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PICTORIAL BIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON 
 
 EMBELLISHED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 (many of -WBIOH AEE COLOEED by hand by the best ARTI8T8.) 
 
 REPRESENTING BATTLE SCENES, ETC. ETC. 
 
 FROM DESIGNS BY BENSON J. LOSSINO, OEOOiTE, AND OTHERS. 
 
 BY JOHN FROST, LL.D. 
 
 SOLD ONLY BY DISTRIBUTING AGENTS. 
 
 LOUIS YILLE, KY. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY BILL & BROTHER, 
 
 1860. 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 which there is no controversy, viz : his brilhant mili- 
 tary career. In the narrative of his political life, little 
 more has been attempted than a succinct statement 
 of facts. Later biographers will be enabled to do 
 him ampler justice, by tracing the beneficial effects 
 of his political measures into remoter times. 
 
 For the events of the Creek war, and the defence 
 of New Orleans, the writer is chiefly indebted to the 
 copious and able biography of General Jackson 
 written by his friend Major Eaton, whose access to 
 the best means of information is undoubted. The 
 other authorities are cited in the work. The pictorial 
 embellishments of the book are chiefly from the pro- 
 lific pencil of Mr. Croome, whose merits are well 
 known to the public. 
 
 The author has found his esteem and reverence 
 for the character of General Jackson to be constantly 
 increasinir, with the extent of the researches which 
 th^s work has required him to make ; and he believes, 
 that popular as the subject of this memoir always has 
 been, his favour with the American people is destined 
 still to increase, so long as the Republic shall con- 
 tinue to exist. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 EARLY LIFE. 
 Parentage and Birth of Jackson, 16 ; Death of his Father, 17 ; Revo- 
 lution 18. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Partisan Warfare, 21; Marion, 22: Sumpter, 23 ; Death of Hugh Jack- 
 son, 24 ; Fall of Charleston, 25 ; Waxliaw Massacre, 29 ; Affair at 
 Armsaour's Mill, 31 ; Affair at Hanging Rock, 35 ; Rocky Mount, 43 ; 
 Jackson's first battle, 44 ; Battle of King's Mountain, 4'J ; Mrs. Jack- 
 son removes to North Carolina, 49 ; Battle of Cowpcns, 53 ; Battle 
 of Guilford, 59 ; Heroic conduct of Jackson, 62 ; Death of Jackson s 
 Mother, 67 ; Battle of Eutaw, 71 ; Close of the Southern War, 72. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 
 
 Jackson studies Law, 74 ; Settles at Nashville, 75 : Marriage with Mrs. 
 Robards, 80. 
 
 CHAPTEH IV. 
 
 INDIAN WAR— LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL LIFE. 
 
 Jackson in Congress, 82 ; in the Senate, 82 ; Acquaintance with Mr. 
 Livingston, 83 ; Elected Commander-in-chief, 85 ; Jackson appointed 
 a Judge of the Supreme Court in Tennessee, 86 ; His firmness as a 
 Judge, 89 ; Resigns, 90 ; Aaron Burr's Conspiracy, 91 ; Indian Wars, 
 95 ; Tennessee becomes a State, 97 ; Jackson assists in forming the 
 Constitution of Tennessee, 97. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 Jackson offers his services to the Government, 100 ; Takes an Army to 
 Natchez, 101 ; Ordered to disband his Troops, 103 ; Refuses to obey, 
 104; His Conduct Approved, 107; Intrigues of Tecnmsch, 108; Mas- 
 sacre at Fort Mimms, 113 : Raising of Volunteers, 115 ; Scarcity o. 
 Provisions, 126. 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 TALLUSHATCHEE. 
 Battle of Tallushatchee, 135; Adoption of Lincoyer, 137. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 TALLADEGA. 
 
 Forced March, 141 ; Battle of Talladega, 145 ; Relief of Fort Strother, 
 147; Dinner of Acorns, 149; Soldiers Mutiny, 150; Famine, 153; 
 Mutiny quelled, 157. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HILLABEE TOWNS— DESERTIONS AND MUTINY— GEOR- 
 GIA VICTORIES. 
 
 Hillabee Deputies, 160 ; Destruction of the Iliilabees, 161 ; Mutiny, 162 ; 
 Letter to the Rev. Mr. Blackburn, 163; Letter to the Army, 167; 
 Jackson's Address, 172 ; Arrival of General Cocke, 179 ; Coffee's 
 Brigade, 180 ; Governor Blount, 187 ; General Roberts Cashiered, 
 193 ; Arrest of Kearley, 193 ; Lilliard's Regiment, 196 ; Georgia 
 Victories, 198. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 EMUCKFAW. 
 
 Colonel Carroll, 203 ; General Coffee, 204 ; Indian Spies, 206 ; Bat- 
 tle of Emuckfavv, 208; Carroll's Charge, 211; Letter to General 
 Pinckney, 213. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 ENOTICHOPCO. 
 
 Ruse of Jackson, 216; Battle of Enotichopco, 219; Firmness of Jack- 
 son, 222 ; Effects of the Battle, 222 ; Volunteers Discharged, 225. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 TOIIOPEKA. 
 
 The last Mutiny, 229 ; Battle of Tohopeka, 231 ; Death of Major Mont- 
 gomery, 233 ; Wounded Warrior, 237 ; Effects of the Battle, 239 ; 
 Address to the Troops, 240. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 March to the Hickory Ground, 244 ; Pursuit of Indians, 244 ; Surrender 
 of Wcatherford, 247; Voluiitoers Discharged, 251 ; Treaty with the 
 Creeks, 253 ; Speech of Big Warrior, 257. 
 
CONTENTS. VU 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 PENSACOLA. 
 
 Hostility of the Spaniards, 263 ; Letter to the Spanish Governor, 205 ; 
 Nicholl's Proclamation, 271 ; Attack on Fort Bowyer, 273 ; Jackson's 
 Proclamation, 275 ; Attack on Pensacola, 279 ; Storming of the Battery, 
 281 ; Capture of Pensacola, 281 ; Destruction of the Barrancas, 282. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS-BATTLE OF THE TWENTY-THIRD OF 
 DECEMBER. 
 
 Designs of the British, 289 ; Disaffection of the Inhabitants, 291 ; Com- 
 mittee of Safety, 292 ; Governor Claiborne, 297 ; Situation of New 
 Orleans, 299; Jackson's Force, 301; Governor Shelby's Patriotism, 
 302; Fortifications, 305; Gunboat Action, 309 ; Loss of the Seahorse, 
 310; Commodore Patterson, 311 ; Address to the Troops, 312 ; Con- 
 duct of the Legislature, 317 ; Declaration of Martial Law, 318; Judge 
 Hall, 322 ; Landing of the British, 323 ; Plan of March, 327 ; Night 
 Action of the 23d December, 328 ; Jackson's Attack, 337 ; Defeat of 
 the British, 338; Fortifying, 339 ; Effects of the Battle, 341. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 NEW ORLEANS-BATTLE OF THE FIRST OF JANUARY 
 
 The Invading Army, 345 ; Jackson's Preparations, 347 ; Lafitte, 348 , 
 Baratarians, 349 ; British Offers eluded, 352 ; Lafitte joins the Ameri- 
 cans, 353 ; British attack the works, 357 ; Colonel Henderson killed, 
 359;' British erect Batteries, 361; Attempt on Jackson's Life, 361 ; 
 Battle of January 1st, 361 ; Defence of the Swamp, 363 ; Jackson's 
 Second Line, 367 ; Reinforcements, 3^9 ; Defence of the Right Bank, 
 371 ; Battle of the 8th of January, 373 ; Havoc among the British, 
 379 ;' Fall of Packenham, Keane, and Gibbs, 378 ; Retreat of the 
 British, 379 ; Death of Colonel Rennie, 380 ; Action on the Right 
 Bank, 380; Loss of the British, 385; Burying the Dead, 389 ; Retreat 
 of the British, 393 ; Bombardment of Fort St. Philip, 395 ; Jackson's 
 Return to New Orleans, 397 ; Peace announced, 401 ; Army Dis- 
 banded, 405 ; Return to Nashville, 406. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 Jackson appointed Commander-in-chief of the Southern division, 410; 
 Visit to Washington, 411 ; Visit to New Orleans, 413 ; Indian Treaty, 
 415; Conditionof Florida, 417; Indian Depredations, 421 ; Destruc 
 tion of the Negro Fort, 425 ; M'Krimmon's Rescue, 427 ; Surprise of 
 Lieutenant Scott, 429 ; Gaines enters Florida, 431 ; Jackson takes 
 
Vm CONTENTS. 
 
 the command, 439 ; Fort Gadsden built, 441 ; Capture of St. Marks, 
 445 : Ambrister taken, 447 ; Arbuthnot and Ambrister executed, 453 ; 
 Occupation of Florida, 459 ; Jackson Visits Washington, 461 ; His 
 Justification, 462. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 JACKSON AT THE HERMITAGE. 
 
 Jackson appointed Governor of Florida, 467 ; Nominated for the Presi- 
 dency, 469 ; Election of Mr. Adams, 471 ; Jackson renominated, 473 ; 
 Elected President, 477. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 Inaugural Address, 483 ; First Cabinet, 487 ; Congress of 1829, 488 ; 
 Message, 490 ; United States Bank, 492 ; Debate on the Constitu- 
 tion, 495 ; Internal Improvements, 497 ; Second Message, 499 ; Re- 
 jection of Van Buren by the Senate, 505 ; Veto of Bank Bill, 507 ; 
 Nullification, 509 ; Proclamation, 511 ; Calhoun's position, 513. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 Outrage on the President, 521 ; Removal of the Deposites, 525 ; French 
 Indemnity, 527 ; Attempt to Assassinate the President, 523 ; Ex- 
 punging Resolutions, 531 ; Farewell Address, 534. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 - LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 Character of Jackson, 537 ; Correspondence with Commodore Elliott, 
 546 ; Jackson's Last Will, 548 ; His Death-bed, 553 ; His Example, 
 554 ; Closing remarks, 558. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Paok. 
 
 Frontispiece — Equestrian Portrait, 
 
 Title — Medallion Portrait . 
 13 Early Life of Jackson 
 
 19 Tail-Piece 
 
 20 Jackson with Marion and Davie 
 
 23 Marion and his men . . 
 
 25 General Lincoln 
 
 26 Charleston .... 
 32 Sir Henry Clinton 
 
 35 Lord Rawdon 
 
 41 Attack on the hollow square at Hanging 
 
 40 Lord Cornwallis 
 
 50 Removal of the Waxhaw Settlers 
 
 52 General Greene 
 
 65 Battle of Cowpens 
 
 64 Jackson defying the British officer 
 
 73 Riding the circuit . . , 
 
 80 Marriage of Jackson 
 
 81 Lidian War scene . , , 
 87 Surrender of Russell Bean . 
 
 105 The sick Soldier 
 
 110 Tecumseh .... 
 
 1 1 1 Massacre at Fort Mimras 
 195 Indian Runner 
 
 129 Bringing in Prisoners 
 
 Engravers 
 Armstrong and Pease. 
 
 A. Spencer. 
 
 B. F. Waitt. 
 Devereux. 
 
 B. F. Waitt. 
 
 J, Downes. 
 
 B. F. Waitt. 
 cc 
 
 Rock . Devereux. 
 
 II 
 
 u 
 It 
 u 
 u 
 
 B. F. Waitt. 
 Devereux. 
 
 u 
 
 H. Bricher. 
 Devereux. 
 B. F. Waitt. 
 H. Bricher 
 Devereux. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 131 
 
 133 
 
 136 
 
 139 
 
 143 
 
 130 
 
 155 
 
 159 
 
 173 
 
 175 
 
 186 
 
 194 
 
 199 
 
 201 
 
 207 
 
 209 
 
 217 
 
 227 
 
 229 
 
 231 
 
 233 
 
 237 
 
 238 
 
 243 
 
 245 
 
 247 
 
 248 
 
 254 
 
 255 
 
 260 
 
 261 
 
 263 
 
 209 
 
 274 
 
 283 
 
 Lincoyer 
 
 Battle of Tallushatchee 
 
 Adoption of Lincoyer 
 
 The Dinner of Acorns . 
 
 Battle of Talladega 
 
 Soldiers concocting Mutiny 
 
 Jackson quellijig the INIutiny 
 
 Hillabee Deputies 
 
 Scalping .... 
 
 General Jackson reviewing the Volunteers 
 
 Allcorn abandoning the campaign 
 
 Arrest of Lieutenant Kearley . 
 
 Burning of an Indian Village 
 
 Mounted Rifleman 
 
 Spies reporting 
 
 Battle of Emuckfaw 
 
 Battle of Enotichopco 
 
 Log Cabin 
 
 The last Mutiny 
 
 Plantiiig the Cannon 
 
 Battle of Tohopeka 
 
 Indian Prophet . 
 
 Young Creek Warrior 
 
 General Jackson ill 
 
 Pursuit of Indians . 
 
 Weatherford 
 
 Surrender of Weatherford . 
 
 General Harrison 
 
 Big Warrior 
 
 Treaty with the Creeks 
 
 Indian Village 
 
 Death of Lieutenant Murray 
 
 Arrival of British ships at Pensacola 
 
 Attack on Fort Bowyer 
 
 Blowing up of the Barrancas 
 
 H. Bricher. 
 Devereux. 
 
 J. Downes. 
 S. F. Baker. 
 J. Downes. 
 S. F. Baker. 
 Devereux. 
 
 B. F. Waitt. 
 Devereux. 
 
 (C 
 
 B. F. Waif 
 Devereux. 
 
 B. F. Waitt 
 Devereux. 
 
 J. Dowries. 
 Devereux. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 X] 
 
 285 
 280 
 288 
 293 
 303 
 30-1 
 305 
 307 
 309 
 313 
 319 
 324 
 325 
 331 
 342 
 344 
 346 
 348 
 356 
 358 
 365 
 368 
 373 
 
 .srs 
 
 378 
 381 
 387 
 392 
 395 
 403 
 
 406 
 408 
 409 
 
 Retreat of the British . . , . 
 
 Landing of Creeks 
 
 Jackson in 1815 
 
 Jackson conferring with the Committee of Safety 
 
 Eobarkation of Tennessee Troops 
 
 Jackson descending the Mississippi 
 
 Fortifying of New Orleans 
 
 British Fleet off Pensacola 
 
 Blowing up of the Seahorse 
 
 General Jackson addressing the Volunteers 
 
 Jackson declaring Martial Law 
 
 Arrival of the British Fleet 
 
 Departure of the Troops for New Orleans 
 
 Night Action of the 23d of December 
 
 Napoleon ..... 
 
 Head-Piece to Chapter XV. 
 
 Artillery ..... 
 
 Lafitte ..... 
 
 English soldiers throwing up battery . . 
 
 Gun-deck ..... 
 
 General Jackson and the Cotton Merchant 
 
 Erection of Morgan's battery 
 
 General Packenham's Band 
 
 Death of General Packcnhara 
 
 Fall of General Gibbs 
 
 Death of Colonel Rennie 
 
 Battle of 'New Orleans 
 
 Burying the Dead .... 
 
 Bombardment of Fort St. Philip 
 
 Jackson's Farewell Address to the Army at 
 
 Orleans .... 
 
 Return to Nashville .... 
 Jackson and the Soldiers 
 The War-drum .... 
 
 J. Downes. 
 (( 
 
 Devereux. 
 
 B. F. Wain. 
 u 
 
 Devereux. 
 
 J. Downes. 
 a 
 
 u 
 Devereux. 
 
 S. F. Baker. 
 Devereux 
 
 New 
 
 J. Downes. 
 
 H. Bricher, 
 Devereux. 
 B. F. Waitt. 
 
 S. F. Baker. 
 Devereux. 
 
au 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 412 JNladison ...... B. F. Waivv. 
 
 414 .Tackson's Visit to New Orloaiis . . Devereux. 
 
 419 Monroe . . . . . . B. F. Waitt. 
 
 423 Francis Hillishago .... Devereux. 
 
 427 Rescue of M'Krimmon .... " 
 
 430 Indians attack Lieutenant Scott's party . " 
 
 437 General Jackson addressing the Soldiers of Tennessee " 
 441 Rebuilding of Fort Gadsden ... " 
 
 443 Conflict of the Advanced Guard with the Indians " 
 
 449 Trial of Ambrister ..... « 
 
 456 John Quincy Adams . . . . B. F. Waitt. 
 
 46 1 Reception of Jackson . . . . S. F. Baker. 
 
 465 Jackson at the Hermitage , . 
 
 472 Henry Clay ..... Lossing. 
 
 478 Tail-Piece ..... Devereux. 
 
 480 General Jackson in 1829 . . . . S. F. Baker. 
 
 481 Emblems ..... Devereux. 
 496 Daniel Webster ..... Lossing. 
 505 Martin Van Buren . . . . B. F. Waitt. 
 514 John C. Calhoun ..... Lossing, 
 618 United States Capitol . . . . H. Bricher. 
 529 Attempt to assassinate General Jackson . . S. F. Baker. 
 535 General Jackson in his last days . . '' 
 
 540 James K. Polk ..... « 
 
 5G0 Emblems ..... Devereux. 
 

 CHAPTER I. 
 EARLY LIFE. 
 
 The period has arrived 
 when the character and ac- 
 tions of Andrew Jackson 
 can be reviewed by all parties 
 of his countrymen with can- 
 dour and fairness. He has 
 passed to that tribunal where 
 all must appear, to give an ac- 
 count of the work which 
 they have performed in this 
 state of ))cing. Sustained by 
 a consciousness of patriotic 
 and honourable intentions, and 
 by the hope of mercy through 
 the Redeemer, he died in the 
 assured hope of a glorious im- 
 
14 EARLY LIFE. 
 
 mortality. His countrymen mourned his loss with 
 unaffected and universal sorrow, and are now fully 
 able to realize that he was a man of that character 
 and calibre of which one example in an age is all that 
 we can hope for. As time rolls on he will be more 
 highly appreciated. Another war Avitli England, and 
 another threatened dismemberment of the Union, 
 whenever they come, will cause men to look back upon 
 the past, and to wish that another Jackson might arise 
 to guide our armies, and preserve the unity of the Re- 
 public. But such events are not necessary to direct at- 
 tention to his merits. The eager spirit of inquiry which 
 is beginning to show itself respecting the past history 
 of the country and its leading men, will cause every 
 action of Jackson's life to be thoroughly scrutinized. 
 And they will bear the scrutiny. It will appear that 
 he was thoroughly disinterested and patriotic in every 
 public act ; that he was so admirably just and noble 
 in his private relations that he became in every circle 
 where he moved the delight of his friends ; that he 
 had, like a true and faithful American statesman, a 
 thorough faith in the people, a thorough sympathy 
 with the people; and that through these qualities, he 
 bc;came, more than any other since the Father of his 
 Country, the favourite hero of the people. 
 
 The present attempt to sketch the leading events 
 of his life has been undertaken from a conviction of 
 his real greatness, and from the writer's assent to the 
 doctrine which is thus eloquently laid down by one 
 who has made heroes his study : 
 
 " Universal history, the history of what man has 
 Hrroinnlishnd in this world, is at bottom, the History 
 
GREAT MEN. 15 
 
 of the Great Men who have worked here. They 
 were the leaders of men, these great ones ; the mo- 
 dellers, patterns, and, in a wide sense, creators of 
 whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do 
 or to attain ; all things that we see standing accom- 
 plished in the world are properly the outer material 
 result, the practical realization and imbodiment, of 
 thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the 
 world : the soul of the whole world's history, it may 
 justly be considered, w ere the history of these. 
 
 " Great men, taken up in any way, are profitable 
 company. We cannot look, however imperfectly, 
 upon a great man, without gaining something by him. 
 
 " He is the livino; light-fountain, which it is jrood 
 and pleasant to be near. The light which enhghtens, 
 which has enlightened the darkness of the world : and 
 this not a kindled lamp only, but rather as a natural 
 luminary shining by the gift of Heaven ; a flowing 
 light-fountain, as I say, of native original insight, of 
 manhood and heroic nobleness; in whose radiance 
 all souls feel that it is well with them." 
 
 If the doctrine of Carlyle is applicable as a general 
 rule, it is specially applicable in the case of Jackson. 
 His life is full of instruction for his countrymen. It 
 speaks volumes in proof of the genial influence of 
 free institutions in developing real genius and pro- 
 viding for it a grand theatre of action. The unpro- 
 tected orphan, without family, friends, fortune, or even 
 a finished education, rising by regular gradations, and 
 always by the unsought suflfrages of his countrymen, 
 from a private station to the highest civil and military 
 rank which the nation could bestow, aflbrds a subject 
 
16 EARLY LIFE. 
 
 of proud contemplation to the American patriot, and 
 a lesson full of instruction for every child of the re- 
 public. 
 
 This broad fact is not more instructive than the 
 many details which it embraqes. The several actions 
 in Jackson's life aflbrd examples for the guidance of 
 his countrymen. They show the irresistible strength 
 which heaven has granted to an honest purpose. They 
 show the homage which men pay to an iron will, based 
 upon the consciousness of right intentions. They show 
 the value of moral courage. They show that the safe- 
 guard of the republic consists in a right understanding 
 between its really great men and the millions whom 
 they are destined to lead on to victory and national 
 prosperity. The biography of such men as Andrew 
 Jackson is a profitable study. 
 
 The multiplied wrongs inflicted upon the people of 
 Ireland by their haughty rulers, the fearful oppression 
 which for ages they had endured, are matters familiar 
 to the most superficial reader of their history. Their 
 sufferings at home caused the eyes of many of the 
 Irish patriots to be turned at an early period to the 
 American colonies ; and numbers availed themselves 
 of the asylum offered by the wilds of America, to se- 
 cure peaoe to themselves and their children. Among 
 the emigrants from the Emerald Isle, previous to the 
 war of Independence, was Andrew Jackson, the father 
 of him whose actions form our theme. He arrived at 
 Charleston in the year 1765, accompanied by his wife. 
 
DEATH OF JACKSON'S FATHER. 17 
 
 and two sons, Hugh and Robert, both quite young. 
 He fixed his residence at the Waxhaw settlement, dis- 
 tant from Camden about forty-five miles ; where he 
 purchased a plantation, and where he hoped to spend 
 his old age in peace. It was here, on the 15th of 
 March, 1767, that his third son, Andrew, was born. 
 The father was not destined to behold even the earlier 
 glories of the future hero of the w est ; about the close 
 of the year which witnessed the birth of his youngest 
 son, he passed to brighter scenes in another and hap- 
 pier world. 
 
 By this sudden bereavement, the care of educating 
 the three boys devolved upon Mrs. Jackson ; a lady who 
 appears to have been eminently qualified for the task. 
 The two elder children, who were intended for a situa- 
 tion in life similar to that occupied by their father, re- 
 ceived their education at a country school, where they 
 acquired only the simpler branches of learning. But 
 Andrew, her youngest and darling child, was intended 
 by his fond parent to fill a more conspicuous station in 
 life. Her plans, however, tvere far from being realized 
 in his future career of glory ; although the position for 
 which she intended him was one of honour and useful- 
 ness. His superior abilities pointed out a professional 
 life as the one best suited to his nature ; and the pious 
 mother decided that he should be educated for the 
 pulpit. Under the tuition of a gentlemen named Hum- 
 phries, who taught an academy in the Waxhaw meet- 
 ing-house, Andrew commenced his classical studies. 
 He pursued them for some time with ardour and suc- 
 cess, until the commencement of the American Revolu- 
 tion disturbed his peaceful avocations, and from the 
 
18 EARLY LIFE. 
 
 academy he was suddenly hurried into those fearful and 
 bloody scenes which marked the partisan warfare of 
 the Carolinas. In this severe school he was to receive 
 the training which gave him that unflinching military 
 courage, and stout, unfailing promptitude of action 
 which characterized his after life. We may figure to 
 ourselves the future pioneer of the west in those his 
 early days, relieving the monotony of his classical stu- 
 dies by fi-equent excursions in the surrounding forests ; 
 where the rifle and the hunting-knife became his boy- 
 hood's playthings; the parroquets and wild deer of 
 those Carolinian woods the targets of practice for that 
 unerring aim which was afterward to make him the 
 dread of the murderous savage. He was now com- 
 mencing that rough training which was to be perfected 
 in the Revolutionary contest. Born but two years 
 after the Stamp Act was passed, his childhood had 
 passed away while the statesmen of America had been 
 contesting the great questions on which the Revolution 
 was based, and conducting it in the council chamber 
 to that point when recourse was had to the final arbiter 
 of national quarrels, the sword. The battle of Lex- 
 ington had been fought, and the echo of its din had 
 reached the wilds of the Waxhaws without exciting 
 immediate alarm. Later, tlic defeat of the British at 
 Charleston had been borne to the distant cottage of our 
 hero's mother, on the wings of rumour, and had brought 
 the cheering assurance that for the present her fire- 
 side would be safe from the brutality of British soldiers. 
 Next came the news that Independence was declared ; 
 and the young heart of Jackson exulted in the con- 
 sciousness that he had a country. No longer a mere 
 
HOSTILITIES WITH ENGLAND. 
 
 19 
 
 colonist, he Avas destined to be a free citizen of the soil 
 on which he was born ; and when the din of arms came 
 nearer, and the foot of the invader was already on 
 Carolinian ground, he had become old enough and 
 strong enough to shoulder the partisan rifle, to mount 
 his horse, and become one of those wild rangers of the 
 forest whose ubiquity and valour were alike the dread 
 of Tarleton, Rawdon, and CornwalUs. 
 
 r^' 
 
 n^'/^^^ 
 
Jackson accompanying Marion and Davie in :he Southern War 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION, 
 
 HE storm which for many 
 years had been gathering 
 in the pohtical liorizon of 
 the colonies of America, 
 and whose first fury burst 
 upon the devoted heads of 
 tlie patriots of Lexington, 
 ^ began in 1778 to agitate 
 
 the southern portion of the confederacy; and the 
 peaceful pursuits of the inhabitants were relinquished 
 for the din of arms. While many of them, influenced 
 
PARTISAN WARFARE. 21 
 
 by fear or interest, turned a deaf ear to the demands 
 of patriotism and joined the royal standard, the sons 
 of Mrs. Jackson ranged themselves under the banner of 
 their country, and staked their lives and their all in 
 the struggle for liberty. Their natural ardour, and 
 attachment to the American cause, was not a little 
 increased by the remembrance of the injuries suffered 
 by their ancestors j and to their zeal for freedom was 
 added a deep and abiding detestation of British ty- 
 ranny. Their grandfather had been one of the de- 
 voted Irish patriots, who vainly struggled to free their 
 country from the yoke of the oppressor ; and at the 
 siege of Carrickfergus he had laid down his life for 
 his country. His wrongs and his melancholy fate had 
 formed the frequent subject of the mother's eloquent 
 descriptions ; and the lofty patriotism and fervent de- 
 votion to the cause of civil liberty with which she 
 inspired her sons, laid the foundation of that elevated 
 and heroic character which marked the subsequent 
 career of Jackson. 
 
 While Generals Lincoln, Gates, and Greene com- 
 manded in succession the main force of the Americans 
 in the Carolinas, which had now become the chief the- 
 atre of war, the detachments who harassed the ene- 
 my in partisan warfare were under the direction of 
 Marion, Sumpter, Pickens, and Davie. These leaders 
 were engaged in breaking up tlfr smaller forts of the 
 British, or in repairing losses sustained by action. 
 The troops which followed their fortunes, on their 
 own or their friends' horses, were armed with rifles, 
 in the use of which they had become expert ; a small 
 portion only who acted as cavalry being provided with 
 
22 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 sabres. When they approached the enemy they 
 dismounted, leaving their horses in some hidden 
 spot to the care of a few comrades. Victorious or 
 vanquished, they flew to their horses, and thus im- 
 proved victory or secured retreat. Their marches 
 were long and toilsome, seldom feeding more than 
 once a day. Their combats were like those of the 
 Parthians, sudden and fierce, their decisions speedy, 
 and all subsequent measures equally prompt. 
 
 " Marion," says Lee in his memoirs, " was about 
 forty-eight years of age, small in stature, hard in visage, 
 healthy, abstemious, and taciturn. Enthusiastically 
 attached to the cause of liberty, he deeply deplored the 
 doleful condition of his beloved country. The com- 
 mon weal was his sole object ; nothing selfish, nothing 
 mercenary soiled his ermine character. Fertile in 
 stratagem, he struck unperceived ; and retiring to 
 those hidden retreats, selected by himself, in the mo- 
 rasses of Pedee and Black River, he placed his corps 
 not only out of the reach of his foe, but often out of 
 the discovery of his friends. A rigid disciplinarian, 
 he reduced to practice the justice of his heart ; and 
 during the difficult course of warfare through which 
 he passed, calumny itself never charged him with vio- 
 lating the rights of person, property, or of humanity. 
 Never avoiding danger, he never rashly sought it ; and 
 acting for all around him as he did for himself, he 
 risked the lives of his troops only when it was neces- 
 sary. Never elated by prosj^erity, nor depressed by 
 adversity, he preserved an equanimity which won the 
 admiration of his friends, and exacted the respect of 
 his enemies." 
 
SUMPTER AND MARION. 
 
 23 
 
 Marion and his men. 
 
 " Sumpter," says the same authority, " was younger 
 than Marion, larger in frame, better fitted in strengtli 
 of body to the toils of war, and, hke his compeer, de- 
 voted to the freedom of his coimtry. His aspect was 
 manly and stern, denoting insuperable firmness and 
 lofty courage. He was not over scrupulous as a sol- 
 dier in the use of means, and apt to make considerable 
 allowances for a state of war. Believing it warranted 
 by the necessity of the case, he did not occupy his 
 mind with critical examinations of the equity of his 
 measures, or of their bearings on individuals ; but in- 
 discriminately pressed forward to his end — the des- 
 truction of his enemy and the liberation of his country. 
 In his military character he resembled Ajax ; relying 
 
24 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 more upon the fierceness of his courage than the results 
 of unrelaxing vigilance and nicely adjusted combina- 
 tion. Determined to deserve success, he risked his 
 own Kfe and the lives of his associates without re- 
 serve. Enchanted with the splendour of victory, he 
 would wade in torrents of blood to attain it. This 
 general drew about him the hardy sons of the upper 
 and middle grounds, brave and determined like him- 
 self, familiar with difficulty, and fearless of danger." 
 
 Pickens and Davie, with less experience in war 
 than Marion and Sumpter, were equally brave, deter- 
 mined, and devoted to the cause of liberty ; they per- 
 severed to the last, and contributed greatly to that 
 success which was the first object of their eflforts.* 
 It was to this partisan force that Andrew Jackson be- 
 came attached in his first campaign. This was the 
 school in which the future hero of Talladega and To- 
 hopeka received the rudiments of his military educa- 
 tion. His eldest brother, Hugh, preceded him in en- 
 tering on the hfe of a soldier. After the fall of Sa- 
 vannah, December, 1778, the British invaded South 
 Carolina (1779), and Hugh attached himself to a com- 
 pany commanded by Captain Davie, aft:erwards Colo- 
 nel Davie, which joined the army of General Lincoln, 
 engaged in the defence of the state. In the unsuc- 
 cessful attack of General Lincoln on the British at 
 Stono (20th June, 1779), Hugh Jackson lost his Hfe. 
 He died, however, not from wounds, but from the ef- 
 fects of heat and fatigue. 
 
 In the succeeding campaign (1780), the war was 
 
 •Lee's Memoirs. 
 
SURRENDER OF CHARLESTON, 
 
 25 
 
 GeneraJ Lincoln. 
 
 brought to the very doors of Mrs. Jackson's residence, 
 in consequence of the surrender of Charleston by 
 General Lincoln (May 12th.) This blow, for the mo- 
 ment, completely paralyzed all the Southern States, 
 and carried dismay into every part of the union. So 
 confident was Sir Henry Clinton of ultimate success 
 in completely conquering the Southern States, if not 
 the Northern, that after accepting the parole of the 
 
26 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 prisoners of war taken at Charleston, he issued pro- 
 clamations requiring them all to take up arms in the 
 ro3'al cause, threatening heavy vengeance in case of 
 their refusal. In the meanwhile he had undertaken 
 three expeditions, with the object of clearing the coun- 
 try of all the remaining forces of the Americans — the 
 first and most considerable under Lord Cornwallis, 
 towards the frontiers of North Carolina ; the second 
 to the district called Ninety-Six, on the southwest 
 side of the river Santee ; and the third up the Savan- 
 nah river, towards Augusta, where General Lincoln 
 had left a garrison. 
 
 Lord CornwalUs had not gone far, when he received 
 intelligence that Colonel Buford, who had arrived too 
 late to be able to throw succour into Charleston, had 
 taken post on the banks of the Santee, with a consi- 
 derable body of horse and foot. He instantly detached 
 his ablest and most savage cavalry officer. Colonel 
 Tarleton, who made a march of one hundred and five 
 miles in fifty-four hours, surprised Buford at the Wax- 
 haws, and completely routed his band. Buford, a 
 few of the cavalry, and about one hundred infantry, 
 eflfected their retreat ; the remainder surrendered, and 
 were nearly all butchered by order of the inhuman 
 Tarleton. This affair was bitterly remembered du- 
 ring the rest of the war under the name of " Tarle- 
 ton's Quarter.'''' A British writer, in speaking of it, 
 says, " Tarleton, who was a sort of partisan officer, 
 who made war like a guerilla, and whose legion was 
 composed of the desperadoes of the army, never pre- 
 served that degree of discipline which was common to 
 the rest of the army : his own character, the charac- 
 
WAX HAW MASSACRE. 29 
 
 ter of his men, and the desperate, dare-devil service 
 on which they were abnost constantly employed, were 
 irreconcilable with the milder spirit and gentler habits 
 of troops of the line, kept constantly under the eye 
 of the commander-in-chief and staff. On the present 
 occasion, their victory seems to have been disgraced 
 by a slaughter, w hich was the less pardonable, as their 
 own loss was so very trifling, amounting only to five 
 killed and fifteen wounded." 
 
 The wounded survivors of this dreadful massacre* 
 were brought into the Waxhaw meeting-house, and 
 taken care of by the inhabitants ; and Andrew Jack- 
 son's mother and himself were among the most active 
 and humane in this labour of love and patriotism. 
 
 Chnton's two other detachments saw no enemy on 
 their march ; but they received the submission of the 
 inhabitants, who either gave their paroles to the com- 
 manding officers, or took the oath of allegiance. 
 
 The events which succeeded the massacre at the 
 Waxhaws, are thus described by Lee : 
 
 " The calm which succeeded this sweeping success 
 of the enemy continued uninterrupted ; and Cornwallis, 
 shortly after Buford's defeat, advanced a coi*ps of 
 light infantry to the Waxhaw settlement, inhabited by 
 
 *"By the official report, 113 were killed, 150 so badly wounded 
 as to be paroled on the ground, most of whom died, and 53 being 
 capable of moving, graced the entry of the sanguinary corps into 
 Camden, at which place Lord Cornwallis had arrived. In the an- 
 nals of our Indian wars, nothing is to be found more shocking ; and 
 this bloody day only wanted the war-dance and the roasting fire to 
 have placed it in the records of torture and death in the west." — Lee'9 
 Memoirs. 
 
30 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 citizens whose love of country remained unshaken 
 even by these shocks. 
 
 " This settlement is so called from the Waxhaw 
 creek, which passes through it, and empties itself mto 
 the Catawba. Brigadier Rutherford, of North Caro- 
 hna, hearing of the advance of this corps, assembled 
 eight hundred of the militia, with a determination to 
 protect the country. His troops can scarcely be said 
 to have been armed ; they generally had fowling pieces 
 instead of muskets and bayonets, pewter instead of 
 lead, with a very trifling supply of powder. Informa- 
 tion of this assemblage being sent to Camden, the Bri- 
 tish detachment was recalled, and this valued settle- 
 ment, rich in soil, and abounding in produce, was for 
 this time happily released. The repose which the dis- 
 trict enjoyed, in consequence of the abandonment of 
 the station at the Waxhaws, was of short duration. 
 So ardent was the zeal of the disaffected, and so per- 
 suaded w^ere they that the rebellion in the south was 
 crushed, that their desire to manifest their loyalty 
 could not be repressed. 
 
 " A large body of loyalists collected under Colonel 
 Moore, at Armsaour's Mill, on the 22d of June; 
 among whom were many who had not only taken the 
 oath of allegiance to the state, but had served in arms 
 against the British army. Rutherford lost no time in 
 taking his measures to bring Moore to submission. 
 But so destitute was he of ammunition, that only three 
 hundred men could be prepared for the field. This 
 detachment was intrusted to Colonel Locke, who was 
 ordered to approach the enemy and watch his motions, 
 while Rutherford continued to exert himself in pro- 
 
AFFAIR AT ARMSAOUR'S MILL. ',][ 
 
 curing arms for the main body to follow under his own 
 direction. 
 
 Moore, finding an inferior force near to him, deter- 
 mined to attack it, in which decision he was gallantly 
 anticipated by Locke, who perceiving the enemy's pur- 
 pose, and knowing the hazard of retreat, fell upon 
 Moore in his camp. Captain Fall, with the horse, led, 
 and rushing suddenly, sword in hand, into the midst 
 of the insurgents, threw them into confusion, which 
 advantage Locke pressed forward to improve, when 
 he suspended the falling blow in consequence of Co- 
 lonel Moore proposing a truce for an hour, with the 
 view of amicable adjustment. During the negotiation, 
 Moore and his associates dispersed, which appears to 
 have been their sole object in proposing the suspension 
 of hostilities. 
 
 The cheerinjT intelliijence of the unmolested ad- 
 vance of the three detachments to Augusta, Ninety- 
 SLx, and Camden, the establishment of submission and 
 professions of loyalty, which were every where prof- 
 fered by the inhabitants, crowned by the destruction 
 of Buford, extirpating all continental resistance, con- 
 firmed the long indulged persuasions in the breast of 
 Sir Henry Clinton, that he had reannexed Georgia 
 and South Carolina to the British empire. He now 
 determined, as his final act, to bolt doubly his con- 
 quest. On the 3d of June he issued his last procla- 
 mation, undoing of his own accord a very important 
 condition estabhshed in his first, without consulting, 
 much less receiving, the assent of the party who had 
 accepted the terms proflfered therein. He declared to 
 the inhabitants who had, in pursuance of his pledged 
 
32 
 
 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton. 
 
 faith, taken parole, that with the exception of the mi- 
 litia surrendered at Charleston, such paroles were not 
 binding after the 20th of the month, and that persons 
 so situated should be considered as liege subjects, and 
 thenceforward be entitled to all the rights, and sub- 
 jected to all the duties of this new state ; not forgetting 
 to denounce the pains and penalties of rebellion 
 against those who should withhold due allegiance to 
 the royal government. This arbitrary change of an 
 
CORNWALLIS SUCCEEDS CLINTON. 3:J 
 
 understood contract afTected deeply and afflicted 
 sorely all to whom it applied ; and it was in conse- 
 quence, as its injustice merited, fatal to the bright 
 prospect, so gratifying to the British general. It de- 
 monstrated unequivocally that the hoped for state of 
 neutrality was illusory, and that every man capable 
 of bearing arms, must use them in aid or in opposi- 
 tion to the country of his birth. In the choice to be 
 made, no hesitation existed in the great mass of the 
 people ; for " our country " was the general acclaim. 
 The power of the enemy smothered for a while this 
 kindling spirit ; but the mine was prepared ; the train 
 was laid; and nothing remained but to apply the 
 match to produce the explosion. Sir Henry Clinton, 
 having secured the conquered state, as he fondly be- 
 Heved, embarked on the 6th with the greater part of 
 his army for New York, leaving Cornwallis with four 
 thousand regulars to prosecute the reduction of the 
 Southern States. Succeeding Clinton in his civil, as 
 well as military powers, his lordship was called from 
 the field for the purpose of establishing the many ar- 
 rangements which the altered condition of the state 
 required. Commercial regulations became necessary, 
 and a system of police for the government of the in- 
 terior was indispensable. 
 
 Previous to his departure from Camden, he had 
 advanced a body of Highlanders, under Major M'Ar- 
 thur, to Cheraw Hill, on the Pedee, for the purpose 
 of preserving in submission the country between that 
 river and the Santee, and for communicating readily 
 with his friends in North Carolina, especially with the 
 Highland settlement at Cross Creek. Throutrh the 
 
34 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 agency of Major M' Arthur, a regular correspondence 
 was established with the loyalists ; they were advised 
 of his lordship's determination, as soon as the ap- 
 proaching harvest furnished means of subsistence, to 
 advance with his army into North Carolina, when he 
 should count upon their active assistance ; and in the 
 meanwhile they were exhorted to continue passive 
 under the evils to which they were exposed. At the 
 same time, recruiting officers were employed in South 
 Carolina and Georgia, by whose exertions the provin- 
 cial regiments were considerably augmented. These 
 preliminary measures for the invasion of North Caro- 
 lina being in execution, his lordship repaired to 
 Charleston, leaving Lord Rawdon in command of the 
 army. Meanwhile Major Davie returned to the coun- 
 ty of Mecklenburgh as soon as he was recovered from 
 the wounds received in the attack of Stono, and as- 
 sembling some of his faithful associates of that district, 
 took the field. 
 
 Hovering near the British posts, he became ac- 
 quainted with the intended movement of a convoy, 
 with various supplies from Camden, to the enemy^s 
 post of Hanging Rock, which, amounting only to a 
 small company of infantry, was within the power of 
 Davie's force. He made a rapid and long march in 
 the night, and having eluded the hostile patrolcs, 
 gained the route of the convoy, five miles below Hang- 
 ing Rock, before the break of day. Here he halted 
 in a concealed position. In a few hours the convoy 
 appeared, and Davie, falling vigorously upon it, in- 
 stantly overpowered its escort. The wagons and 
 stores were destroyed ; the prisoners, forty in number, 
 
AFFAIR AT HANGING ROCK. 
 
 35 
 
 Lord Rawdon. 
 
 were mounted on the wagon horses, and escorted by 
 the major, were safely brought within our hues. 
 
 About the same time, Captain Huck, of Tarleton's 
 legion, had been detached by Lieutenant-Colonel Turn- 
 bull, commanding at Hanging Rock, to disperse some 
 of the exiles of South Carolina, who had lately re- 
 turned to the state, and were collectin<x in the neicrh- 
 bourhood of that place to assist in protecting the 
 country. The captain, with forty dragoons, twenty 
 
36 . SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 mounted infantry, and sixty militia, ventured up the 
 country, where the exiles he was ordered to disperse, 
 attacked and destroyed his detachment. The captain, 
 notorious for his cruelties and violence, was killed, as 
 were several others, and the rest dispersed. 
 
 After the fall of Charleston, General Gates had 
 been summoned from his retreat in Virginia to com- 
 mand the southern army. Virginia and North Carolina 
 were called upon to hasten reinforcements of militia 
 to the south, and the Maryland and Delaware lines, 
 under the orders of Major-General Baron De Kalb, 
 were put in motion for North Carolina. 
 
 The announcement of these preparations reani- 
 mated the patriots of Georgia and Carolina, and the 
 smothered discontents growing out of the despotic 
 change, dictated by Sir Henry Clinton's last procla- 
 mation, with the irritations daily experienced from his 
 insolent licentious soldiery, began to burst forth. Lord 
 Rawdon drew in M' Arthur from Cheraw Hill, and 
 broke up most of his small posts, dispersed through- 
 out the country, concentrating the British in the 
 positions of Augusta, Ninety-Six, and Camden. 
 
 Previous to this measure, the disaffected of North 
 Carolina, forgetting the salutary caution of Lord 
 Cornwallis, and sore under the necessary vigilance of 
 the state government, had imbodied with the determi- 
 nation to force their way into the British camp. This 
 ill-advised insurrection was speedily crushed, as we 
 have seen in the case of Colonel Moore ; but Colonel 
 Bryan had the address to keep together eight hundred 
 of his followers, and to conduct them safely to the 
 
GATES JOINS DE KALB. 37 
 
 post :,■ Cheraw Hill, although actively pursued by 
 General Rutherford. 
 
 Meanwhile Baron De Kalb reached Hillsborough 
 in North Carolina, and after leaving it was joined on 
 the 25th of July by General Gates. Their force now 
 amounted to fifteen hundred men. The mihtia of 
 North Carolina and Virginia had not yet joined them; 
 and Colonel Porterfield, with four hundred men, was 
 still on the confines of South Carolina. Colonel 
 White and Captain Washington, after the fall of 
 Charleston, had retired to North Carolina, to recruit 
 their regiments of cavalry. They solicited General 
 Gates's aid ; but he paid no attention to their request ; 
 and in the sequel suffered severely for this error. His 
 disregard of Baron De Kalb's advice as to the route 
 of the army was equally unfortunate. Instead of a 
 circuitous march through a rich and fertile country, 
 he chose to pass by a shorter route through a sterile 
 and thinly-settled region, and exposed the troops to 
 much suffering from want and sickness. 
 
 Gates's advance to South Carolina roused the con- 
 cealed patriots into action. In the country between 
 Pedee and Santee, the spirit of resistance to British 
 tyranny manifested itself openly. Major M' Arthur, 
 when retiring from Cheraw Hill, had availed himself 
 of the river to transport his sick to Georgetown, at 
 which place there was a British post. Colonel Mills, 
 with a party of militia, formed the escort for the sick. 
 As soon as the boats had reached a proper distance 
 from M'Arthur, the militia rose upon their colonel, 
 who with dii^culty escaped, made prisoners of the sick, 
 and conveyed them safely into North Carohna. 
 
;J8 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 In the district lying between Camden and Ninety- 
 Six, the same spirit was evinced. A Lieutenant-Colo- 
 nel Lyle, who, in pursuance of Clinton's proclamation, 
 had exchanged his parole for a certificate of his being 
 a hege subject, led a great portion of the regiment to 
 which he belonged, with their arms and accoutre- 
 ments, to the frontiers, where they were added to the 
 recruits assembling to join Gates's army. Marion 
 was scouring the country between the Pedee and 
 Santee rivers ; Sumpter the region between Camden 
 and Ninety-Six; and Pickens that between Ninety- 
 Six and Augusta. 
 
 With Marion on his right, and Sumpter on his 
 left, and General Gates approaching in front. Lord 
 Rawdon, discerning the critical event at hand, took 
 his measures accordingly. He not only called in his 
 outposts, but drew from the garrison of Ninety-Six 
 four companies of light infantry, and made known to 
 Lord Cornwallis the menacing attitude of his enemy. 
 
 Sumpter commenced his inroads upon the British 
 territory by assaulting, on the 1st of August, the post 
 of Rocky Mount, in the charge of Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Turnbull, with a small garrison of one hundred and 
 fifty of the New York volunteers, and some South 
 Carolina militia. The brigadier, attended by the 
 colonels Lacy, Erwine, and Ncale, having each col- 
 lected some of their mihtia, repaired, on the 30th of 
 July, to Major Davie, who still continued near the 
 enemy, and was now encamped on the north of the 
 Waxhaws creek, for the purpose of concerting a joint 
 assault upon some of the British outposts. They 
 were led to hasten the execution of this step, fearing 
 
DAVIE ATTACKS THE LOYALISTS. 89 
 
 that by delay their associates might disperse wittiont 
 having effected any thing. After due dehberation, 
 they came to the resolution of carrying the posts of 
 Rocky Mount and Hanging Rock in succession. The 
 first of these is situated on the west side of the Ca- 
 tawba, thirty miles from Camden, and the last was 
 established on the east side of the same river, twenty 
 four miles from Camden. They are distant from 
 each other twelve miles. 
 
 Sumpter, having under him the three colonels, ad- 
 vanced with the main body upon Rocky Mount ; while 
 Major Davie, with his corps and a part of the Meck- 
 lenburgh militia, under Colonel Heaggins, marched to 
 Hanging Rock, to watch the motions of the garrison, 
 to procure exact intelligence of the condition of the 
 post, and to be ready to unite with Sumpter in the 
 intended blow. 
 
 Rocky Mount station is fixed on the comb of a 
 lofty eminence, encircled by open woods. This sum- 
 mit was surrounded by a small ditch and abattis, in 
 the centre of which were erected three log buildings, 
 constructed to protect the garrison in battle, and per- 
 forated with loop-holes for the annoyance of the 
 assailants. 
 
 As Davie got near to Hanging Rock, he learned 
 that three companies of Bryan's loyalists, part of the 
 garrison, were just returning from an excursion, and 
 had halted at a neighbouring farm-house. He drew 
 oflf, determined to fall upon this party. This was 
 handsomely executed, and completely succeeded. 
 Eluding the sentinels in one quarter with his infantry, 
 and gaining the other point of attack with his horse 
 
40 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 undiscovered, by marching through some adjoining 
 woods, he placed the enemy between these two divi- 
 sions, each of which pressed gallantly into action. 
 
 The loyalists, finding their front and rear occupied, 
 attempted to escape in a direction believed to be 
 open, but were disappointed; the major having de- 
 tached thither a party of his dragoons in time to meet 
 them. They were all, except a few, killed and 
 wounded; and the spoils of victory were safely 
 brought off, consisting of sixty horses and their trap- 
 pings, and one hundred muskets and rifles. 
 
 The brigadier approached Rocky Mount with his 
 characteristic impetuosity ; but the British officer was 
 found on his guard, and defended himself ably. Three 
 times did Sumpter attempt to cany it; but being 
 always foiled, having no artillery to batter down the 
 houses, he drew off undisturbed by the garrison, hav- 
 ing lost a few of his detachment, with Colonel Neale, 
 an active, determined, influential officer, and retired 
 to his frontier position on the Catawba. Here he 
 rested no longer than was necessary to recruit his 
 corps, refresh his horses, and provide a part of the 
 provisions necessary to support him on his next excur- 
 sion. Quitting his retreat with his brave associates, 
 Davie, Irvine, Hill, and Lacy, he darted upon the 
 British line of communications, and fell on the post at 
 Hanging Rock, (Gth of August), which was held by 
 Major Cardcn with five hundred men, consisting of 
 one hundred and fifty of the infantry of Tarleton's 
 legion, a part of Colonel Brown's regiment, and Bry- 
 an's North Carolina corps, a portion of which had a 
 few days before been cut to pieces by Major Davie. 
 
ATTACK ON HANGING ROCK. 43 
 
 His attack was, through the error of his guides, 
 pointed at the corps of Bryan, which, being surprised, 
 soon yielded and took to flight. Sumpter pressed 
 with ardour the advantage he had gained, and bore 
 down upon the legion infantry, which was forced. lie 
 then fell upon Brown's detachment. Here he was re- 
 ceived upon the point of the bayonet. The contest 
 grew fierce, and the issue doubtful ; but at length the 
 corps of Brown fell back, having lost nearly all its 
 officers, and a great proportion of its soldiers. 
 
 Hamilton's regiment, with the remains of Brown's, 
 and the legion infantry, now formed in the centre of 
 their position, a hollow square. 
 
 Sumpter advanced with the determination to strike 
 this last point of resistance ; but the ranks of the 
 militia had become disordered, and the men scattered 
 from success, and from the plunder of part of the 
 British camp, so that only two hundred infantry, and 
 Davie's dragoons, could be brought into array. The 
 musketry opened ; but their fire was ineflfectual ; nor 
 could Sumpter, by all his exertions, again bring his 
 troops to risk close action against his well-posted 
 enemy, supported by two pieces of artillery. 
 
 The cavalry under Davie fell upon a body of the 
 lo3^alists, who, having ralhed, had formed in the oppo- 
 site quarter, and menaced our right flank. They 
 were driven from their ground, and took shelter under 
 the British infantry, still in hollow square. 
 
 The spoils of the camp, and the free use of spirits 
 in which the enemy abounded, had for some time at- 
 tracted and incapacitated many of our soldiers. It 
 was therefore determined to retreat with the prisoners 
 
44 SERVICES IN I'lIK REVOLUTION. 
 
 and booty. This was done about twelve o'clock, 
 very leisurely, in the face of the enemy, who did not 
 attempt interruption, so severely had he suffered. A 
 party was now for the first time seen drawn up on 
 the Camden road, with the appearance of renewal 
 of the contest ; but on the approach of Davie it fell 
 back. Our loss was not ascertained, from the usual 
 inattention to returns prevalent with militia officers, 
 many of our wounded having been immediately car- 
 ried home from the field of battle. The corps of 
 Davie suffered most. Captain M'Clure, of South 
 Carolina, and Captain Reed, of North Carolina, were 
 killed; Colonel Hill, Major Winn, and Lieutenant 
 Crawford, were wounded, as were Captain Craighead, 
 Lieutenant Flenchau, and Ensign M'Clure, of North 
 Carolina. The British loss exceeded ours. Captain 
 M'Cullock, who commanded the legion infantry with 
 much personal honour, and two other officers, and 
 twenty men of the same corps, were killed, and nearly 
 forty wounded. Many officers and men of Brown's 
 regiment were also killed and wounded, and some 
 taken. 
 
 Bryan's loyalists were less hurt, having dispersed 
 as soon as pressed. The error of the guides, which 
 deranged the plan of attack, the allurements of the 
 spoils found in the enemy's camp, and the indulgence 
 in the use of liquor, deprived Sumpter of the victory 
 once within his grasp, and due to the zeal, gallantry, 
 and perseverance of himself and officers. 
 
 The battle of ILinging Rock was the first in which 
 Andrew Jackson was engaged. The family had re- 
 tired into North Carolina, on I^ord Ravvdon's advance 
 
BATTLE OF CAMDEN. 45 
 
 to the Waxhaw settlement, and had returned on his 
 retiring to Camden. Andrew and his brother Robert 
 had joined Davie's corps, a short time before the bat- 
 tle. For a boy of thirteen this was rather rough 
 work ; but this and the scenes at Waxhaw, served to 
 inure him to the habits of a warrior, and to impress 
 vividly on his mind the character of the enemy with 
 whom he was so frequently to deal in his subsequent 
 career. 
 
 Although General Gates's expedition had set out 
 early in the spring, it was the beginning of August 
 before he could approach Camden, with about four 
 thousand men, mostly militia. He advanced in the 
 determination to push vigorously offensive operations, 
 hoping to induce Lord Rawdon to fall back upon 
 Charleston. That officer, however, had given notice 
 to Cornwallis, who hastened to the spot ; and though 
 the troops, from disease and other causes, had been 
 reduced to little more than two thousand, he resolved 
 without hesitation to attack. He had set out in the 
 night of the 15th, with a view to surprise the Ameri- 
 cans, when, by a singular occurrence, he met Gates, 
 in full march, with the same design against himself. 
 The advanced guard of the latter was driven in, when 
 both parties thought it advisable to postpone the 
 general action till daylight. 
 
 In the American line, De Kalb, with most of the 
 regulars, commanded on the right, while the militia 
 of Carolina formed the centre, and that of Virginia 
 the left. The conflict began with the last, who were 
 attacked by the British infantry under Colonel Web- 
 ster, with such impetuosity, that they threw down 
 
40 
 
 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION 
 
 Lord Cornwallis. 
 
 their arms and precipitately fled. The whole of the 
 left and centre were very speedily off the field, few 
 having fired a shot, and still fewer carrying away a 
 musket. Gates Avas borne along by the torrent, and 
 after vain attempts to rally his men, gave up all for 
 lost, and never stopped till he reached Charlotte, 
 eighty miles distant. Meanwhile, De Kalb, on the 
 right, opposed to Lord Rawdon, long and firmly main- 
 tained his ground, gaining even some advantage; and 
 
TARLETON SURPRISES SUMPTER. 47 
 
 it was not till the victorious divisions had wheeled 
 round against him, that his corps was broken and dis- 
 persed. He himself, covered with wounds, became a 
 captive, and, notwithstanding every care, expired in a 
 few hours. 
 
 About one thousand prisoners were taken, and the 
 whole army scattered. Gates seems manifestly to 
 have erred in fighting a pitched battle with an army 
 consisting chiefly of militia; and Tarleton particularly 
 censures him for having composed of them so great a 
 part of his regular line, instead of merely employing 
 them to skirmish on his front and flanks ; but, in fact, 
 his veteran force seems to have scarcely sufficed for 
 a duly extended order of battle.* 
 
 Colonel Sumpter, on the evening before the battle 
 of Camden, succeeded in carrying a strong redoubt, 
 on the Wateree, taking above one hundred prisoners. 
 On learning the fatal issue of that day, he instantly 
 began his retreat, and reached with such celerity the 
 fords of the Catawba, that he considered himself safe, 
 and allowed his men to repose during the heat of the 
 day. But nothing could escape the indefatigable 
 ardour of Tarleton, who had been sent in pursuit. 
 His rapidity was such that the greater part of his 
 corps could not follow him, from fatigue; but with 
 -^ne hundred and sixty only he came up, and found 
 Sumpter completely unprepared, his videttes asleep, 
 and the men lying apart from their arms. Roused 
 from slumber by the attack of this daring little band, 
 they scarcely attempted resistance ; and after a short 
 
 * Marshall — Tarleton. 
 
48 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Struggle, about half were captured, the others dis- 
 persed. They lost one hundred and fifty killed and 
 wounded, besides three hundred and ten prisoners; 
 all their stores were taken, and the British captives 
 recovered. 
 
 Cornwallis, having thus become master of a consi- 
 derable number of prisoners, proceeded against them 
 with rigour ; several, who had joined the British 
 militia and then deserted to the Americans, were 
 executed as traitors. 
 
 After a few weeks' delay, on account of the heat, 
 the British general advanced to Charlotte Town, in 
 North Carolina. Meanwhile, a corps of about six- 
 teen hundred loyal mihtia having been assemliled, 
 under Major Ferguson, an active partisan, he was 
 directed to move westward, and clear the territory 
 along the foot of the mountains. He was led farther 
 in this direction by the movements of a hostile party 
 which threatened Augusta, where he approached and 
 roused into action a class, who were always re- 
 cognised as terrible foes to the British cause. The 
 borderers who roved along the sides of the Alleghany, 
 were, if possible, ruder and bolder than the boys of 
 the Green Mountain. They rode on light, fleet 
 horses, carrying only their rifle, a blanket, and knap- 
 sack. Food was procured by the gun, or on its occa- 
 sional failure, from a small herd of cattle, driven 
 behind them. At night, the earth was their bed, the 
 sky their canopy. They thus moved with a swiftness 
 which no ordinary troops cmild rival. 
 
 Ferguson, having learned that about three thousand 
 of these daring mountaineers had mustered against 
 
BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN. 49 
 
 him, began a rapid retreat upon the main botly ; but 
 being informed that sixteen hundred of the fleetest 
 and boldest had been formed into a select band in 
 chase of him, and seeing the hopelessness of escaping 
 their almost preternatural swiftness, he took post on 
 King's Mountain, and awaited their attack. They 
 came up on the 7th of October, and began to ascend 
 the mountain in three divisions. Ferguson charged 
 the first, and drove it back with the bayonet ; and 
 wherever this weapon could be used, he was victori- 
 ous ; but the assailants clustered round on every side, 
 and from beneath the covert of trees and steeps, dis- 
 charged their rifles with almost unerring aim. The 
 British soon began to fall in great numbers, and when 
 their commander himself received a mortal wound, the 
 whole party were routed, three hundred killed and 
 wounded, and the rest completely dispersed. In re- 
 tahation of Cornwallis's proceedings at Camden, ten 
 of the principal captives were hanged on the spot. 
 
 While these events were transpiring, Mrs. Jackson 
 and her sons were in North Carolina, whither, in 
 company with many other families from the Waxhaw 
 neighbourhood, they had retired, subsequently to the 
 battle of Camden ; the summary proceedings of Corn- 
 wallis after that event rendering it impracticable for 
 those families who were determined not to become 
 British subjects to remain in South Carolina. This 
 voluntary exile is one among the numerous evidences 
 of resolution and spirit exhibited by the mother of 
 Jackson. 
 
 Cornwallis, meantime, had pushed on to Salisbury, 
 approaching Virginia; and in expectation of his 
 
50 
 
 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION 
 
 Removal of tlie Waxliaw settlers. 
 
 reaching that state, a reinforcement destined for him, 
 under General LesHe, was ordered to enter the Chesa- 
 peake. Learning, however, that Ferguson had been 
 defeated at King's Mountain, and fearing that the 
 patriots might overrun and spread insurrection in 
 South CaroHna, he judged it necessary to fall back 
 upon that colony ; and Leslie was instructed to join 
 by the circuitous route of Charleston. The alarm 
 leading to this retrograde movement proved in a great 
 measure unfounded. The people, roused by a local 
 impulse, having accomplished their immediate object, 
 could not be prevented from dispersing, and the parti- 
 san warfare was continued by only two small bodies. 
 Marion, though holding together only from fifty 
 to two hundred men, severely harassed the British, 
 keeping himself so well covered by woods and 
 marshes, that even Tarleton could not hunt him down. 
 Sumpter too, after receiving a check from that officer, 
 
GREENE SUCCEEDS GATES. 5J 
 
 had again assembled a considerable corps of mounted 
 militia, and threatened some important posts. His 
 former enemy not being at hand, Major Wemyss was 
 employed, and soon came up with him; but being 
 early wounded, and his troops unskilled in this species 
 of warfare, he suffered a severe repulse. It was then 
 necessary to have recourse to Tarleton, and give him 
 a considerable force. Using his accustomed despatch, 
 he had nearly got in the rear of his adversary, who, 
 as soon as he learned to whom he was opposed, hur- 
 ried by rapid marches to the Tyger, whose rapid 
 stream once passed, would secure his retreat. Tarle- 
 tdn, seeing that with his whole force he could not be 
 in time to prevent this movement, adopted his former 
 plan of pushing forward with two hundred and fifty 
 cavalry and mounted infantry. He found his oppo- 
 nent strongly posted on the bank of the river, and 
 with his wonted promptitude rushed forward to the 
 attack. The conflict, however, was obstinate and 
 bloody, and Tarleton was finally obliged, with con- 
 siderable loss, to fall back on his infantry. Sumpter 
 then crossed the river ,• but being wounded in the ac- 
 tion himself, and rendered incapable of service for 
 some months, his opponent reaped the fruits of the 
 victory. 
 
 Gates, meantime, used diligent exertions to collect 
 and reorganize the remains of his defeated army ; 
 and Congress, amid every difficulty, forwarded to him 
 reinforcements. His defeat at Camden, however, be- 
 ing regarded as the effect of his own imprudence. 
 Congress removed him from the command, and ap- 
 pointed General Greene to succeed him. 
 
52 
 
 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 General Greene. 
 
 When Greene arrived, on the 2d of December, the 
 army had been raised to nearly two thousand men, 
 of whom the larger number were regulars. Deter- 
 mining by some movement to support the cause in 
 South Carolina, he detached General Morgan, a very 
 able partisan officer, to take post on the Broad River, 
 and endeavour to cut off Cornwallis, then at Winns- 
 borough, from the upper country. He had about 
 six hundred men, with the expectation of assembling 
 
BATTLE OF COWPENS. 63 
 
 more in the district. On learning this movement, 
 Tarleton was immediately despatched with one thou- 
 sand men to resist the inroad. 
 
 The American general at first abandoned his camp, 
 and began a rapid retreat ; but, finding this difficult, 
 and his force being nearly equal, he resolved to await 
 the attack at Cowpens, a spot three miles fi'om the 
 boundary of the Carolinas. Avoiding the fault of 
 Gates, he disposed his militia in front, keeping in re- 
 serve a chosen body, on whom he could fully depend. 
 
 On the 17th of January, Tarleton came up, and 
 immediately rushed to the charge. The first Ameri- 
 can fine was soon broken, and hastily retreated into 
 the rear of the second, which was then attacked and 
 thrown into some confusion, when Morgan ordered 
 the men to fall back and unite with the reserve. 
 This movement was mistaken for a flight by the 
 assailants, who pushed on exultingly, in somewhat 
 irregular order. 
 
 Suddenly, the Americans, having fully adjusted 
 their line, halted, wheeled round, and commenced a 
 destructive fire on their pursuers, who, being seen to 
 falter, a charge was made with the bayonet, and by 
 the cavalry with their drawn swords. After a short 
 contest, the lately victorious British were completely 
 routed, and the whole infantry surrounded and obliged 
 to surrender. The cavalry escaped by flight; but, 
 upwards of three hundred were killed or wounded, 
 and five hundred made prisoners. Tarleton declares 
 himself quite unable to account for so total a rout. 
 He appears in fact to have attacked in his usual im- 
 petuous manner, on the calculation of encountering 
 
54 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 mostly loose militia levies, whereas the greater part 
 of the opposing force was veteran ; even two of the 
 militia companies consisted of regulars recently dis- 
 charged. The British army suffered thus most 
 severely, having lost all its light infantiy, a corps par- 
 ticularly useful in such warfare : nor was it a smaD 
 misfortune for them that the commander considered 
 by his countrymen an almost invincible partisan officer 
 was thoroughly disgraced by being beaten in a battle 
 which, M'ith his regular force, he ought to have won. 
 
 Cornwallis, however, having just received the rein- 
 forcement of twenty-six hundred men under Leslie, 
 determined to efface the impression of this disaster by 
 a series of the most active offensive operations. De- 
 stroying all his superfluous baggage, he supplied the 
 loss of his light infantry by converting nearly the 
 whole of his army into a corps of that description. 
 His first hope was to overtake Morgan, and recover 
 all that was lost, which he had so nearly effected, that 
 his van reached the Catawba, on the 29th of January, 
 only two hours after the Americans had passed, when 
 a torrent of rain swelled the waters, and rendered it 
 impossible for him to follow. 
 
 Greene, who had hastened to take the command, 
 hoped to defend the passage of this river ; but it was 
 forced on the 1st of February, at a private ford, de- 
 fended by Colonel Davidson, who was defeated and 
 killed. Tarleton then surprised and dispersed a body 
 of militia assembled at a neighbouring inn. 
 
 General Greene considering himself wholly unable 
 to hazard a battle, retreated before his adversary, who 
 immediately began a chase, which was continued in 
 
GREENE'S MASTERLY RETREAT. 57 
 
 cessantly and rapidly across the whole of North Caro- 
 lina. On the night of the 2d of February, the two 
 divisions of the American army having effected a 
 junction, crossed the Yadkin, but so closely followed, 
 that their rear skirmished with the van of the enemy, 
 and part of the baggage was taken. By another 
 favourable chance, heavy rain fell during the night, 
 and in the morning rendered the river impassable; 
 so that Cornwallis was obliged to make a circuit to 
 its upper fords, while his opponent continued his re- 
 treat. He marched towards the Dan, the chief branch 
 of the Roanoke, which flows nearly along the boun- 
 dary of Carolina and Virginia. It was a broad, un- 
 fordable stream, and Greene, if he reached the other 
 side, would be in safety ; but the pursuit was con- 
 tinued, in the confident iiope of his being unable to 
 find vessels sufficient to transport over his troops. 
 This was indeed the case at the ferry immediately 
 before him; but by an able movement, he led his 
 army twenty miles downward to two others, sending 
 a detachment to bring the boats from the upper one. 
 He thus collected a sufficient number, and by extraor- 
 dinary exertions, had his army ferried over, his rear 
 reaching the northern bank just as the English van 
 appeared on the southern. 
 
 This march was considered highly creditable to 
 Greene, who gained great applause, on account of his 
 disadvantageous situation, fleeing before a superior 
 enemy, who pursued with such rapidity, yet placing in 
 safety not only his army but the greater part of his 
 heavy baggage. 
 
 CornwaUis now gave up the pursuit, and repaired 
 
bH SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 to Hillsborough, with the view of calling out and or- 
 ganizing the royalist force. On the other hand, 
 Greene, having obtained a reinforcement of Virginia 
 militia, repassed the Dan, and with his light troops 
 endeavoured to annoy the British army, and prevent 
 recruiting. Major Lee sui'prised a detachment of 
 royalists, who mistook him for Tarleton, and cut them 
 nearly to pieces. 
 
 On account of the exhausted state of the country 
 at Hillsborough, Cornwallis withdrew to a position on 
 the AUimance Creek, between Haw and Deep rivers, 
 where he could be better supplied, and support his 
 friends, who were there numerous. Greene, however, 
 by an active use of his cavalry and light troops, se- 
 verely harassed his opponent; and by changing his 
 own position every night, eluded the attempt to bring 
 him to an enoraorement. 
 
 At length, the American general, having received 
 reinforcements, which raised his army to above four 
 thousand two hundred men, of whom about a third 
 were regulars, determined to offer battle. This was 
 what the other had eagerly sought ; his own effective 
 force being but twenty-four hundred men ; and al- 
 though they were chiefly vetei-an troops, he felt some 
 hesitation, and probably would have acted more wisely 
 in maintaining the defensive. Even the enterprising 
 Tarleton observes, that in his circumstances, defeat 
 would have been total ruin, while any victory he 
 might expect to gain could yield little fruit. All the 
 habits and views of Cornwallis, however, being di- 
 rected to an active campaign, ho formed his resolution, 
 and on the 15th of iMarch, proceeded to the attack. 
 
BATTLE OF GUILFORD. 59 
 
 Greene had drawn up his army very judiciously 
 near Guilford Court-IIousc, mostly on a range of hills 
 covered with trees and brushwood. Adopting still 
 the system of making the militia bear the first brunt, 
 he placed that of Carolina in the front, while the Vir- 
 ginian, considered somewhat better, formed the second 
 hue, and he remained in the third with the continental 
 troops, in whom alone he placed full confidence. The 
 British, proceeding with impetuosity, and having dri- 
 ven in the advanced guard of cavalry, attacked the 
 Carolina line, who scarcely discharging their muskets, 
 fled precipitately after the first hostile fire, and many 
 even before. This front having given way, the 
 next movement was against the Virginians, who stood 
 their ground with firmness, and kept up their fire till 
 ordered to retreat. The assailants then advanced 
 against the third line ; but the regiments having expe- 
 rienced different degrees of resistance, came on impe- 
 tuously in an uneven line and some disorder. Greene 
 then felt sanguine hopes that a steady charge from his 
 chosen troops would turn the fortune of the day. He 
 was dismayed to see the second Maryland regiment 
 give way at once, after which he thought only of re- 
 tiring, but Colonel Gunby, at the head of the first, 
 gained a decided advantage over the corps under Co- 
 lonel Stewart, and there followed an obstinate and 
 somewhat desultory contest between the diflx^rent 
 corps, after which the Americans were compelled to a 
 general retreat. Yet, a strong body of riflemen on 
 the left flank kept up a galling fire, till Tarloton with 
 the cavalry drove them off" the field. In this hard- 
 fought battle the Americans own a loss of three hun- 
 
60 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 dred continentals and one hundred militia killed and 
 wounded. Cornwallis kept the field, but notwithstand- 
 ing, the British interest in North Carolina was that 
 day ruined. 
 
 The British lost in the battle of Guilford five hun- 
 dred and thirty-two men in killed and wounded, inclu- 
 ding two of their best officers, and reducing their ef- 
 fective force below fifteen hundred. Althous^h Corn- 
 wallis claimed the victory, he was obliged to fall back 
 upon Wilmington, a step which involved the abandon- 
 ment of North Carolina. Greene consequently re- 
 solved to carry the war into South Carolina; and 
 Cornwallis proceeded tow^ards Virginia, where he was 
 destined to close his militaiy career in America by 
 the surrender of Yorktown. 
 
 In February, Mrs. Jackson and her family returned 
 fi-om North Carolina to the homestead in Waxhaw. 
 This w as a bold step, considering that Camden, not 
 far from her residence, was held by a British garrison, 
 and that the whole country, in every direction, was 
 infested with British marauders and Tories, who car- 
 ried on the war in a spirit of extermination, plunder- 
 ing and killing the inhabitants, without respect to age 
 or sex. 
 
 No family could go to rest without serious appre- 
 hensions of being assailed in the night by these ruth- 
 less enemies, who, in many cases put all to the sword 
 who could bear arms, and after ransacking and pilla- 
 ging the house, set it on fire, and left the women and 
 children to seek shelter where they could. " The 
 spectacle," says a British writer, " of women of the 
 first distinction flecinji with their families in a slate 
 
•'REBEL LADIES.' Gl 
 
 of total destitution, excited public sympathy. It was 
 unfortunate for Britain that the fair sex strongly shared 
 these feelings, and many warmly espoused the pat- 
 riotic cause, glorying even in the title of " rebel la- 
 dies." 
 
 Mrs. Jackson was one of these rebel ladies, des- 
 tined to exhibit the most heroic devotion to the cause, 
 and to lay down her life at the altar of patriotism. 
 Her sons shared her feelings ; and, young as they were, 
 accustomed themselves to sleep upon their arms, ready 
 to resist a midnight attack of the Tories. Their tender 
 age did not prevent them from joining in the measures 
 for protection and defence to which all able-bodied 
 men were driven by the stress of tlie times. They 
 were often attached to the patroles which were under 
 arms in the neighbourhood through the night. Their 
 conduct on these occasions is thus described by Mr. 
 Garland. 
 
 " At the age of thirteen, Andrew Jackson was not, 
 like the boys of our day, engaged in some school or 
 academy, learning Greek and Latin, and mathematics, 
 storing his mind with knowledge, and preparing himself 
 for future usefulness. He was in the field, not in the 
 corn-field or wheat-field, reaping the fruits of honest 
 industry, but in the battle-field, fighting in defence of 
 his country. 
 
 " The boy of thirteen, with sword and gun, rode 
 by the side of Marion, and Davie, and Sumpter, re- 
 nowned leaders, whose deeds of daring are familiar 
 to the youngest child that hears me. Those heroic 
 men, by their valour and fortitude, filled the world 
 with admiration, and called back in imajrination the 
 
G'2 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 tige of cliivaliy and romance, yet they did not surpass 
 the heroism and fortitude of their youthful companion. 
 It \vas no common war in which he Avas called to en- 
 gage, in the Waxhaw Settlement. It was a civil war, 
 indeed — a war of extermination, in A\hich neighbour 
 practised on neighbour such deeds of cruelty as would 
 have put the Creeks or Cherokees to shame. Those 
 who in former days had set in the shadow of his mo- 
 ther's door, broken bread at her hospitable board, and 
 spoken words of kindness to her widowed heart, now 
 sought to wrap her humble dwelling in flames, and to 
 take the life of her fatherless children. The patriot 
 soldier dared not visit his own home, and seek an 
 hour's repose in the bosom of his family, without a 
 body-guard to protect him from the assault of his Tory 
 neighbours. On one such occasion, Andrew Jackson 
 and his brother Robert, with four or five others, vo- 
 lunteered to stand guard for Captain Sands, while he 
 sought a night's repose with his family. At midnight, 
 when all were asleep, having no immediate apprehen- 
 sions of an attack, a party of Tories, divided into pla- 
 toons, approached the house in front and rear. One 
 wakeful soldier, hearing a noise, went out and saw the 
 party approaching in front. Running back in terror, 
 he seized Jackson by the hair, exclaiming, ' The To- 
 ries are upon us !' 
 
 " Jackson sprang up, ran out to the front door, and 
 challenged the approaching party. Again he chal- 
 lenged — but no answer — he fired — his fire was re- 
 turned by a volley from the whole platoon. The sol- 
 dier by his side fell dead — he retreated to the door, 
 and with two otliers defended it to the last extremity. 
 
DEFIES THE J]RITISiI O FFl C Eii. (J^ 
 
 Both his companions fell ; ImI he stood unhurt, fight- 
 insr to the last. A fortunate circumstance caused the 
 enemy to retreat, and the young hero had the satis- 
 faction to know that his promptness and valour had 
 saved his friend from assassination, and the family 
 and property of his friend from insult and destruction. 
 Delightful foretaste of that greater bliss which was to 
 fill his joyful heart, when in his triumphal march he 
 trod upon roses scattered in his path by the rescued 
 maidens of New Orleans ! 
 
 "On another occasion, when a band of patriots 
 were waitinor at the Waxhaw meeting-house for some 
 of their companions, they saw a party approaching 
 that they took to be friends ; but, on a nearer view, 
 discovered them to be Tories in citizens' dress, with a 
 body of British dragoons in rear. Many by this strat- 
 agem were captured. But Robert and Andrew Jack- 
 son, light boys with brave hearts, on fleet horses made 
 tlieir escape through the woods and swamps. They 
 stayed out all night, and on entering a house next day 
 in search of something to eat, were surrounded by the 
 dragoons and taken prisoners. While there, a British 
 officer, a disgrace to his name and profession, de- 
 manded of Andrew Jackson to perform an ignomi- 
 nious office ; which he indignantly refused. Boys ! 
 what would you have done in this situation ? ' A help- 
 less captive, in the hands of ruthless soldiers — an in- 
 solent officer, with bent brows and uplifted sword de- 
 manding of you to clean his boots — what would you 
 have done? In such helplessness, and with such 
 threatening danger overhanging you, would you not 
 have slunk away, and quietly cleaned the mud from 
 
64 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Jackson defying the British officer. 
 
 the boots of your insolent captor ? Not so Andre^v 
 Jackson ! Boy as he was — defenceless as he was, he 
 scornfully refused ; demanding to be treated with re- 
 spect due to a prisoner of Avar and a gentleman. Did 
 the British officer receive with admiration that act of 
 heroism, and extend a hand of forgiveness to the 
 youthful hero ? He struck a violent blow at his head ! 
 Jackson, throwing up his left arm, received the stroke 
 that was aimed at his life. The arm was broken, but 
 the heroic life was saved, to chastise in after years, 
 that act of British tyranny and insolence. 
 
 " The same ignominious task was now required of 
 Robert. He with equal spirit refused, and received a 
 sabre-stroke on his head, which not many weeks after- 
 wards proved fatal to his life. Those two wounded 
 boys were marched to Camden; not a mouthful of 
 
JACKSON A PRISONER. 05 
 
 food or a drop of water was given them by the way. 
 The brutal savages, with British uniforms on their 
 backs, refused them even the privilege of slaking 
 their fevered thirst by scooping up water in their 
 hands as they rode across the river! Arriving at 
 Camden, they, with a multitude of others, w ere thrust 
 into prison. No attention was paid to their wounds 
 or to their wants. They had no beds, nor any sub- 
 stitute — their only food was a scanty supply of bad 
 bread. They were robbed of their clothing, taunted 
 by Tories with being rebels, and assured that they 
 would be hanged. Andrew Jackson was stripped of 
 his jacket and shoes, and separated from his brother 
 so soon as their relationship was known. The small- 
 pox made its appearance among the prisoners. No 
 step ^vas taken to stay its progress, or mitigate its ra- 
 vages. Denied the attention of physician or nurse, 
 they were left to perish, without sympathy or compas- 
 sion. In this state of things, Andrew Jackson fell in- 
 to conversation with the officers of the guard, described 
 the condition of the prisoners, and remonstrated against 
 the treatment they had received. A boy not yet four- 
 teen years of age, who had proved that he neither feared 
 the sword nor the insolence of power, now dared, in a 
 dungeon surrounded with disease, squalor, and death, 
 to confront his stem keepers, and in the honest and 
 simple eloquence of youth, tell the truth to ears most 
 unwilling to hear it. Heroic lad ! how my soul yearns 
 over thee ! and even in sadness rejoiceth that human 
 nature, with all its vileness, is endowed with so much 
 of the God-like ! How I long, bold youth ! to take 
 thee in my arms, and from the light of thine eyes and 
 
6G SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 the proud swell of thy bosom, draw some inspirations 
 of the divine nature that fills thee ! 
 
 " Hearing in her loneliness of the capture and con- 
 finement of her sons, Mrs. Jackson hastened down to 
 Camden to minister to their wants and rescue them 
 from captivity. What a spectacle to a fond mother ! 
 Both infected with the small-pox — both emaciated to 
 skeletons, and almost naked ! By the kind assistance 
 of an American oflScer, she eflfected an exchange of 
 prisoners, with her sons included in the number, and 
 immediately started home with her melancholy charge. 
 
 " There were but two horses for the whole com- 
 pany. Mrs. Jackson rode on one — on the other Ro- 
 bert was held by his companions, while Andrew walked 
 barefooted and half-clad. They journeyed forty miles 
 through a desolate country, and before reaching home 
 a drenching rain drove in the small-pox on both boys. 
 In a few days, Robert breathed his last — Andrew be- 
 came delirious, and remained for some time in a hope- 
 less condition. Bv the constant care of a f^ood Sa- 
 maritan, he was at length restored, the only son of his 
 widowed mother ! 
 
 " But this saint-like woman was not content with 
 the rescue of her own children. No sooner was her 
 now only son restored to life, than she hastened down 
 to Charleston to minister to the wants of her country- 
 men, confined in the prison-ships there — whose suffer- 
 ings and privations were only surpassed by the poor 
 wretches crammed into the middle passage of an Af- 
 rican slave-ship. She went — accomplished her mission 
 of mercy — but never returned. Seized with the prison 
 fever on her way back, she fell by the way-side, and 
 
JACKSON LOSES HIS MOTHER. 67 
 
 was buried no mortal knows where. Andrew Jackson 
 never knew where to find his mother's grave — never 
 knew where to pour out his orphan tears on the sense- 
 less clod that covered the remains of all that was dear 
 to him on earth ! Hapless was his fate ! A father's 
 care he never knew — his eldest brother lon^ since 
 gone — Robert murdered — and his mother now a vic- 
 tim to the cruelties of the same ruthless enemy. Like 
 Logan, or " The ancient mariner," far out at sea, with 
 his companions all dead, could he exclaim — 
 
 " Alone ! alone, all, all alone ! 
 Alone on the wide, wide sea !" 
 
 But he was not alone. There was a God that over- 
 ruled his destiny — that set him apart and ordained 
 him as a fit instrument to accomplish his divine pur- 
 poses in the history of man. He had no father, like 
 Hannibal, to lead him to the altar of his country and 
 make him swear eternal hostility to Roman power. 
 But in the depths of his orphan heart, and in the pre- 
 sence of the God that guided his footsteps, did he 
 swear eternal vengeance against that modern Rome, 
 whose iron heel for centuries had trodden out the 
 spirit of his fatherland, who had sought to subjugate 
 the land of his birth, the refuge of the oppressed, and 
 had steeped his murderous sword in the blood of his 
 own kindred !" 
 
 It was while Andrew Jackson was a prisoner at 
 Camden, that he witnessed General Greene's engage- 
 ment with Lord Rawdon. The first encounter took 
 place at Hobkirk's Hill, near Camden, on the 25th of 
 A.pril, and ended in the defeat of the Americans ; but 
 
68 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 did not change materially the relative situation of 
 the armies. Greene could still maintain his position 
 and support the detachments of Lee, Marion and 
 Sumpter, which were operating in the rear of Lord 
 Rawdon's army. 
 
 Lee and Marion proceeded first against Fort Wat 
 son on the Santee, which commanded in a great mea 
 sure the communication with Charleston. Having 
 neither artillery or besieging tools, they reared a tow- 
 er above the level of the rampart, whence their rifle 
 fire drove the defenders, and themselves then mounted 
 compelled the garrison to surrender. They could 
 not, however, prevent Colonel Watson from leading 
 five hundred men to reinforce Lord Rawdon, who then 
 advanced with the intention of brincjinff Greene airain 
 to action ; but found him fallen back upon so strong a 
 position, as to afford no reasonable hope of success. 
 His lordship finding his convoys intercepted, and view- 
 ing the generally insecure state of his posts in the lower 
 country, considered himself under at least the tem- 
 porary necessity of retreating thither. He had first 
 in view the relief of Motte's House on the Congaree ; 
 but before reaching it, he had the mortification to find 
 that, with the garrison of one hundred and sixty-five, 
 it had fdlen into the hands of Marion and Lee. He 
 continued his march to Monk's Corner, where he co- 
 vered Charleston and the surrounding country. 
 
 The partisan chiefs rapidly seized this opportunity 
 of attacking the interior posts ; and reduced suc- 
 cessively Orangeburg, Granby on the Congaree, and 
 Augusta, the key of Upjxir Georgia. In these five 
 forts they made eleven hundred prisoners. The most 
 
ATTACK ON NINETY-SIX. 69 
 
 important one, however, was that named Ninety-Six, 
 on the Saluda, defended by a garrison of five hundred 
 men. Orders had been sent to them to quit and retire 
 downwards ; but the messenger was intercepted ; and 
 Colonel Cruger, the commander, made the most active 
 preparations for its defence. Greene considered this 
 place of such importance, that he undertook the siege 
 in person, with a thousand regulars. He broke ground 
 before it on the night of the 23d of May, and though 
 much impeded by a successful sally on the following 
 day, proceeded with such energy, that by the 3d of 
 June, the second parallel was completed, and the gar- 
 rison summoned, but in vain, to surrender. On the 8th 
 he was reinforced by Lee, from the capture of Augus- 
 ta ; and though he encountered a most gallant and ef- 
 fective resistance, trusted that the place must in due 
 time fall. Three days after, however, he learned that 
 Rawdon, having received a reinforcement from Ireland, 
 was in full march to relieve it, and had baffled the at- 
 tempts of Sumpter to impede his progress. The Ameri- 
 can leader, therefore, feeling himself unable to give bat- 
 tle, saw no prospect of carrying the fortress, unless by 
 storm. On the 18th, an attack against the two most 
 commanding outworks was led by Lee and Campbell, 
 the former of whom carried his point ; but the latter, 
 though he penetrated into the ditch, and maintained 
 his party there for three-quarters of an hour, found 
 them exposed to so destructive a fire, as compelled a 
 general retreat. The siege was immediately raised, 
 and Lord Rawdon, on the 21st, entered the place in 
 triumph. Being again master of the field, he pressed 
 forward in the hope of bringing his antagonist to battle; 
 5 
 
70 SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 but the latter rather chose to fall back towards the 
 distant point of Charlotte in Virginia, while Rawdon 
 did not attempt to pursue him beyond the Ennoree. 
 
 Notwithstanding this present superiority, his lord- 
 ship, having failed in his hopes of a decisive victory, 
 and viewing the general aspect of the country, con- 
 sidered it no longer possible to attempt more than 
 covering the lower districts of South Carolina. He 
 therefore fell back to Orangeburg on the Edisto ; and 
 though he attempted at first to maintain Cruger with 
 a strong body at Ninety-Six, was soon induced to re- 
 call him. Greene, being reinforced by one thousand 
 men under Marion and Sumpter, reconnoitred his po- 
 sition, but judged it imprudent to attack ; and both ar- 
 mies, exhausted by such a series of active movements, 
 took an interval of repose during the heat of the season. 
 
 Lord Rawdon, being at this time obliged by ill-health 
 to return home, left the army under Colonel Stuart, 
 who, to cover the lower country, occupied a position 
 at the point where the Congaree and Wateree unite 
 in forming the Santee. Greene, having received rein- 
 forcements from the north, and collected all his par- 
 tisan detachments, found himself strong enough to try 
 the chance of battle. His approach with this evident 
 view, induced the other party to retire forty miles 
 down the river, to the strong post of Eutaw, whither 
 the American general immediately followed by slow 
 and easy marches. On the 8th of September, the lat- 
 ter determined to attack the British camp, placing as 
 usual, his militia in front, hoping that the English, in 
 beating and pursuing them, would at least get into 
 confusion; but from this very dread, the latter had 
 
BATTLE OF EUTAW. 71 
 
 been warned to keep their posts till ordered to move. 
 The American front, however, maintained their ground 
 better than usual, and the British, before beating them, 
 became heated, and forgetful of the warnings given, 
 pushed forward irregulary. They were then charged 
 by the veterans in the second hne, and after a very 
 desperate struggle, driven off the field. There lay in 
 their way, however, a large brick building and adja- 
 cent garden, where Stuart placed a strong corps, who 
 could not be dislodged, and kept up a deadly fire, 
 which checked the victors, enablinof the retreating 
 troops to be formed anew. At the same time. Colonel 
 Washington attacked the British flank ; but finding it 
 strongly posted among woods, he was repulsed with 
 great loss, and himself taken prisoner. The American 
 general, seeing no hope of making any further im- 
 pression, retreated to his previous position. In this 
 bloody and doubtful battle, both parties claim the vic- 
 tory, though the British seemingly with most reason, 
 as the general result was their repulse of an assailing 
 force. It was certainly far from decisive ; and their 
 loss of eighty-five killed and six hundred and eight 
 wounded, was very little less than that of the enemy, 
 who carried off" also above two hundred prisoners. 
 The British commander then formed a resolution, 
 prompted less probably by the result of the day, than 
 by the general state of the upper country, and the 
 numbers and activity of the American light troops. 
 Conceiving himself unable to maintain so advanced a 
 position, he began to move on the evening of the 9th, 
 and proceeded down to Monk's Corner, where he 
 merely covered Charleston and its vicinity. To this 
 
72 SLR VICES IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 and to Savannah were now limited British authority, 
 which had lately extended so widely over the southern 
 states. 
 
 "Thus," says Ramsay, "ended the campaign of 
 1781, in South Carolina. At its commencement, the 
 British were in force over all the state. At its close, 
 they durst not, but with great precaution, venture 
 twenty miles from Charleston. History affords but 
 few instances of commanders, who have achieved so 
 much, with equal means, as was done by General 
 Greene, in the short space of a twelvemonth. He 
 opened the campaign with gloomy prospects ; but 
 closed it with glory. His unpaid and half-naked army 
 had to contend with veteran soldiers, supplied with 
 eveiything that the wealth of Britain, or the plunder of 
 Carolina could procure. Under all these disadvan- 
 tages, he compelled superior numbers to retire from 
 the extremity of the state, and confine themselves in 
 the capital and its vicinity. Had not his mind been 
 of the firmest texture, he would have been discouraged; 
 but his enemies found him as formidable on the even- 
 ing of a defeat as on the morning after a victory." 
 
 The sketch which ^ve have given above of the 
 southern war, will serve to show our readers the op- 
 portunities which Andrew Jackson enjoyed of learning 
 the elements of the military art. In the society of 
 such men as Marion, Sumpter, and Davie, ^^ ith the 
 the examples before him of Greene, Lee, Washington, 
 and Howard, he learnt those principles of strategy 
 which he afterwards reduced to practice in the second 
 war with England. 
 
Riding the circuit. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 PROFESSIONAL LIFE- 
 
 N the decease of his brother and mo- 
 ther, Andrew Jackson came into 
 possession of his paternal estate, 
 which, though far from rendering 
 him wealthy, was sufficiently large 
 to support him in a moderate style 
 of living, and to enable him to pur- 
 
74 PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 
 
 sue his studies. Unused, however, to economical ma- 
 nagement, he neglected the opportunity thus afforded 
 for accomplishing his mother's design, and expended 
 his patrimony without regard to the future. His di- 
 minished resources, however, soon warned him that 
 his own exertions must be his reliance for support; 
 and he continued and completed his classical education, 
 superintended by Mr. M'Cullock, who taught a school 
 near Hill's Iron Works. His enterprising disposition, 
 and his ambition to raise himself above his original 
 situation, led him to abandon the intention entertained 
 by his mother, and turn his attention to the law. He 
 commenced his le^al studies near the close of his 
 eighteenth year, at Salisbury, N. C. ; in the office of 
 Spruce M'Kay, Esq., who afterwards was promoted 
 to the bench. They were completed under Colonel 
 John Stokes; and in 1786, Jackson received his 
 license, and commenced the practice of the law. 
 
 The leffal business in the Carolinas was at this 
 period engrossed by old practitioners ; and many diffi- 
 culties presented themselves to the young beginner, 
 unless aided by the influence of relations and friends. 
 Destitute of these, and seeing little prospect of ad- 
 vancement in his present situation, Jackson determined 
 to proceed to the western country, which was then 
 bciiinninir to attract attention, and where the field was 
 yet unoccupied. Judge M'Nairy being about to 
 proceed to the western part of the states, to hold a 
 session of the Supreme Court, he resolved to accom- 
 pany him. They left North Carolina in the spring of 
 1788, and after having experienced considerable de- 
 tention upon their journey, arrived at Nashville in 
 
SETTLES AT NASHVILLE. V6 
 
 October. He found the community in a situation 
 which rendered his arrival a most fortunate event. 
 Many of the younger and more dissipated of the set- 
 tlers had become deeply indebted to the merchants 
 and tradesmen, who were unable to obtain legal re- 
 dress, because the debtors had secured the only lawyer 
 in the county to their interest. The defrauded cre- 
 ditors hailed Jackson as a deliverer. They imme- 
 diately beset him with applications for his services; 
 and on the next morning after his arrival, seventy writs 
 were issued against defaulters. His professional ca- 
 reer, thus auspiciously commenced, continued to be 
 prosperous. The scoundrels who had so long gone 
 unpunished, attempted to intimidate him, but to no 
 purpose. Shortly after his emigration to the west, he 
 was appointed by the governor of North Carolina, attor- 
 ney-general for the western district. In this capacity, 
 he continued the same course of practice which he had 
 commenced. He executed the laws with so much faith- 
 fulness, that his life was more than once endangered ; 
 by his firmness and fearless conduct, however, he 
 awed the cowardly ruffians who threatened to attack 
 him, and brought them to justice. His duties as pros- 
 ecuting attorney, obliged him frequently to cross the 
 wilderness between Jonesborough and Nashville, a dis- 
 tance of more than two hundred miles, infested with 
 hostile Indians. Twenty-two times did he perform 
 this hazardous journey, with no other companion than 
 his hor?e and rifle. His efforts were rewarded by a 
 lucrative practice, and an almost unbounded popu- 
 larity ; which was evinced at every opportunity, by 
 tds elevation to offices of honourable trust. 
 
76 PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 
 
 In 1791, Jackson married the wife who absorbed 
 his every affection while hving, whose loss was the 
 greatest sorrow of his life, and whose memory he 
 ever cherished with undiminished devotion. Circum- 
 stances which attended this union have been mis- 
 construed to his disadvantage; but a recital of the 
 facts will convince every reasonable reader of the 
 purity of his motives, the generosity of his nature, and 
 the entire propriety of his conduct. The object of his 
 choice was the daughter of Colonel John Donelson, 
 who was a native of Virginia, whence he emigrated to 
 Kentucky. During his residence in that state, Lewis 
 Robards, whose family resided in the vicinity of Har- 
 rodsburg, visited his family, and succeeded in gaining 
 the affections of his daughter Rachel. With the con- 
 sent of her father, they were united, and lived at first 
 in apparent happiness. Some time after their mar- 
 riage. Colonel Donelson removed to Tennessee, and 
 settled near Nashville, where he afterwards died. Here 
 Jackson became acquainted with his widow, and there 
 being no regular public-housos in the settlement, he 
 and his intimate friend, Mr. Ovcrtin, boarded with 
 Mrs. Donelson. Meanwhile, Mrs. Robards, who had 
 been celebrated for her personal, mental, and moral 
 qualities, had unfortunately become the object of her 
 husband's jealousy. The latter appears to have been 
 of a totally different character and disposition, and 
 unable to appreciate the inestimable treasure he pos- 
 sessed in his amiable consort. ITcr hospitable and 
 convivial disposition ill accorded with his sullen and 
 selfish temper. He was unwilling to permit his wife'* 
 virtues to benefit any but himself, and he was too much 
 
MEETS MRS. ROlJAIiDS. 77 
 
 given to depraved pleasures to cherish them as lie 
 ought. The guilt which his conscience told him rested 
 on his soul, his imagination ascribed to her ; and all 
 her exertions to dispel his unjust suspicions were vain. 
 She endeavoured, but vainly, to persuade his poisoned 
 mind of her purity and undiminished affection. He 
 would not credit her repeated declarations, and refused 
 to live with her. They had been residing with his 
 mother, who was a widow, since the emigration of 
 Colonel Donelson to Kentucky. The mother-in-law 
 was convinced of the innocence of the injured wife ; 
 but Robards refused to believe, and Rachel was obliged 
 to return to her parents. Parents ! — alas — her father 
 had ended his course in the humble log-cabin at Nash- 
 ville, and to her widowed mother she brought her soi- 
 rowing heart, and that kindness which had smoothed 
 her couch in infimcy, was again exerted to heal the 
 wound which had been so causelessly inflicted. At her 
 mother's dwelling she first met Andrew Jackson. Her 
 oersonal loveliness, intellectual accomplishments, and 
 moral worth — and above all, her unmerited sufferings 
 awakened in the bosom of our hero, sentiments of the 
 purest admiration and respect: but his feelings pro- 
 ceeded not beyond the limit of the most scrupulous 
 propriety. It is probable, indeed, the known gallantry 
 of his nature forbids a doubt, that he used every means 
 in his power to render less irksome her painful situa 
 tion, and to banish from her mind the recollection Oi 
 the past : but it has never been said, on respectable 
 authority, and it cannot be supposed that his attentions 
 to Mrs. Robards partook of aught save the respect 
 ^nd consideration due to her merit. After Robards 
 
78 PROFESSIONAL LIFE. 
 
 had separated from his wife, Mr. Overtin formed an 
 acquaintance with his family, and was dehghted to 
 discover that the husband's heart had at last relented, 
 and that he repented his conduct towards his partner. 
 Through h's mediation, a reconciliation was eftected 
 between them ; and Robards came to Nashville, in- 
 tending to reside with his mother-in-law, until a cabin 
 which was in course of erection for him, should be 
 completed. His arrival produced no change in the 
 deportment of Jackson, who, unconscious of any impure 
 motive, or improper action, entertained no suspicion 
 that his conduct would be considered objectionable by 
 Robards. The latter, however, who appears to have 
 had no conception of friendship without passion, had 
 no sooner seen the friendly intercourse of JacV-son and 
 jMrs. Robards, than all his old suspicion"- "x.re reawa- 
 kened. Notwithstanding this, he made no avowal of 
 his displeasure to Jackson; and his unfortunate wife 
 and mother-in-law suffered alone the effects of his 
 evil passions. The fiicts having come to the know- 
 ledge of the innc-cent cause of the jealousy of Robards, 
 he immediately assured him that his suspicions were 
 unfounded. Failing to persuade him of this, Jackson 
 removed to Mansker's Station ; but his departure pro- 
 duced no alteration in Robards' sentiments. The lat- 
 ter soon left his wife, avowing to others his determi- 
 nation never to return. He proceeded to Kentucky, 
 and no further communication was had with him by 
 Mrs. Robards ; but sometime subsequent to his depar- 
 ture, she was informed that he contemplated a journey 
 to Tennessee for the purpose of compolling her to re- 
 turn with him to his dwelling in Kentucky. To avoid 
 
JACKSON'S MARRIAGE. 79 
 
 this was an object of great importance to her friends, 
 and it was therefore arranged that she should proceed 
 to Natchez, in company with Colonel Stark. The 
 colonel, who was accompanied by his family, and was, 
 moreover, advanced in years, requested Andrew Jack- 
 son to join his party. This step, the dangers of the 
 navigation, the liability to attack by the Indians, and 
 his own age, combined to render advisable. In a short 
 time after Mrs. Robards' journey to Natchez, intelli- 
 gence reached Nashville, that a petition for divorce, 
 which her husband was known to have presented, had 
 been granted by the legislature of Virginia. All ob- 
 stacles to their intercourse being thus removed, Jack- 
 son determined to pay his addresses to her, with the 
 view of obtaining her hand. To this course he was 
 prompted by his knowledge and admiration of her 
 character, his sympathy for her wrongs, and the feel- 
 mfT that he had been in some mea'^nre, though invo- 
 luntarily, the cause of them. He v/ent to Natchez in 
 the summer of 1791, to lay his heart at her feet ; and 
 in the autumn, Rachel Jackson assumed her station 
 at the head of the household of him of whose heart 
 she may well be called the idol. Their union pro- 
 duced great joy among the numerous friends of boti 
 parties, and the happy experience of subsequent years 
 demonstrated the wisdom of their choice. Two years 
 after his marriatje the fact came first to the knowledofo 
 of Jackson, that the information received by him re- 
 lative to the divorce of Robards was incorrect ; that 
 the legislature had only authorized the institution of 
 proceedings in a court of Kentucky ; that the divorce 
 had been but recently decreed by that court : and that 
 
^^m) professional life. 
 
 consequently Mrs. Robards was actually another man's 
 wife when he married her. No sooner had he learnt 
 the true state of the case, than he hastened to obtain 
 a license, and the marriage ceremony was again per- 
 formed in January, 1794. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 INDIAN WAR — LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL 
 
 LIFE. 
 
 HE period at Avhich we 
 have now arrived, was 
 signalized by frcquen* 
 attacks of the Indians, 
 who sometimes coni- 
 mittod fearful ravages 
 upon the more e.xposc' 
 settlements of the m est- 
 ern frontiers. This 
 constant hability to at- 
 
^2 LEGxS .ATIVE AND JUDICIAL LIFE. 
 
 tack, had the effect of rendering every man a sol- 
 dier, as all were obliged to take the field in defence 
 of their families and homes. The mihtary talents 
 displayed by Jackson in these frontier wars, soon 
 gained for him a wide spread reputation, and paved 
 the way for his subsequent advancement. Always 
 cool, determined and fearless, he soon became known 
 to enemies as well as friends, and the title of Long 
 Knife, and Sharp Arrow, by which the Indians desig 
 nated him, are convincing proofs of the estimation 
 in which his prowess was held by them. Conspicuous 
 for his bravery and abihty in the field, and admired 
 for his legal attamments, he became a general favour- 
 ite with his fellow citizens. 
 
 In the same year he received a more distinguished 
 proof of their regard, in his election to the national 
 legislature. His conduct in the house of represen- 
 tatives was characterized by a warm zeal for the pub- 
 lic interest, especially for that of his own state ; and a 
 consistent adherence to the doctrines of the republican 
 party, then ir a mmority in Congress. In 1797, his 
 conduct received the marked approval of the legisla- 
 ture of Tennessee, who gratified the popular will by 
 raisinir him to a seat in the United States Senate. 
 He took his seat in that august body on the 22d of 
 November. He was present, and voted with the re- 
 publican or democratic party upon the alien law and 
 the stamp question ; but being obliged by private busi- 
 ness to avail himself of a leave of absence, in the 
 month of April, he was deprived of the opportunity of 
 recording his name in opposition to the sedition law, 
 which passed the Senate in July, 1798. 
 
ACQUAINTANCE WITH MR. LIVINGSTON S3 
 
 Jackson's acquaintance with Mr. Livingston com- 
 menced at this time. It is thus noticed by a contem- 
 porary. 
 
 "It was while Livinij^.sto.i was in Conixrcss, thtit 
 was formed that intimate friendship between him and 
 Andrew Jackson, which lasted for nearly half a cen- 
 tury. Jackson at that period represented in his single 
 person, the state of Tennessee, which, at the present 
 day sends twelve members to the House of Represen- 
 tatives. Never were t^^'o natures more totally unlike 
 attracted toward each other, by those inexplicable 
 sympathies, which often link men the more closely to- 
 gether by reason of the very causes which would seem 
 to tend to create a reciprocal repulsion. The one of 
 a contemplative spirit, speculative, endowed with a 
 great power of analysis, but judging slowly — studying 
 man, but from his studious habits, mingling but rarely 
 among their masses, and then rather in their state of 
 aggregation than in the isolated individual — born of 
 an opulent family, and educated in the midst of the 
 most polished society of the country, and among some 
 of the most distinguished men in France — fond of the 
 arts, and of letters, having cultivated with equal zeal 
 that science which gives force and accuracy to thouglit, 
 and that polite literature which teaches to clothe it in 
 the forms that adorn its manifestations to the minds 
 of others. 
 
 " The other, sprung from the ranks of the democra 
 cy in the broadest sense in the world — owing to him- 
 self, and himself alone, both his education and his for- 
 tune — having encountered nothing but obstacles in his 
 path ; owing to the people alone his advancement, and 
 
84 LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL LIFE. 
 
 cherishing a perpetuni remembrance of their generous 
 patronage; marching straight up to difficulty, and 
 tramphng it under foot, without even turning it — in 
 <i\\ that regards science and letters having had leisure 
 only to study elementary books, but profoundly versed 
 iii all relatino- to our civil institutions, and to the men 
 who founded them, as well as to that part of the Eng- 
 lish jurisprudence, the Common Law, which connects 
 itself with our institutions, as with those of Great Bri- 
 tain — with a ^vill of iron, and mdefatigable ardor, and 
 unequalled promptness in seizing the point of a discus- 
 sion, with a rustic eloquence that sought its images 
 amid the objects of nature, and found its inspiration 
 in a soul enthusiastic for the noble and the grand — in 
 war, possessing that rapid eye which makes the great 
 general, with that faculty of electrifying the soldier, of 
 quickening to a fanatacism, the love of his country 
 within his heart ; M'hile, with the enemy, no compro- 
 mise, speaking of him as though never was there to 
 be peace or truce with him — neglecting no detail, no 
 precaution, scarcely ever sleeping but in day-time — 
 never despising his enemy, but supposing him always 
 to possess an equal capacity w^ith his own — fearing 
 no responsibility, but trusting ever implicitly in the 
 generous indulgence of the people toward those who 
 liave sprung from its own ranks, and in whom it does 
 not suspect the possibility of treachery to its cause — 
 ' having,' to quote the language of Jefferson, ' more 
 of the Roman in his heart and in his soul, than any 
 other man of modern times.' 
 
 "This high and bold spirit exercised upon me, from 
 the first interview, the power of an irresistible spell. 
 
ELECTED COMMANDER-IN-CIIIEF. S/i 
 
 I loved to hear him relate to me, the struggles of his 
 youth with poverty and ignorance ; his childish and 
 patriotic delight on the day when, like a young cour- 
 ser, he bounded into the forest, rifle in hand, to seek 
 the continental troops encamped on the eve of the first 
 battle in which he felt the movement of his warlike in- 
 stinct. In Congress he spoke but rarely; but when 
 he did rise, shaking his upright hair, and surveying 
 the assembly with his eagle glance, the most profound 
 silence reigned throughout it. 
 
 " I had once the opportunity of hearing Jackson 
 speak of the origin of his intimacy with Livingston. 
 ' I felt myself suddenly attracted toward him,' he 
 said, ' by the gentleness of his manners ; the charm 
 of his conversation, gay without frivolity, instructive 
 without the ostentation of instructing ; by the pro- 
 found acquaintance he already possessed with the theo- 
 ries of society, and of the laws, in their relation to the 
 characters of nations; by his unlimited confidence in 
 the sagacity of the people, and of their capability of 
 self-government, through the agency of representatives 
 specially instructed to express the opinion of their 
 constituents on great questions of general interest, 
 still more than on those of local concern; and above 
 all, by that lovely and holy philanthropy, which im- 
 pelled him from his youth to mitigate th'e severity of 
 those penal laws, whose cruelties serve only to inspire 
 in the masses a ferocity that always obtains an equili- 
 brium with that of the laws which govern them.' "* 
 
 Shortly after the election of Jackson to the senate, 
 Major-General Conway, commander-in-chief of the 
 
 * Democratic Review. 
 
86 LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL LIFE. 
 
 militia of Tennessee, died. The field ofBccrs, with 
 great unanimity, chose Andrew Jackson as his suc- 
 cessor. This office he held until he w^as appointed a 
 major-general in thb army of the United States. 
 
 In 1799, weary of the contentions and intrigues of 
 political life, and desirous of giving place to General 
 Smith, who possessed eminent qualifications for the 
 legislative office. General Jackson resigned his seat in 
 the Senate. He purchased a beautiful estate on the 
 Cumberland river, about ten miles from Nashville, 
 where he established his residence. At this delightful 
 retreat, blessed with a gifted and affectionate com- 
 panion, and a large and valued circle of friends, he 
 designed to pass his future life. But his many pubhc 
 services had brouijht to light his eminent talents and 
 devoted patriotism, and such a man could not be per- 
 mitted to remain inactive. " His services were too 
 important to be lost, and he was appointed to preside 
 over the Supreme Court of law and equity in the state 
 of Tennessee. An allusion to one or two incidents 
 which marked the rough times in which he was called 
 to the administration of the public justice, may not be 
 inappropriate. They will give the ' form and pres- 
 sure' of those times, and serve to illustrate the identity 
 of the man of thirty with the boy of the Revolution. 
 An individual had been indicted and was for trial. He 
 was in the immediate vicinity of the court house, but 
 such was the strength and feir^city of the man, that 
 the sheriff, not daring to approach him, made a return 
 ' that Russell Betn will not be taken.' ' He must 
 be taken,' said ,he judge, '• and if necessary, you must 
 summon the body /f th :ounty tj, your aid.' The 
 
FIRMNESS OF JACKSON. 80 
 
 officer retired, awaited the adjournment of the court, 
 
 and summoned the judges themselves. Judge Jackson 
 
 rephed, ' Yes, sir, I will attend you, and see that you 
 
 do tjour duty.' Learning that Bean was armed, he 
 
 requested a loaded pistol, which was placed in his hand. 
 
 He then said to the sheriff, ' Advance and arrest him. 
 
 I will protect you from harm.' Bean, armed with a 
 
 dirk and brace of pistols, assumed an attitude of dcfi- 
 
 ' ance and desperation. But as the judge advanced 
 
 upon him, he began to retreat. ' Stop, and obey the 
 
 law,' cried the intrepid magistrate. The desperate man 
 
 paused, threw down his weapons, and exclaimed, ' I 
 
 will surrender to you, sir, but to no one else !' 
 
 " On another occasion, in consequence of his hav- 
 ing exposed to the general government extensive land 
 frauds perpetrated in Tennessee, Judge Jackson had 
 concentrated upon himself the hostility of a powerful 
 and influential body of men implicated in those frauds. 
 To such height had their enmity risen, that an at- 
 tempt was made to mob him on his way to hold a 
 court. Intelligence of the meditated assault had the 
 effect simply of speeding his movements to the scene 
 of contemplated outrage. On his arrival, labouring 
 under severe indisposition, he sought the retiremen't 
 of his chamber. A friend called, and informing him 
 that a regiment of men, headed by a Colonel Harri- 
 son, had collected in front of the house with a view to 
 carry their threat into execution, advised him to se- 
 cure his door. Judge Jackson immediately threw it 
 open, and exclaimed, 'Give my compliments to Colo- 
 nel Harrison, and tell him that my door is open to 
 receive him and his regiment when they choose to 
 
90 lp:gislative and jidicial life. 
 
 wait upon me, and I hope that the chivalry of the co- 
 lonel will induce him to lead, not follow his men.' It is 
 needless to add, that the fury of the mob quailed be- 
 fore the intrepidity of the man."* 
 
 In 1804, his love for private life led him to resign 
 his seat on the bench, much against the wishes of his 
 friends and fellow-'citizens. He returned to his estate 
 on the Cumberland, where, possessed of sufficient pro- 
 perty to render the practice of his profession unneces- 
 sary, he enjoyed a large share of domestic felicity. A 
 favourite pursuit of his was the rearing of horses. He 
 succeeded in greatly improving the breed of the coun- 
 try, and became celebrated for the excellence of his 
 stables. He frequently brought his horses into com- 
 petition for the honours of the turf, and their perfor- 
 mances failed not to do credit to his skill. On one 
 of these occasions, a difficulty arose between him and 
 a man named Charles Dickinson, on the score of a 
 wager lost by the latter. By the interference of per- 
 sons hostile to General Jackson, an amicable settle- 
 ment of the dispute was prevented ; and Dickinson, 
 having publicly charged Jackson with cowardice, the 
 general sent him a challenge. This act of itself dis- 
 proved the dishonourable imputation, as Dickinson was 
 reputed to be the best marksman in Tennessee. They 
 met; Dickinson confident of killing his antagonist, 
 and Jackson expecting to sacrifice his life to his ho- 
 nour. Dickinson fired first; the dust was seen to rise 
 from the clothing of Jackson ; but he returned the fire 
 with fatal precision. His opponent fell, mortally 
 
 • M' A Ulster's Eulogy. 
 
ACQUAINTANCE WITH BURR. 91 
 
 wounded. The general proceeded on horseback twen- 
 ty miles, accompanied by his surgeon : and it was not 
 until they had reached their destination that the sur- 
 geon discovered, by the blood upon his clothes, that his 
 friend had been shot through the arm, the ball lodg- 
 ing in his body, and shattering two of his ribs. His 
 astonishing self-command appeared almost superhu- 
 man to his friends who witnessed the scene ; to one of 
 whom he declared, that so fixed was his resolution, 
 that ho should have killed his antagonist, had he him- 
 self been shot through the brain ! The wounds re- 
 ceived in this affair confined General Jackson for 
 some time to his house. Later in life, Jackson's 
 sentiments on duelling were entirely clianged, and 
 he felt it his duty to disapprove and discourage 
 the practice. 
 
 While Jackson was a member of the Senate, he 
 became acquainted with Aaron Burr, afterwards Vice- 
 President of the United States. In 1805, George 
 Chnton was elected to supersede Burr ; and the latter 
 started on a tour through the Western States. He 
 twice visited General Jackson, to whom he declared 
 that he wished to settle a tract of country in which 
 he had an interest, in the recently purchased territory 
 of Louisiana ; but that the Spaniards were notoriously 
 disaffected, and being collected on the Sabine in con- 
 siderable force, they maintained a threatening attitude 
 towards the United States. He further stated that in 
 case of a war between Spain and the United States, 
 he was authorized by the President to make aiTange- 
 ments for the invasion and conquest of Mexico. The 
 people of the western country, and among thorn Gen- 
 eral Jackson, were eager for a brush with the Spa 
 
92 LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL LIFE. 
 
 niards, and entered with alacrity into the views of 
 Burr. 
 
 In 1806, Burr again returned to' Tennessee, and 
 commenced preparations for an extensive expedition, 
 building boats, and engaging men to go with him to 
 settle in Louisiana and make ready for the expected 
 war with Spain. In the meantime, suspicions began 
 to be entertained with regard to his objects, and the 
 United States district attorney in Kentucky proposed 
 to indict him for organizing an unlawful military ex- 
 pedition. When the case was submitted to the grand 
 jury, they declared that there was no evidence tending 
 in the smallest degree to criminate him. 
 
 Meanwhile General Jackson received a private 
 communication, which led him to believe that Burr 
 was chief of an extensive conspiracy having for its 
 object the dismemberment of the union, by separating 
 the Western States with Louisiana from the others, 
 and erecting them into an independent government. 
 Jackson immediately communicated his suspicions to 
 Governor Claiborne, at New Orleans, and to the se- 
 nators and representatives of Tennessee in Congress. 
 He also wrote to Burr, saying that he had received 
 such information, and if he had any treasonable de- 
 signs against the United States he could hold no fur- 
 ther communication with him. Colonel Burr imme- 
 diately disavowed any such intention, in the most 
 positive terms, and said that any person who could 
 think that he intended the project must deem him a 
 madman. This did not quiet Jackson's suspicions. 
 All intercourse between him and Burr ceased. 
 
 When Burr returned to Tennessee in December, 
 
BURR'S CONSPIRACY. 93 
 
 he found public opinion turned against him, and on 
 the 22d of that month, he commenced his voyage 
 down the Cumberland with ten boats, without ammu- 
 nition, and with only men enough to work the boats. 
 Scarcely had he gone, when Jeft'erson's proclamation, 
 denouncing Burr's designs, and calling on all good 
 citizens to aid in his arrest, arrived, by a special 
 messenger, with instructions to the civil and military 
 authorities, enjoining them to make use of such force 
 as might be necessary to suppress the conspiracy and 
 arrest the leader. 
 
 General Jackson immediately despatched an ex- 
 press down the Cumberland, to watch Burr's move- 
 ments, and ordered out twelve companies of his com- 
 mand. The express hastened to the mouth of the 
 river, where he ascertained that Burr, with ten boats 
 and six men unarmed in each, had proceeded peace- 
 fully down the Ohio. The general dismissed his men, 
 and reported his proceedings to the government. 
 
 Colonel Burr descended the Mississippi to the Mis- 
 sissippi Territory, when, finding himself intercepted 
 by the agents of the government, he quietly surrendered 
 himself to the civil authorities, by whom he was sent 
 to Richmond, Virginia, for trial. He was tried on a 
 charge of treason and acquitted. He retired to pri- 
 vate life, and never made known his real designs. He 
 always entertained the greatest respect for General 
 Jackson, and spoke of him as a man of the strictest 
 mtegrity and honour. 
 
 "The history of Tennessee at this time," says Flint, 
 ♦* is little more than a dreary chronicle of Indian mas- 
 sacres. Many of these narratives, related apart, 
 
H LEoiSLATl»JL AND JUDICIAL LIFE. 
 
 A^ould possess a harrowing interest. Grouped to 
 ^ether, they occur in such numbers, and with such 
 iniform circumstances of atrocity and barbarity, that 
 .hey lose their interest in the confusion of the mass. 
 So less than thirty murders of individuals, or of whole 
 families, occurred within three years after the setting 
 up the federal government. To a person travelling 
 through this fine and populous country, where there 
 is now no more apprehension from Indians, than in 
 the vicinity of Philadelphia, it seems almost incredible 
 that such scenes should have occurred in the vicinity 
 of Nashville, so late as 1796. 
 
 " The most conspicuous characters among the In- 
 dian chiefs, were Double Head, Hanging Maw, Bloody 
 Fellow, Mad-Dog, and other chiefs, with equally ter- 
 rible names; and Bowles, Watts, and M'Gillivray, 
 whites, who had become chiefs among them. Pio- 
 mingo, a Chickasaw chief, is often mentioned in the 
 annals of these times, as having been uniformly friend- 
 ly to the Americans. 
 
 " The last severe lesson taught these people by the 
 Americans, previous to the inflictions of General Jack- 
 son, by which they were completely and finally sub- 
 dued, was at Nickajack, in 1794. An expedition, in 
 which Andrew Jackson took a part, was fitted out 
 against this town from Tennessee. It had been a 
 central point, whence the war parties had proceeded. 
 The American force was sufficient to look down op- 
 position. The town was large and populous. The 
 inhabitants attempted to csca^^e in their canoes across 
 the river, on which their town is built. The troops 
 opened a deadly fire upon the canoes. Some y^"^.. 
 
INDIAN BARBARITIES. 95 
 
 killed, and some leapt into the water and attempting 
 to escape by swimming were killed before they were 
 out of the reach of the guns. Some women and chil- 
 dren were taken prisoners, fifty-five warriors were 
 slain, and that town and another reduced to ashes. 
 In Nickajack were found fresh scalps taken at Cumber- 
 land, and a quantity of powder and lead just received 
 from the Spanish government, and a commission to 
 Breath, a chief of that town, who was killed in the ac- 
 tion. This severe chastisement, with other events 
 that soon occurred, broke the spirits of the Cherokees. 
 " Among the murders that still continued to occur, 
 we select the following as a fair sample of the desperate 
 character of the conflicts between the Indians and 
 Americans. We may infer that similar resistance 
 took place in almost every case of the almost number- 
 less assaults and murders in these border wars. On 
 the 27th of January, a party of Indians killed George 
 Mason, on Flat Creek, about twelve miles from Knox- 
 ville. During the night he heard a noise at his stable, 
 and he stepped out to ascertain the cause ; and the 
 Indians coming in between him and the door, inter- 
 cepted his return. He fled, but was fired upon and 
 wounded. He reached a cave a quarter of a mile 
 from his house, out of which, already weltering in his 
 blood, he was dragged and murdered. Having finished 
 this business, they returned to the house to despatch 
 his wife and children : Mrs. Mason, unconscious of 
 the fate of her husband, heard them talking to each 
 other as they approached the house. At first she was 
 delighted with the hope that her neighbours, aroused 
 by the firing, had come to her assistance. But under 
 
96 LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL LIFE. 
 
 Standing English and German, the language of her 
 neighbours, and perceiving that the conversation was 
 in neither of these tongues, she instantly inferred that 
 they were savages coming to attack the house. This 
 heroine had that very morning learned how the double 
 trigger of a rifle was set. Fortunately the children 
 were not awakened by the firing ; and she took good 
 care not to disturb them. She shut the door, and 
 barred it with benches and tables ; and took down the 
 well charged rifle of her husband. She placed herself 
 directly opposite the opening which would be made 
 by forcing the door. Her husband came not, and she 
 was but too well aware that he was slain. She was 
 alone in the darkness. The yelling savages were with- 
 out, pressing upon the house. She took counsel from 
 her own magnanimity, heightened by affection for her 
 children, sleeping unconsciously around her. The In- 
 dians pushing with great violence, gradually opened 
 the door sufficiently wide to attempt an entrance. The 
 body of one was thrust into the opening, and just filled 
 it. He was struggling for admittance. Two or three 
 more, directly behind him, were propelling him for- 
 ward. She set the trigger of the rifle, put the muzzle 
 near the body of the foremost, and in a direction that 
 the ball, after passing through his body, would pene- 
 trate those behind. She fired. The first Indian fell. 
 The next one uttered the scream of mortal agony. 
 This intrepid woman saw the necessity of profound 
 silence. She observed it. The Indians in conse- 
 quence were led to believe that armed men were in 
 the house. They withdrew from the house, took three 
 horses from the stable, and set it on fire. It was after- 
 
TENNESSEE ENTERS THE UNION. 97 
 
 wards ascertained that this high-minded woman had 
 saved herself and children from the attack of twenty- 
 five assailants." 
 
 This incident will serve as a specimen of the hor- 
 rors to which the inhabitants of Tennessee were 
 subjected, even at so recent a period as 1796. In all 
 the penloQs expeditions which were undertaken for 
 the protection of the frontier in his neighbourhood 
 trom the savage enemy, Jackson bore his full share 
 
 In 1796, the territory of Tennessee was erected 
 into a state, and the people seized the earliest oppor- 
 tunity afforded them at a popular election, to manifest 
 their confidence in Andrew .Jackson, and to secure to 
 ^emselves the benefit of his judgment and counsel. 
 He was chosen a member of the convention, assem- 
 bled to frame the republican constitution of the state 
 assumed the duties of the office, and entered upon its' 
 discharge with conscientious respect for its responsi- 
 bilities, and a deep anxiety firmly to establish those 
 fundamental principles which are embraced in the 
 comprehensive expression of the "rights of man" 
 The constitution which was established, asserts amoncr 
 Its provisions two great and leading propositions^ 
 which he always defended as maxims, and followed as 
 the guides of his political life-the inherent, indefeasi- 
 ble, and uncontrollable sovereignty of the people, and 
 the injustice and enormity of perpetuities and mono- 
 pohes-those insiduous and cruel instrumentalities by 
 which the prosperity of the many has been subjugated 
 to the unjust advancement of the few-the bane of 
 peace, and of all private, and therefore of all national 
 prosperity. 
 
9S 
 
 LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL LIFE, 
 
 In the formation of this constitution, Andrew Jack- 
 son took a conspicuous part ; and the principles which 
 he avow'ed on this occasion furnish the foundation on 
 which were based the leading features of his political 
 life. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 E now come to a 
 new and import- 
 ant era in the life 
 of Jackson. The 
 prolonged aggrcs- 
 . sions of Great 
 Britain upon the 
 maritime rights, 
 commerce, and honour of America, effectually aroused 
 the spirit of the American people. Hostilities becom- 
 ing unavoidable, Congress, on the 12th of June, 1812, 
 declared war ajjainst the United Kinofdoms, and au- 
 thorizcd the president to accept the services of fifty 
 thousand volunteers. 
 
100 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 General Jackson, though watchful of events, and 
 keenly alive to their bearing, had retired from public 
 life, and was engaged in the calm pursuits of agricul- 
 ture. The sound of war was welcome in his seclusion, 
 for it summoned him to a deathless renown. It came 
 to his quick car like a long wished-for permit to avenge 
 the wrongs of those, for whom he was ever ready to 
 sacrifice, without stint, his repose, his fortune, and his 
 blood. The war-cry of his country scarcely vibrated 
 on the breeze, ere he echoed it back as music, with 
 which every chord of his soul was in unison. On the 
 25th of June, thirteen days after the declaration of 
 war, he left his ripe harvest drooping for the sickle, and 
 offered to the general government, through the execu- 
 tive of Tennessee, his services, with those of twenty- 
 five hundred brave men, who had flocked to his 
 standard on the first certain sound of war. 
 
 On the 12th of July, the Secretary of War wrote to 
 the Governor of Tennessee, "The tender of service by 
 General Jackson and those under his command, is re- 
 ceived by the president with pecuhar satisfaction ; and 
 in accepting their services, the president cannot with- 
 hold an expression of his admiration of the zeal and 
 ardour by which they are animated." In conveying 
 to General Jackson this acceptance of his services, 
 the governor tendered his thanks to him for the honour 
 done his state by the prompt manner in which those 
 services had been offered. 
 
 In November he received orders to descend the 
 Mississippi, for the defence of the lower country, which 
 was then thought to be in danger. Accordingly, on 
 the 10th of December, those troops rendezvoused at 
 
 >c 
 
RAISES TROOPS. 101 
 
 Nashville, prepared to advance to the place of their 
 destination; and although the weather was then exces- 
 sively severe, and the ground covered with snow, no 
 body of men could have displayed greater firmness. 
 The general was with them everywhere, inspiring them 
 with the ardour which animated his own bosom. The 
 cheerful spirit with which they submitted to hardships 
 and bore privations, at the very outset of their milita- 
 ry career, as well as the order and subordination they 
 so readily observed, were happy presages of what 
 might be expected, when they should be directed to 
 face an enemy. 
 
 On the 7th of January, 1813, in the heart of winter, 
 these hardy sons of Tennessee embarked upon their 
 voyage of more than a thousand miles. The earth 
 was covered with snow ; the rivers were full of run- 
 ning ice. Unappalled by the difficulties of the navi- 
 gation, undismayed by the dangers with which they 
 were surrounded, they overcame every obstacle, sailed 
 down the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Mississippi, 
 and on the 15th of February, they landed at Natchez. 
 Here Jackson was instructed to remain, until he should 
 receive further orders. 
 
 Having chosen a healthy site for the encampment 
 of his troops, about two miles from Washington, 
 Jackson devoted himself to the most important duty 
 of a commanding-ireneral — the organization and disci- 
 pline of his army. Having none but volunteer troops 
 around him — ^young men educated in unrestrained 
 freedom, accustomed to no other words of authority 
 but their own commands to their obedient slaves, his 
 task was difficult indeed. But by his example, his 
 1 
 
102 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 porsiiasive eloquence appealing to their honour and 
 patriotism ; by his inflexible justice, and unwavering 
 firmness, those young men were made cheerfully to 
 submit to the privations of the camp, and the disci- 
 pline of military life. They loved their general ; they 
 had faith in his capacity, his justice and his bravery. 
 By the magic of love and faith, a band of raw recruits 
 were soon converted into an enthusiastic, well-trained, 
 and invincible army. 
 
 What must have been the mortification of this lit- 
 tle patriotic band, when the order unexpectedly came 
 for their discharge ? The clouds of war in the south 
 having blo^vn over, the Secretary of War wrote to 
 General Jackson, " On the receipt of this letter, you 
 will consider the corps under your command as dis- 
 missed from the public service, and take measures to 
 have delivered to Major-General Wilkinson, all arti- 
 cles of public property which may have been put into 
 its possession." 
 
 A deeper wound could not have been inflicted on 
 a patriotic spirit than this cruel and unexpected order 
 of government. By great exertions and personal sac- 
 rifices Jackson had called together, organized, and dis- 
 ciplined a band of ardent youth, eager to devote 
 themselves to the cause of their country. Suddenly, 
 and without cause, they are ordered to be discharged, 
 and sent home without arms, without tents, without 
 provisions, or camp equipage of any kind. One hun- 
 dred and fifty of them were on the sick report. Their 
 homes were far distant, they had to march through a 
 country without roads, without the means of shelter 
 or subsistence, and filled with hostile Indians. To 
 
A SEVERE TRIAL. 103 
 
 disband them under such circumstances, to find their 
 way home as they could, through a savage and wilder- 
 ness country, was to subject them to the certain hor- 
 rors of the tomahawk, disease, and famine. 
 
 But the order was plain and direct. Whenever 
 it met him, under whatever circumstances, the corps 
 under his command was to be dismissed from the pub- 
 lic service. What was to be done? He called a 
 council of field officers, who advised obedience to the 
 order. An ordinary man, the mere slave of routine 
 and detail, would have complied ; followed strictly the 
 letter of his order without consideration of circum- 
 stances, abandoned his army, and retired in disgust. 
 
 Great as was the astonishment which the decision 
 of his officers excited in the general, it produced a 
 still higher sentiment of indignation. " What !" said 
 he, " shall the word of Andrew Jackson be forfeited ? 
 Did I not promise to be a father and a friend to these 
 young men, when, in obedience to my call, they flocked 
 to the standard of their country ? What did I pro- 
 mise to the daughters of Tennessee, that cold and 
 snowy day, last December, when we struck our tents, 
 and took up the line of march ? Did they not gather 
 around me with tears in their eyes and say, ' General ! 
 General ! I trust my father to you — my husband — my 
 son — General ! I know you w ill take care of them — 
 I know you will see that justice is done them, and 
 that they come safely back home — General, I have 
 faith in you, and I know you will not disappoint me.' 
 Shall I now dismiss them to wander through a savage 
 wilderness, without subsistence or means of defence 
 — or shall I abandon them in their frail condition to 
 
104 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 enlist at once in Wilkinson's army, whose recruitmg 
 officers are already among us to entice them away? 
 It shall not be done. I will march them back as they 
 came, and dismiss them like honourable soldiers on 
 the ground where they first assembled." 
 
 The resolution thus taken, he lost no time in com- 
 municating to the Secretary of War. When General 
 Wilkinson, to whom the public property was directed 
 to be delivered, learned that the determination had 
 been taken to march the troops back, and to take with 
 them so much of that property as should be neces- 
 sary to their return, he admonished Jackson, in a let- 
 ter of solemn and mysterious import, of the awful and 
 dangerous responsibility he was taking on himself by 
 that measure. General Jackson replied that his con- 
 duct, and the consequences to which it might lead, 
 had been deliberately weighed, and that he was pre- 
 pared to abide the result. Wilkinson had previously 
 given orders to his officers to recruit from Jackson's 
 army ; they were advised, however, on their first ap- 
 pearance, that those troops were already in the service 
 of the United States, and that thus situated, they 
 should not be enlisted. 
 
 The quarter-master was ordered to provide con- 
 veyance for the sick and baggage, and ostensibly com- 
 menced to execute the order ; but, as the event proved, 
 he was merely amusing the general by a show of com- 
 pliance. Perceiving his object, Jackson seized upon 
 the wagons which were in camp, eleven in number, 
 and commenced his march homeward. 
 
 " When about to take up the line of march, the 
 surgeon reported one young man as dying, and that 
 
THE SICK SOLDIER. 
 
 105 
 
 The sick soldier. 
 
 it was useless for him to cumber the already overload- 
 ed wagons. 'So long as there is Hfe in him,' says 
 Jackson, ' he shall go.' He gave up his own horse 
 for the sick, as did his staff, and marched on foot. 
 When the young man who was reported to be dying 
 recovered from his swoon, he exclaimed, ' Where am 
 I?' 'On your way home, my good fellow,' said 
 Jackson, who w'as trudging along through the mud 
 by his side. The young man immediately revived, 
 and began to mend from that hour; and when they 
 reached Nashville, the good general had the pleasure 
 to restore him safe and sound to his mother."* 
 
 In order to defray the unavoidable expenses of the 
 march, he borrowed five thousand dollars on his oion 
 private credit. On arriving at Nashville, he commu- 
 nicated to the president of the United States, the course 
 he had pursued, and the reasons that induced it. His 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 
106 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CRLER WAR. 
 
 conduct was approved of, the expenses incurred di- 
 rected to be paid, and the troops were paid up to the 
 time of their discharge at Nashville. 
 
 The conduct of Genera] Jackson on this occasion, 
 in refusing to obey the orders of government, has been 
 considered as an act of disobedience more worthy to 
 be blamed than praised. But those who thus regard 
 it, have not a just view of the question. When the 
 officers of government issue their orders to a command- 
 ing general on a remote field of operations, where 
 their knowledge of localities is limited, and their means 
 of communication slow and uncertain, they assume a 
 certain state of things to exist, on which their orders 
 are predicated. But when the commands of govern- 
 ment reach the officer whose duty it is to execute 
 them, the actual posture of affiiirs may be wholly dif- 
 ferent from what was anticipated, and an execution of 
 them may cause harm rather than good to the public 
 service. In such a case, it is presumed that the com- 
 manding officer has so much of the confidence of his 
 government, as to warrant him in assuming the re- 
 Bponsil)ility of varying the execution of his orders to 
 suit the actual state of things, and throwing himself 
 on the justice and magnanimity of his country for justi- 
 fication. It is true that this is a difficult and delicate 
 task to perform. None but a most extraordinary man 
 can venture on it. It requires a clear and compre- 
 hensive intellect to see throufrh and understand the 
 real circumstances in which he is placed, a bold and 
 firm heart to execute what the judgment approves. 
 Such a man was Andrew Jackson. He who, when a 
 boy in the dungeon of Camden, did not four to speak 
 
DECISION OF GOVERNMENT. 107 
 
 the truth, would not, when a man, under the most try- 
 mg circumstances, fail to act the truth. 
 
 Vv hen government issued their orders to disband 
 his army, it was on the supposition that he had not 
 left the borders of Tennessee. Neither had he, at that 
 time J for it was dated January 7th, two days before 
 he started from Nashville. Little did they know, how- 
 ever, of the promptness and energy of the man they 
 had to deal with. Instead of finding him linoferincr 
 on the Cumberland, their orders found him at the ter- 
 mination of his march, at the point where he was 
 ordered to await further instructions, with an army 
 already organized, equipped, and disciplined for ser- 
 vice. When, therefore, they came to understand the 
 grounds on which he had declined full obedience to 
 their commands, they not only approved, but justified 
 his conduct, and promptly paid the five thousand dol- 
 lars he had borrowed at Natchez, on his own respon- 
 sibility, to sustain his troops on their homeward 
 march. 
 
 Although shamefully treated, and sought to be dis- 
 graced by the machinations of jealous rivals, Jackson 
 was not, hke ordinary men, disgusted and driven 
 from the service of his country. WTien he arrived at 
 Nashville, he again offered himself and his brave vo- 
 lunteers to the war department, and asked to be 
 marched to the northern frontiers, that they might 
 wipe out there the recent disgrace of the treachery 
 and defeat of General Hull. " I have a few stand- 
 ards," says he, " with the American eagle upon them, 
 that I long to plant on the ramparts of Maiden." No 
 disappointments could discourage him — no ill-treat- 
 
108 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 ment could disgust him, while the cause of his country 
 called for his services.* 
 
 Though his country professed not to need those 
 services along the Canada lines, it was not long be- 
 fore he was called to defend the borders of Tennessee 
 from the tomahawk of the ruthless savage. 
 
 The celebrated Indian, Francis, better known as the 
 Prophet, who was actively engaged in stimulating the 
 northern tribes to hostilities against the United States, 
 sent his brother Tecumseh to the nations of the south, 
 to communicate his wishes and brine; them into his 
 plans. The Prophet, as he was called, claimed to be 
 specially commissioned by the Great Spirit to expound 
 his will to the Indian nations ; and his authority was 
 universally acknowledged by his brethren. He suc- 
 ceeded in exciting a universal feeling of enmity to 
 the United States, and instigated the Indians to the 
 most savage warfare. Tecumseh arrived in the Creek 
 nation early in 1812, and immediately endeavoured 
 to persuade the chiefs to take up the hatchet. They 
 dechned, however, to make war against the United 
 States, from whom the nation annually received valu- 
 able presents and other substantial assurances of friend- 
 ship. Defeated in this quarter, Tecumseh next tried 
 his influence with the young men of the tribe; and 
 there he met with more success. They listened 
 eagerly to his descriptions of the wrongs suffered by 
 their countrymen from the whites, and their spirits 
 warmed into enthusiasm under his stirring appeals to 
 them to rise, and take a full measure of vengeance. 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 
OPERATIONS OF TECUMSEH. 100 
 
 They were also promised the support of Great Britain, 
 and were encouraged to hope for an easy victory. 
 This ardour, however, was repressed by the artful 
 chief, who represented to them the great importance 
 of preserving perfect secrecy until the moment should 
 arrive for a general attack. Having established a 
 perfect organization of the Creek nation, independent 
 of and unknown to ' the chiefs, Tecumseh returned 
 home, to assist his brother in carrying his plans into 
 effect. Before these preparations were completed, 
 however, an incident occurred which precipitated the 
 Creeks into open war. A constant communication 
 being noAv kept up between the northern and southern 
 Indians, parties were continually passing between 
 their countries, by whom depredations were often 
 committed upon the frontier settlers. Several persons 
 w^ere barbarously murdered in the summer of 1812, 
 near the mouth of the Ohio ; and shortly afterwards, 
 the savages put to death several whole families, within 
 the state of Tennessee. Colonel Hawkins, the United 
 States Agent, demanded that the murderers should be 
 punished; and the chiefs, who continued friendly to 
 the government, ordered them to be put to death ; and 
 several were actually executed. This act of the chiefs 
 excited the fury of the young warriors to such a de- 
 gree, that they could no longer restrain their hatred 
 for the whites, and broke into open war. The peace- 
 fully inclined among them were compelled to seek re- 
 fuge with the white inhabitants, and the hostile party 
 commenced the most horrible of all warfares upon the 
 unprotected frontier settlements. They were insti- 
 gated to the commission of these acts, not only by the 
 
110 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 Tecumseh. 
 
 persuasions of Tecumseh, but by the emissaries of 
 England and Spain. From the same sources they 
 procured abundant suppUes of arms and ammunition, 
 and received promises of donations equal or superior 
 in value to those which they had been in the habit of 
 receivino- from the government of the United States. 
 
MASSACRE AT FORT MIMMS. 1 ] :J 
 
 The first effects of these infernal machinations 
 were felt by the people of Mississippi, then a thinly 
 settled territory, and totally unprovided with the means 
 of efficient resistance. As a sort of frontier guard, or 
 protection against the roving parties of savages who 
 frequently plundered the settlers, a garrison of one 
 hundred and fifty men had been stationed in what 
 was known as the Tensaw Settlement. A small forti- 
 fication had been erected at Tensaw, called Fort 
 Mimms, in which the troops were stationed. At the 
 commencement of the hostile movements among the 
 Indians, the inhabitants of the settlement took refuge 
 in the fort, increasing the number of its inmates to 
 three hundred and seventy souls. Against this post 
 the Creeks resolved that their first blow should be 
 struck. On the 30th of August, about one thousand 
 warriors, armed to the teeth, and stimulated by lust 
 and vengeance, attacked the fort with indescribable 
 fury. The garrison made a gallant resistance, but 
 their desperate bravery availed nothing against such 
 a disparity of numbers. Major Beasley, the com- 
 mander, with his little band of soldiers, fell beneath 
 the tomahawks of the savages, whose merciless enmity 
 spared neither women nor children from the general 
 slaughter. Those of the inmates of the fort who were 
 unable to aid in its defence, had taken refuge from the 
 balls in an old building within the walls. When the 
 savages burst through the gates, they set fire to this 
 building, and its unhappy inmates perished horribly in 
 the flames. The enemy, however, paid dearly for his 
 inhuman triumph. The gallant band of heroes under 
 Major Beasley killed more than their o^^n number, 
 
■'114 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 notwithstanding the superior force they had to con- 
 tend with ; and these brave men reposed in death 
 upon mountains of the slain foemen. Seventeen per- 
 sons only of the garrison escaped to tell the melan- 
 choly tale. 
 
 The recital of their story roused the whole people 
 of the west to the danger which threatened them, and 
 produced a universal cry for vengeance. The peo- 
 ple of Tennessee, not immediately exposed to the 
 ravages of the enemy, but sympathizing widi their 
 unfortunate brethren of Mississippi, took energetic 
 measures to afford them relief. A numerous collec- 
 tion of respectable citizens, who convened at Nash- 
 ville, on the 18th of September, 1813, for the purpose 
 of devising the most effectual means of affording pro- 
 tection to their brethren in distress, after conferring 
 with the governor, and General Jackson, strongly 
 advised the propriety of marching a sufficient army 
 into the heart of the Creek country; and accordingly 
 recommended this measure with great earnestness to 
 the legislature, which a few days afterwards com- 
 menced its session. That body immediately enacted 
 a law authorizing the executive to call into service 
 thirty-five hundred of the militia, to march against 
 the Indians ; and to guard against all difficulties, in 
 the event of the general government omitting to adopt 
 them into their service, three hundred thousand dol- 
 lars were voted for their support. 
 
 Additional reasons were at hand why active ope- 
 rations should be commenced with the least possible 
 delay. The settlers were all hastening to the interior, 
 and every day brought intelligence that the Creeks, 
 
RAISING OF VOLUNTEERS. 113 
 
 collected in great force, were bending their course to- 
 wards the frontiers of Tennessee. The anxiety felt 
 on the occasion was greatly increased from an appre- 
 hension that General Jackson would not be able to 
 command. He was the only man known in the state 
 who was believed to be qualified for discharging the 
 arduous duties of the station, and who could carry with 
 him the complete confidence of his soldiers. He was 
 at this time seriously indisposed, and confined to his 
 room, with a fractured arm, occasioned by a pistol 
 ball receivedinthe duel with Dickinson; but, although 
 this apprehension was seriously indulged, arrange- 
 ments were in progress and measures industriously 
 taken to prepare and press the expedition with every 
 possible despatch. 
 
 The governor issued an order to General Jackson, 
 who, notwithstanding the state of his health, had de- 
 termined to assume the command, requiring him to 
 call out and rendezvous at Fayetteville, in the shortest 
 possible time, two thousand of the militia and volun- 
 teers of his division, to repel any invasion that might 
 be contemplated. Colonel Coffee, in addition to five 
 hundred cavalry already raised and under his com- 
 mand, was authorized and instructed to organize and 
 receive into his regiment any mounted riflemen who 
 mijrht make a tender of their services. 
 
 Having received these orders, Jackson directed 
 Colonel Coffee, with his cavalry, to hasten on to the 
 neighbourhood of Huntsville, and occupy some ehgible 
 position for the defence of the frontier, until the in- 
 fantry could arrive; the latter, consisting partly of 
 those volunteers who had descended the Mississippi to 
 
116 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 Natchez, were called upon and directed to appear at 
 Fayetteville, on the 4th of October, 1813, equipped 
 and armed for active service. He pointed out the im- 
 perative necessity which demanded their services, and 
 urged them to be punctual ; for their frontiers were 
 threatened with invasion by a savage foe. " Already," 
 said he, "are large bodies of the hostile Creeks 
 marching to your borders, with their scalping-knives 
 unsheathed, to butcher your women and children ; 
 time is not to be lost. We must hasten to the fron- 
 tier, or we shall find it drenched in the blood of our 
 citizens ! The health of your general is restored — he 
 will command in person." 
 
 When the voice of their beloved commander was 
 thus heard, the sons of Tennessee hastened to his 
 standard. He who had stood by them and brought 
 them safely home six months before, could not foil to 
 procure their services whenever called for. We may 
 well imagine that the women vied with the men in 
 their zeal and alacrity. " Go, my son ! go, my hus- 
 band ! Jackson, your father and friend, calls you — 
 your country is in danger — go, help him to chastise 
 the savages — he will take care of you, and bring you 
 safely back home, or lay you surrounded with glory 
 on the field of battle. He did not forsake you — do 
 not you forsake him."* 
 
 Every exertion was now made to hasten the pre- 
 parations for a vigorous campaign. The necessary 
 orders were issued to the quarter-master, and the 
 contractors. When the day of rendezvous had ar- 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 
ADDRESS TO THE TROOPS. 117 
 
 rived, the general not being sufficiently recovered of 
 his wound, sent by his aid-de-camp, Major Reid, an 
 address, to be read to the troops, accompanied by an 
 order for the estabUshment of the pohce of the camp. 
 In this address he pointed to the unprovoked injuries 
 that had been so long inflicted by this horde of merci- 
 less and cruel savages, and entreated his soldiers to 
 evince that zeal in the defence of their country, which 
 the importance of the moment so much required. His 
 address was as follows : " We are about to furnish 
 these savages a lesson of admonition; — we are about 
 to teach them that our long forbearance has not pro- 
 ceeded from an insensibility to Avrongs, or inability to 
 redress them. They stand in need of such warning. 
 In proportion as we have borne with their insults, 
 and submitted to their outrages, have they multiplied 
 in nmiiber, and increased in atrocity. But the mea- 
 sure of their offences is at length filled. The blood 
 of our women and children, recently spilled at Fort 
 Mimms, calls for our vengeance ; it must not call in 
 vain. Our borders must no longer be disturbed by 
 the war-whoop of these savages, or the cries of suf- 
 fering victims. The torch that has been lighted up, 
 must be made to blaze in the heart of their own coun- 
 try. 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 retribu- 
 tive 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 wor- 
 thy the character of American soldiers, who take up 
 
118 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 arms to redress tlie wrongs of an injured country, to 
 assume no better model than tluit furnished 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 nothing to chance, and who, in the midst of vic- 
 tory, can still be mindful of what is due to humanity ! 
 
 " We will commence the campaign by an inviolable 
 attention to subordination and discipline. Without a 
 strict observance of these, victory must ever be uncer- 
 tain, and ought hardly to be exulted in, even when 
 gained. To what but the entire disregard • of order 
 and subordination are we to ascribe the disasters 
 which have attended our arms in the north during the 
 present war ? How glorious it will be to remove the 
 blots which have tarnished the fair character be- 
 queathed us by the fathers of our revolution ! The 
 bosom of your general is full of hope. He knows the 
 ardour which animates you, and already exults in the 
 triumph, which your strict observance of discipline 
 and good order will render certain." 
 
 For the police of his camp, he announced the fol- 
 lowing order : 
 
 " The chain of sentinels will be marked, and the 
 sentries posted, precisely at ten o'clock to-day. 
 
 " No sutler will be suffered to sell spirituous liquors 
 to any soldier, without permission in writing from a 
 commissioned officer, und(3r the penalties prescribed 
 by the rules and articles of war. 
 
 " No citizen will be permitted to pass the chain of 
 
CAMP ORDERS. 1 1 <J 
 
 sentinels after retreat-beat in the evening, until reveille 
 in the morning. Drunkenness, the bane of all orderly 
 encampments, is positively forbidden, both in officers 
 and privates : officers, under the penalty of immediate 
 arrest: and privates, 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 posi- 
 tively commanded. 
 
 " No officer or soldier is to sleep out of camp, but 
 by permission obtained." 
 
 Impatient to join his division, although his health 
 was far from being restored, his arm only beginning 
 to heal, the general set out for the encampment, and 
 reached it on the 7th. Finding, on his arrival, that 
 the requisition was not complete, either in the number 
 of men, or the necessary equipments, measures were 
 instantly taken to remedy the deficiency ; but before 
 his arrangements were completed he received the most 
 urgent requests to hasten towards the enemy's coun- 
 try. Colonel Coffee, who commanded a resfiment of 
 mounted riflemen, and who had been ordered to ad- 
 vance towards Huntsville, sent an express to the 
 general, requesting him to advance to his support, as 
 the enemy contemplated a speedy attack upon the 
 frontiers with a large force. Influenced by these re- 
 presentations. General Jackson marched from his 
 encampment on the 10th, and reached Huntsville the 
 same evening. On the following day, he united his 
 force with that of Colonel Coffee, wlio had advanced 
 
120 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 to the Tennessee river, and crossed it at Pitts's Land- 
 ing. Coffee was detached with seven hundred mounted 
 men, to scour the country, near the Big Warrior and 
 Tombigbee rivers. The main body remained seven 
 days at Pitts's Landing, which time was dihgently oc- 
 cupied by the general in disciphning his troops. 
 
 The most harassing part of the duties of the ge- 
 neral, however, was that which unexpectedly devolved 
 upon him, of making provision for the sustenance of 
 his army. General Cocke, who commanded the mi- 
 litia of East Tennessee, had promised that a sufficient 
 quantity of provisions should be in readiness for the 
 army as it advanced, and Jackson had depended upon 
 his engagement. He now found, however, that the 
 contractors were not able to furnish the army with 
 rations for any length of time; although they had 
 stated that they would have provisions for twenty 
 days ready for delivery when the troops reached the 
 Tennessee river. The prospect was one which would 
 have shaken the resolution of many men of strong 
 nerve ; but the mind of Jackson saw no difficulty too 
 great to be surmounted. Having received such pro- 
 visions as were in the hands of the contractors, he 
 discharged them from their engagements, and employed 
 others more capable of fulfilling their duties. 
 
 General Cocke, with twenty-five hundred men which 
 he had under his command, had been ordered to unite 
 with Jackson ; who waited several days, and then 
 marched up the river to Thompsoirs Creek, where he 
 remained in hourly expectation of reinforcements and 
 provisions. But there was no arrival, and no prospect 
 of an arrival. In this state of things, without the re- 
 
ADDRESS TO THE TROOPS. 121 
 
 inforcements thought necessary to enable him to cope 
 M'ith the savages, with only two days' provision on 
 the backs of his soldiers, he resolved to march down 
 into the heart of the enemy's country, where he knew 
 that nothing would be found but barren woods, desert- 
 ed villages, and hostile armies. For boldness of de- 
 sign, and a fearless reliance on his own resources, this 
 act is unsurpassed by any of the renowned achieve- 
 ments of Hannibal or Napoleon. Bent on the accom- 
 plishment of the object for which he was called into 
 the field, no pressing necessity, no prospective want 
 or suffering could arrest him. Any ordinar}" general 
 would have waited, and he would have been justified 
 by military rule in waiting where he was for supplies 
 and reinforcements. But General Jackson was not a 
 man of rule — he would not tarry while there was an 
 enemy to conquer. Press forward he must, or chafe 
 away his ardent soul with anxiety and regret. He 
 carried within his own bosom the never- failinjr ele- 
 ments of success. He had faith in himself, faith in 
 the boundless resources of a brave heart that conque^3 
 impossibilities — he had that deep and trustful faith in 
 the providence of God, which alone can remove moun- 
 tains, and stamps its possessor with the mark of true 
 greatness.* 
 
 To prepare his troops for an engagement which he 
 foresaw was soon to take place, he thus addressed 
 them: 
 
 "You have, fellow-soldiers, at length penetrated 
 the country of your enemies. It is not to be believed 
 that they will abandon the soil that embosoms the 
 
 * Garland's Euloev. 
 
122 rOM.MRNCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 bones of their forefathers, without furnishing you an 
 opportunity of signahzing your valour. Wise men 
 do not expect, brave men will not desire it. It was 
 not to travel unmolested through a barren wilderness, 
 that you have quitted your families and homes, and 
 submitted to so many privations ; it was to avenge 
 the cruelties committed upon our defenceless frontiers 
 by the inhuman Creeks, instigated by their no less in- 
 human allies ; you shall not be disappointed. If the 
 enemy flee before us, we will 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 vic- 
 tory obtained. The same resolution that prompted 
 us to take up arms, must inspire us in battle. Men 
 thus animated, and thus resolved, barbarians can 
 never conquer ; and it is an enemy barbarous in the 
 extreme that we have noAv to face. Their reliance 
 will be on the damage they can do you whilst you are 
 asleep and unprepared for action ; their hopes shall 
 fail them in the hour of experiment. Soldiers who 
 know their duty and arc ambitious to perform it are 
 not to be taken by surprise. Our sentinels will never 
 sleep, nor our soldiers be unprepared for action : yet, 
 whilst it is enjoined upon the sentinels vigilantly to 
 watch the approach of the foe, they are at the same 
 time conmianded not to fire at shadows. Imaginary 
 danger must not deprive them of entire F(>lf-posses- 
 sion. Our soldiers will lie with their arms in their 
 hands ; and the moment an alarm is given, they will 
 move to their respective positions, without noise and 
 without confusion ; they will be thus enabled to hear 
 
ADDRESS TO HIS SOLDIERS. 123 
 
 the orders of their officers, and to obey them with 
 promptitude* 
 
 " Great reliance will be placed by the enemy on 
 the consternation they may be able to spread through 
 our ranks by the hideous yells wdth which they com- 
 mence 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 their 
 weapons of warfare, by opposing them with the bayo- 
 net ; what Indian ever withstood its charse ? what 
 arms, 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 ta the assault 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 well as 
 inclination is to watch over your safety, will not, to 
 gratify any wishes of his own, rush 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 for 
 your honour. He laments that he has been compelled, 
 even incidentally, to hint at a retreat when speaking to 
 freemen and soldiers. Never, until you forget all that 
 is due to yourselves and your country, will you have 
 
124 COiMMExN CEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 any practical understanding of that word. Shall an 
 enemy, wholly unacquainted with military evolution, 
 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 thenx 
 the \\ ell-trained youths of our country, whose bosoms 
 pant for glory, and a desire to avenge the ^^•rongs they 
 have received 1 Your general will not live to behold 
 such a spectacle ; rather would he rush into the thick- 
 est of the enemy, and submit himself to their scalping- 
 knives. But he has no fears of such a result; he 
 knows the valour of the men be commands, and how 
 certainly that valour, regulated as it will be, ^^\\] lead 
 to victory. With his soldiei-s he will face all dangers, 
 and with them participate in the glory of conquest." 
 
 Having thus prepared the minds of his men, and 
 brought to their view the kind of foe with whom they 
 were shortly to contend, and having also instructed 
 General White, who commanded .the advance of 
 General Cocke's regiment, to form a junction with 
 him, and to hasten on all the supplies in his power to 
 command, he again put his army in motion to reach 
 the enemy. 
 
 Two runners now arrived from Turkey Town, 
 who had been despatched by Path-Killer, a chief of 
 the Cherokees; they brought information that the 
 enemy from nine of the hostile towns were assembling 
 in great force near the Ten Islands; and solicited 
 that immediate assistance should be aOorded the friend- 
 ly Creeks and Cherokees in their neighbourhood, who 
 were exposed to such imminent danger. Jackson re- 
 plied to the Path-Killer, by his runners, that he should 
 
FAILURE OF THE CONTRACTORS. 
 
 l2o 
 
 proceed directly for the 
 Coosa, and solicited liiin 
 to be diligent in making 
 discoveries of the situation 
 and collected force of the 
 savages, and to give him 
 (lie result of his enquiries. 
 *' The hostile Creeks," he 
 remarked to him, "will 
 n )t attack you until they 
 have had a brush with 
 ijie ; and that, I think, will 
 pat them out of the notion 
 of fighting for some time." 
 He concluded his message 
 by requesting him to send 
 to the army provisions of 
 any kind, or information 
 where any might be had 
 which would support life. 
 He had advanced but a short distance, when famine 
 obliged him to stop. The contractors who had been 
 so much relied on were unable to furnish the neces- 
 sary supplies for the army. Jackson, impelled by 
 necessity, took the contract from them, and at the in- 
 stance of Major Rose, of the quarter-master's depart- 
 ment, gave it to Mr. Pope, of Madison county, upon 
 whose means and exertions it was thought confidence 
 could be placed. To the other contractors he wrote, 
 informing them of the change that had been made, 
 and the reasons which had induced it. 
 
 '• I am advised," 3aid lie, " that you have candidly 
 
 [udian runner. 
 
12(5 COMMENCKMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 acknowledged that you have it not in your power to 
 execute the contract in which you have engaged. Do 
 not think 1 mean to cast any reflection — very far 
 frcm it. I am exceedingly pleased with the exertions 
 you have made, and feel myself under many obliga- 
 tions of gratitude for them. The critical situation of 
 affairs when you entered into the contract being con- 
 sidered, you have done all that individuals in ;'"0ur 
 circumstances could have performed. But you must 
 be weW convinced that any approbation which may 
 be felt by the commander of an army for past ser- 
 vices, ought not to become the occasion of that army's 
 destruction. From the admissions you have been 
 candid enough to make, the scarcity which already 
 begins to appear in camp, and the difficulties you are 
 likely to encounter in effecting your engagements, I 
 am apprehensive I should be doing injustice to the 
 army I command were I to rely for support on your 
 exertions — great as I know them to be. Whatever 
 concerns myself, I may manage with any generosity 
 or indulgence I please ; but in acting for an army, I 
 have no such discretion. I have therefore felt myself 
 compelled to give the contract in which you are con- 
 cerned to another, who is abundantly able to execute 
 it, on condition he indenmify you for the trouble you 
 have been at." 
 
 This arrangement being made, the army continued 
 its march, and General Jackson, to prevent further 
 delays, wrote to various sources, calling, in the most 
 pressing manner, for supplies. He wrote thus to the 
 Governor of Georgia, with whose forces it was pro- 
 posed to act in concert ; to Colonel Meigs, agent to 
 
SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 1'27 
 
 tlie Cherokees, and to Generals Cocke and White. 
 Having arrived within a few miles of the Ten Islands, 
 he was met by old Chinnaby, a leading chief of the 
 Creek nation, and sternly opposed to the war party. 
 The troops were here again detained a day, for the 
 purpose of obtaining small supplies of corn from the 
 neighbouring friendly Indians. This scanty acquisition, 
 affording subsistence for the present, encouraged his 
 hopes for the future, as a means of temporary resort, 
 should his other resources fail. In a few days more 
 he reached the islands of the Coosa. 
 
 In a letter to Governor Blount of Tennessee, from 
 this place, speaking of the difficulties with which he 
 was assailed, he observes : — " Indeed, sir, we have 
 been very wretchedly supplied — scarcely two rations 
 in succession have been regularly drawn ; yet we are 
 not despondent. Whilst v>e can procure an ear of 
 corn apiece, or anything that will answer as a substi- 
 tute for it, we shall continue our exertions to accom- 
 plish the object for which we were sent. The cheer- 
 fulness with which my men submit to privations and 
 are ready to encounter danger, does honour to the 
 government whose rights they are defending. 
 
 " Every means within my power for procuring the 
 requisite supplies for my army I have taken, and am 
 continuing to take. East, west, north, and south have 
 been applied to with the most pressing solicitation. 
 The Governor of Georgia, in a letter received from 
 him this evening, informs me that a sufficiency can be 
 had in his state ; but does not signify that he is about 
 to take any measures to procure it. My former con- 
 tractor has been superseded : no exertions were spared 
 
128 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 by him to fulfil his engagements ; yet the inconveni- 
 ences under which he laboured were such as to ren- 
 der his best exertions unavailintj. The contract has 
 been offered to one who will be able to execute it : if 
 he accepts it, my apprehensions will be greatly dimi- 
 nished." 
 
 Previous to his departure from Thompson's Creek, 
 General Jackson had detached Colonel Dyer, with in- 
 structions to attack and destroy the Indian town of 
 Littafutches, on Canoe Creek. The expedition was 
 entirely successful, and twenty-nine prisoners fell into 
 the hands of the victors. Colonel Dyer rejoined the 
 main army on the 28th of October. 
 
 The advance of the East Tennessee militia, not 
 having yet come up, Jackson despatched another ex- 
 press to General White, on the 31st of October, 
 urging him to effect a speedy junction, and to bring 
 with him all the bread-stuffs it should be in his power 
 to procure ; pointing out to him, at the same time, the 
 great inconvenience and hazard to whicli he had been 
 already exposed by the want of punctuality in himself 
 and General Cocke. Owins to that cause, and the 
 late failure of his contractors, he represented his army 
 as placed, at present, in a very precarious situation, 
 and as dependent in a great measure for its support 
 on the exertions which he and General Cocke might 
 be pl(Mised to make; but assured him at the same 
 time, that, !et circumstances transpire as they might, 
 he would still endeavour to effect his purpose ; and, 
 at all events, was resolved to hasten, with every prac- 
 ticable despatch, to the accomplishment of the object 
 for which he had set out. Believing the co-operation 
 
COMPLETES HIS A R R A N G EM E N is 1'29 
 
 Bringing in Prisoners and Cattle. 
 
 of the East Tennessee troops essential to this end, 
 they were again instructed to join him without delay ; 
 for he could not conceive it to be correct policy, that 
 troops from the same state, pursuing the same object, 
 should constitute separate and distinct armies, and 
 act without concert, and independently of each other. 
 He entertained no doubt but that his order would be 
 promptly obeyed. 
 
 The next evening a detachment which had been 
 sent out the evening before returned, bringing with 
 them, besides some corn and beeves, several negroes 
 and Indians, prisoners of the war party. 
 
 Thus, amidst dangers, disappointments, and diffi- 
 culties, which by any other man would have been con- 
 sidered insurmountable, did General Jackson com- 
 
i:30 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 mence the Creek \var. An English writer* speaking 
 of this war says that " it was the most glorious ex- 
 ploit of this wonderful man. It was a campaign 
 meriting greater praise than ten thousand lives like 
 that of Wellington ; and yet a campaign, which, before 
 his time, had never yet been heard of in England." In 
 commencing the narration of the events of the war, 
 he says, he " need not bespeak the reader's wonder 
 and admiration; for the man who will not admire 
 here, is hardly worthy of the name of man." He "de- 
 sires the English reader to prepare himself for a series 
 of transactions wholly incredible, were they not at- 
 tested by piles of official documents, the authenticity 
 of which no man can dispute." 
 
 ' William Cobbrt, M. P. for Okiliiun. 
 
Lincoyer 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 TALLUSHATCHEE. 
 
 TMPATIENT of the delay, 
 General Jackson proceetka 
 through trackless forests and 
 across almost impenetrable 
 swamps, determined at all 
 hazards, to cut his Avay to 
 the enemy, and end the war 
 
 bv a sudden and fatal blow. 
 
132 TALLUSHATCriEE. 
 
 Though almost destitute of provisions, with few men, 
 but poorly equipped, yet he turned not aside to the 
 right hand nor to the left to wait for reinforcements 
 or to seek supplies. On the 2d of November, the old 
 chief, Chinnaby, brought the information to Jackson 
 that a considerable; number of the enemy had posted 
 themselves at Tallushatchee, an Indian town on the 
 south side of the Coosa, about thirteen miles distant. 
 General Coffee was immediately detached, with nine 
 hundred men, consisting of part of his brigade of ca- 
 valry and corps of mounted riflemen, with instructions 
 to attack and defeat or disperse the enemy at Tallus- 
 hatchee. Guided by a friendly Indian, Coffee crossed 
 the Coosa at the Fish Dams, about four miles above 
 the Islands, and encamped on the southern side of the 
 river. 
 
 Early the next morning he proceeded to execute 
 his orders. Having arrived within a mile and a half, 
 he formed his detachment into two divisions, ordering 
 one of them under Colonel Allcorn to march to the 
 rioht of the town, while he with the other division 
 passed to the left ; the fronts of the two divisions to 
 unite beyond the town and thus effectually enclose it, 
 and prevent the escape of the enemy. 
 
 The Indians, hearing by their spies of the approach 
 of the Americans, began to prepare for action, which 
 was announced by the beating of drums, mingled with 
 their savage yells and war-whoops. An hour after 
 sunrise the action was commenced by two companies 
 of spies, who had gone within the circle of alignment 
 for the purpose of drawing the Indians from their 
 buildino-s. No sooner had these companies exhibited 
 
BATTLE OF T A L L US 11 A TC HEE. 135 
 
 their front in view of the town, and given a few scat- 
 tering shot, than the enemy formed and made a violent 
 charge. Being compelled to give way, the advanced 
 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, 
 firing, until they got around and into their buildings, 
 where an obstinate conflict ensued, and where those 
 who maintained their ground persisted in fighting as 
 long as they could stand or sit, without manifes^ting 
 fear or soliciting quarter. The number of the enemy 
 killed was one hundred and eighty-six. Eighty-four 
 women and children were taken prisoners," towards 
 whom the greatest humanity was shown. Not one 
 of the warriors escaped to carry the news— a circum- 
 stance heretofore unknown. Of the Americans, five 
 were killed and forty-one wounded. Two of these 
 were killed with arrows, which, on this occasion, 
 formed a principal part of the arms of the Indians j 
 each one having a bow and quiver, which he used 
 after the first fire of his gun, until an opportunity oc- 
 curred for reloading. 
 
 Having buried his dead, and provided for his 
 wounded. General Coffee, late on the evening of the 
 same day, united with the main army, bringing with 
 him about forty prisoners. Of the residue, a pari were 
 too badly wounded to be removed, and were therefore 
 left, with a suflicient number to take care of them. 
 Those which he brought in received every comfort 
 and assistance their situation demanded, and, for safe- 
 ty, were immediately sent into the settlements. 
 
 " Among these there was an infant boy, who had 
 
136 
 
 TALLUSHATCHEE. 
 
 Adoption of Lincoyer. 
 
 been found unhurt, suckling the Hfeless breast of his 
 Indian mother. Jackson requested the captive women 
 to take care of the child. They refused ; ' All his re- 
 
ADOPTION OF LINCOYER. 137 
 
 lations,' they said, ' are dead — kill him too !' Oh ! how 
 those words thrilled through the heart of the orj)han' 
 general ! ' All my relations, also,' thought he, ' are 
 dead !' He took the infant to his own tent — with his 
 own hands he fed him with sugared water — he sent 
 him home to Nashville to become the adopted child 
 of the Hermitage — with the aid of his willing wife he 
 reared that boy to manhood, educated him' to business, 
 engaged all his affections — and when Lincoyer died, 
 that affectionate and childless couple wept over his 
 grave and remembered him as a son."* 
 
 From the manner in which the enemy fought, the 
 killing and wounding others than their warriors was 
 not to be avoided. On their retreat to their village 
 after the commencement of the battle, they resorted 
 to their block-houses, and strong log dwellings, whence 
 they kept up resistance, and resolutely maintained the 
 fisht. Thus min^jled with their women and children, 
 it was impossible they should not be exposed to the 
 general danger; and many were injured, notwith- 
 standing every possible precaution was taken to pre- 
 vent it. In fact, many of the women united with their 
 warriors, and contended in the battle with fearless 
 bravery. 
 
 " Thus ended the battle of Tallushatchee, — a name 
 that will ring sadly in the ear of every surviving Creek 
 to the end of time. The terrors of that field, will, 
 however, be remembered by all, both white and red, 
 with mingled emotions, for it bears immortal testimony 
 to the humanity, as well as the military genius of 
 Jackson." t 
 
 * Bolles's Eulogy. * Ibid. 
 
 9 ^^ 
 
138 TALLUSIIATCHEE. 
 
 The country^ into the midst of which General Jack- 
 •son had now penetrated, being filled with bands of 
 hostile Indians, it was necessary to secure a commu- 
 nication with the settlements, by establishing garrisons 
 at proper intervals along the road. He accordingly 
 took measures to establish a permanent depot, on the 
 north bank of the Coosa, at the Ten Islands, to be 
 protected by strong picketing and block-houses. 
 Well knowing that it would greatly weaken his army 
 to occupy in his advance the different points neces- 
 sar}' to the safety of his rear, it was desirable to unite 
 as soon as possible with the troops of East Tennessee. 
 To effect this, he again, on the 4th of November, de- 
 spatched an express to General White, who had pre- 
 viously arrived at Turkey Town, a Cherokee village, 
 about twenty-five miles up the same river, urging him 
 to unite with the main army as soon as possible, and 
 again entreating him to procure and forward provi- 
 sions; to bring with him such as he had on hand ; and 
 to endeavour to form some certain arrangement which 
 might ensure a supply in future. Receiving no answer 
 from General White, he despatched another express 
 on the 7th. 
 
 No certain intellijrence had as yet been received 
 of any considerable collection of the enemy. The 
 army w as busily engaged in fortifying and strengthen- 
 ing the site fixed upon for a depot, to which the name 
 of Fort Strother had been given. 
 
The Dinner nf Acorns. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TALLADEGA, 
 
 ATE on the evening of the 7th 
 of November, a runner arrived 
 ' j from Talladeora, a fort of the 
 > '1J friendly Indians, distant about 
 thirty miles below, with in- 
 formation that the enemy- 
 had, that morning, encamped 
 - L.i| before it in great numbers, 
 and would certainly destroy the fort, and all within it, 
 unless immediate assistance could be afforded. Jack- 
 
140 TALLADEGA. 
 
 son determined to lose no time in extendi ni^ the relief 
 which was solicited. Understanding that General 
 White was on his way to join him, he despatched 
 another messensjer to meet him, directinor him to reach 
 Fort Strother in the conrse of the ensuing night, and 
 protect it in his absence. He then gave orders for 
 taking up the line of march, with twelve hundred in- 
 fantry, and eight hundred cavalry and mounted rifle- 
 men; leaving behind the sick, the wounded, and all 
 his basf^ao-e, with a force which was deemed sufficient 
 for their protection, until the reinforcement from 
 Turkey Town should arrive. 
 
 The friendly Indians who had taken refuge in this 
 oesieged 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 move- 
 ment, would have been unpardonable ; and unless re- 
 lief was immediately extended, it might arrive too late. 
 The same spirit which induced the general to hazard 
 his reputation in protecting his countrymen at Natchez, 
 induced him, without hesitation, to extend protec- 
 tion to those faithful natives, whose fate was identi- 
 fied with the success or defeat of the American arms. 
 
 Acting under these impressions, the general deter- 
 mined to move forward instantly to their assistance. 
 By midnight, everything was in readiness ; and in an 
 hour afterward 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 six hundred yards wide, 
 and it being necessary to send back the horses for the 
 
FORCED MARCH. 141 
 
 remainder of the infantry, several hours were con- 
 sumed before a passage of all the troops could be ef- 
 fected. Nevertheless, though thus deprived of sleep, 
 they continued the march with animation ; and by 
 evening the next day, had arrived within six miles of 
 the enemy. 
 
 In this march, Jackson used the utmost precaution 
 to prevent surprise ; marching his army, as v.as his 
 constant custom, in three columns, so that, by a speedy 
 manoeuvre, they might be thrown into such a situation 
 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, named Mayfield, 
 who had for many years been detained a captive in 
 the nation, and was now acting as interpreter, to re- 
 connoitre the position of the enemy. About eleven 
 o'clock at night they returned with information that 
 the savages w^ere 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 situation. 
 
 Within an hour after this, old Chinnaby 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 the Chautugu Creek. It was most dis- 
 tressinor intelliuence ; the sick and wounded had been 
 left with no other calculation for their safety and de- 
 fence, than that this detachment of the army, agree- 
 ably to his request, would, by advancing upon Fort 
 
142 TALLADEGA, 
 
 Strother, serve the double purpose of protecting his 
 rear, and enabling him to advance still iarther into the 
 enemy's country. The information which was now 
 received proved that all those salutary anticipations 
 were at an end, and that evils of the worst kind might 
 be the consequence. Intelligence so disagreeable, and 
 so unexpected, filled the mind of Jackson with appre- 
 hensions of a serious and alarming character ; and, 
 dreading lest the enemy, by taking a different route, 
 should attack his encampment in his absence, he de- 
 termined to lose no time in brin2;in2: him to battle. 
 
 OrJers were accordingly given to the adjutant- 
 general to prepare the line ; and, by four o'clock the 
 next morninfT the armv was ao^ain in motion. The 
 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 ar- 
 tillerests with muskets, 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, after commencing 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 enemy, the colu.nns were displayed in order of 
 battle. Two hundred and fifty of the cavalry and 
 mounted rifle:nen ^vcre placed in die rear of the centre 
 as a corps de reserve. General Hall's brigade occu- 
 pied the right — General Roberts' the left, and were 
 ordered to advance by h.^ids of compnnies. The 
 cavalry were ordered, after having encircled the enemy 
 by uniting the fronts of their colunms and keeping 
 their rear connected with the infantrv, to face and 
 
BATTLE OF TALLADEGA. 145 
 
 press inwards towards the centre, so as to leave the 
 enemy no possibihty of escape. 
 
 About eight o'clock, the advance having arrived 
 within eighty yards of the shrubbery, which covered 
 the margin of a small rivulet, received a heavy fire, 
 which they instantly returned with much spirit. 
 Agreeably to their instructions, they retired towards 
 the centre, but not before they had dislodged the ene- 
 my from his position. The Indians, now screaming 
 and yelling hideously, rushed forward in the direction 
 of General Roberts' brigade, three companies of which, 
 alarmed by the number and yells of their opponents, 
 gave way after the first fire. To fill the vacancy oc- 
 casioned by this retreat, Jackson ordered up the regi- 
 ment of volunteers commanded by Colonel Bradley ; 
 but, finding the advance of the enemy too rapid to 
 admit of their arrival in time, he was coniprJIed to 
 order the reserve to dismount and fill the clmsm. 
 This order was executed with great promptitude and 
 gallantry, and the enemy in that quarter speedily re- 
 pulsed. The militia who had retreated, seeing the 
 spirited manner in which the reserve so promptly sup- 
 plied their places, rallied, and recovering their former 
 position in the line, aided in checking the advance of 
 the savages. The engagement now became general, 
 and in fifteen minutes the enemy were seen flying in 
 every direction. On the left they were met and re- 
 pulsed by the mounted riflemen. On the right a part 
 of them escaped through the opening between the 
 right wing of the cavalry and the infantry, which 
 should have been filled by Bradley's regiment, and 
 
146 TALLADEGA. 
 
 were pursued with great slaughter to the mountains, 
 a distance of three miles. 
 
 Jackson, in his report of this action, bestows high 
 commendation on the officers and soldiers. "Too 
 much praise," he observes in the close of it, " cannot 
 be bestowed on the advance, led by Colonel Carrol, for 
 the spirited manner in which they commenced and 
 sustained the attack ; nor upon the reserve, com- 
 manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Dyer, for the gallantry 
 with which they met and repulsed the enemy. In a 
 word, officers of every grade, as well as privates, rea- 
 lized the high expectations I had formed of them, and 
 merit the gratitude of their country." 
 
 " Thus did this gallant little army, scarcely pausing 
 to eat their meager rations, but appeasing their hun- 
 ger as they could with a handfid of parched corn, or 
 a few acorns snatched from the ground as they hur- 
 ried on, rush ever forward, and ere the besieging force 
 were aware of the presence of an enemy, they were 
 wholly surrounded, and the thunderbolt of war over- 
 whehned them with sudden destruction."* 
 
 In the battle of Talladega 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 beheved that many were killed in the lligiit, who 
 were not found when the estimate was made. Proba- 
 bly few escaped unhurt. Their loss on this occasion 
 as stated since by themselves, was not less than six 
 hundred : that of the Americans was fifteen killed and 
 eighty wounded, several of whom afterwards died. 
 
 * Bollcs's Eulo2v. 
 
RELIEF OF FORT STR OTHER. ] 47 
 
 Jackson, after collecting his dead and wounded, ad- 
 vanced his army beyond the fort, and encamped for 
 the ni(,dit. The Indians wiio had been for several 
 days shut up by the besicirors, thus fortunately libe- 
 rated from the most dreadful apprehensions and se- 
 verest privations, having for some time been entirely 
 without water, received the army with all the demon • 
 strations of gratitude that savages could give. Their 
 manifestations of joy for their deliverance presented an 
 interesting and affecting spectacle. Their fears had 
 been greatly excited, for it was the very day when 
 they were to have been assaulted, and when every 
 soul Avithin the fort must have perished. All the pro- 
 visions they could spare from their scanty stock they 
 sold to the general, who, purchasing with his own mo- 
 ney, distributed them among the soldiers who were 
 almost destitute. 
 
 With great regret Jackson found himself unable to 
 follow up his victory. The condition of the posts in 
 his rear, the want of provisions, the desertion (for no 
 milder name can be applied to these proceedings) of 
 General Cocke, compelled him to hasten back. The 
 enemy thus gained time to recover from their conster- 
 nation, and to reassemble their forces. 
 
 The cause which prevented General White from 
 acting in obedience to his order, and arrivincr at Fort 
 Strother at a moment when it was so important, and 
 when it was so confidently expected, was as yet un- 
 known to the general ; the only certainty upon the 
 subject was, that for the present it wholly thwarted 
 his views, and laid him under the painful necessity of 
 returning, instead of penetrating father into the en- 
 
148 TALLADEGA. 
 
 emy's country. This mystery, hitherto inexphcable, 
 was some time after explained, by a view of the order 
 of General Cocke, under which White, being a briga- 
 dier in his division, chose to act, rather than under 
 Jackson's. General Cocke stated to him that he had 
 called a council of officers, who had unanimously de- 
 cided not to follow Jackson, but to cross the river, 
 and proceed against the Creek settlements on the Tal- 
 lapoosa. This decision meeting with Cocke's appro- 
 bation, he directed White fortlnvith to unite witli him 
 at his encampment. The only aim of Cocke in this 
 proceeding seems to have been to thwart the views 
 and arrest the successes of Jackson ; and perhaps 
 jealousy, in no inconsiderable degree, was the moving 
 spring to his conduct. Both were major-g Mierals 
 from the state of Tennessee, sent on the same im- 
 portant errand, to check an insolent foe, w'ho had 
 practised the most cruel and unprovoked outrages. 
 Jackson was the senior officer of the Tennessee 
 forces, and of course claimed the ri<>ht of commandinor 
 the whole that were in service. Cocke considered 
 himself as possessing a command independent of 
 Jackson. This circumstance produced division, and 
 a collision of orders, when all should have been union 
 and harmony, and, as we shall see, was the means of 
 greatly lengthening the war. 
 
 Having buried his dead with the honours of war, 
 and provided litters for the wounded. General Jackson 
 reluctantly commenced his return march on the morn- 
 ing succeeding the battle. In this short march the 
 soldiers were reduced to the last extremity for want 
 of provisions. " A soldier in the rear of the army 
 
DINNER OF ACORNS. 149 
 
 perceived Jackson seated under an oak tree, leisurely 
 eating.* ' Well,' thoMLiht he, 'the general has taken 
 good care of himself, and left the poor soldier to starve. 
 I '11 go and beg a morsel of bread.' ' Yes,' said the 
 general, 'I never turn away the hungry;' and offering 
 a handful of acorns, added, ' I will most cheerfully di- 
 vide with you such food as I have.' The soldier gazed 
 with tearful and mute admiration on his now tlu'ice 
 beloved chief, and marched on with a more cheerful 
 heart. There is nothing the soldier will not endure, 
 when shared by his leader."t 
 
 The general confidently hoped, from the previous 
 assurances of the contractors, that by the time of his 
 return to Fort Strother, sufficient supplies would have 
 arrived there ; but, to his inexpressible uneasiness, he 
 found that not a particle had been forwarded since his 
 departure, and that, what had been left, was already 
 consumed. A scanty supply of beef, taken from the 
 enemy, or purc'i; sed of the Cherokees, was now the 
 only support aflforded. Thus left destitute, Jackson, 
 w^ith the utmost cheerfulness of temper, repaired to 
 the bullock-pen ; and of the oflal there thrown away, 
 provided for himself and staff, what he was pleased 
 to call, and seemed really to think, a very comfortable 
 repast. 
 
 While General Jackson remained wholly unnioved 
 by his own privations, he was filled with solicitude 
 and concern for his army. His utmost exertions, un- 
 ceasingly ap])lied, were insufficient to remove the suf- 
 ferings to which he saw them exposed ; and, though 
 
 *Sec Dage 127. f Garland's Eulogy. 
 
150 
 
 TALLADEGA. 
 
 Soldiers coiiCi_icliiig -Mutiny. 
 
 they were by no means so great as they themselves 
 represented, yet were undoubtedly such as to be se- 
 verely felt. " The general had now to contend with 
 a more formidable enemy even than famine — mutiny 
 in his own camp. The main body of the army con- 
 sisted of two reo-iments — the rejTimcnt of volunteers 
 that had followed him to Natchez the winter before — 
 and a regiment of drafted mihtia. The militia, dis- 
 gusted with the neglect and ill-treatment they had 
 received, instigated by their ofliccrs, and seized with 
 the home-fever, resolved to quit the camp, and return 
 to Tennessee. Apprised of their design, Jackson drew 
 up the regiment of volunteers in their front, and or- 
 dered them to fire whenever the mutineers com 
 
MUTINY. 15] 
 
 nicnced their march. Awed by this act of boldness, 
 the militia returned to their duty. 
 
 " What was the mortification of the general, next 
 morning, to find the volunteers thcmseh^s in a state 
 of rebellion ! Those very men whom he would not 
 abandon in their hour of need, were now ready to 
 abandon him, their camp, and their duty. Unappalled 
 by this rapid succession of calamities, the ready mind 
 and prompt will of Jackson did not fail him. The 
 militia, whose rebellion had been conquered but the 
 day before, were now drawn up to oppose this new 
 mutmy; and so stern and resolute were their counte 
 nances, that the volunteers thought it best to desist 
 from their purposes, and return to camp."* 
 
 From this time the militia manifested a much more 
 obedient and patriotic disposition than the volunteers,- 
 who, having adopted a course which they discovered 
 must finally involve them in dishonour if it should fail, 
 were exceedingly anxious for its success, and that it 
 might have the appearance of being founded on justice. 
 On this subject the pretensions of the cavalry were 
 certainly much better established; as they were en- 
 tirely without forage, and without any prospect of soon 
 obtammg any. They petitioned, therefore, to be per- 
 mitted to return into the settled parts of the country, 
 pledging themselves, by their platoon and field-ofiicers, 
 that if sufiicient time were allowed to recruit the ex- 
 hausted state of their horses, and to procure their 
 winter clothing, they would return to the performance 
 of their duty whenever called on. The general, un- 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 
152 TALLADEGA. 
 
 able from many causes to prosecute the campaign, 
 and confiding in the assurance given, granted the 
 prayer of their petition, and they immediately set out 
 on their return. 
 
 About this time General Jackson's hope of being 
 able to maintain the conquests he had made, began 
 to be confirmed by letters just received from the 
 contractors, and principal wagon-masters, stating that 
 sufficient supplies for the army were then on the road, 
 and would shortly arrive; but discontents, to an 
 alarming degree, still prevailed in his camp. To allay 
 them, if possible, he hastened to lay before the division 
 the information and letters he had received ; and, at 
 the same time, invited the field and platoon-ofiicers to 
 his quarters, to consult on the measures to be pur- 
 sued. Having assembled them, and well knowing that 
 the flame of discontent, which had so lately shown 
 itself, was only for the present smothered, and might 
 burst forth in serious injury, he addressed them i'l an 
 animated speech, in which he extolled their patriotism 
 and achievements ; lamented the privations to which 
 they had been exposed, and endeavoured to reanimate 
 them by the prospect of speedy relief, which he ex- 
 pected with confidence on the following day. He 
 spoke of the conquests they had already made, and 
 of the dreadful consequences that must result should 
 they now be abandoned. 
 
 " AV'hat," continued he, " is the present situation 
 of our camp? a number of our fellow-soldiers are 
 wounded and unable to help themselves. Shall it be 
 said that we are so lost to humanity as to leave them 
 in this condition ? Can any one, under these circum- 
 
SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 153 
 
 Stances and under these prospects, consent to an 
 abandonment of the camp; of all that 'wc have ac- 
 qun'cd in the midst of so many dilhculties, privations, 
 and dangers ; of what it will cost us so much to re- 
 gain ; of what wc never can regain, — our brave 
 wounded companions who will be murdered by our 
 unthinking, unfeeling inhumanity ? Surely there can 
 be none such ! No, we w ill take with us when we go, 
 our wounded and sick. They must not, — shall not 
 perish by our cold blooded indifierence. But why 
 should you despond ? I do not, and yet your wants 
 are not greater than mine. To be sure, we do not 
 live sumptuously : but no one has died of hunger, or 
 is likely to die ; and then how animating are our pros- 
 pects ! Large supplies are at Deposit, and already 
 are officers despatched to hasten them on. Wagons 
 are on the way ; a large number of beeves are in the 
 neighbourhood: and detachments are out to bring 
 them in. — All these resources surely cannot fail. I 
 have no wish to starve you — none to deceive you. 
 Stay contentedly, and if supplies do not arrive in two 
 days, we will all march back together, and throw the 
 blame of our failure where it should properly lie ; un- 
 til then, we certainly have the means of subsisting ; 
 and if we are compelled to bear privations, let us re- 
 member that they are borne for our country, and are 
 not greater than many, perhaps most armies have 
 been compelled 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." 
 
 Havinor retired to their tents and deliberated on the 
 
154 TALLADEGA. 
 
 measures most proper to be adopted in this emergency, 
 the officers of the volunteer bricjade came to the con- 
 elusion that " nothing short of marching the army im- 
 mediately back to the settlements could prevent those 
 difficulties and that disgrace which must attend a for- 
 cible desertion of the camp by his soldiers." The of- 
 ficers of the militia determined differently, and report- 
 ed a willingness to maintain the post a few days lon- 
 ger, that it might be ascertained w hether or not a suf- 
 ficiency of provisions could be had. "If it can, let us 
 proceed with the campaign; — if not, let us be marched 
 back to where it can be procured." The general, who 
 greatly preferred the latter opinion, was nevertheless 
 disposed to gratify those who appeared unwilling to 
 submit to further hardships ; and with this view or- 
 dered General Hall to march the volunteers to Fort 
 Deposit, and after satisfying their wants, to return, 
 and act as an escort to the provisions. One-half of 
 the brigade however, unwilling to be outdone by the 
 militia, consented to remain, and the other half pro- 
 ceeded alone. On this occasion he could not forbear 
 to remark, that men for whom he cherished so strong 
 an allection, and for whom he was willing to sacrifice 
 every thing but honour, desiring to abandon him at a 
 moment when their presence was so particularly ne- 
 cessary, filled him with emotions which the strongest 
 language was too feeble to express. "I was pre- 
 pared," he continued, " to endure every evil but dis- 
 grace, and as I never can submit to this myself, I can 
 give no encouragement to it in others." 
 
 Two days had now elapsed since the departure of 
 the volunteers, and no supplies had arrived. The mi- 
 
tp?t<^- 
 
QUELLS THE MUTINY. l,~^ 
 
 litia with great earnestness demanded a performance 
 of the pledge winch had been given them, that they 
 should be marched back to the settlements. From 
 .nformation lately received, Jackson was confident 
 that rehef was not far distant ; but having pledged him- 
 self, he could use no arguments or entreaties to de- 
 tam them any longer, and immediately took measures 
 for complying w.th their wishes and the promise he 
 had made them. This was to him a moment of the 
 deepest dejection. While thus pondering on the 
 gloomy prospects, he lifted up his hands and ex- 
 claimed with a look and manner which showed how 
 much he felt, "If only two men w.ll remain with 
 me I wiU never abandon this post." Captain Gordon, 
 ot the spies, facetiously replied, "You have one, <.ene- 
 ■ ral let us look if we can't find another;" and imme- 
 diately, with a zeal suited to the occasion, undertook, 
 with some of the general's staff, to raise volunteers 
 and m a htlle while, succeeded in procurin.. one 
 hundred and nine, who declared a determinatfon to 
 remain and protect the post. 
 
 The general then set out towards Deposit with the 
 remainder of the army, who were made distinctly ,o 
 understand that, on meeting supplies, they were to 
 return and prosecute the campaign. They did meet 
 supplies, not far from the camp; but, so far from re 
 tiimmg, they seemed more determined to o-o forward 
 Going alone among his men, to appease Them by ar- 
 gument and remonstrance, Jackson found the spirit 
 of mutiny so prevalent and determined, that he seized 
 
 sti?! !i' ?°'^.°"' '" *^°"' ^^""^ ■'"S^''^' ""''' being 
 still without the use of his left arm, levelled the 
 
158 
 
 TALLADEGA. 
 
 weapon across the neck of his horse, and proclaimed 
 that the first man who moved in the ranks should be 
 shot down. Mute astonishment seized on the whole 
 army — no one moved — no one spoke. What was 
 one emaciated and wounded man to a thousand — one 
 musket to a thousand in the hands of unerring marks- 
 men ? It was not fear that awed these brave men, 
 but astonishment and admiration at the daring, the 
 magnanimity, and heroic self-sacrifice of the man that 
 stood before them. A murmur of applause ran along 
 the lines, and they signified their willingness to return.* 
 Tt is very certain that but for the firmness of the gene- 
 ral at this critical moment, the campaign would for 
 the present have been broken up, and would probably 
 never have been recommenced. 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 
Hillabee Deputies. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HILLABEE TOWNS — DESERTIONS AND 
 MUTINY — GEORGIA VICTORIES. 
 
 SHORT time after the 
 victory at Talladega, 
 General Jackson re- 
 ceived deputies from 
 the Hillabee tribes. 
 
160 HILLABEE DEPUTIES. 
 
 who had formed the principal strength of the enemy, 
 offering to make peace ; and expressing their wilhng- 
 " ness to agree to any conditions he might think proper 
 to impose. He informed them, in answer to their re- 
 quest, that the war had only been waged to defend 
 the frontiers from the aojorressions of the Indians, and 
 to bring to a proper sense of duty a people to whom 
 his government had ever shown the utmost kindness, 
 and who, nevertheless, had committed against her 
 citizens the most unprovoked depredations ; and that 
 it would end only when it should become certain that 
 this object was attained. 
 
 " Upon those," continued he, " who are disposed 
 to become friendly, I neither wish nor intend to make 
 war ; but they must afford evidences of the sincerity 
 of their 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 surrendered ; the latter must 
 and will be made to feel the force of our resentment. 
 Long shall they remember Fort Mimms in bitterness 
 and tears." 
 
 These propositions would doubtless have been ac- 
 ceded to, had not the course pursued by General 
 Cocke broken off all the negotiations. That ofEcer 
 was informed by General .Tackson of the applications 
 of the Hillabecs, and the nature of the answer he had 
 sent to them ; but he had previously detached General 
 White, with orders to proceed against and destroy 
 their towns. Tie commenced his march on the 1 1 th 
 of November ; his force consisting of a regiment of 
 mounted infantry under Colonel Rurch, a battalion of 
 
DESTRUCTION OF THE HILLABEES. 161 
 
 cavalry under Major Porter, and three hundred Chcro- 
 kees commanded by Colonel Morgan. On his route 
 he passed and destroyed the towns of Little Oakfusku 
 and Genatga, consisting, the first of thirty, the second 
 of ninety-three houses. The town called Nitty Chop- 
 toa was preserved, in the supposition that it might be 
 useful at some future period. On the 17th, after 
 marching more than one hundred miles, he arrived in 
 the vicinity of a town containing a considerable force 
 of Indians. Colonels Burch and Morgan were sent 
 forward by General White, with the infantry and 
 Cherokees, to surround the town and prevent any of 
 the enemy from escaping. They not only executed 
 their orders, but captured it before the arrival of the 
 rest of the detachment, without losing a single man. 
 Sixty of the Hillabee warriors were killed, and about 
 two hundred and fifty of their women and children 
 taken prisoners. The fact of such slaughter being 
 committed among them, while the American troops 
 sustained no loss, and had not even a man injured, 
 can only be accounted for by the supposition that the 
 Hillabees considered it dishonourable to fight with 
 those with whom they were negotiating for peace. 
 Regardinsj the detachment under General White as a 
 part of Jackson's army, and believing the attack upon 
 them to have been made by his direction, they lost 
 confidence in him, and refused ever afterwards to make 
 any terms of peace. From this time they would never 
 give or receive quarter, preferring death to submission, 
 and revenging upon those who fell into their power 
 the treachery, as they deemed it, of the American 
 general. 
 
182 MUTINY. 
 
 In the meantime General Jackson proceeded to 
 Deposit and Ditto's Landing, where the most effectual 
 means in his power were taken with the contractors 
 for obtaining regular supplies in future. There also 
 he learned that the whole of the detachment from 
 Tennessee had been received by the president into 
 the service of the United States, and he began to think 
 that the difficulties he had hitherto encountered would 
 not recur, and that now his operations could no more 
 be impeded by a want of supplies. He was mistaken. 
 The volunteers at Deposit were only restrained from 
 breaking out into open mutiny by an animated ad- 
 dress of the general, who, having assembled them to- 
 gether, painted in the most glowing colours, all the 
 consequences that were to be apprehended, if from 
 any defection of theirs, the campaign should be aban- 
 doned, or ineffectually prosecuted. 
 
 On his return to Fort Strother, he found the volun- 
 teers, now that they no longer had any reason to cla- 
 mour for bread, were as noisy and earnest in calling 
 for their discharge. They insisted that having volun- 
 teered to serve one year out of two, they would be 
 entitled to their discharge on the tenth of December, 
 that being the termination of a year from the day they 
 had first entered the service ; and that although they 
 had been a greater part of the time disengaged and 
 unemployed, that recess was, nevertheless, to be taken 
 into computation. Jackson replied that the law of 
 Congress under which their services had been accept- 
 ed could contemplate nothing less than actual active 
 service of twelve months out of twenty-four ; and until 
 
LETTER TO MR. BLACKBURN. 16.3 
 
 that was performed, he could not, unless specially au- 
 thorized, undertake to discharge them. 
 
 Foreseeing the consequences which might result if 
 they persisted in their refusal to serve beyond the 
 10th of December, the general began to provide other 
 means for a continuance of the campaign, that, even 
 if they all deserted him, he might still be prepared to 
 act. Accordingly, he ordered General Roberts to re- 
 turn and fill up the deficiencies in his brigade, and 
 despatched Colonel Carroll and Major Searcy into 
 Tennessee, to raise volunteers to serve six months, or 
 during the war. He also wrote pressing letters to 
 many respectable and influential men, exhorting them 
 to contribute their assistance to the accomplishment 
 of this object. To a letter just received from the Re- 
 verend Gideon Blackburn, assuring him that volun- 
 teers from Tennessee would eagerly hasten to his re- 
 lief if they knew their services were wanted, he replied, 
 
 "Reverend Sir, — Your letter has been just re- 
 ceived : I thank you for it ; I thank you most sincere- 
 ly. It arrived at a moment when my spirits needed 
 such a support. 
 
 " I left Tennessee with an army, brave, I believe, 
 as any general ever commanded. I have seen them in 
 battle, 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 arc 
 brave, yet privations have rendered them discontent- 
 ed : that is enough. The expedition must neverthe- 
 less be prosecuted to a successful termination. New 
 
164 LETTER TO MR. BLACKBURN. 
 
 volunteers must be raised to conclude what has been 
 so auspiciously begun by the old ones. Gladly would 
 I save these men from themselves, and ensure them a 
 harvest which they have sown ; but if they will aban- 
 don it to others, it must be so. 
 
 " You are good enough to say, if I need your as- 
 sistance, it will be cheerfully afforded. I do need it 
 greatly. The influence you possess over the minds of 
 men is great and well founded, and can never be better 
 applied than in summoning volunteers to the defence 
 of their country, their liberty, and their religion. 
 While we fight the savage, who makes war only 
 because he delights in blood, and who has gotten his 
 booty when he has scalped his victim, we are, through 
 him, contending against an enemy of more inveterate 
 character, and deeper design, who would demolish a 
 fabric cemented by the blood of our fathers, and en- 
 deared to us by all the happiness we enjoy. So far 
 as my exertions can contribute, the purposes, both of 
 the savage and his instigator, shall be defeated ; and, 
 so far as yours can, I hope — I know, they will be em- 
 ployed. I have said enough — I want men, and want 
 them innnediately." 
 
 Knowing that the discontents could only bo finally 
 dispelled from the minds of his troops by active em- 
 ployment, and anxious to prosecute the campaign as 
 soon as possible, he wrote (Dec. 6th) to General 
 Cocke, desiring him to unite with him immediately, at 
 the Ten Islands, with fifteen hundred men. He assured 
 him that the mounted men who had returned to the 
 settlements for sub.sistencc, and to recruit their horses, 
 would arrive by tlie r2th of the month. He wished 
 
COLONEL MARTIN'S LETTER. 165 
 
 to commence his operations directly, " knowing they 
 would be prepared for it, and well knowing they would 
 require it." 
 
 In the meantime, the volunteers, through several 
 of their officers, continued to press on the consideration 
 of the general, the subject of their term of service, and 
 claimed to be discharged on the 10th instant. From 
 Colonel Martin, who commanded the second regiment, 
 he received a letter, dated the 4th of December, 1813, 
 in which was attempted to be detailed their whole 
 ground of complaint. He began by stating that much 
 as it pained him, he felt himself bound to disclose a 
 very unpleasant truth; that on the 10th the service 
 would be deprived of the regiment he commanded. 
 He seemed to deplore with great sensibility the scene 
 that would be exhibited on that day, should opposition 
 be made to their departure ; and still more sensibly, 
 the consequences that would result from a disorderly 
 abandonment of the camp. He stated they had all 
 thought themselves finally discharged on the 20th of 
 April last, and never knew to the contrary until they 
 saw the order of the 24th of September, requiring 
 them to rendezvous at Fayetteville, on the 4th of Oc- 
 tober; for the first time they had learned that they 
 owed further services, their discharge to the contrary 
 notwithstanding. " Thus situated, there was consider- 
 able opposition to the order; on which the officers 
 generally, 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 10th of De- 
 cember. 
 
 " They therefore look to their general, who holds 
 
166 MUTINY. 
 
 their confidence, for an honourable discharge on that 
 day ; and that in every respect, he will see that justice 
 be done them. They regret that their peculiar situa- 
 tions and circumstances 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 ho- 
 nour, should be honourably discharged, and that they 
 should return to their families and friends, without 
 even the semblance of disgrace ; with their genera] 
 they leave it to place them in that situation. They 
 have received him as an affectionate father, whilst 
 they have honoured, revered, and obeyed him ; but 
 having devoted a considerable 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 deter- 
 mination of only a part of the volunteer brigade, he 
 had already abundant evidence that the defection was 
 but too general. The difficulties which the general 
 had heretofore to encounter, from the discontents of 
 his troops, might well induce him to regret the threat- 
 ened reappearance in his camp of the spirit of insubor- 
 dination. That he might, if possible, prevent it, he 
 hastened to lay before them the error and impropriety 
 of their views, and the consequence involved, should 
 they persist in their purpose. 
 
 " I know not," he observed, " what scenes will be 
 exhibited on the 10th instant, nor what consequences 
 are to flow from them here or elsewhere ; but as I 
 shall have the consciousness that they are not impu- 
 
LETTER TO THE ARMY. ItJ? 
 
 table to any misconduct of mine, I trust I shall have 
 the firnmess not to shrink from a discharge of my 
 duty. 
 
 " It will be well, however, for those who intend to 
 become actors in those scenes, and who are about to 
 hazard so much on the correctness of their opinions, 
 to examine beforehand, with great caution and de- 
 liberation, the grounds on which their pretensions 
 rest. Are they founded on any false assurances of 
 mine, or upon any deception that has been practised 
 towards them? Was not the act of Congress, under 
 which they are engaged, directed by my general 
 order, to be read and expounded to them before 
 they enrolled themselves ? That order will testify, 
 and so will the recollection of every general officer of 
 my division. It is not pretended that those who now 
 claim to be discharged, were not legally and fairly en- 
 rolled, under the act of Congress, on the 6th of Febru- 
 ary, 1812. Have they performed the service required 
 of them by that act, and which they then solemnly 
 undertook to perform ? That required one year's 
 service out of two, to be computed from the day of 
 rendezvous, unless they should be sooner dischiiiged. 
 Has one year's service been performed ? This cannot 
 be seriously pretended. Have they then been dis- 
 charged? It is said they have, and by me. To 
 account for so extraordinary a belief, it may be ne- 
 cessary to take a review of past circumstances. 
 
 " More than twelve months have elapsed since we 
 were called upon to avenge the injured rights of our 
 country. We obeyed the call ! In the midst of 
 hardships, which none but those to whom liberty is 
 
168 LETTER TO THE ARMY. 
 
 dear could have borne without a murmur, we de- 
 scended the Mississippi. It was believed our services 
 were wanted in the prosecution of the just war in which 
 our country was engaged, and we were prepared to 
 render them. But, though we were disappointed in 
 our expectations, we estabhshed for Tennessee a name 
 which will long do her honour. At length, we re- 
 ceived a letter from the secretary of war, directing 
 our dismission. You will recollect the circumstances 
 of wretchedness in which this order was calculated to 
 place us. By it we were deprived of every article of 
 public property ; no provision was made for the pay- 
 ment of our troops, or their subsistence on their return 
 march ; whilst many of our sick, unable to help them- 
 selves, must have perished. Against the opinion of 
 many, I marched them back to their homes before I 
 dismissed them. Your regiment, at its own request, 
 was dismissed at Columbia. This was accompanied 
 by a certificate to each man, expressing the acts under 
 which he had been enrolled, and the length of the tour 
 he had performed. This it is which is now attempted 
 to be construed 'a final discharge;' but surely it 
 cannot be forgotten by any officer or soldier, how 
 sacredly they pledged themselves, before they were 
 dismissed, or received their certificates, cheerfully to 
 obey the voice of their country, if it should resummon 
 them into service ; neither can it be forgotten, I dare 
 hope, for what purpose that certificate was given ; it 
 was to secure, if possible, to those brave men who had 
 shown such readiness to serve their country, certain 
 extra emoluments, specified in the seventh section of 
 the act under which they had engaged, in the event 
 
LETTER TO THE ARMY. 169 
 
 they were not recalled into service for the residue of 
 their term. 
 
 " Is it true then that my solicitude for the interest 
 of the volunteers, is to be made by them a pretext for 
 disgracing a name which they had rendered illustrious ? 
 Is a certificate designed solely for their benefit to 
 become the rallying word for mutiny ? strange pursuit 
 of feeling and of reasoning ! Have I really any power 
 to discharge men whose term of service has not ex- 
 pired ? If I were weak or wicked enough to attempt 
 the exercise of such a power, does any one believe the 
 soldier would be thereby exonerated from the obliga- 
 tion he has voluntarily taken upon himself to his 
 government ? I should become a traitor to the im- 
 portant concern which has been entrusted to my 
 management ; while the soldier, who had been de- 
 ceived by a false hope of liberation, would be still 
 liable to redeem his pledge ; I should disgrace myself 
 without benefitting you. 
 
 " I can only deplore the situation of those officers 
 who have undertaken to persuade their men that their 
 term of service will expire on the 10th. In giving 
 their opinions to this effect, they have acted indis- 
 creetly, and without sufficient authority. It would be 
 the most pleasing fact of my life to restore them with 
 honour to their families. Nothing would pain me 
 more, than that any other sentiments should be felt 
 towards them, than those of gratitude and esteem. 
 On all occasions it has been my highest happiness to 
 promote their interest, and even to gratify their 
 wishes, where with propriety it could be done. When 
 in the lower country, believing that, in the order for 
 
170 LETTER TO THE ARMY. 
 
 their dismissal, they had been improperly treated, I 
 even solicited the government to discharge them 
 finally from the obligations into which they had en- 
 tered. You know the answer of the secretary of 
 war; — that neither he, nor the president, as he be- 
 lieved, had the power to discharge them. How then 
 can it be required of me to do so ? 
 
 " The moment it is signified to me by any compe- 
 tent authority, even by the Governor of Tennessee, to 
 whom I have written on the subject, or by General 
 Pinckney, who is now appointed to the command, that 
 the volunteers may be exonerated from further ser- 
 vice, that moment I will pronounce it with the great- 
 est satisfaction. I have only the pawer of pronounc- 
 ing a discharge — not of giving it in any case, a dis 
 tinction which I would wish should be borne in mind. 
 Already have I sent to raise volunteers oji my own 
 responsibility, to complete a campaign which has 
 been so happily begun, and thus far, so fortunately 
 prosecuted. The moment they arrive, and I am as- 
 sured that, fired by our exploits, they will hasten in 
 crowds on the first intimation that we need their ser- 
 vices, they will be substituted in the place of those 
 who are discontented here; the latter will then be 
 permitted to return to their homes with all the honour 
 which, under such circumstances thev can carry along 
 with them. But I still cherish a hope that their dis- 
 satisfaction and complaints have been greatly exagge- 
 rated. I cannot, must not believe that the 'Volunteers 
 of Tennessee,' a name ever dear to fame, will dis- 
 grace themselves and a country which they have hon- 
 oured, by abandoning her standard as mutineers and 
 
ANOTHER MUTINY. 17J 
 
 deserters ; but should I be disappointed and compelled 
 to resign this pleasing hope, one thing I will not re- 
 sign — my duty. Mutiny and sedition, so long as 1 
 possess the power of quelling them, shall be put down ; 
 and even when left destitute of this, I will still be 
 found in the last extremity, endeavouring to discharge 
 the duty I owe my country and myself." 
 
 He also addressed the platoon officers in the same 
 style ; but discontent was too deeply rooted, and by 
 designing men had been too artfully fomented to be 
 removed by argument or entreaty. At length, on the 
 evening of the 9th of December, 1813, General Hall 
 hastened to the tent of General Jackson, with the in- 
 formation that his whole brigade was in a state of 
 mutiny, and making preparations to depart forcibly. 
 
 This was a measure which every consideration of 
 policy, duty, and honour, required Jackson to oppose ; 
 and to this purpose he instantly applied all the means 
 he possessed. He immediately issued the following 
 general order : 
 
 " The commanding general being informed that an 
 actual mutiny exists in his camp, all officers and 
 soldiers are commanded to put it down. The officers 
 and soldiers of the first brigade will, without delay, 
 parade on the west side of the fort, and await further 
 orders." The artillery company, with two small field- 
 pieces, being posted in the front and rear, and the 
 militia, under the command of Colonel Wynne, on the 
 eminences, in advance, were ordered to prevent any 
 forcible departure of the volunteers. 
 
 The creneral then rode alontj the line, and addressed 
 them by companies, in a strain of impassioned elo- 
 11 
 
172 JACKSON'S ADDRESS. 
 
 quence. He feelingly expatiated on their former good 
 conduct, and the esteem and applause it had secured 
 them ; and pointed to the disgrace which they must 
 heap upon themselves, their families, and country, by 
 persisting, even if they could succeed, in their present 
 mutiny. He told them, however, that they should not 
 succeed, but by passing over his body ; that, even in 
 opposing their mutinous spirit, he should perish 
 honourably — by perishing at his post, and in the dis- 
 charge of his duty. " Reinforcements," he continued, 
 " are preparing to hasten to my assistance ; it cannot 
 be long before they will arrive. I am, too, in daily 
 expectation of receiving information whether you may 
 be discharged or not — until then, you must not, and 
 shall not retire. I have done with entreaty — it has 
 been used long enough. I will attempt it no more. 
 You must now determine whether you will go, or 
 peaceably remain ; if you still persist in your deter- 
 mination to move peaceably off, the point between us 
 shall soon be decided." At first they hesitated : he 
 demanded an explicit and positive answer. They still 
 hesitated, and he commanded the artillerist to prepare 
 his match ; he, himself, remaining in front of the 
 volunteers, and within the line of fire, which he in- 
 tended soon to order. Alarmed at his apparent deter- 
 mination, and dreading the consequences involved in 
 such a contest, "Let us return," was murmured along the 
 fine, and soon after this step was determined upon. The 
 officers now came forward and pledged themselves for 
 their men, who either nodded assent, or openly ex- 
 pressed a willingness to retire to their quarters, and 
 remain without further tumult, until information was 
 
DANGER TO THE FRONTIER. 
 
 173 
 
 Scalping. 
 
 received or the expected aid should arrive. Thus 
 passed away a moment of the greatest peril, pregnant 
 with important consequences. 
 
 This ever memorable scene took place on the 10th 
 of December, 1813. One year from the first rendez- 
 vous of the volunteers had certainly expired ; but there 
 had not been a year's service; for they had not been 
 in service from the 1st of May to the 4th of October, 
 1813; so that there remained five months of the 
 year's service to come. The general was right in his 
 construction of the agreement; but, besides this, to 
 have forsaken the campaign in such a manner, would 
 have been ruinous in the extreme ; the savage enemy 
 not yet subdued, but exasperated to the last degree, 
 would have assailed the unprotected frontiers, and 
 
174 VOLUNTEERS ORDERED TO NASHVILLE. 
 
 have deluged them Mith the blood of the defenceless 
 citizens ; burning, murdering, and scalping, would have 
 been daily events on the border. 
 
 Though the volunteers were thus prevented from 
 putting their design into immediate execution, the 
 general soon discovered that it was not wholly 
 abandoned, and that nothing could be expected 
 from their future services. He accordingly deter- 
 mined to rid himself, as soon as possible, of men 
 whose presence served only to keep the spirit of dis- 
 content alive, in the camp. An order was given to 
 General Hall to march them to Nashville, and do with 
 them as he should be directed by the Governor of 
 Tennessee. Previous, however, to promulgating this 
 order, he resolved to make another effort to retain 
 them — to make a last appeal to their honour and 
 patriotism. For this purpose, having assembled them 
 before the fort on the 13th of December, the day after 
 the arrival of General Cocke, he directed his aid-de- 
 camp to read to them the following address : — 
 
 " Volunteers of Tennessee ! On the 10th of De- 
 cember, 1812, you assembled at the call of your coun- 
 try. Your professions of patriotism and ability to 
 endure fatigue, were at once tested by the inclemency 
 of the weather. Breaking your way through sheets of 
 ice, you descended the Mississippi, and reached the 
 point at which you were ordered to be halted and 
 dismissed. All this you bor6 without murmuring. 
 Finding that your services were not needed, the means 
 for marching you back were procured ; every difficulty 
 was surmounted, and as soon as the point from which, 
 you embarked was regained, the order for your dismis- 
 
RECAPITULATION OF VICTORY. 177 
 
 sal was carried into effect. The promptness with which 
 you assembled, the regularity of your conduct, your 
 attention to your duties, the determination manifested 
 on every occasion to carry into effect the wishes and 
 will of your government, placed you on an elevated 
 ground. You not only distinguished yourselves, but 
 gave to your state a distinguished rank with her sis- 
 ters; and led your government to believe that the 
 honour of the nation would never be tarnished when 
 entrusted to the holy keeping of the ' Volunteers of 
 Tennessee.' In the progress of a war, which the 
 implacable and eternal enemy of our independence in- 
 duced to be waged, we found that, without cause on 
 our part, a portion of the Creek nation was added to 
 the number of our foes. To put them down, the first 
 glance of the administration fell on you, and you were 
 again summoned to the field of honour. In full pos- 
 session of your fonner feelings, that summons was 
 cheerfully obeyed. Before your enemy thought you 
 in motion, you were at Tallushatchee and Talladega. 
 The thunder of your arms was a signal to them, that 
 the slaughter of your countrymen was about to be 
 avenged. You fought, you conquered ! barely enough 
 of the foe escaped to recount to their savage associates 
 your deeds of valour. You returned to this place, 
 loaded with laurels and the applauses of your country. 
 " Can it be that these brave men arc about to be- 
 come the tarnishers of their own reputation ! — the de- 
 stroyers of a name which does them so much honour. 
 Yes, it is a truth too well disclosed, that cheerfulness 
 has been changed for complaints : — murmurings and 
 discontents alone prevail. Men who a little while 
 
178 ADDRESS TO THE ARMY. 
 
 since were olTering up prayers for permission to chas- 
 tise the merciless savage, who turned with impatience 
 to teach them how much they had hitherto been in- 
 debted to our forbearance, are now, when they could 
 so easily attain their wishes, seeking to be discharged. 
 The heart of your general has been pierced. The 
 first object of his military affections, and the first glo- 
 ry of his life were the volunteers of Tennessee ; the 
 very name recalls to him a thousand endearing recol- 
 lections. But these men, these volunteers, have be- 
 come mutineers. The feelings he would have indulged, 
 your general has been compelled to suppress — he has 
 been compelled by a regard to that subordination so 
 necessary to the support of every army, and which he 
 is bound to have observed, to check the disorder 
 which would have destroyed you. He has interposed 
 his authority for your safety, — to prevent you from 
 disgracing yourselves and your country. Tranquillity 
 has been restored in our camp — contentment shall 
 also be restored — this can be done only by permitting 
 those to retire whose dissatisfaction proceeds from 
 causes that cannot be controlled. This permission 
 will never be given. Your country will dispense with 
 your services, if you have no longer a regard for that 
 fame, which you have so nobly earned for yourselves 
 and her. Yes, soldiers you who were once so brave, 
 and to whom honour was so dear, shall be permitted 
 to return to your homes, if you desire it. But in what 
 language, wlicn you arrive, will you address your fa- 
 mihes and friends ? Will you tell them that you 
 abandoned your general, and your late associates in 
 arms, within fifty miles of a savage enemy, who equally 
 
ARRIVAL OF GENERAL COCKE. 179 
 
 delights in shedding the blood of the innocent fe- 
 male and her sleeping babe, as that of the ^varrior 
 contending in battle ? Lamentable, disgraceful tale ! 
 If your dispositions are really changed, if you fear an 
 enemy you so lately conquered, this day will prove it. 
 I now put it to yourselves ; — determine upon the part 
 you will act, influenced only by the suggestion of your 
 own hearts, and your own understandings. All who 
 prefer an inglorious retirement shall be ordered to 
 Nashville, to be discharged as the president or the 
 governor may direct. Who choose to remain and 
 unite with their general in the further prosecution of 
 the campaign, can do so, and w ill thereby furnish a 
 proof that they have been greatly traduced ; and that 
 although disaffection and cowardice has reached the 
 hearts of some, it has not reached theirs. To such 
 my assurance is given, that former irregularities will 
 not be attributed to them. They shall be immediately 
 organized into a separate corps, under officers of their 
 own choice ; and in a httle while it is confidently be- 
 lieved an opportunity will be afforded of adding to the 
 laurels you have already won." 
 
 This address failed to produce the desired eflfect. 
 One only. Captain Williamson, agreed to remain. 
 General Hall was accordingly instructed to march his 
 brigade to Nashville, and await such instructions as 
 he might receive from the president, or the Governor 
 of Tennessee. 
 
 General Cocke had arrived on the 12th with fifteen 
 hundred men ; but it was found from his report that 
 no part of his troops were brought into the field under 
 the requisition of the President of the United States : 
 
^y-,' 
 
 180 GENERAL COFFEE'S BRIGADE. 
 
 and that the term of service of the greater part of 
 them would expire in a few days ; and of the whole 
 in a few weeks. In consequence of this he was ordered 
 into his district, to comply with that requisition, and 
 to carry with him and discharge near their homes, 
 those of his troops, whose term of service was nearly 
 ended. The reason of this w^as explained to the bri- 
 gade in an address, in which they were entreated, when 
 they should have obtained the necessaries which a 
 winter's campaign would require, to return into the 
 field, and aid in completing what had been so success- 
 fully begun. 
 
 Colonel Lilliard's regiment, consisting of about e'lsht 
 ■', "Tiundred men, whose term of service would not expire 
 in less than four weeks, was retained to assist in de- 
 fending Fort Strother, and keeping open the commu- 
 nication with Deposit until the expected reinforcements 
 should arrive. 
 
 The brigade of mounted men under General Coffee, 
 who had been allowed to return soon after the battle 
 of Talladega, reassembled at Huntsville on the 8th of 
 December. Only eight hundred presented themselves, 
 of whom but six hundred could be prevailed upon to 
 move towards the Indian country. The evil iniluence 
 of the example set by the infantry was soon evident 
 among the cavalry. They insisted upon their right 
 to a discharge, having enlisted at the same time as 
 the infantry. The riflemen, also, alleged tiiat their 
 stipulated term of service had expired, and manifested 
 a decided indisposition to proceed. General Coffee 
 was prevented by sickness from commanding his 
 brigade in person ; but he ordered them to march im- 
 
GENERAL COFFEE'S BRIGADE. 181 
 
 mediately to head-quarters. They proceeded as far 
 as Ditto's Landing ; but the greater number refused to 
 cross the river, and commenced a disorderly return. 
 Those ^vho continued to perform their duty, were 
 halted at Deposit, to await the orders of General 
 Jackson. Their conduct at that place was disorderly 
 and mutinous ; and General Coffee, despairing of 
 effecting anything with such troops, informed General 
 Jackson of their conduct and demands. He also for- 
 warded to the general a petition which had been ad- 
 dressed to him by the rifle regiment. The command- 
 er-in-chief addressed a severe letter to the malcon- 
 tents, receiving and answering their petition, and 
 reminding them of their promise to return to the service. 
 
 " The signers of that address," observes the gene- 
 ral, " commence by saying, ' that jealousy is prevailing 
 in our camp, with respect to the understanding between 
 themselves and the government relative to the service 
 required of them ; and believing it to be its policy to 
 act fairly, are of opinion that a full explanation of their 
 case will have a good effect in promoting the cause in 
 which they are engaged.' 
 
 " What can have given rise to this jealousy I am 
 at a loss to conjecture ; for surely no unfair practices 
 were ever used by their government to get them into 
 the service, nor to keep them in it longer than they 
 had engajjed to remain. How lonjT that was can be 
 
 DO O 
 
 easily determined by the law under which they were 
 accepted. This was open to all, and must be pre- 
 sumed to have been understood by all. But for a 
 complete answer, I send you, and refer you to the 
 written pledges of both the field and platoon-officers, 
 
182 JACKSON'S LETTER. 
 
 before they returned to recruit their horses, and obtain 
 their winter clothing. As they seem completely to have 
 forgotten, I will remind them of all they contain — of 
 their assurances given, that, if what they asked were 
 granted, they would return at the shortest possible 
 notice, prepared and willing to go through the \\ inter 
 service, or to the end of the campaign. Sensible of 
 their necessities, and confiding fully in the promises 
 they made, and signed with their own names, I per- 
 mitted them, on the 22d ultimo, to return into the set- 
 tlements for the purpose of procuring fresh horses, and 
 additional clothing ; and required them, to which they 
 readily agreed, to rendezvous in Madison on the 8th 
 instant. They have returne.l ; and now, when every 
 calculation is made upon their services, agreeably to 
 the pledges that have be^n given, they send (instead 
 of coming,) this address. Under these circumstances 
 what ' explanation of their case' do they want ? 
 What explanation do they expect their general to give 
 them ? Barely to remind them of their written pledges, 
 without attempting any exposition of the law under 
 which they have engaged, is surely a sufficient answer. 
 An exposition of it will not be attempted by me ; not 
 only because it is considered unnecessary, i)ut because 
 my opinion on it has been already frequently given. 
 
 " They, however, further remark, that ' they are 
 returning like deserters, souring the minds of the 
 people against the government and the officers, which 
 will prevent others from entering into the service of 
 their country, and paralyze the spirit of every citizen 
 of Tennessee.' That they are returning home, not 
 only ' like deserters,' but in the real characters of such. 
 
JACKSON'S REMARKS. 183 
 
 is indeed a lamentable truth. That they are also en- 
 deavouring to sour the minds of the people against the 
 government and the officers, and that this attempt will 
 most probably be successful, and prevent many from 
 entering the service, is, I am fearful, too true. But in 
 the name of God, to whom is this to be ascribed — to 
 the government or to their general ? or rather is it 
 not more justly chargeable to themselves, who, having 
 entered the camp from patriotic motives, as they say, 
 — having engaged w ith their government, and pledged 
 themselves to their general, to prosecute the campaign 
 and avenge the injured rights of their country, forget 
 both that engagement, and that pledge, and all their 
 boasted patriotism, at a moment when their services 
 are the most confidently expected, and the most 
 eminently needed. 
 
 " I cannot conceive how the idea has arisen, that 
 they are attempted to be detained without their con- 
 sent. To say nothing of the length of service really 
 required by the law under w hich they were accepted ; 
 have not the field officers given their written consent 
 to remain during the winter, or until the campaign be 
 completed ? Have they not also given a pledge for 
 their men, and their officers commanding companies 
 and platoons ; and have not those company and platoon 
 officers too, given a similar assurance for themselves 
 and their men ? Let them look to these pledges and 
 blush at their conduct. 
 
 " They also remark, ' If any tender of services for 
 a longer time than a tour of duty (three months), has 
 been made to the general government, we beg leave 
 to say, it was without our consent or knowledge ; and 
 
184 JACKSON'S REMONSTRANCE. 
 
 we are convinced that in all contracts that are binding, 
 both parties must fully understand and consent thereto. 
 We wish to be permitted to return home, and to re- 
 turn under such circumstances as will entitle us to be 
 praised instead of blamed, by those who so gallantly 
 led us to battle.' 
 
 "To this I give answer, that no tender for any 
 specified term of service was ever made to the general 
 government by me, or by any other within my know- 
 ledge. As regards their laiu remark^ that men, to be 
 bound by a contract, must understand and consent to 
 it, it will be a sufficient answer that those who volun- 
 teer their services under a public law, are presumed 
 to understand fully all its provisions ; or, at any rate, 
 that those who sign an instrument drawn up by them- 
 selves, cannot reasonably be supposed ignorant of its 
 contents, or unwilling to abide by its terms. But they 
 must be lukewarm patriots indeed, who in the mo- 
 ment of danger and necessity can halt in the discharge 
 of their duty, to argue and quibble on the construction 
 of laws and statutes. 
 
 " As to their wish ' to be praised instead of cen- 
 sured,' I am at a loss to conceive how such a senti- 
 ment should hold a place in the breasts of men who 
 are about to abandon the cause of their country, at 
 such a moment as this, and under such engagements. 
 Even if it be possible for such men to desire praise, 
 from their present conduct they cannot expect it. 
 Before they can have determined to enter upon such 
 a course, they must undoubtedly have prepared their 
 minds to meet all the contumely and contempt that an 
 indignant country can heap upon such wind-blown 
 
THE GOVERNOR'S LETTER. 1S5 
 
 patriots ; who, when at home, clamoured so vociferous- 
 ly about her injured rights, and having taken up arms 
 to defend them, abandon them at a moment when they 
 are most in danger. A grosser ahment than praise 
 must be the proper nutriment for such minds. If it 
 were possible that any doubt could exist under the law 
 by which their services were engaged, has not the 
 utmost certainty been produced, by their own written 
 undertakings subsequently made ? But on the ques- 
 tion, whether their country, at this time, needs their 
 services in the field, there can be no doubt. And is 
 patriotism to be measured by months, and weeks, and 
 days ? Is it by such a computation that the volunteer 
 embarked in his country's defence hopes to entitle 
 himself to the thanks of that country, when her rights 
 are assailed, and his efforts can protect them ? Be it 
 so ; let it be even granted that these men's engage- 
 ments have expired under the law ; — has their sacred 
 pledge in writing, and has their love of country ex- 
 pired ? If these cannot bind them to a faithful per- 
 formance of their duty, I know of nothing by which I 
 can hope to hold them." 
 
 He also forwarded to them a letter which he had 
 just received from the Governor of Tennessee. This 
 letter recommended what had already been done ; to 
 dismiss — not discharge, the volunteers, because the 
 latter was not in the power of either of them : — nor 
 was their dismission to be given because founded in 
 right ; but because under existing circumstances their 
 presence would not prove beneficial, but highly inju- 
 rious. This letter was sent to the volunteers of Cof- 
 fee's brigade, accompanied with these remarks : — 
 
186 DEPARTURE OF ALLCORN'S REGIMENT. 
 
 Allcorn abandoning the Campaign. 
 
 " I have just received a letter from Governor Blount 
 which I hasten to transmit to you, that you may avail 
 yourselves of whatever benefits and privileges it holds 
 out. - You will perceive that he does not consider he has 
 any power to discharge you, — neither have I : — but 
 you have my permission to retire from the service if 
 you are still desirous of doing so, and are prepared 
 to risk the consequences." 
 
 No sooner were these letters read to the soldiers 
 than they abandoned the campaign, and with their 
 colonel, Allcorn, at their head, notwithstanding their 
 pledged honour, the advice of their general, the en- 
 treaties of General Cofibe, and an eloquent speech of 
 
ADVICE OF GOVERNOR BLOUNT. 1ST 
 
 the Reverend Mr. BLackburn, commenced their march 
 to the settlements. 
 
 The brigade of militia under Genera] Roberts, Avho 
 had remained at Fort Strother, insisting that they 
 had onl}^ enhsted for three months, desired to be dis- 
 charged on the 4th of January. Jackson, however, 
 demurred at this construction of the case: as they 
 liad been mustered into the United States service 
 under the act for raising a mihtia force to serve for 
 six months, unless sooner discharged by the president. 
 He therefore refused to permit them to depart. The 
 regiment of Colonel Liiliard, belonging to General 
 Cocke's division, would be entitled to a discharge on 
 the 14th ; when the force at Fort Strother would be 
 almost dissolved. General Cocke had been previously 
 ordered by the governor to raise twenty-five hundred 
 men to reinforce the army : but that order not having 
 been fulfilled. General Jackson urged the governor to 
 take more efficient measures for increasinsr the streno-th 
 of the army. Governor Blount, discouraged by the 
 disaffection of the men, and the ill-success of General 
 Cocke, recommended that the campaign should be 
 abandoned until the general government should give 
 substantial aid. Jackson replied by deprecating such 
 a course as calculated to injure the reputation and 
 endanger the safety of Tennessee, and to defeat the 
 plans of General Pinckney, to whom the United States 
 government had committed the management of the 
 Creek war ; he continues : — 
 
 " Had your wish that I shoiikl discharge a part of my 
 force and retire with the residue into the settlements 
 assumed the form of a positive order, it might have 
 
 12 
 
LSS ANSWER TO THE GOVERNOR. 
 
 furnished me some apology for pursuing such a course ; 
 but by no means a full justification. As you would 
 have no power to give such an order, I could not be 
 inculpable in obeying, with my eyes open to the fatal 
 consequences that would attend it. But a bare re- 
 commendation, founded, as I am satisfied it must be, 
 on the artful suggestions of those fireside patriots who 
 seek, in a failure of the expeditions, an excuse for their 
 own supineness ; and upon the misrepresentations of the 
 discontented from the army, who wish it to be believed 
 that the difficulties which overcame their patriotism 
 are wholly insurmountable, would afford me but a 
 feeble shield against the reproaches of my country, 
 or my conscience. Believe me, my respected friend, 
 the remarks I make proceed from the purest personal 
 regard. If you would preserve your reputation, or that 
 of the state over which you preside, you must take a 
 straight-forward, determined course ; regardless of the 
 applause or censure of the populace, and of the fore- 
 bodings of that dastardly and designing crew, who, at 
 a time like this, may be expected to clamour continu- 
 ally in your ears. The very wretches who now beset 
 you with evil counsel, will be the first, should the 
 measures which tliey recommend eventuate in disas- 
 ter, to ctdl down imprecations on your hc^ad, and load 
 you with reproaches. Your country is in danger: — 
 apply its resources to its defence ! Can any course 
 be more plain ? Do you, my friend, at such a moment 
 as the present, sit with your arms folded, and your 
 heart at ease, waiting a solution of your doubts, and 
 a definition of your powers ? Do you wait for special 
 instructions from the secretarv of war, which it is im- 
 
ANSWER TO THE GOVERNOR. 189 
 
 possible for you to receive in time for the danger that 
 threatens ? How did the venerable Shelby act under 
 similar circumstances ; or rather, under circumstances 
 by no means so critical ? Did ho wait for orders to 
 do wliat every man of sense knew — what every patriot 
 felt — to be right ? He did not ; and yet how highly 
 and justly did the government extol his manly and en- 
 ergetic conduct ! and how dear has his name become 
 to all the friends of their country ! 
 
 "You say that, having given an order to General 
 Cocke to bring his quota of men into the field, your 
 power ceases ; and that, although you are made sen- 
 sible that he has wholly neglected that order, you can 
 take no measure to remedy the omission. Widely 
 different, indeed, is my opinion. I consider it your 
 imperious duty, when the men called for by your 
 order, founded upon that of the government, are known 
 not to be in tlie field, to see that they be brought 
 there ; and to take immediate measures with the 
 officer, who, charged with the execution of your 
 order, omits or neglects to do it. As the executive 
 of the state, it is your duty to see that the full quota 
 of troops be constantly kept in the field for the time 
 they have been required. You are responsible to the 
 government ; your officer to you. Of what avail is 
 it to give an order if it be never executed, and may 
 be disobeyed with impunity ? Is it by empty orders 
 that we can hope to conquer our enemies, and save 
 our defenceless frontiers from butchery and devasta- 
 tion? Believe me, my valued friend, there are times 
 when it is highly criminal to shrink from responsibility, 
 or scruple about the exercise of our powers. There 
 
190 ANSWER TO THE GOVERNOR. 
 
 are times when we must disregard punctilious eti- 
 quette, and think only of serving our country. What 
 is really our present situation ? The enemy we have 
 been sent to subdue, may be said, if we stop at this, 
 to be only exasperated. The commander-in-chief. 
 General Pinckncy, who supposes me by this time 
 prepared for renewed operations, has ordered me 
 to advance, and form a junction with the Georgia 
 army ; and, upon the expectation that I will do so, are 
 all his arrangements formed for the prosecution of the 
 campaign. Will it do to defeat his plans, and jeo- 
 pardize the safety of the Georgia army ? The general 
 government, too, believe, and have a right to believe, 
 that we have now not less than five thousand men in 
 the heart of the enemy's country ; and on this opinion 
 are all their calculations bottomed ; and must they 
 all be frustrated, and I become the instrument by 
 which it is done ? God forbid ! 
 
 " You advise me too, to discharge or dismiss from 
 service, until the will of the president can be known, 
 such a portion of the militia as have rendered three 
 months' service. This advice astonishes me even 
 more than the former. I have no such discretionary 
 power; and it would be impolitic and ruinous to use 
 it, if I had. I believed the militia who were not spe- 
 cially received for a shorter period, were engaged for 
 six months, unless the objects of the expedition should 
 be sooner attained ; and in this opinion I was greatly 
 strengthened by your letter of the 15(11, in which you 
 say, when answering my inquiry upon this subject, 
 * the militia are detached for six months' service ;' 
 nor did I know or suppose you had a different opin- 
 
ANSWER TO THE GOVERNOR. 19i 
 
 ion until the arrival of your last letter. This opinion 
 must, I suppose, acrrceably to your request, be made 
 known to General Roberts's brigade, and then the con- 
 sequences are not difficult to be foreseen. Every man 
 belonging to it will abandon nie on the 4th of next 
 month ; nor shall I have the means of preventing it 
 but by the application of force, which under such cir- 
 cumstances I shall not be at liberty to use. I have 
 laboured hard to reconcile these men to a continuance 
 in service until they could be honourably discharged, 
 and had hoped I had in a great measure succeeded ; 
 but yo'ur opinion, operating with their own prejudices, 
 will give a sanction to their conduct, and render use- 
 less any further attempts. They will go, but I can 
 neither discharge nor dismiss them. Shall I be told, 
 that, as they will go, it may as well be peaceably per- 
 mitted ? Can that be any good reason why I should 
 do an unauthorized act ? Is it a good reason why I 
 should violate the order of my superior officer, and 
 evince a willingness to defeat the purposes of my go- 
 vernment ? And wherein does the ' sound policy' of 
 the measures that have been recommended consist? 
 or in what way are they ' likely to promote the public 
 good V Is it sound policy to abandon a conquest 
 thus flir made, and deliver up to havoc, or add to the 
 number of our enemies those friendly Creeks and Che- 
 rokees, who, relying on our protection, have espoused 
 our cause, and aided us with their arms ? Is it good 
 policy to turn loose upon our defenceless frontiers five 
 thousand exasperated savages, to imbrue their hands 
 once more in the blood of our citizens ? What ! retro- 
 gade under such circumstances! I will perish first. No, 
 
192 EFFECT OF JACKSON'S LETTER. 
 
 I will do my duty. I will hold the posts I have estab- 
 hshed until ordered to abandon them by the com- 
 mandinij treneral, or die in the strusfirle : — lonij since 
 have I determined not to seek the preservation of life 
 at the sacrifice of reputation. 
 
 " But our frontiers, it seems, are to be defended — 
 and by whom ? By the very force that is now recom- 
 mended to be dismissed ; for I am first told to retire 
 into the settlements, and to protect the frontiers ; next, 
 to discharge my troops ; and then, that no measures 
 can be taken for raising others. No, my friend, if 
 troops be given me, it is not by loitering on the fron- 
 tiers that I will seek to give protection ; they are to 
 be defended, if defended at all, in a very different 
 manner; — by carrying the war into the heart of the 
 enemy's country. All other hopes of defence are 
 more visionary than dreams. What then is to be 
 done ? I '11 tell you what. You have only to act with 
 the energy and decision the crisis demands, and all 
 will be well. Send me a force engaged for six months, 
 and I will answer for the result, — but withhold it, and 
 all is lost, — the reputation of the state, and yours and 
 mine along with it." 
 
 This remonstrance of Jackson changed the in- 
 tentions of Governor Blount, who directed two thousand 
 five hundred militia from the second brigade, under 
 General .Johnston, to join the army without delay. 
 General Cocke was also instructed to hasten the exe- 
 cution of his orders, and to march his men to head- 
 quarters as soon as possible. 
 
 Meanwhile, many of the militia of General Roberts 
 had deserted, and returned to Tennessee. This ollicer 
 
GENERAL ROBERTS CASHIERED. 19.1 
 
 was, therefore, ordered to repair to that state, and en- 
 deavour to obtain a sufficient number of new levies to 
 supply their places. He was also instructed to use 
 every exertion to complete the number of his brigade. 
 He succeeded in raising nearly two hundred men, with 
 whom he arrived near the camp on the 27th of De- 
 cember. He went alone to General Jackson, to ascer- 
 tam whether they would be permitted to return home 
 after three months' service ; that beinix the time for 
 which they had engaged. Jackson informed him 
 that his stipulations would be strictly con^^plicd with ; 
 but when Roberts returned to his men, he found that 
 they had been seized with distrust, in consequence of 
 his conduct, and had resolved to set out for home. 
 He went to the camp, when General Jackson ordered 
 him to parade his reinforcement. He then acknow- 
 ledged what had happened, and offered to follow them, 
 and bring them back. He overtook them twenty 
 miles from Fort Strother ; but they persisted in their 
 resolution to return. General Jackson ordered him 
 to cause them to be aiTCsted, and brought to the camp, 
 or put into confinement. Many of them returned, and 
 disclosed the fact, that their conduct was owing to the 
 advice of Roberts, who was cashiered by order of a 
 court-martial. 
 
 Apprehensive that the brigade of militia would at- 
 tempt to leave the camp on the 4th of January, the 
 general issued an order forbidding all persons to pass 
 the sentries without written permission, under the pe- 
 nalties of desertion. Notwithstanding this order, on 
 the morning of the 4th, the sentinels were discovered 
 to he absent i'rom their posts. Jackson ordered 
 
194 
 
 ARREST OF KEARLEY. 
 
 Arrest of Lieutenant Kearley. 
 
 Lieutenant Kearley, who commanded the guard, to 
 be arrested ; but he refusixl to sub-nit to the order. 
 The guards, and Captain Gordon's company of spies, 
 ^vere ordered to arrest him at all hazards. His men 
 manifested a disposition to defend him, when General 
 Jackson ordered Kearley to deliver his sword to him. 
 He refused ; on which the general levelled a pistol at 
 him, and would have killed him upon (he spot, when 
 the friends of the lieutenant persuaded him to yield. 
 Meanwhile, the militia, with the exception of part of 
 one company, left ihe Ibrt, and proc(>eded homeward. 
 
ADDRESS TO LILLIARD'S REGIMENT. 195 
 
 Lieutenant Kearley, having expressed himself sincerely 
 penitent, was pardoned by his general, and restored 
 to his rank. 
 
 The force at Fort Strother was now reduced to 
 the regnnent of Colonel Lilliard, whose term of service 
 expired on the 14th of January; two companies of 
 spies under Captain Cxordon and Russell; and the ar- 
 tillery coinpany. The reinforcements which were 
 preparing in Tennessee had not yet reached him; and 
 • there being little prospect of their arrival for some 
 weeks, the general determined to make an attempt 
 to persuade the regiment of Lilliard to remain Uventy 
 days longer, with the view of striking a blow at the 
 enemy, who were assembling in considerable force 
 below. 
 
 He therefore caused the following address to be 
 read to that regiment. 
 
 " Major-General Cocke having reported that your 
 term of service will expire on the 14th, I assume no 
 claim on you beyond that period. But, althoucrh I 
 cannot demand as a right the continuance of your 
 services, I do not despair of being able to obtain them 
 through your patriotism. For what purpose was it 
 that you quitted your homes, and penetrated the heart 
 of the enemy's country ? Was it to avenge the blood 
 of your fellow-citizens, inhumanly slain bv that enemy 
 —to give security in future to our extended and un- 
 protected frontier, and to signalize the valour by which 
 you were animated? Will any of these objects be 
 attamed if you abandon the campaicrn at the time vou 
 contemplate? Not one! Yet an^opportunity shall 
 be afforded you, if you desire it. If you have been 
 
196 ADDRESS TO LILLIARD'S REGIMENT. 
 
 really actuated by the feelings, and governed by the 
 motives, which your commanding general supposes 
 influenced you to take up arms and enter the field in 
 defence of your right?, none of you will resist the ap- 
 peal he now makes, or hesitate to embrace with eager- 
 ness the opportunity he is about to aflbrd you. 
 
 " The enemy, more than half conquered, but deri- 
 ving encouragement and hope from the tardiness of 
 our operations, and the distractions which have un- 
 happily prevailed in our camp, are again assembling 
 below us. Another lesson of admonition must be 
 furnished them. They must again be made to feel 
 the weight of that power which they have without 
 cause provoked to \\ar; and to know that although 
 we have been slow to take up arms, Ave will never 
 again lay them from our hands, until we have secured 
 the objects that impelled us to the resort. In less 
 than eight days I shall leave this encampment, to meet 
 and fight them. Will any of you accompany me? 
 Are there any amongst you who at a moment like 
 this will not think it an outrage upon honour for her 
 feelings to be tested by a computation of time ? What 
 if the period for which you tendered your services to 
 your country has expired, — is that a consideration 
 with the valiant, the patriotic, and the brave, who 
 have appeared to redress the injured rights of that 
 country, and to acquire for themselves a name of 
 irlory? Is it a consideration with them, when those 
 objects are still unattained, and an opportunity of ac- 
 quiring them is so near at hand ? Did such men enter 
 the field like hirelings — to serve for pay alone ? Does 
 all regard for their country, their families, and them- 
 
ADDRESS TO LILLIARD'S REGIMENT. 197 
 
 selves, expire with the time for which their services 
 were engaged ? Will it be a sufficient gratification 
 to their feelings, that they served out three months 
 without seeing the enemy, and then abandoned the 
 campaign when the enemy was in the neighbourhood, 
 and could be seen and conquered in ten days ? Any 
 retrospect they can make of the sacrifices they have 
 encountered, and the privations they have endured, 
 can afford but little satisfaction under such circum- 
 stances ; — the very mention of the Creek war must 
 cover them with the blushes of shame and self-abase- 
 ment. Having engaged for only three months, and 
 that period having expired, are you bound by no- 
 thing else ? Surely, as honourable and high-minded 
 men, you must at such a moment as the present feel 
 other obligations than the law imposes. A fear of 
 the punishment of the law did not bring you into 
 camp ; — that its demands are satisfied will not take 
 you from it. You had higher objects in view — sojne 
 greater good to attain. This your general believes : 
 nor can he believe otherwise, without doing you 
 great injustice. 
 
 "Your services are not asked for longer than 
 twenty days; and who will hesitate making such a 
 sacrifice, when the good of his country, and his own 
 fame, are at stake ? Who, under the present aspect 
 of affairs, will even reckon it a sacrifice ? When we 
 set out to meet the enemy, this post must be retained 
 and defended: if any of you will remain and render 
 this service, it will be no less important than if you 
 had marched to the battle ; nor will your general less 
 thankfully acknowledge it. Tuesday ncAl, the line of 
 
19S GEORGIA MILITIA. 
 
 march will be taken up : and in a few days thereafter 
 the objects of the excursion will be effected. As pa- 
 triotic men, then, I ask you for your services ; and 
 thus long I have no doubt you will cheerfully render 
 them. I am well aware that you are all anxious to 
 return to yoin- families and homes, and that you are 
 entitled to do so ; yet stay a little longer — go with 
 me and meet the enemy, and you can then return not 
 only with the consciousness of having performed your 
 duty, but with the glorious exultation of having done 
 even more than duty required." 
 
 In ansvv'er to this address. Colonel Milliard replied, 
 that having been called upon by the several captains 
 in his retrrn to make a statement of those in their 
 respective companies who were willing to remain be- 
 yond the period of their engagement, it appeared that 
 none would consent to do so except Captain Hamilton 
 and three of his men. General Jackson therefore or- 
 dered Colonel Lilliard to march on the 10th to Fort 
 Armstrong, and thence to Knoxville, when the troops 
 would be discharged by General Cocke. 
 
 While General Jackson was thus embarrassed and 
 prevented from accomplishing any important service, 
 by the desertion of his troops, the enemy had sufTered 
 severe losses from the gallantry of the militia of Geor- 
 gia. Governor Early of that state, on the 8lh of No- 
 vember, called the attention of the legislature to the 
 necessity of making provision for defence against the 
 Creeks. Pursuant to his recommendation, a considera- 
 ble force of militia was called out, and placed under 
 the command of Brigadier-General Floyd. On the 
 29th of the same month, General Floyd marched 
 
BATTLE OF AUTOUSSEE. 
 
 199 
 
 
 -i 
 
 Burning of Indian villages. 
 
 against the Indian town of Autoussee, situated on the 
 Tallapoosa river, eighteen miles from the Hickory 
 Ground. At this place were assembled the warriors 
 of eight towns, composing a very formidable force. 
 The army of General Floyd consisted of nine hun- 
 dred and fifty militia, and about three hundred friendly 
 Indians. The attack was made early on the morning 
 of the 29th, and was succeeded by a fierce contest of 
 three hours' duration. The enemy were entirely de- 
 feated, and forced to abandon their town, leaving two 
 hundred warriors dead upon the field. Four hundred 
 houses were burnt to the ground, and the whole was 
 accomplished with a loss of only eleven men. On the 
 
•200 
 
 ECCANACHACA BURNT. 
 
 first of January, 1814, General Jackson received infor- 
 mation of another brilliant victory, gained by General 
 Claiborne. On the 23d of December, that officer at- 
 tacked Eccanachaca, or the Holy Ground, an Indian 
 mihtary depot, situated on the Alabama river. The 
 prophets, Weatherford, Francis, and Sinquister, resi- 
 ded at this town. The enemy were driven from their 
 post, losing about forty warriors, and the town was 
 reduced to ashes. Another village, eight miles distant, 
 was destroyed on the following day. 
 
 These victories struck terror into the ranks of the 
 enemy, and by inspiring the militia with confidence in 
 themselves, materially contributed to the subsequent 
 victories. 
 

 CHAPTER IX 
 
 EMUCKFAW. 
 
 s^OLONEL CARROLL, who 
 
 had been deputed by Gene- 
 ral Cocke to raise the re- 
 inforcements, having been 
 unable, by using every ex- 
 ertion, to obtain volunteers 
 for six months, was obliged 
 to complete his number 
 with mounted men, engaged to serve for sixty 
 days. General Jackson was unwilling to set the dan- 
 gerous precedent of engaging troops f jr so short a 
 
202 EMUCKFAW. 
 
 period ; but the urgency of the case admitted of no 
 delay, and he was obhged to acquiesce in the arrange- 
 ment. General Pinckney had requested him to act 
 in concert with the forces from Georgia ; and it was 
 to this end that he manifested so much anxiety to re- 
 tain Lilliard's regiment. The departure of that corps 
 defeated his plans ; but he still hoped to accomplish 
 something with his new troops, in aid of General Clai- 
 borne, who was encamped on the Alabama river, 
 eighty-hve miles above Fort Stoddart. The newly 
 raised volunteers assembled at Iluntsville, where they 
 remained, waiting until supplies should be received at 
 head-quarters sufficient for their support. Could they 
 have proceeded directly on, they would have reached 
 the general early enough to enable him to proceed 
 against the enemy, before the period at vvhicli Lilliard's 
 regiment would have been entitled to a discharge. 
 General Jackson strained every nerve in order to ac- 
 complish this end, urging Colonel Carroll to make ac- 
 tive exertions to send forward all the provisions in the 
 hands of the contractors, and to hasten the arrange- 
 ments for procuring larger supplies. So important did 
 he consider this junction, that he was willing to sub- 
 ject himself to considerable hazard, rather than not 
 effect it. To Colonel Carroll he wrote, on learning 
 that he was on his way with his newly raised troops: 
 " I am happy to hear of your success in procuring 
 volunteers. 1 shall receive with open arms those 
 who, in this hour of need, so gallantly come forth to 
 uphold the sinking reputation of their state. I am 
 more anxious than ever to recommence operations, 
 and indeed they have become more necessary than 
 
LETTER TO COLONEL CARROLL. 203 
 
 ever; yet I cannot move without supplies. As this 
 will meet you near where the contractors are, you will 
 be better able to ascertain than I can inform you 
 when that happy moment will arrive; and, I pray you' 
 use your best exertions to have it brought about with 
 the least possible delay. Until supplies, and the means 
 ot transportation can be furnished to justify another 
 movement from this place, it will be better that you 
 remam where your horses can be fed. I say this, upon 
 the supposition that this will be shortly done; but 
 were it certain that the same causes of delay which 
 have so long retarded our operations were still to con- 
 tinue, I would, at every risk, and under every respon- 
 sibility, take up the march, as soon as the troops 
 now with you could arrive. For such a measure I 
 should seek my justification iu the imperiousness of 
 the circumstances by which I am surrounded; and 
 'ollowers"'""''' "'"'" '"'^''''"' *'"''' "'«' enterprise of my 
 "Partial supplies have arrived for my use at Fort 
 Armstrong, which will be ordered on to-morrow. This 
 with the scanty stock on hand, will at least keep us 
 from starving a fey weeks, until we can quarter upon 
 ^he enemy or gain assistance from the country below 
 General Claiborne, who is encamped eighty-five miles 
 above FortStoddart, writes me, that arrangements are 
 made to send supplies up the Alabama to the junction of 
 the Coosa and Tallapoosa. Upon such resources will I 
 depend, sooner than wait until my army wastes away, 
 or becomes through inaction unfit for service." 
 
 All his exertions, however, were insufficient to ac- 
 complish the desired end ; and he was obliged to dis- 
 
•304: EMUCKFAW. 
 
 miss Lilliard's regiment, and await the arrival of sup- 
 plies. On the 2d of January, 1814, Colonel Carroll 
 arrived at head-quarters, and reported his proceedings 
 to the general. The number of the new volunteers 
 being only eight hundred and fifty, Colonel Carroll was 
 directed to have them formed into two regiments, 
 under officers of their own choice ; and an order was 
 put into his hands for General Coffee, who was then 
 at Hunts ville, requiring him to march them to Fort 
 Strother on the 10th instant. That officer, learning 
 that those troops were unwilling that he should have 
 the command of them, expressed a wish to General 
 Jackson that it mi^ht not be assio-ned him ; in conse- 
 quence of which, and their own request, the commander- 
 in-chief had determined that after the arrival in camp 
 there should be no intermediate commander over them 
 between their colonels and himself. The volunteers 
 were made acquainted with this arrangement. 
 
 When General Coffee received the instructions 
 which General Jackson had sent him, he immediately 
 ordered Colonels Perkins and Higgins, who had been 
 chosen to the command of the two regiments, to march 
 them directly for head-quarters. They, however, re- 
 fused to obey the orders of General Coffee, to march 
 on the 10th of January ; and did not arrive in camp 
 until the 13th. They alleged, in their own justifica- 
 tion, that Coffee was not their rightful commander, and 
 they were not bound to obey his orders. He conse- 
 quently charged them with disobedience, and demanded 
 their arrest. This must have been granted had they 
 not yielded to the advice of more prudent friends, and 
 apologized for their unsoldierlike and insulting conduct. 
 
MARCH TO ENOTICHOPCO. 205 
 
 Having received this reinforcement, General Jackson 
 resolved to march immediately against the Indians. 
 He had received advices on the 5th from Captain 
 M'Alpin, commanding temporarily at Fort Armstrong, 
 that his post was menaced with an attack by the war- 
 riors of fourteen or fifteen Creek towns. He had also 
 been informed by General Pinckney that General 
 Floyd was about to march to the Tallapoosa, and re- 
 commended to make a movement against such of the 
 hostile tov\ns as were near his camp. Accordingly, 
 on the 15th, the mounted men were advanced three 
 miles from Fort Strother ; and, on the next day, being 
 joined by the remainder of the army, they marched 
 for Talladega, where they arrived on the 18th. Here 
 they were reinforced by about two hundred Cherokees 
 and friendly Creeks. 
 
 The whole force of General Jackson now consisted 
 of eleven hundred and thirty men, including officers. 
 At Talladega he received another letter from the com- 
 mandant at Fort Armstrong, assuring him that there 
 was no doubt that that post would shortly be attacked 
 by a force of nine hundred men, who were assembled 
 near the mouth of Emuckfaw creek, in a bend of the 
 Tallapoosa river. He also received information from 
 General Pinckney that General Floyd would march 
 the next day from Cowetaw, and establish a post at 
 Tuckabatchee in ten days. He immediately set out, 
 and arrived at Enotichopco, a small Hillabee village, 
 on the 20th. This village was twelve miles from 
 Emuckfaw. The spies being unacquainted with the 
 country, General Jackson was compelled to move with 
 
206 EMUCKFAW. 
 
 great caution ; which the want of disciphne and sub- 
 ordination among his troops rendered very difficult. 
 
 On the next morning he marched from Enotichopco. 
 and took tie most direct route to the enemy's camp. 
 Two Indians were seen about two o'clock, but suc- 
 ceeded in making their escape. In the evening several 
 large trails were discovered, all tending to one point. 
 Convinced that he was close to the encampment of 
 the enemy, Jackson encamped his little army in a 
 hollow^ square, on an eligible site, upon the eminences 
 of Emuckfaw, sent out his spies, posted his pickets, 
 doubled hU sentinels, and made every arrangement to 
 guard against a night attack. Three Indians were 
 seen and fired on about ten o'clock, and one of them 
 killed. About midnight the spies came in and re- 
 ported that they had discovered a large encampment 
 of Indians about three miles distant, and that they 
 were apprised of the approach of the army. 
 
 On the morning of the 22d, before daylight, the 
 alarm guns of the sentinels, succeeded by shrieks and 
 savage yells, gave notice of the attack of the savages. 
 The camp fires had been kept up all night, and the 
 Indians supposed that they w^ould have little to do but 
 to pick off the general and his men by the light of 
 their own fires. " To their utter astonishment, how- 
 ever. General Jackson used darkness as a mantle to 
 cover his men from their view, while his camp fires 
 being built just f.ir enough beyond the hollow square 
 to compel the Indians as soon as they arrived within 
 good rifle range, to come w^ithin the circle of light, 
 where blinking they could see nothing, while the lurid 
 glare of light encircling the camp, exposed their bodies 
 
BATTLE OF EMUCKFAW. 
 
 SjiieS reporting 
 
 'ike so many red targets, to the American rifle from 
 *he dark square within, where stood the hero and his 
 'itfle band with the imponderable elements of hght 
 and darkness pressed into his service to make him 
 '-)ual to the enemy."* The flash of the rifle disco- 
 ered the position of the marksman, and the savages 
 ■^xtmguishing the fires, commenced a furious assault 
 on the left flank, commanded by Colonel Higgins, 
 which was met and opposed with great firntness.' 
 General Cofl*ee, and Colonels Carroll and Sitter, in- 
 stantly repaired to the point of attack, and by exhor- 
 tation and the performance of deeds of heroic daring, 
 encouraged the men to a performance of their duty. 
 The battle raged for half an hour; the brunt of which 
 bemg against the left wing, it became considerably 
 
 * Cartwright's Eulogy. 
 
rJ» EMUCKFAW. 
 
 weakened. It being now sufficiently light to ascertam 
 correctly the jx)sition of the enemy, Captain Ferril's 
 company was ordered to reinforce the left wing ; with 
 the whole of which General Coffee charged and drove 
 the enemy in confusion from the field. The Indians 
 fled about two miles, and many of them were slain. 
 The Americans had five killed and twenty wounded. 
 
 Having returned from the pursuit, General Coffee 
 was detached with the friendly Indians and four hun- 
 dred men, with orders to destroy the enemy's encamp- 
 ment, unless he should find it too strongly fortified. 
 Having ascertained that the position was strong, and 
 not to be taken without artillery. Coffee returned to 
 the camp. He had scarcely done so, when a severe 
 fire was opened on the pickets, posted on the right, 
 accompanied by the horrible war- whoop. General 
 Coffee requested peranission to turn the enemy's left 
 flank ; which was granted, and two hundred men or- 
 dered to follow him. This detachment being taken 
 from different corps, he placed himself at their head, 
 and moved briskly forward. Taking advantage of 
 their leader's position in front, those in the rear began 
 to drop off one by one, without his knowledge, until 
 there were only fifty-four men left M'ith him. With 
 this little band he proceeded to execute his design, and 
 vigorously attacked a superior number of the enemy. 
 He found them occupying a ridge of open pine tiukber 
 covered with low underwood, wliicn afforded them 
 many opportunities for concealment. To depiive 
 them of this advantage, which they are very dexter*, vis 
 in taking, Coflfec ordered his men to dismount ai.n 
 charge them. This order was promptly obeyed ; l^wx 
 
CARROLL'S DECISIVE CHARGE. 211 
 
 the enemy, driven back by the charge, took refuge on 
 the margin of a creek covered with reeds, where^they 
 lay concealed. In this gallant charge General Coffee 
 was wounded through the body, and his aid. Major 
 Donelson, killed by a ball through the head; three of 
 his men also fell. 
 
 The Indians having intended the attack on the 
 right as a feint, now with t) eir main force, which had 
 hitherto been concealed, made a violent onset on Jack- 
 son's left, which they expected to find weakened and 
 in disorder. Jackson, however, who had apprehended 
 their^esign, was prepared to meet them. The left wina 
 had b^en ordered to remain firm in its position ; and 
 when the first gun was heard in that quarter, he 
 repaired thither in person, and strengthened it by or- 
 dering up additional forces from the right. The first 
 advance of the enemy, though sudden and violent, was 
 sustained with firmness, and opposed with great gal- 
 lantry. The assailants now maintained the battle by 
 quick and irregular firing from behind logs, trees, 
 shrubbery, and whatever could afford conc^ealment i 
 behind these they would fire, then throw themselves 
 on the ground and reload, when they would again 
 rise and discharge their guns. After sustaining their 
 fire in this way for some time, a charge to dislodge 
 them from their position was ordered ; and the whole 
 line, led by Colonel Carroll, by a most brilliant and 
 steady movement, broke in upon them, threw them into 
 confusion, and drove them from the ground. 
 
 In the meantime, General Cofl:ee was making every 
 exertion to drive the savages on the right from the 
 fastnesses into which they had retreated^ b"t, finding 
 
212 ENOTICHOPCO. 
 
 that tliis could not be done without great hazc,rd and 
 considerable loss, he determined to try the effect of a 
 stratagem, and began to retire towards the place where 
 he had first dismounted. This expedient produced the 
 desired effect. The enemy, presuming.it to be a re- 
 treat, and to have been adopted in consequence of the 
 severe firing they had heard on the left wing, now for- 
 sook their hiding-places and pursued rapidly. Coffee 
 immediately availed himself of the opportunity thus 
 afforded of contending with them again in open fight ; 
 and a severe conflict commenced, and was obstinately 
 maintained about an hour, during which time the loss on 
 both sides was nearly equal. At this critical juncture, 
 when several of the detachment had been killed, many 
 wounded, and the remainder of the little Spartan band 
 exhausted by fatigue; the dispersion of the enemy being 
 effected on the left, a reinforcement was despatched by 
 Seneral Jackson, which, making its appearance on the 
 enemy's left flank, put an end to the contest. General 
 Coffee, though severely wounded, instantly ordered a 
 charge ; when the enemy, foreseeing their doom, fled 
 in consternation, and were pursued with dreadful 
 slaughter. Forty-five warriors were slain. Thus 
 drew to a close a day of almost continual fighting. 
 
 Having brought in and buried the dead, and 
 dressed the wounded, preparations were made to guard 
 against an attack by night. The next day. General 
 Jackson, having effected, as he believed, the main ob- 
 jects of the expedition, a diversion in favour of General 
 Floyd, who was supposed to be carrying on his ope- 
 rations lower down on the Tallapoosa, and the relief 
 of F'ort Armstrong, prepared to return to Fort Strother. 
 
LETTER TO GENERAL PINCKNEY. 21:] 
 
 General Jackson, m his letter to Major-General 
 Pinckncy, said that " many causes concurred to make 
 such a measure necessary, as I had not set out pre- 
 pared, or with a view to make a permanent estabhsh- 
 ment. I considered it worse than useless to advance 
 and destroy an empty encampment. I had, indeed, 
 hoped to have met the enemy there ; but having met 
 and beaten them a little sooner, I did not think it ne- 
 cessary or prudent to proceed any farther — not neces- 
 sary, because I had accomplished all I could expect to 
 effect by marcliing to their encampment ; and because, 
 if it was proper to contend with and weaken their 
 forces still farther, this object would be more certainly 
 attained, by commencing a return, which, having to 
 them the appearance of a retreat, would inspirit them 
 to pursue me. Not prudent — because of the number of 
 my wounded ; of tho reinforcements from below, which 
 the enemy might be expeoied to receive ; of the starving 
 condition of my horses, they having had neither corn 
 nor cane for two days and nights ; of the scarcity of 
 supplies for my men, the Indians who joined me at Tal- 
 ladega having drawn none, and being wholly destitute ; 
 and because, if the enemy pursued me, as it was likely 
 they would, the diversion in favour of General Floyd 
 would be more complete than effectual." Determined 
 by these considerations, Jackson ordered litters to be 
 formed for the transportation of the sick and wounded, 
 and the other preparations to be made for a return 
 march. Everything being ready, it was conimcnced 
 at half-past ten o'clock next morning, January 23d, 
 and continued without interruption until near night ; 
 when they reached Enotichopco, having passed safely 
 
214 
 
 E M U C K F A W 
 
 on the way a dangerous defile, occasioned by a hurri- 
 cane. Expecting to be pursued and attacked, the army 
 marched in order of battle : the sick and wounded bein^ 
 placed in the centre. Every precaution was taken to 
 guard against an attack during the night. A breast- 
 work was thrown up, sentinels doubled, spies sent out, 
 and eveiy arrangement made to repel any hostile at- 
 tack. Thus guarded, they safely passed the night, 
 though from certain signs the general M'as sure that 
 the savages had been in pursuit all day, and that then 
 they could not be far distant. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 ENOTICHOPCO. 
 
 ^HE night at Enotichopco was spent in mo- 
 mentary expectation of an attack ; but it 
 wore away without any attempt on the 
 part of the savages to renew the battle. 
 This unusual circumstance in Indian war- 
 fare, led the general to conjecture that an ambuscade had 
 been prepared, and that an attack would be made on 
 him while crossing the creek in his front ; which, being 
 
216 ENOTICflOPCO. 
 
 deep, and the banks rugged, and thicldy covered with 
 reeds, afforded many advantages for such a design. 
 Near the crossing-place was a deep ravine, formed by 
 the projection of two hills, overgrown with thick 
 shrubbery and brown sedge, which afforded every 
 convenience for concealment, wliilst it entirely pre- 
 vented pursuit. Along this route the army had passed 
 in advancing ; through it it would naturally be ex- 
 pected to return ; and here it was believed an ambus- 
 cade would be formed, if any were intended. To guard 
 against this, Jackson determined to take a different 
 route. Accordingly, early in the morning, he secretly 
 despatched a few pioneers to seek another crossing- 
 place below. A convenient one was soon discovered 
 about six hundred yards below the old one ; and 
 thither the general now led his army, having pre- 
 viously formed his front and rear-guards, and his right 
 and left columns, with the sick and wounded in the 
 centre. Before taking up the line of march he issued 
 a general order, pointing out the manner in which the 
 men should be formed in the event of an attack on the 
 front or rear, or on the flanks, and particularly cau- 
 tioning the officers to halt and form accordingly, the 
 instant the alarm gun should be heard. 
 
 A handsome slope of open woodland led down to 
 the new ford, where, except immediately on the margin 
 of the creek, which was covered with a few reeds, 
 there was nothing to obstruct the view. The front 
 guards and part of the columns had passed without 
 interruption ; the wounded were also over, and the 
 artillery just entering the creek, when the alarm gun 
 was heard in the rear. 
 
BATTLE OF EN OTIC HOP CO. 2] 9 
 
 The Indians, learning by their spies that the route 
 of the army had been changed, quitted the defile where 
 they had expected to commence the assault, and ad- 
 vancing on the rear guard, attacked a company under 
 the command of Captain Russell. This company, 
 though assailed by a vast multitude, returned the 
 fire, and gradually retired until it reached the rear 
 . guard ; the centre column of which, according to ex- 
 press instructions given, were in such a case to face 
 about and act as the advance; whilst the right and 
 left columns should be turned on their pivots, so as to 
 fall on the flanks and rear of the enemy, and thus ren- 
 der his destruction sure. The right colunm of the 
 rear guard was commanded by Colonel Perkins, the 
 left by Lieutenant-Colonel Stump, and the centre co- 
 lumn by Colonel Carroll. General Jackson w^as in the 
 middle of the creek when the firing and yelling com- 
 menced. Having instructed his aid to form a line for 
 the protection of the wounded, who were but a short 
 distance in advance, and afterwards to turn the left 
 column, he himself proceeded to the right for a similar 
 purpose. But what w^as the astonishment of the ge- 
 neral, who the day before saw these troops fight like 
 veterans, now to behold the right and left columns of 
 the rear guard, after a feeble resistance precipitately 
 give way, bringing with them confusion and dismay, 
 and by their hasty and irregular flight obstructing the 
 passage over which the principal strength of the army 
 was to pass. This shameful retreat was extremely 
 disastrous, and was only prevented from being fatal 
 by the determined bravery of a few. The greater 
 part of the centre column followed the example of the 
 
-20 fcNOTICHOPCO. 
 
 Other two, and precipitated themselves into the creek, 
 leaving not more than twenty-five men, who, being 
 formed by Colonel Carroll, maintained their ground 
 as long as it was possible to maintain it. The artil- 
 lery company, commanded by Lieutenant Armstrong, 
 and composed of young men of the first families, who 
 had volunteered their services at the commencement 
 of the campaign, formed with their muskets before 
 the only piece of ordnance they had, and hastily 
 dragged it from the creek to an eminence from which 
 they could play to advantage. Before they could 
 place it in the desired position, a yell from the savages 
 and a shower of bullets warned them to prepare for 
 their defence. The Indians endeavoured to charjje 
 and take it ; but the young men formed before it with 
 their muskets and resolutely defended it. These 
 yo^mg men, the few who remained with Colonel Car- 
 roll and the gallant Captain Quarles, who soon fell at 
 their head, with Russell's company of spies, the whole 
 numbering not more than one hundred, maintained 
 with the utmost firmness a contest for many minutes 
 against a force at least five times greater than their 
 own, and checked the advance of a foe already greatly 
 inspirited from the consternation his first shock had 
 produced. Every man who there fought seemed to 
 prefer death to flight. 
 
 The six-pounder was dragged to the top of the 
 eminence, and turned upon the Indians. The rammer 
 and pricker of the gun, having been left in the haste 
 of the moment upon the limber, private Constantino 
 Perkins rammed the cartridge home with the butt of 
 his musket, and private Craven Jackson picked it with 
 
BATTLE OF EN OTI C PIO P C O. 221 
 
 his ramrod, primed with a musket cartridge, and fired. 
 This drew the fire of the savages upon them ; and be- 
 fore they could again load and fire, the brave Lieuten- 
 ant Armstrong, their commander, fell badly wounded 
 in the groin. By his side fell Captain Hamilton, who 
 having been abandoned by his men at Fort Strother, 
 with his two brothers and his aged father, had attach- 
 ed himself to the artillery company as a private, and 
 in that capacity sho^ved how deserving he was to 
 command by the fidelity with which he obeyed. Ly- 
 ing upon the ground and supposed to be dying, the 
 thouo^hts of the brave Armstrons were still for his 
 country. Unable himself to aid them, he called to 
 his men, " My brave fellows, some may fall ; but you 
 must save the cannon." He was answered with a 
 shout for vengeance ; and as Perkins and Jackson, 
 using their former plan, again fired, many were the 
 warriors that breathed their last. 
 
 In the meantime. General Jackson and his stafif 
 had been enabled, by great exertions, to restore some- 
 thincj like order. The columns were again formed, 
 and put in motion ; and small detachments had been 
 sent across the creek to support the little band that 
 there maintained their ground. The enemy, perceiving 
 the columns advancing, and being warmly assailed on 
 their left flank by Captain Gordon at the head of his 
 company of spies, who had hastened from the front 
 and re-crossed the creek, were in turn panic-struck, 
 and fled in confusion, leaving their blankets behind 
 them. Detachments were ordered in pursuit, who, 
 in a chase of two miles, destroyed many and dispersed 
 the remainder. 
 
222 ENOTICHOPCO. 
 
 It was some time before Jackson, though making 
 the greatest exertions, could restore order. In addi- 
 tion to the assistance received from his staff, who 
 were everywhere encouraging the timid and seeking 
 to arrest the flight of the columns, he derived much help 
 from the activity of General Coffee. That offxer, in 
 consequ nee of the severe wound he had received at 
 Emuckfaw, had the day before been carried in a litter. 
 Understanding that an attack was expected, he that 
 morning mounted his horse and aided during the ac- 
 tion v,ith his usual calm and deliberate firmness. To 
 encourage the men. General Jackson, pointing to Ge- 
 neral Coffee, exclaimed, "We'll conquer the enemy; 
 the dead have risen and come to our aid." Not only 
 Coffee, but all the officers of his brigade, who, having 
 been abandoned by their men, had formed themselves 
 into a corps, and followed the army as privates, ren- 
 dered manifest now the value of experience. This was 
 not the moment for fancied rules of etiquette. The 
 very men who, a little time before, would have dis- 
 dained advice, and spurned an order from any but 
 their own commanders, did not scruple now to be regu- 
 lated by those who seemed possessed of the power to 
 extricate them from their danger. The hospital 
 surgeon. Dr. Shelby, the adjutant-general, Sitler, 
 Captain Gordon, and many others, particularly dis- 
 tinffuished themselves in the battle. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to remark, however, that, 
 but for General Jackson, everything must have gone 
 to ruin. On him all hopes were rested. In that mo- 
 ment of confusion he was the rallying point, even for 
 the spirits of the brave. Firm and (energetic, and, at 
 
EFFECTS OF THE BATTLE. 223 
 
 .ht £a.f le time, perfectly self-possessed, his example 
 and />,. authority alike contributed to arrest the flying, 
 and giv'c confidence to those who maintained their 
 ground. Cowards forgot their panic and fronted 
 danger, when they heard his voice and beheld his 
 manner ; and the brave would have formed around his 
 body a rampart with their own. In the midst of 
 showers of balls, of which he seemed unmindful, he 
 was seen performing the duties of subordinate officers, 
 rallying the alarmed, stopping them in their flight, 
 forming his columns, and inspiriting them by his 
 example. An army, suddenly dismayed, was thus 
 rescued from the destruction that lately appeared 
 inevitable. 
 
 Jackson's whole loss in the several ensraofements 
 on the 22d and 23d of January, was only twenty 
 killed and seventy-five wounded, some of whom, how- 
 ever, afterwards died. The loss of the enemy could 
 not be accurately ascertained : one hundred of their 
 warriors were found dead ; but this must fall conside- 
 rably short of the number really killed. The number 
 of the wounded cannot be conjectured. 
 
 All the effects designed to be produced by the ex- 
 cursion were now produced. If an attack was medi- 
 tated against Fort Armstrong, it was prevented. A 
 most fortunate diversion was made in favour of Gene- 
 ral Floyd. The number of the enemy was diminished, 
 and the confidence they had derived from the vexatious 
 delays which Jackson was made to experience de- 
 stroyed. Discontent was kept out of his army ; while 
 the troops who would have been exposed to it were 
 beneficially employed. The enemy's country was ex- 
 14 
 
224 E N T I C II O P C . 
 
 plored, and a road cut to the point where, it was pro 
 bable, their force would be concentrated when driven 
 from the country below. But, perhaps, the greatest 
 good that resulted from the expedition, was the effect 
 produced on the minds of the people at home, from 
 whom was to be collected a force sufficient to termi- 
 nate the war. 
 
 The enemy did not again harass the march of the 
 little army. It was continued until the 27th, when they 
 arrived at Fort Strother, full of the confidence which 
 is inspired by success. 
 
 This success was justly due to the courage, energy, 
 and military talent of General Jackson. To his in- 
 domitable spirit and incorruptible patriotism may be 
 ascribed the final triumph of the American arms, and 
 the subsequent security of the frontiers against savage 
 depredations. If, when the patriotic impulses which 
 originally animated the Tennessee troops gave place to 
 mutinous discontent ; w hen the jealousy of his brother 
 officers frustrated his plans for crushing the hostile 
 force ; when the very executive of the state of Ten- 
 nessee was disposed to abandon the ground w hich had 
 been so galhmtly won at Talladega, and the prospect 
 of starvation stared the little band at Fort Strother in 
 the very face ; if, at these times, the mind of Jackson 
 had succumbed, and his resolution been shaken — who 
 can imagine — who can fix the bounds of the desolation 
 which would inevitably have ensued! But his reso- 
 lution once fixed, could not be moved ; and his firm 
 adherence to the path of duty saved his country, and 
 crowned his manly brow with a wreath of never-fading 
 laurels. 
 
VOLUNTEERS DISCHARGED. 22.5 
 
 Sliortly after lie returned to Fort Strother, the time 
 01 service of the sixty-day volunteers being nearly ex- 
 pired, they were discharge<l. Me detained them only 
 long enough after his return, to complete boats for the 
 transportation of provisions down the Coosa; when 
 that was done he ordered them to be marched home 
 and honourably dismissed. The further services of 
 the artillery corps were also dispensed with. This 
 company had rendered important services, and ad- 
 hered to him with great devotedness, in every vicissi- 
 ude and through every difficulty he had encountered, 
 trom the first commencement of the campai.m His 
 parting with them was accordingly very interesting and 
 affectmg Although from the high sense he entertained 
 of their bravery and fidelity he would gladly have re- 
 tained them, yet he was too well convinced of the 
 many sacrifices these young men had made, of the 
 valour they had displayed, and the patience with which 
 they had submitted in those moments of scarcity 
 which had raised up discontents and mutiny in his 
 camp not to feel a desire to gratify their wishes, an.l 
 permit them honourably to retire from a service which 
 they had already so materially benefited. By the 
 exertions of the governor, the ranks were filled with 
 fresh troops; and the general and his officers exerted 
 themselves actively in disciplining them. While thus 
 employed, he received agreeable news of the defeat 
 of the Indians by General Floyd at Chatahouchee. 
 The savages made a furious attack upon his post at 
 L.amp Defiance, on the morning of the 27tli of .lanuarv ■ 
 they were met with firmness !,y the American troops', 
 and after a bloody contest driven from the field. Thirty- 
 
226 
 
 ENOTICHOPCO, 
 
 seven of them were left dead on the field of battle, and 
 the weapons and articles of dress left behind proved 
 their whole loss to have been much greater. The 
 Georgia troops lost seventeen killed, and one hundred 
 and thirty-two wounded. In this action, as well as in 
 those of Emuckfaw and Enotichopco, the friendly In- 
 dians behaved with great gallantry, and rendered im- 
 portant service. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 TOHOPEK A. 
 
 N order to supply the place 
 of the troops who had just 
 been discharged, General 
 Cocke had been directed to 
 bring into the field imme- 
 diatel}^ the East Tennessee 
 troops he had failed to raise 
 when previously ordered to 
 do so. These men were to be mustered into the 
 United States service, to serve three months from the 
 28th of February. Two thousand men were raised 
 under this order; although Cocke pretended that it 
 was impossible to execute it. Three thousand men 
 from the second, or West Tennessee division, were 
 also called out, under Brigadier-General Johnston. 
 
 On the 6th of Febiniary, the 39th regiment of 
 United States infantry, under Colonel Williams, ar- 
 
228 TOHOPEKA. 
 
 rived at Fort Strother. The army was now suffi- 
 ciently strong to commence active operations ; but the 
 failure of supphes again impeded their movements. 
 Notwithstanding the dismissal of the old contractors 
 and the employment of new ones, the service con- 
 tinued to be very imperfectly performed. The general, 
 becoming indignant at the delay thus occasioned, or- 
 dered that provisions should be purchased at the 
 places where they were to have been furnished by the 
 contractors, and that they should be obliged to bear 
 the expense. Having thus ensured a sufficiency of 
 provisions, the militia were ordered to march to head 
 quarters. General Johnston's brigade arrived there 
 on the 14th of February : but the East Tennessee 
 troops, under Brigadier-General Doherty, manifested 
 great indisposition to proceed. General Cocke, whose 
 conduct had previously caused much embarrassment to 
 General Jackson, entered the camp of General Do- 
 herty, and actually persuaded many of the troops not 
 to proceed. One hundred and eighty men, influenced 
 by him, deserted, and returned home. These circum- 
 stances being communicated to Jackson, he ordered 
 General Doherty to put under arrest any ofiicer who 
 should attempt to produce mutiny among the troops, 
 and send him to head quarters. The brigade was 
 then marched to Fort Strother. 
 
 Althouorh there was now no cause for insubordina- 
 tion, provisions being plentiful and the soldiers actively 
 employed, yet the spirit of mutiny, which had been but 
 lightly checked, again broke out. Jackson now saw 
 that the sternest measures of military discipline had 
 become indispensable. John Woods, once a deserter, 
 
EXECUTION OF WOODS. 
 
 229 
 
 The last Mutiny. 
 
 now in open mutiny, was seized, tried by a court-mar- 
 tial, and condemned to be shot. Painful as it was to 
 the feelings of the general, he viewed it as a sacrifice 
 essential to the preservation of good order, and left 
 the sentence of the court to be inflicted. The execu- 
 tion was productive of the happiest eflfects; order 
 was instantly produced, and that opinion, so long in- 
 dulged, that a militia-man could not be put to death 
 for any offence, was from that moment abandoned, 
 and a strict obedience afterwards characterized the 
 whole army. 
 
 In the early part of the month of March, 1814, 
 General Jackson received information that a lar<j-e 
 body of Indians had assembled at the Indian encamp- 
 ment on the Tallapoosa called Tohopeka, which Ge- 
 neral Cofl^ee had before pronounced too strong to be 
 attacked to advantage without artillery. 
 
230 TOIfOPEKA. 
 
 On the 14th General Jackson marched from Fort 
 Strother, and bent his course towards Tohopeka. On 
 the 21st he arrived at the mouth of Cedar Creek, and 
 there estabhshed a fort, which he named Fort Wil- 
 hams. On the 24th, leaving a sufficient force under 
 Brigadier-General Johnston, for the protection of the 
 fort, with eight days' provisions, he set out for the Tal- 
 lapoosa, by the way of Emuckfaw. The whole force 
 now with him amounted to less than three thousand 
 effective men ; being considerably reduced by the ne- 
 cessity of leaving behind him strong garrisons at the 
 different forts. About ten o'clock, on the morning of 
 the 27th, after a march of fifty-two miles, he reached 
 the village of Tohopeka. The enemy, being aware of 
 his approach, had collected in considerable numbers, 
 with the view of giving him battle. The warriors 
 from the adjacent towns, Oakfuskie, Oakehoga, New 
 Youcka, the Hillabees, the Fish-Pond, and Eulalee, 
 amounting to a thousand or twelve hundred, were 
 ready and waiting his approach. It is difficult to 
 conceive of a situation more eligible for defence than 
 the one they had chosen. Surrounded almost entirely 
 by the river, which here takes the shape of a horse- 
 shoe, from which it derived the name of the Horse- 
 Shoe Bend, it was accessible only by a narrow neck 
 of land, of three hundred and fifty yards width, whick 
 they had taken much pains to secure and defend, by 
 erecting a breast-work, from five to eight feet high, 
 formed of large timbers and trunks of trees laid hori- 
 zontally upon each other, leaving but a single place of 
 entrance. It extended across the point in such a di- 
 rection, that an enemy approaching it would be ex 
 
BATTLE OF TOPOIIEKA. 
 
 231 
 
 Planting the Cannon. 
 
 posed to a double fire, from its double row of loop- 
 holes, whilst those behind it remained in perfect se- 
 curity. 
 
 Having ascertained the position of the enemy, 
 Jackson despatched General Coffee, at the head of the 
 mounted infantry and friendly Indians, with orders to 
 gain the southern bank of the river, encircle the bend, 
 and make some feint or manoeuvre by which to divert 
 the enemy from the point where the real attack was 
 intended to be made. He was particularly instructed 
 so to arrange and dispose the force under his com- 
 mand that they might not escape by passing to the 
 opposite side in their canoes, with which it Avas said 
 the whole shore was lined. 
 
 Jackson, with the rest of the army, proceeded slow- 
 ly and in order along the neck of land which led to 
 
232 TOHOPEKA. 
 
 tJie front of their breastwork. Having planted his 
 cannon, one six and one three-pounder, about two 
 hundred yards from the front of the enemy's hue, with 
 a view to break down his defence, a brisk fire was 
 commenced. The musketry and rifles, which occupied 
 a nearer position, were used as the Indians occasion- 
 ally showed themselves from behind their works. The 
 artillery was well served by Major Bradford, and the 
 fire kept up for two hours, without making any impres- 
 sion ; time, however, was gained for complete readiness. 
 
 In the meantime. General Coffee having reached 
 his point of destination on the opposite side of the 
 river, formed his line, and despatched a part of the 
 Indian force, with two companies of spies commanded 
 by Captain Russell and Lieutenant Bean, across the 
 river to the extremity of the bend. These companies 
 set fire to a few buildings situated there, and then ad- 
 vanced with great gallantry towards the camp and 
 breastwork, and commenced a spirited fire upon the 
 enemy in their front. 
 
 This fire announcing the fact that General Cofl^ee 
 had arrived at his post, and secured the opposite bank 
 of the river, the order was given by Jackson to storm 
 the breastwork. Never were troops more eager to be 
 led on, than were both regulars and militia. They 
 had been waiting with impatience for the order, and 
 hailed it with acclamations. The spirit which ani- 
 mated them was a sure augury of the success which 
 was to follow. Between them there was no differ- 
 ence. Both advanced with the firmness and intre- 
 pidity of veteran soldiers. The former, the thirty- 
 ninth regiment, led on by their skilful commander, 
 
DKATII OF MAJOR MONTGOMERY. 233 
 
 
 Battle of Tohopeka — Death of Major Montgomery. 
 
 Colonel Williams, and the brave but ill-fated Maj jr 
 Montgomery, and the militia, under the command of 
 Colonel Burch, moved forward with alacrity, in the 
 midst of a most tremendous fire, which poured upon 
 them in one continuous stream. They soon reached 
 the ramparts, where an obstinate and destructive con- 
 flict ensued, each contending for the loop-holes, on 
 different sides. Many of the enemy's balls were found 
 
234 TOHOPEKA. 
 
 welded between the muskets and bayonets of the 
 soldiers. At this moment, Major Montgomery, leap- 
 ing on the wall, called to his men to mount and follow 
 him. He had scarcely spoken, when, shot through the 
 head, he fell to the ground. But his followers had 
 scaled the ramparts; and the savages, finding their po- 
 sition no longer tenable, retired, and concealed them- 
 selves amidst the brush and timber, which lay thickly 
 scattered over the peninsula, whence they continued re- 
 sistance, and kept up a galling and constant fire, until 
 they were again charged and forced back. Driven 
 to despair, not knowing whither to flee, and resolving 
 not to surrender, they saw no other alternative than to 
 effect their escape by passing in their canoes to the op- 
 posite bank of the river ; from this, however, they were 
 prevented, by perceiving General Coffee's detachment 
 in possession of the bank. Under these circumstances, 
 the remaining warriors, who yet survived the severity 
 of the conflict, betaking themselves to flight, leaped 
 down the banks, and concealed themselves along the 
 cliffs and steeps, which were covered by the trees 
 which had been felled fi-om their margin. From these 
 secreted spots, when an opportunity offered, they 
 would fire and disappear. 
 
 General Jackson, perceiving that any further resist- 
 ance would only involve them in utter destruction, 
 sent a flag, accompanied by an interpreter, to propose 
 to them a surrender and save the further effusion of 
 blood. Whether the proposal was fully explained, 
 none but the interpreter can know; but instead of 
 being accepted, as was fully expected, and in every in- 
 stance of civilized warfare wcmld have been the case, 
 
BATTLE OF TOHOPEKA. 235 
 
 it was answered by a discharge, which wounded one 
 ot the messengers. Finding they would not yield, 
 nor abandon the course of desperation which they had 
 resolved on, orders were given to dislodge them. To 
 accomplish this the artillery was turned against them, 
 but with no effect. Lighted torches were then thrown 
 down the steeps, which, communicating with the brush 
 and trees, and setting them on fire, drove the Indians 
 from their hiding-places, and brought them to view 
 Ihus the carnage continued until night separated the 
 combatants; when the few misguided savages who 
 had avoided the havoc and slaughter of the day were 
 enabled through the darkness of the night to make 
 their escape. 
 
 While the main attack was thus made, the spies 
 and friendly Indians sent over by General Coffee were 
 effecting much; and no doubt to the course pursued 
 by them, was greatly owing the facility with which 
 t^e breastwork was scaled and its possession obtained, 
 Ihe flames of their town necessarily divided the atten- 
 tion and opposition of the savages, and drew some of 
 them to the protection of a point which they had 
 hitherto believed secure, and where they had not ap- 
 prehended an attack. Thus assailed from an unex- 
 pected quarter,-a force in their rear, and another still 
 stronger advancing in their front, afforded the invadincr 
 army a much easier and less hazardous opportunity 
 of succeeding in the assault and securing the victory. 
 This battle gave a death-blow to all the hopes of 
 the Creeks; nor did they afterwards attempt to make 
 a stand. They had now tried every mode of warfare 
 known to them without success. From their fastnesses 
 
236 TOHOPEKA. 
 
 in the woods they had tried their system of ambus- 
 cades; they had brought on the attack; they had made 
 use of darkness and the cover of night ; they had 
 made the open attack in broad day ; and now they 
 had tried the strength of an entrenched and fortified 
 camp ; and in all they had met but failure and di:saster. 
 They had, no doubt, strongly fortified Tohopeka, in 
 consequence of their continual defeats, and had retired 
 to it as a last resort, determined to conquer or perish. 
 That such a resolution had been taken, is presumed 
 from their desperate obstinacy — in their refusal of all 
 offers of quarter ; and is rendered certain from the 
 circumstance that they permitted their women and 
 children to remain in the encampment, whom, in other 
 cases, they were always careful to remove far from 
 danger. 
 
 In this action the best and bravest of their warriors 
 were destroyed, and a greater loss sustained than 
 had been met with in any of their previous contests. 
 Few escaped the carnage. Of the killed, many were 
 thrown into the river while the battle raged ; many, 
 in endeavouring to pass it, were destroyed by the 
 steady fire of Coffee's brigade ; and five hundred and 
 fifty-seven were left dead on the ground. 
 
 Among the number of the slain were three of their 
 prophets. Decorated in a wild and fantastic manner, 
 — with the plumage of many birds about their heads 
 and shoulders, with savage grimaces and horrid con- 
 tortions of their body, these impostors danced and 
 howled their horrid incantations to their gods. Their 
 infatuated followers already believed a communion 
 with heaven sure, which, moved by entreaties, and 
 
THE WOUNDED WARRIOR. 
 
 287 
 
 Indian Prophet. 
 
 offered homage, would aid them in the conflict, and 
 give a triumph to their arms. Fear was entirely 
 banished from their minds ; and wherf they beheld the 
 army approaching, and already scaling their breast- 
 work, even then, far from being dispirited, hope sur- 
 vived, and victory was still anticipated. 
 
 Four men, who surrendered, and three hundred 
 women and children were taken prisoners. One of 
 these men, " a young Creek warrior, severely wounded, 
 was brought before General Jackson, and a surgeon 
 was called to dress his wounds. With his rude no- 
 tions of war he regarded his death as inevitable, and 
 looking earnestly at the general, as his limb was bound 
 up, he exclaimed, ' Cure him, kill him again V Jackson 
 
238 
 
 TOHOPEKA. 
 
 4l^^=_^-^^ji^ ^^ /'"/ 
 
 The young Creek Warrior. 
 
 assured Iiini that he was safe ; and moved by his youth, 
 as he had previously been affected by the helpless in- 
 fant at Tallushatchee, he sent him home to Nashville, 
 watched over his interests, and established him in a 
 respectable trade. 
 
 " How freshly and sweetly, like blossoms on the 
 battle-field, do such noble and generous acts spring up 
 amid the waste of war ! jiikI how much of beauty 
 and of tenderness do they add to the heroic strength 
 of a great commander ! They are like a garland of 
 roses around the iron helmet of the warrior. A 
 hundred generations have wept over the verses of 
 Homer which describe the parting of the Trojan chief 
 from his infant boy as he goes out to battle. American 
 hearts shall throb with tearful pleasure, through all 
 lime, as they think of the tenderness of Jackson 
 
LOSS OF TIIR AMERICANS. 239 
 
 to-wards tlic infant Lincoycr, and the youthful captive 
 of Tohopeka."* 
 
 That so few warriors should have sought and ob- 
 tained safety, by appealing to the clemency of the 
 victors, will not appear a matter of surprise to persons 
 acquainted with the mode of Indian warfare. It 
 seldom happens that they extend or solicit quarter: 
 faithless themselves, they place no reliance on the 
 faith of others; and when overcome in battle, seek no 
 other protection than dexterity and speed afford. 
 Another cause for it may be found in a reason already 
 given, in the attack made by a detachment of General 
 Cocke's division on the Hillabee tribes, who were as- 
 sailed and put to the sword at a moment when, having 
 asked for peace, they were expecting it to be given. 
 This misfortune had destroyed all confidence on the 
 part of the savages, in the integrity and humanity of 
 the Americans ; and they now looked and trusted for 
 safety to nothing but their own valour. In this contest 
 they maintained resistance, fighting and firing from 
 their hiding-places, long after the hope, either of suc- 
 cess or escape, was or should have been at an end, 
 and after the proposal had been submitted to spare 
 the further useless waste of blood. A few who had 
 lain quiet and concealed under the cliffs, survived the 
 severity of the conflict, and effected their retreat under 
 cover of the nio-ht. 
 
 Jackson's loss, though considerable, was small 
 when compared with that of the enemy. The whole 
 estimate, including in it the Cherokees and friendly 
 Creeks, was but fifty-four killed, and one hundred 
 
 *Bolles's Eulogy. 
 15 
 
240 TOIiOPEKA. 
 
 and fifty-six wounded. Of the former was Major 
 Montgomery, a brave and enterprising young officer 
 of the thirty-ninth regiment, and Lieutenants Moulton 
 and Somerville, who fell early in the charge. 
 
 The object of the expedition being thus accom- 
 plished, General Jackson, in pursuance of his first 
 plan, decided to return to Fort Williams for pro- 
 visions, and then hastened to the Hickory Ground, 
 where he hoped to be able to put an end to the war. 
 After committing the bodies of the slain to a watery 
 grave in the river Tallapoosa, that they might not be 
 scalped by the Indians, General Jackson set out on 
 his return to Fort Williams. 
 
 Having arrived at that post on the 1st of April, 
 his first object was to excite in the breasts of his 
 soldiers a sense of pride, commensurate with the 
 achievements they had performed and the valour they 
 had displayed. He was impelled to it by the con- 
 sciousness that excitement, once subsided, could with 
 difficulty be again roused ; and from a strong desire 
 to ward off from his ranks that despondency which 
 had once proved so fatal to his hopes. Besides, he 
 wished to point out to his followers the good effects 
 which would result from their splendid victories, to 
 thank them for their implicit obedience and unsur- 
 passed gallantry, and to congratulate them on the 
 approach of the period when the frontiers should be 
 no longer alarmed by the yell of the murderous Creek. 
 With a view to these objects, the next day, on parade, 
 before the fort, he addressed them as follows : 
 
 " Soldiers of Tennessee : — You have entitled your- 
 selves to the gratitude of your country and your gene- 
 
ADDRESS TO THE TROOPS. 241 
 
 ral. The expedition from which you have just re- 
 turned lias, by your good conduct, been rendered 
 prosperous beyond any example in the history of our 
 warfare : it has redeemed the character of our state, 
 and of that description of troops of which the greater 
 part of you are. 
 
 " You have, within a few days, opened our way to 
 Tallapoosa, and destroyed a confederacy of the enemy, 
 ferocious by nature, and grown insolent from impunity. 
 Relying on their numbers, the security of their situa- 
 tion, and the assurances of their prophets, they derided 
 our approach, and already exulted in anticipation of 
 the victory they expected to obtain. But they were 
 ignorant of the influence of government on the human 
 powers, nor knew what brave men and civilized force 
 could effect. By their yells they hoped to frighten us, 
 and with their wooden fortifications to oppose us. 
 Stupid mortals ! their yells but designated their situa- 
 tion the more certainly ; whilst their walls became a 
 snare for their own destruction. So will it ever be, 
 when presumption and ignorance contend against 
 bravery and prudence. 
 
 "The fiends of the Tallapoosa will no longer mur- 
 der 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 victim 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 ; and the wilderness, which now withers 
 in sterility, and mourns the desolation which over- 
 spreads her, will blossom as the rose, and become the 
 
242 
 
 TOHOPEKA. 
 
 nursery of the arts. But before this happy day can 
 arrive, other chastisements remain 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 to inflict partial 
 evils that good may be produced. 
 
 "Our enemies are not sufficiently humbled, — they 
 do not sue for peace. A collection of them await om* 
 approach, and remain to be dispersed. Buried in ig- 
 norance, and seduced by their prophets, they have the 
 weakness to believe they will still be able to make a 
 stand against us. They must be undeceived, and 
 made to atone their obstinacy and their crime by still 
 further suffering. The hopes which have so long de- 
 luded them, must be driven from their last refuge. 
 They must be made to know that their prophets are 
 impostors, and that our strength is mighty, and wifl 
 prevail. Then, and not till then, may we expect to 
 make with them a peace that shall be lasting." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 HILE General Jackson was thus 
 increasinf; the strcno;th of liis conn 
 tn% his own was fast failing. In- 
 cessant fatigue and arduous duty 
 had retarded the recovery of his 
 health and reduced him almost to 
 a skeleton ; but the success which 
 attended his operations made him forget, or, at least, 
 disregard his debility. Understanding that the enemy 
 was embodied in considerable numbers at Hoithlewa- 
 
244 CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 lee, an Indian town situated not far from the Hickory 
 Ground, he was anxious to recommence his operations. 
 The forces under his command had been too much re- 
 duced in strength by sickness, some discharges which 
 he had granted, and the loss sustained in the late bat- 
 tle, to permit him to act as efficiently as he wished. It 
 was desirable, therefore, to effect a junction with the 
 southern army as soon as possible. The North Caro- 
 lina troops, under the conmiand of General Graham, and 
 those of Georgia, under Colonel Milton, were said to 
 be somewhere south of the Tallapoosa, and could be 
 at no great distance. General Pinckney, who com- 
 manded the whole, recommended to Jackson to effect 
 this union as soon as possible. It therefore became 
 necessary to apprise those officers of his intended 
 movements, that they might be enabled to co-operate 
 with him. Having, not Avithout difficulty, engaged 
 suitable messengers, Jackson sent to Colonel Milton, 
 informing liim that on the 7th he would take up the 
 line of march for Hoithlewalee. This place he ex- 
 pected to reach by the 11th, and he desired the colonel 
 to act in concert with him ag;ainst it. Pursuant to his 
 promise, he left Fort \A'illiams on the 7th, with all his 
 disposable force, and proceeded on his march ; but 
 the height of the water in the streams delayed his ar- 
 rival at Hoithlewalee till the 13th. The quantity of 
 water in the creek before the town prevented him from 
 crossing until tlie next day, by wliicli time the enemy 
 had escaped. They were pursued some distance, and 
 al)out twenty-five taken prisoners. Had Colonel Mil- 
 ton co-operated, as he might have done, and sur- 
 rounded the enemy's rear, they could not have es- 
 
PURSUIT OF THE INDIANS, 
 
 245 
 
 
 c.^rrL . ve:yv. 
 
 ^ '\; """■ 
 
 Pursuit of the Indian* 
 
 
 caped. On the 14th, he sent a note to Jackson that 
 he was witliin four miles of the town, which he intend- 
 ed to attack that day. He had heen saved the troahle, 
 however, by the general, who had destroyed the town. 
 The provisions brought by the army from Fort 
 Williams being nearly exhausted, Jackson requested 
 Colonel Milton, who had an abundant supply, to make 
 up the deficiency. The colonel delayed his compli- 
 ance, when the request was changed to an order, and 
 he was also directed to join the main army. 
 
24G CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 The spirits of the Indians seemed to be now com- 
 pletely broken ; and their chiefs came into the camp 
 daily, proffering the calumet or pipe of peace, and 
 begging that the warfare against them might be dis- 
 continued. They were ordered to settle in the rear 
 of the army, and north of Fort Williams, where they 
 would not be molested ; and General Jackson resolved 
 to proceed to the Hickory Ground, where the hostile 
 tribes were expected to make their last and most 
 desperate stand. This was the name jriven to the 
 country at the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa 
 rivers, which their traditions declared had never been 
 desecrated by the foot of a white man, and which was 
 considered holy ground. 
 
 Proceeding on his march, Jackson arrived at the 
 site of the old Toulossee fort, situated on the Coosa, 
 not far from the confluence, at which he erected 
 another, which was called after himself. Here the 
 rivers approach within six hundred yards of each 
 other, and as^ain diversfinix, unite sixty miles below. 
 At this place, the chiefs of the different tribes were 
 daily arriving, and offering to submit on any terms. 
 They all concurred in their statements, that those of 
 the hostile party who were still opposed to asking for 
 peace had fled from the nation, and sought refuge along 
 the coasts and in Pensacola. General Jackson renewed 
 the assurances he had previously given, that they 
 could find safety in no other way than by rep;iiring 
 to the section of country already pointed out to them, 
 where they might remain quiet and undistnrboil. 
 
 To put their friendly professions at once to the 
 test, he directed them to brmg Weathcrford to hi« 
 
SURRENDER OF WEATHERFORD. 
 
 247 
 
 Weatherford. 
 
 camp tied, that he might be dealt with as he deserved. 
 He was one of the first chiefs of the nation, and had 
 been tlie principal actor in the butchery at Fort Mimms. 
 Learning from the chiefs on their return, what had 
 been required of them by Jackson, he was prevailed 
 upon, as being perhaps the safer course, to go and 
 make a voluntary surrender of himself. Having 
 reached the camp without being known, and obtained 
 admission to the general's quarters, he told him he 
 was Weatherford, the chief who had connnanded at 
 Fort Mimms, and desiring peace for himself and his 
 people, had come to ask it. Somewhat surprised 
 that one who so richly merited punishment should so 
 sternly demand the protection which had been ex- 
 tended to others, he replied to him that he was aston- 
 
24S 
 
 COxNCLUSION :)F THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 i^ ^4v 
 
 
 
 Weatlierford surreudcTj l.imself. 
 
 ished he should venture to appear in his presence ; 
 that he was not ifjnorant of his havinjx been at Fort 
 Minims, nor of his conduct there, ibr which he well 
 deserved to die. "I had directed," continued he, 
 " that you should he hronght to me confined ; had 
 you appeared in this way, I should have kno\Mi how- 
 to have treated you." Weatlierford replied, " I am 
 in your power — do with me as you please. I am a 
 soldier. I have done the wl.ite people all the harm I 
 could; I have fought them, and fought them bravely ; 
 il"I had an army, I would yet light and contend tJ the 
 
WEATHERFORD SUES FOR PEACE. 'J 19 
 
 last: but I have none; my people are all gone. 1 
 can now do no more than weep over the niisforiiines 
 of my nation." Pleased at the firmness of the man, 
 Jackson informed him that he did but solicit him to 
 lay down his arms and become peaceable : " The 
 terms on which your nation can be saved and peace 
 reslored,have already been disclosed: in this way, and 
 in none other, can you obtain safety." If, however, 
 he wished still to continue the war, and felt himself 
 prepared to meet the consequences, although he was 
 then completely in his power, no advantage should be 
 taken of that circumstance ; that he was at perfect 
 liberty to retire and unite himself with the war party, 
 if he pleased ; but if taken, his life should pay the for- 
 feit of his crimes ; if this w ere not desired, he might 
 remain where he was, and should be protected. 
 
 Weatherford answered that he desired peace, that 
 his nation might in some measure be relieved from 
 their sufferings; that independent of other misfortunes, 
 growing out of a state of war, their cattle and grain 
 were all wasted and destroyed, and their women and 
 children destitute of provisions. "But," continued 
 he, " I may be well addressed in such language now. 
 There was a time ^^hen I had a choice, and could 
 have answered you; I have none now, — even hope 
 has ended. Once I could animate my warriors to 
 battle ; but I cannot animate the dead. My warriors 
 can no longer hear my voice: their bones are at 
 Talladega, Tallushatchee, Emuckfaw, and Tohopeka. 
 I have not surrendered myself thoughtlessly. \Mnlst 
 there were chances of success I never left my post 
 nor supplicated peace. But my people are gone, and 
 
250 CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 I now ask it for my nation and for myself. On the 
 miseries and misfortunes brought upon my country, 
 I look back with the deepest regret, and wish to avert 
 still greater calamities. If I had been left to contend 
 with the Georgia army, I would have raised my corn 
 on one bank of the river, and fought them on the 
 other; but your people have destroyed my nation. 
 You are a brave man : I rely upon your generosity. 
 You will exact no terms of a conquered people but 
 such as they should accede to : whatever they may 
 be, it would now be madness and folly to oppose. If 
 they are opposed, you shall find me amongst the 
 sternest enforcers of obedience. Those who would 
 still hold out, can be influenced only by a mean spirit 
 of revenge ; and to this they must not and shall not 
 sacrifice the last remnant of their country. You have 
 told us where we might go and be safe. This is a 
 good talk, and my nation ought to listen to it. They 
 shall listen to it." 
 
 Satisfied of his sincerity, the general authorized 
 him to return to the forests, with a small number of 
 followers, and conduct the remnant of his nation to 
 the country which had been assigned them, above 
 Fort Williams. Numerous detachments were sent out 
 to scour the Indian country, and disperse any collec- 
 tions of warriors they might find ; but they met Avith 
 no opposition ; the Indians everywhere manifesting a 
 desire for the returii of peace. 
 
 On the 20th of April, General Pinckney arrived at 
 Fort .Tackson, and took the command. The measures 
 adopted bv Jackson met his fiill approval. The pos- 
 session of the ground which had been gained, and the 
 
VOLUNTEERS DISCHARGED. 251 
 
 protection of the frontiers against any future attack 
 which niii^lit be made, being secured by the line of 
 forts whicli had been estabhshcd connecting the Ala- 
 bama with the settlements of Tennessee and Georgia, 
 there remained no necessity for keeping an army in 
 the field. The time of the West Tennessee troops 
 being about to expire, Jackson was ordered to march 
 them back to the state, and discharge them. The 
 division of General Doherty was retained to garrison 
 the several posts. Four hundred men were stationed 
 at Fort Williams, two hundred and fifty at Fort 
 Strother, and seventy-five at Fort Armstrong and 
 New Deposit. Captain Hammond's company of ran- 
 gers was ordered to garrison Old Deposit. 
 
 General Jackson received the order to march on 
 the 21st of April, and in two hours was on his way. 
 On the evening of the 24th, he arrived at Fort 
 Williams. From this place he detached Brigadier- 
 General Johnston, at the head of five hundred men, 
 with orders to proceed to the head of the Cahawba 
 river, to destroy any bodies of the enemy who might 
 be collected there, and rejoin the main body at Deposit. 
 The detachment proceeded as ordered, but found no 
 enemy, and returned, after burning several Indian 
 towns. Jackson continued his march to Camp Blount, 
 near Fayetteville, where the troops were honourably 
 discharged. The parting of these brave men from 
 their commander was very affecting. Endeared to 
 each other by the remembrance of the privations they 
 had borne, of the difficulties they had overcome, and 
 of the bloody fields on whicb, side by side, they had 
 contended, the dissolution of the relation they had 
 
252 CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 sustained to each other called forth the warmest emo- 
 tions. The general addressed his fellow-soldiers in 
 terms of the strongest attachment, recoimting their 
 deeds of fame, their patience in hardship, and their 
 valour in the field, and assuring them that the recol- 
 lection of their services would never be effaced from 
 the grateful hearts of their countrymen. 
 
 Warmly as Jackson was attached to his soldiers, 
 still more ardently did they love and admire his noble 
 qualities. His conduct during the whole war had en- 
 titled him to the name of a great general. When 
 supplies failed, and starvation seemed to be at the 
 door, he shared the same fare as the meanest of his 
 followers, setting them a noble example of manly en- 
 durance. When the mutinous conduct of his troops 
 aroused the fiery spirit which slept within him, he. 
 heeded not his own danger, but freely exposed his life 
 to the fury of his troops, that he might save them from 
 disgrace, and his countrv from ruin. Then it was 
 that " he shone before his mutinous followers as some- 
 thing god-like ; they bowed in awe before him, and 
 obeyed his connnands as a superior being."* 
 
 In the moment of action he was characterized by 
 a perfect contempt of danger, a constant presence of 
 mind, and a confidence of success which nothinjx could 
 shake. His eagle eye saw at once what was neces- 
 sary to be done, and his active mind was never at a 
 loss for the plan for attaining his objects. To his 
 firmness in the midst of danirer, and his never-failinjT 
 confidence, were owing, in a great measure, the suc- 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 
TREATY WITH THE CHEEKS. -^O,} 
 
 cess of tlie cainpaiirn. Those tliiniifs were known to 
 his soldiers, who rcjrardcd him with a sentiment ap- 
 proacliing to adoration. They ^^ere alwnys ready, 
 after this time, to follow him to the field, feeling that 
 in their general they had an assnrance of success. 
 
 General Jackson, having brought the Creek war to 
 a successful termination, wished to retire to private 
 life, -to recover his health, and obtain the relaxation of 
 mind and body which his arduous labours had rendered 
 necessary. His country, however, could not afford to 
 lose the services of a genius so brilliant, a patriotism 
 so ardent. The general government, having seen and 
 admired the consummate military knowledge displayed 
 by him in the Creek campaign, determined to secure 
 his services to the regular army. On the 22d of May 
 he was notified by the war department, that the presi- 
 dent had appointed him brigadier-general, and brevet- 
 nmjor-general, in the United States service. Shortly 
 afterwards, he was still further honoured with a com- 
 mission as major-general, a vacancy having been cre- 
 ated by the resignation of Major-General Harrison. 
 The first service in which the government employed 
 him, was the negotiation of a treaty with the sava^res 
 whom he had conquered. 
 
 Pursuant to the orders of the secretary of war, 
 General Jackson proceeded again to the scene of his 
 trials and triumphs. He arrived at the Alabama river 
 on the 10th of July, 1814, and immediately entered 
 upon his duties. By the 10th of August, he had con- 
 cluded a treaty with the Creeks, by which thev bound 
 themselves not to engage in hostilities against the 
 United States, nor to permit emissaries from any 
 
254 
 
 CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 General Harrison 
 
 foreign power to enter their country. They also 
 agreed to cede to the United States all that part of 
 their territory lying west and south of a line running 
 along the Coosa river from the Cherokee boundary to 
 Woe-tum-ka, and thence eastwardly to Georgia. 
 They pleaded long and earnestly to be permitted to 
 retain their lands. 
 
 Unwilling to resort to any other mode of living 
 than that to which they had been always accustomed ; 
 and satisfied that their means of subsistence would be 
 lost in the surrender of their country, they remained 
 obstinately opposed to such an arrangement. Before 
 being finally acted upon, the treaty was fiilly debated 
 in council, and the voice of the nation decided against 
 it. Jackson had already submitted the views of his 
 
SPEECH OF BIG WARRIOR. 255 
 
 Big Warrior. 
 
 government, and now met them in council to leam. 
 their determination. 
 
 He was answered by the Big Warrior, a friendly 
 chief, and one of their first orators, who declared the 
 reluctance they felt in yielding to the demand, from a 
 conviction of the consequences involved, and the dis- 
 tresses it mast inevitably bring upon them. The firm 
 and dignified eloquence of this untutored orator evinced 
 a nerve and force of expression that might not have 
 passed unnoticed before a more highly polished as- 
 sembly. The conclusion of his speech is given, for the 
 satisfaction of such as can mark the bold display of 
 savage genius, and admire it when discovered. Having 
 unfolded the causes that produced the war, and ad- 
 mitted that they had been preserved alone by the army 
 which had hastened to their assistance, he urged, that 
 though in justice it might be required of them to 
 16 
 
256 CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 defray the expenses incurred by the transfer of a part 
 of their country, yet the demand was premature, be- 
 cause the war party was not conquered : they had 
 only fled away, and might yet return. He portrayed 
 the habits of the Indians, and how seriously they would 
 be affected by the required surrender; and thus 
 concluded : 
 
 " The President, our father, advises us to honesty 
 and fairness, and promises that justice shall be done : 
 I hope and trust it will be ! I made this war, which 
 has proved so fatal to my country, that the treaty 
 entered into a longr time ago with Father Washincrton 
 might not be broken. To his friendly arm I hold fast. 
 I will never break that chain of friendship we 
 made together, and which bound us to stand by the 
 United States. He was a father to the Muscoga 
 people ; and not only to them, but to all the people 
 beneath the sun. His talk I now hold in my hand. 
 There sits the agent* he sent among us. Never has 
 he broken the treaty. He has lived with us a long time. 
 He has seen our children born, who now have children. 
 By his direction, cloth was woven, and clothes were 
 made, and spread through our country : but the red- 
 sticks came, and destroyed all, — we have none now. 
 Hard is our situation, and you ought to consider it. 
 I state what all the nation knows : nothing will I 
 keep secret. 
 
 " There is the Little Warrior, whom Colonel Haw- 
 kins knows. While we were giving satisfaction for 
 the murders which had been committed, he proved a 
 
 • Colonel Hawkins. 
 
SPEECH OF BIG WARRIOR. '257 
 
 mischief-maker ; he went to the British on the lakes ; 
 he came back, and brouglit a package to the frontiers, 
 which increased the murders here. This conduct has 
 already made the war party to suffer greatly ; but, al- 
 though almost destroyed, they will not yet open their 
 eyes ; but are still led away by the British at Pensacola. 
 Not so with us : we were rational, and had our senses 
 — we yet are so. In the war of the revolution, our 
 father beyond the waters encouraged us to join him, 
 and we did so. We had no sense then. The promises 
 he made were never kept. We were young and foolish, 
 and fought with him. The British can no longer per- 
 suade us to do wrong : they have deceived us once, , 
 and can deceive us no more. You are two great 
 people. If you go to war, we will have no concern in 
 it ; for we are not able to fight. We wish to be at 
 peace with every nation. If they offer me arms, I will 
 say to them. You put me in danger to war against a 
 people born in our own land. They shall never force 
 as into danger. You shall never see that our chiefs 
 are boys in council, who will be forced to do anything. 
 I talk thus, knowing that Father Washington advised 
 us never to interfere in wars. lie told us that those 
 in peace were the happiest people. He told us that 
 if an enemy attacked him, he had w^arriors enough, 
 and did not wish his red children to help him. If the 
 British advise us to do anything, I will tell you, — not 
 hide it from you. If they say we must fight, I will 
 tell them, No !" 
 
 The war party not being entirely subdued, was but 
 a pretext to avoid the demand ,• presuming that if the 
 council should break up without anything being defi- 
 
25S CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 nitely done, they might, in part, or perhaps altogether, 
 avoid what was now required ; bat the inflexibihty of 
 the person with whom they were treating, evinced 
 to them that, however just and well-founded might be 
 their objections, the policy under which he acted was 
 too cleatly defined for an abandonment of his demand 
 to be at all calculated upon. Shelocta, one of their 
 chiefs, who had joined Jackson's troops at the com- 
 mencement of the war, who had marched and fought 
 with them in all their battles, and had attached to him- 
 self strongly the confidence of the commanding general, 
 now addressed him, wishing to preserve to the nation 
 the country west of the Coosa. He appealed to the 
 feelings of Jackson ; told him of the dangers they had 
 passed together ; and of his faithfulness to him in the 
 trying scenes through which they had gone. 
 
 The voice of none ought to have been heard before 
 Shelocta's. None had rendered greater services, and 
 none had been more faithful. He had claims growing 
 out of his fidelity that few others had ; but his wishes 
 were at variance with w hat Jackson considered the 
 interests of his country ; and he answered without 
 hesitation. 
 
 " You know," said he, " that the portion of your 
 country which you desire to retain, is that through 
 which the intruders and mischief-makers from the 
 lakes reached you, and urged your nation to those 
 acts of violence that have involved your people in 
 wretchedness, and your country in ruin. Through 
 it leads the path Tecumsch trod when he came to 
 visit you: that path must be stopped. Until this be 
 done, your nation cannot expect happiness, nor mine 
 
TREATY WITH THE CREEKS. 259 
 
 security. I have already told you the reasons for de- 
 manding it; they are such as ought not— cannot be 
 departed from. This evening must determine whether 
 or not you are disposed to become friendly. Your 
 rejecting the treaty will show you to be the enemies 
 of the United States — enemies even to yourselves." 
 He admitted it to be true that the war was not ended, 
 but that this was an additional reason why the cession 
 should be made ; that then a line would be drawn by 
 which his soldiers would be able to distinguish and 
 know their friends. " When our armies," continued 
 lie, "came here, the hostile party had even stripped 
 you of your country : we retook it, and now oft'er it 
 to you ;— theirs we propose to retain. Those who 
 are disposed to give effect to the treaty, will sign it. 
 They will be within our territory ; will be protected 
 and fed ; and no enemy of theirs or ours shall molest 
 them. Those who oppose it, shall have leave to retire 
 to Pensacola. Here is the paper: take it, and show 
 the president, who are his friends. Consult, and this 
 evening let me know who will sign it, and who will 
 not. I do not wish, nor will I attempt to force any 
 of you; — act as you think proper." 
 
 This freedom of action admitted of little choice in 
 their weakened and dispirited condition ; and at the 
 appointed time the treaty was returned with the signa- 
 tures of the chiefs. The frontiers were thus secured 
 agamst savage depredations, and the communication 
 between the Creeks and Seminoles entirely destroyed. 
 It would have been unsafe, however, to regard peace 
 as permanently secured, while several of the principal 
 chiefs of the hostile Creeks, with many of their fol- 
 
■26{) 
 
 CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 Treaty with ihe Creeks 
 
 lowers, were protected by the Spanish authorities at 
 Pensacola. Two of these chiefs, named M'Queen and 
 Francis, had taken an active part in the massacre at 
 Fort Mimms, and the subsequent hostihties. The 
 Spanish governor permitted them to be exercised in 
 mihtary evolutions, and regularly drilled by British 
 officers ; and arms and ammunition for their use were 
 landed from British vessels. It could not be over- 
 looked that this course of the Spaniards would inevi- 
 tably lead to a renewal of the Creek war, with perhaps 
 greater barbarity than ever. General Jackson deter- 
 mined to put a stop to these proceedings, by remon- 
 
LETTER TO THE SPANISH GOVERNOR. 261 
 
 Indian Village. 
 
 strance, if possible ; by force, if argument should fail. 
 Previous to addressing the Spanish governor on the 
 subject, he sent several officers privately to Pensacola, 
 to ascertain the true state of things at that post. They 
 reported that the information previously received was 
 correct, and that the governor was completely under 
 the influence of the British. Jackson now wrote a 
 letter to Don Gonzales Manriqucz, the Spanish gover- 
 nor, requesting him to deliver up M'Queen and Fran- 
 cis, that they might receive the punishment due to 
 their crimes ; and remonstrating against the protection 
 and assistance afforded to the British. The governor 
 returned a positive refusal to what he affected to con- 
 
262 
 
 CONCLUSION OF THE CREEK WAR, 
 
 sider an extraordinary demand, and even asserted that 
 the United States had usurped the territory ceded to 
 them by the Creeks in the treaty of the Hickory 
 Ground. An angry correspondence followed, without 
 producing any effect upon the Spaniard. 
 
 After concluding the Creek negotiations, General 
 Jackson was appointed commander-in-chief of the 7th 
 military district, comprising Tennessee, Louisiana, and 
 the Mississippi territory ; and fixed his head quarters 
 at Mobile. 
 
Death of Lieulenaiit Murray. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PENS ACOLA. 
 
 UR narrative now takes us to the 
 Spanish province of Florida. Spe- 
 cial jnessengers, sent by Jackson to 
 Pensacola, had reported the pre- 
 sence of the British and hostile In- 
 dians there, in great force. One 
 of these messengers, Captain Gordon, reported that he 
 saw in Pensacola and its vicinity upwards of one hun- 
 dred and fifty British officers, a park of artillery, and 
 about five hundred Indians, dressed in British uniform, 
 and under drill by British officers. General Jackson, 
 to make assurance doubly sure, despatched Lieutenant 
 
2G4 PENSACOLA. 
 
 Murray, with twenty-five men, to reconnoitre Pensa- 
 cola and the fortress of Barrancas, and report the 
 truth of the matter. They saw seven British armed 
 vessels in the bay, and the British jack hoisted beside 
 the Spanish flag on the walls of the Barrancas. Re- 
 turning, within three miles of Pensacola, Lieutenant 
 Murray was mortally wounded by a rifle-shot of an 
 Indian. The report of the rifle was answered from 
 the fort and the town, and the detachment had to hasten 
 onward to avoid capture. The Indian was slain, and 
 Murray was put on horseback, when the troop pro- 
 ceeded. It had gone but a short distance, when it 
 was perceived that the heutenant was dead. In full 
 hearing of the whoops, yells, and firing, indicating a 
 close pursuit, the troops halted at a little hole in the 
 earth, or ravine, and laid the body of their commander 
 therein, " with his martial cloak around him ;" a little 
 earth and leaves were hastily thrown over his re- 
 mains, and the party pushed forward to the American 
 camp.* 
 
 All this was done in Spanish territory, in the terri- 
 tory of a king professing to be neutral in the war 
 between Britain and the United States. Jackson im- 
 mediately made this state of affairs known to the go- 
 vernment. In detailing to the secretary of war what 
 had been communicated to liim, he remarks : — 
 
 "If the hostile Creeks have taken refuge in Florida, 
 and are there fed, clothed, and protected ; if the British 
 have landed a large force, and munitions of war, and are 
 fortifying and stirring up the savages ; will you only 
 
 * Cartwright's Eulogy. 
 
LETTER TO TUT- SPANISH GOVERNOR. 265 
 
 say to me, raise n few hundred militia, which can be 
 quickly done, and with such regular force as can be 
 conveniently collected, make a descent upon Pensacola, 
 and reduce it? If so, I promise you the war in the 
 south shall have a speedy termination, and Entrlish 
 influence be for ever destroyed with the savages in 
 tnis (juarter." 
 
 Tlie secretary of war. General Armstrong, coin- 
 cided with him, and, indeed, authorized him to attack 
 Pensacola ; but though his letter bore date the 18th 
 of July, 181 1, it was never received by Jackson until the 
 \lth of Janitai-y, 1815; that is, nine days after the 
 British army had been partly slaughtered and partly 
 driven into the sea by the battle of New Orleans ! 
 
 In the meantime he had received no instructions 
 from the war de{)artment relative to the course to be 
 pursued towards the neutral Spanish authorities in Flo- 
 rida. Accordingly, he at first remonstrated with 
 Manriquez, the Spanish governor, upon the impropriety 
 and impolicy of his conduct in admitting and shelter- 
 ing within his walls a power \\'\X\\ which the United 
 States were at war. He concluded by soliciting the 
 expulsion of tlie hostile Creeks and British from Pen- 
 sacola and the Barrancas, and by requesting him to 
 point out the course he was about to pursue. 
 
 The governor, however, felt himself growing in im- 
 portance. He had received intelligence from Europe 
 of the defeat and imprisonment of Napoleon Buona- 
 parte, — he had placed arms in the hands of savages 
 " for the purposes of self-defence" — many of them were 
 flocking into his territory, and more even yet ex- 
 pected — the British had already landed a partial 
 
266 I'ENSACOLA. 
 
 force, and a greater one was daily looked for. Against 
 this certain and expected strength, added to what his 
 own resources could supply, he believed an American 
 general would not venture to advance. These consi- 
 derations led him to assume a lofty tone in his answer 
 to Jackson. He arraigned the conduct of the United 
 States, in extinguishing the Indian title on the Ala- 
 bama ; in harbouring the pirates of Barataria ; in dis- 
 regarding and violating their treaties ; and he pointed 
 out the danger to which the restoration of peace in 
 Europe might shortly expose them. 
 
 He was as yet ignorant of the energy of the man 
 already near his borders, and who, to march against 
 and break down his fancied securities, did not desire 
 to be ordered, but only to be apprised by his country 
 that he was at liberty to do it. Jackson determined 
 again to address him, and to close the correspondence 
 by exhibiting fully the grounds of complaint and accu- 
 sation against him, in a style at least as courtly as his 
 own. He accordingly despatched to him the following 
 letter. 
 
 " Were I clothed," he remarks, " with diplomatic 
 power for the purpose of discussing the topics em- 
 braced in the wide range of injuries of which you com- 
 plain, and which have long since been adjusted, I could 
 easily demonstrate that the United States have been 
 always faithful to their treaties, stead flist in their 
 friendships, nor have ever claimed anything that was 
 not warranted by justice. They have endured many 
 insults from the governors and other officers of Spain, 
 which, if sanctioned by their sovereign, amounted to 
 acts of war, without any previous declaration on the 
 
LETTER TO THK SPANISH GOVERNOR. 2G7 
 
 subject They have e.vcited the savages to war, and 
 afforded then, the means of waging it: the property 
 Of our citizens has been captured at sea, ami if com- 
 pensation has not been refused, it has at least been 
 witlilield. But, as no such powers have been delegated 
 to me, I shall not assume them, but leave them to the 
 representatives of our respective governments. 
 
 " I have the honour of being intrusted with the 
 command of this district. Charged with its protection 
 and the safety of its citizens, I feel my abilitv to dis- 
 charge the task, and trust your excellency will always 
 find me ready and willing to go forward in the per- 
 formance of that duty, whenever circumstances shall 
 render it necessary. I agree with you, perfectly, that 
 candour and polite language should, at all times, 
 characterize the communications betw^eon the officers 
 of fnendly sovereignties ; and I assert, without the 
 lear of contradiction, that my former letters were 
 couched m terms the most respectful and une.vception- 
 able. I only requested, and did not demand, as you 
 have asserted, the ringleaders of the Creek confede- 
 racy, who had taken refuge in your town, and who 
 had violated all laws, moral, civil, and divine. This I 
 had a right to do, from the treaty which I sent you, 
 and which r now again enclose, with a request tha[ 
 you will change your translation, believing, as I do, 
 hat your former one was wrong, and has deceived 
 )ou. What kind of an answer you returned, a refer- 
 ence to your letter will explain. The whole of it 
 breathed nothing but hostility, grounded upon assumed 
 lacts and false charges, and entirely evading the in- 
 quiries that hau Ven made. 
 
•26S PENS AGO LA. 
 
 " lean bat express my astonishment at your protest 
 against tlie cession on the Alabama, lying within the 
 acknowledged jurisdiction of the United States, and 
 which has been ratified in due form by the principal 
 chiefs and warriors of the nation. But my astonish- 
 ment subsides, when, on comparing it, I find it upon a 
 par with the rest of your letter and conduct ; taken 
 together, they afford a sufficient justification for any 
 consequences that may ensue, ^ly government will 
 protect every inch of her territory, her citizens, and 
 their property, from insult and depredation, regardless 
 of the political revolutions of Europe : and although 
 she has been at all times sedulous to preserve a good 
 understanding with all the world, yet she has sacred 
 rights that cannot bo trampled upon with impunity. 
 Spain had better look to her own intestine commo- 
 tions, before she walks forth in that majesty of 
 strength and power which you threaten to draw upon 
 the United States. 
 
 " Your excellency has been candid enough to 
 admit your having supplied the Indians with arms. In 
 addition to this, I have learned that a British flag has 
 been seen flying over one of your forts. All this is done 
 whilst you are pretending to be neutral. You cannot 
 be surprised, then, but on the contrary Avill provide a 
 fort in your tow n for my soldiers and Indians, should 
 I take it in my head to pay you a visit. 
 
 "In future, I beg you withhold your insulting 
 charges against my government, for one more inclined 
 to hsten to slander than I am ; nor consider me any 
 more as a diplomatic character, unless as proclaimed 
 to you from the mouths of my cannon." 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE BRITISH. 
 
 269 
 
 Arrival of British ships at Pensacola. 
 
 On the 25th of August, three British ships of war 
 arrived at Pensacola, and garrisoned the fort at that 
 place with three hundred men. At the same time a 
 large quantity of arms and munitions of war were de- 
 posited there, the whole destined for the use of a large 
 armament which the British were preparing in the 
 West Indies for the conquest of the Mississippi val- 
 ley. Colonel Nicholls, the British commander, issued 
 the following audacious address to the people of 
 Louisiana and Kentucky. 
 
 " Natives of Louisiana ! — On you the first call is 
 made to assist in hberating from a faithless, imbecile 
 government, your paternal soil. Spaniards, French- 
 men, Italians, and British, whether settled, or residing 
 for a time in Louisiana, on you also 1 call to aid me 
 in this just cause. The American usurpation in this 
 country must be abolished, and the lawful owners of 
 the soil put in possession. I am at the head of a large 
 
270 PENSACOLA. 
 
 body of Indians, well armed, disciplined, and com- 
 manded by British officers — a good train of artillery, 
 with every requisite, seconded by the powerful aid ot 
 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 has distinguished the 
 conduct of Britons in Europe, accompanies 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 property, 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 satisfaction for the wrongs they 
 have suffered from the Americans ; to join you in libe- 
 rating these southern provinces from their yoke, and 
 drive them into those limits formerly prescribed by 
 my sovereign. The Indians have pledged themselves 
 in the most solemn manner not to injure in the slight 
 est degree the persons or property of any but enemies. 
 A fiag over any door, whether Spanish, French, or 
 British, ^^ ill 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 chil- 
 dren, the red men, by their good conduct and treat- 
 ment to them, will, (if it be possible,) make the 
 Americans blush for their more inhuman conduct 
 lately on the Escambia, and within a neutral territory. 
 Inhabitants of Kentucky ! you have too long borne 
 
NICHOLLS' PROCLAMATION. 271 
 
 with grievous impositions — the whole brunt of the war 
 has follen on your brave sons: be imposed on no 
 longer ; but cither range yourselves under the standard 
 of your forefathers, or observe a strict neutrality. If 
 you comply with either of these offers, whatever provi- 
 sions you send down, will be paid for in dollars, and 
 the safety of the persons bringing it, as well as the free 
 navigation of the Mississippi, guarantied to you. 
 Men of Kentucky ! let me call to your view (r»nd 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 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 spend- 
 ing millions of her treasure in endeavouring to pull 
 down one of the most formidable and dangerous ty- 
 rants that ever disgraced the form of man — when 
 groaning Europe was almost at her last gasp — when 
 Britons alone showed an undaunted front, — basely did 
 these assassins endeavour 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 revenge the unprovoked 
 insult. Show them that you are not collectively un- 
 just; leave that contemptible few to shift for them- 
 selves : let those slaves of the tyrant send an embassy 
 to Elba, and implore his aid ; but let every honest, 
 upright American spurn them with united contempt. 
 After the experience of twenty-one years, can you 
 longer support these brawlers for liberty, who call it 
 freedom when themselves are free? Be no longer 
 17 
 
272 PENSACOLA. 
 
 their dupes, — accept of my offers — everything I have 
 promised in this paper I guaranty to you on the 
 sacred honour of a British officer. Given under my 
 hand, at my head quarters, Pensacola, this 29th day 
 of August, 1814. 
 
 "Edward Nicholls." 
 
 The sacred honour of a British officer ! Coming, 
 as he says, " at the head of a large body of savages" 
 to " free the people of America from litigious taxes,''^ 
 while the people of England were at the very moment 
 paying enormous taxes to support him and his family. 
 However, here is this man of " sacred honour" telling 
 the Americans that his " head quarters" are at Pensa- 
 cola, though the Spaniard pleaded his neutrality. 
 
 Immediately on seeing this proclamation, General 
 Jackson again urged on the government the reduction 
 of Pensacola. In one of his letters he says : — 
 
 " How long will the United States pocket the re- 
 proach and open insults of Spain ? It is alone by a 
 manly and dignified course that we can secure respect 
 from other nations and peace to our own. Tempori- 
 zing policy is not only a disgrace, but a curse to any 
 nation. It is a fact that a British captain of marines 
 is and has been for some time ens^aged in drillinsr and 
 organizing the fugitive Creeks, under the eye of the 
 governor; endeavouring by his influence and presents 
 to draw to his standard as well the peaceable as hos- 
 tile Indians. If permission had been given me to 
 march against this place twenty days ago, I would 
 ere this have planted there the American Eagle ; now 
 we must trust alone to our valour, and the justice of 
 
ATTACK ON FORT BOWYER. 273 
 
 our cause. But my present resources are so limited, 
 —a sickly climate as well as an enemy to contend 
 with, and without the means of transportation to 
 change the position of my army, that, resting on the 
 bravery of riiy little phalanx, I can only hope for 
 success." 
 
 As soon as his business at Fort Jackson was com- 
 pleted he set out for Mobile, to place the country in a 
 state of defence. The third regiment, a part of the 
 forty-fourth and thirty-ninth, was all the regular force 
 he could at this time command. There were now so 
 many signs of an early visit from the enemy, that 
 Jackson wrote to his adjutant-colonel, Butler, and 
 ordered him to hasten forward with all the volunteers 
 he could procure, and join him without delay. The 
 order reached Nashville on the 9th of September, and 
 by the 28th, General Coffee commenced his march for 
 Mobile, at the head of two thousand volunteers ; while 
 Colonel Butler, with the greatest activity, hastened to 
 meet and push on the militia under Colonel Lowcry. 
 
 Nicholls had waited about tw^o weeks, that his pro- 
 clamation might take effectual hold and prepare the 
 inhabitants to open their bosoms to receive him, when 
 this delivering hero, aided by his Indian and Spanish 
 allies, set out to ascertain the effect it had WTought. 
 His first visit was to Fort Bowyer, situated on "the 
 extreme end of a narrow neck of land about eighteen 
 miles below the head of Mobile bay, and commanding 
 the entrance. The fort was defended by Major Law- 
 rence of the United States infantry, with one hundred 
 and thirty men. The attacking force consisted of two 
 ships and two brigs, under the command of Captain 
 
274 
 
 PENS A COLA. 
 
 Attack on Fort Bowyer. 
 
 Percy. They arrived off Mobile Point on the 15th of 
 September, and commenced a heavy cannonade. 
 Three hundred British and Indians were landed, who 
 erected a battery in the rear of the fort ; but they were 
 driven off by the fire of the garrison. The cannon- 
 ading continued during the day with great fury, the 
 British suffering much from the fire of the fort. At 
 evening one ship and the brigs abandoned their posi- 
 tion. The Hermes, the commodore's ship, had her cable 
 carried away, and drifted upon the shoals, where she 
 was exposed to the whole fire of the fort. Her re- 
 moval being impossible, her crew set fire to her, and 
 went on board the other vessels. The Hermes soon 
 blew up, and, on the next day, the squadron returned to 
 Pensacola. This repulse produced great chagrin and 
 disappointment among the British, ^vho had confidently 
 
JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION. 275 
 
 expected to capture the fort. That object attained, 
 Mobile would have been in their power, and an effectual 
 diversion made in favour of the army destined to ope- 
 rate against New Orleans. The result of the attempt 
 destroyed these brilliant expectations, and inspired the 
 American soldiers with that confidence in themselves 
 so indispensable to success. The fears which many 
 had entertained of the prowess of the so-called invin- 
 cible heroes of the Peninsula, gave place to an enthusi- 
 astic desire to meet and beat them in the field. The 
 loss of the British in this attack was two hundred and 
 thirty-two men killed and wounded ; that of the Ame- 
 ricans was four killed and four wounded. 
 
 "On the 17th General Jackson wrote a compli- 
 mentary letter to Major Lawrence, expressive of the 
 joy he felt on hearing of the glorious defence made by 
 the garrison under his command, and acquainting him 
 that he had despatched information of it to the general 
 government, who would not fail duly to reward the 
 brave defenders of the rights and honour of the Ame- 
 rican people."* 
 
 On the 21st of September Jackson issued the fol- 
 lowing proclamation to the people of Louisiana : 
 
 " Louisianians ! The base, the perfidious Britons 
 have attempted to invade your country— they had the 
 temerity to attack Fort Bowyer with their incongruous 
 horde of Indians and negro assassins — they seemed ta 
 have forgotten that this fort was defended by freemen 
 — they were not long indulged in their error — the 
 gallant Lawrence, with his little Spartan band, has 
 
 Latour. 
 
276 PENS A COLA. 
 
 given them a lecture that will last for ages ; he has 
 tauo[ht them what men can do when fighting for their 
 liberty, when contending against slaves. He has con- 
 vinced Sir W. H. Percy that his companions in arms 
 are not to be conquered by proclamations; that tlie 
 strongest British bark is not invulnerable to the force 
 of American artillery, directed by the steady, nervous 
 arm of a freeman. 
 
 " Louisianians ! The proud Briton, the natural and 
 sworn enemy of all Frenchmen, has called upon you, 
 by proclamation, to aid him in his tyranny, and to 
 prostrate the holy temple of our liberty. Can Louisi- 
 anians, can Frenchmen, can Americans, ever stoop to 
 be the slaves or allies of Britain ? 
 
 " The proud, vain-glorious boaster. Colonel Ni- 
 cholls, when he addressed you, Louisianians and Ken- 
 tuckians, had forgotten that you were the votaries of 
 freedom, or he would never have pledged the honour 
 of a British officer for the faithful performance of his 
 promise, to lure you from your fidelity to the govern- 
 ment of your choice. I ask you, Louisianians, can 
 we place any confidence in the honour of men who 
 have courted an alliance with pirates and robbers ? 
 Have not these noble Britons, these honourable men, 
 Colonel Nicholls and the honourable Captain W. H. 
 Percy, the true representatives of their royal master, 
 done this ? Have they not made offers to the pirates 
 of Barataria to join them and their holy cause ? And 
 have they not dared to insult you by calling on you to 
 associate as brethren with them and this piratical 
 banditti ? 
 
 " Louisianians ! The government of your choice is 
 
JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION. 277 
 
 engaged in a just and honourable contest for the secu- 
 rity of your individual and her national rights — on 
 you, a part of America, the only country on earth 
 where every man enjoys freedom — where its blessings 
 are alike extended to the poor and the rich — she calls 
 to protect these rights from the invading usurpation 
 of Britain ; and she calls not in vain. I well know 
 that every man whose soul beats high at the proud 
 title of freeman ; that every Louisianian, either by 
 birth or adoption, will promptly obey the voice of his 
 country, will rally round the eagle of Columbia, secure 
 it from the pending danger, or nobly die in the last 
 ditch in its defence. 
 
 " The individual who refuses to defend his rights, 
 when called upon by his government, deserves to be a 
 slave, and must be punished as an enemy to his coun- 
 try, and a friend to her foe. 
 
 " The undersigned has been intrusted with the de- 
 fence of your country — on you he relies to aid him in 
 this important duty ; in this reliance he hopes not to 
 be mistaken. He trusts in the justice of his cause 
 and the patriotism of his countrymen — confident that 
 any further attempt to invade our soil will be repelled 
 as the last, he calls not on either pirates or robbers to 
 join him in the glorious cause. 
 
 " Your governor has been fully authorized to or- 
 ganize any volunteer company, battalion, or regiment 
 which may proffer its services under this call, and is 
 informed of their probable destination." 
 
 The expected reinforcements from Tennessee hav- 
 ing arrived about the middle of October, General 
 Jackson determined to proceed immediately against 
 
278 PENSACOLA. 
 
 Pensacola. Jackson and his government had ever 
 viewed this expedition in very different lights: they 
 were not wilhng to risk a contest with Spain, for the 
 sake of removing what they considered an inconsider- 
 able injury : he thought it of more serious import, and 
 did not believe it could afford even a pretext for rup- 
 ture between the two nations. If Spain through her 
 agents permitted and encouraged a power with whom 
 she was at peace to be thus harassed and annoyed, she 
 deserved to be placed in the list of enemies, and treat- 
 ed accordingly. If, however. Great Britain, taking 
 advantage of the defenceless state of her province, 
 claimed free egress in exclusion of her authority, she 
 could have no well-founded cause of complaint against 
 the injured power, which should hold it until such 
 time as by bringing a sufficient force she might be in 
 a situation to support her neutrality, and enforce obe- 
 dience to her laws. Upon either ground he believed 
 it might be sufficiently justified. There was one, how- 
 ever, on which it could be placed, where he well knew 
 nothing could result beyond his own injury; and on 
 this issue he was w^illing to trust it. If any complaint 
 should be made, his government having never extended 
 to him an authority, might with propriety disavow^ the 
 act ; and by exposing him to censure and punishment, 
 it would be an atonement for the outrage, and Spain 
 in justice could demand no more. The attack on 
 Fort Bowyer w as a confirmation of his previous con- 
 jectures as to the views of the enemy ; and from that 
 moment he determined to advance against and reduce 
 Pensacola, throw a sufficient force into the Barrancas, 
 hold it until the principles of right and neutrality were 
 
ATTACK UN PENSACOLA. 079 
 
 better respected, and rest the measure on his own re- 
 sponsibiUty. Beheving this to be the only course that 
 could assure ultimate security, he had awaited only 
 the arrival of General Coffee to execute his intentions. 
 On the 26th of October, he visited Coffee's camp, 
 above Fort St. Stephen's, and concerted the plan of 
 action. Coffee's brigade had been strengthened by 
 accessions received during the march, augmenting his 
 numbers to twenty-eight hundred men. The scarcity 
 of forasje on the route to Pensacola rendered it neces- 
 sary for the forces to proceed thither on foot. One 
 thousand men from Coffee's brigade were accordingly 
 dismounted, and being united with the regular forces, 
 the Mississippi dragoons, and a small party of Choctaw 
 Indians, formed an army of about three thousand men. 
 On the 2d of November, Jackson commenced his 
 march, and arrived before Pensacola on the 6th, 
 without having met with any opposition. The tow^n 
 and forts were found to be prepared for defence ; the 
 former was defended by batteries erected in the streets, 
 and the broadsides of the British fleet, which com- 
 manded the principal entrance. Wishing to avoid 
 violence, if possible, Jackson sent Major Pierre, of 
 the forty-fourth regiment, under the protection of a 
 flag, to communicate with the governor, and ascertain 
 whether that functionary was willing to make the ne- 
 cessary reparation for his treacherous conduct, by 
 surrendering the refugees, and compelling the British 
 to quit his territory. He was also directed to require 
 the surrender of the town and forts, to be held by the 
 United States until Spain should be able to preserve 
 her neutrality. 
 
•280 PENSACOLA. 
 
 On approaching Fort St. Michael, on the walls of 
 which floated the standard of Spain, he was fired at 
 by the garrison, and compelled to retire, without ac- 
 complishing his object. This outrage was sufficient 
 to have justified General Jackson in taking the most 
 violent measures to obtain redress : but he resolved to 
 make one more eflfort to settle the matter amicably. 
 He wrote a letter to the governor, demanding the 
 reason of the insult oflfered to his flag, and inviting 
 him to open a negotiation. This he sent by a Spanish 
 corporal, who had fallen into his hands on the previous 
 day. The governor replied that the act of firing upon 
 the flag had been committed by the British, against 
 his wishes ; and that he would willingly adjust the dif- 
 ferences by pacific means. Jackson accordingly re- 
 peated his demand for the surrender of the forts, 
 engaging to restore them to the Spanish authorities 
 as soon as they should be sufficiently powerful to pro- 
 tect themselves against the aggressions of the British. 
 In his conmmnication to the governor he remarked — 
 
 "I come not as the enemy of Spain ; not to make 
 war, but to ask for peace ; to demand security for my 
 country, and that respect to which she is entitled and 
 shall receive. My force is sufficient, and my determi- 
 nation taken, to prevent a future repetition of the inju- 
 ries she has received. I demand, therefore, the pos- 
 session of the Barrancas, and other fortifications, Avith 
 all your munitions of war. If delivered peaceably, the 
 whole shall be receipted for, and become the subject 
 of future arrangement, by our respective governments; 
 while the property, laws, and religion of your citizens 
 will be respected. But if taken by an appeal to arms, 
 
STORM IN (J OF THE SPANISH BATTERY. 281 
 
 let the blood of your subjects be upon your own head. 
 I will not hold myself responsible for the conduct of 
 my enraged soldiers. One hour is given you for deli- 
 beration, when your determination must be had." 
 
 The governor summoned his officers to consider 
 the demands of the American general, and they were 
 declared inadmissible. Jackson then prepared to 
 execute his threat. At an early hour on the morning 
 of the 7th of November he put his army in motion, 
 and proceeded towards the town. The British and 
 Spaniards expected that his approach would be made 
 upon the main road, and the guns of the squadron 
 were accordingly brought to bear upon that entrance. 
 To keep up this persuasion, five hundred mounted men 
 were ordered to proceed along the road, appearing to 
 be the advance of the army, \A'hile General Jackson 
 with the main body made a partial circuit and ap- 
 proached on the beach at the east side. The advance 
 was composed of one company of the third regiment, 
 led by Captain Laval. The remainder of the regular 
 troops formed the centre ; on the right were the Mis- 
 sissippi dragoons and Choctaws, on the left Coffee's 
 mounted and dismounted volunteers. The troops en- 
 tered the town at a quick pace, and proceeded along 
 the street, where they found a battery defended by 
 Spanish soldiers. Captain Laval w as severely wound- 
 ed by the enemy's fire, which proceeded from the bat- 
 tery, the houses, fences, and every point which afforded 
 any protection. Notwithstanding his fall, his company 
 rushed forward, carried the battery, and drove the 
 Spanish troops from all their positions. The governor, 
 terrified at the defeat of his troops, came forward with 
 
282 PENSACOLA. 
 
 a flag of truce, and offered to comply with the de- 
 mands of Jackson without further resistance. The 
 firing was accordingly stopped, on condition that the 
 forts should be immediately surrendered. But when 
 the American officers demanded possession of Fort 
 St. Michael, they were refused, and the guns of the 
 fort discharged, wounding two men. Enraged at this 
 treachery, Jackson ordered the place to be stormed, 
 and the garrison put to the sword ; when the Spaniards, 
 perceiving the impossibility of successful resistance, 
 surrendered. 
 
 The Barrancas, commanding the entrance to the 
 harbour, being situated six miles from the town, and 
 night having nearly closed in, it was determined to 
 defer taking possession of it until the next morning. 
 Early in the morning the men were drawn out for the 
 purpose of proceeding to the fort, when three loud 
 reports told the unfortunate consequences of the delay. 
 Foreseeing that the capture of the post was inevitable, 
 the British had prevailed upon the garrison to destroy 
 it^that the Americans might not be able to impede the 
 escape of the squadron from the harbour. 
 
 Major Gales, who was sent with two hundred men 
 to ascertain the extent of the damage, found the forti- 
 fications destroyed, and all the guns but two spiked. 
 The British had all retreated to their ships and left the 
 harbour, and the hostile Indians dispersed at the ap- 
 proach of the American forces. 
 
 The destruction of the Barrancas made a consid- 
 erable change in the plans of General Jackson. The 
 importance of Pcnsacola as a rendezvous to the British 
 was very much diminished by this event, and the loss 
 
JACKSON EVACUATES PENSACOLA. 2S5 
 
 
 ^^f'>l{''^^^ 
 
 Retreat of the British from Peiisacola on the approach of Jackson. 
 
 of the principal means of defence rendered its main- 
 tenance by the Americans extremely hazardous. 
 Other reasons combined to induce a change in the 
 designs of the general. ' The Spaniards had been 
 taught a lesson which would probably operate to re- 
 strain them from affording further assistance to the 
 British : and the departure of the latter excited ap- 
 prehensions that they might again return to Fort 
 Bowyer, and make another attack upon that impor- 
 tant, though weakly defended post. Jackson therefore 
 resolved to evacuate Pensacola, and take a position 
 whence he would be able to strike a blow at the enemy, 
 whenever occasion should offer. On the 9th of No- 
 vember, he restored the town and forts to the Spaniards, 
 and took up the line of march for Mobile. The loss 
 
286 
 
 PENSACOLA. 
 
 Landing of Creeks. 
 
 suffered by tlie American forces in the expedition 
 against Pensacola was astonishingly small. Not a 
 man -svas killed, and but fifteen or twenty wounded. 
 Among the latter were Captain Laval, and Lieutenant 
 Flournoy, who lost one of his legs by the fire of the 
 Spanish battery. Captain Laval was left at Pensacola, 
 where he received every attention from the governor. 
 The hostile Creeks, who had assembled in con- 
 siderable numbers at Pensacola, and who had dis- 
 persed at the appearance of General Jackson, had 
 chiefly taken refuge on board of the British fleet, which 
 conveyed them to the Apalachicola river, where they 
 were landed, and furnished with the means of defence. 
 Jackson, aware of the importance of destroying their 
 strength before they were able to commit any further 
 ravages upon the Americans, sent INTajor Blue, of the 
 thirty-ninth regiment, at the head of one thousand 
 mounted men, to demolish their towns, and effectually 
 
PENSACOLA AND TOULON. 287 
 
 break their organization. Tiiis service being performed, 
 he was ordered to return to Mobile. 
 
 To the capture of Pensacola by Jackson, " we find 
 a corresponding measure in the history of his great 
 contemporary in arms, the emperor of the French. 
 At Toulon, Napoleon Buonaparte, who w^as then only 
 a Heutenant of artillery, assumed the authority of act- 
 ing against orders proclaimed by his superiors, and 
 which, in his own language, had he failed ' would have 
 forfeited his head.' Although General Jackson did 
 not disobey orders, as was the fact with Buonaparte, 
 still he entered a neutral town, relying on his know- 
 ledge that Pensacola had forfeited all the ridits of 
 neutrality ; and in this he risked his fame and reputa- 
 tion, if not his life. In the two cases there is a parallel, 
 which shows that a truly great mind is not narrowed 
 down and confined to those limits which the law in 
 all its potency is pleased to circumscribe. There are 
 times when the necessity of the crisis (of \\ hich a 
 commanding general should judge) sweeps away the 
 barriers which the law 1ms established for ordinary 
 life, as though they were but cobwebs in the place of 
 legal fetters ; and there are times, too, when the con- 
 duct of a commander could not be sustained unless he 
 violated the law. The cases of Toulon and Pensacola 
 are in point; and although the responsibility be great, 
 still the stretch of mind and the depth of intellect must 
 fathom it." * 
 
 * Wright's Eulogy. 
 
Jackson in 1815, from a portrait by Sully. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS— BATTLE OF THE TWENTY-THIRD 
 OF DECEMBER. 
 
 HE general peace which 
 had been concluded among 
 the powers of Europe in 
 April, 1814, and which had 
 resulted in consijrninfj Na- 
 poleon to Elba, enabled 
 England to concentrate her 
 whole military and naval 
 power upon our shores. In addition to the warlike 
 movements on our northern and western frontiers, the 
 whole line of our seaboard was invaded at various 
 
DESIGNS OF THE BRITISH. 289 
 
 point?;, from the Passamaquoddy to the Mississippi. 
 Baltimore was attacked — Havre de Grace was burned 
 — Alexandria was pillaged, and our National Capitol 
 itself was destroyed ! The Senate Chamber and the 
 Hall of Representatives — the President's House and 
 the buildings for the heads of departments — the library 
 of the nation and the records of the government — the 
 works of science and the labours of art — were all in- 
 volved in one general conflagration by the torch of 
 the invading foe ! And the disciplined Vandals of 
 Europe, who had perpetrated these outrages, together 
 with an inmiense swarm ^"om the same hive, by the 
 way of the West Indies, were advancing upon New 
 Orleans, with a watchword that proclaimed to a brutal 
 soldiery that the wealth of the city, and the wives and 
 daughters of its inhabitants, should be given up to the 
 ravaging cupidity and despoiling lust of the victors.* 
 
 General Jackson was at first uncertain with respect 
 to the operations of the enemy; but he soon saw that 
 the city of New Orleans, from its wealth, its important 
 position, its exposed situation, and the reported disaf- 
 fection of a large part of its population, would be se- 
 lected as the point of attack. Information received 
 by the general during the progress of the operations 
 hi Florida, had represented the West Indian arma 
 ment to be in a state of forwardness which indicated 
 an early movement. As soon, therefore, as he had 
 provided for t!ie security of Mobile, he determined to 
 proceed to the capital of Louisiana. The fact that 
 there was no general officer in the United States ser- 
 
 * Lewis's Eulogy. 
 
290 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Vice in his district to wliom he could commit the 
 cotiimand of the eastern portion of It, delayed his 
 journey for a time. On the 22d of November, how- 
 ever, Brigadier-General Winchester arrived in the 
 Alabama, and Jackson started for New Orleans. Ge- 
 neral Coffee, and Colonel Hinds of the Mississippi dra- 
 goons, were ordered to proceed to a point near to the 
 city, where they could be ready to march to its defence 
 at the shortest notice. On the 1st of December Gene- 
 ral Jackson arrived in the city, which he found wholly 
 unprepared for defence, and many of its inhabitants, 
 including not a few high in office, disinclined to assist 
 him in his efforts to protect it. Fortunately, in Go- 
 vernor Claiborne, the executive of Louisiana, Jackson 
 possessed a devoted and efficient auxiliary, who imme- 
 diately entered upon his arduous task with a deter- 
 mination that want of success should not be owing to 
 any dereliction on his part. 
 
 The attention of the general had been directed to 
 the condition of New Orleans ever since his appoint- 
 ment to the command of the military district in wliich 
 it was situated. The difficulties which presented 
 themselves to the successful defence of this important 
 point, would have filled with despair a mind less vigor- 
 ous and self-confident. The principal of these were, 
 the disaffection which was too rife among the popula- 
 tion, the facility of access to the city, and the absence 
 of sufficient forces to defend it. Louisiana, at the 
 time of its purchase by the United States, only three 
 years previously, was peopled almost exclusively by 
 Frenchmen and their descendants. A much smaller 
 number of Spaniards, and a very few of English or 
 
DISAFFECTION OF THE INHABITANTS. 291 
 
 American descent, completed the number. After it 
 became a member of the American union, the Anglo- 
 American population became more numerous ; bu! at 
 the time of which we speak, they were far inferior in 
 number to the French. Besides the classes we have 
 enumerated, there were very many foreigners of other 
 nations, among whom were numerous subjects of the 
 British crown, whom the desire of gain had drawn 
 thither. But a small portion of the whole number of 
 mhabitants had been born on the soil; and it could 
 scarcely be expected that those whose first breath had 
 been drawn in foreign lands, whose every association 
 was repugnant to American habits, and whose preju- 
 dices were against the peculiar institutions of the 
 country in which they Hved, would be willing to peril 
 their lives m support of them. But the disaffection 
 of many of the inhabitants of Louisiana was not 
 merely a vision of the imagination. Facts which 
 could not be misunderstood came to the knowledge 
 of General Jackson, proving that there were manytn 
 the state who would not only refuse to aid in its de- 
 fence, but would even be willing to aid the enemy that 
 threatened it with all the horrors of a hostile invasion. 
 It was by this class that information was constantly 
 conveyed to the British of the movements, and, as far 
 as was possible, of the intentions of the American 
 general. To prevent this, Jackson at an early period 
 prohibited all communication between Pensacola and 
 New Orleans ; but he was never able to prevent the 
 enemy from receiving accurate intelligence of every 
 event of importance which transpired in the city or 
 camp. 
 
292 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 It must not be supposed from these remarks that 
 the French inhabitants of Louisiana refused to respond 
 to the call of the country in the hour of her peril. The 
 great body of that class, which comprised the oldest 
 and wealthiest families in the state, entered warmly 
 into the measures taken by the military and civil au- 
 thorities to preserve the integrity of their territory. 
 
 On the 15th of September, shortly after the hostile 
 designs of the British government upon Louisiana be- 
 came known, a meeting of the citizens of New Orleans 
 was held, who resolved to support to the extent of 
 their ability the authority of the government, and the 
 honour of the American arms. A committee of safety 
 was appointed to co-operate with and assist the go- 
 vernor in the execution of such measures as might 
 be deemed expedient for the defence of the city. This 
 committee addressed their fellow-citizens in the fol- 
 lowing patriotic strain : 
 
 " Fellow-Citizens ! Named by a numerous assembly 
 of the citizens of New Orleans to aid the constituted 
 authorities in devising the most certain means of 
 guarding against the dangers which threatened you, 
 our first duty is to apprise you of the extent of those 
 dangers. Your open enemy is attacking you from 
 without, and by means of his vile agents dispersed 
 through the country, endeavours to excite to insurrec- 
 tion a more cruel and dangerous one in the midst 
 of you. 
 
 "Fellow-Citizens! The most perfect union is neces- 
 sary among all the individuals which compose our 
 community ; all have an equal interest in yielding a 
 full and free obedience to their magistrates and officers, 
 
ADDRESS OF THE COMMITTEE. 295 
 
 and in forwarding their views for the public good — all 
 have not only their property, but their very existence 
 at stake; you have, through your representatives in 
 the convention, contracted the solemn obli^mtion of 
 becoming an integral part of the United States of 
 America; by this measure you secured your own so- 
 vereignty, and acquired the invaluable blessing of in- 
 dependence. God forbid that we should believe that 
 there are any among us disposed to fail in the sacred 
 duties required by fidelity and honour. A just idea 
 of the geographical situation of your country will con- 
 vince you that your safety, and in a greater degree 
 your prosperity, depends on your being irrevocably 
 and faithfully attached to a union with the other states ; 
 but if there exist among you men base and mad enough 
 to undervalue their duties and their true interest — let 
 them tremble on considering the dreadful evils they 
 will bring down upon themselves and upon us, if by 
 their criminal indifference they favour the enterprises 
 of the enejuy against our beloved country. 
 
 " Fellow-citizens! The navigation of the Mississippi 
 is as necessary to two millions of our western brethren, 
 as the blood is to the pulsation of the heart — those 
 brave men closely attached to the union, will never 
 suffer, whatever seducing offers may be made to them 
 — they will never suffer the state of Louisiana to be 
 subject to a foreign power; and shoull the events of 
 war enable the enemy to occupy it, they will make 
 every sacrifice to recover a country so necessary to 
 their existence. A war ruinous to you would be the 
 consequence : the enemy to whom you would have had 
 the weakness to yield, would subject you to a military 
 
\19Q NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 dj^potism, of all others the most dreadful; your es- 
 tate.-^, your slaves, your persons would be put in requi- 
 sition, and you would be forced at the point of the 
 bayonet to fight against those very men whom you 
 have voluntarily chosen for fellow-citizens and brethren. 
 Beloved countrymen : listen to the men honoured by 
 vour confidence, and who will endeavour to merit it ; 
 listen to the voice of honour, of duty, and of nature ; 
 unite ! form one body, one soul, and defend to the 
 last extremity your sovereignty, your property — de- 
 fend your own lives, and the dearer existence of your 
 wives and children." 
 
 Notwithstanding this appeal from some of the 
 oldest and most influential citizens: notwithstanding 
 every exertion of the governor; a large part of the 
 population refused to enter the ranks, or contribute in 
 any way to the defence of the state. Governor Clai- 
 borne, with whom Jackson maintained a constant cor- 
 respondence, saw clearly the extent of the evil, and 
 used all his influence to engage his fellow-citizens on 
 the side of their country. On the 8th of September, 
 previous to the meeting which we have mentioned, he 
 issued a general order, directing the military compa- 
 nies of the city to be mustered for inspection and 
 exercise twice, and those in the country at least once in 
 each week. Having recapitulated the evident indica- 
 tions of an invasion, he exhorted every citizen to be pre- 
 pared and determined at all times and at every hazard 
 to do his duty. The militia were particularly enjoined 
 to look to the condition of their arms, and to provide 
 themselves with ammunition and the necessary camp 
 clothing ; and all were or(l(.>red to communicate to 
 
CLAIBORNE'S ORDER. 297 
 
 their superior officers every information concerning 
 the movements or designs of foreign or domestic 
 enemies. " The intrigues," proceeded the order, " the 
 means of corruption by wliich in other countries our 
 enemy has so much profited, will doubtless be at- 
 tempted here. But his character is well understood, 
 and it is lioped that his arts will not avail him. In 
 defence of our homes and families there surely will be 
 but one opinion — one sentiment. The American 
 citizen, on contrasting his situation with that of the 
 citizen or subject of any other country on earth, will 
 see abundant cause to be content with his destiny. 
 He must be aware how little he can gain and how 
 much he must lose by a revolution or a change of 
 government." 
 
 The drafts which were made upon the militia were 
 very scantily supplied ; many individuals refusing to 
 serve after having been drafted. Many Frenchmen, 
 having given their adhesion to Louis XVIII., refused 
 to comply with the requisitions of the governor, and 
 claimed the protection of the French consul. Not- 
 withstanding these defections, however, there still re- 
 mained a number of loyal citizens, who obeyed with 
 alacrity the call of the governor, and enrolled them- 
 selves in military companies. The free men of colour, 
 a numerous class in New Orleans, the greater part of 
 whom were natives of St. Domingo, manifested a warm 
 attachment to their adopted country. Being informed 
 of the favourable dispositions of this class, General 
 Jackson issued a proclamation on the 21st of Septem- 
 ber, calling upon them, as sons of freedom, to defend 
 this, their most inestimable blessing. "As Ameri- 
 
298 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 cans,'' he continues, " your country looks with confa- 
 dence to her adopted children for a valorous support, 
 as a faithful return for the advantages enjoyed under 
 her mild and equitable government. As fathers, hus- 
 bands, and brothers, you are summoned to rally round 
 the standard of the eagle, to defend all which is dear 
 in existence." * * * " Due regard will be paid to 
 the feelings of freemen and soldiers. You will not, 
 by being associated with white men in the same corps, 
 be exposed to improper comparisons or unjust sar- 
 casm. As a distinct, independent battalion or regi- 
 ment, pursuing the path of glory, you will, undivided, 
 receive the applause and gratitude of your country- 
 men." A battalion w^as formed pursuant to this pro- 
 clamation, and placed under the command of Major 
 Daquin, a highly respectable citizen of New Orleans. 
 This corps formed an efficient part of General Jack- 
 son's arniy, and distinguished itself highly in the 
 actions of the 23d of December and 8th of January. 
 That the exposed situation of New Orleans may 
 be rendered perfectly intelligible, we will give a short 
 description of the geography of the city and vicinity. 
 New Orleans is built upon a low piece of ground, on 
 the north side of the river Mississippi, about one hun- 
 dred miles fronj its mouths. The course of the river 
 below New Orleans is nearly southeast, flowing 
 through a low country, much of which is swampy 
 and covered with cypress trees. Notwithstanding its 
 distance from the mouth of the river. New Orleans is 
 far from being an inland town, being approached 
 within thirteen miles on the eastward by an arm of 
 the sea called Lake Borgne. This lake is of consi- 
 
GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION. 299 
 
 derable extent, but too shallow to permit the entrance 
 of large vessels. To the northwest of Lake Borgne, 
 and communicating with it, is Lake Pontchartniin, 
 which extends some distance beyond the city. These 
 lakes are connected by a narrow passage about four 
 miles long, called the Chef-Menteur. The narrowest 
 part of this passage was defended by the fort of Pe- 
 tites Coquilles. Near the western extremity of Lake 
 Borgne it is joined by a small river, called the Bayou 
 Bienvenu, which drains the basin immediately below 
 the city. This bayou communicated with a canal 
 passing through the plantation of Major.-General Vil- 
 lere to the Mississippi. Stretching from the entrance 
 of Lake Borgne to the opening of Mobile bay, is a 
 chain of small islands. I'he westernmost of these is 
 called Cat Island. Ship Island, Dog Island, the Isle a 
 Corne, and Dauphine Island, arc the principal in the 
 chain. The latter is situated near the mouth of Mo- 
 bile bay, and was the rendezvous of the British after 
 the campaign against New Orleans. 
 
 The geographical situation of the city thus offered 
 two avenues for the approach of an enemy : the river 
 Mississippi, and the lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain. 
 For the defence of the river a fort had been erected 
 by the French at the Balize ; but it had long since 
 fallen into ruins. At the Detour Plaquen)incs, sixty 
 miles below the city, was a work called Fort St. Philip, 
 which was wholly insufficient for the defence of the 
 stream ; but which might with little labour be rendered 
 almost impassable to a hostile armament. On the 
 right bank of the river, opposite Fort St. Philip, there 
 had formerly been a fortification named Fort Bourbon ; 
 
300 NEW ORLEANS, 
 
 but it also was in ruins. Before the departure of 
 General Jackson from Mobile, ho had directed Colonel 
 Hayne, the inspector-general, to ascertain the state 
 of the river defences, and where effectual resistance 
 could be made. The colonel reported that the re-es- 
 tablishment of the post at the Balize would be useless, 
 as it would not command the river sufficiently to pre- 
 vent the passage of an enemy's fleet ; but that Fort 
 St. Philip afforded every facility for defence. It was 
 situated in a bend of the river, commanding the chan- 
 nel for a considerable distance below. The turn of 
 the stream forms a point of land below the fort, on the 
 opposite side, which being covered with timber, would 
 mask an approaching vessel. This wood was ordered 
 to be cut down, that the fire of the fort might rancje 
 across the point. At the site of Fort Bourbon a bat- 
 tery was conmienced which would place an ascending 
 force between two fires. Other batteries were to be 
 constructed on the same side as St. Philip, but consi- 
 derably above ; and by these different works the river 
 would be commanded for nearly two miles. Should 
 a hostile force succeed in passing Fort St. Philip, it 
 was believed that it could be stopped at the English 
 turn, about twelve miles below the city. The bend of 
 the river here was even greater than at Plaquemines, 
 and was also strongly fortified. 
 
 Unfortunately, the defences of the other great ave- 
 nue of approach were far less adequate to the purpose 
 for which they were required. The passage between 
 the lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain was, as has been 
 stated, defended by a battery at Petites Coquilles: 
 and it was supposed to be sufficiently strong to repel 
 
JACKSON'S MILITARY FORCE. 301 
 
 any attack which could be made upon it. But the 
 entrance to Lake Borgne, impassable indeed to large 
 vessels, but readily accessible to those of light draught, 
 was secured only by five gun-boats. This force, how- 
 ever, was supposed to be capable of repulsing an at- 
 tack by boats, in which alone the enemy would be 
 able to reach them. To render the approach by Lake 
 Borgne more difficult, numerous parties of militia were 
 sent out to cut down trees, and throw them across the 
 small bayous which might afford a landing-place, and 
 to obstruct as much as possible, every channel by 
 which the enemy might reach the land. It was gene- 
 rally expected that they would attempt to reach the 
 city by the Mississippi river ; but if they should take 
 the other route, the general believed that the defences 
 were sufficiently strong to keep them at bay. 
 
 But by far the greatest difficulty which presented 
 itself to the American general w as the want of suffi- 
 cient military force. The army w hich he had brought 
 from Mobile consisted only of Coffee's Tennessee 
 volunteers, Hinds' company of cavalry, and the 7th 
 and 44th regiments, amounting to about fifteen hun- 
 dred men. The city volunteers added three hundred, 
 and the battalion of men of colour, two hundred; 
 making a total, with the troops in garrison at Fort St. 
 Phihp, of only two thousand five hundred men. This 
 force all saw^ to be wholly incompetent to the defence 
 of a city so exposed against a veteran army of many 
 times its number, aided by the powerful naval force 
 which the British had assembled in the West Indies 
 for this expedition. To remedy the deficiency, General 
 Jackson made every effort, in which he was nobly 
 
302 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 seconded by the executives of Kentucky, Tennessee, 
 and Louisiana. By a circular letter of the secretary 
 of war, dated July 4th, 1814, directing the governors 
 of the several states to hold in readiness their quotas 
 of an army of ninety-three thousand five hundred 
 men, Kentucky was directed to raise five thousand 
 five hundred, Tennessee two thousand five hundred, 
 and Louisiana one thousand. On the Gth of August, 
 in pursuance of this letter. Governor Claiborne of 
 Louisiana issued a general order, apportioning the 
 quota assigned to the state between the two divisions 
 of militia; and he subsequently exerted himself ac- 
 tively to fill the ranks. The number required, how- 
 ever, was never obtained ; the whole number of Lou- 
 isianians in the army of General Jackson being less 
 than nine hundred. 
 
 The venerable and patriotic Shelby, governor of 
 Kentucky, responded to the orders of the secretary, 
 and the urgent requests of Jackson, by immediately 
 organizing his quota of men, under the command of 
 Major-General Thomas. The quarter-master's de- 
 partment being unable to furnish the supplies necessary 
 for the men, several private individuals contributed 
 from their own property sufficient funds to enable the 
 detachment to commence its progress down the Ohio 
 river. Unfortunately, the most strenuous endeavours 
 could not obtain arms sufficient for the division. 
 Owing to the drain caused by the northern campaigns, 
 firearms of all descriptions were exceedingly scarce in 
 Kentucky; and many of the men were obliged to pro- 
 ceed without arms, in the hope that they would be 
 able to procure them on their arrival at the camp. 
 
TENNESSEE TROOPS. 
 
 3 0.3 
 
 Embarkation of the Tennessee troops. 
 
 Major-Geneml Carroll, whose gallantry we have 
 before had occasion to notice, was appointed to the 
 command of the force to be drawn from Tennessee. 
 On the 19th of December, his division rendezvoused 
 at Nashville ; and on the 27th, the last of them em- 
 barked for New Orleans. On the voyage down the 
 Mississippi, Carroll seized every opportunity to instruct 
 his men in military evolutions, and render them fa- 
 miliar with the manoeuvres of the field. In this man- 
 ner, they improved considerably in military knowledge, 
 and became used to concert of action. They were 
 still, however, far from being equal to the veteran sol- 
 diers which the enemy was about to bring against 
 them. 
 
 On the day of his arrival at New Orleans, General 
 
304 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Jackson descending Ihe Mississippi to exumme llie rorliUcaiious 
 
 Jackson reviewed the city battalion of volunteer com* 
 paniesj whose good appearance and skill in military 
 evolutions gave him great satisfaction. His appear- 
 ance re-aniinated the spirits of the patriotic citizens, 
 who had begun to despair of success. The fame of 
 his victories in the west had reached their ears, and 
 his known firmness and acknowledged military skill 
 filled them with hope and confidence. The effect of 
 this change was seen in the increased activity with 
 which the warlike preparations were carried on, the 
 accessions to the ranks of the militia and volunteers, 
 and the cheerful air which every countenance wore 
 after his arrival, lie immediately entered upon the 
 
THE CITY FORTIFIED. 
 
 305 
 
 Fortifying of New Orleans. 
 
 arduous task of preparing to meet an enemy whose 
 force was known to be greatly superior, and whose 
 troops were flushed with recent victory over the 
 bravest soldiers of Europe. Two days after reach- 
 ing the city, he proceeded down the Mississippi, to 
 examine in person the fortifications upon which its 
 defence depended. He ordered several additional 
 pieces of cannon to be mounted in Fort St. Philip, and 
 directed that the batteries by which it was to be flanked 
 should be immediately constructed. Having taken 
 the necessary measures for executing his plans, he 
 returned to New Orleans on the 9th of December, 
 and proceeded at once on a similar tour of in.-pection 
 to the lakes. Having ordered the erection of a bat- 
 tery at the confluence of the river Chef-Menteur and 
 
 19 
 
306 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 the Bayou Sauvage, he returned to the city. He 
 communicated to the governor the measures he had 
 taken for the defence of the river, and invited the 
 co-operation of the members of the legislature, to 
 complete the fortifications as soon as possible. For 
 this purpose he suggested that the planters should 
 furnish negro labourers, without compensation : the 
 security of their slaves depending entirely upon the 
 success of the defenders of the country. Pursuant to 
 this recommendation, the legislature authorized Go- 
 vernor Claiborne to call into the public service the 
 negroes of the parishes of Plaquemines, St. Bernard, 
 St. Charles, and St. John Baptist, and to employ them 
 upon the fortifications of the river. 
 
 The naval forces stationed at New Orleans, con- 
 sisting of six gun-boats and several small vessels, were 
 commanded by Commodore Daniel T. Patterson. 
 Five gun-boats and two tenders were stationed upon 
 the lakes, under the command of Lieutenant Thomas 
 Ap-Catesby Jones. Early in December Commodore 
 Patterson received an anonymous communication, 
 dated at Pensacola, December 5th, informing him of 
 the presence of a large British fleet, numbering about 
 eighty vessels, oflf that port ; and stating that a much 
 greater number were momentarily expected. On the 
 arrival of the remainder of the armament, oifensive 
 operations were to be commenced immediately against 
 New Orleans. On receiving this intelligence. Lieu- 
 tenant Jones was ordered to reconnoitre the enemy, 
 and retreat at his approach to the Kigolets, where he 
 was to defend himself to the last extremity. The 
 lieutenant detached gun-boats Nos. 23 and 1G3, com- 
 
REC 
 
 Snnoissances. 307 
 
 British fleet nfl" Pensacola. 
 
 mandcd by Lieutenant M'Keever and Sailing-Master 
 Ulrick, to Dauphine Island. On the 9th of December 
 these officers discovered two of the enemy's vessels 
 at sea, steering westward towards the entrance of 
 Lake Borgne. The gun-boats immediately made sail, 
 and kept on the same course as the enemy, under 
 shelter of the island, until nightfall. The enemy's 
 vessels having anchored, the gun-boats rejoined the 
 flotilla. Apprehending a night attack, the vessels 
 were kept under sail all night. When day broke, a 
 numerous fleet was seen at anchor between Cat and 
 Ship islands. 
 
 The flotilla then proceeded to the pass Mariana, 
 where it anchored. The following day was occupied in 
 putting the gun-boats in the best condition for defence ; 
 and on the 12th the enemy were reconnoitred from 
 the eastern extremity of Cat Island. The hostile force 
 was discovered to be considerably increased since its 
 first appearance ; and on the 13th Lieutenant Jones 
 
308 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 deemed it prudent to retire to the bay of St. Louis. 
 At ten A. M., a larj^e flotilla of barijes was discovered 
 making for the pass Christiana. This was supposed 
 to be a debarkation of troops ; but the barges con- 
 tinuing tlieir course to the westward after jjainins: the 
 pass Christiana, Lieutenant Jones was convinced that 
 they intended to attack him. He attempted to make 
 sail ; but found the depth of water, owing to the long 
 continuance of westerly winds, and the lo^^ness of the 
 tide, insufficient to float a part of his squadron. After 
 great exertions, the tide having begun to rise, he suc- 
 ceeded in getting under weigh, and made sail for 
 Petites Coquilles. 
 
 At a quarter before four P. M. the enemy sent 
 seven barges to cut out the Seahorse, which had been 
 sent into the bay of St. Louis to remove some' public 
 stores deposited there. The barges \verc repulsed 
 with loss : but Mr. Johnson, who commanded the Sea- 
 horse, knowing his inability to defend her against the 
 whole force of the enemy, and prevented by them from 
 rejoining the gun-boats, blew up his vessel, and set 
 fire to the public property on shore. The gun-boats 
 proceeded until one A. M. on the 14th, when the wind 
 died away, and they were obliged to anchor in the 
 western extremity of the passage behind Malheureux 
 Island. The dawn of day disclosed the enemy at an- 
 chor about nine miles distant. They soon advanced 
 towards the gun-boats, which were prevented by the 
 perfect calm and a strong counter current from re- 
 treating. Unable to avoid an action. Lieutenant Jones 
 made his dispositions very judiciously. The vessels 
 
G U N - B O A T ACTION. 
 
 309 
 
 Blowing up of the Seahorse. 
 
 were anchored by the stern, with springs upon their 
 cables, in a hne across the passage. 
 
 Having captured the tender Alhgator, with one 
 four-pounder and eight men, the enemy continued to 
 advance until they were just out of gun-shot, when 
 they came to, for a short time, to allow their men to 
 get their breakfasts. At half-past ten, they again 
 came on. Unfortunately, gun-boats 156 and 163 had 
 been forced from their anchorage by the current, and 
 drifted one hundred and fifty yards in advance of the 
 line. The squadron fired upon the enemy as they 
 advanced, and at ten minutes before eleven they re- 
 turned the fire from their whole line. The contest 
 now became spirited and obstinate. Repeated attempts 
 were made to board No. 156, which were as often 
 beaten ofl", until Lieutenant Jones being severely 
 wounded, and nearly all his crew disabled, at ten 
 minutes past twelve, superior numbers prevailed, and 
 
310 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 the British succeeded in gaining her deck. Her guns 
 were immediately turned upon the remaining vessels, 
 which were carried, but not till many of the enemy's 
 boats Avere sunk, and a great number of officers and 
 men killed and wounded. At twenty minutes before 
 one P. M., the battle ended by the surrender of 
 No. 23. 
 
 The conduct of the Americans in this engagement 
 well deserved the high commendation which the nation 
 lavished upon the brave men who composed their force. 
 Against an immense superiority of numbers and force, 
 unable to manoeuvre their vessels, and exposed to a 
 severe fire, they maintained the contest for more than 
 two hours, and only surrendered when the enemy had 
 gained their decks, and overpowered them by numbers. 
 The whole number of guns in the five American ves- 
 sels was 23, and of men one hundred and eighty-three. 
 The British force consisted of twelve hundred men, in 
 forty-five boats, mounting 43 pieces of cannon. They 
 lost several boats sunk, and at least three hundred men, 
 including many officers, killed or wounded ,• while the 
 American loss in men was but six killed and thirty- 
 five wounded. Lieutenants Jones, M'Keever and 
 Pedder, and Sailing-Master Parker, were all severely 
 wounded before their flags were struck. 
 
 When the intelligence of the capture of the gun- 
 boats was communicated to General Jackson, it caused 
 him to feel great anxiety for the safety of Mobile. 
 The importance of this post as the key to the Indian 
 territory was very great, and Jackson had done all 
 that his circumstances allowed to secure it against 
 any attack of the British. Upon the gun-boats he 
 
COMMODORE PATTERSON. 311 
 
 had relied principally for the protection of the channels 
 by which the rear of Fort Bowyer might be gained ; 
 and their loss, and the consequent increase of the 
 available force of the enemy, caused much chagrin. 
 He immediately informed General Winchester, at 
 Mobile, of the event, and ordered him to defend Mo- 
 bile Point at all hazards ; impressing upon his mind, 
 at the same time, the immense injury which would 
 accrue to the American arms by its loss. 
 
 Commodore Patterson, after officially informing 
 the governor of the loss of the squadron, requested 
 the legislature to take some steps to procure a suffi- 
 cient number of sailors to man the vessels upon the 
 river, intended for the defence of New Orleans. In 
 compliance with his request, a law was passed by 
 which six thousand dollars was appropriated for the 
 purpose of giving bounties to sailors, to enlist in the 
 United States service. In this manner, and by laying 
 a temporary embargo upon the vessels in port, a suf- 
 ficient number of seamen were obtained to man the 
 ship Louisiana, and the schooner Carolina, which af- 
 terwards did great service. 
 
 On the 15th, perceiving that the British would pro- 
 bably succeed in landing, having entire command of 
 Lake Borgne, General Jackson sent expresses to Ge- 
 nerals Coffee, Carroll, and Thomas, to hasten their 
 approach. General Coffee, who had been previously 
 ordered to take a station whence he might without 
 delay reach New Orleans, had advanced to Sandy 
 Creek, near Baton Rouge. lie arrived there, after a 
 tedious and difficult march, about the 8th of December. 
 Jackson ordered him to repair immediately to New 
 
312 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Orleans. On the 18th, the New Orleans and Louisiana 
 volunteers and militia, who had been regularly mus- 
 tered into the service of the United States, were re- 
 viewed by the general, on . their respective parades. 
 He addressed each corps in language calculated to 
 arouse all their ardour and patriotism, and to fill them 
 with a wish to meet the enemy. 
 
 " FelloAv-citizens and soldiers !" said he to the mi- 
 litia, " the general commanding in chief would not do 
 justice to the noble ardour that has animated you in 
 the hour of danger, he would not do justice to his own 
 feelings, if he suffered the example you have shown to 
 pass without public notice. Inhabitants of an opulent 
 commercial town, you have by a spontaneous effort 
 shaken off the habits which are created by wealth, 
 and shown that you are resolved to deserve the bless- 
 ings of fortune by bravely defending them. Long 
 strangers to the perils of war, you have embodied 
 yourselves to face them with the cool countenance of 
 veterans — and with motives of disunion that might 
 operate on weak minds, you have forgotten the dif- 
 ferences of language and prejudice of national pride, 
 and united with a cordiality that does honour to your 
 understandings as well as to your patriotism. 
 
 . " Natives of the United States ! They are the op- 
 pressors of your infant political existence with whom 
 you are to contend — they arc the men your fathers 
 fought and conquered whom you are now to oppose. 
 Descendants of Frenchmen! Natives of France! 
 They are English ; the hereditary, the eternal enemies 
 of your ancient country, the invaders of that you have 
 adopted, who are your foes. Spaniards ! Remember 
 
ADTMIKSS TO THE TROOPS. 315 
 
 the conduct of your allies at St. Sebastian, and re- 
 cently at Pcnsacola, and rejoice that you have an 
 opportunity of avenging the brutal injuries iiiilicted by 
 men ^vho dishonour the human race. Louisiariinns ! 
 Your general rejoices to witness the spirit that ani- 
 mates you, not only for your honour, but your safety ; 
 for whatever had been your conduct or wishes, his 
 duty would have led, and did lead him to confound the 
 citizen unmindful of his rights, with the enemy he 
 ceases to oppose. Commanding men who know their 
 rights and are determined to defend them, he salutes 
 you as brethren in arms, and has now a new motive 
 to exert all his fliculties, which shall be strained to the 
 utmost in your defence. Continue with the energy 
 you have begun, and he promises you not only safety, 
 but victory over an insolent foe, who has insulted you 
 by an affected doubt of your attachment to the con- 
 stitution of your country. Your enemy is near ; his 
 sails already cover the lakes : but the brave are united ; 
 and if he find us contendinor anions ourselves, it will 
 be for the prize of valour, and fame, its noblest 
 reward." 
 
 The battalion of men of colour he addressed thus : 
 "Soldiers: From the shores of Mobile I collected you 
 to arms ; I invited you to share in the perils, and to 
 divide the glory of your white countrymen. I ex- 
 pected, much from you ; for I was not uninformed of 
 those qualities which must render you so formidable 
 to an invading foe. I knew that you could endure 
 hunger and thirst, and all the hardships of war. I 
 knew that you loved the land of your nativity ; and 
 that, like ourselves, you had to defend all that is most 
 
316 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 dear to man — but you surpass my hopes. I have 
 found in you, united to those qualities, that noble en- 
 thusiasm which impels to great deeds." 
 
 The moments were precious. Since his arrival in 
 New Orleans, Jackson had not failed to make the 
 most of his time. Never was a more wonderful ac- 
 tivity displayed ; and never, within so short a period, 
 was order seen to succeed to confusion, confidence to 
 despondency. The resources which incapacity never 
 finds — because it neither knows how to seek them 
 where they already exist, nor to draw them forth 
 where they may lie latent — discovered and created by 
 the combined power of genius and perseverance, rose 
 from all sides at the bidding of the will which sum- 
 moned them. The Tennessee militia under General 
 Carroll, the mounted riflemen commanded by General 
 Coffee, both generals of militia, had at last arrived. 
 The latter came in a single march from Baton Rouge 
 to within two leagues of New Orleans, a distance of 
 thirty leagues ! These troops had made the campaign 
 against the Creeks, and had driven out the English 
 from Pensacola. They were volunteers — men of 
 family and substance. Patriotism had led them to the 
 iicld ; honour alone kept them there ; for no law had 
 summoned them. Jackson left them encamped only 
 a few miles from the city. He did not wish these de- 
 tachments to be counted ; it was a part of his policy 
 to exaggerate his forces, to deceive the spies, and to 
 impose upon the enemy. Besides, he did not wish, 
 before the battles, to exhibit to a population accus- 
 tomed to see no other soldiers than those equipped in 
 military costume, these warriors of the west, with 
 
THE HABEAS CORPUS. 317 
 
 their strange accoutrements and their peculiar, disci- 
 pline, suitable to their fashion of warfare, but so little 
 in accordance with the regularity of permanent troops. 
 Without, however, collecting his forces together, 
 Jackson took care to distribute them in such a manner 
 as to be readily able to bring them in a single mass 
 upon New Orleans ; and to attack the enemy with his 
 whole assembled force immediately on his disem- 
 barkation. 
 
 The Legislature of the state were at this time in 
 session. In order to prevent communications with 
 the enemy, and the protection of spies and traitors, 
 with whom the country was filled, Jackson applied to 
 them to grant a suspension of the habeas corpus act. 
 After an animated discussion, the proposition was 
 rejected. This determination to leave undisturbed 
 this popular remedy, so noble in itself, but susceptible 
 of so dangerous a use in the hands of feeble or disaf- 
 fected magistrates, disturbed General Jackson. He 
 looked on the presence of a deliberative assembly in a 
 besieged city as dangerous ; especially when that as- 
 sembly had not been elected with a special charge to 
 meet the crisis now existing or anticipated. It weakens 
 the energy of power by dividing it. If events should 
 take an unfavourable direction, it would serve as a 
 means of action to the evil-disposed. The dema- 
 gogues of disorder would make use of it as a pedestal 
 on which to raise themselves, and to scatter from a 
 higher elevation over the people at large the puerile 
 alarms which agitated them. While, if the issue hung 
 long in suspense, it would harass itself with the tor- 
 ture of an inactive expectation. Envy would take 
 
PslS NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 possession of little minds, which would be annoyed to 
 find no longer fixed on them the attention which the 
 nation always extends to him who fights, in preference 
 to him Avho merely speaks in its cause. Besides, the 
 more manly portion of that assembly had felt the ridi- 
 cule of the part they were there made to play. The 
 more generous spirits were unwilling to remain in 
 seats of inglorious security, v.hile Jackson was hold- 
 ing open the li>;ts to all who felt their hearts thrill to 
 the sound of arms. Several senators, musket in hand, 
 had taken their places in the ranks as privates ; others, 
 who had served in Europe, took the command of the 
 guns, or posts of inferior service in artillery. Such a 
 division be tween the men of action and their col- 
 leagues could not but degrade the latter in the opinion 
 of the public. Besides, this same legislature had be- 
 fore, at a moment of <\\pected danger, supported the 
 militia who refused to defend their country at the call 
 of General Flournoy ; and now refusing to suspend 
 the writ of habeas corpus, General Jackson, fearing 
 that they might defeat the means which he saw neces- 
 sary to the defence of the state and city, suspended 
 their councils, on the IGth of December, by declaring 
 the city and environs of New Orleans under martial 
 law. 
 
 Every person entering the city was required imme- 
 diately to report himself to the adjutant-general ; and 
 on failing to do so, he was arrested and held for ex- 
 amination. None were to depart from it, or be suf- 
 fered to pass beyond the chain of sentinels, but by 
 permission from the commanding general, or one of 
 the staff. Nor was any vessel or craft to be permitted 
 
MARTIAL LAW DECLARED. 321 
 
 to sail on the river or the lakes, but by the same 
 authority, or a passport signed by the commander of 
 the naval forces. The lamps were to be extinguished 
 at nine o'clock at night ; after which time, all persons 
 found in the streets or from their respective homes, 
 without permission in writing, signed as above, were 
 to be arrested as spies, and detained for examination. 
 
 At a crisis so important, and from a persuasion that 
 the country in its menaced situation could not be 
 saved by the exercise of any ordinary powers, he be- 
 lieved it best to adopt a course which would be effi- 
 cient, even if it partially endangered the rights and 
 privileges of the citizen. He proclaimed martial law, 
 believing that necessity and policy required it, " under 
 a solemn conviction that the country committed to his 
 care could by such a measure alone be saved from 
 utter ruin, and from a religious belief that he was per- 
 forming the most important and sacred duty. By it 
 he intended to supersede such civil powers as in their 
 operation interfered with those he was obliged to ex- 
 ercise. He thought that at such a moment constitu- 
 tional forms should be suspended for the preservation 
 of constitutional rights ; and that there could be no 
 question whether it were better to depart for a mo- 
 ment from the enjoyment of our dearest privileges, or 
 have them wrested from us for ever. 
 
 " In thus placing the defence of this measure upon 
 the highest law of nature and of nations — that of over- 
 ruling necessity in self-preservation, he stood upon 
 nnpregnaye ground, so far as principle was involved, 
 whatever differences of opinion may exist with regard 
 to the application of the principle, or the existence of 
 
302 NEW OR LEA MS. 
 
 the dire necessity of resorting to a measure so ex 
 traordinary."* 
 
 A few days after the declaration of martial law, 
 " Judge Hall, by a writ of habeas corpus, undertook to 
 interfere with a military arrest. Jackson forthwith 
 ordered the intermeddling judge beyond his camp. 
 On the return of peace the judge also returned, and 
 resumed his judicial functions, summoning the general 
 to appear and answer for this alleged contempt. 
 Jackson appeared ; and his counsel, when they would 
 have argued his defence, were silenced by the judge, 
 who proceeded to impose upon the general a fine of 
 one thousand dollars. This act was most deeply re- 
 sented by the people of New Orleans, who filled the 
 court, and whose enthusiasm for the saviour of their 
 city knew no bounds. But General Jackson restrained 
 and rebuked their fervour, declaring his cheerful sub- 
 mission to the law, and giving them to understand 
 that the same arm which had saved the city should be 
 raised, if needful, to protect the court. The citizens, 
 indignant at this act of judicial revenge, were never- 
 theless withheld from violence."! 
 
 " The ladies of New Orleans raised the money to 
 dischar<i^e the fine : but the jrcneral declined rcceivino- 
 it, and requested thiit it might be distributed amono" 
 the widows and orphans of those who had fallen in 
 the battle. 
 
 "Jackson foresaw the day — too long delayed — 
 but which came at last, when twenty millions of free- 
 men, speaking through the national congress, should 
 
 * Lewis's Eulogy. fBolles's Eulogy. 
 
LANDING OF THE BRITISH. 323 
 
 vindicate the rectitude of his conduct, and declare to 
 mankind that America does not wilhngly allow her 
 valiant defenders to be fined and reproached for 
 effecting their country's salvation."* 
 
 But to return from the defence of the general to 
 the defence of the city. The gun-boats having been 
 captured, and the enemy having entire command of 
 the lakes, it was obvious to General Jackson that it 
 would be useless to attempt to oppose his landing. 
 He knew that success depended on a prompt defensive 
 movement — his only hope rested on a successful attack 
 to be made on the invading army the moment they 
 landed. In answer to an express from General Car- 
 roll, whose division had been delayed on its way to 
 New Orleans, he said, " I am resolved, feeble as my 
 force is, to assail the enemy on his first landing, and 
 perish sooner than he shall reach the city." This de- 
 termination, thus nobly expressed, was promptly 
 executed. 
 
 On the morning of the 23d of December, guided 
 by some Spanish fishermen, the enemy effected a 
 landing at the junction of the Bayou Bienvenu and 
 Lake Borgne, and surprising the small guard posted 
 there, hastened forward to the bank of the Mississippi, 
 which they reached about nine miles below the city. 
 There they were discovered about noon by Majors 
 Tatum and Latour, who immediately reported their 
 discovery to General Jackson. Resolving that night 
 to meet the invaders, Jackson made every preparation 
 to act. The signal guns were fired, and expresses 
 
 *Bolles's Eulogy. 
 20 
 
:3-24 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Arrival oi llie IJnUili lied. 
 
 sent forward to concentrate the forces. Althoufjh en- 
 camped four miles above, Generals Coffee and Carroll 
 arrived in the city in less than two hours after the 
 order had been issued. These forces, with the 7th 
 and 44th regiments, the Louisiana troops, and Colonel 
 Hinds' dragoons, constituted the strength of his army, 
 which could be carried into action against an enemy 
 whose numbers at this time could only be conjectured. 
 Uncertain of the enemy's movements, it was thought 
 advisable to leave Carroll and his division, and Go- 
 vernor Claiborne with the state militia behind, to take 
 post on the Gcntilly road loading from Chef-Montour 
 to New Orleans, lest the landing below should be only 
 a feint intended to conceal a real attack from the upper 
 part of Lake Borgne. 
 
 Alarm pervaded the city. The marching and 
 countermarching of the troops — the proximity of the 
 enemy — with the approaching contest, and uncertainty 
 of the issue, had excited a general fear. Colonel 
 
PLAN OF ATTACK, 327 
 
 Haync, with two companies of riflemen and tlic Mis- 
 sissippi dragoons, was sent forward to harass and op- 
 pose the advance of the British. Every! hi i g being 
 at last ready, General Jackson commenced his march 
 to meet and fight the veteran troops of England. 
 
 An inconsiderable circumstance, at this moment, 
 evinced the unlimited confidence which was reposed 
 in his 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 
 to address them in the French language. "Say to 
 them," said he, " not to be alarmed ; the enemy shall 
 never reach the city." The effect was electrical. To 
 know that he himself was not apprehensive of a fatal 
 result, inspired them with altered feehngs ; sorrow 
 was ended, and their grief converted into hope and 
 confidence. 
 
 Jackson arrived in view of the enemy a little before 
 dark. Having formed a junction with Colonel Ilayne, 
 he learned from him the position of the invaders, and 
 that their strength was about two thousand men.* 
 A plan of attack was instantly concerted. Commodore 
 Patterson, commanding the naval forces, with Captain 
 Henly, on board the Caroline, was directed to drop 
 down, anchor in front of their line, and open upon 
 
 *This was roal'y the strength of the British when Colonel Ilayne 
 saw them ; but reinforcements continually arriving by the way of uie 
 Bayou Bienvcnu, had at the beginning of the battle increased their 
 number to three thousand. 
 
328 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 them from the guns of the schooner: which beincr the 
 signal for attack, it was to be waged simultaneously 
 on all sides. The enemy's camp-fires disclosed his 
 position, and showed his encampment, formed with 
 the left resting on the river, and extending nearly at 
 right angles into the open field. General Coffee, with 
 his brigade, Colonel ilinds' dragoons, and Captain 
 BeaPs company of riflemen, was ordered to oblique to 
 the left, and by a circuitous route avoid their pickets, 
 and endeavour to turn their ri^ht wino; ; havinir sue- 
 ceeded in this, he was instructed to form his line, and 
 press the enemy towards the river, where they would 
 be exposed more completely to the fire of the Caroline. 
 The rest of the troops, consisting of the regulars, Plan- 
 che's city volunteers, Daquin's coloured troops, and 
 the artillery under Lieutenant Spots, supported by a 
 company of marines commanded by Colonel M'Kee, 
 advanced along the bank of the Mississippi, their right 
 resting on the river, and were commanded by Jackson 
 in person. 
 
 The astonishment, dismay, and confusion of the 
 British, when attacked by the Caroline, cannot be 
 better described than in the words of one of their own 
 subalterns.* 
 
 " The day passed without any alarm ; and dark- 
 ness havinij set in, the fires were made to blaze with 
 increased splendour, our evening meal was eat, and we 
 prepared to sleep. But about half-past seven o'clock 
 the attention of several individuals was drawn to a 
 large vessel, which seemed to be stealing up the river 
 
 * Campaigns of tin- Britisli Army at Washington and New Orleans. 
 
ATTACK OF THE CAROLINE. 309 
 
 till she came opposite to our camp ; when her anchor 
 was dropped and her sails leisurely furled. At first 
 Nve were doubtful whether she might not be one of 
 our own cruisers which had passed the port unobserved, 
 and had arrived to render her assistance in our future 
 operations. To satisfy this doubt, she was repeatedly 
 hailed, but returned no answer ; when an alarm spread- 
 ing through the bivouac, all thought of sleep was laid 
 aside. Several musket shots were now fired "at her 
 with the design of exacting a reply, of which no notice 
 was taken ; till at length, having fastened all her sails 
 and swung her broadside towards us, we could dis- 
 tinctly hear some one cry out in a commanding voice, 
 'Give them this for the honour of America.' The 
 words were instantly followed by the flashes of her 
 guns, and a deadly shower of grape swept down num- 
 bers in the camp. 
 
 " Against this dreadful fire we had nothing wnat- 
 ever to oppose. The artillery which we had^ landed 
 was too light to bring into competition with an adver- 
 sary so powerful ; and as she had anchored within a 
 short distance of the opposite bank, no musketry 
 could reach her with any precision or effect. A kw 
 rockecs were discharged, which made a beautiful ap- 
 pearance in the air ; but the rocket is an uncertain 
 weapon ; and these deviated too far from their object 
 to produce even terror among those against whom 
 they were directed. Under these circumstances, as 
 nothing could be done offensively, our sole object was 
 to shelter the men as much as possible from this iron 
 hail. With this view they were commanded to leave 
 42 
 
330 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 the fires, and to hasten under the dyke.* Thither all 
 accordingly repaired, without much regard to order 
 and regularity ; and laying ourselves along wherever 
 we could find room, we listened in painful silence to 
 the scattering of grape-shot among our huts, and to 
 the shrieks and groans of those who lay wounded 
 beside them. 
 
 " The night was now as dark as pitch, the moon 
 being. but young, and totally obscured with clouds. 
 Our fires, deserted by us, and beat about by the 
 enemy's shot, began to burn red and dull ; and, except 
 when the flashes of those guns which played upon us 
 cast a momentary glare, not an object could be distin- 
 guished at the distance of a yard. In this state we 
 lay for nearly an hour, unable to move from our 
 ground, or offer any opposition to those who kept us 
 there ; when a straggling fire of musketry called our 
 attention towards the pickets, and warned us to pre- 
 pare for a closer and more desperate strife. As yet, 
 however, it was uncertain from what cause this drop- 
 ping fire arose. It might proceed from the sentinels, 
 who, alarmed by the cannonade from the river, mis- 
 took every tree for an American ; and till this should 
 be more hilly ascertained, it would be improper to ex- 
 pose the troops, by moving any of them from the shel- 
 ter which the bank afforded. But these doubts were 
 not permitted to continue long in existence. The 
 dropping fire having paused for a few moments, was 
 succeeded by a fearful yell, and the heavens were illu- 
 
 * Called by the Louisianians " Icvce," nn enibankmont formed 
 alon" the river to confine it in its bod. 
 
COFFEE'S ATTACK. 333 
 
 ininated on all sides by a semicircular blaze of mus- 
 ketry. It was now clear that we were surrounded, 
 and that by a very superior force ; and, therefore, no 
 alternative remained, but either to surrender at discre- 
 tion or to beat back the assailants." 
 
 This "very superior force" was Coffee's brigade 
 of about six hundred dismounted riflemen, which the 
 fears of the enemy, at this time three thousand strong, 
 magnified into an army of thousands. The attack 
 had been commenced somewhat prematurely by the 
 Caroline; otherwise the astonishment of the British 
 would have been fatal. The levee would have afforded 
 them no protection. Attacked on three sides at once, 
 they would have been compelled to retreat before an 
 inferior force or surrender at discretion. When 
 General Coffee arrived at the edge of the ditch sepa- 
 rating the plantations of Laronde and Lacoste, he or- 
 dered his men to dismount, and leaving one hundred 
 men to guard the horses, pushed forward with the re- 
 mainder, and gained, as he believed, the centre of the 
 enemy's line. At this instant the signal from the 
 Caroline reached him ; he wheeled his columns into 
 an extended line, according to the orders he had pre- 
 viously received, and moved towards the camp. He 
 had scarcely advanced more than a hundred yards, 
 when he was fired upon by the enemy in front. This 
 to him was an unexpected occurrence, as he supposed 
 the enemy to be lying principally on the bank of the 
 river, and thought that the only opposition he would 
 meet until he should reach the levee would be from 
 the advanced guards. The circumstance of his com- 
 ing up with them so soon, was in consequence of the 
 
334 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 severe attack of the schooner, whicli had compelled 
 them to abandon their camp, and take refuge behind 
 the dyke. Coffee ordered his line to advance in si- 
 lence, and to fire without order, but only when certairi 
 of their object. The line pressed on, and having 
 gained a position in the rear of Lacoste's garden, and 
 near enough to the enemy to distinguish them by the 
 uncertain light of the moon, a brisk fire was com- 
 menced, which Avas the more destructive, as not a man 
 discharged his rifle without doing execution. This 
 continued shower of deadly bullets was too severe to 
 be long withstood ; the enemy gave way and retreated 
 — they rallied, formed, were charged, and again re- 
 treated. The gallant Tennesseeans, led by their 
 brave commander, urged fearlessly on, and drove 
 them from every position they attempted to maintain, 
 until they reached the bank of the river. Here a de- 
 termined stand was made, and further encroachments 
 resisted. For half an hour the contest 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 suflered 
 greatly, the latter were under the necessity of taking 
 refuge behind a strong bank, which afforded a breast- 
 work, and protected them from the fatal fire of Cofice's 
 riflemen. CoflTee, unacquainted with their true posi- 
 tion, was again about to order another charge, when 
 one of his aids, who had advanced near enough to 
 gain the information, assured him that such a course 
 would be too hazardous ; that they coukl be driven 
 no further, and would from the point they occupied 
 resist with the bayonet, and repel, with considerable 
 
COFFEE'S ATTACK. 335 
 
 loss, any attempt 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 being en- 
 croached upon and undermined in several places. 
 The old one, however, was still entire in many parts, 
 and gave them security from the broadsides of the 
 schooner, which lay off* at a little distance. A fur- 
 tlier apprehension, lest, by moving still nearer to the 
 river, he might expose himself to the fire of the Caro- 
 line, which yet maintained the conflict with spirit, 
 induced Coffee to retire, until he could hear from the 
 commanding general, and receive his further orders. 
 
 Durino- the whole of this time, the detachment of 
 cavalry under the command of Major Hinds, not being 
 able to manoeuvre in fields cut up with ditches at very 
 close intervals, remained drawn up on the edge of a 
 ditch, in the middle of Lacoste's plantation. Captain 
 Beale's company of Orleans riflemen advanced on 
 the left of Coflfee's line until they were separated from 
 them in the first charge. They then pushed forward 
 into Villerc-'s plantation, almost in the midst of the 
 detachments of the enemy continually arriving from 
 the boats. They were principally engaged with a 
 corps near the old levee, which they forced to re- 
 treat. In the meantime. Coffee discovered that some 
 of the British had posted themselves among the negro 
 huts on his right. He immediately moved to the 
 right, drove them from the huts, and took a po- 
 sition near the boundary of Laronde's plantation. 
 Captain Beale's company having penetrated into the 
 very camp of the enemy and made several prisoners, 
 
336 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 puslied forward to the right, following Coffee's move- 
 ment, with the intention of effecting a junction. Un- 
 fortunately, a party of them, owing to the darkness, 
 fell among a large corps of the British, thinking them 
 friends, and were made prisoners. The others, follow- 
 ing the road to the right, soon joined General Coffee 
 with several prisoners. 
 
 While the left wins was thus drivintr before them 
 a superior force, the right wing under Jackson was 
 not inactive. On hearing the signal from the Caro- 
 line, the whole line moved forward along the bank of 
 the river, until they were stopped by a heavy fire from 
 behind a fence immediately before them. This brought 
 the enemy to view ; and Jackson ordered his line to 
 advance, and not to waste their ammunition at ran- 
 dom, but make every shot tell. A fog arising from 
 the river, and the smoke from the guns, gradually di- 
 minis'icd the little light shed by the moon, and greatly 
 increased the darkness of the night. The enemy 
 could only be discovered by the flash of their muskets. 
 This left no alternative to the assailants but to move 
 on in the direction of the fire, which subjected them to 
 great disadvantages, and finally prevented the left of 
 the line from joining the right of Coffee's, as had been 
 intended. The battery of two field-pieces was formed 
 on the road, and the British were driven from their 
 first position at the point of the bayonet. They re- 
 tired, however, only until they came to a deep ditch, 
 on the side of which there was a rail fence, where 
 they again formed, and, strengthened by large rein- 
 forcements, opposed the advance of the Americans. 
 Having waited until they approached sufficiently near 
 
JACKSON'S ATTACK. 337 
 
 to be (Hstiiictly seen, the enemy discharged a fire upon 
 the advancing army. Instantly the little battc^ry in 
 ttie road was again formed, and poured destructively 
 upon them ; while the infantry, pressing forward, aided 
 in the conflict, which was' at this point for some time 
 spiritedly maintained. At this moment, a brisk sally 
 ^vu.s made upon the American advance ; the marines, 
 unequal to the assault, were already giving way, when 
 the adjutant-general, and Colonels Piatt and Chotard 
 with a part of the 7th regiment, h;)stening to their sup- 
 port, drove back the enemy, and saved the artillery 
 from capture. General Jackson, perceiving the de- 
 cided advantages which w ere derived from the position 
 occupied by the enemy, ordered tlicir line to be 
 charged. The order was executed wnh promptness. 
 Pressing on, the troops gained the ditch, and pouring 
 across it a well-aimed fire, compelled them to retreat, 
 and to abandon their intrenchment. They only fled a 
 short distance, to renew the contest behind another 
 fence or ditch, which they as obstinately defended, 
 but were, in like manner, forced to yield. 
 
 The British then formed the design of turning the 
 American left ; but they were met and repulsed by Da- 
 quin's and the battalion of city guards, and again fell 
 back in the darkness. The enemy had now been thrice 
 assailed and beaten, and for nearly a mile compelled to 
 yield their ground. They had now retired, and were 
 only to be found by seeking through the darkness of 
 the night. The general determined to halt and ascer- 
 tain Coffee's position and success, previously to con- 
 tinuing the action ; for as yet no communication had 
 passed between them. He entertained no doubt, 
 
338 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 from the brisk firing in that direction, that he had been 
 warmly engaged ; but this had now nearly subsided. 
 The Caroline, too, had almost ceased her operations ; 
 it being only occasionally that the noise of her guns 
 disclosed the little opportunity she had of acting 
 efficiently. 
 
 The express despatched to General Jackson from 
 the left w'mn havingr reached him, he determined to 
 prosecute the successes he had gained no further. He 
 had already accomplished his object: checked the 
 British on their first landinnf, and civen them a slicrht 
 foretaste of what he had in store for them, if they 
 should proceed any farther. General Coffee was ac- 
 cordingly directed to withdraw, and take a position 
 at Larondc's plantation, where the line had been first 
 formed ; and thither the troops on the right were also 
 ordered to march. An order was sent to General 
 Carroll, calling upon hmi to hasten with his brigade 
 to the scene of action, with the intention of renewing 
 the battle as soon as there was sufficient light. Pre- 
 viously, however, to his arrival, a dilTerent determina- 
 tion was made. From prisoners who had been brought 
 in, and through deserters, it was ascertained that the 
 strength of the enemy during the battle had been in- 
 creased to four thousand men. The Americans num- 
 bered only twenty-five hundred, including Carroll's 
 brigade. This superiority of the enemy made it mad- 
 ness to think of acting on the offijnsive in open day. 
 
 Although very decided advantages had been ob- 
 tained, vot they had been procured under circumstances 
 which niiglit be wholly lost in a contest waged in day- 
 light between forces so disproportionate, and by un- 
 
JACKSON FORTIFIES HIS CAMP. 339 
 
 disciplined troops, against veteran soldiers. Jackson 
 well knew it was incumbent on him to act a part en- 
 tirely defensive. Should ^ the attempt to gain and 
 destroy the city succeed, numerous difficulties would 
 present themselves, which might be avoided so long 
 as he could hold the enemy in check. Prompted by 
 these considerations — that it was important to pursue 
 a course calculated to insure safety, and believing it 
 attainable in no way so effectually as in occupying 
 some point, and by the strength he might give it com- 
 pensate for the inferiority of his numbers — he deter- 
 mined to forbear all further offensive efforts, until he 
 could more certainly discover the views of the enemy, 
 and until the Kentucky troops, which had not yet ar- 
 rived, should reach him. Having taken this resolution 
 at four o'clock on the morning of the 24th, and ordered 
 Colonel Hinds to occupy the ground he was then 
 abandoning, and to observe the enemy closely, he fell 
 back and formed his line behind a deep ditch that ran 
 at right angles from the river, about two miles nearer 
 the city. 
 
 There were two circumstances that strongly re- 
 conmicnded this position to Jackson. The swamp, 
 which from the hiMilands at Baton Rouge skirts the 
 river at irregular distances, and in many places is al- 
 most impervious, had here approached within four 
 hundred yards of the Mississippi, and hence, from the 
 narrowness of the pass, was more easy to be defended ; 
 added to which there was a deep canal, whence the 
 dirt being thrown on the upper side already formed a 
 tolerable breastwork. Behind this his troops were 
 formed, and proper measures adopted for increasing 
 
340 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Its strength, with a determination never to abandon it; 
 but there to resist to the last, and vaUantly to defend 
 those rights which were souMit to be outraged and 
 destroyed. 
 
 In the battle of the 23d of December, the American 
 troops actually engaged did not amount to two thou- 
 sand ; yet they for two hours maintained a- severe con- 
 flict with a force of four or five thousand, and retired 
 in safety from the ground, with the loss of but twenty- 
 four killed, 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 Americans lost among the slain Colo- 
 nel Lauderdale and Lieutenant M'Clelland. 
 
 This battle saved New Orleans. It checked the 
 treacherous, confirmed the wavering, inspired the true. 
 " The British had reached the Mississippi, and had 
 encamped upon its banks, as composedly as if they 
 had been seated on their own soil, at a distance from 
 all danger. They felt certain of success, and that the 
 American troops, so easily routed at Bladensburg, 
 would scarcely venture to resist at New Orleans. 
 Resting thus confidently, they would have moved for- 
 ward the next day, and might have accomplished their 
 designs. But General Jackson, with a force inferior 
 by one-half to that of the enemy, at an unc.vpocted 
 moment broke into the camp, and with his undisciplined 
 yeomanry, drove before him for nearly a mile, the 
 proud conquerors of Europe ! This was on the 
 23d of December, 1814; and although it was not the 
 death-blow, it was the master-stroke of bravery and 
 sagacity which saved the city from pillage. It in- 
 
EFFECTS OF THE BATTLE. o41 
 
 diiced the enemy to believe that the American force 
 was greater than his spies had reported it, caused him 
 to suspend his meditated attack until he received re- 
 inforcements, and thus gave the American general 
 time to complete his fortifications, and gather addi- 
 tional forces for defence."* "It taught them respect 
 for the American arms. It came upon them at night, 
 in a strange land, unexpected, and when but a part of 
 their forces were landed. It carried confusion and 
 panic into their ranks, and dispelled the terror of their 
 invincibility ; and although the brilliant victory of the 
 1st of .January, and the total and memorable rout of 
 the 8th, finally expelled the invaders, they but completed 
 and perfected what the master-stroke of the 23d had 
 so well begun. The forces of the British vastly ex- 
 ceeded those of the attacking party ; and this fact 
 strongly illustrates the natural and intuitive skill of 
 General Jackson in the art of war. It was the maxim 
 of Napoleon, the great master of this science, that an 
 inferior force should never wait to be attacked ; for, 
 by advancing, they either fall with all their strength 
 on a single point when they are not expected, or meet 
 the opposing columns on the advance, when bravery 
 gives the victory — or, in his own nervous language, 
 ' Ccst line affaire des tdes des colonnes ou la hravoure 
 seulc decide tout,'' 
 
 "There were many points of resemblance between 
 Napoleon and Jackson. Both were remarkable for 
 impetuosity ; both acted on the ofl^ensive ; both in 
 emergencies hazarded much, if not all, on the celerity 
 
 •Lewis's Kulogy. 
 21 
 
342 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Napoleon. 
 
 and success of their assaults ; both carried the war into 
 the heart of an enemy's country ; both were celebrated 
 for rapidity and exactness of combination j both startled 
 their adversaries by sudden and unlooked-for attacks. 
 There was a similarity even in the impassioned, sen- 
 tentious, and sanguine appeals of both to their re- 
 spective armies; and both attained signal and bril- 
 liant success. But, fortunately for our country, and 
 for him whose fome we cherish, the points of difference 
 are equally striking. Napoleon aimt^d at the conquest 
 of a world, and would have establislied a sole monar- 
 chy, if not despotism ; his restless ambition knew nc 
 croal short of universal dominion ; and after overrun- 
 ning with his successful armies a great part of the 
 globe, he was driven from his kingdom and his throne, 
 
NAPOLEON AND JACKSON. 
 
 343 
 
 confined in a solitary and remote island, where his 
 uncontrollable spirit fretted itself out against the bars 
 of the prison. Jackson drew his sword only at hi? 
 country's call ; it was never wielded but in defence of 
 her soil, her rights, and liberties ; he sheathed it but 
 to return to the bosom of his family and the pleasures 
 of domestic life ; he was attended always by the grate- 
 ful plaudits of a people whose liberties he had defended, 
 and after receiving the highest honours of the republic, 
 his last days were cheered with the sight of a country's 
 prosperity, to whose service his life had been devoted 
 and he was followed to the grave by a nation of 
 mourners." * 
 
 *Van Buren's Eulogy. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS-BATTLE OF THE EIGHTH OF 
 JANUARY. 
 
 N the defence 
 of New Orleans, 
 the great char- 
 acteristics of Jackson 
 ■were signally dis- 
 played. Promptitude 
 in decision, and acti- 
 vity in execu- 
 ^ cution, con- 
 )^^^^stitutcd the 
 
 ''i¥'r '^^^^"S traits 
 "^f/J I ' of his char- 
 acter. When 
 he had resolved on the course which he thought ne- 
 
THE INVADING ARMY. 345 
 
 cessary to be pursued, with all possible despatch he 
 hastened to its completion. Before him was an army 
 proud of its name, and distinguished for its deeds of 
 valour — an army, the finest that ever appeared on our 
 shores, — one that had driven the warriors of France, 
 the conquerors of continental Europe, from the pillars 
 of Hercules to the Pyrenees. Opposed to this was 
 his own unbending spirit, and an inferior, undisciplined, 
 and half-armed force. He conceived, therefore, that 
 his was a defensive policy ; that by prudence and cau- 
 tion he would be able to preserve what offensive 
 operations might have a tendency to endanger. 
 Hence, with activity and industry, based on a hope 
 of ultimate success, he commenced his plan of de- 
 fence, determining to fortify himself as effectually as 
 the peril and pressure of the moment would permit. 
 When to expect attack he could not tell ; preparation 
 and readiness to meet it was for him to determine on ; 
 all else was for the enemy. Promptly, therefore, he 
 proceeded with his system of defence ; and, with such 
 thoughtfulness and anxiety, that until the night of the 
 27th, when his line was completed, he never slept, or 
 for a moment closed his eyes. Resting his hope of 
 safety here, he was everywhere present, night and day, 
 encouraging his troops, and hastening the completion 
 of the works. The concern and excitement produced 
 by the mighty object before him were such as over- 
 came the demand, and for five days and four nights 
 he was without sleep and constantly employed. 
 
 The enemy, astounded by the warmth of reception 
 on the night of their landing, still remained in their 
 
346 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 first encampment. The canal which covered the front 
 of the American Hne was widened and deepened, and 
 a strong mud wall formed of the earth that was thrown 
 out. To prevent the approach of the enemy until his 
 system of defence should be in a state of greater for- 
 wardness, Jackson ordered the levee to be cut, about 
 a hundred yards below his position. The river being 
 very high, a broad stream of water passed rapidly 
 through the plain, of the depth of thirty or forty inches, 
 which prevented any approach of troops on foot. 
 Embrasures were formed, and two pieces of artillery 
 under the command of Lieutenant Spotts, early on the 
 morning of the 24th, were placed in a position to rake 
 the road leading up the levee. 
 
 Aware of the importance of the fort at Chcf-\Ien- 
 teur, and of the necessity of its defence to prevent the 
 enemy from debarking a detachment at the head of 
 Lake Borgne, and capturing the city in his rear, while 
 he was engaged with the main army in front, Jackson 
 renewed his cautions to Governor Claiborne, who, 
 
JACKSON'S PREPARATIONS. 347 
 
 with his mihtia, was still stationed on the Gentilly 
 road, and to Major Lacoste, who commanded the post 
 at Chef-Menteur. To the latter he wrote: "The 
 battery I have placed under your command must be 
 defended at all hazards. In you and the valour of 
 your troops I repose every confidence ; let me not be 
 deceived. With us everything goes on well ; the 
 enemy has not yet advanced. Our troops have co- 
 vered themselves with glory : it is a noble example, 
 and worthy to be followed by all. Maintain your 
 post; nor ever think of retreating." Colonel Dyer, 
 with two hundred men, was ordered to reinforce 
 Lacoste. 
 
 The British encampment lying between the Ameri- 
 can lines and the position of General Morgan, at the 
 English turn of the river, he was ordered to destroy 
 the levee between him and the enemy, and interpose 
 the waters of the Mississippi between them. On the 
 26th he was ordered to abandon his encampment, cross 
 the Mississippi, and assume a position on the right 
 bank, nearly opposite to Jackson's line, and to have 
 it fortified as speedily as possible. 
 
 From every intelligence obtained through deserters 
 and prisoners, it was evident that the British fleet 
 would make an effort to ascend the river, or by some 
 other means arrive on the scene of action, and co-ope- 
 rate with the troops already landed. Lest this, or a 
 diversion in a different quarter might be attempted, 
 exertions were made to be able to resist at all points. 
 The forts on the river, well supported with brave men, 
 and supplied with heavy pieces of artillery, Avere strong 
 enough in the opinion of the commanding general to 
 
348 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Lafilte. 
 
 prevent the arrival of the hostile fleet in that direc- 
 tion. But they might enter through the pass Bara- 
 taria, land their forces, and gain a position on the 
 west bank of the river, whence, co-operating with the 
 forces on the east side, they might drive the Ameri- 
 cans from the line thev had formed, and attack Jack- 
 son's line on the flank and rear. Major Reynolds 
 and Captain Lafitte were accordingly ordered thither, 
 with instructions to place the bayous emptying through 
 this pass in the best possible state of defence. Lafitte 
 was selected for this service on account of the know- 
 ledge of the topography and precise situation of this 
 part of the state, which he had acquired while acting 
 as the leader of a small body of privateers, who made 
 the island of Barataria their principal rendezvous. 
 
THE BARATARIA PRIVATEERS. 349 
 
 Of these celebrated and daring men a brief notice 
 here will not be considered as misplaced. When 
 Guadaloiipe was captured by the British, many priva- 
 teers were at sea, commissioned by the government 
 of that island. Prevented from returning into the 
 ports whence they sailed, and not being permitted to 
 •dispose of their prizes in any of the harbours of the 
 United States, then at peace with Great Britain, many 
 of them sailed for Carthagena, which had but rccently 
 declared its independence from Spain. From the go- 
 vernment of Carthagena they received commissions 
 to cruise against the Spaniards. In this new character, 
 under the Carthaginian flag, they committed great 
 havoc among the Spanish merchantmen trading in the 
 Gulf of Mexico. Their prizes being too numerous 
 and valuable to be trusted in any of the ports which 
 were open to them, they took possession of the islands 
 of Barataria and Grande Terre, lying west of the 
 river Mississippi. The latter island possessed an ex- 
 cellent harbour, and afforded sufficient anchorage- 
 ground for all the privateers and their prizes. Here 
 they established a regular depot ; and from this place 
 immense quantities of goods were smuggled into New 
 Orleans, in direct violation of the revenue laws of the 
 United States. Their lodgment upon these islands 
 was in itself illegal, as the ground belonged to the 
 United States, who were bound to preserve the neu- 
 trality of their territory. 
 
 No effective measures were taken, however, to ex- 
 pel them ; and the Baratarians continued their depre- 
 dations upon the Spanish commerce, and sometimes 
 ventured to attack vessels of other nations. They 
 
350 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 were generally regarded as pirates ; but it is probable 
 that most, if not all of them, were commissioned by 
 the Carthaginian government. The leaders of the 
 Baratarians were two brothers named Lafitte. One 
 of these was apprehended by the American authorities, 
 and thrown into prison at New Orleans, before the 
 arrival of the British at Pensacola. The co-operation 
 of these men, the British officers believed, would be 
 of great importance in the projected invasion, more 
 particularly as they were intimately acquainted with 
 the navigation of the coast and river. Captain Percy, 
 commander of the naval forces of the British, and 
 Colonel Nicholls, accordingly determined to secure it, 
 if possible. Captain Lockyer, of the sloop Sophia, 
 was despatched to Barataria, bearing offers of liberal 
 remuneration to the Lafittes and their followers, if 
 they would assist the British. Captain Percy informed 
 the Baratarians, that having understood that several 
 British vessels had been taken by their cruisers, he 
 should require instant restitution, and in case of refusal 
 destroy their vessels and property. At the same time, 
 he assured them that " should they be inclined to as- 
 sist Great Britain in her just war against the United 
 States, the security of their property and the blessings 
 of the British constitution are offered to them — and 
 should thev be inclined to settle on this continent, 
 lands would at the conclusion of the war be assigned 
 to them in his majesty's colonies in America. 
 
 In return for all these concessions on the part of 
 Great Britain, they were to abandon their predatory 
 warfare against Spain, and to place their vessels under 
 the control of the British government, which would 
 
BRITISH VISIT BARATARIA. 351 
 
 compensate them fully for all their property. The 
 Baratarians were invited to enter the British service, 
 and a free pardon was offered to all deserters, or 
 other British subjects, who would return to their duty. 
 To the leaders, a prospect of rank and promotion in 
 the British navy was held out, to confirm them in a 
 determination which the British officers doubted not 
 they would form. 
 
 The Sophia arrived off the pass of Barataria on 
 the 3d of September. Having fired upon a vessel 
 which was attempting to enter, she anchored at the 
 entrance of the pass. Captain Lockyer, with two 
 other officers, proceeded towards the shore in the pin- 
 nace. They were met by the younger Lafitte, to 
 whom they delivered their despatches. Having pe- 
 rused them, and listened to the explanations of Captain 
 Lockyer, Lafitte requested to be allowed a few days 
 for consideration, when he would decide upon the 
 course he should pursue. The crews of the privateers, 
 suspecting the object of the visit of the British officers, 
 wished to detain them ; and they were actually seized 
 and confined during the momentary absence of Lafitte. 
 He succeeded, however, in persuading his followers 
 to release them, and they returned to their vessel ; 
 Lafitte promising to give an answer in a few days to 
 their propositions. On the following day he wrote to 
 Captain Lockyer, requesting two weeks for prepara- 
 tion, and seemingly accepting the oflfers he had made. 
 On the same day he despatched a messenger to New 
 Orleans, bearing a letter to Mr. Blanque, one of the 
 representatives, and president of the committee of de- 
 fence, enclosing all the papers left by the British, and 
 
352 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 also a letter to Governor Claiborne. To the governor 
 he declared his wish to support and defend the govern- 
 ment, and requested that his past infractions of the 
 laws should be overlooked. He tendered his services 
 to assist in defending the country, and declared, that 
 should his offer not be accepted, he would leave the 
 United States, that he might not be charged with as- 
 sistincj its enemies. 
 
 The committee of defence was convened, and the 
 papers laid before it; and an answer was returned to 
 Lafitte, that his past acts should be buried in oblivion, 
 and a request that he should not act until he should 
 hear atjain from the authorities. No further answer, 
 'however, was returned. The ship of Captain Lockyer 
 and two other vessels appeared off the pass at the 
 appointed time, and remained in the vicinity several 
 days ; but not being met by Lafitte, according to the 
 agreement, they returned to their rendezvous. The 
 elder Lafitte was released from confinement, and per- 
 mitted to rejoin his companions ; but no other notice 
 was taken of the services or offers of his brother — and 
 the next intelligence received from New Orleans was 
 that the authorities there were fitting out an expedition 
 to capture or destroy the vessels of the Baratarians. 
 On the 16th of September, this expedition, under Com- 
 modore Patterson, appeared oft' Barataria, and, to the 
 astonishment of Lafitte, proceeded to take possession 
 of his vessels. He would not sufter his men to molest 
 the Americans ; but ordered them to retire and remain 
 concealed until further orders. A detachment was 
 then landed, which destroyed their town. Though 
 thus treated as pirate. s these brave men did not oppose 
 
LAFITTE JOINS THE AMERICANS. 353 
 
 the officers of the country to whom they had offered 
 their services. They retired, and waited until the 
 declaration of martial law at New Orleans, and tlic 
 certainty of an approachinir invasion, again induced 
 them to make a tender of their services. A full par- 
 don was granted them hy Governor Claiborne, for 
 their numerous infractions of the revenue laws ; and 
 Jackson, persuaded t!iat their assistance could not 
 fail of being very usefui, accepted their offers. During 
 the great battles they occupied prominent posts, and 
 added greatly to the strength and skill of the American 
 army. On the 8th of January, some of them were 
 stationed on the line, and with distinguished skill 
 served two batteries, which poured destruction upon 
 the advancing columns. Some of them were stationed 
 at Fort St. Philip, where they soon had an opportunity 
 of rendering an important service to the country ; 
 while others were sent to the fort of Petites Coquilles 
 and the bayou St. John. Lafitte, who had already 
 shown a lively zeal on behalf of his adopted country, 
 was, as we have seen, despatched with Major Rey- 
 nolds to defend the pass Barataria. 
 
 With these arrangements for outward defence, 
 there was little room to apprehend or fear disaster. 
 But still, what a little surprised Jackson, notwithstand- 
 ing all the efforts made to prevent it, the enemy were 
 daily and constantly apprised of everything that trans- 
 pired in th.e American camp. Every arrangement 
 and every change of position was immediately com- 
 municated. Evervthincr ^vas done by the British com- 
 manders to obtain this information ; prisoners were 
 bribed, deserters examined, and even a flag of truce 
 
354 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 was disregarded, and its bearer detained as a prisoner 
 by Admiral Cochrane, in order if possible to discover 
 the number of the American forces. The precautions 
 of Jackson, however, prevented his numbers from being 
 known even to his own soldiers. At the close of the 
 invasion, a British officer remarked, "Nothing was 
 kept a secret from us, except your numbers ; this, al- 
 though diligently sought after, could never be pro- 
 cured." The vigilance of the general was increased, 
 and every precaution adopted to prevent any commu- 
 nication by which the slightest intelligence should be 
 had of his situation, already sufficiently deplorable. 
 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 constantly plying during the night, in diffisrent 
 directions, so that a log could scarcely float down the 
 stream unperceived. Notwithstanding every precau- 
 tion, treason still discovered avenues through which to 
 project and execute her nefarious plans, and through 
 them was constantly affi)rded information to the 
 enemy, carried to them, no doubt, by adventurous 
 friends, who sought and effected their nightly passage 
 througli the deepest parts of the swamp, where it was 
 impossible for sentinels to be stationed. 
 
 Since their landing, the enemy had been constantly 
 engaged in procuring from their shipping everything 
 necessary to their ulterior designs. Complete com- 
 mand of the lakes, and possession of a point on the 
 margin, gave them uninterrupted ingress and egress, 
 and the opportunity of conveying whatever was wanted, 
 in perfect safety to their camp. They were thus en- 
 
DESTRUCTION OF THE CAROLINE. 355 
 
 gaged during the first three days after their arrival, 
 and on the night of the 26th they threw up a battery 
 on the bank of the river, and mounted upon it several 
 pieces of heavy ordnance. In the morning a fire was 
 opened from it on the Caroline schooner, lying under 
 the opposite shore. 
 
 Since the battle of the 23d, this vessel had made 
 many unsuccessful attem{)ts to advance higher uj) the 
 stream, and nearer to the line, for the double purpose 
 of its defence and her own safety. These attempts to 
 remove her being discovered, the battery, mounting 
 five guns, was opened on her, discharging bombs and 
 red-hot shot. It was spiritedly answered, but with 
 little injury to the battery, there being on board but 
 one long twelve-pounder that could reach. The shot 
 from the battery soon set her on fire ; and the flames 
 bursting forth in diflTerent places, and fast spreading, 
 induced a fear that the majxazine would soon be 
 reached, and everything destroyed. One of the crew 
 being killed and six wounded, and not a glinnnering 
 of hope entertained that she could be preserved, Cap- 
 tain Henly, her commander, issued the orders for her 
 abandonment. The crew reached the shore in safety, 
 and a few minutes afterwards she blew up. Captain 
 Henly, with his men, repaired to the line, and offered 
 their services to Jackson as gunners. They were 
 gladly accepted, and the very next day they had an 
 opportunity of showing that firmness and decision on 
 the land, for which on previous occasions they had 
 become distinguished on board of the Caroline. 
 
 Sir Edward Packenham had arrived on the 25th, 
 and it was by his order that the battery was erected 
 
356 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 English Soldiers throwing up a Battery. 
 
 which demoHshcd the American schooner. Gaining 
 confidence from his success, he put his army in motion 
 early on the next morning, the 28th, and advanced 
 against the American works. At the distance of half 
 a mile, his heavy artillery opened, and quantities of 
 bombs, balls, and C ongreve rockets were discharged. 
 It was a commencement of noise and terrific grandeur, 
 which he had probably calculated would excite a panic 
 in the minds of the raw recruits of Jackson's army, 
 and compel them to surrender, or abandon their strong- 
 hold. But he did not know Jackson, and he was not 
 present on the night of the 23d, or he might have 
 known Jackson's men better. They had then afibrded 
 abundant proof, that whether disciplined or not, they 
 well knew how to defend the honour and interests of 
 their country ; and had sufficient valour not to be 
 alarmed at the reality — still less, the semblance ol 
 danger. The British r ckets, tl ough a kind of instru- 
 
BRITISH ATTACK THE WORKS. 35" 
 
 ment of destruction to wliich they, unskilled in the 
 science of desolating warfare, had been hitherto stran- 
 gers, excited no other feeling than that which novelty- 
 inspires. At the moment, therefore, that the British 
 in different columns were moving up, in all the pomp 
 and parade of battle, preceded by these insignia of 
 terror more than danger, and were expecting to be- 
 hold their opponents tremblingly retire and flee before 
 them, the batteries, w^ell served by the Baratarians 
 and seamen, opened, and arrested their advance. 
 
 The severest check to their advance, however, was 
 given by the sloop of war Louisiana, which lay in the 
 river, nearly opposite the line of defence. No sooner 
 did her commander. Lieutenant Thompson, discover 
 the approach of the columns, than warping his vessel 
 around, he brought her starboard guns to bear, and 
 worked them with such effect, as soon to compel the 
 enemy to retreat. Falling back to a comparatively 
 safe distance, they maintained the conflict with their 
 heavy artillery for seven hours, when, unable to make 
 a breach in the line or silence the fire from the sloop, 
 they abandoned a contest in which so few advantages 
 seemed to be presented. 
 
 The crew of the Louisiana was composed of new 
 recruits and of discordant materials, — of soldiers, citi- 
 zens, and seamen ; yet by the activity of their com- 
 mander, they were so wcl! perfected in their duty, that 
 they already managed their guns with the greatest 
 precision and certainty of effect; and by three o'clock 
 in the afternoon, with the aid of the land batteries, 
 had completely silenced and driven back the enemy. 
 Emboldened by the effect produced the day before on 
 
 22 
 
358 
 
 NEW. ORLEANS. 
 
 the Caroline, the furnaces of the enemy were put in 
 operation, and many hot shot were thrown from a 
 heavy piece which was placed behind and protected 
 by the levee. When the enemy retreated, those who 
 attempted to carry off this piece, losing the protection 
 of the levee, were fairly exposed to the fire from the 
 sloop, and suffered greatly by it. In their endeavours 
 to remove, " I saw," says Commodore Patterson, " dis- 
 tinctly, 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, the Americans received very 
 little injury. The Louisiana sloop, against which the 
 most violent exertions were made, had but a single 
 man wounded, by a fragment of a shell which burst 
 over her deck. Their entire loss did not exceed nine 
 killed, and eight or ten wounded ; and this small num- 
 ber would have been less, if the line of defence had 
 been completely finished. The enemy, being more 
 exposed, acting in the open field, and in range of our 
 guns, suffered considerable injury. They had at least 
 one hundred and twenty killed and wounded. 
 
COLONEL HENDERSON KILLED. 359 
 
 Of the nine Americans killed, six of them were 
 shot without the lines. An advanced party of the 
 British had taken post behind a fence that ran obliquely 
 to, and not very far from the ditch. Colonel Hender- 
 son, with a detachment of two hundred men, was sent 
 out to dislodge them. He was ordered to march in 
 the direction of the wood, and turning the enemy's 
 right, cut off his retreat. Misunderstanding the order, 
 the colonel proceeded in front, in the direction of the 
 river, leaving the fence between him and his enemy, 
 and waded through the water, which was there nearly 
 knee-deep, until he reached a dry knoll, where he 
 formed and attempted to execute his order. Being in 
 an open and exposed situation, directly in front of the 
 British party, he was soon killed by a ball 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 bein<T made, a column of 
 the enemy threatened an attack on the extreme left of 
 the American line. To frustrate the attempt. General 
 Jackson ordered Coflfee with his riflemen to hasten 
 through the woods and check their approach. The 
 enemy, though greatly superior to him in numbers, no 
 sooner discovered his movement, than they retired 
 and abandoned the attack which they had meditated. 
 
 Frequent light skirmishes by advanced parties, 
 without material effect on either side, were the only 
 incidents that took place for several days. Colonel 
 Hinds, at the head of the Mississippi dragoons, on the 
 30th of December, was ordered to dislodge a party 
 
360 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 of the enemy, who, under cover of a ditch that ran 
 across the plain, were annoying the American fatigue 
 parties. In this advance he was unexpectedly thrown 
 into an ambuscade, and became exposed to the fire 
 of a line which had hitherto lain concealed and un- 
 observed. His collected conduct and gallant deport- 
 ment extricated him from the danorer in which he was 
 placed, and gained him and his corps the approbation 
 of the commanding general. The enemy, forced 
 from their position, retired, and he returned to the 
 line with the loss of five of his men. 
 
 Though foiled in their attack on the 28th, the Bri- 
 tish resolved to attempt another, and one 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 determination to 
 silence opposition, and make such breaches in the en- 
 trenchment as would enable their columns to pass, 
 without being exposed to any considerable hazard. 
 The time between the 28th of December and 1st of 
 January was accordingly spent in preparing to exe- 
 cute their designs. Their boats had been despatched 
 to the shipping, and an additional supply of heavy 
 cannon landed through the Bayou Bienvenu, whence 
 they had first debarked. 
 
 DurinfT the nii^ht of the 31st of December thev 
 were busily engaged. They erected three batteries 
 on the edge of a ditch, within six hundred yards of the 
 line, on which they mounted eighteen and twenty-four 
 pound carronades. A thick fog next morning, whicli 
 was not dispelled until eight o'clock, by concealing 
 
BRITISH ERECT BATTERIES. 301 
 
 their purpose, aided them in the plans they were pro- 
 jecting, and gave time for the completion of their 
 works. As soon as it was sufficiently clear to distin- 
 guish objects at a distance, they opened these batte- 
 ries on the American lines, and a tremendous burst 
 of artillery commenced, accompanied with Congreve 
 rockets, which filled the air in every direction. The 
 Americans, protected by a defence which they now 
 believed to be impregnable, unmoved and undisturbed, 
 maintained their ground, and in the end, by their 
 skilful management, succeeded in dismounting and 
 silencing the guns of the enemy. 
 
 The British, through the friendly interference of 
 some traitor, having been apprised that the general 
 had established his head quarters in a house at a small 
 distance in the rear of his line of defence, directed 
 against it their first and principal efforts, with the view 
 of destroying the commander. 80 great was the 
 number of balls thrown, that in a short time its porti- 
 coes were beaten down, and the buildinor made a com- 
 plete wreck. In this dishonourable design they were, 
 however, disappointed; for, with Jackson it was a 
 constant practice, on the first appearance of danger, 
 not to wait in his quarters, watching events, but in- 
 stantly to proceed to the line, and be ready to order 
 the defence as circumstances might require. Con- 
 stantly in expectation of a charge, he was never absent 
 from the post of danger ; and thither he had this 
 morning repaired, at the first sound of the cannon, to 
 direct the defence, and inspire his troops with firmness. 
 
 As soon as the new batteries could be seen, the 
 American guns along the whole line opened to repel 
 
362 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 the assault, and a constant roar of cannon on both 
 sides continued until nearly noon, when the batteries 
 on the right were nearly beaten down, and many of the 
 guns dismounted, broken, and rendered useless. That 
 next the river continued its fire until three o'clock, 
 when, perceiving all attempts to force a breach 
 ineffectual, the enemy gave up the contest and retired. 
 
 That they should have been again repulsed, seems 
 never to have entered the minds of the assailants. So 
 confident were they of success in this attack, that 
 early in the morning their soldiers were arrayed along 
 the ditches, in rear of their batteries, prepared and 
 ready to advance to the charge the moment a breach 
 could be made. There, by their situation protected 
 from danger, they remained waiting the result that 
 should call them to act. But their eflibrts not having 
 produced the desired effect, they abandoned the con- 
 test and retired to their camp, leaving their batteries 
 almost destroyed. 
 
 Early in the day, Packenham made another attempt 
 to turn the American left. He ordered some platoons 
 of sharp-shooters to enter the woods, and by pene- 
 trating into the swamp, to gain the dank of the Ameri- 
 cans. In this way it was expected a diversion could 
 be made, while the reserve columns, being in readiness 
 and waiting, were to press forward the moment this 
 object could be effected. Here too he was disappointed. 
 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 
 occasioned an abandonment of the project. 
 
 That to turn the extreme left of the line was prac- 
 
DEFENCE OF THE SWAMP. ;363 
 
 ticablc, and might be attempted, was the subject of 
 early consideration, and necessary precaution had 
 been taken to prevent it. 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 determined the gene- 
 ral to extend his defence even here. This had been 
 intrusted to General Coffee ; and surely a more ar- 
 duous duty can scarcely be imagined. To form a 
 breastwork in such a place was attended with many 
 difficulties and considerable exposure. A slight de- 
 fence, however, had been thrown up, and the under- 
 wood for thirty or forty yards in front cut down, that 
 the riflemen stationed for its protection might have 
 a complete view of any force which through this route 
 might attempt a passage. When it is recollected that 
 this position was to be maintained night and day, un- 
 certain of the moment of attack, and that the only 
 opportunity aflTorded the troops for rest was on logs 
 and brush thrown together, by which they were raised 
 above the surrounding water, it may be truly said, 
 that seldom has it fallen to the lot of any to encounter 
 greater hardships. But, accustomed to privation, and 
 ahve to those feelings which a love of country inspires, 
 they obeyed without complaining, and cheerfully kept 
 their position on their floating logs, until all danger 
 had subsided. Sensible of the importance of the point 
 they defended, and that it was necessary to be main- 
 tained, be the sacrifice what it might, they looked to 
 nothing but a zealous and faithful discharge of the 
 trust confided to them. 
 
364 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 The American loss on the first of January, 1815, 
 was eleven killed and twenty-three wounded ; that of 
 the enemy was never correctly ascertained. It is 
 presumed to have been at least seventy. 
 
 The enemy's heavy shot having penetrated the 
 intrenchment in many places, it was discovered not 
 to be as strong as it was at first imagined. Fatigue 
 parties were again employed, and its strength daily 
 increased. Cotton-bags were made use of to stren"then 
 and defend the embrasures along the line. A French- 
 man, whose property had been thus seized, fearful of 
 the injur}^ it might sustain, proceeded in person to 
 General Jackson to reclaim it. The o-eneral having 
 heard his complaint, and ascertained from him that 
 he was not employed in any military service, directed 
 a musket to be brought to him, when placing it in his 
 hand, and pointing to the cotton-bales in the breast- 
 work, replied, " There is your property. I know no- 
 body that has any better right than you to defend it." 
 
 Both armies were in daily expectation of consider- 
 able reinforcements ; and they now were busily and 
 constantly engaged in preparations for the approach- 
 ing struggle. 
 
 The position of the American army was in the 
 rear of an intrenchment formed of earth, and which 
 extended in a straight lino from the river to a consi- 
 derable distance within the swamp. In front was a 
 deep ditch, wjiich had formerly been used as a mill- 
 race. The Mississippi had receded and left this 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 connnand, were 
 
JACKSON'S SECOND LINE. 367 
 
 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. This redoubt 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 of Tennessee militia was in 
 the centre, who, after the 4th of January, were sup- 
 ported by the Kentucky troops under General John 
 Adair ; while the extreme left, extending for a consi- 
 derable distance into the swamp, was protected by the 
 brigade of General Coffee. General Jackson, in per- 
 son, commanded the whole of this line. 
 
 To be prepared against every possible contmgency 
 that might arise, he had established another line of 
 defence, 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 of the enemy, he expected to be 
 able, with inconsiderable injury, to reach it ; where he 
 would again have advantages on his side, be in a situa- 
 tion to dispute a further passage to the city, and arrest 
 their progress. 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, 
 who constituted no very inconsiderable number, were 
 here stationed. All intercourse between the lines, 
 except by confidential officers, was prohibited, and 
 every precaution employed, not only to keep this want 
 
;^68 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Erection of Morgan's Battery. 
 
 of preparation concealed from the enemy, but even 
 from being known on his own hnes. 
 
 The position of General Morgan, on the right bank 
 of the river, was formed on the same plan with the 
 line on the left — lower down than that on the left, and 
 extending towards the swamp, at right angles to the 
 river. The defences here were not strong ; but, if 
 properly maintained by the troops selected to defend 
 them, were bcHeved fully adequate to the purpose of 
 successful resistance. Besides being strengthened by 
 several brass twelve-pounders, Morgan's line was de- 
 fended by a strong battery, mounting twenty-four 
 pounders, directed by Commodore Patterson. 
 
 On the 4th of .January, the long-expected reinforce- 
 ment from Kentucky, amounting to two thousand two 
 hundred and fifty men, under the command of Major- 
 General Thomas, arrived at head quarters, but so ill- 
 provided with arms as to be incapable of rendering 
 
REINFORCEMENTS. 359 
 
 any considerable service. The alacrity with which 
 the citizens of this state had proceeded to the frontiers 
 and aided in the north-western campaigns, added to 
 the disasters which ill-timed policy or misfortune had 
 produced, had created such a drain, that arms were 
 not to be procured. They had advanced, however, to 
 their point of destination, with an expectation of being 
 supplied on their arrival. About five hundred of them 
 had muskets ; the rest were provided with guns, from 
 which little or no advantage could be expected. The 
 Mayor of New Orleans, at the request of General 
 Jackson, had already examined and drawn from the 
 city every weapon that could be found ; while the ar- 
 rival of the Louisiana militia, in an equally unprepared 
 situation, rendered it impossible for the evil to be 
 effectually remedied. The five hundred were; divided, 
 part of them being placed on the line with General 
 Carroll, while the remainder were stationed on the 
 right bank with General Morgan. No alternative was 
 presented to Jackson but to place the remaining 
 seventeen hundred and fifty 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 increasinfj his streno-th. 
 
 Information was now received that Major-General 
 Lambert had joined General Packenham with a con- 
 siderable reinforcement. It had been heretofore 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 connexion with others no less favouring the idea, 
 had led to the conclusion that a few days more would 
 
'370 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 in all probability bring on the struggle which would 
 decide the fate of the city. It was more than ever 
 necessary to keep concealed the situation of Jackson's 
 army, and, above all, to preserve as secret as possi- 
 ble its unarmed condition. To restrict all communi- 
 cation even between his own lines was now, as danger 
 increased, rendered more important. None were per- 
 mitted to leave the line, and none from without to pass 
 into his camp, but such as might be implicitly confided 
 in. The line of sentinels was strengthened in front, 
 that none might pass to the enemy, should desertion 
 be attempted. Still, notwithstanding every precaution 
 and all his care, his plans and situation were disclosed. 
 On the night of the 6th, a soldier from the line by 
 some means succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the 
 sentinels. Early next morning his departure was dis- 
 covered, and it was at once correctly conjectured that 
 he had gone over to the enemy, and would, no doubt, 
 afford them all the information in his power to com- 
 municate. This opinion, as subsequent circumstances 
 disclosed, was well founded ; and dearly did the deserter 
 atone for his crime. He unfolded to the British the 
 situation of the iVmerican line, the late reinforcements 
 which had arrived, and the unarmed condition of some 
 of the troops; but fortunately he himself was ignorant 
 of the extent of this evil ; and then, pointing to the 
 centre of General Carroll's division as a place occu- 
 pied only by militia, recommended it as the point 
 where an attack might be most prudently and safely 
 made. 
 
 During the 7th, a constant bustle was perceived in 
 the British camp. Along the borders of the canal 
 
DEFENCE OF THE RIGHT BANK. 37J 
 
 their soldiers were continually in motion, marching 
 and manoeuvring, seemingly for no other purpose than 
 to conceal somethinij behind. To ascertain the cause 
 of this uncommon stir. Commodore Patterson proceeded 
 down the river, on the opposite side, and having gained 
 a favourable position in front of their encampment, 
 discovered them to be engaged in deepening the canal, 
 and widening the passage to the river. It was no 
 difficult matter to divine their purpose. No other con- 
 jecture could be entertained, than that an assault was 
 intended to be made on the line of defence, commanded 
 by General Morgan ; which, if gained, would expose the 
 troops on the left bank to the fire of the redoubt erected 
 on the right ; and in this way compel them to an aban- 
 donment of their position. It was important to coun- 
 teract this scheme; and measures were immediately 
 taken to prevent the execution of a plan which, if 
 successful, would be attended with incalculable dangers. 
 An increased strenfrth was mven to the menaced line, 
 the second regiment of Louisiana militia beinij sent 
 across the river to defend it. Four hundred of the 
 Kentucky militia were also ordered over, but owing 
 to the difficulty of procuring arms for them, only one 
 hundred and eighty crossed, and they did not amve 
 till the morning of the 8th. A little before daylight 
 on that day they were despatched to aid an advanced 
 party, which, under the command of Major Arnaud, 
 had been sent to watch the movements of the enemy, 
 and oppose their landing. 
 
 On the left bank, where the general in person com- 
 manded, everything was ready for the assault when 
 it should be made. Unmoved by appearances, he 
 
372 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 anxiously desired a contest, which he believed would 
 give a triumph to his arms, and terminate the hard- 
 ships of his suffering soldiers. Unremitting in exer- 
 tion, and constantly vigilant, his precaution kept pace 
 with the zeal and preparation of the enemy. He sel- 
 dom slept ; he was always at his post, performing the 
 duties 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 line, with arms in 
 their hands, ready to act on the first alarm. 
 
 For six days had the two armies lain upon the 
 same field, and in view of each other, without any- 
 tbino; decisive beinix effected on either side. Twice 
 since their landing had the British columns essayed 
 to effect by storm the execution of their plans, and 
 twice had failed — had been compelled to relinquish 
 the attempt, and retire, beaten, from the contest. It 
 was not to be expected that things could long remain 
 in this dubious state. Soldiers, the pride of England, 
 the boasted conquerors of Europe, were there ; dis- 
 tinguished generals their leaders, who earnestly desired 
 to announce to their country and to the world their 
 signal achievements. The army was splendid in all 
 its appointments, from the grand park of artillery, 
 down to the general band of musicians. The expecta- 
 tions which had been indulged of the success of this 
 expedition, wore to be realized at every peril, or dis- 
 grace would follow the failure. 
 
 The 8th of .January at length arrived. The day 
 dawned ; and the signals intended to produce concert 
 in the enemy's movements were descried. On the 
 
THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY. 
 
 373 
 
 General Packenham's band. 
 
 left, near the swamp, a sky-rocket was perceived rising 
 in the air ; and presently another ascended from the 
 right, next the river. They were intended to announce 
 that all was prepared and ready, to proceed and carry 
 by storm a defence which had twice foiled their ut- 
 most efforts. Instantly the charge was made, and 
 with such rapidity, that the soldiers at the outposts 
 with difficulty fled in. 
 
 The British batteries which had been demolished 
 on the first of the month, had been re-established 
 
374 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 (luring the preceding niglit, and heavy pieces of cannon 
 mounted, to aid in their intended operations. These 
 now opened, and showers of bombs and balls were 
 poured upon the American hne; while the air was 
 Hghtcd with Congreve rockets. The two divisions, 
 commanded by Sir Edward Packenham in person, and 
 supported by Generals Keane and Gibbs, pressed for- 
 ward : the risfht against the centre of General Carroll's 
 command, the left against the redoubt on the levee. 
 A thick fog, that obscured the morning, enabled them 
 to approach within a short distance of the intrench- 
 ment before they were discovered. "Jackson then 
 beheld the long columns advancing, their scarlet and 
 steel glitterinor in the raorninof lijrht, like the scales of 
 two large crested dragons coming up out of the sea 
 to devour him. Now and then a sky-rocket shot into 
 the air made wild music with the elements. The 
 first ball that passed him, Jackson saluted, — 'Welcome, 
 thou first visiter from a British mortar, long have I 
 sought to meet you, — now is our day of reckoning.' 
 Slowly and steadily the long columns advanced. All 
 was silence behind the parapets ; yonder is one waving 
 his port-fire in the air to keep it glowing ; yonder is 
 a long line, ^vith hands on the lock, ready for the word; 
 there stands Jackson like Mars's statue, his eyes gla- 
 ring fire, and his drawn sword ready to wave a deadly 
 salute. Presently the air is rent, and it rains down 
 on the devoted columns hail and fire and brimstone, 
 such as was not known since the days of Sodom — it 
 seemed as if the earth belched forth thunder, and 
 opened her devouring jaws to swallow them. Behold 
 
m 
 
 1 1,1 -^ 
 
THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY. 3i77 
 
 yon long line of glittering scarlet and steel — anon, 
 smoke, and cries, and consternation."* 
 
 The front ranks of the British were mowed down, 
 and their advance arrested. In the iVmerican musketry 
 there was not a moment's intermission : as one com- 
 pany discharged their pieces another succeeded ; al- 
 ternately loading and appearing, no pause could be 
 perceived — it was one continued volley, one continuous 
 stream of fire. Batteries Nos. 6, 7, and 8, immediately 
 in front of the advancing column, were ably served, 
 and galled them with an incessant and destructive 
 fire. Notwithstanding the severity of this fire, which 
 few troops could for a moment have withstood, some 
 of those brave men pressed on, and succeeded in gain- 
 ing the ditch in front of the works, where they re- 
 mained during the action, and were afterwards made 
 prisoners. The horror before them was too great to 
 be withstood; and already were the British troops 
 seen wavering in their determination, and receding 
 from the conflict. " In that wild revelry, Jackson's 
 men seemed not hving men of flesh and blood, but the 
 spirits of some departed generation, playing with the 
 cannon and the musketry; none fell, none faltered. 
 That is not Jackson gliding like a shadow in the flame 
 and smoke — it is the spirit of his father — his murdered 
 brother — it is the spirit of his mother coming from 
 her long-lost grave, and waving the death-torch in 
 frantic joy over the heads of her dying murderers. 
 Ah! Packenham, your boots are muddy now, who 
 will clean them ? Go, Lambert, to the prison-boy of 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 23 
 
378 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 -f 
 
 ? 
 
 
 Fall of General Gibbs. 
 
 Camden, he will tell you how to minister to the wanl8 
 of the sick, the wounded and the prisoner ! Gibbs caji 
 tell how a magnanimous soul can act towards a ftillen 
 foe !"* 
 
 But the British wTrc wavering, and thinking of 
 flight. At this instant, Sir Edward Packenham, has- 
 teniniT to the front, endeavoured to encouraije and 
 mspire them with renewed zeal. His exan)ple was of 
 short continuance : he soon fell mortally wounded in 
 the arms of an aid-de-camp, not f;ir from the ditch. 
 Generals Gibbs and Keane also fell, and were borne 
 from the field dangerously wounded. At this moment 
 
 Garland's Kiilog}' 
 
THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY. 379 
 
 General Lambert, who "was advancing with the reserve 
 at a small distance in the rear, met the columns pre- 
 cipitately retreating, and in great confusion. His 
 efforts to stop them were unavailing. They continued 
 retreating until they reached a ditch, at the distance 
 of four hundred yards, where a momentary safety 
 being found, they were rallied and halted. 
 
 The field before them, over which they had ad- 
 vanced, was strewed with the dead and dying. Dan- 
 ger still hovered around ; yet urged and encouraged 
 by their officers, who feared their ow^n disgrace in- 
 volved in the failure, they again moved to the charge. 
 They were already near enough to deploy, and were 
 endeavouring to do so; but the same constant and 
 unremitted resistance that caused their first retreat, 
 continued yet unabated. The batteries had never 
 ceased their fire ; their constant discharges of grape 
 and canister, and the fatal aim of the musketry, naowed 
 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, leav- 
 ing it almost entirely covered with the dead and 
 wounded. It was in vain their officers endeavoured 
 to animate them to further resistance, and equally 
 vain to attempt coercion. The panic produced from 
 the dreadful repulse they had experienced, the plain 
 on which they had acted being covered with innumera- 
 ble bodies of their countrymen, while with their most 
 zealous exertions they had been unable to obtain the 
 slifrhtest advantage, were circumstances well calculated 
 
3S0 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 to make even the most submissive soldier oppose the 
 authority that Mould have controlled him. 
 
 In the meantime the left of General Keane'c divi- 
 sion, under the command of Colonel Rennie, proceeded 
 against the redoubt on the right of the American line. 
 They marched under cover of some chimneys stand- 
 ing in the field, until they cleared them, when they 
 obliqued to the river, and, protected by the levee, ad- 
 vanced until they arrived at the ditch. Their advance 
 was greatly annoyed by Commodore Patter.'on's bat- 
 tery on the right bank, and the cannon mounted on 
 the redoubt ; but, reaching the works and passing the 
 ditch, Rennie, sword in hand, leaped on the wall, and 
 calling to his troops, bade them follow. He had 
 scarcely spoken, when he fell by the fatal aim of a 
 rifleman. Pressed by the impetuosity of superior 
 numbers, who were mounting the Mall and entering at 
 the embrasures, the Americans retired to the line, in 
 the rear of the redoubt. A momentary pause ensued, 
 but only to be interrupted with increased horrors. 
 Captain Real, with the city riflemen, cool and self- 
 possessed, perceiving the enemy in his front, opened 
 upon them, and at every discharge brought the object 
 to the ground. To advance or maintain the point 
 gained was equally impracticable for the enemy. To 
 retreat or surrender was the only alternative ; for they 
 already saw the division on the right thrown into con- 
 fusion, and hastily leaving the field. 
 
 As soon as the enemy retired on the left. General 
 Jackson pressed forward reinforcements to the right 
 of his line, with orders to regain the redoubt. Previ- 
 ously to their arrival, the enemy had abandoned the 
 
THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY. 383 
 
 attempt, and were retiring. They were severely galled 
 by such of the guns as could be brought to bear. The 
 levee afforded them considerable protection ; yet, by 
 Commodore Patterson's redoubt on the right bank, 
 they suffered greatly. Enfiladed by this on their ad- 
 vance, they had been greatly annoyed ; and now, in 
 their retreat, were no less severely assailed. Numbers 
 found a grave in the ditch before the intrenchmcnts ; 
 and the route along which they had advanced and re- 
 tired was strewed with bodies. Affrighted at the car- 
 nage, they moved from the scene hastily and in con- 
 fusion. The batteries still continued the slaughter, 
 cutting them down at every step ; safety seemed only 
 to be attainable beyond the range of the cannon; 
 which, to troops so severely galled, was too remote a 
 relief. Urged by this consideration, they fled to the 
 ditch, whither the right division had retreated, and 
 there remained until the darkness of night permitted 
 them to retire. The want of arms for his men alone 
 prevented Jackson from pursuing the enemy, and gain 
 ing a complete victory by the capture of the whole 
 British army. 
 
 While the enemy thus attempted to storm the lines 
 of defence on the left, Colonel Thornton, with eiorht 
 hundred chosen troops, advanced on the line on the 
 right bank of the river. jMajor Arnaud with two 
 hundred men had been despatched on the night of the 
 7th to oppose the landing of the enemy ; but he failed 
 in his duty, did not approach the landing-place, but 
 waited till he heard them approach to the attack, and 
 then fled towards the lines. The Kentucky troops, 
 having reached Morgan at five o'clock in the morning 
 
384 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 of the Stii, were sent to aid Major Arnaud. Major 
 Davis, who commanded, soon met the Louisianians 
 retiring, prevailed on them to make a stand, and the 
 two detachments united formed behind a mill-race. 
 Davis with his two hundred Kentuckians formed on 
 the road ne.xt the river, supported by the Louisiana 
 militia on the right. The enemy appearing, their 
 approach was resisted, and a warm and spirited oppo- 
 sition for some time maintained. A momentary check 
 was given. The British again advanced and again 
 received a heavy fire. At this moment, General 
 Morgan's aid-de-camp, who was present, perceiving 
 the steady advance of the enemy, and fearing for the 
 safety of the troops, ordered a retreat. Confusion 
 was the consequence — order could not be maintained, 
 and the whole fled in haste to Morgan's line. Arri- 
 ving in safety, though much exhausted, they were 
 immediately directed to form on the right of the line, 
 and extend themselves to the swamp, to prevent the 
 enemy from turning the right flank. 
 
 Colonel Thornton advanced to the attack in two 
 divisions, against the extreme right and centre of the 
 line. A severe discharge from the field-pieces sta- 
 tioned along the line caused the right column to oblique 
 and unite with the left, when they proceeded together 
 towards the point occupied by the Kentucky troops. 
 Perceiving themselves thus exposed, and not having 
 yet recovered from the emotions produced by their 
 first retreat, they began to give way, and very soon 
 entirely abandoned their position. The Louisiana 
 militia gave a few fires, and followed their example. 
 Through the exertions of the oflicers, a momentary 
 
THE EIGHTH OF JANUAIIY. 385 
 
 luilt was effected ; but a burst of Congrcvc rockets, 
 falling thickly and setting lire to the sugar-cane and 
 other combustibles around, again excited their fears, 
 and they moved hastily away ; nor could they be again 
 rallied, until at the distance of two miles, having reachea 
 a mill-race, they were formed and placed in an atti- 
 tude of defence. When the militia forsook their 
 posts. Commodore Patterson, perceiving that he could 
 no longer maintain his position, spiked his guns, de- 
 stroyed his ammunition, and retired from a post where 
 he had rendered the most important services. 
 
 Fearful lest the guns might beunspiked and brought 
 to operate against hiiii. General Jackson hastened to 
 throw detachments across, with orders to regain the 
 redoubt at all hazards. To the troops on the right 
 bank, he forwarded an address, with a view to excite 
 them to deeds of valour, and inspirit them to exertions 
 that should wipe off the reproach they had drawn 
 upon themselves. Previously, however, to their being 
 in readiness to act, he succeeded, by stratagem, in re- 
 obtaining it, and thus spared the effusion of blood 
 which would have been necessary to its accomplish- 
 ment. 
 
 The American effective force at the line, on the 
 left bank, was three thousand seven hundred ; that of 
 the enemy at least nine thousand. The loss of the 
 British in the main attack, on the left bank, has been 
 at different times variously stated. The killed, 
 wounded, and prisoners, ascertained on the day after 
 the battle by Colonel Ilayne, the inspector-general, 
 makes it twenty-six hundred. General Lambert's ns 
 port to Lord Bathurst makes it but two thousand and 
 
3S6 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 seventy. From prisoners, however, and information 
 derived through other sources, it must have been even 
 greater than is stated by either. Among them was 
 the commander-in-chief, and Major-General Gibbs, 
 who died of his wounds the next day, besides many 
 of their most valuable and distinjruished officers. 
 
 The loss of the Americans in killed and wounded 
 was but thirteen. 
 
 On the right bank the British loss was one hun- 
 dred and twenty men killed or wounded ; whilst that 
 of the Americans was one killed, five wounded, and 
 nineteen missing. 
 
 The events of this day afford abundant evidence of 
 the liberality of the American soldiers, and show a 
 striking difference in the troops of the two nations. 
 While the British soldier was allured to acts of bravery 
 and duty, by the promised pillage and plunder of the 
 inhabitants, and the commission of crimes abhorrent in 
 the sio;ht of earth and heaven, the American fought but 
 for his country ; and, having repelled her assailants, 
 instantly forgot all enmity, viewed his fallen foe as a 
 brother, and hastened to assist him, even at the hazard 
 of his own life. The gallantry of the British sol- 
 diers, and no people could have displayed greater, had 
 brought many of them even to the American ram- 
 parts, where, shot down by their opponents, they were 
 lying, badly wounded. When the firing had ceased, 
 and the columns had retired, Jackson's troops, with 
 generous benevolence, advanced over their lines to 
 assist and bring in the wounded, who lay under and 
 near the walls ; when, strange to tell, the enemy, from 
 a ditch they occupied, opened a fire upon them, and 
 
THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY. 389 
 
 thouo^h at a considerable distance, succeeded in ^vound- 
 incT several. It was enough for the Americans that 
 they were doing an act which the benevolence of their 
 hearts approved ; and, with charitable perseverance, 
 they continued to administer to the wants of these 
 suffering men, and to carry them within their lines, 
 although in their efforts they were continually exposed 
 to danger. Let the apologist for crime say wherefore 
 were acts thus unpardonable committed against men 
 who were administerinfr to the wants, and relieving 
 the sufferings of the dying countrymen of those who 
 thus repaid the most laudable humanity with wanton 
 and useless cruelty. 
 
 A communication was shortly after received from 
 Major-General Lambert, on whom in consequence of 
 the fall of Generals Packenham, Gibbs, and Keane, 
 the command had devolved, acknowledging the kind- 
 ness of the soldiers, and requesting permission to send 
 an unarmed party to bury the dead lying before his 
 lines, and to bring off such of them as were danger- 
 ously wounded. The request to bury the dead was 
 granted ; though General Jackson refused to permit 
 a near approach to his line, but consented that the 
 wounded who were at a greater distance than three 
 hundred yards from the intrenchments should be re- 
 lieved, and the dead buried : those nearer were to be 
 delivered over by his own men, that the enemy might 
 not have an opportunity to inspect, or know anything 
 of his situation. 
 
 General Lambert, desirous of administering to the 
 relief of the wounded, and that he might be relieved 
 from his apprehensions of an attack, proposed about 
 
390 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 noon that hostilities should cease until the same hour the 
 next day. General Jackson, cherishing the hope of 
 being able to secure an important advantage by his 
 apparent willingness to accede to the proposal, drew 
 up an armistice and forwarded it to General Lambert, 
 with directions for it to be immediately returned, if 
 approved. It contained a stipulation to this effect: — 
 That hostihties on the left bank of the river should be 
 discontinued froui its ratification, but on the rio-ht 
 bank they should not cease ; and, in the interim, that 
 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 ex- 
 lent <lesired, was yet attended with considerable hazard. 
 Reinforcements had been ordered over to retake the 
 position lost by Morgan in the morning, and tiie gen- 
 eral presumed they had arrived at their point of desti- 
 nation ; but at this time they had not passed the river; 
 nor could it be expected to be retaken ^^ith the same 
 troops who had just yielded it, when possessed of ad- 
 vantaijes which gave them a decided superiority. This 
 the conmianding general well knew ; yet, to spare the 
 sacrifice of his men, which, in regaining it he saw must 
 be considerable, he Avas disposed to venture upon a 
 course which might possibly succeed. It was im.pos- 
 sible that his object could be discovered ; while he 
 confidcnily believed the I>ritish commander \Nould in- 
 fer, frowi the prompt Jind ready manner in which his 
 proposal had boon met, that such additional troops 
 wen; already thrown over as would be fully adeqnnu> 
 to the pur[)()ses of attack, and greatly to endanger, ^\ 
 not wholly cut off, Colonel Thornton's retreat. Gen- 
 
JACKSON GRANTS AN ARMISTICE. 391 
 
 eral Lambert's construction was such as liad been 
 anticipated. Although the armistice contained a re- 
 quest that it should be immediately signed and returned, 
 it was neglected to be acted upon until the next day; 
 and Thornton and his command were in the mean 
 time, under cover of the night, recrossed, and the 
 ground they had occupied left to be peaceably pos- 
 sessed by the original holders. The opportunity thus 
 afforded of regaining a position on which, in a great 
 degree, depended the safety of those upon the opposite 
 shore, was accepted with an avidity its importance 
 merited, and immediate measures were taken to in- 
 crease its strength, and prepare it against any future 
 attack that mifjlit be made. 
 
 Early the next morning (January 9th), General 
 Lambert returned his accei)tance of what had been 
 proposed, with an apology for having failed to reply 
 sooner; and an armistice was concluded, to continue 
 until two o'clock in the afternoon. The dead and 
 wounded were then removed from the field, which, for 
 three hundred yards in front of Jackson's line, they 
 almost literally covered. The American soldiers 
 within the line of demarcation between the two camps 
 delivered over to the British, who were not permitted 
 to cross it, the dead for burial, and the wounded on 
 parole, for which it was stipulated an equal number of 
 American prisoners should be restored. 
 
 There is one fact told, which clearly shows the 
 opinion entertained by the British of the American 
 militia, and the little fear they had of any determined 
 opposition from them. When repulsed by them, the 
 British officers were fully persuaded that the informa- 
 
392 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Burying the dead 
 
 tion given them by the deserter on the night of the 
 6th was false ; and that instead of pointing out the 
 ground defended by the mihtia, he had referred them 
 to the place occupied by the best troops. Enraged at 
 what they believed to be an intentional deception, they 
 called their informant before them to account for the 
 mischief he had done. It was in vain he ur<xed his 
 innocence, and, with the most solemn protestations, 
 declared he had stated the fact truly as it was. They 
 could not be convinced, — it was impossible that they 
 had contended against any but the best disciplined 
 troops ; and, without further ceremony, the poor fel- 
 low, suspended in view of the camp, expiated on a 
 tree, not his crime — for what he stated was true — but 
 their error in underrating an enemy who had already 
 afforded abundant evidences of valour. In all their 
 future trials with Americans, may they be no less de- 
 ceived, and may they discover in the yeomanry of the 
 country a determination to sustain with firmness a 
 
RETREAT OF THE BRITISH. 393 
 
 government which knoAvs nothing of oppression ; but 
 which, on an enlarged and hberal scale, aims to secure 
 the independence and happiness of man. If the people 
 of the United States — free almost as the air they 
 breathe — shall at any time omit to maintain their pri- 
 vileges and their government, then, indeed, will it be 
 idle longer to speak of the rights of men, or of their 
 capacity to govern themselves : the dream of liberty 
 must fade away and perish for ever, no more to be 
 remembered or thought of. 
 
 After the battle of the 8th of January, Jackson 
 could have captured every man of the British force 
 that was upon the land, if he had been supplied with 
 arms, according to his own repeated urgent requests, 
 and agreeably to the promises that were made him. 
 Not having arms, he was compelled to let the remain- 
 der of the " heroes of the Peninsula" escape. They 
 reached Lake Borgne, and there they embarked, leav- 
 ing behind them the contempt of the faithful Ameri- 
 cans, and the sympathetic sorrows of the traitors. 
 
 " No great merit is to be attached to the fact that 
 the flash of gunpowder and the whiz of bullets had no 
 terrors for Andrew Jackson. There were thousands 
 that feared them as little as he did ; while not one in 
 a whole generation could be found with his powers of 
 command, that fecundity of genius, by which, under 
 the most trying circumstances, he created unforeseen 
 resources — raised, as it were, from the ground, hosts 
 of intrepid warriors, and provided every vulnerable 
 point with ample means of defence — that instinctive 
 superiority, self-reliance, and impulsive energy, which 
 at once rallied around him universal confidence, im- 
 
394 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 pressed one irresistible movement on all the jarring 
 elements of a mixed population ; roused their slumber- 
 ing spirits, and diffused through every rank the noble 
 ardour that flowed in his own bosom — that consum- 
 mate prudence which defeated all the combinations of 
 a saijacious enemv — entangled them in the very snares 
 they had spread for him, and succeeded in effecting 
 their utter destruction, without exposing the lives of 
 his own soldiers. These qualities of mind constitute 
 his greatness, and not brute courao-e. 
 
 " When the 8th day of January came the work was 
 done. The greatest enemy had been conquered. By 
 his wise plans and indomitable energy, Jackson had 
 made certain and inevitable the glorious results of that 
 day. lie had already fought the battle and won the 
 victory before the day of carnage came. 
 
 " But it has been said that there is no great merit 
 in fighting behind cotton-bags. And some are unge- 
 nerous cnouirh to detract from that glorious achieve- 
 ment, on the ground that those ^^ho accomplished it 
 stood in comparative security. Why then were not 
 the results on the opposite side of the river as brilliant 
 as those on the left ? There were like fortifications, 
 and the friends, neighbours, and companions of those 
 on the left to defend them. No difference in the strength 
 of position or the spirit of the men ; yet, on the right 
 hnrik, though opposed by one division only, they fled 
 at the first fire — while those on the opposite side never 
 flinched from tlieir duty; though ihey had to meet the 
 whole force of the British army, led on by the most 
 renowned generals, \^'hv ihis difference? On the 
 one side there was .Tackson to awe into obedience, 
 
BOMBARDMENT OF FORT ST. PHILIP. 395 
 
 animate, and direct; while on the other, there was no 
 master-spirit hke him to ' ride upon the whirlwind and 
 direct the storm.' All praise, then, is due to the great 
 chieftain, who won a vi€tory as brilliant as any re- 
 corded in the annals of warfare; as important, in its 
 consequences to the present and future generations, 
 and to all mankind, as any battle ever fought in the 
 tide of time."* 
 
 Bombardment of Fort St. Philip. 
 
 In the morning of the 9th of January, a British 
 squadron, consisting of two bomb-vessels, a brig, sloop, 
 and schooner, appeared below Fort St. Philip, and 
 commenced a bombardment of that fort, with the 
 intention of forcing a passage up the river, and aiding 
 the beaten army. The fire was returned from the 
 fort Avith such effect as to cause the vessels to retire 
 to the distance of two miles, out of range of the Ame- 
 rican guns ; but having it in their power to reach the 
 fort with the shot from their large mortars. The 
 bombardment continued without intermission from 
 the 9lh until the night of the 17th, when a heavy 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 
396 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 mortar having been prepared and turned against them, 
 they suspended their operations, and on the morning 
 of the 18th, before dayhght, they retired. The failure 
 of this squadron to effect a passage up the river, per- 
 haps determined General Lambert in the course he 
 immediately adopted. He decamped on the night of 
 the 18th, and embarked for his shipping on Lake 
 Borgne, leaving behind him eighty of his soldiers, who 
 were too severely wounded to be removed. He took 
 such precautions, aided by the nature of the ground 
 over which he was retreating, as prevented pursuit in 
 sufficient numbers to secure any valuable result. 
 
 Thus, at last, in total disappointment, terminated 
 an invasion, from which much had been expected. 
 Twenty-six days ago, flushed with the hope of certain 
 victory, had this army erected its standard on the 
 banks of the Mississippi. At that moment they would 
 have treated with contempt an assertion, that in ten 
 days they would not enter the city of New Orleans. 
 How changed the portrait from the expected reality ! 
 But a few days since, and they were confident of the 
 hour of triumph, and successful termination of their 
 labours ; now, vanquished, beaten, and cut to pieces, 
 at midnight, under cover of its darkness, they are 
 silently abandoning their camp — breaking to pieces 
 their artillery — fleeing from an enemy, whom but a little 
 while before they held in utter contempt, and submit 
 ting their wounded to his clemency. A demonstration 
 is given, which a Briton short of absolute proof would 
 have been among the last to have admitted, that four- 
 teen thousand troops, who often against the sternest 
 opposition had signalized themselves in battle, and 
 
JACKSON RETURNS TO NEW ORLEANS. 307 
 
 marched to victory, could, under any circumstances, 
 bp beaten and one-third of them destroyed by an in- 
 ferior number of men, who scarcely knew how to form 
 in column, or deploy into lines : but they knew what 
 was of infinitely more service — in nerving with strength 
 the soldier's arm, and dispelling everything like fear — 
 that they were contending for their rights against a 
 power which was causelessly seeking their destruction 
 — for privilege against usurpation — for liberty, in op- 
 position to oppression — that they were fighting for a 
 country they loved, and for enjoyments which, if once 
 lost, could never be regained. Prompted by these 
 considerations, they had entered the field, and under 
 their influence had acted. For their toils and priva- 
 tions they were amply remunerated — they had met 
 their o\vn and the country's expectations — had saved 
 a city from destruction — its inhabitants from cruelty 
 and dishonour, and were carrying with them that con- 
 solation, which the recollection of a faithful discharge 
 of duty never fails to inspire. 
 
 Having established such strong posts as he thought 
 would prevent the enemy from again reaching the 
 Mississippi, General Jackson with his remaining 
 forces returned to New Orleans. His approach to 
 the city was hailed with acclamations. It was not 
 the kind of applause ^\hich, resulting from fear, is 
 often extended by the subject to some conqueror or 
 tyrant returning in triumph ; but that which was ex- 
 tended by citizens to a citizen, springing from af- 
 fection, and founded in the honest sincerity of the 
 heart. All greeted his return, and hailed him as their 
 deliverer. 
 
 24 
 
398 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 But, amidst the expressions of thanks, honours, 
 and congratulations heaped upon him, he remembered 
 that, to an energy above his own, and to a wisdom 
 that controls the destiny of nations, he was indebted 
 for the glorious triumph of his arms. Relieved from 
 the arduous duties of the field, his first concern w^as 
 to draw the minds of all, in thankfulness and adoration, 
 to that sovereign mercy, without whose aid and inspi- 
 ring counsel, vain are all earthly efforts. The 23d 
 having been appointed a day of public thanksgiving 
 for the happy deliverance which had just been effected, 
 he repaired to the cathedral. The church and altar 
 were splendidly adorned, and more than could obtain 
 admission had crowded to witness the ceremony. A 
 grateful recollection of his exertions to save the coun- 
 try was cherished by all; nor did the solemnity of 
 the occasion even here restrain a manifestation of 
 their rejrard, or induce them to withhold the honour 
 so nobly earned. Children, robed in white, and re- 
 presenting the diflferent states, were employed in strew- 
 ing the w ay with flowers. In the centre of the grand 
 square a triumphal arch was erected, supported by 
 six columns. On the right, in front of the arch, was 
 a young lady representing Justice, and on the left 
 another, representing Liberty. Under the arch were 
 two young children, each on a pedestal, holding a 
 crown of laurel. 
 
 As the general passed under the arch, he received 
 the crowns of laurel, and proceeded to the church, 
 where he was met by the reverend administrator of the 
 diocese. Addressing him in a strain of pious eloquence, 
 the clergyman entreated him to remember that his 
 
JACKSON'S RETURN TO NEW ORLEANS. 899 
 
 splendid achievements, which were echoed from every 
 tongue, were to be ascribed to Him, to whom all praise 
 was due. " Let the votary of blind chance deride our 
 credulous simplicity ; let the cold-hearted atheist look 
 up for the explanation of such important events to the 
 mere concatenation of human causes ; to us, the whole 
 universe is loud in proclaiming a Supreme Ruler, who, 
 as he holds the hearts of men, holds also the thread 
 of all contingent occurrences. Whatever be his in- 
 termediate agents, still on the secret orders of his all- 
 ruling providence depend the rise and prosperity, as 
 well as the decline and downfall of empires. From 
 his lofty throne above, he moves every scene below; 
 now curbing, now letting loose the passions of men ; 
 now infusing his own wisdom into the leaders of na- 
 tions ; now confounding their boasted prudence, and 
 spreading upon their councils a spirit of intoxication, 
 and thus executing his uncontrollable judgments on the 
 sons of men, according to the dictates of his own un- 
 erring justice." He concluded his impressive address, 
 by presenting the general with a wreath of laurel, 
 woven for the occasion, and which he desired him to 
 accept, as " the prize of victory, and the symbol of 
 immortality." 
 
 General Jackson, accepting the pledge presented 
 by the reverend prelate as a mark of distinguished 
 favour, returned him a reply no less impressive than 
 the address he had received. It was in these words : 
 "Reverend Sir, — I receive, with pleasure, the sym- 
 bolical crown which piety has prepared. I receive it 
 in the name of the brave men who have so effectually 
 seconded my exertions for the preservation of the 
 
400 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 couiitr}" — they well deserve the laurels which their 
 country will bestow. 
 
 " For myself, to have been instrumental in the de- 
 liverance of such a country, is the greatest blessing 
 that Heaven could confer. That it has been effected 
 with so little loss — that so few tears should cloud the 
 smiles of our triumph, and not a cypress leaf be inter- 
 woven in the wreath which you present, is a source 
 of the most exquisite enjoyment. 
 
 " I thank you, reverend sir, most sincerely, for the 
 prayers which you offer up for my happiness. May 
 those your patriotism dictates for our beloved country 
 be first heard; and may mine for your individual 
 prosperity, as well as that of the congregation com- 
 mitted to your care, be favourably received — the pros- 
 perity, the wealth, the happiness of this city, will then 
 be commensurate with the courage and other qualities 
 of its inhabitants." 
 
 The general was then conducted in, and seated 
 near the altar, when the organ and church ceremonies 
 commenced, and inspired every mind with a solemn 
 reverence for the occasion. These being ended, he 
 retired to his quarters, to renew a system of defence 
 which should ensure entire safety, and ward off any 
 future danger that might arise. Generals Coffee and 
 Carroll were instructed to resume the position they had 
 occupied prior to the 23d of December above the city ; 
 while the rest of the troops were arranged at different 
 points, where necessity seemed most to require it, and 
 where they might be convenient for action on the first 
 appearance of danger. 
 
 The enemy, mortified at their imexpccted disaster, 
 
FORT BOWYER TAKEN. 401 
 
 determined to obtain some au-nntaire, however sliiibt, 
 in some measure to counterbalance their disgrace; 
 and for this purpose, made a second attack on Fort 
 Bowyer. This fort was still defended by Major 
 Lawrence, with three hundred and sixty men. On the 
 8th of February, the whole British force commenced 
 the attack, both by land and water. Making their 
 approaches on the land side with the greatest caution, 
 on the morning of the 11th everything was ready to 
 attack and carry the place. Lawrence, seeing that it 
 would only be madness any longer to resist a force at 
 least twenty times his number, then agreed to a capitu- 
 lation, and the fort was surrendered. 
 
 On the 13th of March, an express reached head- 
 quarters, with despatches from the war department, 
 announcing the conclusion of a peace between Great 
 Britain and the United States. A similar communica- 
 tion was shortly afterwards received by General Lam- 
 bert from his government, and on the 19th military 
 operations by the two armies entirely ceased. It was 
 at this time that General Jackson was fined in the 
 sum of one thousand dollars for contempt of court — 
 an event which has already been adverted to. 
 
 It was now indispensable to hasten the necessary 
 arrangements to relieve from the toils of the field 
 those brave men who had so long been struggling in 
 their country's defence. Previously to breaking up 
 his camp, he addressed his army, and declared the 
 high sense he entertained of those w ho had toiled with 
 him in the field, and who, by perseverance and fidelity, 
 had obtained safety for their country, and honour for 
 themselves. This address ought to be read, preserved, 
 
402 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 and cherished, in every country of the world : it is as 
 follows : 
 
 " The major-general is at length enabled to perform 
 the pleasing task of restoring to Tennessee, Kentucky, 
 Louisiana, and the territory of 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 responsibility imposed on the command- 
 ing 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 tenritory and state of 
 Louisiana, both militia and volunteers, will be imme- 
 diately mustered out of service, paid, and discharged. 
 
 "The major-general has the satisfaction of an- 
 nouncing the approbation of the president of the 
 United States to the conduct of the troops under his 
 command, expressed in flattering terms, through the 
 honourable the secretary of war. 
 
 " In parting with those brave men, whose destinies 
 have been so long united with his own, and in whose 
 labours and glories it is his happiness and his boast 
 to have participated, the conunanding-general can 
 neither suppress his feelings, nor give utterance to them 
 as he outjht. In what terms can he bestow suitable 
 praise or merit, so extraordinary, so unparalleled? 
 Let him, in one burst of joy, gratitude, and exultation, 
 exclaim — 'These are the saviours of their country — 
 these the patriot soldiers who triumphed over the in- 
 vincibles of Wellington, and coinpiercd the conquerors 
 
FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE ARMY. 403 
 
 Jackson's Farewell Address to the Army at New Orleans. 
 
 of Europe !' With what patience did you submit to 
 privations — with what fortitude did you endure fatigue 
 — what valour did you display in the day of battle ! 
 You have secured to America a proud name among 
 the nations of 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 connexions, and blissful 
 scenes which render life so dear — full of honour, and 
 crowned with laurels which will never fade. When 
 
404 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 participating, in the bosoms of jour families, the en- 
 joyment of peaceful hfc, \n ith what happiness will you 
 not look back to the toils you have borne — to the 
 dangers you have encountered ? How w ill all your 
 past exposures be converted into sources of inexpress- 
 ible delight ! Who, that never experienced your suf- 
 ferings, 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 of toil, will envy you the happiness which 
 these recollections will afford — still more w ill he envy 
 the gratitude of that country which you have so emi- 
 nently contributed to save. 
 
 " Continue, fellow-soldiers, on your passage to your 
 several destinations, to preserve that subordination, 
 that dignified and manly deportment which have so 
 ennobled your character. 
 
 " While the commanding general is thus giving in- 
 dulijence to his feelinj^s towards those brave com- 
 panions who accompanied him through difficulties and 
 danger, he cannot permit the names of Blount, and 
 Shelby, and Holmes, to pass unnoticed. With what 
 generous ardour and patriotism have these distin- 
 guished governors contributed all their exertions to 
 provide the means of victory ! The recollection of 
 their exertions, and of the success which has resulted, 
 ^\ ill be to them a reward more grateful than any which 
 the pomp of title, or the splendour of wealth can bestow. 
 
 " What happiness is it to the commanding general, 
 that, w hile danger was before him, he was, on no oc- 
 casion, compelled to use towards his companions in 
 arms either severity or rebuke! If, after the enemy 
 
DEPARTURE FOR NASHVILLE. 405 
 
 had retired, improper passions began their empire in 
 a few unworthy bosoms, and rendered a resort to en- 
 ergetic measures necessary for their suppression, he 
 has not confounded the innocent with the guiUy — the 
 seduced with the seducers. Towards you, fellow-sol- 
 diers, the most cheering recollections exist ; blended, 
 alas ! with regret, that disease and war should have 
 ravished from us so many worthy companions. 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 
 general's thanks is feeble, but the gratitude of a coun- 
 try of freemen is yours — yours the applause of an 
 admiring world." 
 
 The Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi troops 
 then took their departure ; and General Gaines being 
 invested with the conmiand of the southern depart- 
 ment. General Jackson soon left New Orleans for 
 Nashville. The good wishes and friendship of the 
 people followed him ; and he carried with him a con- 
 sciousness of having done his duty. A tedious jour- 
 ney of eight hundred miles brought him to Nashville, 
 where an immense concourse was collected, to greet 
 his return, and welcome his arrival. They had long 
 known him as among the number of their best and 
 most respectable citizens ; but now curiosity had a 
 new incentive. Until now, they had not beheld him 
 as one, who, to protect his country, knew no difficulty 
 too great to be encountered, — who, by his firmness, 
 and unconquerable perseverance amidst surroundmg 
 dangers, had shielded her from foreign and intestine 
 
406 
 
 NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Return to Nashville. 
 
 foes. An elegant address, drawn up and delivered by- 
 Mr. Grundv, welcomed his return. Having received 
 this further display of public confidence, the more 
 grateful because from those who were liis acquain- 
 tances, neighbours and friends, he returned home, to 
 enjoy that repose, to which, for eighteen months, he 
 had been aT stranger. 
 
 Thus did General Jackson put an end to the second 
 war with Great Britaiu, and return to his home. 
 Taking into consideration the comparative strength 
 of the two aruiics, and the comparative loss, there is 
 no battle on the pages of history which will compare 
 with that of New Orleans. It was this battle that 
 croN\ ned the military career of Andrew Jackson ! It 
 was this battle that gave him a fame and reputation 
 miperishablo in all future time. And now that his 
 
JACKSON'S MILITARY REPUTATION. 407 
 
 name and his acts have become the property oi" his 
 country, the voice of emulation and discord is hushed 
 for ever — that full justice will be done him, which in 
 his hfe may have been partially withheld. His con- 
 duct as a soldier on the field of New Orleaus, entiUes 
 him to a place in no way inferior to the best general 
 of the age. The memory of that battle will be per- 
 petual ; together w^th Yorktown, and Monmouth, and 
 Bunker Hill— Waterloo, Austerlitz, and Jena— Mara- 
 thon and Thermopylse, it will go down to the latest 
 posterity. 
 
 " To Jackson's fame, the honour of two successful 
 wars may be added. Few, indeed, have had the same 
 duties to perform in the service of their country — and 
 none have discharged them with more personal credit 
 to themselves and to the nation. He has never had 
 the charge of cowardice imputed to him, in the times 
 of the highest political excitement — he has never been 
 charged with an ambition which was irreconcileable 
 with the best interests of his country. Like the im- 
 mortal Washington, when he had finished the work 
 of doing battle for the republic, he retired to the scenes 
 of private and domestic life, until called on by the 
 people to act in a more exalted sphere. It has never 
 been imputed to him, that any other motive impelled 
 him than an honest and patriotic desire to serve the 
 sacred cause of freedom — to maintain and jjerpctuate 
 those principles of government which had their origin 
 in the dawn of the revolution. Honest, patriotic, 
 brave — he was ever ready to draw the sword from the 
 scabbard when duty called him, and as willing to re- 
 turn it when the day of duty was done. The fam 3 
 
408 
 
 XEW ORLEANS. 
 
 of the soklior, which in his case was exalted, was 
 never used for purposes of personal aggrandizement, 
 or popular promotion. Generous to a fault, courteous 
 and agreeable, he gained with the soldiery an influence, 
 which, with an evil mind, he could have converted to 
 the lasting injury of his country. He shared with them 
 their wants and privations — was a friend — their com- 
 panion — in a word, their regard and aflfection for him 
 was unbounded."* 
 
 * Wright's Eulogy. 
 
CHAPTER XVI, 
 
 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 TIE war-drum was destined soon 
 again to summon General Jackson 
 to the fields of Florida. He was 
 only allowed a short season for re- 
 pose. He arrived at Nashville on 
 the 15th of May, 1815. Some time 
 previous to his arrival he received a message from 
 
410 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 Washington, asking him to proceed to that place, and 
 lend his aid in the organization of a peace establish- 
 ment in the army. His immediate compliance was 
 impossible, on account of indispensable duties devolving 
 upon him in the district under his command. It was 
 necessary for him to return " to his own fields and his 
 own pursuits, to cherish his plantation, to care for his 
 servants, to enjoy the affection of the most kind and 
 devoted wife, whom he respected with the gentlest 
 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 summit to the skies, and growing on its 
 native soil in wild and inimitable magnificence, care- 
 less of beholders. From all parts of the country he 
 received appeals to his political ambition, and the se- 
 vere modesty of his well-balanced mind turned them 
 all aside. lie was happy in his farm, happy in se- 
 clusion, happy in his family, happy within himself."* 
 
 But his country still required his services. The 
 government decided that ten thousand men should 
 constitute the peace establishment; and the whole 
 country was divided into two military departments, — 
 the north and the south. Major-General Jackson 
 was appointed commander-in-chief of the southern 
 division. He accepted the command and established 
 his head quarters at Nashville, where he receivecf many 
 tokens of the gratitude and respect of his fellow-citi- 
 zens. The legislature of Tennessee voted him the 
 
 * Bancroft's Eulogy. 
 
JACKSON'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON. 41] 
 
 thanks of the state, and presented to him a gold medal ; 
 at the same time presenting elegant swords to his 
 compatriots, Generals Coffee and Carroll. 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1815, General Jack- 
 son, for the first time since the declaration of war 
 against Great Britain, repaired to the national seat of 
 government. As he passed along through the cities and 
 towns which he had helped to defend from destruc- 
 tion, he was everywhere welcomed with joy, and re- 
 ceived with that marked attention which a grateful and 
 an admiring people bestow upon a public benefactor. 
 
 Although he deprecated all parade and ostentatious 
 show, yet he found it impossible to avoid a reciproca- 
 tion of the civility and hospitality which he every- 
 where met. When he arrived at Washington, he 
 was received by President Madison with that dig- 
 nified cordiality which always distinguished the fathers 
 of our republic. He saw with pain the barbarous 
 marks left by the British under Ross. He saw the 
 ruins of the capitol, the President's house, and the 
 other public buildings, and his bosom was filled with 
 feelings of heart-felt gratitude when he remembered 
 that he had been selected by Providence as the instru- 
 ment to prevent the same signs of desolation from 
 appearing in New Orleans. 
 
 "At all the public parties which the general attended, 
 at Washington, at Georgetown, at Alexandria, and 
 other places in the neighbourhood, he showed that, 
 though in time of war a soldier must be a lion to his 
 enemies, he could, in time of peace, be a lamb to his 
 friends ; that he could smooth ' tlic wrinJdcd front'' of 
 the soldier, and enjoy the ' lulling tune of the lute.' At 
 
41-? 
 
 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 M.Kl..,;Il. 
 
 the tabic, he could enjoy the luxuries it afforded, with 
 the elegance of the gentleman — at a levee, or a draw- 
 ing-room, he could repay the civilities he received — and 
 in the ball-room, could, if he chose, display the refined 
 accomplishments of the courtier. Mrs. .Jackson ac- 
 companied her husband to Washington ; and every- 
 where received that distinguished respect which her 
 own merit, as well as admiration for the hero of New 
 Orleans, induced every one to bestow. 
 
JACKSON'S VISIT TO NEW ORLEANS. 413 
 
 " But amidst the fascinating blandishments of re- 
 fined society, and the alluring charms of elegant amuse- 
 ments, he never forgot liis duty to his countrymen. 
 More than one-half of one of the largest countries of 
 the world, in point of territory, had been assigned to 
 his command. Though the olive-branch of peace 
 >\ aved over his country, where the clarion of war had 
 long assailed the ears of his countrymen, he never re- 
 mitted his exertions to secure, in time of peace, by effi- 
 cient regulations and necessary establishments, the 
 rights and blessings which he had defended by the 
 sword."* 
 
 Accordingly, in the early part of the year 1816, he 
 repaired to New Orleans, in order so to station the 
 few troops under his command as completely to defend 
 the southern border of his district from the inroads 
 of savages, and the depredations of whites. It would 
 be useless to attempt to describe the enthusiasm with 
 which he was welcomed back to New Orleans. He 
 was entering a city which he had saved from total de- 
 struction, and he was received by men whose lives he 
 had defended, by fathers who owed to him the existence 
 of their children, by the wealthy whose property he 
 had preserved, and by wives and daughters whose 
 honour he had protected. No wonder, then, that the 
 whole population strove each to excel his neighbour in 
 warmth and hospitality. His reception was equal to 
 that accorded to Washington on his first tour after 
 the revolution, and that of La Fayette, when he returned 
 to visit the land in whose defence he had so materially 
 aided. But General Jackson was not on a tour of 
 
 * Civil and Military History of Jackson. 
 25 
 
414- 
 
 T H E ? E :^.r I X O L E W A U . 
 
 -•Ms 
 
 I i I i I 
 
 Jucktwii's vi^it ti) Al-w Orieaiis. 
 
 pleasure. He had duties to perform. The suffering 
 health of the soldiery called for his care, and the di- 
 vision of the south vras threatened by the Seminole 
 Indians in Florida, aided again by the Spanish au- 
 thorities. He was aware that the only way to restrain 
 their barbarity, or to puni^^h them when the offence 
 rt'as committed, was to station a suitable force on their 
 borders, under the command of an intelligent and tried 
 officer. The troops were accord in <xly removed to the 
 Alabama territory, and stationed along the boundary 
 
INDIAN NEGOTIATION. 415 
 
 of Florida in small forts, having every convenience, 
 and designed especially to favour their health. 
 
 Jackson's next care was to secure to the United 
 States the land he had won from the Indians. For 
 this purpose, he entered into a negotiation with the 
 Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Creek tribes. 
 Though these lands had been obtained by conquest, 
 after a sanguinary war, brought on, as we have seen, 
 by the savages themselves, and afterwards ceded to 
 the United States by a treaty with them, in which 
 they acknowledged their gratitude for being permitted 
 to retain any territory ; yet, to pacify them completely, 
 and to extinguish their claim to the lands for ever, 
 General Jackson engaged, in behalf of his government, 
 and with the advice and consent of that government, 
 to pay to the Creeks ten thousand dollars a year for 
 ten years, and to the Cherokees ten thousand dollars 
 a year for eight years. This measure, strongly evin- 
 cing the moderation and good feeling of the American 
 government towards the natives, was gladly acquiesced 
 in by them, and they ever after considered General 
 Jackson their warmest friend. 
 
 He then repaired to Huntsville, in Mississippi, when 
 by order of the government he published an order, en- 
 joining all citizens of the United States, to abstain from 
 encroachments upon Indian lands, and ordering such 
 as had settled on them to remove within a limited 
 number of days. This injunction, though severe upon 
 those who had occupied such lands through misappre- 
 hension, yet was required by that justice and equity 
 which the government has always exercised towards 
 the Indian tribes. 
 
416 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 It was during the autumn of 1816, that tlie ladies 
 of South CaroUna, his native state, presented to Gen- 
 eral Jackson, through Colonel Hayne and Major 
 Gadsden, a splendid silver vase, as a manifestation of 
 their respect. The vase was elevated on a pedestal, 
 having figures and inscriptions attached to it, emblema- 
 tical of the country's glory, and that of him for whom 
 it was designed. Upon one side of it, there was a 
 striking representation of the battle of New Orleans, 
 and an inscription, " Eighth of January, 1815", and 
 upon the other, " Presented by the ladies of South Ca- 
 rolina to Major-General Andrew Jackson." This 
 present was peculiarly grateful to the feelings of the 
 general, coming, as it did, from the ladies of his native 
 state, the worthy descendants of those matrons, whose 
 benevolence to their countrymen during the revolution 
 will never be forgotten. 
 
 In October, 1816, General Jackson returned to his 
 head quarters at Nashville, where he occupied himself 
 with his domestic concerns, and in regulating and per- 
 fecting the police of his army. It was not long, how- 
 ever, until he was again called to face the enemies of 
 his country. 
 
 The whole of the Floridas at this time belonged to 
 Spain ; but the authority of that government was con- 
 fined almost exclusively within the walls of Pensacola 
 and St. Augustine, where small garrisons were main- 
 tained. Adventurers from every country, fugitives 
 from justice, and absconding slaves, found an asylum 
 in the territory. Several tribes of Indians, strong in 
 the number of their warriors, remarkable for their fe- 
 rocity, and whose settlements extended to the southern 
 
CONDITION OF FLORIDA. 417 
 
 limits of the United States, inhabited those provinces. 
 These different hordes of people connected together, 
 disregarding on the one side the authority of Spain, 
 and protected on the other by an imaginary line scpa- 
 ratinji Florida from the United States, violated the 
 laws prohibiting the introduction of slaves, practised 
 various frauds on the revenue, and committed every 
 kind of outrage on the peaceable citizens of the United 
 States, which their proximity enabled them to perpe- 
 trate. 
 
 In 1817, Amelia Island was invaded by a small 
 band of adventurers, not exceeding one hundred and 
 fifty in number, and wrested from the inconsiderable 
 Spanish force stationed there. This band of pirates 
 and smugglers held the island thus gained for several 
 months, and converted it into a port of entry, through 
 which they smuggled their goods into the United 
 States. During that time, but one effort was made 
 by the Spaniards to dislodge them, which, by its fail- 
 ure, clearly proved how completely extinct the Spanish 
 authority had become ; as the conduct of those ad- 
 venturers, while in possession of the island, as dis- 
 tinctly showed the pernicious purposes for which their 
 combination had been formed. 
 
 Florida had in fact become the theatre of every 
 species of lawless adventure. With little population 
 of its own, the Spanish authority almost extinct, and 
 the colonial governments, in a state of revolution, 
 having no pretensions to it, and sufficiently employed 
 in their own concerns, it was, in a great measure, de- 
 relict, and the object of cupidity to every adventurer. 
 A system of buccaneering was rapidly organizing over 
 
418 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 it, which menaced in its consequences the lawful com- 
 merce of every nation, and particularly of the United 
 States ; while it presented a temptation to every 
 people, on whose seduction its success principally 
 depended. 
 
 In regard to the United States, the pernicious ef- 
 fects of this unlawful combination were not confined 
 to the ocean. With the Indian tribes, who constituted 
 the effective force in Florida, these adventurers had 
 formed at an early period a connexion, with a view 
 to avail themselves of that force to promote their own 
 objects of accumulation and aggrandizement. It is 
 to the interference of some of these adventurers, par- 
 ticularly to tw^o of them, Nicholls and Woodbine, of 
 Pensacola and Fort Bowyer memory, that the Semi- 
 nole war is principally to bo traced. These men, to- 
 gether with other foreign refugees, remained in Florida 
 after the conclusion of the war with Great Britain, 
 and practised upon the savage propensities of the In- 
 dians, misrepresenting their claims and titles to lands 
 lying within the United States. Men who thus con- 
 nect themselves with savajje communities, and stimu- 
 late them to war, which is alw ays attended on their 
 part with the most shocking acts of barbarity, deserve 
 to be viewed in a worse light than the savages. They 
 would certainly have no claim to an immunity from 
 the punishment which, according to the rules of war- 
 fare practised by the Indians, might justly be inflicted 
 on the savages themselves. 
 
 It was incumbent on the United States not to per- 
 mit the inability of Spain to sustain her authority in 
 the Floridas, to be perverted by foreign adventurers 
 
BUCCANEERS. 
 
 419 
 
 and savages, to purposes so destructive to the lives 
 of the citizens and the highest interests of the govern- 
 ment of the United States. The right of self-defence 
 never ceases. It is amons the most sacred, and alike 
 necessary to nations and individuals. The object of 
 the invaders of Auielia Island being distinctly seen, 
 the President of the United States, Mr. Monroe, thouglit 
 It his duty to suppress the establishment, and it \va.s 
 accordingly done. Captain Henly, of the United States 
 
'1'20 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 navy, took possession of the island on the 22d of 
 December, 1817, 
 
 The combination in Florida for the unlawful pur- 
 poses stated, the acts perpetrated by that combination, 
 and above all, the incitement of the Indians to mas- 
 sacre American citizens, of every age, and of both 
 sexes, merited a like treatment, and received it.* 
 
 xVfter having been driven from Pensacola and the 
 Barrancas by General Jackson, Colonel Nicholls re- 
 moved to the Apalachicola river, where he established 
 a fort within the limits of Florida, and near St. Mark's. 
 This fort was made an asylum for the base and des- 
 perate of every people and nation ; all vagrant Indians, 
 fugitive negroes, Spanish renegadoes, British male- 
 factors, outlaws, and pirates, were associated here to 
 foment and breed plots of blood and torture, murder 
 and treason. Nichols retained this post several months 
 after the ratification of the treaty of Ghent, by wliich 
 peace was proclaimed between the United States and 
 Great Britain. He occupied his time in collecting and 
 training the savages and negroes, and stimulating them 
 to hostilities with the United States. The most nu- 
 merous occupants of the interior, were the Scininole 
 Indians, originally outcasts from the Creeks, and other 
 Indian tribes. The hostile Creeks, who had been ex- 
 pelled from their lands by General Jackson, together 
 with other fugitives, from the moro northern tribes, had 
 united with the Seminolcs, under the name of Red-sticks. 
 This name was given to them bocausf\ at t1i<>ir prin- 
 cipal village of Mickasuky, tlioy had erected a high 
 
 * Monroe's seen nd Anninl M.-s:sTii[e. 
 
INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 421 
 
 pole, on which to hang the scalps of murdered Ameri- 
 can citizens, and painted it red, to denote their thirst 
 for the blood of the whites. Such were the tools which 
 NichoUs, and a few other designing white men, found 
 ready prepared for their hands. 
 
 These hostile companies were encouraged by the 
 Spanish authorities, who represented their government 
 as their protector, and the Americans as their ene- 
 mies, having no wish but to seize their lands and ex- 
 terminate their race. These garrisons, and the 
 British traders, purchased whatever plunder the In- 
 dians could take from the people of Georgia and Ala- 
 bama, and gave them, in exchange for it, weapons, 
 powder and ball. 
 
 As early as September, 1812, the Seminole Indians 
 and negroes, instigated by the Governor of St. Augus- 
 tine, attacked the defenceless settlers on the St. John's 
 and St. Mary's rivers ; on the St. John's, they killed 
 and scalped eight or ten persons ; and on the Georgia 
 side of the St. Mary's, they killed and scalped one, and 
 M'ounded two more. In the same month, an attack 
 was made upon Captain Williams, who, with a non- 
 commissioned officer and nineteen men, was escorting 
 some provision wagons through the state of Georgia. 
 They were assailed by a party of Indians and negroes, 
 to the number of fifty or sixty ; who killed the two 
 ofl^icers, wounded six men, captured the wagons and 
 carried them to St. Augustine. Thus they continued 
 to make depredations upon the people of the United 
 States, until the arrival of Nicholls and Woodbine, 
 when their operations began to assume more form, 
 
422 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 and they afterwards evinced the presence of an active 
 and thinking leader. 
 
 The correspondence of Colonel Nicholls with Colonel 
 Hawkins, shows that he did not view the peace con- 
 cluded between the United States and Great Britain, 
 as putting an end to his operations at his fort, or to 
 his negotiations with the Indians against the United 
 States. In his letter of the 12th of May, 1815, to 
 Colonel Hawkins — a letter that would disgrace a 
 Vandal — he exults in the security of his position — pre- 
 scribes limits to the people of the United States — and 
 threatens with instant death every one who shall ven- 
 ture to transgress them. In this letter he says: — 
 " I have ordered the Indians to stand on the defensive, 
 and have sent them a large supply of arms and am- 
 munition; and told them to put to death, without 
 mercy, any one molesting them. They have con- 
 sented to wait your answer before they take revenge. 
 But, sir, they are impatient for it, well armed as 
 the whole nation now is, and stored with ammunition 
 and provisions, having a strong hold to retire to, in 
 case of a superior force appearing. 
 
 " I am also desired to say to you, by the chiefs, 
 that they do not find that your citizens are evacuating 
 their lands, according to the ninth article of the treaty 
 of peace; but that they were fresh provisioning the 
 forts. They also request me to inform you, that they 
 have signed a treaty of offensive and defensive allia.nce 
 with Great Britain, as well as one of commerce and 
 navifration; which, as soon as ratified at home, you 
 shall be made more fully acquainted with." 
 
 Nicholls having established his government, begins 
 
CONDITION OF FLORIDA. 
 
 423 
 
 Francis Hillishago. 
 
 to think of foreign alliances. He assumes the diplo- 
 matist — is converted into a minister plenipotentiary 
 of both parties — makes, in behalf of his subjects, a 
 treaty, offensive and defensive, and a treaty of com- 
 merce and navigation with Great Britain, and proceeds 
 to England to obtain their ratification. Francis Hil- 
 hshago, one of the principal chiefs of the Seminoles, 
 accompanied him ; and in the meantime his people 
 were left to themselves ; who commanded or governed 
 them is not distinctly known, until the unfortunate 
 Ambrister and Arbuthnot, the one an Englishman and 
 the other a Scotchman, succeeded to the government. 
 It is, however, well known that these desperadoes 
 were not inactive ; that the unfortunate inhabitants of 
 the frontiers of Georiria and Alaban^a felt the full 
 
424 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 weight of the vengeance threatened by Nicholls, and 
 that the Spanish officers beheld with perfect com- 
 posure these atrocities committed within their own 
 jurisdiction. So far from putting a stop to them, the 
 governor of Pensacola encouraged, and endeavoured 
 to protect them. Early in 1816, General Jackson 
 wrote to him, complaining of this nuisance. The 
 governor, in his answer, dated May 26th, 1816, pre- 
 tended to deprecate its existence, and to regret his 
 want of authority and means to break it up ; promised 
 to write for orders, but hoped that the United States 
 would not violate the neutrality of Spain by attempting 
 to suppress it themselves. 
 
 After waitinof two months, and the governor of Pen- 
 sacola still manifesting no symptoms of suppressing the 
 establishment, Colonel Clinch, with a detachment of 
 United States troops, and five hundred friendly Indians, 
 under the command of M'Intosh, were despatched 
 with orders to reduce the negro fort on the Apala- 
 chicola. On the approach of their enemy, Nicholls and 
 Woodbine, who had returned from England, exacted 
 an oath from those in the fort, that they would not suf- 
 fer on American to approach alive; and then giving it 
 up to them, retired and secured their own safety. 
 
 To supply Colonel Clinch's forces with munitions 
 and provisions for the siege, two schooners from New 
 Orleans proceeded up the Apalachicola, under convoy 
 of two gun-boats, on the 10th of July, 1816. When 
 near the fort, a watering party of seven men, from the 
 schooners, was surj)rised by an ambuscade of negroes 
 and Indians ; five were killed, one escaped, and one 
 was captured, tarred and feathered, and burnt at the 
 
DESTRUCTION OF THE NEGRO FORT. 425 
 
 Stake. The gun-boats, having but a twelve-pounder 
 and twenty-five men each, were deemed insufficient by 
 Colonel Clinch to attack the fort, which was defended 
 by about four hundred negroes and Indians, and for- 
 tified with twelve pieces of artillery. Their com- 
 mander, consequently, was cautioned against attempt- 
 ing any offensive operations. Not deterred by this, he 
 warped up sufficiently near to reach it, and commenced 
 firing hot shot. One of the shot entered the principal 
 magazine, and the fort was blown up. The destruction 
 was complete ; two hundred and seventy of the enemy 
 were killed ; most of the remainder were badly wounded, 
 and only three of the whole number escaped unhurt. 
 An immense quantity of arms and munitions of war, 
 designed for supplying the Indians and negroes with 
 the means of annoying the frontier settlers, fell into the 
 hands of the conquerors ; and two chiefs, who had di- 
 rected the torture of the captured prisoner, were given 
 over to the tender mercies of M'Intosh's Indians. 
 Thus was one of these hordes of savages broken up.* 
 In East Florida, the war was not so easily ended. 
 This region was under the immediate command of 
 General Gaines, who, on the 30th of October, 1817, 
 received a letter from the war department, which, 
 after directing him to call a detachment of the Georgia 
 militia into service, states " that the assurance of an 
 additional force, the president flatters himself, will at 
 least have the effect of restraining the Seminoles from 
 conamitting further depredations, and perhaps of in- 
 ducing them to make reparation for the murders w hich 
 
 * Moore's Indian Wars. 
 
426 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 they have committed ; should they, however, persevere 
 in their refusal to make such reparation, it is the wish 
 of the president that you should not, on that account^ 
 pass the line, and make an attack upon them within 
 the limits of Florida, until you shall have received 
 further instructions from this department. You are 
 authorized to remove the Indians still remaining on 
 the lands ceded by the treaty made by General Jackson 
 with the Creeks." 
 
 The assurance of an additional force did not re- 
 strain the Indians from committing further depreda- 
 tions, and they manifested no disposition to make 
 the reparation alluded to by the secretary of war. In 
 the fall of 1817, while her husband was absent attend- 
 ing to the business of his farm, the Indians attacked 
 the dwelling-house of Mrs. Garrett, and no resistance 
 being offered, they murdered and scalped her and one 
 of her children, while the youngest, a mere infant, was 
 dashed to pieces on the door-post. 
 
 Towards the end of November, a war-party of 
 Seminolcs captured an American, and conveyed him 
 immediatel} to Mickasuky, their principal village, 
 where it appears Francis Ilillishago and his family 
 dwelt. " The American, whose name was M' Krimmon, 
 was ordered to be immediately burned to death. The 
 stake was prepared, M'Krimmon, with his head shaved, 
 was bound to it, and Avood was piled up about him. 
 When the Indians had finished their dance, and a fire 
 was about to be kindled, a daughter of the chief, 
 named Milly, who had witnessed the preparations with 
 a sad countenance, flew to her father, Ilillishago, and 
 upon her knees, begged that he would spare the priso- 
 
RHSCUE OF M'KRIMMON. 
 
 427 
 
 Ucscue of M'Kriiuinciii. 
 
 ners life ; and it was not until, like the celebrated 
 Pocahontas, she shoAved a determination to perish 
 with him, that her father consented to prolong his life 
 for the present. It was still his intention, if he could 
 not sell the victim for a certain sum, to have carried 
 his foiTiier purpose into effect; but on ofTerinT him to 
 the Spaniards at St. Mark's, the demanded ransom, 
 seven and a half gallons of rum, was paid for him, and 
 he was transferred to the Spaniards, and afterwards 
 liberated by the Americans at the capture of St. Mark's. 
 " After Ilillishago fell into the hands of the Ameri- 
 cans and was hanged, his family, consisting of a wife 
 and several daughters, surrendered themselves to the 
 Americans at St. Mark's. The youngest daughter, 
 Milly, about fourteen years of age, was treated with 
 great attention by all the ofTicers, for having saved 
 
428 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 tlie life of M'Krimmon. She was said to have been 
 very handsome. When M'Krimnion heard of her 
 being among the captives, he went and offered him- 
 self to her as her husband. She would not, however, 
 receive him, until satisfied that he was prompted to 
 offer himself from other motives than a sense of the 
 supposed obligation of his life having been saved by 
 her."* 
 
 The instructions from the war department, dated 
 October 30th, 1817, did not reach General Gaines 
 until the middle of November, when he immediately 
 issued his orders for the removal of the Creeks still 
 remaining in the ceded territory. He sent an officer 
 to Foultown, an Indian settlement a few miles below 
 Fort Scott, to summon its chief, Hornotlimed or IIo- 
 mattlemico, to repair to the fort and answer for his 
 conduct in not quitting the territory. The Indian re- 
 turned a haughty refusal, either to appear at the fort 
 or to quit the territory. Major Twiggs being de- 
 spatched on the next day, with two hundred and fifty 
 men, to bring the chiefs and warriors to Fort Scott, 
 was attacked by the Indians ; but he repulsed and put 
 them to flight, after killing four warriors, and wound- 
 ing a few more. Four days after, the same officer 
 was sent to destroy the town, which he found deserted. 
 
 Fort Scott was situated on tlie Flint river, near its 
 junction with the Chattahoochee. Being in want of pro- 
 visions and military stores. General Gaines ordered a 
 supply from Mobile. Accordingly, Major Muhlenburg 
 sailed with three vessels for the fort, but when he 
 
 * Drake's Book of the Indians. 
 
SURnil.'rK OF LIEUTENANT SCOTT. 4:39 
 
 reached the mouth of the Apalachicola, he was de- 
 tained by contrary winds, and the sickness of his crew. 
 There were also on board of his vessels, volunteers for 
 the several forts, with their wives and children. On 
 the 30th of November, a party of forty men, under 
 Lieutenant Scott, was sent down the river to their as- 
 sistance. The boat reached the vessels in safety, and 
 Muhlenburg transferred twenty of the men to his ves- 
 sels to aid him in working them up the river; and their 
 places being filled by the sick, together with seven 
 women and four children, Scott started to return to 
 the fort. At the mouth of Flint river, the boat was 
 attacked by an ambuscade of Indians under the direc- 
 tion of Hornotlimed, and all were killed, except six sol- 
 diers, w^ho escaped to the opposite shore by swimming, 
 and one woman, who was carried off a prisoner. Four 
 little children were taken by the legs and their brains 
 dashed out against the side of the boat. The scalps 
 of the killed were taken to the Mickasuky village, and 
 added to the trophies on the red pole of the Indians. 
 The vessels, retarded by the current and northerly 
 winds, and constantly assailed by strong parties of In- 
 dians, w^ere in the greatest peril, when another boat, 
 secured by bulwarks, w^as sent down to their aid. 
 With this assistance, and a favom-able change of wind, 
 the vessels at last reached Fort Scott. 
 
 Before the news of the massacre of Lieutenant 
 Scott and his party reached Washington, the secre- 
 tary^ of war had despatched three other orders to Gen- 
 eral Games. The first of these, dated December 2d, 
 1817, remarks: "The state of our negotiations with 
 Spain, and the temper manifested by the principal Eu- 
 
 26 
 
um 
 
 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 \1' V . i\',<»t^ 
 
 Indians attacking Lieutenant Scott's party. 
 
 ropean poAvers, make it impolitic, in the opinion of the 
 president, to move a force at this time into the Span- 
 ish possessions,ybr the mere purpose of chastising the 
 Seminoles for depredations which liave heretofore been 
 conniiitted by them." By the second, bearing date the 
 9th of J )ecember. General Gaines was instructed, that 
 
GAINES ENTERS FLORIDA. 431 
 
 should the Indians appear in force on the Spanish side 
 of the line, and persevere in committing hostilities 
 within the limits of the United States, he was to exer- 
 cise sound discretion as to the propriety of crossing the 
 line, for the purpose of attacking them and breaking 
 up their towns. The third, dated December 16th, fur- 
 ther instructed him, that " should the Seminole Indians 
 still refuse to make reparation for their outrages and 
 depredations on the citizens of the United States, it is 
 the wish of the president that you consider yourself at 
 liberty to march across the Florida line, and to attack 
 them within its limits, should it be found necessary, 
 unless they should shelter themselves under a Spanish 
 fort. In the last event, you will immediately notify 
 this department." In obedience to this last order. 
 General Gaines entered Florida, and proceeded to- 
 wards Amelia Island, where a considerable number of 
 the enemy were reported to have established themselves. 
 On receiving intelligence of the destruction of Lieu- 
 tenant Scott and his party, the president determined 
 on taking more vigorous measures against the hostile 
 Seminoles. The time had arrived when it was abso- 
 lutely necessary for the United States to exert their 
 power to put an end to the war. The safety of the 
 people, the supreme, irrevocable law of all nations, de- 
 manded that this savage war, carried on by hostile 
 Indians and negroes, and excited by foreign emissaries, 
 who had identified themselves with the savages, be 
 terminated. Accordingly, on the 26th of December, 
 the secretary of war addressed a letter to Major-Gen- 
 eral Jackson, then at his residence in Nashville, order- 
 ing him to repair, with as little delay as possible, to 
 
432 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 Fort Scott, and assume the immediate command of the 
 forces in that quarter of tlie southern division. After 
 statinfj the number of regulars on whom he could 
 rely to be eight hundred, and that General Gaines had 
 estimated the strength of the enemy to be twenty-seven 
 hundred, he was directed, if, in his opinion, the troops 
 of the United States were too few in number to beat 
 the enemy, to call upon the executives of the adjacent 
 states for additional forces ; and to adopt the neces- 
 sary measures to terminate a conflict which it hnd 
 ever been the desire of the president, from conside- 
 rations of humanity, to have avoided, but which was 
 now made necessary by the continued hostility of the 
 Indians. The orders previously given to General 
 Gaines were enclosed, as the rules by which his con- 
 duct was to- be governed. These orders were received 
 by General Jackson on the 12th of January, 1818. 
 
 General Gaines had called upon the executive of 
 Georgia for a reinforcement of militia ; but the miser- 
 able system of temporary drafting had been adopted ; 
 a thousand men had been enlisted for three months ; 
 but the delays incident to the movements of militia, 
 and the want of seasonable supplies, had so consumed 
 the time, that their term of service expired before 
 they could be brouglit into active service, and a second 
 detachment of a thousand men was ordered out to sup- 
 ply their places. 
 
 The practice of provisioning troops by contract, 
 instead of aconmiissariat, which had been adopted as a 
 matter of economy since the commencement of the 
 war in 1812, we have already seen attended with 
 great injury to the troops under General Jackson, in 
 
SUBSISTENCE OF THE ARMY. 433 
 
 the prosecution of the Creek war. It was equally in- 
 jurious to the active services required in the south. 
 The rise in the price of provisions, and the unforeseen 
 difficulties attending their transportation, caused a loss 
 to tile contractor ; one of his principal agents failed ; 
 the provisions were not furnished; the troops were 
 put on short allowance ; and Fort Scott was on the 
 point of heing abandoned, on account of actual star- 
 vation. The sound views of General Jackson on this 
 subject are worthy of notice, as coming from one 
 who experienced all the evils of the system, and who 
 perfectly understood its operation. He remarks, " The 
 mode of provisioning an army by contract is not 
 adapted to the prompt and efficient movement of 
 troops. It may answer in time of peace, where a fail- 
 ure or delay cannot produce any serious ill conse- 
 quences ; but where active operations are necessary, 
 and success dependent on prompt and quick move- 
 ments, no dependence is to be placed on the contractor. 
 His views are purely mercenary ; and where the sup- 
 plies will not insure a profit, he hesitates not on a 
 failure, never regarding how far it may defeat the 
 best-advised plans of the commander-in-chief. Expe- 
 rience has confirmed me in this opinion, and the recent 
 failure has prompted me again to express it." 
 
 Knowing thus the dependence to be placed on 
 militia and army contractors, General Jackson deter- 
 mined rather than trust to the latter, " to subsist on 
 the enemy;" and that he might not be disap- 
 pointed in the call which he made upon the governor 
 of Georgia for militia, he resolved to carry" with him 
 his old fellow-soldiers, the Tennessee volunteers. He 
 
434 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 accordingly, lost no time, but immediately issued the 
 following address, exhorting them to resume their 
 armour : — 
 
 " Volunteers of Tennessee ! — Once more, after a 
 repose of three years, you are summoned to the field. 
 Your country having again need for your services, 
 has appealed to your patriotism, and you have met it 
 promptly. The cheerfulness with which you have 
 appeared to encounter the hardships and perils of a 
 winter's campaign, affords the highest evidence of 
 what may be expected of you, in the hour of conflict 
 and trial. 
 
 " The savages on your borders, unwilling to be at 
 peace, have once more raised the tomahawk to shed 
 the blood of our citizens, and already they are as- 
 sembled in considerable force, to carry their murderous 
 schemes into execution. Not contented with the liberal 
 policy that has from time to time been shown them, 
 but yielding themselves victims to foreign seducers, 
 they vainly think to assail and conquer the country 
 that protects them. Stupid mortals ! They have 
 foro-otten too soon the streams of blood their ill-fated 
 policy heretofore cost them. They have forgotten 
 too, that but a short time since, conquered, and almost 
 destroyed, they were only preserved by the mildness 
 and humanity of that country which they now oppose. 
 They must now be taught, that however benevolent 
 and humane that country is, she yet has sacred rights 
 to protect, and will not permit with impunity the 
 butchery of her peaceable and unoffending citiz.ens. 
 
 *' Brave volunteers ! — The enemy you are going to 
 contend with, you have heretofore met and fought. 
 
THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS. 435 
 
 jfou have once done it, and can again conquer them. 
 You go not to fight, but to be victorious ; remember, 
 then, that the way to prove successful, is not by being 
 inattentive to the first duties of a soldier, but by bear- 
 ing and executing with cheerfubiess the orders of su- 
 periors, and being constantly mindful of the obligations 
 you are under to your country and to yourselves. 
 Subordination and attention to discipline are all-im- 
 portant and indispensable ; w ithout them, nothing like 
 system can be preserved, and this being wanted, no- 
 thing favourable can result. But in you every con- 
 fidence is reposed. Your general will not believe that 
 brave men, who have so promptly come forth at the caL 
 of their country, will withhold their assent to regu- 
 lations w hich can alone insure them safety and success. 
 Hardships and dangers are incident to war; but brave 
 men w ill bear them without murmuring or complaining 
 Knowing you to be such, no fears are entertained but 
 that every duty imposed on you, will be met with 
 promptness and cheerfulness. 
 
 " Your general goes before you to open the way, 
 and prepare for your reception. Confiding in your di- 
 ligence and exertions, he will expect your arrival at 
 your destined point, without unnecessary delay — led 
 by Colonel Arthur P. Hayne, an officer in whom he 
 has every confidence. This being eflfected, he will 
 place himself at your head, and with you share the 
 dangers and hardships of the campaign." 
 
 Like the war-horse at the sound of the trumpet, the 
 brave volunteers of Tennessee no sooner heard the 
 voice of their beloved general and companion,- calling 
 upon them to follow him, than they bounded to meet 
 
436 
 
 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 To Arms ! 
 
 him. At the appointed time, the required number 
 repaired to the rendezvous at Fayetteville, and under 
 the command of Colonel Hayne, inspector-general of 
 the department of the south, took up the hne of march 
 for Fort Scott, by the way of Fort Gaines. 
 
 On the IGth of January, 1818, the secretary of 
 war wrote to General Gaines, informing him that the 
 honour of the United States required that the v.ar 
 with the Seminolcs should be terminated speedily, 
 and with exemplary punishment for hostilities so un- 
 provoked ; and that orders "svcre issued, directing the 
 war to be carried on within the limits of Florida, should 
 it be necessary to its speedy and cfifectual termination. 
 These orders, it was presumed, he had received. That 
 as soon as it was kno^vn that he had repaired to 
 
■■' I'l ' 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
 f li 
 
 \m^ 
 
JACKSON TAKES THE COMMAND. 439 
 
 Amelia Island, in obedience to them, and it being un- 
 certain how long he might be detained there, the state 
 of thinfTs at Fort Scott made it necessary to order 
 General Jackson to take conmiand there. From his 
 known promptitude, it was presumable that his arrival 
 might be soon expected. 
 
 A letter from the secretary of war to General 
 Jackson, dated January 29th, 1818, acknowledged 
 the receipt of letters from him of the 12th and 13th 
 of that month ; and states that the measures he had 
 taken to bring an efficient force into the field were 
 approved ; and it concluded by expressing a confident 
 hope that a speedy and successful termination of the 
 Indian war would follow his exertions. 
 
 General Jackson left Nashville on the 22d of Jan- 
 uary, 1818, and, having made arrangements with 
 Colonel Gibson, his quartermaster-general, for for- 
 warding provisions from New Orleans, he proceeded 
 rapidly towards the seat of war. On the 10th of Feb- 
 ruary, he arrived at Fort Hawkins, and on the 14th, 
 at Hartford in Georgia, where he used every exertion 
 to hasten the movements of the militia called out by 
 the governor. At Fort Early, on the 26th, he put 
 himself at the head of the Georgia militia, who mus- 
 tered nine hundred bayonets, and some friendly 
 Creeks. With this brigade, he reached Fort Scott on 
 the 9th of March, and the next morning assumed the 
 chief command. He found the troops at the fort in a 
 starving condition, with only one quart of corn to each 
 man, and a few lean cattle. Having brave'y deter- 
 mined to subsist on the enemy until the arrival of pro- 
 visions from New Orleans, he immediately ordered the 
 
440 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 cattle to be slaughtered, the provisions distributed to 
 the troops, and the line of march to be taken up at 
 noon. 
 
 Here he received a letter from the secretary of war, 
 dated February 6th, informing him of the entire ap- 
 probation of the president of all the measures he had 
 adopted to terminate the war ; and stating that the 
 honour of the army, as well as the interest of the 
 country, required that it should be terminated as soon 
 as practicable. He was also instructed to restore 
 peace on such conditions as would make it honourable 
 and permanent. 
 
 He crossed the Flint river on the 10th of March, 
 and advanced with his aiTny towards the mouth of the 
 Apalachicola. On the 16th, he arrived at Prospect 
 Bluff, the site of the Indian and negro fort which had 
 been blown up by the fire of the American gun-boats, 
 in the month of July, 1817. This Jackson ordered 
 to be rebuilt, designing to use it as a depot for the 
 provisons expected from New Orleans. He called it 
 Fort Gadsden, in honour of one of his aids. General 
 Gaines joined him on his march to Fort Gadsden. 
 
 It was the design of General Jackson to provision 
 his posts on the Florida border, by shipping the pro- 
 visions from New Orleans, and distributing them to the 
 different posts, by means of the rivers which, passing 
 through Florida, communicate with the Gulf of Mexico. 
 This, he well knew, could not be done against the will 
 of the Spanish authorities, without violating the rights 
 of that nation. . Fort Crawford being situated on the 
 head waters of the Escambia river, which commu- 
 nicates with the gulf, by the Bay of Pensacola, and 
 
JACKSON IN FLORIDA. 
 
 441 
 
 Rebuilding of Fori GaciMieii. 
 
 cannot be entered without passing the fortress of Bar- 
 rancas, he Avrote to the governor of West Florida, 
 saying, that he would send his provisions for Fort 
 Crawford by that way, and that any interruption in 
 their passage, would be considered as an act of hos- 
 tility ajrainst the United States. The (rovernor de- 
 manded duties on the stores, but permitted the vessels 
 containing them to sail past without attempting to in- 
 terrupt them. 
 
 Having completed the necessary arrangements at 
 Fort Gadsden, General Jackson started from that 
 place, on the 26th of March, for the purpose of driving 
 the enemy from the Mickasuky villages. Whon he 
 had nearly reached these villages, on the 1st of April, he 
 
412 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 was joined by the main body of the Tennessee volun- 
 teers, who, having heard of the starving condition of 
 the garrisons stationed at Forts Gaines and Scott, had 
 taken a circuitous route through Georgia, to obtain 
 subsistence. As he approached the principal village, 
 his advanced guard had a smart conflict with a party 
 of Indians, who fled as soon as the main body ap- 
 proached. When the army entered the towns, they 
 were found deserted by their inhabitants. The wigwams 
 were burned, the adjacent country reconnoitred, and 
 an abundant supply of corn and cattle obtained. In 
 the council-house of the principal village, Jackson 
 found more than fifty fresh scalps, and in the centre 
 of the town, the okl Red-stick standard stood crowned 
 with the scalps, recognised by the hair as those torn 
 from the heads of the unfortunate companions of Lieu- 
 tenant Scott. 
 
 Hearing that a body of five hundred negroes and 
 Indians had approached St. Mark's, and having been 
 refused admittance, had demanded its surrender ; and 
 knowing the duplicity of Luengo, the governor, who 
 now pretended friendship for the Americans, while a 
 short time before he had, to the best of his ability, 
 aided and protected their enemies — knoAving these 
 things. General Jackson left jM'Intosh with his war- 
 riors to scour the country in the neighbourhood of 
 the Mickasuky village, and hastened to prevent the 
 surrender of the strong post of St. Mark's to the ene- 
 mies of the United States. From the moment that 
 the Negro-Indian fort was destroyed, St. Mark's had 
 become the depot and storehouse of the savages. 
 There their councils were held, there they sold their 
 
CAPTURE OF ST. MARK'S. 445 
 
 bloody trophies, torn from murdered Americans, and 
 there they received the instruments and means of 
 future murders. Luengo was the adviser, aider, and 
 protector of the savages, and the friend and coadjutor 
 of Alexander Arbuthnot, a noted instigator of the 
 Indians to hostility. When Jackson appears on the 
 scene, Luengo changes his tone ; he declares that he 
 had acted in this way only from policy ; and now, 
 from an associate of the Indians, he becomes the friend 
 of the Americans, and evinces a sycophancy which 
 every brave man cannot but despise. He concludes 
 a letter to General Jackson in these words, "May 
 God preserve your excellency, is my prayer. I kiss 
 your excellency's hand, and am your most faithful 
 and obedient servant."* 
 
 St. Mark's was now threatened by the hostile In- 
 dians and negroes, and the Spanish garrison was 
 unable to defend it against them. It was therefore 
 necessary to occupy it with an American garrison, to 
 prevent it from falling into the hands of the Seminoles, 
 who, uncontrolled by Spain, might issue forth at any 
 time, murder the citizens of the United States, and, 
 when closely pursued, fall back upon St. Mark's, their 
 strong hold. Accordingly, General Jackson marched 
 to St. Mark's, took possession of it without the least 
 resistance, and shipped the Spanish authorities and 
 garrison to Pensacola. 
 
 It was near St. Mark's that Alexander Arbuthnot 
 was captured. He was a Scotchman by birth, his 
 ostensible occupation that of a trader. He was known 
 
 * See the Speech of Mr. Holmes of Massachusetts, in Congress, 
 January, 1819. 
 
146 THE SEMINOLE VV A R 
 
 to be encaged in an extensive commercial intercourse 
 with the Indians and negroes of East Florida. He 
 sold them arms and ammunition. It was reported to 
 General Jackson that he was the successor of Nicholls ; 
 that, knowing of the treaty of Fort Jackson, of the 
 9th of August, 1814, he had pretended to the Indians 
 that they were not bound by it, but were relieved by 
 the treaty of Ghent ; that he had called for succours 
 from the British government ; that he was the asso- 
 ciate and confidant of the commandant of St. Mark's ; 
 and that he had long furnished the Indians with the 
 weapons of destruction. It was also reported that he 
 had a store at the Suwanee villages, and was the 
 owner of a small schooner, by means of which he im- 
 ported lead and powder from the Bahamas. Consi- 
 dering these grounds sufficient for suspicion. General 
 Jackson put him in close confinement, until he could 
 get an opportunity to inquire further in the matter. 
 
 It was here also that two of the principal hostile 
 chiefs were captured. Captain M'Keever, who had 
 brought supplies from New Orleans, had been ordered 
 to cruise near the mouth of the river St. Mark's, at 
 the head of Apalachee bay, in order to intercept any 
 Indians who might endeavour to escape in that direc- 
 tion. By hoisting a British flag, M'Keever succeeded 
 in decoying on board two of the hostile chiefs. One 
 of them, Hornotlimed, was the chief who had com- 
 manded at the inhuman murder of Lieutenant Scott 
 and Iiis party. A deed more brutal and savage can- 
 not be found in the annals of Indian warfare. He 
 was hung, not as an enemy, but as a base murderer, 
 marked with every cruelty, and stained with the blood 
 
AMBRISTER TAKEN. 447 
 
 of women and children. The other chief, Francis 
 Hillishago, was also hung. It was he who was the 
 principal instigator of this war. It was he who went 
 to England with Nicholls, where he had received large 
 presents from the king's stores ; but of these he was 
 chiefly defrauded afterwards by the notorious Wood- 
 bine, who it seems accompanied him in his travels. 
 He was also presented with the commission of a brig- 
 adier general, for his services in the British cause 
 during the American war ; so that in executing him, 
 General Jackson did not merely hang an Indian, but 
 a British officer also. 
 
 Leaving a small jxarrison at St. Mark's, General 
 Jackson, on the 9th of April, marched for the Suwanee 
 villages, which lay about one hundred and seven miles 
 to the eastward of St. Mark's. On the 10th, he was 
 rejoined by the friendly Indians under M'Intosh, and 
 overtaken by the rear of the volunteers from Tennessee. 
 On the 16th, as he approached the towns, a party of 
 six mounted Indians was discovered. They immedi- 
 ately fled to the towns and gave the alarm. Jackson 
 arrived there at sunset. The Indians at first made a 
 show of resistance, but fled after eleven of them had 
 been killed. Two prisoners were taken. The next 
 day the villages were destroyed ; a considerable quan- 
 tity of corn and cattle secured, and the adjacent coun- 
 try traversed in pursuit of the enemy. Arbuthnot's 
 schooner was captured at the mouth of the Suwanee 
 river, and employed in transporting the sick and bag- 
 gage of the army to St. Mark's. On the 18th, Robert 
 C. Ambrister, late a lieutenant of marines in the Bri- 
 27 
 
448 7"IIE SEMINOLE WAR 
 
 tish service under Nicholls, was captured in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the villages. Ambrister was accused of 
 leading and inciting the Indians to make war on the 
 Americans, and was detained a close prisoner until 
 the general found an opportunity to examine the 
 evidence on which this accusation rested. 
 
 Jackson now thought that he had completely sub- 
 dued the Indians. He saw their forces divided and 
 scattered, and deemed his presence in that part of 
 the country no longer necessary. He accordingly 
 discharged the Georgia militia and M'Intosh's Indians ; 
 and on the 21st of April, with the regular troops and 
 Tennessee volunteers, commenced his return to St. 
 Mark's, where he arrived on the evening of the 25th, 
 having performed a march of one hundred and seven 
 miles in five days, through the swamps and wilder- 
 nesses of East Florida. 
 
 On the next day he convened a special court for the 
 purpose of investigating the charges exhibited against 
 Alexander Arbutlmot and Robert C. Ambrister; with 
 instructions to record all the documents and testimony 
 in the several cases, and give their opinion as to the 
 guilt or innocence of the prisoners, and what punish- 
 ment (if any) should be inflicted. This court of 
 inquiry was composed of Major-General Gaines) pre- 
 sident, three colonels, three lieutenant-colonels), four 
 majors, two captains, and a lieutenant, M'ho was ap- 
 pointed recorder. This court continued in session 
 until the night of the 28th, during which time they 
 elicited the following facts with reference to the 
 prisoners. 
 
 In .June, 1817, Arbuthnot had obtained a power of 
 
TRIAL OF ARBUTHNOT. 451 
 
 attorney from twelve Seminole cliiefs, in very general 
 terms, authorizing him to act in the affairs of their na- 
 tion as he tliought proper. He had represented to 
 the Red-sticks, or fugitive Creeks, and induced them 
 to believe, that they would be supported by the British 
 government in a Avar with the United States for the 
 recovery of their lands. He had written to the British 
 ministry, to their ambassador at Washington, and to 
 the governor-general of the Bahamas, soliciting assist- 
 ance for this object. In his capacity of trader, he 
 had sold the Indians powder and ball, which might be 
 applied to the purposes of war as well as of hunting. 
 He had induced the Indians to make prisoners of 
 Hambly and Doyle, two Spaniards settled on the Apa- 
 lachicola, friendly to the Americans, by representing 
 that they were instrumental in bringing upon them the 
 forces of the United States. \Yhile the army was on 
 its march from Mickasuky to St. Mark's, Arbuthnot, 
 being at the latter place, wrote a letter to his son, ad- 
 vising him of its approach, and that it was probably 
 destined for Suwanee ; and directing him to take the 
 measures necessary to secure his property ; to give 
 information to the inhabitants, and advise them, by no 
 means, to attempt to fight the Americans, but to save 
 themselves by an immediate flight.* It was Arbuth- 
 not who endeavoured to instil into the minds of the 
 Indians, hatred and hostilities towards the Americans ; 
 it was he who poured the secret poison of discontent 
 into their minds ; it was he who awakened the sleep- 
 ing tiger, and let him loose against American citizens, 
 
 * Perkins. 
 
452 THE SEMIXOLE WAR. 
 
 with all his native ferocity whetted by exasperation ; 
 it was he who sharpened with new keenness the edge 
 of the tomahawk ; it was he who used the deluded 
 savages as the instrument of his wicked pui*poses, as 
 the man who stabs a fellow-being to the heart makes 
 use of the poniard. 
 
 Robert C. Ambrister had formerly borne a lieuten- 
 ant's commission in the British service, under Nicholls 
 and Woodbine, and had remained in the Floridas as 
 a kind of successor and agent to them. He had re- 
 sided a considerable time at Suwanee, and pursued 
 the same general system of measures in relation to 
 the negroes and Indians as Arbuthnot had done ; 
 though not to the same extent, or in concert with him. 
 When the alarm was given of the approach of the 
 American troops, he put himself at the head of what 
 Indians and negroes he could rally, broke open Ar- 
 buthnot's store, and distributed its contents, among 
 which were some powder and ball, to his followers, 
 and attempted to organize a party to go out and fight 
 the Americans.* 
 
 The court of inquiry found Arbuthnot guilty of 
 exciting and stirring up the Creek Indians to war 
 against the United States and her citizens, lie being a 
 subject of Great Britain, with whom the United States 
 were at peace ; and of aiding, abetting, and comforting 
 the enemy, and supplying them with the means of 
 war. They accordingly sentenced him to be suspended 
 by the neck until he was dead. 
 
 They also found Ambrister guilty of aiding, abet- 
 
 * Pprkina. 
 
ARBUTIINOT AND a:\IBRISTER EXECUTED. 453 
 
 ting, and comforting the enemy, and supplying them 
 vvitii the means of war, he being a subject of Great 
 Britain, who were at peace with the United States, 
 and late an officer in the British colonial marines ; 
 and also of leading and commanding the lower Creek 
 Indians, in carrying on a war against the United States. 
 They therefore sentenced him to suffer death, by being 
 shot. The members of the court requested a recon- 
 sideration of the vote on this sentence ; and it being 
 had, they sentenced him to receive fifty stripes on the 
 bare back, and to be confined with a ball and chain, 
 at hard labom*, for twelve months. 
 
 It is to be remembered that this not being a court- 
 martial, had no authority to pronounce sentence on the 
 prisoners ; but as a special court or a court of inquiry 
 to inquire into the circumstances of the case, and ad- 
 vise the commanding general, in such cases as he 
 might require their opinion. Accordingly, General 
 Jackson approved the sentence of the court with re- 
 gard to Alexander Arbuthnot, and he was hung on the 
 29th of April. He also approved the first sentence of 
 the court in the case of Robert C. Ambrister, and dis- 
 approved its reconsideration. In passing final sen- 
 tence upon Ambrister, the general remarked : — "It ap- 
 pears from the evidence and pleading of the prisoner, 
 that he, being a subject of Great Britain, did lead and 
 command withm the territory of Spain, the Indians, in 
 a war against the United States, those nations being 
 at peace. It is an established principle of the law of 
 nations, that any individual of a nation making war 
 against the citizens of any other nation, they being at 
 peace, forfeits his allegiance, and becomes an outlaw 
 
454 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 and pirate. This is the case of Robert C. Ambrister, 
 clearly shown by the evidence adduced." He was ac- 
 cordingly shot on the same day that Arbuthnot was 
 executed. 
 
 The trial of these men by a court, and the rejection 
 of its sentence as to Ambrister, by General Jackson, 
 were much complained of at the time of their occur- 
 rence; but, in the minds of all thinking men, the justice 
 of their execution cannot admit of a doubt. " They 
 were volunteers in the service of a lawless tribe of sa- 
 vages, whose mode of warfare is an indiscriminate 
 massacre of all ages and sexes. It is right, it is mer- 
 ciful, to inflict on these savages those cruelties which 
 they practise and inculcate. In this, however, it is 
 proper to select the most atrocious and vindictive. 
 To spare the effusion of the blood even of savages, and 
 to eflfect that security which arises from eminent ex- 
 amples, it is prudent and wise to select those men as 
 objects of retaliation and punishment, who are the most 
 active and successful in practising and inflicting cru- 
 elties. Who, then, could have been selected as ex- 
 amples, with more justice and policy, than these two 
 foreigners, who had been taught in the school of hu- 
 manity, and understood the distresses which their con- 
 duct would inflict ? The general had a right to exe- 
 cute them without trial. This right is an executive 
 right, and rests in the commanding general. The gen- 
 eral had power to execute them without trial, and 
 there was no good reason why they should be tried, 
 except the necessity of ascertaining whether they were 
 in fact concerned in provoking and prosecuting hos- 
 tilities. Accordingly, a special court was appointed to 
 
RETURN TO FORT GADSDEN. 455 
 
 ascertain this fact. He asked their opinion ^ith re- 
 spect to the sentence uhich should be passed, but he 
 did not delegate to them his absolute right of passing 
 the judgment and sentence which the facts justified. 
 The truth was found by the court, and upon this it 
 was his duty to decide."* The correctness of this 
 decision in the case of Arbuthnot has never been dis- 
 puted ; while, with respect to Ambrister, it is but neces- 
 sary to remember, that he was a subject of Great Bri- 
 tain, owing temporary allegiance to the king of Spain, 
 but not to Bowlegs or Hillishago, and that by aiding 
 savages to carry on war against the United States, he 
 violated the British treaty, the Spanish treaty, the law 
 of nature, the law of nations, and the laws of war, and 
 justly suffered death. 
 
 These proceedings of General Jackson were justi- 
 fied by the congress of the United States and the 
 parliament of Great Britain. The Spanish govern- 
 ment complained, but were silenced by the arguments 
 of Mr. Adams, then secretary of state. 
 
 On the 29th of April, General Jackson returned 
 to Fort Gadsden. There he received intelliirence 
 that some of the fugitive Seminoles had escaped to 
 West Florida, and were collecting in great numbers 
 in the neighbourhood of Pensacola ,• and there he de- 
 termined on the punishment of all the aiders and 
 abettors of the Indians in the war. On the 5th of 
 May he wrote to the secretary of war, from Fort 
 Gadsden, and gave him a detailed account of his ope- 
 rations in the war, and also informed him of the exe- 
 
 *See the Speech of Mr. Holmes in the House of Representatives, 
 January, 1819. 
 
156 
 
 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 John Quincy Adams. 
 
 cution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister. In this despatch, 
 he says, " I hope the execution of these two unprinci- 
 pled villains will prove an awful example to the world, 
 and convince the governmcnit of Great Britain, as well 
 as her subjects, that certain, if slow, retribution awaits 
 those unchristian wretches, who, by false promises, 
 delude and excite an Indian tribe to all the horrid 
 deeds of savage war. Previous to my leaving Fort 
 Gadsden, I had occasion to address a communication 
 
•JACKSON'S DESPATCH. 457 
 
 to the governor of Pensacola, on the subject of per- 
 mitting supplies to pass up the Escambia river to Fort 
 Crawford. This letter, with another from St. Mark's, 
 on the subject of some United States' clothing, shipped 
 in a vessel in the employ of the Spanish government 
 to that post, I now enclose, with his reply. The 
 governor of Pensacola's refusal to my demand, cannot 
 but be viewed as a hostile feeling on his part, particu- 
 larly in connexion w ith some circumstances, reported 
 to me from the most unquestionable authority. It 
 has been stated, that the Indians at war with the 
 United States, have free access into Pensacola ; that 
 they are kept advised, from that quarter, of all our 
 movements ; that they are supplied from thence with 
 ammunition and munitions of war ; and that they are 
 now collecting in a body to the amount of four or five 
 hundred warriors, in that town; that inroads from 
 thence have been lately made on the Alabama, in one 
 of which eighteen settlers fell by the tomahawk. 
 These statements compel me to make a movement to 
 the west of the Apalachicola ; and, should they prove 
 correct, Pensacola must be occupied by an American 
 force, and the governor treated according to his deserts. 
 or as policy may dictate. I shall leave strong garri- 
 sons in Forts St. Mark's, Gadsden, and Scott, and in 
 Pensacola, should it be necessary to possess it. It 
 becomes my duty to state it as my confirmed opinion, 
 that so long as Spain has not the power or will to 
 enforce the treaties by which she is solemnly bound 
 to preserve the Indians within her territory at peace 
 with the United States, no security can be given to 
 our southern frontier, without occupying a cordon of 
 
458 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 posts along the shore. The moment the American 
 army retires from Florida, the war-hatchet will be 
 again raised, and the same scenes of indiscriminate 
 massacre, with which our frontier settlers have been 
 visited, will be repeated, so long as the Indians within 
 the territory of Spain are exposed to the delusion of 
 false prophets and the poison of foreign intrigue ; so 
 long as they can receive ammunition and munitions 
 of war from pretended traders and Spanish command- 
 ants, it will be impossible to restrain their outrages. 
 The burning of their towns, and destroying of their 
 stock and provisions, will produce but temporary em- 
 barrassments. Resupplied by Spanish authorities, 
 they may concentrate and disperse at will, and keep 
 up a lasting and predatory warfare against the United 
 States, as expensive to our government as harassing 
 to our troops. The savages therefore must be made 
 dependent on us, and cannot be kept at peace without 
 being persuaded of the certainty of chastisement being 
 inflicted on the commission of the first oflence. I 
 trust, therefore, that the measures which have been 
 pursued will meet with the approbation of the president 
 of the United States ; they have been adopted in pur- 
 suance of your instructions, and under a firm convic- 
 tion that they alone were calculated to secure peace 
 and security to the Georgia frontier." 
 
 On the lOtli of May, General .Tackson, having left 
 strong garrisons in Forts St. Mark's, Scott, and Gads- 
 den, crossed the Apalachicola river about forty miles 
 above the latter fort, and on the 22d arrived at the 
 Escambia, a short distance above Pensacola, with 
 twelve hundred men. He notified the governor of his 
 
OCCUPATION OF FLORIDA. MO 
 
 approach, who, in answer, ordered liim to retire from 
 Florida ; and if he did not, that he would use force to 
 repel him. The governor of Pensacola did not apply 
 force to prevent Nicholls from occupying his town ; he 
 did not use force to prevent Indians and negroes, hos- 
 tile to the United States, from entering Pensacola. 
 The general, hearing that some hostile Indians had 
 received provisions in Pensacola, and had escaped 
 across the bay, disregarded the remonstrance of the 
 Spanish governor, and determined to take the town. 
 His obligations to the United States compelled him to 
 do so. Spain was expressly obliged, by treaty, to re- 
 strain by force the Indians within her territory from 
 committing hostilities against the United States. The 
 Spanish officers commanding in Florida, did not re- 
 strain the Indians from war, but aided and abetted 
 them in it ; it then became the duty of Spain to have 
 displaced and superseded those officers, and to have 
 confided to others the command of Florida, who would 
 have preserved the neutral character of that territory. 
 Spain did not displace or supersede them. In order, 
 therefore, to prevent the perpetration of future atroci- 
 ties by Indians, negroes, and foreign emissaries and 
 impostors, it became necessary to occupy St. Marks, 
 Pensacola, and the Barrancas, with detachments of 
 troops from the United States, who would defend these 
 fortresses, not from the lawful authority of Sj)ain, but 
 from unlawful seizure and occupation by enemies of 
 the United States, consisting of Indians, negrops, and 
 the villains from other countries, who were stimulating 
 these savages to every species of barbarous warfare 
 on our exposed frontier. 
 
460 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 On the 24th, he entered the city and took posses- 
 sion of it without resistance, the governor and all the 
 military force having retired to the Barrancas on his ap- 
 proach. " The next day the Barrancas was invested, 
 and, after a bombardment, which continued till the 
 evening of the 27th, was surrendered to the United 
 States. The Spanish authorities were shipped to 
 Havana, and the government of the United States ex- 
 tended over the captured posts, until they should be 
 restored by the proper authority to Spain. 
 
 General Jackson then scom-ed the whole territory 
 in search of the fugitives, and having made every ne- 
 cessary arrangement for the security of the settlers, 
 discharged his Tennessee volunteers, left General 
 Gaines in command, and returned to the Hermitage 
 near Nashville. Three months afterwards, St. Augus- 
 tine, the only remaining Spanish fortress in Florida, 
 was captured by General Gaines, in obedience to 
 General Jackson's orders, and the whole province was 
 thus brought into the military possession of the United 
 States. Thus the Seminole war ended in the conquest 
 of Florida. 
 
 ^ The war being over and the Indians dispersed, the 
 president of the United States convened his cabinet 
 council, and proposed for their consideration the 
 following questions : — 
 
 " 1. Shall Pensacola be retained, risking all conse- 
 quences at home and abroad ? 
 
 " 2. Shall the captured Spanish posts be restored, 
 and General Jackson put on his trial before a court- 
 martial, for a breach of orders and unofficerlike 
 conduct ? 
 
JACKSON VISITS WASHINGTON. 46] 
 
 "3. Shall the posts be restored and the acts of 
 General Jackson disavowed, at the same time justifying 
 the motive V 
 
 The council decided that the posts should be re- 
 stored, requiring of the Spanish government that they 
 should be garrisoned by a force sufficient to enable 
 them to fulfil the stipulations of the treaty of 1795, 
 and that General Jackson should not be tried by a 
 court-martial. In pursuance of this advice Pensacola 
 and the Barrancas were immediately restored, and St. 
 Mark's ordered to be given up, whenever a Spanish 
 force, apparently competent to its defence, should 
 appear to take possession.* 
 
 In thus advising the president, his council merely 
 followed the suggestion of General Jackson, who, in 
 a letter to the secretary of war, dated June 2d, 1818, 
 said : "The Seminole war may now be considered as 
 at a close ; tranquillity is again restored to the south- 
 ern frontier of the United States : and as lono; as a 
 cordon of military posts is maintained along the Gulf 
 of Mexico, America has nothing to apprehend from 
 either foreign or Indian hostilities. The immutable 
 principles of self-defence justified the occupancy of the 
 Floridas, and the same principles will warrant the 
 American government in holding it, until such time as 
 Spain can guaranty, by an adequate military force, the 
 maintaining of her authority within the colony." 
 
 Shortly after the return of General Jackson to 
 Nashville, he resigned his commission in the army. 
 He visited Washington in January, 1819, while Con- 
 
 * Perkins. 
 
462 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 gress was in session, and wliile his transactions in 
 Florida were being examined by that body. 
 
 Soon after the assembling of Confjress, in De- 
 cember, 1818, the president had communicated to them 
 all the papers relating to the Seminole war. They 
 were referred to committees in each house. The 
 committee in the Senate consisted of five members, 
 three of whom made a report, towards the close of the 
 session, censuring the conduct of the general, while 
 the other two presented a minority report, justifying 
 him in all that he had done. The lateness of the pe- 
 riod at which the report was made, prevented the 
 action of the Senate upon it. In the House of Repre- 
 sentatives the papers were submitted to the military 
 committee, consisting of seven members. Of this 
 committee, four agreed to report a resolution of cen- 
 sure to the House, while the other three presented a 
 statement approving the general's conduct, and con- 
 cluding with a declaration that he deserved the thanks 
 
 o 
 
 of his country. After a long and exciting debate on 
 the resolutions offered by the committee, the resolu- 
 tions of censure were rejected, the report of the com- 
 mittee disagreed too, and the general's conduct ap- 
 proved by a vote of one hundred and seven to sixty- 
 three. 
 
 His course was also sustained by the president, 
 and by a majority of his council. That part of it re- 
 lating to the execution of Arbuthnot and Anibrister, 
 was acknowledged to be right by the British Parlia- 
 ment. The Spanish government complained ; but the 
 answer of Mr. Adams, the secretary of state, fully 
 convinced that power of the justice of the course pur- 
 
END OF THE SEMINOLE WAR. 4(33 
 
 sued by Jackson. He sustained his opinion on the 
 ground that, by the treaty of 1795, Spain had ex- 
 pressly stipulated to restrain by force, if necessary, 
 the Indians within the limits of her territories from 
 committing acts of hostility against the citizens of the 
 United States. He then produced a series of undis- 
 puted facts, which clearly proved that the Spanish au- 
 thorities in Florida, so far from regarding this stipu- 
 lation, had instigated and encouraged the Indians and 
 negroes within their limits to the most barbarous acts 
 of murder and rapine ; had furnished them with the 
 means of annoyance, and protected foreign miscreants 
 in aidinjT the savages in their work of destruction. 
 This, Mr. Adams claimed, was a full justification to 
 the Spanish government for every measure which the 
 United States had adopted in relation to the Floridas, 
 and would warrant any further reprisals which the safety 
 of the citizens of the latter country might require ; 
 and the secretary concluded with demanding satis- 
 faction for the heavy expenses incurred in prosecuting 
 the Seminole war, and the exemplary punishment of 
 the Spanish officers under whose authority these events 
 had taken place. Arbuthnot and Ambrister being 
 foreign emissaries, and the principal instigators of the 
 massacres committed by the savages, their being put 
 to death by an American officer, Mr. Adams contended, 
 furnished no ground of complaint on the part of Spain, 
 though done within her jurisdiction.* 
 
 When the congressional investigation had, as we 
 have seen, terminated favourably to General Jackson, 
 
 * Perkins. 
 28 
 
464 THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 he visited the cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and 
 New York, before his return to Tennessee. Through- 
 out the whole of this journey he was everywhere re- 
 ceived by the people with enthusiastic acclamations, 
 and many other marks of popular feeling, and a 
 nation's gratitude, were conferred upon him. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 JACKSON AT THE HERMITAGE. 
 
 \ MFi nation being at peace \vitli all 
 'lie world ; the Indian tribes having 
 l/cen reduced to submission ; peace 
 and tranquillity reigning throughout 
 lI.o land, General Jackp«^n gladly- 
 retired again to the Hermitage, to 
 eno-afj-e in his favourite rural occu- 
 pntions, and enjoy the society of his -wife and belovc ' 
 
466 JACKSON AT THE HERMITAGE. 
 
 relatives. For several years he there lived a life of 
 uninterrupted quiet and domestic happiness. He loved 
 his wife with a romantic attachment, of which none 
 but a few persons of his enthusiastic character are 
 susceptible. Such were the fascinating powers of his 
 conversation, such the cheerfulness of his fijeside, and 
 the warmth of his heart, that, though he was but a 
 citizen, his house was the most public one in Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 But his quiet and repose were soon destined to be 
 disturbed. Though he desired not the emoluments of 
 office, yet, in a country like the United States, it was 
 impossible for one who had evinced the sterling 
 qualities which adorned Jackson, to remain long in 
 retirement.* 
 
 In March, 1821, Florida having been ceded by 
 Spain to the United States, he was appointed its 
 governor by President Monroe, and he proceeded to 
 the discharge of the important and delicate duties, 
 which consequently devolved upon him. The accept- 
 ance of this appointment placed him in a situation of 
 more than ordinary civil responsibility. Clothed with 
 undefined powers, he was entrusted with the entire 
 executive, military, and judicial administration of that 
 region. In this new station, however, as in every 
 other, he manifested no unwillingness to " assume the 
 responsibility." The very difficulty and danger of the 
 situation had its influence in impelling him to accept 
 it. In a letter written during his residence in Florida, 
 he speaks in this manner of the powers entrusted to 
 
 * Cartwrijibt and Irvin's Eulogies. 
 
APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA. 467 
 
 him. " I am clothed with powers which no one under 
 a republic ought to possess, and which I trust will 
 never again be given to any man. Nothing will give 
 me more happiness than to learn that Congress, in its 
 wisdom, shall have distributed them properly, and in 
 such a manner as is consonant to our earliest and 
 deepest impressions. Yet, as I hold these powers by 
 the authority of an act of Congress, it becomes my 
 duty to discharge the sacred trust imposed upon mo 
 according to the best of my abilities, even though the 
 proper exercise of the powers given might involve me 
 in heavy personal responsibilities. It has been my 
 misfortune to be thus circumstanced in my various re- 
 lations as a pubhc servant. Yet I never have, nor 
 ever will I shrink from the discharge of my public 
 duties from any apprehension of personal responsi- 
 bility." 
 
 Nor was this responsibility imaginary. By the 
 terms of the treaty of cession, all the archives and 
 public papers were to be given up with the province. 
 Four documents relating to the rights of property in 
 West Florida were withheld by Governor Cavalla, 
 claiming that they did not come within the meaning 
 or intention of the treaty. After a specific demand, 
 Governor Jackson sent an armed force to seize the 
 papers, and bring Don Cavalla before him, to answer 
 for a contempt of his authority. On his persisting in 
 a refusal either to give up the papers or appear before 
 the governor, Cavalla was taken out of bed, carried 
 to Jackson's quarters, and by him committed to prison. 
 The papers having been soon after found, Cavalla 
 was immediately set at liberty. 
 
46S JACKSON AT THE HERMITAGE, 
 
 A contest of a similar character took place in East 
 Florida. Mr. Worthington had been commissioned 
 by Governor Jackson to act as governor of that part 
 of the territory during his absence in the western part. 
 On the 2d of October, Mr. Worthington finding that 
 some papers belonging to that province were about to 
 be sent to Havana, under the direction of his superior, 
 caused them to be seized and secured. The dilatory 
 proceedings and troublesome character of the Spa- 
 niards who had anything to do with the transfer of 
 the government, occasioned much difficulty to the 
 American authorities. 
 
 General Jackson published the facts relating to the 
 seizure of the papers and the detention of Cavalla. 
 Seven of Don Cavalla's officers, who had remained in 
 Florida after its cession as private citizens, published 
 a statement contradicting some of the facts which 
 Jackson had made public, and containing, as he appre- 
 hended, some disrespectful expressions and sentiments 
 calculated to excite in the Floridians, discontent with 
 his government. This publication was answered by 
 a proclamation from the governor, ordering them to 
 quit the territory in five days. 
 
 For the purpose of administering justice, the terri- 
 tory was divided into two counties, Avithout regard to 
 the original division of East and West Florida ; the 
 country west of the Suwanee River constituted one 
 county, by the name of Escambia ; and the territory 
 east of that river another, denominated St. John's.* 
 
 Jackson's commission expiring at the end of the 
 
 * Perkins. 
 
NOMINATED FOR THE PRESIDENCY. 409 
 
 session of the Senate in 1822, and he having accom- 
 plished the organization of the territorial government 
 of Florida under the act of congress, declined a re-ap- 
 pointment, and returned to Tennessee. 
 
 No sooner had he returned to Tennessee, than he 
 was nominated by the legislature of that state as a 
 candidate for the office of president of the United 
 States. They urged in his favour the important mili- 
 tary services which he had performed, and the honour 
 which thereby redounded to the country ; his know- 
 ledge and known ability to execute the laws, and his 
 unshrinking firmness in the execution of his duty. 
 This nomination of the legislature of Tennessee was 
 repeated by immense assemblages of citizens in several 
 other states ; and from his great popularity in the 
 south and west, as well as with the whole army of the 
 Ignited States, his election in 1824 was confidently 
 expected. 
 
 In 1823, President Monroe offered him the appoint- 
 ment of minister to Mexico, which he declined, not 
 only because he desired no office of emolument or 
 honour, but because he did not wish to countenance, 
 by his presence at the court of the sovereign of Mexi- 
 co, the substitution of a monarchy in the place of a 
 republic, nor the means by which it had been effected. 
 Other reasons also concurred to induce him to decline 
 the appointment. Incessant toil in the various duties 
 of his command — exposure to the hardships of military 
 service in the south, and especially in the swamps and 
 morasses of Florida — had undermined his constitution, 
 which had never, at any time, been very strong ; and 
 retirement seemed to him as needful to the preserva- 
 
470 JACKSON AT THE HERMITAGE. 
 
 lion of his own life, as to the happiness of those who 
 had so long been denied the pleasure of his society. 
 
 lie did not deem it inconsistent with this feeling to 
 accept the office of senator in Congress, which was 
 again, in the autumn of 1823, conferred on him by the 
 legislature of Tennessee; for this honourable and com- 
 paratively easy service would still leave him, for the 
 greater portion of the year, an inmate of the Hermi- 
 tage.* In December, 1823, he took his seat in the 
 highest branch of the legislative department of the go- 
 vernment. He voted for the tariff of 1824, which was 
 intended as a protection for American manufacturers. 
 It raised the duties on many articles of imports from 
 foreign countries coming in competition with articles 
 manufactured in the United States. It was the result 
 of the combined efforts of the advocates of protection 
 to domestic industry throughout the Union, addi^d to 
 the recommendation of the president, and the support 
 of members of Congress, principally from the northern, 
 middle, and western states. The bill was debated for 
 wrecks in both houses, and called forth the first talent 
 in Congress. The most strenuous opposition was made 
 by the members from the southern states. The ma- 
 jority in its favour in the Senate was but four, of 
 whom General Jackson was one.t 
 
 Jackson's popularity with the people of the United 
 States was shown at the presidential election in the 
 autumn of 1824, when he received a greater number 
 of electoral votes than either of his competitors. 
 There were four candidates for the presidency, among 
 
 * Butler's Eulogy. f Statesman's Manual. 
 
ELECTION OF MR. ADAMS. 471 
 
 whom the electoral votes were divided as follows : — 
 For Jackson, ninety-nine ; for Adams, eighty-four; for 
 Crawford, forty-one; and for Clay, thirty-seven. Nei- 
 ther of the candidates having a majority of the whole 
 number of electors, the election devolved upon the 
 House of Representatives, where, according to the 
 provision of the constitution, the decision is made by 
 states, the representation from each state having one 
 vote, and a majority of all the states being necessary 
 to a choice. 
 
 The House, being restricted in its choice to the 
 three highest candidates. Clay was thrown out; but 
 though not ostensibly a candidate before the repre- 
 sentatives, yet he held the destinies of the nation in 
 his hands. The states by which he had been sup- 
 ported, could decide the election as they chose. By 
 uniting with the South, they would unquestionably 
 bring in General Jackson ; and by joining the East, 
 they would as certainly effect the election of Adams. 
 
 The course of Mr. Clay in this contest has been 
 severely animadverted upon by his opponents. It 
 seems that he considered General Jackson, though a 
 distinguished military officer, as destitute of the re- 
 quisite talents and quahfications for the presidency ; 
 that it was hazardous to the liberties of the country 
 to elevate a person to the chief magistracy, the duties 
 of which are mostly of a civil nature, merely because 
 he had been a successful general. That on the other 
 hand, he considered Mr. Adams as possessing, in a 
 high degree, the requisite qualifications ; that his ta- 
 lents were of the first order, and his life had been 
 spent in the proper school for the office. With these 
 
47-> 
 
 JACKSON AT THE HERMITAGE.. 
 
 views, or perhaps others, Mr. Clay determined lo sup- 
 port Mr. Adams. That this determination was the 
 result of collusion between them, is strongly denied ; 
 but if it was not, Mr. Clay undoubtedly committed a 
 capital error in accepting the appointment of secretary 
 of state, which was conferred on him, immediately on 
 the accession of Adams to the presidency. 
 
 Mr. Adams was elected on the first ballot by the 
 Mouse of Representatives ; he receiving the votes of 
 thirteen states, Jackson of seven, and Crawford of four.* 
 
 General Jackson submitted, as he should have 
 done, to the decision of the constitutional authorities 
 
 * Perkins. 
 
JACKSON RENOMINATED. 473 
 
 of his country ; and his conduct was marked, on that 
 occasion, with that propriety and dignity so charac- 
 teristic of him. He was present, with the other mem- 
 bers of the Senate, in the hall of the representatives, 
 on the 4tli of March, 1825, when the president elect 
 delivered his inaugural address and took the oath of 
 office. After delivering his address, and binding him- 
 self by the oath of office faithfully to execute his 
 duties, and to defend the constitution, Mr. Adams 
 descended from the platform to receive the congrat- 
 ulations of his friends. It was then that General 
 Jackson, stepping out, as no other man could have 
 done, was the first to shake hands with and con- 
 gratulate the newly-made president, the person who 
 had just been inaugurated in the office which the free 
 voice of the people of the land would have bestowed 
 upon Jackson. 
 
 The pride of Tennessee was aroused at the injus- 
 tice, or the seeming injustice, by which her favourite 
 son was excluded from the presidency. From the 
 formation of her constitution, he had been one of her 
 most cherished jewels. She had trusted him always, 
 and he had never betrayed her. She had named him 
 for the chief magistracy — he had a plurality of votes 
 — and yet one who had received many less was pre- 
 ferred by those on whom devolved the constitutional 
 alternative, in the failure of a choice by the people. 
 With a spirit worthy of a sovereign state, she again 
 uttered her unabated confidence in him, and manifested 
 her displeasure at the treatment he had received, by re- 
 nominating him for the first office in the gift of the peo- 
 
474 JACKSON AT THE HERMITAGE. 
 
 pie by general acclamation.* His character cannot be 
 better exhibited than by briefly presenting the grounds 
 upon which his claims were now pressed upon the 
 American people, to the high office of chief magistrate. 
 He was supported upon the ground, that having been 
 distinguished, if not for great talents, yet for useful 
 services in all the civil offices, under the governments 
 both of Tennessee and the United States, of counsellor, 
 legislator, senator, and judge — some of which he had 
 filled more than once, and the duties of which he had 
 discharged with ability and satisfaction to those he 
 represented — he was qualified for any office under the 
 government. That it was not probable that he could 
 have been selected to fill high offices, so various and 
 responsible, without possessing distinguished talents 
 for civil duties ; or that he could have discharged them 
 satisfactorily, without considerable acquirement ; that 
 this should satisfy his country that his mind was not 
 exclusively of a military character, and that his election 
 to the presidency would not therefore rest exclusively 
 on his great military services. That, like Washington, 
 he had been a citizen-soldier, and, like Washington, 
 was qualified for high civil command. That it was 
 the command of armies, and brilliant military services 
 rendered by both, that first endeared these great men 
 to their country, and operated doubtless, with both, in 
 recommending them to the chair of state. That if 
 neither had been a warrior, it is probable neither 
 would have been a distinguished statesman. That 
 General Jackson was eminently qualified by his great 
 
 * Harris's Eulogy. 
 
JACKSON RENOMINATED. 475 
 
 capacity for originating and directing measures, for 
 governing men, for bringing order out of confusion, 
 and, by that prudent judgment and foresight, securing 
 the good which many too often attribute to fortune. 
 That he was fitted for the chief magistracy of such a 
 country and people, by all the qualities of his great 
 mind and character, and by all the habits of his public 
 and private life. That it would be vain to say that a 
 man nurtured in the bosom of freemen, every one of 
 whom was by birthright a politician — successively 
 filling, by the choice of such a people, high and im- 
 portant offices in the legislative, executive, and judicial 
 departments of government — w as, notwithstanding all 
 his experience, and such proofs of public esteem and 
 confidence, incompetent to the administration of a 
 popular government. That, called, as he had been, 
 from the pursuits of civil life to military command, he 
 had become at once, and without regular military 
 tuition, a great captain. That, having to trust to his 
 own resources, and to depend for success on the active 
 and commanding energies of his own mighty mind, he 
 did not then disappoint his country. That his com- 
 binations and conduct established a skill, a sagacity 
 and judgment, that would have done honour to the 
 most renowned commander that had ever devoted a 
 whole lifetime to the profession of arms. And that 
 if such had been the results of General Jackson's capa- 
 city and talents, in a profession which he had but little 
 followed, the results would not be less beneficial or 
 glorious, when the same capacity, and talents, and in- 
 tegrity should be devoted to an office more congenial 
 to his habits. That it was true, he was not a man of 
 
476 JACKSON AT THE HERMITAGE. 
 
 great learning and genius ; but, in lieu of these he had 
 a common sense, a discretion and prudence, which 
 nothing could supply, and without which knowledge 
 was useless, and genius contemptible. That he was 
 a man who never mistook icliat to do or lohat he was 
 doing. That in regard to the fundamental questions 
 of constitutional doctrines and national policy, he had 
 been politically nurtured in the school of our republican 
 fathers, and that to these tenets of his youth he still 
 adhered. And that, lastly, in the language of Thomas 
 Jefferson, he was " honest, sincere, firm, and strong- 
 minded — of sound public principles ; and that, if he 
 should be brought into the presidency, to correct the 
 alarming tendency towards favourite, and otherwise 
 irremediable evils, which were beginning to develope 
 themselves in the administration of the federal govern- 
 ment, he (Jackson) would be found entirely faithful to 
 the object." These were the grounds on which he was 
 presented to the people by the legislature of his own 
 state and his friends throughout the union.* 
 
 The resolution which passed both houses of the 
 legislature of Tennessee, in October, 1825, proffering 
 General Jackson to their fellow-citizens for the chief 
 magistracy, and expatiating at large on his many dis- 
 tinguished qualifications for the office, was responded 
 to by him, not doubting the right of a state legislature 
 to nominate a president, by a resignation of his seat 
 in the Senate of the United States, and an address to 
 the legislature, in which he also gave his views on 
 public affairs. For three years, during the exciting 
 
 * Stevenson's Eulogy. 
 
JACKSON ELECTED PRESIDENT. 477 
 
 canvass, which finally resulted in his election, he re- 
 mained in private life at the Hermitage. In January, 
 1828, he spent a few days in New Orleans, partici- 
 pating, by invitation, in the celebration of the thirteenth 
 anniversary of his great victory. 
 
 The canvass for the presidential election in 1828 
 was conducted with great spirit and enthusiasm. 
 Many distinguished members of the party who had 
 supported the administrations of Washington and 
 John Adams, declared for Jackson ; some of them as- 
 signing as a reason for this step, the determination to 
 break up what was beginning to appear as an estab- 
 lished usage, viz : the election to the presidency of one 
 who had previously served as secretary of state ; any- 
 thing like a regular line of succession to this high 
 office appearing to them to be totally repugnant to the 
 spirit of our republican institutions. The people en- 
 tered into the cause of Jackson with that hearty good 
 will which was the result of high sense of his impor- 
 tant services to the republic, and a desire to redress 
 the wrong which they considered to have been done 
 towards him in the previous election. The people of 
 the United States have always evinced this lively sense 
 of gratitude towards public men who have rendered 
 great and indisputable services to the country, and a 
 keen resentment for any injury which they may have 
 suffered. Under these circumstances. General Jack- 
 son could hardly fail of his election ; and, accordingly, 
 the election in October, 1828, resulted in the eleva- 
 tion of Jackson to the presidency, by an electoral 
 vote of one hundred and seventy-eight. Mr. Adams 
 received but eighty-three. The latter had the votes 
 
47S 
 
 JACKSON AT THE HERMITAGE. 
 
 of New Jersey and Delaware, sixteen from New York, 
 five from Maryland, and all the New England votes, 
 except one from Maine. All the other votes were for 
 General Jackson. 
 
 Before departing for Washington, in 1829, to take 
 the reins of government, he met with a severe affliction 
 in the death of Mrs. Jackson. This loss bore heavily 
 upon him for some time, and he came into power with 
 gloomy feelings. He reached the national capital ear- 
 ly in February, in a plain carriage.* 
 
 The news of his arrival at the seat of government, 
 and his entrance on the duties of his office, was re- 
 ceived with enthusiasm throughout the United States. 
 
 * Statesman's Manual. 
 
 KTn.^. 
 
 Huzzah for Jackson ! 
 
gi:^ki;al .iack:?on in 132a. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 E now enter upon General 
 Jackson's career as a states- 
 man. This part of his life 
 it is our purpose to treat, 
 not in the spirit of party, but 
 of history — to regard his 
 acts, as far as it may be 
 possible to do so, in the 
 same point of view in which 
 they will be regarded by 
 posterity. It is not to bo expected that the chief ma- 
 gistrate of a great nation shall escape censure for 
 those important political measures which he may con- 
 sider it his duty to adopt. Washington was charged 
 with being bought with British gold, because he signed 
 Jay's treaty ; Adams was strongly censured for chas- 
 
482 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 tising the insolence of the French Directory ; Jeffer- 
 son for purchasing Louisiana; Madison for recom- 
 mending the declaration of war with England ; and 
 Monroe for sanctioning the conquest and acquisition 
 of Florida ; and yet these measures were all justified, 
 not only by the general voice of the American peoplej 
 but by their obvious public utility. An impartial sur- 
 vey of Jackson's most important measures, precisely 
 the measures which w^ere most loudly censured, will 
 conduct us to the same result. They have been 
 equally justified by the voice of the people, and by 
 their effects on the prosperity of the nation. 
 
 General Jackson arrived at Washino-ton in Feb- 
 ruary, and on the 4th of March, 1829, entered on the 
 duties of the office of President of the United States. 
 About twelve o'clock of that day he was waited upon 
 by a few of the surviving officers and soldiers of the 
 revolutionary war, who came to escort him from his 
 lodgings at Gadsby's hotel to the capitol. One of 
 them, speaking for all, delivered an address, congratu- 
 lating him upon his election, and expressing sentiments 
 of deep attachment. lie replied to them by saying : — 
 "Respected friends: your affectionate address awa- 
 kens sentiments and recollections which I feel with 
 sincerity and cherish with pride. To have around 
 my person, at the moment of undertaking the most 
 solemn of all duties to my country, the companions 
 of the immortnl Washington, will afford me satis- 
 faction and gratefiil encouragement. That by my 
 best exertions I shall be able to exhibit more than an 
 imitation of his labours, a sense of my own imperfec- 
 tions, and the reverence I entertain for his virtues, 
 
INAUGURATION. 483 
 
 forbid me to hope. To you, respected friends, the 
 survivors of that heroic band, who followed him so 
 long and so valiantly in the path of glory, I offer my 
 sincere thanks, and to Heaven my prayers, that your 
 remaining years may be as happy as your toils and 
 your lives have been illustrious." 
 
 Escorted by this band of heroes he arrived at the 
 capitol, where, in presence of the Senate, the members 
 of the House of Representatives, the heads of depart- 
 ments, the judges of the Supreme Court, foreign 
 ministers, and an immense concourse of citizens, he 
 delivered his inaugural address ; and having concluded 
 it, the oath fliithfully to execute the duties of the 
 presidency, and to the best of his ability to preserve, 
 protect, and defend the constitution, was administered 
 to him by Chief-Justice Marshall. His induction into 
 office by taking this oath was immediately proclaimed 
 by the firing of salutes by artillery stationed near the 
 capitol, which were echoed and re-echoed from the 
 forts and plains around. The paragraph which ex- 
 cited most interest in his inaugural address was in the 
 following terms. 
 
 "The recent demonstration of public sentiment 
 inscribes on the list of executive duties, in characters 
 too legible to be overlooked, the task o^ reform; which 
 will require particularly the correction oftho.se abuses 
 that have brought the patronage of the federal go- 
 vernment 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 incompe- 
 tent hands. In the performance of a task thus 
 
4S4 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 generally delineated, I shall endeavour to select men 
 whose diligence and talents will insure, in their respec- 
 tive stations, able and faithful co-operation — depending 
 for the advancement of the public service, more on 
 the integrity and zeal of the public officers, than on 
 their numbers." The meaning of this part of his ad- 
 dress was only made known when he began his 
 general system of removals and appointments. 
 
 After the delivery of his address, he was conducted 
 in procession to the presidential mansion, where he 
 received the salutations of a vast number of friends, 
 who had gathered to congratulate him upon his induc- 
 tion to the highest office in the gift of the people. 
 
 Thus propitious and pleasant, like the day of his 
 inauguration, everything seemed to work in harmony 
 at the touch of the new president. He entered upon 
 the duties of the office with great experience and 
 ample preparation in civil as well as military life. In 
 his early youth, for many years, he was devoted to 
 the study and practice of a profession that brought 
 the mind in daily and familiar intercourse with the 
 laws and government of his country. A pioneer 
 amonfT the first settlers of a new territory, he saw the 
 birth and developement of the social and civil institu- 
 tions of a free people. At thirty years of age he was 
 the leading statesman of a young republic. His crea- 
 tive mind was called on to aid in framing a constitu- 
 tion of government, suited to a peoj)k! of largest 
 liberty — and then to administer its laws in the func- 
 tions of an office of the highest trust and responsibility. 
 By his powers of thought and independence of char- 
 a( ter, he exalted the judicial station in the minds of a 
 
INAUGURATION. iSo 
 
 rude people. He wliose retirement from the supreme 
 bench was opposed by the best men of his state, must 
 have possessed rare qualities as a judge.* 
 
 Long in retirement, devoted to rural occupations, 
 disconnected with the strife of party politics, and in 
 familiar intercourse with the sons of those pioneers, 
 who had conquered a rude wilderness to the hand of 
 cultivation, he learned to value the strong sense of 
 freedom, the bold intellect and hardy virtues of an 
 agricultural people, and to perceive that the perpetuity 
 of our free institutions depends on the continuance of 
 their virtue and intelligence. With such associations, 
 and such habits of mind, he could not fail to interpret 
 the constitution in the sense of the great apostle of 
 liberty, as an instrument of limited powers, reserving 
 to the states and to the people many of the most im- 
 portant attributes of sovereignty. Dwelling among 
 an enlightened people, with few wants, and requiring 
 but few restraints — havinfj a constitution and laws of 
 their own adequate to their purpose and faithfully ad- 
 ministered, he could not perceive the necessity or the 
 justice of conferring all powers on a central govern- 
 ment, remote from observation, in the hands of men 
 opposed to him in interest, alien in feeling, and over 
 whom he and his people could exert but a limited 
 control. Such thoughts naturally suggested them- 
 selves to the unbiassed mind of Andrew Jackson ; and 
 he who despised shams, and sought and loved the 
 truth for her own sake, could not fail to embrace them. 
 With large experience, and ample preparation, m 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 
486 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 mature old age and full of honours, Andrew Jackson 
 ascended the steps of the capitol as president of the 
 United States, forty years after the foundation of the 
 republic, and took the oath to support the constitution. 
 This was no unmeaning ceremony with him. He 
 solemnly purposed to support the constitution as it 
 came from the hands of Washington and his com- 
 peers, and none other. Whatever a plain, honest, 
 common-sense interpretation of its words could be 
 made to mean, that was the constitution he intended to 
 abide by and enforce. Those powers of intellect and 
 that independence of mind so conspicuous in his 
 earlier days, had never forsaken him. He was not 
 the man to yield to authority against his own judg- 
 ment, or surrender the solemn convictions of his mind 
 to the plea of necessity.* 
 
 The interpolation of forty years' legislation, 
 though sanctioned by judicial authority and great 
 names, had no weight with him against the plain 
 reading of the constitution. After havincr encountered 
 so many difficulties, and fronted so many dangers, 
 through a long and eventful life, he was not now to be 
 deterred by any consideration from the discharge of 
 his duty. Having filled the measure of his country's 
 glory, and leaning with his arm on eternity, he had 
 nothing more to ask. But with a popularity, a weight 
 of character, and an influence unknown since the days 
 of Washington, he stood by the altar of the consti- 
 tution, and offered it all as a sacrifice to his country. 
 Thousands have condemned him, but none have 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 
JACKSON'S CABINET. 487 
 
 charged him with selfishness or a sinister motive. 
 Coining into the executive chair >vith a determination 
 of hringing hack the government to the simple mean- 
 ins of the constitution, confinintj its action to a few 
 general powers, and leaving all the rest to the states 
 and to the people, he resolved to accomplish it or 
 perish in the ruins. This, his greatest task, he did 
 accomplish, as he always accomplished everything he 
 undertook, gallantly, nobly, perfectly.* 
 
 The members of the former cabinet havinfj re- 
 signed. President Jackson immediately made the fol- 
 lowing nominations, which were duly confirmed by the 
 Senate : Martin Van Buren, of New York, for Secre- 
 tary of State ; Samuel D. Ingham, of Pennsylvania, 
 Secretary of the Treasury ; John H. Eaton, of Ten- 
 nessee, Secretary of War; John Branch, of North 
 Carolina, Secretary of the Navy ; John Macpherso 
 Berrien, of Georgia, Attorney General; and William 
 T. Barry, of Kentucky, Postmaster General. 
 
 After thus constituting the cabinet, and confirming 
 some other nominations, the Senate adjourned on the 
 17th of March, upon receiving an intimation from the 
 president that he had no other business to lay before 
 them. 
 
 Scarcely had the Senate adjourned, when the work 
 of reform was commenced by the removal of the 
 president's political opponents, and the appointment 
 of his friends to office. The number of appointments 
 made by him during the recess of the Senate was one 
 hundred and seventy-six, principally in consequence 
 of removals. 
 
 * Garland's Eulogy. 
 
4S8 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 Congress reassembled in December, 1829. In his 
 first annual message, -Nvhich he then delivered to them, 
 he expressed his views on political subjects, and on the 
 policy most conducive to the prosperity of the nation. 
 In referring to the condition and prospects of the 
 United States, he said : 
 
 "In communicating with you for the first time, it 
 is to me a source of unfeigned satisfaction, calling for 
 mutual gratulation and devout thanks to a benign 
 Providence, that we are at peace with all mankind, 
 and that our country exhibits the most cheering evi- 
 dence of general welfare and progressive improvement. 
 
 "Our foreign relations, although in their general 
 character pacific and friendly, present subjects of dif- 
 ference between us and other powers of deep interest, 
 as well to the country at large as to many of our citi- 
 zens. To effect an adjustment of these shall continue 
 to be the object of my earnest endeavours ; and not- 
 withstanding the difficulties of the task, I do not allow 
 myself to apprehend unfavourable results. Blessed as 
 our country is with everything which constitutes na- 
 tional strength, she is fully adequate to the mainten 
 ance of all her interests. In discharging the responsi- 
 ble trust confided to the executive in this respect, it is 
 my settled purpose to ask nothing that is not clearly 
 right, and to submit to nothing that is wrong ; and I 
 flatter myself that, supported by the otlu^r branches 
 of the government, and by the intelligence and patri- 
 otism of the people, we shall be able, under the pro- 
 tection of Providence, to cause all our just rights to 
 be respected." 
 
 He then entered into a particular examination of 
 
FIRST A N i\ U A L !\I E S S A G E . 489 
 
 the relations of the United States with Great Britain, 
 France, Spain, and other European powers, as well as 
 with the Barbary powers in Africa, and Brazil and 
 Mexico on our own continent. He recommended an 
 amendment of that part of the constitution which re- 
 lates to the election of president and vice-president. 
 In relation to the tariff passed at the last session of 
 Congress, the state of the pubHc finances, and the re- 
 venue, his message contained the following para- 
 graphs : 
 
 « No very considerable change has occurred during 
 the recess of Congress in the condition of either our 
 agriculture, commerce, or manufactures. The opera- 
 tion of the tariff has not proved so injurious to the two 
 former, or as beneficial to the latter, as was anticipated. 
 Importations of foreign goods have not been sensibly 
 diminished, while domestic competition, under an 
 illusive excitement, has increased the production much 
 beyond the demand for home consumption. The con- 
 sequences have been low prices, temporary embar- 
 rassment, and partial loss. That such of our own 
 manufacturing establishments as are based upon capi- 
 tal, and are prudently managed, will survive the shock, 
 and be ultimately profitable, there is no good reason 
 to doubt. 
 
 " To regulate its conduct, so as to promote equally 
 the prosperity of these three cardinal interests, is one 
 of the most difficult tasks of government ; and it may 
 be regretted that the complicated restrictions which 
 now embarrass the intercourse of nations, could 
 not by common consent be abolished, and commerce 
 allowed to flow in those channels, to which individual 
 
490 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 enterprise, always its surest guide, might direct it. 
 But we must ever expect selfish legislation in other 
 nations ; and are therefore compelled to adopt our 
 ow^n to their reirulations, in the manner best calculated 
 to avoid serious injury, and to harmonize the con- 
 flicting mterest of our agriculture, our commerce, 
 and our manufactures. Under these impressions I 
 invite your attention to the existing tariff', believing 
 that some of its provisions require modification. 
 
 " The general rule to be applied in graduating the 
 duties upon articles of foreign growth or manufacture, 
 is that which will place our own in fair competition 
 with those of other countries ; and the inducements 
 to advance even a step beyond this point are con- 
 trolling in regard to those articles which are of pri- 
 mary necessity in time of war. When we reflect 
 upon the difficulty and delicacy of this operation, it is 
 important that it should never be attempted but with 
 the utmost caution. Frequent legislation in regard to 
 any branch of industry, affecting its value, and by 
 which its capital may be transferred to new channels, 
 must always be productive of hazardous speculation 
 and loss. 
 
 "In deliberating, therefore, on these interesting 
 subjects, local feelings and prejudices should be 
 merged in the patriotic determination to promote the 
 great mterests of the whole. All attempts to connect 
 them with the party conflicts of the day are neces- 
 sarily injurious, and should be discountenanced. - Our 
 action upon them should be under the control of 
 higher and purer motives. Legislation, subjected to 
 such influences, can never be just ; and will not long 
 
FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 491 
 
 retain the sanction of a people, \\ hose active patriotism 
 is not bounded by sectional liniits, nor insensible to 
 that spirit of concession and forbearance which gave 
 life to our political compact, and still sustains it. 
 Discarding all calculations of political ascendency, 
 the north, the south, the east, and the west should 
 unite in diminishing any burden of which either may 
 justly complain. 
 
 " The agricultural interest of our country is so es- 
 sentially connected with every other, and so superior 
 in importance to them all, that it is scarcely necessary 
 to invite to it your particular attention. It is prin- 
 cipally as manufactures and commerce tend to in- 
 crease the value of agricultural productions, and to 
 extend their application to the wants and comforts of 
 society, that they deserve the fostering care of go- 
 vernment. 
 
 " Looking forward to the period, not far distant, 
 when a sinking fund will no longer be required, the 
 duties on those articles of importation which cannot 
 come in competition with our own productions, are 
 the first that should engage the attention of Congress 
 in the modification of the tariff. Of these, tea and 
 coffee are the most prominent ; they enter largely into 
 the consumption of the country, and have become 
 articles of necessity to all classes. A reduction, 
 therefore, of the existing duties will be felt as a com- 
 mon benefit ; but, like all other legislation connected 
 with commerce, to be efficacious and not injurious, it 
 should be gradual and certain." 
 
 In this, ably written message the president next 
 called the attention of Congress to the favourable 
 
492 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 condition of the treasury, and expressed a strong 
 desn-e for effecting the payment of the national debt, 
 which then amounted to upwards of sixty milhons of 
 dolhirs, with all possible promptitude. He recom- 
 mended that such an annual payment should be made 
 as would extinguish the whole in eight years. After 
 this should have been done, he recommended the di- 
 vision of the surplus revenue among the states, prin- 
 cipally for the purpose of internal improvements, for 
 he had his doubts with respect to the authority of the 
 general government to make appropriations for that 
 purpose. Then referring to the condition of the 
 Indian tribes w ithin the United States, he recommend- 
 ed their removal beyond the boundary of the dif- 
 ferent states, but without compulsion, to such territory 
 west of the Mississippi as Congress might set apart 
 for their use. 
 
 With regard to the United States Bank he said : 
 " The charter of the Bank of the United States ex- 
 pires in 1836, and its stockholders will most probably 
 ap})ly for a renewal of their privileges. In order to 
 avoid the evils resulting from precipitancy in a measure 
 involving such important principles and such deep 
 pecuniary interests, I feel that I cannot, in justice to 
 the parties interested, too soon present it to the de- 
 liberate consideration of the legislature and the people. 
 Both the constitutionality and the expediency of the 
 law creating this bank are well questioned by a large 
 portion of our fellow-citizens; and it nmst be admitted 
 by all, that it has failed in the great end of creating a 
 uniform and sound currency. 
 
 " Under these circumstances, if such an institution 
 
FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 493 
 
 is deemed essential to the fiscal operations of the go- 
 vernment, I submit to the wisdom of the legislature 
 whether a national one, founded upon the credit of 
 the government and its revenues, niiglit not be de- 
 vised, which would avoid all constitutional difficulties, 
 and at the same time secure all the advantaires to the 
 government and country, that were expected to 
 result from the present bank." 
 
 Many of the recommendations contained in this 
 message were considered immediately ; but in some 
 instances the views of the president were not con- 
 curred in. Committees on retrenchment and reform 
 made reports agreeably to the wishes of the president, 
 but they were coldly received in both houses, and little 
 action was taken on them during the session. The 
 recommendations of amendments to the constitution 
 were passed over as unimportant and neglected. The 
 reconmiendation on the subject of a revision of the 
 tariff met with better treatment, and several bills were 
 introduced to diminish or repeal the duties on various 
 articles of general consumption. 
 
 On the subject of a renewal of the charter of the 
 Bank of the United States, the standing committees 
 of the Senate and the House, to which it was referred, 
 made reports diametrically opposite to the recom- 
 mendation of the president. The friends of the ad- 
 ministration formed a majority in both conmiittees, 
 and the marked difference in the opinions entertained 
 by them from that expressed in the president's mes- 
 sage, afforded a striking proof, that Jackson was 
 already far in advance of the party which had brou<Tht 
 him into power, as the measures which he recommended 
 
494 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 at that time have been nearly all subsequently car- 
 ried into effect. 
 
 This session of the federal legislature continued 
 for six months ; and the follo^ving laws were the most 
 important which were passed and approved by Presi- 
 dent Jackson during that period : For the re-appro- 
 priation of thirty thousand dollars for the suppression 
 of the slave trade, which had been appropriated two 
 years before, but was not expended, and which was 
 founded on an act of Congress of 1819 — for repealing 
 an act imposing tonnage duties on vessels, of which 
 the officers and two-thirds of the seamen were citi- 
 zens of the United States — for the more effectual 
 collection of impost duties, appointing eight additional 
 appraisers to examine goods imported — for the ap- 
 pointment of an additional officer to be attached to 
 the treasury department, called the solicitor of the 
 treasury — for reducing the rate of duties on tea and 
 coffee, as recommended by the president in his an- 
 nual message ; also on salt and molasses, and allow- 
 ing a drawback on spirits exported, distilled from 
 that article, which the existing laws did not permit — 
 for allowing a portion of the claims of Massachusetts 
 for services and expenses of the militia in 1812-1814, 
 in time of war, and for which that state had not 
 been reimbursed ; the amount allowed being four 
 hundred and thirty thousand dollars, about half the 
 sum claimed — for the removal of the Indians from 
 lands occupied by them within any state of the Union, 
 to a territory west of the river Mississippi, and with- 
 out the limits of any state, or orgnnized territory, and 
 belonging to the United States, by purchase or re- 
 
WEBSTER AND HAYNE. 495 
 
 linquishment of the Indians, by treaty ; to divide such 
 western territory into districts, for the reception and 
 permanent settlement of those who should consent 
 to emigrate from their residence on the east of that 
 river, they relinquishing all claims to lands they then 
 occupied; the tribes to have the solemn assurance 
 of government, that it will for ever secure and 
 guaranty to them and their posterity, the tract of 
 country so exchanged by them for the lands they 
 should quit in Georgia, Alabama, and any other states; 
 and should they abandon the territory at any future 
 time, the same to revert to the United States; the 
 Indians to be reimbursed for their improvements made 
 on the lands they may leave ; to be aided in their re- 
 moval and supported for one year by the federal go- 
 vernment; to be protected against assaults from other 
 tribes in the vicinity of their new residence ; and five 
 hundred thousand dollars were granted for carrying 
 the same into effect.* 
 
 During this session of Congress, a highly interest- 
 ting debate took place in the Senate, on a resolution 
 offered by Mr. Foote, of Connecticut, relating to the 
 public lands, in the course of which, Mr. Hayne, of 
 South Carolina, introduced the subject of state rights, 
 and contended that the several states within which the 
 public lands were situated, should have the entire 
 control and jurisdiction over them. Mr. Webster 
 replied to Mr. Hayne in one of the most eloquent, 
 powerful, and effective speeches ever delivered in 
 Congress ; and contended that on subjects fully com- 
 
 * Bradford's History of the Federal Government. 
 30 
 
496 
 
 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 SANIBL WSBSTSB. 
 
 mitted to the government, by the constitution, its 
 powers were absolute, exclusive, and unlimited ; that 
 no state, nor even a number of states, might justly 
 interfere in such cases ; and that the public lands, not 
 expressly ceded to a particular state, were solely and 
 absolutely at the disposal of the United States go- 
 vernment. This speech produced a most wonderful 
 effect throughout the Union, and destroyed for a time 
 the hopes of the advocates of the new doctrine of 
 nullification ; yet the views of Mr. Ilayne, respecting 
 state rights and powers, continued to be entertained 
 
MAYSVILLEAND LEXINGTON ROAD BILL. 497 
 
 and asserted by a large and respectable portion of 
 the people of the southern states. No particular law 
 resulted from this able and protracted discussion. 
 
 The question of internal improvements by the 
 general government was also discussed at the first 
 session of the twenty-first Congress, and a bill was 
 passed, in the House, by a vote of 102 to 85, and in 
 the Senate by 24 to 18, authorizing a subscription to 
 the stock of the Maysville and Lexington Road Com- 
 pany, in Kentucky. The bill thus passed by so large 
 a majority, was sent to the president for his approval. 
 After retaining it eight days, he returned it to the 
 House on the 27th of May, 1830, with his objections. 
 
 The reading of this veto message caused much 
 excitement in Congress. Many of the friends of the 
 president from Pennsylvania and from the west, had 
 relied upon his approbation of this bill and of the 
 system of internal improvements by Congress ; ana 
 this message first forced upon their minds a conviction 
 as unwelcome as it was unexpected. The question 
 being taken upon the passage of the bill, notwith- 
 standing the objections of the president, the vote 
 stood yeas 96, nays 92. Two-thirds of the house not 
 agreeing to pass the bill, it was rejected ; though a ma- 
 jority of the house thus refused to sustain the objec- 
 tions of the president. 
 
 Two days afterwards the House of Representa- 
 tives took up several bills, which had been sent to 
 them from the Senate, relating to internal improve- 
 ments ; and, notwithstanding the veto of the Mays- 
 ville road bill, passed, by large majorities, three acts, 
 the first of which authorized a subscription to the 
 
498 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 Washington Turnpike Company ; the second, to the 
 Louisville and Portland Canal Company, and the third 
 appropriating money for light-houses, improving har- 
 bours, directing surveys, &c. The first bill being 
 similar to the one already rejected by the president, 
 was returned by him to the Senate, where it originated; 
 with a reference to the message on the Maysville bill 
 for his reasons. The Senate then proceeded to re- 
 consider the bill, and on the question of its passage, 
 the vote stood yeas 21, nays 17; and the majority 
 being less than two-thirds, the bill was rejected. The 
 other two bills were retained by the president until 
 after the adjournment of Congress, May 31st, 1830, 
 and were consequently lost.* 
 
 The second session of the twenty-first Congress 
 commenced on the 6th of December, 1830, and con- 
 tinued to the 3d of March, 1831. The annual mes- 
 sage of President Jackson in December, 1830, \vas 
 unusually elaborate. In it he gave a full and minute 
 statement of the acts of the executive department 
 during the recess of the legislature. Among the 
 more important of these acts were the nominal im- 
 provement of the commercial intercourse with the 
 colonial ports of Great Britain, and advantageous 
 treaties negotiated with Turkey, Denmark, France, 
 and Mexico. 
 
 By the treaty with the Sublime Porte, a free pas- 
 sage was secured, without limitation of time, to the 
 vessels of the United States to and from the Black 
 Sea, including the navigation thereof; and our trade 
 
 * Statesman's Manual. 
 
SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 499 
 
 with Turkey was placed on the footing of the most 
 favoured nations of Europe. A treaty had been 
 agreed on with Denmark, by which six hundred and 
 fifty thousand dollars were to be paid to American 
 citizens as an indemnity for spoliations upon their com- 
 merce in 1808-1811. 
 
 Similar indemnity was expected soon to be re- 
 ceived from some other European governments, on 
 whom claims had been several years before made for 
 like previous depredations. The negotiations with 
 France for a recognition and allowance of claims on 
 that government, in consequence of depredations com- 
 mitted on American commerce at former times, and 
 to a large amount, had been prosecuted M'ith renewed 
 zeal and with a strong hope of speedy success ; for a 
 friendly spirit was manifested by the French govern- 
 ment on the subject, although some objections were 
 offered as to an allowance of all the claims ; the 
 recent resolution in France indicating a favourable 
 result to the negotiation, as well as a proper occasion 
 for extending the commercial intercourse between the 
 two countries. The strongest assurances had been 
 received of the early and favourable consideration of 
 the subjects of difference with Spain. The president 
 then gave his reasons in full for the course he had 
 pursued in relation to internal improvements. He 
 represented the financial affairs of the government as 
 in a most prosperous condition; the expenditures 
 during the year being estimated at less than fourteen 
 millions of dollars, exclusive of the amount appro- 
 priated for paying the annual instalment of the public 
 
500 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 debt, which was eleven millions; and the receipts into 
 the treasury exceeding twenty-four millions. 
 
 In the address of the president at this time, he 
 again repeated his opinion of the propriety of limit- 
 ing the president's tenure of office to one term of 
 four or six years; he expressed his views at some 
 length of the powders of the federal and state govern* 
 ments, and of the importance of avoiding all en- 
 croachments of each upon the other; he referred to 
 the condition of the Indians, and gave his unqualified 
 testimony to the " benevolent policy" of the federal 
 government, from its origin, towards these uncivilized 
 people. He informed Congress that two important 
 tribes had accepted the provision made for their 
 removal at the last session of Congress, and he be- 
 lieved that their example would soon induce the re- 
 maining tribes to seek the same obvious advantages. 
 He again reconmiended a modification of the tariff 
 law of 1828, which, he said, " taxed some of the com- 
 forts of life unnecessarily high, and undertook to 
 protect interests too local and minute to justify a 
 general exaction." 
 
 He then informed them that nothinor had occurred 
 to lessen in any degree the dangers which many 
 American citizens apprehended from the rechartering 
 of the Bank of the United States, as then organized. 
 In the spirit of improvement and compromise which 
 distinguished our country and its institutions, it would 
 become the people's representatives to inquire whether 
 it would not be possible to secure the advantages 
 afforded by that bank, througli the agency of a bank 
 of the United States so modified in its principles and 
 
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. 501 
 
 structure as to obviate constitutional and other ob- 
 jections. 
 
 There were two or three acts of Congress for the 
 purpose of internal improvement, passed at this ses- 
 sion by such overwhehning majorities, as to induce 
 the president to yield his scruples to the force of 
 public opinion and sign the bills. The principal acts of 
 Congress of general interest approved by the president 
 during the second session of the 21st Congress, were 
 the following : Making appropriations for the improve- 
 ment of harbours and removing obstructions in rivers ; 
 to amend the copyright laws, by extending the term 
 of copyright to authors and others, to twenty-eight 
 years, with the privilege of renewing the same for the 
 additional period of fourteen years ; for the continua- 
 tion of the Cumberland Road in Ohio, Indiana, and 
 Illinois ; confirming certain grants of land made by the 
 United States in 1819, for the encouragement of the 
 culture of the vine and olive ; granting the control of 
 the National Road in Ohio to that state for the purpose 
 of erecting gates and toll-houses thereon, and an act 
 allowing duties on imports to be paid at Pittsburg, 
 Cincinnati, Nashville, and other ports on the waters 
 of the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers.* 
 
 About this time it was asserted by the opponents 
 of the president, that his opinions were influenced, 
 and appointments to office effected, through the in 
 strumentality of a cabal said to have been composed 
 principally of subordinate officeholders, Avho had been 
 consequently named the " kitchen cabinet." This 
 
 * Statesman's Manual, p. 983. 
 
502 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 libel, though long asserted, and believed by many, is 
 now well known to have been false, and to have had 
 its origin in complaints of disappointed political dema- 
 gogues. So far from the president's delegating any 
 portion of his proper duties to irresponsible persons, 
 he was scrupulously attentive to the exact discharge 
 of them himself. No person ever presumed to inter- 
 fere with his duties in the way of dictation or even 
 suggestion. He is known to have read with care every 
 letter addressed to him as President of the United 
 States, and it was his constant practice to note on 
 the backs of those requiring answers a memorandum 
 of the answer which he thought necessary, before 
 handing them over to his secretary ,• who would then 
 write his answers from the president's notes on each 
 letter. Matters requiring to be referred to a depart- 
 ment were referred with the president's opinion where 
 it was necessary. 
 
 General Jackson had hitherto expressed the opin- 
 ion that the president ought to hold his office but one 
 term, and had more than once recommended an 
 amendment of the constitution to that effect. But in 
 1831 he yielded to the importunities of many politi- 
 cal friends, as well as to the expressed wishes of the 
 legislatures of the states of Pennsylvania and New 
 York, and consented to be a candidate for re-election^ 
 
 Between the months of April and June 1831, 
 owing to some misunderstanding existing between the 
 secretary of war and the other members of the cabi- 
 net, they all, except the postmaster-general, resigned ; 
 and the new cabinet, which was not completely or- 
 ganized until late in the sunmier, was constituted as 
 
SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE 503 
 
 follows: — Edward Livingston, of Louisiana, Secretary 
 of State ; Louis M'Lane, of Delaware, Secretary of 
 the Treasury; Lewis Cass, of Ohio, Secretary of War; 
 Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, Secretary of 
 the Navy ; Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, Attorney 
 General ; and William T. Barry, of Kentucky, Post- 
 master-General, continued. 
 
 This cabinet was not only superior to that which 
 preceded it, but might fairly be compared, in point of 
 talent and ability, with most of those of previous ad- 
 ministrations ; and its character furnished strong 
 testimony of the tribute paid to public opinion in the 
 selection of his advisers, by a chief magistrate of 
 great personal popularity.* 
 
 The first session of the 22d Congress commenced 
 on the 5th of December, 1831, and continued to July 
 14th, 1832. The president's annual uiessage con- 
 tained the usual amount of information in relation to 
 the foreign and domestic affairs of the country, and 
 nearly the same recommendations as the last. 
 
 The census of 1830 having been completed, a 
 new apportionment of representatives among the 
 different states was made, and the ratio fixed was one 
 representative for forty-seven thousand seven hundred 
 inhabitants. 
 
 The following were the most important measures 
 of the federal government and the political events 
 affecting the United States, w^hich happened in 1831, 
 and were made known by the president to both houses 
 of Congress in his third annual messa£[e. As the 
 
 ♦Statesman's Manual, 987. 
 
504 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 King of the Netherlands, to whom had been referred 
 the adjustment of the dispute between the United 
 States and Great Britain with respect to the North- 
 Eastern boundary, had departed from the real question 
 referred to him, and given an opinion which was of the 
 nature of a compromise, the government of the United 
 States did not acquiesce in his judgment. The treaty 
 with France was finally settled, the sum provided to 
 be paid for commercial spoliations being sufficient to 
 satisfy most of the claimants. Treaties of com- 
 merce were renewed with Sweden and Denmark. 
 The removal of some Indian tribes from the states 
 in which they had formerly resided, had been effected 
 during the year, and others were preparing also to 
 remove in the year following — they were chiefly from 
 the states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia — and 
 the lands provided for their future settlement were 
 far west of the river Mississippi, and beyond the 
 territory occupied by citizens of the United States; 
 and where they were to be entirely separated from all 
 state authority ; which, it was supposed, would con- 
 duce to their welfare, their preservation, and to the 
 peace of the nation. The public finances appeared 
 to be in as prosperous state as for several preceding 
 years, and the usual reduction of the national debt 
 w^as made. The president again expressed his views 
 as given on a former occasion, of the propriety of an 
 alteration of the constitution, for preventing the same 
 person from being elected as president of the United 
 States for a second term; and against the policy 
 of renewing the charter of the Bank of the United 
 States, which Avould expire in 1836. He again recom- 
 
REJECTION OF VAN BUREN. 
 
 50/1 
 
 Martin Van Buren. 
 
 mended an alteration or modification of the tariff 
 of 1828.* 
 
 During this session of Congress the Senate re- 
 jected the president's nomination of Mr. Van Buren 
 as minister to England. As he had been appointed 
 and sent to the court of St. James during the recess, 
 the rejection was necessarily followed by his recall. 
 
 Bradford. 
 
506 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 This act of the Senate excited strongly the indigna- 
 tion of the president and the people ; and it was un- 
 doubtedly a principal cause of Mr. Van Buren's sub- 
 sequent nomination for the office of president. 
 
 Many subjects of great interest came under the 
 consideration of Congress at this session ; and among 
 them none excited more of the public attention than 
 that of the renewal of the charter of the Bank of the 
 United States. This bank had been established in 
 1816, with a charter for twenty years. 
 
 From the time of Jackson's election in 1829, he 
 had opposed the measure of the renewal of the 
 charter, alone and unsupported, but with the utmost 
 determination. His views led him to limit the central 
 authority; and this, like other commercial and moneyed 
 bodies, bearing an aristocratic character, excited his 
 peculiar jealousy. Even in his first annual message, 
 he intimated that its constitutionality and expediency 
 were i mch questioned, and suggested another insti- 
 tution, founded on the security of government and its 
 revenues. This declaration was the signal of deadly 
 war between him and the bank. That establishment 
 seemg its existence threatened, is alleged to have 
 employed its funds and its influence in eflforts at once 
 to defend itself, and to shake his authority. In his 
 second message he again renewed the proposal of a 
 bank which should be a branch of the treasury, with- 
 out liberty to issue notes, make loans, or purchase 
 property. On the 9th of January, 1832, however, a 
 petition being presented to Congress for a new charter 
 to the existing institution, was referred to a select 
 committee, which, on the 13th of March, reported in 
 
BANK BILL VETOED. 507 
 
 its favour, recommending only some limitations to the 
 power of issuing notes and holding real property, also 
 the payment of a bonus of one million five hundred 
 thousand dollars. After long debates and various 
 amendments, a bill for this purpose was carried in 
 the Senate by a vote of 28 to 20, and in the House 
 of Representatives by 107 to 85; but, being on the 
 4th of July sent to the president, it was returned to 
 the Senate on the 10th of July with an absolute veto, 
 which, not being opposed by two-thirds, decided the 
 fate of the bank. 
 
 " Never, from the first moment of Jackson's ad- 
 ministration to the last, was there a calm in the strife 
 of parties on the subject of the currency ; and never, 
 during the whole period, did he recede or falter. 
 Always in advance of his party — always having near 
 him friends who cowered before the hardihood of his 
 courage, he himself, throughout all the contest, was 
 unmoved, from the first suggestion of the uncon- 
 stitutionality of the bank, to the moment when he 
 himself, first of all, reasoning from the certain 
 tendency of its policy, with singular sagacity pre- 
 dicted to unbelieving friends the coming insolvency of 
 the institution. 
 
 " The storm throughout the country rose with un- 
 exampled vehemence ; his opponents were not satisfied 
 with addressing the public, or Congress, or his cabi- 
 net ; they threw their whole force personally on him. 
 From all parts men pressed around him, urging him, 
 entreating him to bend. Congress was flexible ; many 
 of his personal friends faltered ; the impetuous swell- 
 ing wave rolled on without one sufficient obstacle till 
 
508 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 it reached his presence ; but, as it dashed in its high- 
 est fury at his feet, it broke before his firmness. The 
 commanding majesty of his will appalled his oppo- 
 nents, and revived his friends. He himself had a 
 proud consciousness that his will was indomitable. 
 Standing over the rocks of the Rip Raps, looking out 
 upon the ocean, 'Providence,' said he to a friend, 
 ' Providence may change my determination ; but man 
 can no more 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 spread- 
 ing through the land, and the whole credit system, as 
 it then existed, was crumbling to pieces and crushing 
 around him, he stood erect, like a massive column, 
 which the heaps of falling ruins could not break, nor 
 bend, nor sway from its fixed foundation."* 
 
 The tariflf of 1828 was also slightly modified by 
 this Congress in July 1832, but the small and partial 
 reduction of duties secured by this act did not lessen, 
 but rather seemed to increase the opposition, in the 
 southern states, to the American system, as the 
 policy of high duties on imports, for the protection 
 of domestic manufactures, was then called. In 
 South Carolina the complaints and the opposition ex- 
 ceeded those made in any of the other states ; and it 
 was resolved a few months after the passage of the 
 law of July 1832, not by a few individuals, but by 
 the legislature of the state, that that and the former 
 law of 1828 were infractions of the constitution, or 
 exceeded the power given to the federal government 
 
 * Bancroft's Eulogy. 
 
NULLIFICATION. 509 
 
 by that compact ; and were therefore null and void ; 
 and that the execution of those acts within the state was 
 to be prevented, even by force, if necessary* And the 
 necessary measures were taken to enforce this reso- 
 lution. 
 
 These proceedings by the party which had obtained 
 possession of the state government, brought on an 
 issue between the state and federal governments, that 
 could no longer be neglected. The very existence of 
 the government depended upon the decision of the 
 president. South Carohna had set at defiance the 
 legislation of the general government, and declared 
 that no umpire should be admitted to decide between 
 the contending parties. At such a crisis, the presi- 
 dent felt that there was no room for hesitation. The 
 difficulty must be met, not only to save the Union 
 from being broken up, but to protect those citizens of 
 South Carolina who still adhered to its standard, from 
 the horrors of civil discord. The president deter- 
 mined to come at once to an issue with the nullifi- 
 ers; and to exercise the executive authority in such 
 manner as to maintain the supremacy of the lav7, 
 and the integrity of the Union, and he proceeded 
 therefore to enforce the revenue acts with an entire 
 disregard to the rights of sovereignty which were 
 assumed by the State of South Carolina. 
 
 With that view all the disposable mihtary force 
 was ordered to assemble at Charleston, and a sloop 
 of war was sent to that port to protect the federal 
 officers, in case of necessity, in the execution of their 
 
 * Bradford. 
 
510 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 duty. On the 10th of December, the eloquent and 
 energetic proclamation of the president was issued, 
 plainly and forcibly stating the nature of the Ameri- 
 can government, and the supremacy of the federal 
 authorities in all matters intrusted to their care ; and 
 exhorting the citizens of South Carolina not to persist 
 in a course which must bring upon their state the 
 force of the confederacy, and expose the Union to the 
 hazard of dissolution.* 
 
 In this memorable proclamation he speaks to 
 the citizens of the disaffected states with fraternal 
 kindness. He points to the constitution as the per- 
 petual bond of our union, which we have received as 
 the work of the assembled wisdom of the nation, in 
 which we have trusted as the sheet anchor of our 
 safety, in the stormy times of conflict with a foreign 
 or domestic foe; to which we have looked with a 
 sacred awe, as the palladium of our liberties; and 
 which, with all the solemnities of religion, we have 
 pledged to each other our lives and fortunes here, and 
 our hopes of happiness hereafter, to defend and sup- 
 port. He invokes the descendants of the Pinckneys, 
 the Sumtcrs, the Rutledges, and the thousand other 
 names which adorn their revolutionary history, not to 
 abandon that Union, to support which, so many of 
 them fought, and bled, and died. He adjures them, as 
 they honour their memory, as they love the cause of 
 freedom, to which they dedicated their lives, as they 
 prize the peace of our country, the lives of its best 
 citizens, and their own fair fame, to retrace their steps. 
 
 •Statesman's Manual, p. 999. 
 
JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION. 511 
 
 But having entreated, invoked, and adjured with fatherly 
 affection — having placed before them the motives for 
 returning to the path of duty, he assumes the dignity 
 of the magistrate, and denounces the penalty of con- 
 tinued resistance. He tells them that they cannot de- 
 stroy the constitution : they may disturb its peace, in 
 terrupt the course of its prosperity, and cloud its 
 reputation for stability ; but its tranquillity will be re- 
 stored, its prosperity will return, existing revenue 
 laws w ill be enforced, and their unequal features 
 will be changed by force of public opinion, and bv 
 the fact that the approaching payment of the public 
 debt will require a diminution of duties. He then 
 announces to his fellow-citizens of the United 
 States, that a crisis had approached in our affairs, 
 on which the continuance of our uninterrupted 
 prosperity, our political existence, and perhaps that 
 of all free governments may depend. He relies 
 with confidence on their individual support, in his de- 
 termination to execute the laws — to preserve the 
 Union by all constitutional means ; to arrest, if pos- 
 sible, 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 shedding 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 States * 
 
 " By nature, by impulse, by education, political sym- 
 pathies, and the fixed habit of his mind, a friend to 
 the rights of the states — unwilling that the liberty of 
 the states should be trampled under foot — unwilling 
 that the constitution should lose its vigour, or be im- 
 
 31 
 
512 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 paired, General Jackson thus rallied for the constitu- 
 tion : 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 favoured 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 for ever. The 
 whole influence of the past was invoked in favour 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 pre- 
 served.' 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 re- 
 peated, 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 westernmost prairies — from the 
 living minds of the living millions of American free- 
 men — from the thickly coming glories of futurity — 
 the shout went up like 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, 
 who had wounded the constitution in their love of 
 centralism — of the south, whose minds had carried to 
 its extreme the theory of state rights — all conspired 
 
JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION. 513 
 
 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 imperish- 
 able. 
 
 " 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 therefore, with 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, persevcringly, to the 
 enlightened collective reason of to-morrow ; that sub- 
 mission 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 established by force, nor to be resisted 
 by force ; in a word, that the Union, which was con- 
 stituted by consent, must be preserved by love."* 
 
 One of the most remarkable features in this con- 
 test was the unprecedented position of Mr. Calhoun. 
 He had had a misunderstanding with the president in 
 the earlier part of his administration ; and now, at the 
 call of his own state, he resigned his office of vice 
 president, was elected one of her Senators in Con- 
 gress, and took his seat in that body to defend her 
 cause. 
 
 The president on this momentous occasion was 
 
 * Bancroft's Eulogy. 
 
514 
 
 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 
 JOHK 0. OALBOUM. 
 
 ably supported by the leaders of the opposition part}' 
 in Congress, with Mr. Webster at their head ; and the 
 South Carolinians -were finally pacified by the passage 
 of the well known compromise act proposed by Mr. 
 Clay, which provided for a gradual reduction of duties 
 on imported merchandise. 
 
 During the year 1832, some difiiculties occurred 
 with the Indian tribes on the north-western frontier 
 of the United States. The hostile incursions of the 
 Sac and Fox Indians under Black Hawk, necessarily 
 led to the interposition of the general government 
 Detachments of troops, under Generals Scott and 
 
JACKSON RE-ELECTED. 515 
 
 Atkinson, and of the militia of the state of Illinois, 
 were called into the field. After a harassing war- 
 fare, prolonged by the nature of the country, and by 
 the difficulty of procuring subsistence, the Indians 
 were entirely defeated, and the disaffected band dis- 
 persed or destroyed. 
 
 Before the meeting of Congress in December 
 1832, the presidential election had taken place, and 
 the votes of the electors for president stood as fol- 
 lows: Andrew Jackson 219, Henry Clay 49, John 
 Floyd 11, and Wilham Wirt 7. For vice president — 
 Martin Van Buren 189, John Sergeant 49, William 
 Wiikins 30, Henry Lee 11, and Amos Ellmaker 7. 
 
 The second session of the 22d Congress com- 
 menced on the 4th of December, 1832, and continued 
 till the 3d of March, 1833. In his annual message to 
 Congress, the president referred particularly, and at 
 great length, to the laws regulating duties on imported 
 articles, more especially on woollen and cotton goods ; 
 although an act on the subject passed at the previous 
 session of the legislature, was adopted after mature 
 deliberation, and was intended to be continued in 
 force for some years, and until the entire payment of 
 the public debt should be effected. But that act had 
 not given general satisfaction; for after its • passage, 
 the opposition in South Carolina to the system of 
 high duties for the protection of manufactures had 
 continued, and assumed an alarming character, as 
 already related. The president did not, indeed, 
 recommend a total repeal of the law in consequence 
 of such opposition, but he expressed the opinion and 
 desire that some compromise should be made; and 
 
516 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 the law so modified as to be less exceptionable than 
 it was with its present provisions. An act already 
 referred to as proposed by Mr. Clay was accordingly 
 passed by Congress, before its adjournment in March 
 1833, modifying, in some important points, the law of 
 the previous session. It provided for. the gradual re- 
 duction of the duties on imports, to take effect, in 
 part, on the first of January, 1834; on the first of 
 January, 1836 ; on the first of January, 1838 ; and on 
 the first of January, 1840: in the following manner — 
 from all duties, which exceeded twenty per cent, on 
 the value of the imported goods or articles, one-tenth 
 part of such excess should be deducted, at each of the 
 said periods ; and that on and after the first of Jan- 
 uary, 1842, one-half of the residue of such excess 
 should be deducted, and the other half on and after the 
 first of June, 1842.* 
 
 In his annual message in December 1832, the 
 president recommended the removal of the public 
 money from the United States Bank ; but the com- 
 mittee of ways and means in the House reported a 
 resolution, which was adopted by a vote of 109 to 46, 
 declaring that the deposite, in the opinion of the House, 
 might be safely continued in the Bank of the United 
 States. . 
 
 At the close of President Jackson's first term of 
 service, the foreign relations of the United States, 
 with the exception of those with France, were in a 
 favourable position. The first instalment of the indem- 
 nity to be paid according to the treaty, by France, 
 
 * Bradford. 
 
FOREIGN RELATIONS. 
 
 517 
 
 was drawn for, in a bill of exchange by the American 
 government, but the French chambers liad not made 
 any appropriation to meet it, and the bill was not 
 accepted. This neglect was warmly resented by the 
 president. Instructions were given to the American 
 minister to urge upon the French government a 
 prompt compliance with the treaty. With Russia, a 
 treaty of commerce was concluded in December, 1832, 
 upon the principles of reciprocity. A similar treaty 
 was made with Belgium. Some claims of American 
 merchants against Portugal for illegal captures were 
 prosecuted to a successful result, and an effort was 
 made by the administration to procure satisfaction 
 from Spain, for illegal detentions and captures of 
 American property, subsequent to the treaty of 1819 ; 
 and an acknowledgment of their justice was finally 
 extorted from that government. A treaty of com- 
 merce was concluded with Chili.* The United States 
 was in this favourable position at the close of Jackson's 
 first term of service in March, 1833. 
 
 * Statesman's Manual, p. 1013. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TEEM. 
 
 N the fourth of March, 1833, General 
 Jackson assumed, for the second time, 
 the responsible station of President of 
 the United States, At 12 o'clock on 
 that day, he, with the Vice President 
 elect, attended by the heads of de- 
 partments, Senators, Representatives, Judges of the 
 Supreme Court, foreign ministers, and the municipal 
 authorities of the city of Wasliington, entered the 
 Mall of the Representatives. The president took his 
 seat in the chair of the speaker of the House ; the vice 
 president elect, Martin Van Buren, occupying a seat 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 519 
 
 on his right, and his private secretary, Mr. Donclson, 
 one on his left. As soon as silence was ohtained, 
 and every one had taken the station he wished to 
 occupy daring the impressive ceremony which was to 
 follow, the president arose and delivered his second 
 inaugural address. 
 
 He commenced by expressing his gratitude to the 
 people of the United States for this renewed expres- 
 sion of their confidence in his good intentions, and 
 then went on to notice the principal events which 
 occurred during his previous administration, referring 
 particularly to the position then occupied by the 
 United States among the nations of the earth. He 
 said, " The foreign policy adopted by our government, 
 soon after the formation of our present constitution, 
 and very generally pursued by successive administra- 
 tion?^, has been crow ned with almost complete success, 
 and has elevated our character among the nations of 
 the earth. To do justice to all, and to submit to 
 wrong from none, has been, during my administration, 
 its governing maxim : and so happy have been its 
 results, that we are not only at peace with all the 
 world, but have few causes of controversy, and those 
 of minor importance, remaining unadjusted. 
 
 " In the domestic policy of the government, there 
 are two objects which especially deserve the attention 
 of the people and their representatives, and which 
 hav^ been, and will continue to be, the subjects of ray 
 unceasing solicitude. They are the preservation of 
 the rights of the several states, and the integrity of 
 the Union. These great objects are necessarily con- 
 nected, and can only be attained by an enlightened 
 
520 SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 exercise of the powers of each within its appropriate 
 sphere, in conformity to the pubHc will, constitutionally 
 expressed. To this end, it becomes the duty of all 
 to yield a ready and patriotic submission to the laws 
 constitutionally enacted, and thereby promote and 
 strengthen a proper confidence in those institutions of 
 the several states and of the United States, which 
 the people themselves have ordained for their own 
 government." 
 
 In conformity with the obligations of the oath 
 which he was about to take, he said, " I shall continue 
 to exert all my faculties to maintain the just powers 
 of the constitution, and to transmit unimpaired to pos- 
 terity the blessings of our federal Union. At the same 
 time, it will be my aim to inculcate, by my official 
 acts, the necessity of exercising, by the general go- 
 vernment, those powers only that are clearly delega- 
 ted ; to encourage simplicity and economy in the ex- 
 penditures of the government ; to raise no more money 
 from the people than may be requisite for these ob- 
 jects, and in a manner that will best promote the in- 
 terests of all classes of the community, and of all 
 portions of the Union." He concluded his address, 
 as he did all other important speeches and papers, by 
 praying that the Creator and Governor of the world 
 would so overrule all his intentions and actions, and 
 inspire the hearts of his fellow-citizens, that they may 
 be preserved from dangers of all kinds, and continue 
 for ever a united and happy people. 
 
 The president pronounced this address in an 
 audible, clear, and firm voice; and at its conclusion he 
 was greeted with the cheers and applause of those 
 
OUTRAGE ON THE PRESIDENT. 521 
 
 present. The usual oath was then admmistered by 
 the chief justice to the president and vice president, 
 after which tliey retired, receiving as they went the 
 congratulations of the assembled multitude. 
 
 About two months afterwards, as the president 
 was proceeding, by invitation, to assist in the cere- 
 mony of laying the corner-stone of the monument to 
 the mother of Washington at Fredericksburg, an in- 
 cident happened, which serves to illustrate ihe promp- 
 titude and decision of his character. As the steam- 
 boat stopped for a few moments at the wharf at 
 Alexandria, several persons came on board, as was 
 supposed, to pay their respects to the president. 
 Among them was one named Randolph, who, seeing 
 the president engaged in the cabin, and in such a po- 
 sition between the table and the berths that he could 
 not instantly defend himself, advanced, and thrust his 
 hand violently into Jackson's face. Before he could 
 repeat the blow he was seized, by friend or foe it was 
 impossible to determine which, and hurried off the 
 boat, leaving his hat behind. In endeavouring to rise 
 to repel this assault, the president broke down part 
 of the table, and hurt his own side, which had before 
 been racked with pain. In explaining the affair to 
 the members of the cabinet and others in the cabin, 
 Jackson said that had he known that Randolph stood 
 before him, he should have been prepared for him, and 
 have easily defended himself. "No villain," said he, 
 " has ever escaped me before ; and he would not, had 
 it not been for my confined situation." A citizen of 
 Alexandria, then addressmg him, said : " Sir, if you 
 will pardon me, in case I am tried and convicted, I 
 
522 SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 ^vlll kill Randolph, for this insult to you, in fifteen 
 minutes." The president wisely and promptly re- 
 plied, "No sir, I cannot do that. I want no man to 
 stand between nie and my assailants, and none to take 
 revenge on my account. Had I been prepared for 
 this cowardly villahi's approach, I can assure you 
 all, that he would never have the temerity to under- 
 take such a thing again."* 
 
 The gloom occasioned by this outrage w-as not dis- 
 pelled until the steamboat stopped opposite to Mount 
 Vernon, and three ladies, descendants of Washington, 
 and residents of Mount Vernon, came on board, and 
 each of them presented to the president a bunch 
 of flowers culled from the garden planted by the hands 
 of the Father of his country. After assisting in laying 
 the corner-stone of the monument, Jackson returned 
 to Washington, Avhence every cause of dissension and 
 disturbance seemed to have been banished ; and the 
 second term of his magistracy bid fair to be as quiet 
 and calm as the first had been stormy and turbulent. 
 This apparent calm was destined to be but of short 
 duration ; for in September, a new subject of excite- 
 ment was introduced into politics, which continued to 
 agitate the public mind until near the close of Jack- 
 son's administration. 
 
 On the Oth of June, 1833, the president started 
 from Washington to visit the northern and eastern 
 portion of the Union. He passed through Baltimore, 
 Delaware and New Castle, and arrived at Philadelphia 
 on the 8th of June. Throughout the whole route, 
 
 , * New York Mirror. 
 
JACKSON'S TOUR. 523 
 
 at every town, village, and city, he was welcomed with 
 lively demonstrations of respect. Landing at the 
 Philadelphia Navy Yard, on Saturday afternoon, 
 at five o'clock, he was welcomed with a national 
 salute, and greeted with the cheers of an immense 
 multitude who were assembled at every point from 
 which a sight of him might be had. His whole course 
 from the Navy Yard to the hotel, was lined with citi- 
 zens of both sexes, who vied with each other in ren- 
 dering honour to the chief magistrate of the Union. 
 
 " The public reception of the president at Philadel- 
 phia, took place on Monday. At an early hour the 
 city was alive with the bustle of extensive preparation, 
 and the streets through which the procession was to 
 pass grew very populous as he approached. From 
 nine until twelve o'clock, the president remained at 
 the State House to receive the compliments of his fel- 
 low-citizens. At the latter hour he proceeded on 
 horseback to Arch street, where he reviewed the mili- 
 tary. The president was dressed in a suit of deep 
 black, and passed along a great portion of the route 
 with his hat off. The appearance of the miUtary, 
 who assembled in great numbers, was imposing and 
 effective. Towards five o'clock the procession 
 reached the City Hotel, and the president alighted, 
 evidently gratified with a reception at once so re- 
 spectful and so general."* 
 
 Leaving Philadelphia, the president next visited 
 Burlington, Bristol, Bordentown, Lamberton, Tren- 
 ton, Princeton, New Brunswick, Amboy, New York, 
 
 * Lincoln's Lives of the Presidents. 
 
524 SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 New Haven, Newport, Providence, Dedham, Roxbury, 
 Boston, Cambridge, Charlcstown, Lynn, Salem, Mar- 
 blehead, Andover, and Lowell. The reception which 
 he met with at each of these places, varied only with 
 the number of inhabitants, or its wealth and impor- 
 tance. At Cambridsje the decree of Doctor of Laws 
 was conferred on him by the president of Harvard 
 University. 
 
 Having reached Lowell on the 27th of June, he 
 continued his route to Concord, N. H. ; but there 
 finding that his strength would not permit him to pro- 
 ceed any farther, though he had intended to visit 
 Portland, he was under the necessity of giving up the 
 journey, and returning to Washington. 
 
 It was soon after this northern tour that some 
 changes were made in the cabinet. Louis M'Lane, 
 the Secretary of the Treasury, resigned, and Edward 
 Livingston being appointed Minister to France, Mr. 
 M'Lane was transferred to the State department, and 
 William J. Duane, of Pennsylvania, was appointed 
 his successor. 
 
 The law of 1816, which created the United States 
 Bank, required that the public moneys should be de- 
 posited in that bank, subject to be removed only by 
 the sccretar}' of tlio treasury; and requiring him, in 
 that case, to lay his reasons for removing them before 
 Congress. Congress had already refused to author- 
 ize the removal of the deposites, and the president was 
 now determined to effect it on his own responsibility. 
 
 The new secretary of the treasury refusing to 
 act in this matter, and resigning his ofhce, the 
 attorney-general, Roger B. Taney, was appointed in 
 
EXPUNGING RESOLUTIONS. 525 
 
 his place. The vacancy in the cabinet was filled by 
 the appointment of Benjamin F. Butler, of New York, 
 as Attorney-General. Mr. Taney immediately issued 
 the necessary orders for the removal of the de- 
 posites from the United States Bank; a measure 
 which resulted from the president's determination to 
 dissolve all connexion between the government and 
 the bank. 
 
 The first session of the twenty-third Congress 
 commenced on the 2d day of December, 1833, and 
 continued to June 30th, 1834. One of the first acts 
 of the Senate was the adoption of a resolution, by a 
 ''vote of 26 to 20, declaring " that the president, in the 
 late executive proceedings in relation to the public 
 revenue, had assumed upon himself authority and 
 power not conferred by the constitution and laws, but 
 in derogation of both." This resolution remained on 
 the journal until January 16th, 1837, when it was 
 expunged by order of the Senate. The Senate next 
 rejected the nomination of Roger B. Taney, as Sec- 
 retary of the Treasury, and confirmed that of Levi 
 Woodbury, appointed in his stead. Before the close 
 of the session, Mr. M'Lane having resigned the of- 
 fice of Secretary of State, John Forsyth, of Georgia, 
 was appointed to succeed him, and Mahlon Dickerson 
 of New Jersey, w^as appointed Secretary of the Navy, 
 in the place of Mr. Woodbury. 
 
 The measures taken by the United States Bank, in 
 consequence of the removal of the deposites, occasioned 
 much embarrassment throughout the mercantile com- 
 munity, during the years 1831 and 1835. Commit- 
 tees appointed by the merchants, mechanics, and 
 
526 SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 tradesmen of the principal commercial cities solicited 
 the president to replace the government deposites in 
 the United States Bank. But the removal of the 
 deposites having been dictated by his sense of pubhc 
 duty, it ^vas found impossible to change his resolution. 
 He was equally insensible to menace or entreaty 
 Many petitions were sent to Congress on the same 
 subject. They were favourably received in the Senate ; 
 but the House of Representatives sustaining the 
 president, they met with but little favour there.* 
 
 The twenty-third Congress convened for the second 
 time, on the 1st of December, 1834, and continued in 
 session until the 3d of March, 1835. In his sixth 
 annual message, the president represented the state of 
 the country as highly prosperous, and its future pros- 
 pects in the highest degree flattering to every patri- 
 otic citizen. The state of tlie treasury at the close 
 of the year he summed up as follows : " After satisfy- 
 ing every appropriation, and discharging the last item 
 of our public debt, which will be done on the 1st of 
 January next (one month after the delivery of the 
 message), there will remain unexpended in the treasury, 
 an cflfcctive balance of about four hundred and forty 
 thousand dollars." He also called the attention of 
 Congress to the delay of France in paying the first 
 instalment of the indenmity A\hich that nation had 
 agreed to pay to the United States, for spoliations on 
 American commerce ; and recommended the passage 
 of a law authorizing reprisals upon French property, 
 in case provision should not be made for the payment 
 
 * Statesman's Manual, p. 1017. 
 
FRENCH INDEMNITY. 52i 
 
 of the debt at tlic session of the French Chambers 
 which was to be convened on the 29th of December. 
 The president, in a special message on the 25th of 
 February, 1835, informed the Congress that he had 
 deemed it his duty to instruct Mr. Livingston to quit 
 France, with his legation, and return to the United 
 State's, if an appropriation for the fulfilment of the con- 
 vention should be refused by the Chambers. The 
 French king was disposed to construe the threat of 
 Jackson to issue letters of marque and reprisal, in case 
 of longer delay, into an insult, and it was intimated 
 that an apology would be indispensable. To this the 
 old hero replied, with characteristic emphasis : '• The 
 honour of my country shall never be stained by an apo- 
 logy from me for the statement of truth and the perform- 
 ance of duty." The French minister at Washington 
 had asked and received his passports — a war seemed 
 to be near at hand, if not already determined upon — 
 when all at once, and unexpectedly, the money was 
 paid to the uttermost farthing, diplomatic courtesies 
 restored, and peaceable relations re-established.* It 
 was during this dispute with France, that an eloquent 
 opponent of Jackson's administration said on the floor 
 of Congress — "Sir, if the president will so temper his 
 pohcy as to carry this country honourably through the 
 controversy without a war, he will draw upon his head 
 the blessings of men whose voices have never mingled 
 with the incense of his flatterers ; and his name, in the 
 eyes of all mankind, will appear fairer and brighter than 
 when he came out of the blazing lines of New Orleans, 
 
 * Harris. 
 32 
 
528 SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 in all the freshness of his victory and its honours." 
 The war was averted, and the honour of the country 
 was preserved ^vithout a stain or a spot on its shield ; 
 and the hope and prediction of eloquence were both 
 realized together. The most chivalrous of nations 
 retired from her position. The irresistible policy of 
 justice averted all peril from the Union, and added 
 new titles of renown to the fame of its venerable chief; 
 and the blessings of the generation who w itnessed the 
 bravery of his resolution, and of the generation who 
 mourn his death, have flowed, and will flow, continually 
 in an unbroken stream upon his head.* 
 
 On the 30th of January, 1835, an attempt was 
 made to take the life of the president, under the fol- 
 lowing circumstances. One of the representatives 
 from South Carolina, Warren R. Davis, having died 
 at the capital, the honour of a public funeral was de- 
 creed to him. Accordingly, the president, heads of 
 departments, and the members of both houses of Con- 
 gress assembled in the rotunda of the capitol, where 
 a funeral sermon was preached, preparatory to the 
 procession, and consignment of the body to the dust. 
 At the conclusion of the sermon, the president, with 
 the secretary of the treasury on his left arm, was re- 
 tirinor from the rotunda to reach his carriao^e at the 
 Steps of the portico, when he was fired at, from behind 
 one of the columns of the portico, at a distance of less 
 than eight feet. The percussion cap exploded M'ith 
 such a noise, that several persons supposed that the 
 pistol had been discharged. It was not so, however. 
 
 * Merrick. 
 
ATiEMI'I' ON Tin: PRC.'^ I DENT'S LIFE. 529 
 
 Attempt oil General Jackson's life. 
 
 The assassin immediately dropped the pistol from his 
 right hand, and, taking another, ready cocked, from 
 his left, presented and snapped it at the president, \vho, 
 at the moment of the first attempt, had raised his 
 cane, and was rnshing upon him, when his second 
 attempt failing, he ran to make his escape through the 
 crowd. The president pressed after him with his up- 
 lifted cane until he saw him secured. When the load 
 was drawn from one of the pistols, it was found to 
 contain a ball, of which about si.vty would make a 
 pound. It was well patched, and forced down tight, 
 on a full charge of excellent glazed powder. How the 
 caps could have exploded without firing the powder, 
 may be considered wonderful. Providence has ever 
 guarded the life of the man who was destined to raise 
 
530 SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 and preserve his country's glory. The assassin con- 
 fessed his intention to take the hfe of General Jackson, 
 denied that he had any accomplices, and was suffered to 
 escape punishment on the ground of apparent insanity. 
 It is considered very doubtful, however, whether the 
 man was really insane. 
 
 In May, William T. Barry was appointed Minister 
 to Spain, and Amos Kendall Postmaster-General, in 
 his place. The appointment of Mr. Kendall was not 
 confirmed until 1836. 
 
 The first session of the twenty-fourth Congress 
 commenced on the 7th of December, 1835, and con- 
 tinued until the 4th of July, 1836. The president's 
 seventh annual message represented the country in a 
 flourishing condition, the public debt extinguished, and 
 a large surplus in the treasury. 
 
 The principal acts passed at this session of Con- 
 gress were — the distribution act, providing that the 
 money which should be remaining in the treasury on 
 the 1st day of January, 1837, reserving the sum of 
 five millions of dollars, should be distributed among 
 such of the states, in proportion to their respective 
 numbers, as should by law accept of the same, the 
 distribution to be made quarterly, commencing on the 
 1st of January, 1837 ; an act relating to patents, 
 repealing all previous acts on the same subject; an 
 act admitting Michigan into the T^nion, on certain 
 conditions, which were accepted in the following year; 
 an act admitting the state of Arkansas into the 
 Union; and an act making appropriations for con- 
 tinuing the Cumberland Road, and the improvement 
 of certain harbours and rivers. The president vetoed 
 
THE SPECIE CIRCULAR. 53 J 
 
 an act fixing the day of meeting and adjournment of 
 Congress. 
 
 The Senate confirmed the president's nomination 
 of Roger B. Taney, Cliief Justice of the Supreme 
 Court, in place of Chief Justice Marshall, deceased; 
 and of John II. Eaton, Minister to Spain, in place of 
 Mr. Barry, deceased. 
 
 After the adjournment of Congress, the secretary 
 of the treasury issued a circular by order of the 
 president, directing the receivers of public moneys 
 to receive nothing but gold and silver in payment 
 for public lands, except Virginia land scrip in certain 
 cases. The immediate effect of this circular was to 
 divert the specie of the country from its ordinary 
 course, and to embarrass commercial operations. It 
 accomplished the president's purpose of checking 
 speculation in the public lands, and in this way proved 
 highly salutary ; but as considerable inconvenience 
 and loss to individuals were occasioned by it on its 
 first promulgation, complaints were proportionally loud 
 against the measure. 
 
 The second session of the 24th Congress com- 
 menced on the 5th of December, 1836, and continued 
 until the 3d of March, 1837. It was at this session 
 that the celebrated expunging resolution, introduced 
 by Mr. Benton, was passed, by which the censure of 
 the Senate on the course pursued by the president in 
 the removal of the deposites from the United States 
 Bank, was expunged from the journal. This was 
 done by drawing black lines around the resolution, 
 and writintT in strong characters across it, "Ex- 
 
53'2 SECOND PRESIDENTIAL -TERM. 
 
 punged, by order of the Senate, this 16th day of 
 January, in tlie year of our Lord 1837." 
 
 In his last annual message, the president informed 
 Congress that the claims of the United States upon 
 Mexico had not been adjusted, and in a special mes- 
 sage, dated February 6th, 1837, in relation to the 
 same subject, he said : — " The length of time since 
 some of the injuries (complained of) have been com- 
 mitted, the repeated and unavailing applications for 
 redress, the wanton character of some of the out- 
 rages upon the property and persons of our citizens, 
 upon the officers and flag of the United States, inde- 
 pendent of recent insults to this government and peo- 
 ple by the late extraordinary Mexican minister, would 
 justify, in the eyes of all nations, immediate war. 
 That remedy, however, should not be used, by just 
 and generous nations confiding in their strength, for 
 injuries committed, if it can be honourably avoided ; 
 and it has occurred to me that, considering the pres- 
 ent embarrassed condition of that country, we should 
 act with both wisdom and moderation, by mvinn; to 
 Mexico one more opportunity to atone for the past, 
 before we take redress into our own hands. To 
 avoid all misconception on the part of Mexico, as 
 well as protect our own national character from re- 
 proach, this opportunity should be given with the 
 avowed design and full preparation to take immediate 
 satisfaction, if it should not be obtained on a repe- 
 tition of the demand for it. To this end I recommend 
 that an act be passed, authorizing reprisals, and the 
 use of the naval force of the United States by the 
 executive against Mexico to enforce them, in the event 
 
ELECTION OF MR. VAN BUREN. 533 
 
 of a refusal by the Mexican government to come to 
 an amicable adjustment of the matters in controversy 
 between us, upon another demand thereof made from 
 on board one of our vessels of war on the coast of 
 Mexico." 
 
 An act was passed by Congress at this session, 
 relating to the treasury circular, providing for the 
 reception of the notes of specie-paying banks, in some 
 cases, by the receivers of public moneys, and it was 
 sent to the president for his approval on the after- 
 noon of the 2d of March. He prevented it from be- 
 coming a law by retaining it in his hands until after 
 the adjournment of Congress the next day, and this 
 informal but resolute veto was the last act of Presi- 
 dent Jackson's administration. He published his 
 reasons for retaining it, in a paper dated "Wash- 
 ington, March 3d, 1837, 1-4 before 12 P. M." His 
 principal reasons were want of time properly to con- 
 sider it, and the complexity and uncertainty of its 
 provisions. 
 
 The election held in the autumn of 1836 for Presi- 
 dent and Vice President, resulted as follow^s : 
 
 For President, Martin Van Buren received 170 
 votes, William H. Harrison 73, Hugh L. White 26, 
 Daniel Webster 14, Willie P. Mangum 11; giving 
 Van Buren a majority of 46 votes. 
 
 For Vice President, Richard M. Johnson received 
 147 votes, Francis Granger 77, John Tyler 47, Wil- 
 liam Smith 23. 
 
 The votes were counted in Congress in February, 
 1837, and Martin Van Buren was declared duly 
 elected president. No person having a majority of 
 
5-U SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 
 
 electoral votes for the office of vice president, tlie 
 choice devolved upon the Senate, who, at the first 
 ballot, elected Richard M. Johnson, by a vote of 33 
 to 16. 
 
 On the 3d of March, 1837, President Jackson pub- 
 lished his farewell address to the people of the United 
 States, on his retirement to private life. This paper 
 is second only to that of General Wasliington, and 
 its great length alone prevents us from giving it en- 
 tire. To attempt a synopsis or condensation of it. 
 would be presumptuous and useless. 
 
 General Jackson remained at Washino^ton to wit- 
 ness the inauguration of his friend and successor, Mr. 
 Van Buren, when he finally retired to the Hermitage, 
 determined to spend the remainder of his active and 
 useful life in retirement. 
 
 The events of the administration of President Jack- 
 son have been so recent, some of them not having yet 
 been fully developed, (as, for instance, his course in 
 relation to Mexico,) and their character and tendency 
 are so much involved in the partisan discussions of 
 the present day, that historical comment on them is 
 premature. The policy of an administration can only 
 be tried by its effects ; and the effects, great and per- 
 manent, flowing from the efforts of Jackson, are not 
 yet fully known. Public opinion, with respect to 
 some of his principal acts, even those most condemned 
 at the time of their occurrence, is rapidly undergoing 
 a great change, and it is yet impossible to judge cor- 
 rectly of the ultimate effects of his labours. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 FTER the inauguration of Mr. 
 Van Buren, General Jackson 
 immediately left the seat of go- 
 vernment, to proceed to the 
 Hermitage. As he rode from 
 the President's House to the car 
 office, the population of the city, 
 and th(; masses who had gath- 
 ered from around, followed his 
 carriage in crowds. All in silence stood near him, to 
 
536 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 bid him adieu ; and as the cars started, and he dis- 
 played his gray hairs, on hfting his hat in token of 
 farewell, they stood with their heads uncovered, too 
 full of emotion to speak, in solemn silence gazing on 
 him as he departed, never more to be seen in their 
 midst.* 
 
 With a popularity surpasse<:l only by that which 
 was carried to Mount Vernon by the Father of his 
 country, he returned to the Hermitage; at the age of 
 three score and ten — ripe with honours and laden with 
 the blessings of his countrymen. 
 
 His last eight years, though passed in retirement, 
 are, perhaps, more interesting in many respects than 
 those which precede them — but, in almost every in- 
 cident of his life since the maturity of his manhood, 
 we behold a text wherefrom may be illustrated a most 
 exemplary specimen of human character. 
 
 The mighty power of his opinions upon important 
 public questions, in the evening of his life, while quietly 
 reposing at the Hermitage, far away from the seat of 
 government, is the crowning evidence of his goodness 
 and greatness. His late letters and earlier state papers 
 will always stand forth as landmarks to the paths of 
 honour and safety, equal, if not superior, in their pro- 
 minence to those of Jefferson. They will be con- 
 sulted as the oracles of political faith ; and for ages 
 and ages after the hand that traced them has crumbled 
 to its native dust, their vigour and their freshness will 
 be unimpaired. 
 
 Andrew Jackson never occupied a doubtful position 
 upon any question. A decided and substantive char- 
 
 * Bancroft. 
 
CHARACTER OF JACKSON. ^-^^ 
 
 acter, his friends and his enemies always knew where 
 to find him. If his countrymen sought his opinion, 
 they had it in plain terms, few words. It was re- 
 ceived as that of a true patriot, having had great 
 experience, one whom they had known long and 
 watched closely, and one whom they regarded as 
 being more replete with " sober second thought, never 
 wrong, and always efficient," than any man living. 
 If they were bewildered with doubt; if the turmoil of 
 party colHsions aroused their apprehensions for the 
 safety of the republic, his abiding confidence in the 
 virtue and intelligence of his countrymen was received 
 as " the inspiration of his instinctive wisdom," which 
 has been likened to " prophecy." 
 
 It is not wonderful that such a man should have 
 had such an influence with such a people. Gradually 
 risino- from the humbler walks of life to the most exalted 
 stations on earth, he knew the wants, feelings, and 
 sympathies of all classes, all conditions ; and his coun- 
 trymen were to him as the equal members of the same 
 great family associated for their common benefit. 
 Hence, his influence upon public opinion was neces- 
 sarily great j and if he used it in accordance with his 
 solid judgment, who shall have the temerity to say he 
 w^as a dictator? In the heat of partisan excitement, 
 the cliarge has often been preferred ; but thanks to the 
 just and discriminating spirit of our fellow-citizens, it 
 has been as often refuted to the satisfaction of the 
 world. The dictator holds to principles adverse to 
 those of his people, and enforces obedience. Jack- 
 son's principles were those whicli the popular interests 
 reflected, and with which his own interests, as a citi- 
 
538 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 zen, were identified in every respect. Instead of 
 conipclling the masses of the people to coincide with 
 him, he foresaw their incHnation, and coincided with 
 them as their champion. 
 
 No man was ever further from a desire to control 
 the vohtions of his countrymen against their will — 
 no one was ever less obnoxious to the charsfe of dicta- 
 tion. It was but a few days before his death, that a 
 citizen called upon him for his signature to a petition 
 for an office, when he replied : " No, no, I cannot do 
 it ; for they will say I am dictating to the president." 
 
 Within the last few years, his opinions, on all great 
 questions dividing public sentiment, have been sought 
 with avidity. When he spoke by letter, his voice was 
 heard to the remotest parts of the republic, and not 
 unfrequently throughout the civilized world. Nor can 
 the fact be disguised that his letters on the annexation 
 of Texas to our territory, constituted the great and 
 powerful lever by which that glorious measure was 
 launched upon the tide of success. They excited the 
 jealousy of England,, if not the envy of the entire Holy 
 Alliance ; but they revived and strengthened the wa- 
 ning hopes of Texas, and made glad the hearts of its 
 people. 
 
 A distinguished Texan says, that at a moment 
 when his country had almost dcsi)aired of establishinor 
 a reunion, when they Mere going deeper and deeper 
 into debt to maintain the necessary defences of their 
 frontier, and were nearly driven to entertain propo- 
 sitions for protective alliances with other nations, 
 General Jackson was writiufr to his own countrymen 
 that it Avas " the golden moment" for annexation, and 
 
CHARACTER OF JACKSON. 53!) 
 
 c\hortin<i- his friends in Texas to take courage, for 
 the time would come, and that speedily, when the 
 American people would demand annexation at the 
 hands of their government. 
 
 The time came. He lived to hear the demand 
 which he had previously predicted. The work is 
 done — and although the venerable patriot did not last 
 until its consummation, yet, thanks to an indulgent 
 Providence, he was spared long enough to see the 
 end with certainty, and to exclaim, as he did in one 
 of his last letters—" ALL IS SAFE !"* 
 
 During the earnest canvass which terminated in 
 the election of Mr. Polk, General Jackson took a 
 lively interest in the progress of affliirs, and frequently 
 expressed his approbation of the policy of annexing 
 Texas, which formed one of the test questions upon 
 which that election turned. 
 
 No man could maintain this position in either of 
 the two great parties, without being a man of com- 
 manding intellect. Men bow not down to tlieir in- 
 feriors in mind; and yet, long after Jackson had 
 retired from political life, in every emergency, and in 
 every trial, all eyes ever turned to the Hermitage, and 
 every ear hstened with veneration and respect to the 
 words of wisdom, of counsel, and of warning, ad- 
 dressed to his countrymen; and even now, in the 
 estimation of mankind, as a sage he holds a place, 
 second to none, not even unto him of Monticello.t 
 
 But he who had occupied so important a page in 
 his country's history, who had possessed a popularity 
 
 * Irvin. t Harris. 
 
5-10 
 
 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 James K. Polk. 
 
 and influence exceeded only by Washington, who had 
 filled every high station of dignity and trust which his 
 country could confer, both civil and military, became, 
 when in the domestic circle and around the social 
 hearth, as simple as a child, distinguished by the 
 suavity of his deportment and an intuitive felicity of 
 making every one around him happy. Such was 
 Andrew Jackson, in private life; and it is there that 
 true jxreatness w^aits to be exhibited. In the world 
 men rise superior to each other, but it is here that 
 
CIIA'RACTER OF JACKSON. 541 
 
 man rises superior to himself. The region of poHtics, 
 at best, is baneful ; and too often " the soil the vices 
 like." 
 
 In his private attachments, he was governed by 
 the same steadiness that sustained his public conduct. 
 His friendships were, therefore, sincere and fixed. If 
 he loved you to-day, he would love you still more to- 
 morrow, the next day, and for ever, provided you did 
 nothing to forfeit his regard and good opinion. Al- 
 though, in a^ character marked by such strength of 
 features, the lineaments of the softer virtues could 
 scarcely be expected to mix, yet those who knew him 
 best in private life, and in the unbcndings of retire- 
 ment, knew the genuine indications of their existence, 
 and the childlike simplicity and tenderness of his 
 nature.* 
 
 But weighty and instant as are the duties of a. 
 citizen to his country, and of a patriarch to his family, 
 Andrev,' Jackson remembered that he owed to his 
 Maker a higher and more solemn responsibility. This 
 sentiment had been implanted in his youthful breast 
 by a mother's lessons and a mother's love. It had 
 been nourished by the example of a Mife — one of the 
 excellent of the earth ; by providential deliverances 
 and favours; by the perusal of the Book of God, and 
 by the instructions of the pulpit. As in earlier life 
 he was the brave and dauntless soldier in defence of 
 his country's rights, so he became the brave and 
 dauntless soldier of the cross. From his childhood 
 he had revered Christianity, and after dwelt with 
 
 * Stevenson. 
 
542 . LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 grateful emotions on the tender and prayerful solici- 
 tude of his pious mother, during his bo) hood, for his 
 spiritual welfare. And even in the turbulent and 
 boisterous periods of his career, uhen all his ener- 
 gies were concentrated in the conduct of sanguinary 
 British and Indian wars, although vehement and 
 impetuous of spirit, the purest religious feelings ani- 
 mated his heart and shaped his inclinations. There 
 is not in our language a more beautiful form of prayer 
 and thanksgiving than is contained in a portion of his 
 congratulatory and farewell address to his soldiers at 
 New Orleans, after the battle of the eighth — meekly 
 giving all the glory of the victory to the God of 
 battles, in whom he had put his trust. I have heard 
 an old warrior against the Indians say, that on the 
 eve of one of the most deadly conflicts in the Creek 
 nation, when they were on watch for the enemy, 
 whom they knew to be near, and when an order had 
 been given that there should be no unnecessary noise 
 in camp, one of the guard approached the general 
 and complained that a soldier was praying unneces- 
 sarily loud. " God forbid," said he, that ^'•praying 
 should be considered an uiuicccssary noise in my 
 camp." These feelings ripened with age into a firmly 
 settled conviction and conversion ; and for the last 
 eight years of his life, he who had led and directed 
 his countrymen on so many well fought fields, who 
 had humbled the proud British lion upon our south- 
 western shore, and sent him howling home to his sea- 
 girt den — who had wrung the unwilling acknowledg- 
 ment of our country's rights from the crowned heads 
 of Europe might be seen upon the Sabbath, when 
 
CHARACTER OF JACKSON. 543 
 
 his hcaltli would permit, bowing with his neighbour- 
 hood circle in deep humility and humble adoration 
 before the little altar which he had caused to be 
 placed a short distance from his house, devotedly and 
 sincerely partaking of the sacred emblems of faith, 
 I witnessed this — but I witnessed no richly embroi- 
 dered carpets on w hich to kneel — no gorgeous purples 
 in which to robe the chief — no pomp — no parade — 
 no insignia of superiority or power, like those which 
 glitter M ithin the royal chapels of princesses and po- 
 tentates. All was plainness, simplicity, piety, Chris- 
 tian purity. He fostered that little church with a 
 father's solicitude and protection ; and one of his last 
 wishes was that it might be sustained for ever.* 
 
 He w^as a Christian, as he w^as everything else, 
 decidedly and wholly. No important interest of 
 Christianity seems to have been overlooked by him. 
 The Bible, the Sabbath, and the Sunday School, all 
 received the hearty approval and commendation of 
 Andrew Jackson. Of the word of God, he said : — 
 " Tlie Bible is true. Upon that sacred volume, I rest 
 my hope of eternal salvation, through the merits and 
 blood of our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ." 
 His old Bible, thumbed and worn by constant use, be- 
 held up in his right hand, and said to Doctor Edgar : 
 "This book, sir, is the bulwark of our republican 
 institutions, the anchor of our present and future 
 safety." Remember the sentiment, American Repub- 
 licans : I will repeat it. It is a voice that comes to 
 us on the wings of the sighing winds from the far oflf 
 
 * Harris. 
 33 
 
544 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 Hermitage: " TJiis hook, sir, is the bulwark of our 
 republican institutions, the anchor of our present and 
 future safety.'''' It is said his Bible was ever by his 
 side. Like the pillar of the cloud, the symbol of Je- 
 hovah's covenant with Israel in the wilderness, it was 
 moved when he moved, it rested where he rested. 
 
 As the light of the Sabbath broke over his earthly 
 habitation, he remarked, " This day is the holy Sab- 
 bath ordained by God, and set apart to be devoted to 
 his worship and praise. I always attended service at 
 church when I could, but now I can go no more." 
 
 He charged his family to continue the instruction 
 of the poor at the Sabbath school. This new system 
 of instruction, he said, which blended the duties of re- 
 ligion with those of humanity, he considered as of 
 vast importance. He seemed anxious to impress the 
 family with these sentiments. And in his last mo- 
 ments, two of his grandchildren were sent for from 
 the Sabbath school to receive his blessing. 
 
 Here was the full-souled and intelligent Christian. 
 He made the Bible the rule of faith and practice. He 
 made the Bible the foundation of the liberties of his 
 country. Observance of the holy Sabbath day, 
 attendance upon the services of the sanctuary, and 
 the religious education of the young, were all incul- 
 cated by precept and practice. These are the senti- 
 ments, my countrymen, that I would have you treasure 
 up in your hearts, and exemplify in your lives. What 
 a testimony have we from the lips of Andrew Jack- 
 son, to the truth of our holy religion. He was great 
 because he was good !* 
 
 * Lore. 
 
LETTER FROM COMMODORE ELLIOTT. 545 
 
 During General Jackson's retirement, a motion was 
 made in Congress to approve the declaration of martial 
 law by him, while in command of the army at New 
 Orleans, by refunding the fine with interest. During 
 the delay occasioned by a vigorous opposition, the 
 state of Louisiana passed an act pledging itself to 
 refund it in the event of the failure of the motion in 
 Congress. But it did not fail. That which had been 
 so magnanimously paid by him, was with correspond- 
 ing magnanimity refunded by a special law of his 
 country — and he was often heard to say, that he ac- 
 cepted it, not so much for the sake of the amount, as 
 that the resolutions of Congress entirely annihilating 
 every vestige of imputation upon his conduct at New 
 Orleans, might be fulfilled to all intents and purposes.* 
 
 Less than three months before his death, Andrew 
 Jackson received a letter from Commodore Jesse D. 
 Elliott, with the offer of a sarcophagus, which had 
 been obtained in Palestine, brought to the United States 
 in the frigate Constitution, and was believed to liave 
 contained the remains of the Roman emperor, Alex- 
 ander Severus. The commodore's letter concluded in 
 these words : " I pray you. General, to live on in the 
 fear of the Lord ; dying the death of a Roman soldier ; 
 an emperor's coffin awaits you." 
 
 The answer of Jackson to this letter was so cha- 
 racteristic of the man, that we have taken the liberty 
 to transcribe it entire. 
 
 ♦Harris. 
 
546 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 Hermitage^ March 27 th, 1845. 
 
 Dear Sir : — Your letter of the 18th instant, toge- 
 ther with the copy of the proceedings of the National 
 Institute, furnished me by their corresponding secre- 
 tary, on the presentation, by you, of the sarcophagus 
 for their acceptance on condition it shall be preserved 
 in honour of my memory, have been received, and are 
 now before me. 
 
 Although labouring under great debility and afflic- 
 tion, from a severe attack from which I may not 
 recover, I raise my pen and endeavour to reply. The 
 steadiness of my nerves may perhaps lead you to con- 
 clude my prostration of strength is not so great as is 
 here expressed. Strange as it may appear, my nerves 
 are as steady as they were forty years gone by ; whilst, 
 from debility and affliction, I am gasping for breath. 
 
 I have read the whole proceedings of the presen- 
 tation, by you, of the sarcophagus, and the resolutions 
 passed by the board of directors, so honourable to my 
 fame, with sensations and feelings more easily to be 
 conjectured than by me expressed. The whole pro- 
 ceedings call for my most grateful thanks, which are 
 hereby tendered to you, and through you to the presi- 
 dent and directors of the National Institute. But with 
 the warmest sensations that can inspire a grateful 
 heart, I must decline accepting the honour intended to 
 be bestowed. I cannot consent that my mortal body 
 shall be laid in a repository prepared for an emperor 
 or king. My republican feelings and principles forbid 
 it ; the simplicity of our system of government forbids 
 it. Every monument erected to perpetuate the mem- 
 ory of our heroes and statesmen ought to bear evidence 
 
REPLY TO COMMODORE ELLIOTT. 547 
 
 of the economy and simplicity of our republican insti- 
 tutions, and the plainness of our republican citizens, 
 who are the sovereigns of our glorious Union, and 
 whose virtue it is to perpetuate it. True virtue can- 
 not exist where pomp and parade are the governing 
 passions ; it can only dwell with the people — the great 
 labouring and producing classes that form the bone 
 and sinew of our confederacy. 
 
 For these reasons I cannot accept the honour you 
 and the president and directors of the National Insti- 
 tute intended to bestow. I cannot permit my remains 
 to be the first in these United States to be deposited 
 in a sarcophagus made for an 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 honour you and they 
 intended to bestow. I have prepared an humble depo- 
 sitory 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 trump sounds to call the dead to judg- 
 ment, when we, I hope, shall rise together, 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 Com. J. D. Elliott, United States Navy. 
 
548 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 This was the answer of Christian meekness, of re- 
 publican simphcity, of American patriotism. Such 
 an answer as might have been expected by one who 
 knew the character of Jackson. 
 
 The last will and testament of Andrew^ Jackson, 
 made on the 7th of June, 1843, will be found to illus- 
 trate, in a remarkable manner, his purity, patriotism, 
 affection and chivalry ; and as it is a matter of record 
 in the county court of Davidson county, Tennessee, 
 there can be no impropriety in referring to it here. 
 The will is written in his own plain and steady hand, 
 and the exact language of the instrument is preserved 
 in the extracts which we make from it. 
 
 " I bequeath," it says, " my body to the dust, whence 
 it comes, and my soul to God, who gave it, hoping for 
 a happy immortality 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." 
 
 After bestowing his entire estate upon his adopted 
 son, Andrew Jackson, junior, with the exception of a 
 few presents thereinafter to be named, he proceeds : 
 
 " I bequeath to my beloved nephew, Andrew J. 
 Donelson, son of Samuel Donclson, deceased, the 
 elegant sword presented to me by the State of Ten- 
 nessee, with this injunction, that he fail not to use it 
 when necessary in support and protection of our 
 glorious Union, and for the protection of the consti- 
 tutional rights of our beloved country, should they be 
 assailed by foreign enemies or domestic traitors. 
 
LAST WILL. 549 
 
 This, from the great change in my worldly affairs of 
 late, is, with my blessing, all I can bequeath him, 
 doing justice to those creditors to whom I am respon- 
 sible. 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. 
 
 " To my grandnephew, x\ndrew Jackson Coffee, I 
 bequeath the elegant sword presented to me by the 
 Rifle Company of New Orleans, commanded by Cap- 
 tain Beal, as a memento of my regard, and to bring 
 to his recollection the gallant services of his deceased 
 father. General John Coffee, in the late Indian and 
 British war, under my command, and his gallant con- 
 duct in defence of New Orleans in 1814and 1815; 
 with this injunction, that he wield it in the protection 
 of the rights secured to the American citizen under 
 our glorious constitution, against all invaders, whether 
 foreign foes or intestine traitors. 
 
 "I bequeath to my beloved grandson, Andrew 
 Jackson, son of Andrew Jackson, junior, and Sarah 
 his wife, the sword presented me by the citizens of 
 Philadelphia, with this injunction, that he will always 
 use it in defence of the constitution and our glorious 
 wisdom, and the perpetuation of our republican system ; 
 remembering the motto — ' Draw me not without oc- 
 casion nor sheath me without honour.' 
 
 "The pistols of General Lafayette, which were 
 presented by him to General George Washington, and 
 by Colonel William Robertson presented to me, I 
 bequeath to George Washington Lafayette, as a 
 memento of the illustrious personages through whose 
 
550 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 hands they have passed — Ids fatlier, 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 pre- 
 sented to me by the ladies of Charleston, South Caro- 
 lina, my native state, with the large picture represent- 
 ing the unfurling of the American banner, presented 
 to me by the citizens of South Carolina when it was 
 refused to be accepted by the United States Senate, I 
 leave in trust to my son A. Jackson, junior, with direc- 
 tions that should our happy country not be blessed 
 with peace, an event not always to be expected, he will 
 at the close of the war or end of the conflict, present 
 each of said articles of inestimable value, to that 
 patriot residing in the city or state from which they 
 were presented, who shall be adjudged by his country- 
 men or the ladies, to have been the most valiant in 
 defence of his country and our country's rights. 
 
 " The pocket spy-glass which was used by General 
 Washington during the revolutionary war, and pre- 
 sented to me by Mr. Custis, having been burned with 
 my dwelling-house, the Hermitage, with many other 
 invaluable relics, I can make no disposition of them. 
 
 " As a memento of my high regard for General Ro- 
 bert Armstrong as a gentleman, patriot, and soldier, 
 as well as for his meritorious military services under 
 my command during the late IJritish and Indian war, 
 and remembering the gallant bearing of him and his 
 gallant little band at Enotochopco Creek, when, falling 
 desperately wounded, he called out — " My brave fel- 
 lows, some may full, but save the cannon" — as a 
 memento of all these things, I give and bequeath to 
 
LAST WILL. 551 
 
 liim my case of pistols and sword worn by me 
 throughout my military career, well satisfied that in 
 his hands they will never be disgraced — that they will 
 never be used or drawn without occasion, nor sheathed 
 but with honour." 
 
 How beautifiil the injunctions which accompany 
 the bequests of the dying patriot ! He had preserved 
 his own sword pure and insullied ; he had guarded the 
 stainless emblems of a nation's gratitude as a price- 
 less treasure; and when he was approached by the 
 great earthly conqueror of all mankind, he gracefully 
 surrendered them into chosen hands, with a prayer 
 and command that they should never be dishonoured. 
 
 Nor was he thoughtless of her who liad watched 
 his bedside for years. In recognising and coufirming 
 a marriage gift to the wife of his adopted son, he 
 said, "This gift and bequest is made as a token of my 
 great affection for her, a memento of her uniform at- 
 tention to me, and kindness on all occasions. When 
 worn down with sickness, pain, and debility, she has 
 been more than a daughter to me, and I hope that 
 she will never be disturbed by any one in the enjoy- 
 ment of this gift and bequest."* 
 
 But let us hasten on to the closing scene — the last 
 hour of this great man. That courage which battle 
 could not intimidate — that fortitude which civil com- 
 motions could not shake, have now to be tried in 
 another scene. That frame, that not fatigue, nor ex- 
 posure, nor hunger could bend, worn by age and 
 disease, is now bending over the grave. Time has 
 
 * Harris. 
 
552 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 wrought its ends, and he is ripe for immortality. Be- 
 hold the man, who has served his country, and served 
 his God. He has no fears, no misgivings; cahiily 
 he looks back on a well-spent life, joyfully reaches 
 forward with hope, to a blissful immortality. 
 
 When asked by a friend, " what course would he 
 pursue, were he permitted to live his life over again" — 
 with a majestic tone of voice, says that friend, he 
 calmly but emphatically replied, " Sir, I would not 
 accept the boon if it were offered to 7?ie." His whole 
 countenance, continues that friend, became suddenly 
 illuminated ; his keen, piercing eye, fixed on vacancy, 
 appeared to be contemplating the beautiful scenes of 
 a distant world, as they gradually developed them- 
 selves to his view. Delightful thought ! Beholding 
 with the eye of faith the beautiful fields, the radiant 
 beings, and the never clouded sun of that spiritual 
 world to which he is hastening, he w^ould not ex- 
 change the prospect and the hope of its enjoyment, 
 for another glorious life like his on earth. Heaven 
 grant that in the dying hour our faith may be like 
 his! 
 
 It is a beautiful summer Sabbath morning ! the 8th 
 of June, 1845. Silence reigns all around, while anx- 
 ious countenances behold the death-stricken face of 
 the dying sage. He faints, and is supposed to be dead, 
 but revives; and, propped up in his arm chair, with 
 his family all around him, he said, " My dear children, 
 do not grieve for me ; it is true I am going to leave 
 you ; I am well aware of my situation ; I have suffered 
 much bodily pain ; but my sufi'orings are as nothing, 
 compared with that which our blessed Saviour endured 
 
JACKSON'S DEATII-BED. 553 
 
 upon that accursed cross, that they might all be saved 
 who put their trust in him." lie then took them by 
 the hand, one by one, and saying some words of ten- 
 derness to each, bade them forewell. The little chil- 
 dren he had brought to him, his grandchildren, and the 
 children of his wife's sister ; those who were absent at 
 Sabbath school, were sent for. He then kissed them, 
 and blessed them in a manner so touchingly im- 
 pressive, that language cannot describe it. Seeing his 
 servants anxiously pressing about the doors and win- 
 dows of his chamber, that they might behold for the 
 last time his living countenance, he took leave of them 
 also. He then spoke for half an hour, and apparently 
 with the power of inspiration ; for he spoke with calm- 
 ness, w^ith strength, and with animation. His implicit 
 belief in the Christian religion, and in the plan of sal- 
 vation as revealed in the Bible — his great anxiety that 
 they should believe in religion, as taught by the Holy 
 Scriptures ; and that, in so doing, they might insure 
 their eternal salvation, and join him in Heaven — made 
 the words that fell from his lips deeply impressive, 
 awfully sublime. In conclusion, he said,' " My children, 
 and friends, and servants, I hope and trust to meet 
 you all in Heaven, both white and black." Looking 
 with tender solicitude upoti his servants, he repeated, 
 " both white and black.''^ These were his last words ; 
 with them he ceased to speak. The body calmly 
 sunk into the arms of death, while the immortal spirit, 
 clothed in celestial garments, rose triumphant over 
 death and the grave, and ascended, amid a choir of 
 shoutinjT anirels, into the Paradise above. Ministers 
 
554 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 may preach, divines may write, but the dying example 
 of such a man is worth more than all.* 
 
 Thus lived, thus died Andrew Jackson ; great in 
 war, great in peace, triumphant in death. " Socrates 
 died hke a philosopher ;" but it was the happier lot of 
 Jackson to die hke a Christian. Fit consummation 
 to a life like his. Devoted for nearly eighty years to 
 the cause of the republic, his dying breath bears wit- 
 ness to the truth of that religion on which alone the 
 republic can safely found its institutions. His life is 
 its own best monument — his own best eulogy. It 
 sprang from the dark valley of obscurity, like the 
 peaks of his favourite Alleghanies from the valleys of 
 tlie west, into the sight and the admiration of a w'orld ; 
 rough, rugged, and sublime, piercing through every 
 cloud, it towered aloft till its summit was bathed in 
 the light of Heaven.t 
 
 The news of the death of Andrew Jackson spread 
 a pall over the whole nation. Throughout all our 
 vast country was heard the voice of mourning — a 
 nation grieving for a loved and honoured son. The 
 people in all its cities, towns, villages, and hamlets, 
 spontaneously gathered together to do honour to the 
 memory of the departed hero and patriot. Men of 
 all parties, and of all grades, pursuits, and occupations, 
 united on that solemn occasion. All were sensible 
 that the shaft of death had reached an illustrious 
 mark, and had removed from the connexions of this 
 earth one, who, for a long series of years, had been 
 intimately associated in their minds with some of the 
 
 * Garland. f BoUcs. 
 
JACKSON'S EXAMPLE. 555 
 
 most brilliant eras in the annals of the country, and 
 one who had long been regarded by a large pro- 
 portion of the people with the highest degree of vene- 
 ration and esteem. A united people attended as 
 mourners at his funeral. They consigned his mortal 
 remains to the tomb of his own choice, beneath the 
 green soil of the land he loved so well, and by the 
 side of the beloved partner of his domestic joys and 
 sorrows, who had preceded him in death. There 
 they will rest in honoured repose, until the archangel's 
 trump shall sound the summons to an everlasting 
 resurrection. But the memory of his illustrious deeds 
 will live — they will be familiar to the ears of unborn 
 millions; and in future ages, his example and his 
 counsels w ill continue to exert a bf^neficial influence 
 over the destinies of his beloved country.* 
 
 To the youth of our country, the example of 
 Jackson is invaluable. His life containing and illus- 
 trating a moral lesson, imposing as it is grand, is a 
 volume written in letters of gold, and establishes a 
 precedent for imitation, that is beyond price. It 
 points to the great highway of fame and distinction — 
 it tells him that the man who honestly serves his 
 country, in whatever position it may be his fortune to 
 be cast, w ill as surely bring down upon him the grati- 
 tude of that country, as the fulfilment of prophecy. 
 In this land of equal rights, the humblest youth, with 
 honesty, talents, and perseverance to recommend him, 
 enjoys the same opportunities with the high born and 
 the wealthy, for political honours. The first blow at 
 
 * Smith. 
 
556 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 Lexington, in the revolutionary struggle, not only 
 knocked to atoms the bonds and fetters of Great 
 Britain, but also all the orders and titles of nobility — 
 leveled the political condition of the American colo- 
 nies to a common standard, and made merit, in the 
 place of hereditary fortune, the republican test. Who 
 would have even conjectured, at that early day, that 
 a young man of the tender age of fourteen years, a 
 captive in the British camp, but who had the courage 
 and bravery, unarmed, to face the same weapon which 
 had already drunk the blood of an only brother, 
 rather than stoop to the menial service of becoming 
 the boot-black of an Eno-lish officer — would be at the 
 head of the grandest government on the face of the 
 earth ? An orphan child, unprotected, without friends, 
 without influence. It is this trait in the features of a 
 popular government, that truly makes it the grainiest 
 in the world. In following the course of that young 
 man, we have seen him, when the war was over, pur- 
 suing the profession of law — representing his state in 
 the nation's councils — upon the bench — again, at the 
 head of the American troops, pushing on to glorious 
 victory — and finally, the chief executive officer of the 
 United States of America. What a theme for con- 
 templation — what a subject for thought ! Let the 
 young man who is ambitious for durable fame, read 
 and reflect upon the noble example which he will find 
 in the life of Andrew Jackson. Let him believe that 
 the gigantic obstacles that lie between him and the 
 summit of his hopes and anticipations, will vanish like 
 snowflakes beneath the rays of the sun, by labour, 
 temperance, perseverance, and virtue. 
 
JACKSON'S EXAMPLE. 557 
 
 There is no ordinary obstacle that can thwart v>r 
 defeat a well directed and prudent ambition — mo- 
 mentary it may be, but the courage and determination 
 of the human heart arc not easily foiled ; and when a 
 point is fixed in the distance, it is almost invariably 
 attained. The life of Andrew Jackson is full proof 
 of this position, and the experience of every day life 
 confirms it. 
 
 The American presidents were all "self made 
 men" — by perseverance they were elevated to a point 
 of political prominence, which is above and beyond 
 all others. Let the proud motto of our flag be en- 
 graved upon the heart of American youth : " Virtue, 
 Liberty, and Independence," and the perpetuity of 
 that government which our ancestors regarded as an 
 " experiment," will be certain. And the illustrious hero 
 of New Orleans, by his acts and deeds — by his habits 
 and conduct, has been among the foremost of those 
 who have given a character and tone to our country, 
 that have placed her high upon the great scroll of 
 nations. Let those who could share his honours im- 
 itate his example.* 
 
 Though it was no holiday aflfair, says Mr. Wood- 
 bury, who knew Jackson well, to fill oflice as he filled 
 it, whether looking to himself or those around him — 
 though requiring, as well as practising, all the watch- 
 fulness of an Indian ambuscade, all the vigour, at 
 times, of a forced march to surprise an enemy, all the 
 "eal of a missionary of the Cross, yet his active 
 ■"emperament or military training, apparently so in- 
 
 * Wright. 
 
55S LAST DAYS OF JAfKSON. 
 
 convenient to others, was mixed up with a courtesy 
 of manner and kindly consideration of what was due 
 to real infirmity; so that in nothing was he more 
 striking than in all the feelings of a gentleman. He 
 had been formed in that Revolutionary school of 
 politics which added the politeness of the French to 
 the solidity of the English, or the manner of the La 
 Fayettes and Rochambeaus to the strength and in- 
 telligence of the Burgoynes and Cornwallises. He 
 exacted nothing which he did not reciprocate ; he 
 respected in others all that he asked for himself; and 
 every candid observer soon felt that, however severe 
 his course may at times have seemed at first, yet, in 
 the end, he carried out only that Chesterfieldian as 
 well as Christian injunction, to do to others as you 
 would he done by. 
 
 Such was his ease in general society, and so deli- 
 cate his attentions to female excellence, that many, who 
 never met him elsewhere, concluded at once he was 
 more of a courtier, or man of the world, than suited 
 for the conflicts of camps, and parties, and affairs of 
 state. But nothing was farther from truth. The 
 wioment over, that had been demanded by social 
 r.sages or the forms of fashion, his whole soul was in 
 his business; and nothing personal or amusing could 
 ever tempt him in/.o the slightest neglect or abandon- 
 ment of public duty. Never was he bigoted or ex- 
 clusive in anything. He was public-spirited in all? 
 nor did any Vandal spirit, however imputed, ever 
 mark his opinions or deeds, even in the fiercest 
 ravages of war or the bitterest excitement of politics ; 
 and however the great exigencies of public life may 
 
JACKSON'S EXAMPLE 559 
 
 have forced him at times into action and responsibility 
 uhen others doubted or halted, all his risks were for 
 his country ; all the dangers braved were intended to 
 protect the people and the public safety. 
 
 That he should have been infallible in all this, none 
 pretend ; but that he meant well, and, in the main, did 
 well, and as a whole performed noble service to his 
 country, none can deny. If to err is human, then, if 
 the light of the sun itself be not without some shades 
 intermingled — can we, takmg him all in all, be other- 
 wise than proud of his rank as a man, a soldier and 
 a statesman? Whether on the Thames or the 
 Ganges — under the tent of the Arab or in marble 
 palaces, it is a distinction to be known as one of his 
 countrymen. Compared with the renowned of other 
 ages and other continents, all America may justly 
 boast of him as a production creditable to the New 
 World. Humanity itself becomes dignified, when 
 man lives up to the height of his powers and his 
 destiny. Though some have regarded him as only a 
 meteor in our horizon, yet so far from that, he will 
 live as a fixed star in history — one of the master 
 minds of the age, carefully formed and practical in 
 his eflforts, and worthy the pages of future Plutarchs 
 for many generations to come. The justice of this 
 conclusion will strike us more forcibly, if we notice 
 the contrast between his course and that of many in- 
 scribed high on the rolls of past ages ; his whole life 
 devoted to defend the liberties of his country, rather 
 than like others to break them down ; the passion of 
 his heart to uphold rather than to overturn its consti- 
 tution and laws ; friends and power risked to preserve 
 
 34 
 
560 
 
 LAST DAYS OF JACKSON. 
 
 unimpaired the sacred ties of its union, the sceptre of 
 state rehnquished, and, hke the humblest citizen, re- 
 tiring 'to his farm, instead of striving, hke many, to 
 usurp authority, or prolong the pomp and pageantry 
 of office. In fine, he neither enriched himself by plun- 
 der or peculation, nor engrossed office for his family, 
 nor waged a moment's war for ambition or conquest ; 
 nor exercised a single new power, nor betrayed an old 
 one, nor filled station an hour but from the will of 
 the people, or in conformity to the charter of their 
 liberties. 
 
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