banks and their banking powers, instituted, and exercised within state jurisdiction for their private emolument — those powers and privileges for which they pay a bonus, and which the states tax in their own banks. The exercise of these powers within a state, no matter by whom or under what authority, whether by private citizens in their original right, by corporate bodies created by the states, by foreign- ers, or the agents of foreign governments located within their limits, forms a legitimate object of state taxation. From this, and like sources, from the persons, property, and business, that are found residing, located, or carried on, under their jurisdiction, must the states, since the surrender of their right to raise a revenue from imports and exports, draw all the money necessary for the support of their governments, and the maintenance of their inde- pendence. There is no more appropriate subject of taxa- tion than banks, bankmg, and bank stock, and none to which the stales ought more pertinaciously to cling. It cannot be necessary to the character of the bank, as a fiscal agent of the government, that its private business should be exempted from that taxation to which all iha state banks are liable ; nor can I conceive it " proper" tha the substantive and most essential powers reserved by the states shall be thus attacked and annihilated as a means of executing the powers delegated to the general govern- ment. It may be safely assumed that none of those sages who had an agency in forming or adopting our Constitu- tion, ever imagined that any portion of the taxing power VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 259 Df the states, not prohibited to them, nor delegated to Congress, was to be swept away and annihilated, as a means of executing certain powers delegated to Congress. If our power over means is so absolute, that the Supreme Court will not call in question the constitutionality of an act of Congress, the subject of which is "not prohibited, and is really calculated to effect any of the objects intrusted to the government," although, as in the case before me, it takes away powers expressly granted to Congress, and rights scrupulously reserved to the states, it becomes us to proceed in our legislation with the utmost caution. Though not directly, our own powers and the rights of the states may be indirectly legislated away in the use of means to execute substantive powers. We may not enact that Congress shall not have the power of exclusive legis- lation over the District of Columbia ; but we may pledge the faith of the United States, that, as a means of execut- mg other powers, it shall not be exercised for twenty years, or for ever! We may not pass an act prohibiting the states to tax the banking business carried on within their limits; but we may, as a means of executing our powers ovt-r other objects, place that business in the hands of our agents, and then declare it exempt from state taxation in thnir hands ! Thus may our own powers, and the rights oi the states, which we cannot directly curtail or invade, be frittered away and extinguished in the use of means employed by us to execute other powers. That a Bank of the United States, competent to all the duties which may be required by the government, might be so organized as not to infringe on our own delegated powers, or the reserved rights of the states, I do not entertain a doubt. Had the Executive been called upon to furnish the pro- ject of such an institution, the duty would have been cheerfully performed. In the absence of such a call, it was obviously proper that he should confine himself to pointing out those prominent features in the act presented, which, in his opinion, make it incompatible with the Con- siitulion and sound policy. A general discussion will now take place, eliciting new light, and settling important principles : and a new Congress, elected in the midst of 260 LIFE OF JACKSON. such discussion, and furnishing an equal representation of the people, accordino- to the last census, will bear to the Capitol the verdict of public opinion, and, I doubt not. brincr this important question to a satisfactory result. Under such circumstances, the bank comes forward and asks a renewal of its charter for a term of fifteen years, upon conditions which not only operate as a gratuity to the stockholders, of many millions of dollars, but will sanction any abuses, and legalize any encroachments. Suspicions are entertained, and charges are made, of gross abuse and violation of its charter. An investigation, unwillingly conceded, and so restricted in time as neces- sarily to make it incomplete and unsatisfactory, disclosed enough to excite suspicion and alarm. In the practices of the 4 incipal bank, partially unveiled in the absence of important witnesses, and in numerous charges confi- dently made, and as yet wholly uninvestigated, there was enough to induce a majority of the committee of investiga tion, a committee which was selected from the most able and honorable members cf *he House of Representatives, to recommend a suspend on of farther action upon the bill, and a prosecution of the inquiry. As the charter had yet four years to run, and as a renewal now was not necessary to the successful prosecution of its business, it was to have been expected that the bank itself, conscious of its purity, and proud of its character, would have with- drawn its application for the present, and demanded the severest scrutiny into all its transactions. In their de- clining to do so, there seems to be an additional reason why the functionaries of the government should proceed with less haste, and more caution, in the renewal of their mo- nopoly. The bank is professedly established as an agent of the executive branches of the government, and its constitu- tionality is maintained on that ground. Neither upon the propriety of present action, nor upon the provisions of this act, was the Executive consulted. It has had no opportu- nity to say, that it neither needs nor wants an agent clothed wi.h such powers, and favored by such exemptions. There is nothing in its legitimate functions which makes it neces- VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 261 sary or proper. Whatever interest or influence, whether public or private, has given birth to this act, it cannot be found either in the wishes or necessities of the Executive Department, by which present action is deemed premature, and the powers conferred upon its agent not only unneces- sary, but dangerous to the government and country. It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, o: of wealth, cannot be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment pf the gifts of Heaven, and the fruits of supe- rior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally Gnijtled to protection by law. But when the laws under- take to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions — to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive pri- vileges — to make the rich richer, and the potent more powerful — the humble members of society, the farmers, mechanics, and laborers, who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their government. There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its favors ahke on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unquahfied blessing. In the act before me there seems to be a wide and unnecessary departure from these just principles. Nor is our government to be maintained, or our Union preserved, by invasions of the rights and powers of the several slates. In thus attempting to make our general government strong, we make it weak. Its true strength consists in leaving individuals and states, as much as pos ible, to themselves ; in making itself felt, not in its power but in its beneficence — not in its control, but in its protec- tion — not in binding the states more closely to the centre, but leaving each to move, unobstructed, in us proper orbit. Experience should teach us wisdom. ?viost of the dif- ficulties our government now encounters, and most of the danger? which impend over our Union, have sprung fron' 12 262 LIFE OP JACKSOW. an abandonment of the legitimate objects of government by our national legislation, and the adoption of such prin- ciples as are imbodied in this act. Many of our rich men have not been content with equal protection and equal benefits, but have besought us to make them richer by acts of Congress. By attempting to gratify their desires, we have, in the resuks of our legislation, arrayed section against section, interest against interest, and man against man, in a fearful commotion, which threatens to shake the foundations of our Union. It is time to pause in our career, to review our principles, and, if possible, revive that devoted patriotism, and spirit of comprojnise, which distinguished the sages of the Revolution and the fathers of our Union. If we cannot, at once, in justice to inte- rests vested under improvident legislation, make our go- vernment what it ought to be, we can, at least, take a stand against all new grants of monopolies and exclusive privileges, against any prostitution of our government to the advancement of the few at the expense of the many, and in favor of compromise and gradual reform in our code of laws and system of political economy. I have now 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 impel me, ample grounds for contentment and peace. In the difficulties which surround us, and the dangers which threaten our institutions, there is cause for neither dismay or alarm. For relief and deHverance, let us firmly rely on that kind Providence 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 goodness, and their patriotic devotion, our liberty and Union will be preserved. PROCLAMATION. 263 Proclamation on the NulUjication Question. — December 11, 1832. Whereas, a Convention assembled in the State of South Carolina, having passed an ordinance by which they declare, " That the several acts and parts of acts of the Congress of the United States, purporting to be laws for the imposing of duties and imposts on the importation of foreign commodities, and now having actual operation and effect within the United States, and more especially," two acts for the same purpose, passed on the 29th of May, 1828, and on the 14th of July, 1832, "are unauthorized by the Constitution of the United States, and violate the true meaning and intent thereof, and are null and void, and no law," nor binding on the citizens of that state or its officers : and by the said ordinance, it is further de- clared to be unlawful for any of the constituted authorities of the state, or of the United States, to enforce the payment of the duties imposed by the said acts within the same state, and that it is the duty of the legislature to pass such laws as may be necessary to give full effect to the said ordinance : And whereas, by the said ordinance, it is further or- dained, that in no case, of law or equity, decided in the courts of said state, wherein shall be drawn in question the validity of the said ordinance, or of the acts of the legislature that may be passed to give it effect, or of the said laws of the United States, no appeal shall be allowed to the Supreme Court of the United States, nor shall any copy of the record be permitted or allowed for that pur- pose, and that any person attempting to take such appeal shall be punished as for a contempt of court : And, finally, the said ordinance declares, that the people s>f South Carolina will maintain the said ordinance at every Hazard ; and that they will consider the passage of any 264 LIFE OF JACKSON. act by Congress, abolishing or closing the ports of the said state, or otherwise obstructing the free ingress or egress of vessels to and from the said ports, or any other act of the federal government to coerce the state, shut up her ports, destroy or harass her commerce, or to enforce the said acts otherwise than through the civil tribunals of the country, as inconsistent with the longer continuance of South Carohna in the Union ; and that the people of the said state will thenceforth hold themselves absolved from all further obligation to maintain or preserve their political connection with the people of the other states, and will forthwith proceed to organize a separate govern- ment, and do all other acts and things which sovereign and independent states may of right do : And whereas, the said ordinance prescribes to the people of South Carolina a course of conduct, in direct violation of their duty as citizens of the United States, contrary to the laws of their country, subversive of its Constitution, and having for its object the destruction of the Union — that Union, which, coeval with our political existence, led our fathers-, without any other ties to unite them than those of patriotism and a common cause, through a sanguinary struggle to a glorious independence — that sacred Union, hitherto inviolate, which, perfected by our happy Constitution, has brought us, by the fivor of Heaven, to a state of prosperity at home, and high consideration abroad, rarely, if ever, equalled in the history of nations: To preserve this bond of our political existence from de- struction, to maintain inviolate this state of national honor and prosperity, and to justify the confidence my fellow- citizens have reposed in me, I, Andrew Jackson, Presi- dent of the United States, have thought proper to issue this my Proclamation, stating my views of the Constitu- tion and laws applicable to the measures adopted by the Convention of South Carolina, and to the reasons they have put forth to sustain them, declaring the course which duty will require me to pursue, and, appealing to the understanding and patriotism of the people, warn them of the consequences that must inevitably result from an ofcu servance of the dictates of the ConvenUoa. PROCLAMATION . 265 Strict duty would require of me nothing more than the exercise of those powers with which I am now, or may hereafter be invested, for preserving the peace of the Union, and for the execution of the laws. But the imposing aspect which opposition has assumed in this case, by clothing itself with state authority, and the deep interest which the people of the United States must all feel in preventing a resort to stronger measures, while there is a hope that any thing will be yielded to reasoning and remon- strance, perhaps demand, and will certainl}?- justify, a full exposition to South Carolina and the nation, of the views I entertain of this important question, as well as a distinct enunciation of the course which my sense of duty will require me to pursue. The ordinance is founded, not on the indefeasible right of resisting acts which are plainly unconstitutional and too oppressive to be endured ; but on the strange position that any one state may not only declare an act of Congress void, but prohibit its execution ; that they may do this consistently with the Constitution ; that the true construc- tion of that instrument permits a slate to retain its place in the Union, and yet be bound by no other of its laws than it may choose to consider constitutional. It is true, they add, that to justify this abrogation of a law, it must be palpably contrary to the Constitution ; but it is evident, that to give the right of resisting laws of that description, coupled with the uncontrolled right to decide what laws deserve that character, is to give the power of resisting all laws. For, as by the theory, there is no appeal, the reasons alleged by the state, good or bad, must prevail. If it should be said that public opinion is a sufficient check against the abuse of this power, it may be asked why it is not deemed a sufficient guard against the pas- sage of an unconstitutional act by Congress. There is, however, a restraint in this last case, which makes the assumed power of a state more indefensible, and which does not exist in the other. There are two appeals from an unconstitutional act passed by Congress — one to the judiciary, the other to the people and the slates. There is no appeal from the state decision in theory and thff 266 ^ LIFE OF JACKSOK. practical illustration shows that the courts are closed against an application to review it, both judge and jurors being sworn to decide in its favor. But reasoning on this subject is superfluous, when our social compact in express terms declares, that the laws of the United States, its Constitution and treaties made under it, are the supreme law of the land — and for greater caution adds, "that the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding." And it may be asserted without fear of refutation, that no federative government could exist without a similar provision. Look for a moment to the consequences. If South Carohna considers the revenue laws unconstitutional, and has a right to prevent their execution in the port of Charleston, there would be a clear constitutional objection to their collection in every other port, and no revenue could be collected anywhere ; for all imposts must be equal. It is no answer to repeat, that an unconstitutional law is no law, so long as the ques- tion of its legality is to be decided by the state itself; for every law operating injuriously upon any local interest, will be perhaps thought, and certainly represented, as un- constitutional, and, as has been shown, there is no appeal. If this doctrine had been established at an earlier day, the Union would ha^e been dissolved in its infancy. The excise law in Pennsylvania, the embargo and non-inter- course law in the Eastern States, the carriage tax in Vir- ginia, were all deemed unconstitutional, and were more unequal in their operation than any of the laws now com- plained of; but fortunately none of those states discovered that they had the right now claimed by South Carolina. The war into which we were forced, to support the dig- nity of the nation and the rights of our citizens, might have ended in defeat and disgrace, instead of victory and honor, if the states who supposed it a ruinous and uncon- stitutional measure, had thought they possessed the right of nullifying the act by which it was declared, and deny- ing supplies for its prosecution. Hardly and unequally as those measures bore upon several members of the Union, to the legislatures of none did this efficient apd PROCLAMATION. ' 26 V peaceable remedy, as it is called, suggest itself. The discovery of this important feature in our Constitution was reserved for the present day. To the statesmen of South Carolina belongs the invention, and upon the citi- zens of that state will unfortunately fall the evil of reduc- ing it to practice. If the doctrine of a state veto upon the laws of the Union carries with it internal evidence of its impracticable ab- surdity, our constitutional history will also afford abundant proof that it would have been repudiated with indignation, had it been proposed to form a feature in our government. In our colonial state, although dependent on another power, we very early considered ourselves as connected by common interest with each other. Leagues were formed for common defence, and before the Declaration of Independence we were known in our aggregate cha- racter as the UNITED colonies of America. That decisive ind important s:ep was taken jointly. We declared our- selves a nation, by a joint, not by several acts, and when the terms of confederation were reduced to form, it was in that of a solemn league of several states by which they agreed, that they would collectively form one nation ibr the purpose of conducting some certain domestic concerns and ail foreign relations. In the instrument forming that union is Ibund an article which declares that, "every state shall abide by the determination of Congress on all questions which by that confederation should be submitted to them." Under the Confederation, then, no state could legally annul a decision of the Congress, or refuse to submit to its execution ; but no provision was made to enforce these decisions. Congress made requisitions, but they were not complied with. The government could not operate on individuals. They had no judiciary, no means of collect- mg revenue. But the defects of the Confederation need not be de- tailed. Under its operation we could scarcely be called a nation. We had neither prosperity at home, nor con- sideration abroad. This state of things could not be en- dured, and our present happy Constitution was formed. 268 LIFE OF JACESOIf. but formed in rain if this fatal doctrine prevails. It was formed for important objects that are annoum d in the preamble, made in the name and by the authori -f the people of the United States, whose delegates fram. and whose conventions approved it. The most imponant among these objects, that which is placed first in ranli, on which all others rest, is "to form a more perfect UNION." Now, is it possible that even if there were no express provisions giv ng supremacy to the Constitution and Laws of the United States over those of the states — can it be conceived that an instrument made for the pur- pose of "FORjviiNG A MORE PERFECT union" than that of the Confederation, could be so constructed by ihe as- sembled wisdom of our country as to substitute for that confederation a form of government dependent for its ex- istence on the local interest, the party spirit of a state, or of a prevailing faction in a state I Every man of plain, unsophisticated understanding, who hears the question^ wi\[ give such an answer as will preserve the Union. Metaphysical subtlety, in pursuit of an impracticable theory, could alone have devised one that is calculated to destroy it. 1 consider then the power to annul a law of the United States, assumed by one state,, incompatible with the existence of the union, contradicted expressly by THE letter of THE CONSTITUTION, UNAUTHORIZED BY ITS spirit, INCONSISTENT WITH EVERY PRINCIPLE ON WHICH IT WAS FOUNDED, AND DESTRUCTIVE OF THE GREAT OBJECT FOR WHICH IT WAS FORiMED. After this general view of the leading principle, we must examine the particular application of it which is made in the ordinance. The preamble rests its justification on these grounds : It assumes as a fact, that the obnoxious laws, although they purport to be laws for raising revenue, were in reality intended for the protection of manufactures, which purpose it asserts to be uaconstituiional ; that the operation of these laws is unequal ; that the amount raised by them is greatei than is required by the wants of the government : and finally, that the proceeds are to be apphed to objects ua PROCLAMATION. 269 authorized by the Constitution. These are the only causes alleged to justify an open opposition to the laws of the country, and a threat of seceding from the Union, if any attempt should be made to enforce them. The first virtu- ally acknowledges, that the law in question was passed under a power expressly given by the Constitution, to lay and collect imposts : but its constitutionality is drawn in question from the motives of those who passed it. How- ever apparent this purpose may be in the present case, nothing can be more dangerous than to admit the position t' ;it an unconstitutional purpose, entertained by the mem- bers who assent to a law enacted under a constitutional power, shall make that law void ; for how is that purpose to be ascertained ? Who is to make the scrutiny ? How often may bad purposes be falsely imputed — in how many cases are they concealed by false professions — m how many is no declaration of motives made? Admit this doctrine, and you give to the states an uncontrolled right to decide, and every law may be annulled under this pre- text. If, therefore, the absurd and dangerous doctrine should be admitted, that a state may annul an unconstitu- tional law, or one that it deems such, it will not apply to the present case. The next objection is, that the laws in question operate unequally. This objection may be made with truth, to every law that has been or can be passed. The wisdom of man never yet contrived a system of taxation that would operate with perfect equality. If the unequal ope- ration of a law makes it unconstitutional, and if all laws of that description may be abrogated by any state for that cause, then indeed is the Federal Constitution unworthy of the slightest effort for its preservation. We have hitherto relied on it as the perpetual bond of our union. We have received it as the work of the assembled wisdom of the nation. We have trusted to it as to the sheet anchor of our safety in the stormy times of conflict with a foreign or domestic foe. We have looked to it with sacred awe as the palladium of our liberties, and with all the solemnities of religion have pledged to each other out hves and fortunes here, and our hopes of happiness here 12* 270 LIFE OJ" JACKSON. after, in its defence and support. Were we mistaken, my countrymen, in attaching this importance to the Con- stitution of our country ? Was our devotion paid to the wretched, inefficient, clumsy contrivance which this new doctrine would make it ? Did we pledge ourselves to the support of an airy nothing, a bubble that must be blown away by the first breath of disaffection? Was this selt- destroying, visionary theory, the work of the profound statesmen, the exalted patriots, to whom the task of con- stitutional reform was intrusted ? Did the name of Wash- ington sanction, did the states ratify, such an anomaly in the history of fundamental legislation? No. We were not mistaken. The letter of this great instrument is free from this radical fault : its language directly contradicts the imputation : its spirit — its evident intent, contradicts it. No ; we do not err ! Our Constitution does not con- tain the absurdity of giving power to make laws, and another power to resist them. The sages whose memory will always be reverenced, have given us a practical, and, as they hoped, a permanent constitutional compact. The father of his country did not affix his revered name to so palpable an absurdity. Nor did the states, when they severally ratified it, do so under the impression that a veto on the laws of the United States was reserved to them, or that they could exercise it by implication. Search the debates in all their conventions — examine the speeches of the most zealous opposers of federal authority — look at the amendments that were proposed — they are all silent —not a syllable uttered, not a vote given, not a motion made, to correct the explicit supremacy given to the laws of the Union over those of the states — ^^or to show that implication, as is now contended, could defeat it. No ; we have not erred 1 The Constitution is still the object of our reverence, the bond of our union, our defence in danger, the source of our prosperity in peace. It shall descend, as we have receiyed it, uncorrupted by sophis- tical construction, to our posterity ; and the sacrifices of local interest, of state prejudices, of personal animosities, that were made to bring it into existence, will again be patriotically offered for its support. PROCLAMATION. 37 1 The two remaining- objections made by the ordinaix to these laws are, that the sums intended to be raised bj them are greater than required, and that the proceeds wil be unconstitutionally employed. The Constitution has given expressly to Congress the right of raising revenue, and of determining the sum the public exigencies will require. The states have no con- trol over the exercise of this right, other than that which results from the power of changing the representatives who abuse it ; and thus procure redress. Congress may undoubtedly abuse this discretionary power, but the same may be said of others with which they are vested. Yet the discretion must exist somewhere. The Constitution has given it to the representatives of all the people, checked by the representatives of the states and by the executive power. The South Carolina construction gives it to the legislature, or the convention of a single state, where neither the people of the different states, nor the states in their separate capacity, nor the chief magistrate elected by the people, have any representation. Which is the most discreet disposition of the power ? I do not ask you, fellow-citizens, which is the constitutional dis- position — that instrument speaks a language not to be misunderstood. But if you were assembled in general convention, which would you think the safest depository of this discretionary power in the last resort ? Would you add a clause giving it to each of the states, or would you sanction the wise provisions already made by your Con- stitution ? If this should be the result of your delibera- tions when providing for the future, are you, can you be ready, to risk all that we hold dear, to establish, for a temporary and a local purpose, that which you must ac- knowledge to be destructive, and even absurd, as a general provision ? Carry out the consequences of this right vested in the different states, and you must perceive that the crisis your conduct presents at this day would recur whenevei any law of the United States displeased any of the states, and that we should soon cease to be a nation. The ordinance, with the same knowledge of the future that characterizes a former objection, tells you that the i72 ILIFE OF JACKSOW. oceecfs of the tax will be unconstitutionally applied. If this could be ascertained with certainty, the objection would, with more propriety, be reserved for the laws so applying- the proceeds, but surely cannot be urged against the law levying^ the duty. These are the alleo-ations contained in the ordinance. Examine them seriously, mj fellow-citizens. — judge fo? your>elves. I appeal to you to determine whether they are so clear, so convincing, as to leave no doubt of their correctness ; and even if you should come to this conclu- sion, how far they justify the n^ckless, destructive course which you are directed to pursue. Review these objec- tions, and the conclusions drawn from them, once more. What are thev ? Every law, then, for raising revenue, according to the South Carolina ordinance, may be right- fully annulled, unless it be so framed as no law ever wiL or can be framed. Conjjress have a rtg^ht to pass laws for raising revenue, and each state has a right to oppose their execution — two rights directly opposed to each other — and yet is this absurdity supposed to be contained in an in- strument drawn for the express purpose of avoiding colli- sions between the states and the general government, by an assembly of the most enlightened statesmen and purest patriots ever imbodied for a similar purpose. In vain have these sages declared that Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises — in vain have they provided that they shall have power to pass laws which shall be necessary and proper to carry those powers into execution ; that those laws and that Constitution shall be the *' supreme law of the land, and that the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary, notwithstanding." In vain have the people o the several states solemnly sanctioned these provisions made them their paramount law, and individually sworn to support them whenever they were called on to execute any office. Vain provisions ! ineffectual restrictions ! vile profanation of oaths ! miserable mockery of legislation ! if a bare majority of the voters in any one state may, on a »***»! or supposed knowledge of the intent in which a PROCLAMATION. 273 law has been passed, declare themselves free from its operations — say here it gives too little, there too much, dnd operates unequally — here it suffers articles to be free that ought to be taxed — there it taxes those that ought to be free — in this case the proceeds are intended to be ap- plied to purposes which we do noi approve — in that, the amount raised is more than is wanted. Congress, it is true, are invested by the Constitution with the right of deciding these questions according to their sound discre- tion ; Congress is composed of the representatives of all the states and of all the people of all the states ; but, wr, part of the people of one state, to whom the Constitution has given no power on the subject, from whom it has ex- pressly taken it away — we, who have solemnly agreed that this Constitution shall be our law — we, most of whom have sworn to support it — we now abrogate this law and swear, and force others to swear, that it shall not be obeyed ! And we do this, not because Congress have no right to pass such laws; this we do not allege; but because they have passed them with improper views. They are unconstitutional from the motives of those who passed them, which we can never with certainty know — from'*' their unequal operation, although it is impossible from the nature of things that they should be equal — and from the disposition which we presume may be made of their proceeds, although that dis])osition has not been declared. This is the plain meaning of the ordinance in relation to laws which it abrogates for alleged unconstitutionality. But it does not stop there. It repeals, in express terms, an important part of the Constitution itself, and of laws passed to give it effect, which have never been alleged to be unconstitutional. The Constitution declares that the judicial powers of the United States extend to cases aris- ing under the laws of the United States, and that such laws, the Constitution and treaties, shall be paramount to the state constitutions and laws. The judiciary act pre- scribes the mode by which the case may be brought be- fore a court of the United States, by appeal, when a state tribunal shall decide against this provision of the Consti- tution. The ordinari:e declares there shall be no appeal 274 LIFE OF JACKSON. — makes the state law paramount to the Constitution and laws of the United States — forces judges and jurors to swear that they will disregard their provisions ; and even makes it penal in a suitor to attempt relief by appeal. It further declares that it shall not be lawful for the authori- ties of the United States, or of that state, to enforce the payment of duties imposed by the revenue laws within its limits. Here is a law of the United States not even pretende to be unconstitutional, repealed by the authority of a small majority of the voters of a single state. Here is a pro- vision of the Constitution which is solemnly abrogated by the same authority. On such expositions and reasonings the ordinance grounds not only an assertion of the right to annul the laws of which it complains, but to enforce it by a threat of seced- ing from the Union if any attempt is made to execute them. This right to secede is deduced from the nature of the Constitution, which they say is a compact between sove- reign states, who have preserved their whole sovereignty, and, therefore, are subject to no superior ; ihat because they made the compact, they can break it, wnen, in their opinion, it has been departed from by the other states. Fallacious as this course of reasoning is, it enlists state pride, and finds advocates in the honest prejudices of those who have not studied the nature of our gov<^rnment suffi- ciently to see the radical error on which it "^ests. The people of the United States formed the Constitu- tion, acting through the state legislatures in making the compact, to meet and discuss its provisions, and acting in separate conventions when they ratified those provisions ; but the terms used in its construction, show it to be a government in which the people of all the states collec- tively are represented. We are one people in the choice of a President and Vice-President. Here the states have no other agency than to direct the mode »n wliich the votes shall be given. The candidates havintr the majority of all the votes are chosen. The electors ot a majority of the states may have given their votes for on« candidate, PROCLAMATION. 275 and yet another may be chosen. The people, then, and not the states, are represented in the executive brnnch. In the House of Representatives there is this difTerence, that the people of one slate do not, as in the case of Pre- sident and Vice-President, all vote for the same officers. The people of all the states do not vote for all the mem- bers, each state electing only its own representatives. But this creates no material distinction. When chosen, they are all representatives of the United States, not repre- sentatives of the particular state from which they come. They are paid by the United States, not by the state ; nor are they accountable to it for any act done in the per- formance of their legislative functions; and however they ma3% in practice, as it is their duty to do, consult and pre- fer the interests of their particular constituents when they come in conflict with any other partial or local interest, yet it is their first and highest duty, as Representatives of the United States, to promote the general good. The Constitution of the United States then forms a government, not a league, and whether it be formed by compact between the states, or in any other manner, its character is the same. It is a government in which all the people are represented, which operates directly on the people individually, not upon the state — they retained all the power they did not grant. But each state having expressly parted with so many powers, as to constitute jointly with the other states a single nation, cannot from that period possess any right to secede, because such secession does not break a league, but destroys the unity of a nation, and any injury to that unity is not only a breach which would result from the contravention of a compact, but it is an offence against the whole Union. To say that any state may at pleasure secede from the Union, is to say that the United States are not a nation, because it would be a solecism to contend that any part of a nation might dissolve its connection with the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without committing any offence. Secession, like any other revolutionary act, may be mo- rally justified by the extremity of oppression ; but to call it a constitutional right, is confounding the meaning oi 276 LIFE OF JACKSON. terms, and can only be done through gross error, or to deceive those who are willing to assert a right, but would pause before they made a revo'ation, or incur the penal- ties consequent on a failure. Because the Union was formed by compact, it is said the parties to that compact may, when they feel themselves aggrieved, depart from it, but it is precisely because it is a compact that they cannot. A compact is an agreement or binding obligation. It may by its terms have a sanction or penalty for its breach, or it may not. If it contains no sanction, it may be broken with no other consequence than moral guilt ; if it have a sanction, then the breach incurs the designated or implied penally. A league between independent nations, generally, has no sanction other than a moral one ; or if it should contain a penally, as there is no common superior, it cannot be enforced. A govern- ment, on the contrary, always has a sanction express or implied, and in our case, it is both necessarily implied and expressly given. An attempt by force of arms to destroy a government, is an offence, by whatever means the constitutional compact may have been formed ; and such government has the right, by the law of self-defence, to pass acts for punishing the offender, unless that right is modified, restrained, or resumed by the constitutional act. In our system, although it is modified in the case of treason, yet authority is expressly given to pass all laws necessary to carry its powers into effect, and under this grant, provision has been made for punishing acts which obstruct the due administration of the laws. It would seem superfluous to add any thing to show the nature of that union which connects us; but as erroneous opinions on this subject are the foundation of doctrines the most destructive to our peace, I must give some further development to my views on this subject. No one, fellow- citizens, has a higher reverence for the reserved rights of the states than the magistrate who now addresses yoi^* No one would make greater personal sacrifices, or official exertions, to defend them from violation, but equal c; _j must be taken to prevent on their part an improper iniui- ference with, or resumption of the rights they have vested PROCLAMATION. 277 »n the nation. The line has not been so distinctly drawn as to avoid doubts in some cases of the exercise of power. Men of the best intentions and soundest views may differ in the construction of some parts of the Constitution ; but there are others on which dispassionate reflection can leave no doubt. Of this nature appears to be the assumed right of secession. It rests, as we have seen, on the alleged undivided sovereignty of the states, and on their having formed in this sovereign capacity a compact which is called the Constitution, from which, because they made it, they have the right to secede. Both of these positions are erro- neous, and some of the arguments to prove them so have been anticipated. The states severally have not retained their entire sove- reignty. It has been shown that in becoming parts of a nation, not members of a league, they surrendered many of their essential parts of sovereignty. The right to make treaties, declare war, levy taxes, exercise exclusive judicial and legislative powers, were all of them functions of sove- reign power. The states, then, for all these important purposes, were no longer sovereign. The allegiance with their citizens was transferred in the first instance to the government of the United States; they became American citizens, and owed obedience to the Constitution of the United States, and to laws made in conformity with powers it vested in Congress. This last position has not been, and cannot be denied. How then can that state be saii to be sovereign and independent whose citizens owe obe- dience to laws not made by it, and whose magistrates are sworn to disregard those laws, when they come in conflict with those passed by another ? What shows conclusively that the states cannot be said to have reserved an undivided sovereignty, is that they expressly ceded the right to punish treason, not treason against their separate power, but treason against the United States. Treason is an offence against sovereignty, and sovereignty must reside with the power to punish it. But the reserved rights of the states are not the less sacred because they have for the common interest made the general government the depository of these powers. The unity of our pohtical 278 LITE OF JACKSON. r.haracter (as has b:en shown for another purpose) com- menced with its very existence. Under the royal govern- ment, we had no separate character; oar opposition to its oppressions began as united colonies. VVe were the United States under the Confederation, and the name was perpetuated and the Union rendered more perfect by the Federal Constitution. In none of these stages did we consider ourselves in any other hght than as forming one nation. Treaties and alliances were made in the name of all. Troops were raised for the joint defence. How, then, with all these proofs, that under all changes of our position we had, for designated purposes, and with defined powers, created national governments ; how is it that the most perfect of those several modes of union should now be considered as a mere league that may be dissolved at pleasure ? It is from an abuse of terms. Compact is used as synonymous with league, although the true term is not employed, because it would at once show the fallacy of the reasoning. It would not do to say that our Constitution was only a league, but, it is labored to prove it a compact, (which in one sense it is,) and then to argue that as a league is a compact, every compact be- tween nations must of course be a league, and that from such an engagement every sovereign power has a right to recede. But it has been shown, that in this sense the states are not sovereign, and that even if they were, and the National Constitution had been formed by compact, there would be no right in any one state to exonerate itself from its obligations. So obvious are the reasons which forbid this secession, that it is necessary only to allude to them. The Union was formed for the benefit of all. It was produced by mutual sacrifices of interests and opinion. Can those sacrifices be recalled ? Can the states, who magnani mously surrendered their title to the territories of the \vest, recall the grant ? Will the inhabitants of the inland states agree to pay the duties that may be imposed without their assent by those on the Atlantic or the gulf, for their own benefit ? Shall there be a free port in one state and one- 9us duties in another ? No one believes that any right PROCLAMATION. 279 exists m a single state to involve all the others in these and countless other evils, contrary to engagements solemn- ly made. Every one must see that the other states, in self-defence, must oppose it at all hazards. These are the alternatives that are presented by the Convention ; a repeal of all the acts for raising revenue, leaving the government without the means of support ; or an acquiescence in the dissolution of our Union by the secession of one of its members. When the first was proposed, it was known that it could not be listened to for a moment. It was known if force was applied to oppose the execution of the laws, that it must be repelJed by force — that Congress could not, without involving itself in dis- grace and the country in ruin, accede to the proposition; and yet if this is done on a given day, or if any attempt IS made to execute the laws, the state is, by the ordinance, declared to be out of the Union. The majority of a Convention assembled for the purpose, have dictated these terms, or rather its rejection of all terms, in the name of the people of South Carolina. It is true that the Governor of the state speaks of submission of their grievances to a Convention of all the states ; which he says they " sincerely and anxiously seek and desire." Yet this obvious and constitutional mode of obtaining the sense of the other states on the construction of the federal compact, and amending it, if necessary, has never been attempted by those who have urged the state on to this destructive measure. The slate might have proposed the call for a general Convention to the other states ; and Congress, if a sufficient number of them concurred, must have called it. But the first magistrate of South Carolina, when he ex- pressed a hope that, " on a review by Congress and the "unciionaries of the general government of the merits of the controversy," suc'h a Convention will be accorded to them, must have known that neither Congress nor any functionary of the general government has authority to call such a Convention, unless it be demanded by two-thirds of the states. This suggestion, then, is another instance of a reckless inattention to the provisions of the Constitu- tion with which this crisis has been madly hurried on; or 280 LIFE OF JACKSON. of the attempt to persuade the people that a constitutional remedy had been sought and refused. If the legislature of South Carolina "anxiously desire" a general Conven- tion to consider their complaints, why have they not made application for it in the way the Constitution points out? The assertion that they " earnestly seek it" is completely negatived by the omission. This, then, is the position in which we stand. A small majority of the citizens of one state in the Union have elected delegates to a State Convention ; that Convention has ordained that all the revenue laws of the United States must be repealed, or that they are no longer a member of the Union. The Governor of that state has recommended to the legislature the raising of an army to carry the seces- sion into effect, and that he may be empowered to give clearances to vessels in the name of the state. No act of violent opposition to the laws has yet been committed, but such a state of things is hourly apprehended, and it is the intent of this instrument to proclaim not only the duty imposed on me by the Constitution " to take care that the laws be faithfully executed," shall be performed to the extent of the powers already vested in me by law, or of such others as the wisdom of Congress shall devise and intrust to me for that purpose ; but to warn the citizens of South Carolina, who have been deluded into an oppo- sition to the laws, of the danger they will incur by obe- dience to the illegal and disorganizing ordinance of the Convention — to exhort those who have refused to support it, to persevere in their determination to uphold the Con- stitution and laws of their country — and to point out to all, the perilous situation into which the good people of that state have been led — and that the course they are urged to pursue is one of ruin and disgrace to the very state whose rights they affect to support. Feilow-citi/.ens of my native state! — let me not only admonish you, as the first Magistrate of our common coun- try, not to incur the penalty of its laws, but use the in- fluence that a father would over his children, whom he saw rushing to certain ruin. In that paternal language with that paternal feeling, let me tell you, my countrymen, PROCLAMATION. 281 that you are deluded by men who are either deceived themselves, or wish to deceive you. Mark under what pretences you have been led on to the brink of insurrec- tion and treason, on which you stand ! First, a diminu- tion of the value of your staple commodity lowered by over production in other quarters, and the consequent dimi- nution in the value of your lands, were the sole effect of the tariff laws. The effect of those laws was confessedly injurious, but the evil was greatly exaggerated by the unfounded theory you were taught to beheve, that its burdens were in proportion to your exports, not to your consumption of imported articles. Your pride was roused by the assertion that a submission to those laws was a state of vassalage, and that resistance to them was equal, in patriotic merit, to the opposition our fathers offered to the oppressive laws of Great Britain. You were told that this opposition might be peaceably — might be consti- tutionally made — that you might enjoy all the advantages of the Union and bear none of its burdens. Eloquent appeals to your passions, to your state pride, to your na- tive courage, to your sense of real injury, were used to prepare you for the period when the mask which con- cealed the hideous features of disunion should be taken off. It fell, and you were made to look with complacency on objects which not long since you would have regarded with horror. Look back at the arts which have brought you to this state ; look forward to the consequences to which it must inevitably lead ! Look back to what was first told you as an inducement to enter into this dangerous course. The great political truth was repeated to you, that you had the revolutionary right of resisting all laws that were palpably unconstitutional and intolerably op- pressive — it was added that the right to nullify a law rested on the same principle, but that it was a peaceable remedy I This character which was given to it, made you receive with too much confidence the assertions that were made of the unconstitutionality of the law and its oppressive effects. Mark, my fellow-citizens, that by the admission of your leaders, the unconstitutionality must be palpable, or it will 282 LIFE OF JACKSON. not justify either resistance or nullification ! What is the meaning of the word palpable in the sense m which it is here used ? — that which is apparent to every one, that which no man of ordinary intellect will fail to perceive. Is the unconstitutionality of these laws of that descrip- tion 1 Let those among your leaders who once approved and advocated the principle of protective duties answer the question ; and let them choose whether they will be considered as incapable, then, of perceiving that which must have been apparent to every man of common under- standing, or as imposing upon your confidence and en- deavoring to mislead you now. In either case they are unsafe guides in the perilous paths they urge you to tread. Ponder well on this circumstance, and you will know how to appreciate the exaggerated language they addressed to you. They are not champions of liberty, emulating the fame of our Revolutionary Fathers, nor are you an oppressed people, contending, as they repeat to you, against worse than colonial vassalage. You are free members of a flourishing and happy Union. There is no settled design to oppress you. You have indeed felt the unequal operations of laws which may have been un- wisely, not unconstitutionally passed ; but that inequahty must necessarily be removed. At the very moment when you were madly urged on to the unfortunate course you have begun, a change in public opinion had commenced. The nearly approach- ing payment of the public debt, and the consequent ne- cessity of a diminution of duties, had already produced a considerable reduction, and that too on some articles of general consumption in your state. The importance of this change was understood, and you were authoritatively told that no further alleviation of your burdens was to be expected at the very time when the condition of the coun- try imperiously demanded such a modification of the duties as should reduce them to a just and equitable scale. But, as if apprehensive of the eflect of this change in allaying your discontents, you were precipitated into the fearful state in which you now find yourselves. I have urged you to look Vack to the means that were PROCLAMATION. 28? osed to hurry you on to the position you nave now as- sumed, and forward to the consequences it will produce Something more is necessary. Contemplate the condi- tion of that country of which you still form an important part ! consider its government uniting in one bond of common interest and general protection so many different states — giving to all their inhabitants the proud title of American citizens — protecting their commerce — securing heir hterature and their arts — facilitating their intercom- munication — defending the frontiers — and making their names respected in the remotest parts of the earth ! Con- sider the extent of its territory, its increasing and happy population, its advance in arts which render life agree- able, and the sciences which elevate the mind : see edu- cation spreading the lights of religion, humanity, and general information into every cottage in this wide extent of our territories and slates ! Behold it as the asylum where the wretched and the oppressed find a refuge and support ! Look on this picture of happiness and honor, and say, we, too, are citizens of America! Carolina is one of these proud states ; her arms have defended, her best blood has cemented this happy Union ! ilnd then add, if you can, vvithtyat horror and remorse, this happy Union we will dissolve — this picture of peace and prosperity we will deface — this free intercourse we will interrupt — these fertile fields we will deluge with blood — the protection of that glorious flag we will re- nounce — the very name of Americans we discard. And for what, mistaken men ! for what do you throw away these inestimable blessings — for what would you exchange your share in the advantage and honor of the Union ? For the dream of a separate independence — a dream in- terrupted by bloody conflicts with your neighbors, and a vile dependence on a foreign power. If your leaders could succeed in establishing a separation, what would be your situation ? Are you united at home — are you free from the apprehension of civil discord, with all its fearful consequences ? Do our neighboring republics, every day suffering some new revolution or contending with some new insurrection — do th«v excite your envy ? 284 LIFE OF JACKSON. But the dictates of a high duty oblige me solemnly to announce that you cannot succeed. The laws of the United States must be executed. I have no discretionary power on the subject ; my duty is emphatically pronounced in the Constitution. Those who told you that you might peaceably prevent their execu- tion, deceived you — they could not have been deceived themselves. They know that a forcible opposition coula alone prevent the execution of the laws, and they know that such opposition must be repelled. Their object is dis- union : but be not deceived by names ; disunion, by armed force, is treason. Are you really ready to incur its guilt ? If you are, on the heads of the instigators of the act be the dreadful consequences — on their heads be the dishonor, but on yours may fall the punishment — on your unhappy state will inevitably fall all the evils of the con- flict you force upon the government of your country. It cannot accede to the mad project of disunion, of which you would be the first victims — its first magistrate cannot, if he would, avoid the performance of his duty — the con- sequence must be fearful for you, distressing to your fel- low-citizens here, and to the friends of good government throughout the world. Its enemies have beheld our pros- perity with a vexation they could not conceal — it was a standing refutation of their slavish doctrines, and they will point to our discord with the triumph of malignant joy. It is yet in your power to disappoint them. There is yet time to show that the descendants of the Pinckneys, the Sumpters, the Rutlcdges, and of the thousand other names which adorn the pages of your Revolutionary history, will not abandon that Union, to support which, so many of them fought, and bled, and died. I adjure you, as you honor their memory — as you love the cause of freedom, to which they dedicated their lives — as you prize tlie peace of your country, the lives of its best cit- izens, and your own fair fame, to retrace your steps. Snatch from the archives of your state the disorganizing edict of Its convention — bid its members to re-assemble and promulgate the decided expressions of your will to remain in the path which alone can conduct you to safety, PROCLAMATION. S85 prosperity, and honor — tell them that, compared to dis- union, all other evils are lig^ht, because that brings with it an accumulation of all — declare that you will never take the field unless the star-spangled banner of your country shall float over you — that you will not be stigmatized when dead, and dishonored and scorned while you live, as the authors of the first attack on the Constitution of your country ! — Its destroyers you cannot be. You may disturb its peace — you may interrupt the course of its prosperit}^ — you may cloud its reputation for stability — but its tranquillity will be restored, its prosperity will return, and the stain \i\)Qn its national character will be transferred, and remain an eternal blot on the memory of those who caused the disorder. Fellow-citizens of the United States ! The threat of unhallowed disunion — the names of those, once respected, by whom it was uttered — the array of military force to support it — denote the approach of a crisis in our affairs, on which the continuance of our unexampled prosperity, our political existence, and perhaps that of all free gov- ernments, may depend. The conjuncture demanded a free, a full and explicit enunciation, not only of my inten- tions, but of my principles of action ; and as the claim was asserted of a right by a state to annul the laws of the Union, and even to secede from it at pleasure, a frank exposition of my opinions in relation to the origin and form of our government, and the construction I give to the instrument by which it was created, seemed to be proper. Having the fullest confidence in the justness of the legal and constitutional opinion of my duties, which has been expressed, I rely with equal confidence on your undivided support in my determination to execute the laws — to pre- serve the Union by all constitutional means — to arrest, if possible, by moderate but firm measures, the necessity of a recourse to force ; and if it be the will of Heaven that the recurrence of its primeval curse on man for the shed- ding of a brother's blood should fall upon our land, that it be not called down by any offensive act on the part of the United Stales. Fellow-citizens ! The momentous case is before you. 13 286 LIFB OF JACKSON. On your undivided support of your government depends the decision of the great question it involves, whether your sacred Union will be preserved, and the blessing it secures to us as one people shall be perpetuated. No one can doubt that the unanimity with which that decision will be expressed, will be such as to inspire new con- fidence in republican institutions, and that the prudence, the wisdom, and the courage which it will bring to their defence, will transmit them unimpaired and invigorated to our children. May the Great Ruler of nations grant that the signal blessings with which He has favored ours, may not, by the madness of party or personal ambition, be disregarded and lost; and may His wise Providence bring those who have produced this crisis, to see the folly, before they feel the misery of civil strife ; and inspire a returning venera- tion for that Union, which, if we may dare to penetrate His designs, he has chosen as the only means of attaining the high destinies to which we may reasonably aspire. PROTEST. 287 Extracts from President Jackson'' s Protest against the Action of tha United States Senate.— April 15, 1834. REASONS FOR THE PROTEST. It appears by the published journal of the Senate, that on the 26th of December last, a resolution was offered by a member of the Senate, which, after a protracted debate, was on the 28th day of March last modified by the mover, and passed by the votes of twenty-six senators out of forty- six, who were present and voted, in the following words, viz. : " Besolvedy That the President, in the late executive proceeding in relation to the public revenue, has assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the Constitution and laws, but in derogation of both." Having had the honor, through the voluntary suffrages of the American people, to fill the office of President of the United States, during the period which may be pre- sumed to have been referred to in this resolution, it is sufficiently evident, that the censure it inflicts was intended for myself. Without notice, unheard and untried, I thus find myself charged on the records of the Senate, and in a form hitherto unknown in our history, with the high crime of violating the laws and Constitution of my country. It can seldom be necessary for any department of the government, when assailed in conversation, or debate, or by the strictures of the press or of popular assemblies, to -tep out of its ordinary path for the purpose of vindicating its conduct, or of pointing out any irregularity or injustice in the manner of the attack. But wlien the Chief Execu- tive Magistrate is, by one of the most important branches of the government, in its official capacity, in a public manner, and by its recorded sentence, but without prece- 288 LIFE OF JACKSON. dent, competent authority, or just cause, declared guilty of the breach of the laws and Constitution, it is due to his station, to public opinion, and to proper self-respect, that the officer thus denounced should promptly expose the wrong- which has been done. In the present case, moreover, there is even a stronger necessity ror such a vindication. By an express provision of the Constitution, before the President of the United States can enter on the execution of his office, he is required to take an oath or affirmation, in the following words : '' I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States ; and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." The duty of defending, so far as in him lies, the integ- rity of the Constitution, would indeed have resulted from the very nature of his office; but, by thus expressing it in the official oath or affirmation, which, in this respect, differs from that of every other functionary, the founders of our republic have attested their sense of its importance, and have given to it a peculiar solemnity and force. Bound to the performance of this duty by the oath I have taken, by the strongest obligations of gratitude to the American people, and by the ties which unite my every earthly in- terest with the welfare and glory of my country ; and perfectly convinced that the discussion and passage of the above-mentioned resolution were not only unauthorized by the Constitution, but in many respects repugnant to its provisions, and subversive of the rights secured by it to other co-ordinate departments, I deem it an imperative duty to maintain the supremacy of that sacred instrument, and the immunities of the department intrusted to my care, b}'' all means consistent with my own lawful powers, with the rights of others, and with the genius of our civil institutions. To this end, I have caused this, my solemn protest against the aforesaid proceedings, to be placed on the files of the Executive Department, and to be transmitted to the Senate. PROTEST. 2b9 POWERS OF THE SENATE IN CASES OF IMPEACHMENT. Under the Constitution of the United States, the powers and functions of the various departments of the federal government, and their responsibihties for violation or neglect of duty, are clearly defined, or result by necessary inference. The legislative power, subject to the qualified negative of the President, is vested in the Congress of the United States, composed of the Senate and House of Re- presentatives. The executive power is vested exclusively in the President, except that in the conclusion of treaties, and in certain appointments to office, he is to act with the advice and consent of the Senate. The judicial power is vested exclusively in the Supreme and other Courts of the United States, except in cases of impeachment, for which purpose the accusatory power is vested in the House of Representatives, and that of hearing and determining in the Senate. But although, for the special purposes which have been mentioned, there is an occasional intermixture of the powers of the diflJerent departments, yet, with these exceptions, each of the three great departments is inde- pendent of the others in its sphere of action ; and when it deviates from that sphere, is not responsible to the others, further than it is expressly made so in the Constitution. In every other respect, each of them is the coequal of the other two, and all are the servants of the American people, without power or right to control or censure each other in the service of their common superior, save only in the manner and to the degree which that superior has pre- scribed. The responsibilities of the President are numerous and weighty. He is hable to impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors, and, on due conviction, to removal from office, and perpetual disqualification ; and notwithstanding such conviction, he may also be indicted and punished according to law. He is also liable to the private action of any party, who may have been injured by his illegal mandates or instructions, in the same manner and to the same extent as the humblest functionary. In addition to the responsibilities which may thus be enforced by iin- 290 LIFE OF JACKSON. pcachment, criminal prosecution, or suit at law, he is also accountable at the bar of public opinion, for every act of his administration. Subject only to the restraints of truth and justice, the free people of the United States have the undoubted right, as individuals or collectively, orally or in writing, at such times, and in such language and form as they may think proper, to discuss his official conduct, and to express and promulgate their opinions concerning it. Indirectly, also, his conduct may come under review in either branch of the legislature, or in the Senate when acting in its executive capacity, and so far as the execu- tive or legislative proceedings of these bodies may require it, it may be examined by them. These are believed to be the proper and only modes in which the President of the United States is to be held accountable for his official conduct. Tested by these principles, the resolution of the Senate is wholly unauthorized by the Constitution, and in deroga- tion of its entire spirit. It assumes that a single branch of the legislative department may, for the purposes of a public censure, and without any view to legislation or impeachment, take up, consider, and decide upon the of- ficial acts of the Executive. But in no part of the Con- stitution is the President subjected to any such responsi- bihty ; and in no part of that instrument is any such power conferred on either branch of the legislature. The justice of these conclusions will be illustrated and confirmed by a brief analysis of the powers of the Senate, and a comparison of their recent proceedings with those powers. The high functions assigned by the Constitution to the Senate, are in their nature either legislative, executive, or judicial. It is only in the exercise of its judicial powers, when sitting as a court for the trial of impeachments, that the Senate is expressly authorized and necessarily required to consider and decide upon the conduct of the President or any other public officer. Indirectly, however, as has been already suggested, it may frequently be called on to perform that office. Cases may occur in the course of its legislative or executive proceedings, in which it may PROTEST. 391 be indispensable to the proper exercise of its powers, that it should inquire into, and decide upon, the conduct of the President or other public officers ; and in every such case, its constitutional right to do so is cheerfully conceded Bui to authorize the Senate to enter on such a task, in its legislative or executive capacity, the inquiry must actually grow out of and tend to some legislative or executive action ; and the decision, when expressed, must take the form of some appropriate legislative or executive act. The resolution in question was introduced, discussed, and passed, not as a joint, but as a separate resolution. It as- serts no legislative power; proposes no legislative action; and neither possesses the form nor any of the attributes of a legislative measure. It does not appear to have been entertained or passed with any view or expectation of its issuing in a law or joint resolution, or in the repeal of any law or joint resolution, or in any other legislative action. While wanting both the form and substance of a legis- lative measure, it is equally manifest that the resolution was not justified by any of the executive powers conferred on the Senate. These powers relate exclusively to the consideration of treaties and nominations to office, and they are exercised in secret session, and with closed doors. This resolution does not apply to any treaty or nomina- tion, and was passed in a public session. Nor does this proceeding in any way belong to that class of incidental resolutions which relate to the officers of the Senate, to their chamber, and other appurtenances, or to subjects of order, and other matters of the like nature — in all which either House may lawfully proceed, with- out any co-operation with the other, or with the President. On the contrary, the whole phraseology and sense of the resolution seem to be judicial. Its essence, true cha- racter, and only practical effect, are to be found in the conduct which it charges upon the President, and in the judgment which it pronounces upon that conduct. The resolution, therefore, though discussed and adopted by the Senate in its legislative capacity, is, in its office, and in all its characteristics, essentially judicial. That the Senate possesses a high judicial power, and 292 LIFE OF JACKSON. that instances may occur in which the President of the United States will be amenable to it, is undeniable. But under the provisions of the Constitution, it would seem to be equally plain, that neither the President, nor any other officer, can be rightfully subjected to the operation of the judicial power of the Senate, except in the cases and under the tbrms prescribed by the Constitution. The Constitution declares that "the President, Vice president, and all civil officers of the United States, shali be removed from office, on impeachment for and convic- tion of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misde- meanors;*' that the House of Representatives "shall have the sole povver of impeachment ;'* that the Senate "shali have the sole power to try all impeachments ;" that "when sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation :" that " when the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside ;'* that " no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two- thirds of the members present ;" and that judgment shall not extend farther than "to removal from office, and dis- qualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the United States." The resolution above quoted, charges, in suibstance, that in certain proceedings relating to the public revenue, the President has usurped authority and power not conferred upon him by the Constitution and laws, and that in doing so, he violated both. Any such act constitutes a high crime — one of the highest, indeed, which the President can commit — a crime which justly exposes him to im- peachment by the House of Representatives, and, upon due conviction, to removal from office, and to the complete and immutable disfranchisement prescribed by the Coa- stitution. The resolution, then, was in substance an impeachment of the President ; and in its passage, amounts to a decla- ration by a majority of the Senate, that he is guilty of an impeachable offence. As such, it is spread upon the journals of thv? Senate — published to the nation and to the world — made part of our enduring archives — and incor- porated in the history of the age. The punishment df PROTEST. 393 removal from office and future disqualification, does not, It is true, follow this decision ; nor would it have followed the like decision, if the regular forms of proceeding had been pursued, because the requisite number did not con- cur in the result. But the moral influence of a solemn declaration, by a majority of the Senate, that the accused IS guilty of the offence charged upon him, has been as eifectually secured, as if the like declaration had been made upon an impeachment expressed in the same terms. Indeed, a greater practical effect has been gained, because the voles given for the resolution, though not sufficient to authorize a judgment of guilty on an impeachment, were numerous enough to carry that resolution. That the resolution does not expressly allege that the assumption of power and authority, which it condemns, was intentional and corrupt, is no answer to the preceding view of its character and effect. The act thus condemned, necessarily implies violation and design in the individual to whom it is imputed, and being unlawful in its character, the legal conclusion is, that it was prompted by improper motives, and committed with an unlawful intent. The charge is not of a mistake in the exercise of supposed powers, but of the assumption of powers not conferred by the Constitution and laws, and in derogation of both ; and nothing is suggested to excuse or palhate the turpitude of the act. In the absence of any such excuse or palliation, there is only room for one infer- ence ; and that is, that the intent was unlawful and cor- rupt. Besides, the resolution not only contains no miti- gating suggestion, but, on the contrary, it holds up the act complained of as justly obnoxious to censure and re- probation ; and thus as distinctly stamps it with impurity )f motive, as if the strongest epithets had been used. The President of the United Stales, therefore, has been, by a majority of his constitutional triers, accused and found guilty of an impeachable offence ; but in no part of this proceeding have the directions of the Constitution been observed. The impeachment, instead of being preferred and pro- secuted' by the House of Representatives, originated in 13* B94 LITE OF JACKSON. the Senate, and was prosecuted without the aid or con- currence of the other house. The oath or affirmation prescribed by the Constitution, was not taken by the senators ; the Chief Justice did not preside ; no notice of the charge was given to the accused ; and no opportunity afforded him to respond to the accusation, to meet his accusers face to face, to cross-examine the witnesses, to procure counteracting testimony, or to be heard in his defence. The safeguards and formahties which the Con- stitution has connected with the power of impeachment, were doubtless supposed, by the framers of that instru- ment, to be essential to the protection of the public servant, to the attainment of justice, and to the order, impartiahty, and dignity of the procedure. These safeguards and for- mahties were not only practically disregarded, in the com- mencement and conduct of these proceedings, but, in their result, I find myself convicted by less than two-thirds of the members present, of an impeachable offence. In vain it may be alleged in defence of this proceeding, that the form of the resolution is not that of an impeach- ment or a judgment thereupon — that the punishment pre- scribed in the Constitution does not follow its adoption, or that in this case no impeachment is to be expected from the House of Representatives. It is because it did not assume the form of an impeachment, that it is more pal- pably repugnant to the Constitution ; for it is through tliat form only that the President is judicially responsible to the Senate ; and though neither removal from office, nor future disqualification ensues, yet it is not to be pre- sumed that the framers of the Constitution considered eiiher or both of those results as constituting the whole 01 the punishment they prescribed. The judgment of guilty by the highest tribunal in the Union; the stigma it would inflict on the offender, his family and fame ; and the perpetual record on the journal, handing down to future generations the story of his disgrace, were doubt- less regarded by them as the bitterest portions, if not the very essence of that punishment. So far, therefore, as some of its most material parts are concerned, the pas- sage, recording, and promulgation of the resolution, are Protest. 295 an attempt to bring them on the President, in a manner unauthotized by the Constitution. To shield him and Bther officers who are hable to impeachment, from conse- quences so momentous, except when really merited by official delinquencies, the Constitution has most carefully guarded the whole process of impeachment. A majority of the House of Representatives must think the officer guilty before he can be charged. Two-thirds of the Senate must pronounce him guilty, or he is deemed to be inno- cent. Forty-six senators appear by the journal to have been present when the vote on the resolution was taken. If, after all the solemnities of an impeachment, thirty of those senators had voted that the President was guilty, yet would he have been acquitted ; but by the mode of proceeding adopted in the present case, a lasting record of conviction has been entered up by the votes of twenty- six senators, without an impeachment or trial; whilst the Constitution expressly declares, that to the entry of such a judgment on accusation by the House of Representa- tives, a trial by the Senate, and a concurrence of two- thirds in the vote of guilty, shall be indispensable pre- requisites. Whether or not an injpeachment was to be expected from the House of Representatives, was a point on which the Senate had no constitutional right to speculate, and in respect to which, even had it possessed the spirit of pro- phecy, its anticipations would have furnished no just grounds for this procedure. Admitting that there was reason to believe that a violation of the Constitution and laws had been actually committed by the President, still .t was the duty of the Senate, as his sole constitutional judges, to wait for an impeachment until the other house should think proper to prefer it. The members of the Senate could have no right to infer that no impeachment was intended. On the contrary, every legal and rational presumption on their part ought to have been, that if there was good reason to believe him guilty of an impeachable offence, the House of Representatives would perform its constitutional duty by arraigning the offender before the justice ot his country. The contrary presumption would 296 LIFE OF JACKSON. involve an implication derogatory to the integrity and honor of the representatives of the people. But suppo:5e the suspicion thus implied were actually entertained, and for good cause, how can it justify the assumption by the Senate, of powers not conferred by the Constitution? It is only necessary to look at the condition in which the Senate and the President have been placed by this proceeding, to perceive its utter incompatibility with the provisions and spirit of the Constitution, and wiih the plainest dictates of humanity and justice. If the House of Representatives shall be of opinion that there is just ground for the censure pronounced upon the President, then will it be the solemn duty of that House to prefer the proper accusation, and to cause him to be brought to trial by the constitutional tribunal. But in what condition would he find that tribunal? A majority of its members have already considered the case, and have not only formed, but expressed a deliberate judgment upon its merits. It is the policy of our benign system of juris- prudence, to secure in all criminal proceedings, and even in the most trivial litigations, a fair, unprejudiced, and impartial trial. And surely it cannot be less important, that such a trial should be secured to the highest officer of the government. The Constitution makes the House of Representatives the exclusive judges, in the first instance, of the question^ whether the President has committed an impeachable of- fence. A majority of the Senate, whose interference with this preliminary question has, for the best of all reasons, been studiously excluded, anticipate the action of the House of Representatives, assume not only the function which belongs exclusively to that body, but convert them- selves into accusers, witnesses, counsel, and judges, and pre-judge the whole case. Thus presenting the appalling spectacle, in a free state, of judges going through a labored preparation for an impartial hearing and decision, by a previous ex parte investigation and sentence against the supposed offender. There is no more settled axiom in that government whence we derive the model of this part of our Constitu* PROTEST. 297 Hon, than " that the lords cannot impeach any to them- selves, nor join in the accusation, because they are judges.'*'' Independently of the general reason on which this rule is founded, its propriety and importance arc greatly in- creased by the nature of the impeaching power. The power of arraigning the high officers of government, be- fore a tribunal whose sentence may expel them from their seats, and brand them as infamous, is eminently a popular remedy — a remedy designed to be employed for the pro- tection of private right and public liberty, against the abuses of injustice, and the encroachments of arbitrary power. But the framers of the Constitution were also undoubtedly aware that this formidable instrument had been and might be abused ; and that from its very nature, an impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors, what ever might be its result, would in most cases be accom- panied by so much of dishonor and reproach, solicitude and suffering, as to make the power of preferring it, one of the highest solemnity and importance. It was due to both these considerations that the impeaching power should be lodged in the hands of those who, from the mode of their election and the tenure of their offices, would most accurately express the popular will, and at the same time be most directly and speedily amenable to the people. The theory of these wise and benignant in- tentions is, in the present case, effectually defeated by the proceedings of the Senate. The members of that body represent not the people, but the states; and though they are undoubtedly responsible to the states, yet, from their extended term of service, the effect of that responsibility, during the whole period of that term, must very much depend upon their own impressions of its obligatory force. When a body, thus constituted, expresses beforehand its opinion in a particular case, and thus indirectly invites a prosecution, it not only assumes a power intended for wise reasons to be confined to others, but it shields the latter from that exclusive and personal responsibility undei which it was intended to be exercised, and reverses the whole scheme of tliis part of the Constitution. Such would be some of the objections to this procedure 298 LITE OF JACKSON. even if it were admitted that there is just ground for im puting to the President the offences charged in the reso lulion. But if, on the other hand, the House of Repre senlatives shall be of opinion that there is no reason foi charging them upon him, and shall therefore deem it improper to prefer an impeachment, then will the violation of privilege, as it respects that House, of justice, as it re- gards the President, and of the Constitution as it relates to both, be only the more conspicuous and impressive. RIGHT OF THE PRESIDENT TO REMOVE THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. By the Constitution, the executive power is vested in the President of the United States. Among the duties imposed upon him, and which he is sworn to perform, is that of " taking care that the laws be faithfully executed." Being thus made responsible for the entire action of the executive department, it was but reasonable that the power of appointing, overseeing, and conlrollingthose who execute the laws — a power in its nature executive — should remain in his hands. It is therefore not only his right, but the Constitution makes it his duty to "nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint" all "officers of the United States, whose appointments are not in the Constitution otherwise provided for," with the pro- viso that the appointment of inferior officers may be vested in the President alone, in the courts of justice, or in the heads of departments. The executive power vested in the Senate is neither .hat of "nominating" nor "appointing." It is merely a check upon the executive power of appointment. If in- dividuals are proposed for appointment by the President, by them deemed incompetent or unworthy, they may withhold their consent, and the appointment cannot be made. They check the action of the Executive, but cannot, in relation to these very subjects, act themselves, nor direct him. Selections are still made by the Presi- dent; and the negative given to the Senate, without dimi nishino- his responsibility, furnishes an additional guarantee to the country that the subordinate executive, as well as PHOTEST. 2^9 the judicial offices, shall be filled with worthy and com- petent men. The whole executive power bcingf vested in the Pre- sident, who is responsible for its exercise, it is a necessary- consequence that he should have a right to employ agents of his own choice to aid him in the performance of his duties, and to discharge them when he is no longer willing to be responsible for their acts. In strict accordance with this principle, the power of removal, which, like that of appointment, is an original executive power, is left un- checked by the Constitution in relation to all executive officers, for whose conduct the President is responsible, while it is taken from him in relation to judicial officers, for whose acts he is not responsible. In the government from which many of the fundamental principles of our system are derived, the head of the executive department originally had power to appoint and remove at will all officers, executive and judicial. It was to take the judges out of this general power of removal, and thus make them independent of the Executive, that the tenure of their offices was changed to good behavior. Nor is it conceiv- able wh}^ they are placed in our Constitution upon a tenure different from that of all other officers appointed by the Executive, unless it be for the same purpose. But if there were any just ground for doubt, on the face of the Constitution, whether all executive officers are re- movable at the will of the President, it is obviated by the cotemporaneous construction of the instrument and the uniform practice under it. The power of removal was a topic of solemn debate in the Congress of 1789, while organizing the administrative departments of the government, and it was finally decided, that the President derived from the Constitution the power of removal, so far as it regards that department for whose acts he is responsible. Although the debate covered the whole ground, embracing the treasury as well as all the other executive departments, it arose on a motion to strike out of the bill to establish a department of foreign affairs, since called the department of state, a clause declaring the secretary " to be removable from office by the Presi- 300 LIFE OF JACKSON. dent of the United States." After that motion had been decided in the negative, it was perceived that these words did not convey the sense of the House of Representatives in relation to the true source of the power of removal. With the avowed object of preventing any future infer- ence, that this poAver was exercised by the President in virtue of a grant from Congress, when in fact that body considered it as derived from the Constitution, the words which had been the subject of debate, were struck out and in heu thereof a clause was inserted in a provision concerning the chief clerk of the department, which de- clared that " whenever the said principal officer shall be removed from office by the President of the United States, or in any other case of vacancy," the chief clerk should during such vacancy have charge of the papers of the office. This change having been made for the express purpose of declaring the sense of Congress, that the Pre- sident derived the power of removal from the Constitution, the act, as it passed, has always been considered as a full expression of the sense of the legislature on this import- ant part of the American Constitution. Here, then, we have the concurrent authority of Pre- sident Washington, of the Senate, and House of Repre- sentatives, numbers of whom had taken an active part in the Convention which framed the Constitution, and in the state Convention which adopted it, that the President derived an unqualified power of removal from that instru- ment itself, which is " beyond the reach of legislative authority," Upon this principle the government has now been steadily administered for about forty-five years, during which there have been numerous removals made by the President, or by his direction, embracing every grade of executive officers, from the heads of departments to the messengers of bureaus. The treasury department, in the discussions of 1789, was considered on the same footing as the other executive departments, and in the act establishing it, the precise words were incorporated indicative of the sense of Con- gress, that the President derives his power to remove the secretary from the Constitution, which appear in the act PROTEST. 301 establishing^ the department of foreign affairs. An assist- ant secretary of the treasury was created, and it was pro- vided that he should take charge of the books and papers of the department, "whenever the secretary shall be re- moved from office by the President of the United States." The secretary of the treasury being appointed by the President, and being considered as constitutionally remov- able by him, it appears never to have occurred to any one in the Congress of 1789, or since, until very recent- ly, that he was other than an executive officer, the mere instrument of the Chief Magistrate in the exectition of the laws, subject, like all other heads of departments, to his supervision and control. No such idea, as an officer of the Congress, can be found in the Constitution, or appears to have suggested itself to those who organized the go- vernment. CONCLUSION. The honest differences of opinion which occasionally exist between the Senate and the President, in regard to matters in which both are obliged to participate, are suf- ficiently embarrassing. But if the course recently adopted by the Senate shall hereafter be frequently pursued, it is not only obvious that the harmony of the relations between the President and the Senate will be destroyed, but that other and graver effects will ultimately ensue. If the censures of the Senate be submitted to by the President, •'he confidence of the people in his ability and virtue, and the character and usefulness of his administration, will soon be at an end, and the real power of the government will fall into the hands of a body, holding their offices for long terms, not elected by the people, and not to th'^'m directly responsible. If, on the other hand, the illega. censures of the Senate should be resisted by the President, collisions and angry controversies might ensue, discredit- able in their progress, and in the end compelling the peo- ple to adopt the conclusion, either that their Chief Magis- trate was unworthy of their respect, or that the Senate "was chargeable with calumny and injustice. Either of jhese results would impair public confidence in the per- 302 LIFE OF JACKSON. fection of the system, and lead to serious alterations of its framework, or to the practical abandonment of some of its provisions. The influence of such proceedings on the other depart- ments of the government, and more especially on the states, could not fail to be extensively pernicious. When the judges, in the last resort, of official misconduct, them- selves overleaped the bounds of their authority, as pre- scribed by the Constitution, what general disregard of its provisions might not their example be expected to pro- duce ? And who does not perceive that such contempt of the federal Constitution, by one of its most important de- partments, would hold out the strongest temptations to resistance on the part of the state sovereignties, whenever they shall suppose their just rights to have been invaded? Thus all the independent departments of the government, and the states which compose our confederated union, instead of attending to their appropriate duties, and leav- ing those who may offend to be reclaimed or punished in the manner pointed out in the Constitution, would fall to mutual crimination and recrimination, and give to the people confusion and anarchy, instead of order and law; until at length some form of aristocratic power would be established on the ruins of the Constitution, or the states be broken into separate communities. Far be it from me to charge, or to insinuate, that the present Senate of the United States intended, in the most distant way, to encourage such a result. It is not of their motives or designs, but only of the tendency of their acts, that it is my duty to speak. It is, if possible, to make senators themselves sensible of the danger which lurks under the precedent set in their resolution ; and at any rate to perform my duty, as the responsible head of one of the co-equal departments of the government, that I have been compelled to point out the consequences to which the discussion and passage of the resolution may lead, if the tendency of the measure be not checked in its incep- tion. It is due to the high trust with which I have been charged ; to those who may be called to succeed me in PROTEST. 803 u ; to the representatives of the people, whose constitu- tional prerogative has been unlawfully assumed; to the people of the states ; and to the Constitution they have established ; that I shall not permit its provisions to be broken dovvn, by such an attack on the executive depart- ment, without at least some effort " to preserve, protect, and defend them. ' With this view, and for the reasons which have been stated, I do hereby solemnly protest against the aforementioned proceedings of the Senate, as un- authorized by the Constitution ; contrary to its spirit and to several of its express provisions; subversive of that distribution of the powers of government which it has ordained and established ; destructive of the checks and safeguards by which those powers were intended, on the one hand to be controlled, and on the other to be pro- tected ; and calculated by their immediate and collateral effects, by their character and tendency, to concentrate in the hands of a body not directly amenable to the people, a degree of influence and power dangerous to their liber- ties, and fatal to the Constitution of their choice. The resolution of the Senate contains an imputation upon my private as well as upon my public character ; and as it must stand for ever on their journals, I cannot close this substitute for that defence which I have not been allowed 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, en- during memorials of that contest in which American liberty was purchased — in vain have I since perilled pro- perty, fame, and life, in defence of the rights and privi- leges so dearly bought — in vain am I now, without a personal aspiration, or the hope of individual advantage, encountering responsibilities and dangers, from which, by mere inactivity in relation 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 di* LIFE OP JACKSON. vided empire. If I had been venal, I should have sold myself to its designs. Had I preferred personal comfort and official ease to the performance of my arduous duty, I should have ceased to molest it. In the history of con- querors and usurpers, never, in the fire of youth, nor in 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 contemplation of other worlds, where conquerors cease to be honored, and usurp- ers expiate their crimes. The only ambition I can feel is, to acquit myself to Him to whom I must soon render an account of my steward- ship, to serve my fellow-men, and live respected and honored in the history of my country. No ! the ambition which leads me on, is an anxious desire and a fixed de- termination, to return to the people, unimpaired, the sacred trust they have confided to my charge ; to heal the wounds of the Constitution and preserve it from further violation ; to persuade my countrymen, so far as I may, that it is not in a splendid government, supported by powerful monopolies and aristocratical establishments, that they will find happiness, or their liberties protection ; but in a plain system, void of pomp — protecting all, and granting favors to none — dispensing its blessings like the dews of Heaven, unseen and unfelt, save in the freshness and beauty they contribute to produce. It is such a government that the genius of our people requires— such an one only under which our states may remain for ages to come, united, prosperous, and free. If the Almighty Being who has hitherto sustained and protected me, will but vouchsafe to make my feeble powers instrumental to such a result, I shall anticipate with pleasure the place to be assigned me in the history of my country, and die contented with the belief, that I have contributed, in some small degree, to increase the value and prolong the dura- tion of American liberty. To the end that the resolution of the Senate may not PROTEST. 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 resolu- tion, n:^.'^y be known to my fellow-citizens, to the world, and to all posterity, I respectfully request that this mes- sage and protest may be entered at length on the journals of the Senate. t106 LIFE OF JACKSON. SIXTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. Delivered, Decmber 2- ti of currency, was sufficiently de- monstrated in the sirugj^ •• made by the Bank of the United States. Defeated in the general government, the same class of intriguers and politicians will now resort to the states, and endeavor to obtain there the same organiza- tion, which they failed to perpetuate in the Union ; and with specious and deceitful plans of public advantages, and state interests, and state pride, they will endeavor to establish, in the different states, one moneyed institution with overgrown capital, and exclusive privileges, suffi- cient to enable it to control the operations of the other banks. Such an institution will be pregnant with the same evils produced by the Bank of the United States, although its sphere of action is more confined ; and in the stale in vA^hich it is chartered, the money power will be able to embody its whole strength, and to move together with undivided force, to accomplish any object it may wish to attain. You have already had abundant evidence of its power to inflict injury upon the agricultural, me- chanical, and laboring classes of society ; and over those whose engagements in trade or speculation render them dependent on bank facilities, the dominion of the stale mono] oly will be absolute, and their obedience unlimited. With such a bank, and a paper currency, the money power would in a few years govern the state and control its measure's; and if a sufficient number of states can be induced to create such establishments, the time will soon come when it will arjain take the field ajjainst the United States, and succeed in perfecting and perpetuating its organization by a charter from Congress. It is one of the serious evils of our present system of banking, that it enables one class of society — and that by no means a numerous one — by its control over the cur- rency, to act injuriously upon the interests of all the others, and to exercise more than its just proportion of influence in political affairs. The agricultural, the mechanical, and the laboring classes, have little or no share in the direction of th« great moneyed^ corporations ; and from their liabita S68 LIFE OF JACKSON. and the nature of their pursuits, the}'- are incapable of forming extensive combinations to act together with united force. Such concert of action may "^^'melimes be produced in a single city, or in a small dis' ..i of country, by means of personal communications with each other; but they have no regular or active correspondence with those who are engaged in similar pursuits in distant places ; they have but little patronage to give to the press, and exercise but a small share of influence over it ; they have no crowd of dependents about them, who hope to grow rich without labor, by their countenance and favor, and who are, there- fore, always ready to execute their wishes. The planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer, all know that their success depends upon their own industry and economy, and that they must not expect to become suddenly rich by the fruits of their toil. Yet these classes of society form the great body of the people of the United States ; they are the bone and sinew of the country; men who love liberty, and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws, and who, moreover, hold the great mass of our national wealth, although it is distributed in moderate amounts among the millions of freemen who possess it. But with overwhelming numbers and wealth on their side, they are in constant danger of losing their fair influence in the government, and with difficult}'- maintain their just rights against the incessant efforts daily made to encroach upon them. The mischief springs from the powerwhich the moneyed interest derives from a paper currency, which they are able to control, from the ^multitude of corporations with exclusive privileges, which they have succeeded in ob- taining in the different states, and which are employed akogether for their benefit; and unless you become more watchful in your states, and check this spirit of mono- poly and thirst for exclusive privileges, you will, in the end, find that the most important powers of government have .been given or bartered away, and the control over your dearest interests have passed into the hands of these corporations. FAREWELL ADDRESS. 369 The paper-money system, and its natural associates, monopoly and exclusive privijeg-es, have already struck their roots deep in the soil; and it will require all your efforts to check its farther g-rowth, and to eradicate the evil. The men who profit by the abuses, and desire to perpetuate them, will continue to besiege the halls of legis- lation in the general governnnent, as well as in the states, nd will seek, by every artifice, to mislead and deceive the public servants. It is to yourselves that you must look for safety and the means of guarding and perpetuat- ing your free institutions. In your hands is rightfully placed the sovereignty of the country, and to you every one placed in authority is ultimately responsible. It is always in your power to see that the wishes of the people are carried into faithful execution, and their will, when once made known, must sooner or later be obeyed. And while the people remain, as I trust they ever will, uncor- rupted and incorruptible, and continue watchful and jealous of their rights, the government is safe, and the cause of freedom will continue to triumph over all its enemies. But it will require steady and persevering exertions on your part to rid yourselves of the iniquities and mischiefs of the paper system, and to check the spirit of monopoly and other abuses, which have sprung up with it, and of which it is the main support. So many interests are united to resist all reform on this subject, that you must not hope the conflict will be a short one, nor success easy. My humble efforts have not been spared, during my adminis- tration of the government, to restore the constitutional currency of gold and silver; and something, I trust, has been done towards the accomplishment of this most desir- able object. But enough yet remains to require all your nergy and perseverance. The power, however, is in our hands, and the remedy must and will be applied if you determine upon it. While I am thus endeavoring to press upon your at- tention the principles which I deem of vital importance to the domestic concerns of the country, I ought not to pass over without notice the important considerations which S70 LITE OF JACKS OIT. Should govern your policy towards foreign powers. It is un-pjestionnbiy our true interest to cultivate the most 'liendly understanding with every nation, and to avoid, ■y every honorable means, the calamities of war ; and we shall best attain this object by frankness and sincerity in our foreign intercourse, by the prompt and faithful execu- tion of treaties, and by justice and impartiality in our conduct to all. But no nation, however desirous of peace, •".an hope to escape collisions with other powers ; and the eK3undest dictates of policy require that we should place ourselves in a condition to assert our rights, if a resort t'^ force should ever become necessary. Our local situatioi our long line of sea-coast, indented by numerous bavs with deep rivers opening into the interior, as well as our *?xtended and still increasing commerce, point to the navy es our natural means of defence. Ii will, in the end, be found to be the cheapest and most effectual ; and now is the time, in the season of peace, and with an overflowing revenue, that we can year after year add to its strength, without increasing the burdens of the people. It is your t\ :e policy. For your navy will not only protect your rich and flourishing commerce in distant seas, but enable you to reach and annoy the enemy, and will give to defence its greatest efficiency by meeting d:i'n7f'r at a distance from home. It is impossible by any ?ine of fortifications to guard every point from attack against a hostile force advancing from the ocean and selecting its object ; bui they are indispensable to protect cities from bombard- ment ; dock-yards and navy arsenals from destruction; to give shelter to merchant vessels in time of war, and to single ships or weaker squadrons when pressed by supe- rior force. Fortifications of this description cannot be too soon completed and armed, and placed in a condition of the most perfect preparation. The abundant means we now possess cannot be applied in any manner more useful to the country ; and when this is done, and our naval force sufficiently strengthened, and our militia armed, we need not fear that any nation will wantonly insult us, or needlessly provoke hostilities. We shall more certain- FAREWELL ADDRESS. 37l iy preserve peace, when it is well understood that we are prepared for war. In presenting to you, my fellow-citizens, these parting counsels, I have brought before you the leading prin- ciples upon which I endeavored to administer the govern- ment in the high office with which you twice honored me. Knowing that the path of freedom is continually beset by enemies, who often assume the diso^uise of friends, I have devoted the last hours of my public life to warn you of the dangers. The progress of the United States, under our free and happy institutions, has sur- passed the most sanguine hopes of the founders of the Republic. Our growth has been rapid beyond all former example, in numbers, in wealth, in knowledge, and all the useful arts which contribute to the comforts and con- venience of man ; and from the earliest ages of history to the present da3% there never have been thirteen millions of people associated together in one political body, who enjoyed so much freedom and happiness as the people of these United States. You have no longer any cause to fear danger from abroad ; your strength and power are well known throughout the civilized world, as well as the high and gallant bearing of your sons. It is from within, among yourselves, from cupidity, from corruption, from disappointed ambition, ai'd inordinate thirst for power, that factions will be form ;d and liberty endangered. It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves. You have the highest of human trusts committed to your care. Providence has showered on this favored land blessings without number, and has chosen you as the guardians of freedom, to preserve it for the benefit of the human race. May He, who holds in his hands the des- tinies of nations, make you worthy of the favors he has bestowed, and enable you, with pure hearts, and pure hands, and sleepless vigilance, to guard and defend to the end of time the great charge he has committed to your keeping. My own race is nearly run; advanced age and faihng ^^^ LIFE OF JACKSON. health warn me that before lono- 1 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 a 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 kindness, I bid you a last and affectionate fareweJL LETTER TO COMMODORE ELLIOTT. 373 General JacksorCs Letter to Commodore Elliott, declining a Sarco- phagus. Hermitage, March 27, 1845. Dear Sir : Your letter of the 18th instant, together with a copy of the proceedings of the National Institute, furnished me by their corresponding secretary, on the presentation, by you, of the Sarcophagus for their accept- ance, 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 Avere 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 the Board of Directors, so honorable to my fame, with sensations 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 ypu, and through you to the President and Directors of the National Institute. But with the warmest sensations that can inspire a grateful heart, I must decline accepting the honor intended to be bestowed. I cannot consent that my mortal body shall be laid in a repository prepared for an emperor or a king. My repubncan feelings and principles forbid it; the simplicity of our system of government for- bids it. Every monument erected to perpetuate the me- mory of our heroes and statesmen ought to bear evidence of the economy and simplicity of our republican institu- tions, and the plainness of our republican citizens, who 374 LIFE OF JACKSOW. are the sovereigns of our glorious Union, and whose virtue 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 and Directors of the National Institute in- tended to bestow. I cannot permit my remains to be the first in these United States to be deposited in a sarco- phagus made for an emperor or 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 intend to bestow. I have prepared an humble depository for my mortal body beside that wherein lies my beloved wife, where, without any 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 hope for a blessed immortality. I am, with great respect, your friend and fellow-citizen, Andrew Jackson. To Commodore J. D. Elliott, United States Navy. USS OF JACK80». 375 LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT. Hermitage, June ^tk, 1843. In the Name of God, Amen: — -I, Andrew Jackson, Sen'r., being of sound mind, memory, and understanding, and impressed with the great uncertainty of life and the certainty of death, and being desirous to dispose of my temporal affairs so that after my death no contention may arise relative to the same — And whereas, since executing my will of the 30th of September, 1833, my estate has become greatly involved by my liabilities for the debts of my well beloved and adopted son Andrew Jackson, Jun., winch makes it necessary to alter the same: Therefore I, Andrew Jackson, Sen'r., of the county of Davidson, and state of Tennessee, do make, ordain, publish, and declare tills my last will and testament, revoking all other wills by me heretofore 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 to be paid out of my personal and real estate by my executor ; for which pur- pose to meet the debt my good friends Gr^'n'I J. B. Plan- chin (fe Co. 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 pur- cliase"bf the plantation from Hiram G. Runnels, lying on the ea.st bank of the river Mississippi, in the state of Mis- sissippi Also, a debt due by me of ten thousand dollars, 3V6 LIFE OF JACKSON. borrowed of my friends Blair and Rives, of the city of V/ashington and District of Columbia, with the mterest accruing thereon; being applied to the payment of the lands bought of Hiram G. Runnels as aforesaid, and for the faithful payment of the aforesaid recited debts, I here- b}'^ bequeath all my real and personal 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 hve, known by the Hermitage tract, ^^'^th its butts and boundaries, with all its appendages of the three lots of land bought of Samuel Donelson, Thomas J. Donelson, and Alexander Donelson, sons and heirs of Sovern Donel- son, deceased, all adjoining the Hermitage tract, agreeable to their butts and boundaries, with all the appurtenances thereto belonging or in any wise appertaining, with all my negroes that I may die possessed of, with the exception hereafter named, with all their increase after the before recited debts are fully paid, with all the household furni- ture, farming tools, stock of all kind, both on the Hermi- tage tract farms, as well as those on the Mississippi plan- tation, to him and his heirs for ever. — 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 all 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 for ever. 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, w^hich I hereby confirm. — I give and bequeath to my be- loved grandson Andrew Jackson, son of A. Jackson, Jun. and Sarah his wife, a negro boy named Ned, son of Black- smith Aaron and Hannah his wife, to him and his heirs for ever. Fifth, I give and bequeath to my beloved Httle grand LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT. 377 son. Samuel Jackson, son of A. Jackson, Jun. and bis 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. Jackson, Jun., I hereby recognise, by this bequest, the gift I made her on her marriage, of the negro girl Gracy, which I bought for her, and gave her to my daughter Sa- rah as her maid and seamstress, with her increase, with my house-servant Hannah and her two daughters, name- ly, Charlotte and Mary, to her and her heirs for ever. This gift and bequest is made for my great affection for her — as a memento of her uniform attention to me and kindness on ah 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 any one. Seventh, I bequeath to my well beloved nephew, An- drew J. Donelson, son of Samuel Donelson, deceased, the elegant sword presented to me by the state of Tennessee, with this injunction, that he fail not to use it when neces- sary in support and protection of our glorious union, and for the protection of the constitutional rights of our belo- ved country, 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 1 can be- queath 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 high-minded, honest, and honorable man. p]ighth, To my grand-nephew Andrew Jackson Coffee, I bequeath the elegant sword presented to me by the Rifle Company of New Orleans, commanded by Capt. Beal, as a memento of my regard, and to bring to his recollection the gallant services of his deceased father Gen'l John Cof- fee, in the late Indian and British war, under my com- mand, and his gallant conduct in defence of New Orleans in 1814 and 1815; with this injunction, that he wield it in the protection of the rights secured to the American 378 LIFE OF JACK30IT. citizen under our glorious constitution, against all inva- ders, whether foreign 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 injunction, that he will always use it in defence of the con- stitution and our glorious union, and the perpetuation of our republican system : remembering the motto — " Draw me not without occasion, nor sheath me without honour. The pistols of Gen'l Lafayette, which were presented by him to Gen'l George Washington, and by Col. Wm. Robertson presented to me, I bequeath to George Wash- ington Lafayette, as a memento of the illustrious persona- ges through whose hands they have 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 ladies 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. Jack- son, Jun., with directions that should our happy country not be blessed with peace, an event not always to be ex- pected, he will at the close of the war or end of the con- flict, present each of said articles of inestimable value, to that patriot residing in the city or state from which they Avere preented, who shall be adjudged by his countrymen or the ladies to have been the most valiant in defence 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 invaluable relics, 1 can make no dispositon of them. As a memento of my high regard for Gen'l Robert Armstrong as a gentleman, patriot and soldier, as Avell as for his meritorious military services under my command during the late British and Indian war, and remembering the gallant bearing of him and his gallant httle band at Enotochopco creek, when. LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT. .379 falling desperately wounded, lie called out — " My brave fellows, some may fall, but save the cannou" — as a me- mento of all these things, 1 give and be(jueath to him my case of pistols and sword worn by me throughout my mihtary career, well satistied that in his hands they will never be disgraced — that they will never be used or drawn without occasion, nor sheathed but with honour. Lastly, I leave to my beloved son all my walking-canes and other relics, to be distributed amongst my young relatives — namesakes — tirst, to my much esteemed name- sake, Andrew J. Donelson, son of my esteemed nephew A, J. Donelson, his tirst 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 re(|uired of him for the faithful execution and dischara-e of the trusts liere- by reposed in him. Li testimony whereof I have this 'Zth day of June, one tliousand eight hundred and forty-three, hereunto set my hand, and aiiixed my seal, hereby revoking all wills here- tofore made by me, and in the presence of Mariox Adams, Elizabeth D. Love, ANDREW JACKSON. (Seal.) Tiios. J. Donelson, RiciL\RD Smith, R. Armstrong. S80 LIFE C»F JACKSON. State cf Tennessee^ Davidson County Court, July Term, 1845. A paper writing, purporting to be the last will and tes- tament of Andrew Jackson, Sen., dec'd., was produced in open court for probate, and proved thus: — Marion Adams, Elizabeth D. Love, and Richard Smith, three of the sub- scribing witnesses thereto, being first duly sworn, depose and say, that they became such in the presence of the said Andrew Jackson, Sr., dec'd., and at his request and in the presence of each other; and that tchey verily believe he was of sound and disposing mind and memory at the time of executing the same. Ordered, That said paper writing be admitted to record as such will and testament of the said Audrew Jackson, Sr., dec'd. Whereupon Andrew Jackson, Jun., the exe- cutor named in said will, came into court and gave bond in the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, (there being- no security required by said will,) and qualified according to law. Ordered, That he have letters testamentary granted to him. State of Tennessee, Davidson County : 1, Robert B. Castleman, Clerk of the County Court, of said county, do certify that the foregoing is a true and perfect copy of the original will of Andrew Jackson, Sr., dec'd., together with the probate of the same, as proven at the July term, 1845, of said court, as the same remains of record in my office. In testimony whereof T have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said court at my office, this the 15 th day of August, in the Seal. 11 . and forty-five. Ro. B. Castleman By his deputy, Phineas Garrett. Coiiiu,iii ^^^^^ of our Lord one thousand eight hundred BETHUlffE*S DISCOURSE. 38 J DR. BETHUNE'S DISCOURSE, Pronounced July 6iA, 1845. *• For he established a te&fimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he comtnanded our lathers that they should make them known to tlieir children; that the generation to come might know them, even the chddren which should be born, who should arise and declare ihem to tlieir children, that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his coHJinandments." — Psalm Ixxviii. 5, 6, 7. Among our many national sins, there is none more likely to provoke divine chastisement, yet less considered or repented of, even by Christians, than ingratitude for political blessings. That there are evils among us, no one will deny ; that changes might be made for the better, it were unreasonable to doubt; and, concerning methods of removing evil, or working good, we may differ widely, yet honestly. Evil is inseparable from human nature, the best human schemes are capable of improvement, and human opinions must be various, because they are fallible. It is a narrow, unthankful spirit, which, brooding over imperfections, or sighing after greater advantages, or bitter- ly condemning all who think not the same way, refuses to perceive and acknowledge the vast benefits we actually enjoy. Never was there a revolution at once so just and so successful as that which won our country's indepen dence : never, except in the Bible, have the rights of raan been so clearly and truly defined as in our constitution* never did greater success attend a social experiment than has followed ours. Since the establishuK^nt of our con- federacy, tumults, insurrections, and violent changes, have been busy in all the civihzed world besides. Throne after throne has fallen, and dynasties have been built up on the bloody ruins of dynasties. In some nations the people 17 382 LIFE 0? J.KCK^OTi, have wrung, by force, partial concessions from hereditarr rule ; in others lifter convulsive, misdirected efforts, they have been crashed again by the iron hoof of despotism ; nor is the voice of a prophet needed to foretell a long, desperate struggle of uprising humanity with the ppwers Oi poHtical darkness ; while the bloody discords and con- stant confusion of other republics on the same continent with ourselves, demonstrate the incompatibility of free- dom with ignorance and superstition. Ours is now, with the exception of the Russian and British (if, indeed, the passage of the Reform Bill was not an organic change), older than any monarchical government in Christendom. The increase of our population from less than three mil- lions to twenty, in seventy years, multiplies many times any fornier example ; yet, notwithstanding the enormous migration to us from various countries, where free princi- ples are unknown, our wide land has more than enough room for all: growth in numbers has been a chief cause of our growth in wealth, and our laws, strong as they are liberal, have proved tlieraselves sufficient to compose, maintain and rule all in concord, prosperity and power. You will search in vain for another example of a vast na- tion governed, without troops or armed police, by their own will. It is not five years since, that our people, spread out over an immense territory, after a contest in which the utmost enthusiasm excited both parties, changed their rulers. Yet not a bayonet was fixed, nor a cannon pointed, nor a barricade raised, to guard the place of suf- frage. The ballot, falling noiselessly as snow upon the rock, achieved the result. Within the last twelvemonth, the stupendous process has been repeated as peaceably and safely. Each of the great political sects, which divide the popular vote, has triumphed and been beaten. Much there has been to censure in the harsh recrimination and unfraternal bigotry on either side; but when the decision was reached, though the long-rolling swells which succeed the storm did not at once subside, and here and there some violent partisan may have betrayed his vexation, the surface became calm, and the noise soon died away Every true patriot, submissive to the oracle of the pollis BETHUNE S DISCOURSE. 3 wliether wisdom or error, said in his heart, God bless THE people! Our difficulties, real or supposed, have arisen out of our advantages, for good and evil are mixed with all human affairs. The freedom of those institutions under which we Hve, has its price, which must be paid, so long as man IS prone to abuse, by impatience and excess, those favours of Almighty God which yield happiness only when they are used moderately and religiously. Elated by pros- perity, we have forced our growth too fast. We have attempted by plausible inventions to transcend the laws of trade and production. We have complicated the ma- chinery of our interests until our clear, simple constitu- tion, has become, in the hands of sophisticating politicians, a riddle of mysteries. The hmits of habitation have been enlarged beyond the blessings of church and school-house. Vices and faults, pecuhar to new settlements, have reach- ed the heart of our legislation. To carry on our fai grasping schemes, we have strained our credit till it broke. Freedom of speech and of the press, has been abused to hcentiousness by prejudice, rashness, and selfish ambition. Acknowledo'ino- as we do the rio-hts of conscience in their o o o broadest meaning, even the holy name of religion has been dragged upon the arena of party. Our repubhc is not a paradise : our countrymen, like 'ourselves, are not ano-els, but frail, errino- men. Our his- tor^' has been an experiment Mistakes have been and will be made. It is thus that we are to learn. Shall we, in coward skepticism, overlook our immense advantages to hang our fears upon a few faults, or prognosticate the fail- ure of a system which has accomplished so much, because it shares with others the imperfections of humanity ? Is there a sober-minded man among us, who would be Avill- ing to encounter the oppressions of what are called strong governments, that he might escape from under our pre- sent system. Our faults are our own, and our misfortunes are consequences of our faults ; but our political advanta- ges are God's rich gifts, which it becomes us thankfully to receive and piously improve. All our evils have their legitimate remedies, and there is no danger wliich may 334 LIFE OF JACKSON. not be avoided by a wise care. Instead, therefore, of querulous fears and ungrateful discontent, the Christian patriot should zealously inquire what he can do to secure and advance the best welfare of our beloved land. Our holy text is full of instruction to this end. The psalmist is describing the poHcy of God with Israel, the people whom he wished to know no king but himself, and therefore, the only safe policy for any people who would preserve their hberties from the encroachment of despotic rule. " He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed 3 law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children ; that the gene- ration to come might know them, even the children which should be born ; who should arise and declare them to their children, that they might set their hopes in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his command- ments." We see here, First: The character of a safe and happy peo- ple. "They set their hopes in God; they forget not the works of God; they keep his commandments." Secondly: The means which God has appointed for cultivating this character, " He established a law in Jacob, and appointed a testi- mony in Israel." Thirdly : The obligation upon a Christian patriot arising from this providence of Jehovah. " He commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, even the children which might be born ; who should arise and declare them to their chil- dren." First : The character of a safe and happy people. They " set their hopes in God." The man who looks to God as the source of his welfare, is lifted above tempta- tion within and without. Conscious of a holy, heart- searching eye, upon him, his virtue will not be an outward semblance, cloaking from human sight, secret crime or BETHUNE*S DISCOURSE. 885 selfish purposes. The opinions, fashions, or rewards of the world, will neither shape his principles nor modify his practice. He will fear to do evil, lest he should offend against God. He will do justice and love mercy, because he walks humbly with God. His expectations of eternity will guard and sustain him in honesty. He knows himself to be immortal and God eternal ; that vice, which no human scrutiny can detect and no human laws can punish, will meet a terrible ven- geance, while good acts and purposes will be rewarded openly by Him, who seeth in secret, at the judgment day. The pains of virtue and the pleasures of vice, being alike transitory, are of little account in his estimation, who sets his hope in God, his Saviour, and his judge. He re- lies upon God, because He is merciful, and know^s that he is safe, because God is Almighty. Were our nation composed of such believers, how un- troubled would be our peace ! how entire our mutual con- fidence ! how free our affairs from intrigue, corruption and wrong! The key would never be turned in the lock, the gibbet seen no more, and the prison doors stand open. No man would fear, but every man would love his neigh- bour, and the true interests of all be acknowledged by each as his own. They " forget not the works of God." "When God is the treasury of a man's hopes, he loves to trace the work- ings of God's wisdom and power, that he may know the sources upon which he can draw. He considers creation, and in its minuteness as well as its vastness, he reads cer- tain proof of the same Power which made, ruling so per- fectly, that nothing is overlooked, and so absolutely, that nothing is beyond his presiding will. He considers re- demption, that God so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son as the dehverer of all who believe upon his name, and that all power is in the hands of our Elder Brother, the incarnate God. Therefore is he sure, that God rules in mercy as well as justice, that he will listen to the prayer of his people, and that, however mysterious his methods, all things are working together by the Holy Spirit for the universal triumph o^ truth, and righteous- ness, and ueace. 1*7 388 LIFE OF JAv.KSON-. With such convictions, how cheering to him must be the study of Providence ! With what confidence, remember- ing the faithfuhiess of God in the past, will he confide in him amidst the difficulties of the present, and for the de- velopements of the future! and how steadf^istly reject for himself and for his country, any policy which crosses the unchangeable laws of God, the everliving Lord ! How strong would this nation be in hope and virtue, did our people thus remember the works of God! For never, since the world began, has the providence of God been more remarkable, kind, and instructive, than towards us. Jehovah did not lead Israel forth from Egypt to the inheritance of Canaan with a more mighty hand or mani- fest care, than has been seen in our history since the first prayer of the pilgrim from the tyrrany of the old world to this better country, rose through its virgin forests, un- til our present day of unexampled prosperity. They " keep his commandments." The believer's obe- dience to the directions of God is the necessary result of such trust and study. Gratitude will make him loyal to a sovereign so kind and faithful : a sense of his own weak- ness and short-sightedness will inchne him to follow land- marks so certain, and the approbation of an honest con- science reward and incite him to persevere. " Happy is the people that are in such a case ! Yea, happy is that people Avhose God is the Lord!" Secondly: The means which God has appointed for cultivating such a character. " He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel:" or as an admirable critic translates it, "He established an oracle in Jacob, and deposited a revelation with Israel." The Psalmist, doubtless, here refers not only to the law given on the Mount, in which God defined human duties and prescribed religious worship, but to all the communi- cations which he had made or might yet make to man. The value of the word of God is seen in the fact, that it is the word of God. What almighty mercy and wis- dom saw fit to reveal, must be of the last importance We ai'C sure of nothing but that Avhich God has 7 9 bethune's discourse. £67 known. Never could we have discovered his will con- cerning us, or known how to walk in safety, had he not said, " This is the way." Never could we have been as- sured of a Providence over us, or looked within the tre- mendous realities of eternity, had not he manifested him- self by his own declarations, and brought immortality to hght by Jesus Christ, the man whom he has ordained as saviour and judge. Without the word of God, we should be without God, ignorant, hopeless, lost in perplexity, the sport of conjecture, of passion, appetite, and dread. Truth would have no definition, oaths no confirmation, laws no sanction, and the grave no promise; the past would teach us nothing but our ruin, and the future would be black with despair. When we have that word, how glorious is the reverse to the pious believer! We stand by the side of God when he laid the foundation of the earth, and we look beyond the catastrophe of created things t-o the fixed results of justice and love. We trace back our lineage to a brotherhood with every human soul ; and we learn the will of our common father concerning the relations which bind us to him and his family on earth. VVe see the path of righteousness marked for our feet, and one walking by our side, " whose form is like to that of the Son of God," sustaining our weakness and assuring our faithful obedience of eternal reward, after the sha- dows and the labours of time shall have passed away and ceased for ever. Nay, in the rest of the Sabbath, the worship of the sanctuary, the communion of saints, and the witnessing sacraments, we have the foretaste, sign, and confirmation of an eternal rest, love, and satisfaction in the house of God, eternal and undefiled. Need I ask you to consider the blessedness, here and hereafter, of a nation .viio know and obey that word, and who cultivate and d^jl'.o-nt In that worship! Where is the suicidal, traitor hnn^i, tljat would dare pluck this corner- stone from the Touiidation of 'rir hopes, and, extinguish- ing the light wiji';}i heaven has kindled, give our country back to the gioorn, llie licentiousness, and cruelties of thosi nations which hav*^, forgotten God! 11* 388 life of jackson. Thirdly: The obligations upon the Christian patri OT arising from this providence of God. " He commanded our fathers to make them known to their children ; that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them unto their children." The first duty laid upon us is, to study and practise the word of God ourselves. It is by the light of Christian example, that the saving power of the gospel is made manifest to the world. The believer of the word of God, therefore, owes a profession and practice of Christiainty not only to God, to himself, and the church, but to his country, because its welfare can be secured only by reli- gion. Then, it is our duty, to the utmost of our means, to give the advantage of the same religion to those who neg- lect, or cannot, of themselves, obtain the means of grace, especially in the new settlements of that immense valley, the power of which already overbalances the older states. Wherever a fellow-citizen is without the knowledge of God, there is an element of danger mingling with the ag- gregate of the national will. We can never control crime, nor refute error, but by truth ; and in withholding the truth of God, we consent to all the mischief that may be done by those, to whom we might teach the right, but do not But, especially, are we to strive that the Bible should be in the hands, and by the blessing of God upon our labours, in the hearts of the rising generation. Upon their shoulders the burthens of society, our country, and the cause of God, are soon to rest. From them their children are to learn good or evil. Neglect a child, and you have neglected the man, the woman, the father, the mother, generations yet unborn. The truth of God in our hands belongs to them, as much as to ourselves. It is de- posited with us for their benefit. By omitting to give it, w^e rob them of God's best gift, and our land, in future years, of its best defence and glory. The means of edu- cation, so far as the arts of reading and Avriting go, are bethune's discourse. 889 not enough. Educate with all your enero-ies. Do no- thing that may by any possibility interfere with, and eve- rything to inci'ease such instruction ; but let us be ever ready to set the Bible before the opened eye and the craving mind. Better that a child should learn to read without the Bible, than to know not how to read the Bi- ble. Think God! Christians need not contend for de- bateable ground in this matter. With our Bible, and Tract, and Sunday School Societies, if we be only faithful in supporting them, we are more than a match, by God's help, for all the infidelity and superstition among us. We lose time and waste our strength, by petty squabblings with evil on its own dunghill. Let us rather devote all our power and zeal to those ready and open methods of disseminating truth, which no force in this land can forbid us to use. When the true church of God consecrates the talents she has from Him, to the spread of the gospel through our country, every wall that the enmity or idol- atry of men can build against it shall fall like those of Je- richo at the trumpeting of the Levites ; when she walks forth, the light of her presence shall dissipate every sha- dow, and, " terrible as an army with banners," her peace- ful triumphs will crown our whole people with the glory of the Lord, a joy and a defence. Blessed be God, there are those who have felt the ne- cessity of these religious efforts for the good of our coun- try, and the immortal well-being of our countrymen. They are, indeed, but too few, and their zeal has not al- ways been equal to their opportunities and responsibility. Yet in them, their examples of Christian conduct, their testimony to the power of religion, and their benevolent labours for the illumination of the ignorant, we see the providence of God blessing our nation with moral life, and confirming our government, founded upon the will of the people, by the only sufficient buttresses, knowledge, vir- tue, and the fear of God. The faithful Christian is the only faithful patriot, and he is not a faithful Christian who serves not his country in the name of Christ, and in the spirit of his gospel. These thouohts, as you know, have been suggested by 390 LirS OF JACKSOX. the recent anniversary of our national independence, a day which should be dear and sacred to us all, though often miserably polluted by intemperance, and profaned by par ty assemblages. Surely we might devote one day of the year to the charities of patriotic brotherhood, and lose all minor distinctions in our common citizenship ; nor should we forget before the altar of our father's God, the Author of all mercies, his mighty doings for us in the past; the good, the great, the wise, the valiant, whom he has raised up to serve, guide, and defend us ; and the blessing which he has caused to rest upon their counsels, their arms, their zeal, and their sacrifices. Such recollections are due to Him, to our country, and to humanity. Children should hear the story, and the best genius contribute to its illustration. Fresh laurels should be plucked and wreathed upon the graves of the beloved for their coun- try's sake, and eloquence pay its richest tribute to their heaven-sent worth, that the hving may hear and follow iheir example. ArVhile I thus speak, the spell of a great name comes upon our hearts, compelling us to Ltter their thoughts and emotions. When the sun of that morning rose, it gilded the fresh tomb of one whose ear, for the first time since the 4th of July, 1776, failed to vibrate with the thunder- ings of his country's birth-day joy ; and a voice, for the first time, answered not its cheers, which, since its boyish shout was heard through the Revolutionary strife, had never been wanting in the annual conclamation. The iron will, whose upright strength never quivered amidst the lightning storms that crashed around it in battle or con- troversy; the adamantine judgment, against which ad- verse opinions dashed themselves to break into scattered foam ; the far-reaching faith, that flashed light upon dan- gers hidden from the prudence of all beside ; the earnest affection, that yearned in a child's simplicity, the purpose of a sage, a parent's tenderness, and the humble fidelity of a sworn servant over the people who gave it rule and elevation, have ceased among us: Andrew Jackson is with God. He, who confessed no authority on earth but the welfare of his country and his own convictionji of right • bethui^te's DiscounsE. 891 wlio never turned to rest while a duty remained to be done, and who never asked the support of any human arm in his hour of utmost difficulty; bowed his head meekly to the command of the Highest, and walked calm- ly down into the grave, leaning upon the strength of Je- sus; paused on tlie threshold of immortahty to forgive his enemies, to pray for our liberties, to bless his weeping household, and to leave the testimony of his trust in the gospel of the Crucified; and then, at the fall of a Sabbath evening, passed into the rest which is eternal. His last enemy to be destroyed Avas death. Thanks be to God, who gave him the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! To say that he had faults, is to say that he was human; the errors of a mind so energetic, in a career so eventful, must have been striking ; nor could a chai-acter be sub- jected to censure more merciless, than he provoked by a policy original and unhesitating, at open war with long- established usages, and dogmas that had grown into un- questioned axioms. Bereft in his early youth of parental guidance and restraint, educated in the camp and the forest bivouac, and forced to push his own fortunes through the rough trials of a border life, we can scarcely wonder that, until age had schooled his spirit and tempered his blood, he was impetuous, sensitive to insult, and prone to use the stronng hand. Warm in his attachments, he was slow to discover frailty in those he loved, or to accord confidence where once he had doubted. Grasping, by his untutored genius, conclusions which other men reach by philosophical detail, he made, while sure of just ends, some mistakes in his methods, for the time disastrous. Called to act at a crisis when the good and evil in our national growth had become vigorous enough for conflict, and wealth and labour, like the twins of Rebecca, were struggling for the right of the elder born, his decisions in great but sudden emergencies were denounced by that after criticism, which can look back to condemn, but is blind to lead. Compelled to resolve stupendous, unpre- cedented questions of government and pohtical econom}'', he roused the hostihty of opposite schools in those difficult sciences. Never shrinking fi'om any responsibility, per- 292 LIFE OF JACKSON. eonal or official, he sternly fulfilled his interpretations of duty, as a co-ordinate branch of the national legislature, leaving his course to the verdict of his constituents; nor did he hesitate to avail himself of all the means he could extract from the letter of the constitution, to achieve what he thought was the intent of its spirit. His was a stern, prompt, and energetic surgery, and tliough the body poli- tic writhed under the operation, none can tell, though some may conjecture, the more fatal consequences his se- verity averted. If he were wrong, public opinion has since adopted the chief of his heresies, and there is no hand strong enough or daring enough to lay one stone upon another of that which he threw down into ruins. But in all this, his heart was with the people, his taitb firm in the sufficiency of free principles; and regardless alike of deprecating friends and denouncing opponents, he held on throughout to one only purpose, the perma- nent good of the whole, unchecked by particular privile- ges, and unfettered by artificial restrictions. To use his own lofty language, " In vain did he bear upon his person enduring memorials of that contest in which American liberty was purchased; * * * Jn vain did he since peril property, fame, and life, in defence of the rights and privileges so dearly bought, if any doubts can be enter- tained of the purity of his purposes and motives. * * Nor could he have found an inducement to com- mence a career of ambition, when gray hairs and a de- caying frame, instead of inviting to toil and battle, called him to contemplate other worlds, where conquerors cease to be honoured, and usurpers expatiate their crimes." But though there are passages in his hfe, about which the most hone.-t have held, and may yet hold, contrary opinions-, there are services of his demanding the gratitude of all, and virtues all must delight to honour. Can we forget that victory, in which his ready strategy and con- summate skill turned back, by the valour of scarcely dis- ciplined men, the superior numbers and veteran determi- nation of a foreign foe from the spoil and dishonour of a rich and populous territory ? or the entire success, with which he dehvered from the scalping-knife and torture of ^lETHUNE'S DISCOURSE. 393 wWy and ferocious savages, the Florida settlements, an achievement, which in subsequent trials far less arduous, flo other leader has been able to imitate ? Or the tri- umph of simple firmness over diplomatic, procrastinating subtleties, when, planting his foot upon Avhat was clearly •ight, in a determination to suffer notliing that was clearly v^rong, he swung round a mighty European empire to pay its long-withheld indemnity for injm'ies done to American commerce ? And in that darkest hour of our country's history, when a narrow sectionalism counterfeited the C(^lour of patriotic zeal, and discord shook her gorgon locks, and men shuddered as they saw, yawning wide in the midst of our confederacy, a gulf which threatened to demand the devotion of many a life before it would close again, how sublimely did he proclaim over the land that doctrine sacred as the name of Washington, The Union must be preserved! and the storm died away with impo- tent mutterings. Nor is his glory in this the less, that lie shared it with another, and that other, one whose name the applauses of his countrymen have taught the mountains and the valleys to echo down for far genera- tions, as the gallant, the frank, the brilliant statesman, to whose fame the highest office could add no decoration, nor disappointment rob of just claims to the people's love. It was a lofty spectacle, full of rebuke to party jealousy and of instruction to their countrymen, when Henry Clay offered the compromise of his darhng theory, and An- drew Jackson endorsed the new bond that made the Union again, and, as we trust, indissolubly firm. Remarkable as the contrast is, there were traits in the temper of the indomitable old man, tender, sim- ple, and touching. With what faithful affection he honoured her while living, whose dear dust made the hope of his last resting-place more sweet, that he might sleep again at her side! And, if his heart seemed some- times steeled against the weakness of mercy, when crime was to be punished, or mutiny controlled, or danger an- nihilated ; he could also stoop in his career of bloody con- quest, to take a wailing, new-made orphan to his pitying heart; with the same hand, that had just struck down 894 i^TFE OF JACKSOS invading foes, he steadied the judomeni-sca. snakfin with tlie tremors of him who sat upon it, to pronounce sei, tence ao-ainst him for law violated in martial necessitv and at the height of authority, the poor man found hinr- h brother and a friend. But, how surpassingly beautiful was his closing scene, when, as the glories of his earthly honour were fad- ing in the brightness of his eternal anticipations, and his head humbly rested upon the bosom of Him who was crucified for our sins, his latest breath departed in the praises of that religion which had become his only boast, and in earnest counsel that all who loved him might ob- tain the hke faith, and meet him in heaven ! There was no doubt in his death ; he had prepared to meet his God ; and when his giant heart fainted, and his iron frame fail- ed, God was the strength of his heart, and his portion for ever. Little would all his achievements have won for him, had he gained the whole world, yet lost his soul; but now his fame will survive until time shall be no more, and his spirit is immortal among the redeemed. The an- gels bore him from us, no longer the hero, the statesman, the guide of millions, and the master mind of his country; but a sinner saved by grace, to the feet of the Lamb that ■was slain, a little child of God to the bosom of his Father My hearers, have you been his friends? Obey his part- ing counsel, and by faith in Jesus, follow him to heaven, whom you have delighted to follow on earth. Have you been in opposition to his life ? Refuse not the profit of liis death, but find in that blood, which cleansed him from all his sins, atonement for your ow^n. that his last testimony had the same power over men's souls, as liis cheer in battle, and his proclamations of political doc- trine ! Then would he shine bright among the brightest in the constellation of those who turn many to righteous- ness. My brethren, I have spoken much longer than I meant to have done, but you w^ould not have withheld from me the privilege. If I have dwelt upon the best traits in the notable character of one, who has not been suffered tc escace thf* earnest crimination of many, it has been be Sethune's discourse. 895 cause he is dead. You, who listened to me with so much candour, when I paid, four j^ears since, an humble tribute to the merits of him w^ho reached the height of authority to sink into a grave watered by a nation's tears, will not condemn my utterance of similar emotions now. The jackal hate, that howls over the lifeless body, is far remo- ved from your Christian charity and generous judgment. " Vile is the vengeance on the n?hes cold. And envy base to bark at sleeping ujould." Let US rather pray as Christians, that the memory of good deeds may live, and the example of a Christian's death be sanctified. Let us, as Christian patriots, take new courage in setting forth, by word and practice, the paramount virtue of the religion we profess, to save our country, as it saves the soul; and, while we mourn the conflicts of evil passion, not forget the actual good which, by the Divine favour, is working out health from the mys- terious fermentation. There is, notwithstanding occasional agitation, a calm good sense among our people, suflacient to recover and maintain the equilibrium. It is not seen blustering around the polls ; it is not heard vociferating and applauding in party meetings ; nor, unhappily, does it often appear on the arena, where misnomered statesmen struggle rather for personal advancement than their country's good ; but it lives with those, who, in honest toil, are too independent to be bought, or, in honest competence, too content to de- sire the doubtful distinctions of popular favor. It is nur- tured by the lessons of holy religion. It is breathed in the prayer of God's true worshippers. It deliberates around the domestic hearth, where the father thinks of the posterity who are to live after him ; in the philosophic retirement of the man of letters; in the workshop where the freeman feels proud of his sweat ; and in the cultured field, from which the farmer knows that his bread is sure by the bounty of heaven. It is felt in the practice of common duties, the example of daily virtues, and the re- sults of observant experience. It is like oil on the waves of noisy strife. The man in power trembles as he hears 896 LIFE OF JACKSON. its Still small voice ; the secret conspirator finds its clear eye upon him, and quails beneath the searching scrutiny ; and, hke the angel of Israel, it meets the demagogue on his way to curse the land which God has blest, and, if he be not turned back, it alarms and forewarns the beast on which he rides. It may be said, that the party of the honest and intel- ligent is small, far smaller than, with my respect for my country, I beneve it to be ; but, if it be, it has still the controlling voice from the divisions of the rest. Each dis- astrous experiment teaches them new prudence, each well- sustained trial new courage. They have not looked for immediate perfection, and, therefore, are willing yet to learn. They are the men who hold the country together, and their influence is the salt which saves the mass from utter corruption. I look upward above the dust which is raised by scuffling partisans, to the throne of our fath- ers' God; I look backward on all the threatening events through which he has brought us ; and I can commit my country to the care of Him who " maketh even the wrath of man to praise him," and believe that it is safe. Under providence, I rely with an unshaken faith on the intelh- gent will of the American people. If my faith be a de- lusion, may it go with me to my grave. When its war- rant proves false, I could pray God, if it be his will, to let me die ; for the brightest hope that ever dawned on poli- tical freedom shall have been lost in darkness, the fairest column ever reared by the hands of men cast down, and the beacon light of the world gone out. My hearers, we must soon appear before God to an- swer for all our conduct here. Then, what will avail all our busy, anxious, most successful pursuit of this world, if, through neglect of a timely faith and repentance, we are lost for ever ? Let me entreat you, therefore, to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, that the Ho- ly Spirit may be your guide, Christ your intercessor, and the Fathei receive you among the children of his love. Un- til we have obtained this grace for ourselves, we shall seek in vain to do any real good; there is no promise of an answer to our prayers, or of a blessing upon our zetd. bethune's discourse. 89/ We cannot be faithful to others, while we remain unfaith- ful to God and our own souls. May the voice of Provi- dence conhrming the testimony of the Scriptures, prevail with us all to prepare for eternity, that in our wise pre- paration, we may secure our own best happiness, by ren- dering the best service to God, our country, and our race! \men. THE SND. 3477-2